"No."
Gu Yue's muffled voice came from her arms, stubborn and unquestionable.
"I want him."
She lifted her face.
Tears still clung to her cheeks, and her eyes were red-rimmed.
"He has another woman. I don't care."
"He says it has nothing to do with me. I don't care about that either."
"Even if he's forgotten me... I still won't let go."
She bit her lower lip, her voice dropping.
"He's mine. He was mine in my last life, and he's mine in this one too."
Leng Yaozhu watched her in silence for a long while.
She wanted to say something.
But when she met the nearly obsessive light in Gu Yue's eyes, all that came out was a sigh.
This child was beyond saving.
Boys' dormitory.
By the time the purification ended, it was almost nine at night.
Sha Ying's soul had settled down.
Those evil thoughts had been temporarily suppressed in the deepest recesses of her consciousness.
She released Lin An and returned to that same cold, hollow state.
Her back was straight.
Her hands rested neatly on her knees.
Her unfocused gaze was fixed straight ahead.
Lin An extricated himself from her arms and straightened his rumpled clothes.
He looked a little awkward.
"All right. This purification should last about a week."
"Come find me again after a week..."
"Thank you."
Sha Ying nodded, her tone flat.
Looking at her utterly emotionless eyes, Lin An felt his awkwardness slowly fade.
Whatever.
Why get worked up over a robot?
Sha Ying's every action was driven by her programming.
Hugging him or saying "It's very comfortable" was probably just a physical response caused by the purification process.
Still...
He glanced at Sha Ying's fingers, resting by her side.
That hand had just been clamped tightly around his waist, gripping with astonishing strength.
Now it rested quietly on her knee, perfectly still.
Like an exquisitely crafted figurine.
She had a body now.
Cloning technology combined with Soul Spirit artificial intelligence could give a remnant soul a physical form... That alone wasn't anything special.
But after gaining a body, could she develop something beyond her programming?
Lin An thought it over, then decided it was unlikely.
He turned and went to the fridge, taking out a slice of cake.
He'd set it aside on purpose that afternoon.
It was supposed to be a little treat for Gu Yue, but since she wasn't coming tonight, leaving it there would be a waste.
He carried the cake back to the bed and sat down in front of Sha Ying.
It was strawberry-flavored.
A few bright red strawberries adorned the top, and the piped cream was so delicate it looked like a work of art.
"Since you have a human body now, you should try this. It's delicious."
He set the cake down in front of Sha Ying.
Sha Ying's gaze swept over the cake.
Then she raised her eyes and looked at Lin An.
She watched him for a long time.
Long enough for Lin An to start wondering if there was something on his face.
Then she lowered her head and looked at the cake.
She looked up at Lin An again.
She didn't move.
Lin An sighed.
He picked up a fork, cut off a small piece, and held it to Sha Ying's lips.
"Open up."
Sha Ying obediently opened her mouth.
The fork went in.
The cream melted on her tongue as the strawberry's tart sweetness and the cream's silky richness bloomed together in her mouth.
She began to chew.
Slowly and carefully.
As if she were doing something immensely important.
"How is it? Tasty, right?"
Lin An sat beside her, tilting his head to study her expression.
The corners of his mouth lifted without him realizing it.
He was always patient when feeding someone.
Perhaps it was because, in his previous life, he'd fed the stray cat his family had taken in the same way.
Sha Ying swallowed.
Then she fell silent for several more seconds.
"It's tasty."
Her voice was still flat, without the slightest hint of emotion.
But Lin An noticed that the tips of her ears had turned faintly red.
It was an extremely subtle change.
Only the edges of her earlobes had taken on the faintest blush, easy to miss if you weren't paying attention.
Lin An's heart gave a thump.
Now that she had a body, was she really beginning to develop emotions?
Had the taste triggered some unforeseen physiological response?
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
He didn't let it show.
He simply cut off another piece and held it out.
"If you like it, have some more. Just don't eat too much, or you'll get fat."
Sha Ying opened her mouth and took another bite.
This time, she chewed noticeably faster.
Something seemed to glimmer in her pupils.
Though it might only have been the light reflecting in them.
After swallowing, she suddenly spoke.
Her voice was still flat, but she asked Lin An a question he hadn't expected.
"Why... are you so nice to me?"
Lin An's hand, holding the fork, paused.
He looked up and met Sha Ying's gaze.
Those blood-red eyes were still hollow, still cold, still devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
But for some reason, they seemed different from usual.
He fell silent for a while.
A lot of answers passed through his mind.
Because you're a core asset of the company.
Because we need your strength.
But somehow, none of those answers felt right.
In the end, he smiled and gave her an answer that was half-true.
"Because I'm afraid you'll get your memories back someday and beat me to death. I'm just a tiny support-type nobody. All I can do is rely on someone else to protect me."
Sha Ying looked at him.
The red in her eyes seemed to ripple.
She'd thought Lin An would say something lofty.
You're not a tool. You have a soul. You deserve to be respected.
She'd heard those kinds of speeches far too many times.
The company's engineers, the project managers—every one of them would say those pretty words to her.
Then they'd turn around and give her cold, emotionless orders.
But Lin An hadn't.
He'd been blunt. Blunt enough to seem almost honest.
I'm trying to please you because I'm afraid you'll lose control.
I'm weak, so I need to latch onto someone powerful.
The corners of Sha Ying's mouth lifted in the faintest hint of a smile.
To her surprise, she didn't dislike that answer.
Maybe it was simply because being with this young man really did feel comfortable.
Night fell.
Lin An came out after showering and changed into his pajamas.
His hair was still damp, droplets trickling from the ends and darkening a small patch on his collar.
He dried his hair with a towel.
Sha Ying was still sitting by the bed, holding the same pose as before without moving an inch.
"Aren't you going back?" he asked.
Sha Ying shook her head.
"It's cold up there. There's nothing there. I want to stay here."
Lin An's movements paused.
Up there... She meant Rainbow Light Verdict, suspended tens of thousands of meters in the sky.
That was true. The core cabin held nothing but cold metal and streams of densely packed data.
He hesitated.
A man and a woman alone together in one room—robot or not, it wasn't ideal.
But looking at Sha Ying's hollow eyes, he felt his worries might be unnecessary.
"All right. You can sleep in the bed. I'll take the sofa."
As he spoke, he turned to fetch a spare blanket from the cabinet.
"We'll sleep together."
Sha Ying's voice came from behind him, flat and stubborn.
Lin An nearly choked on his own saliva.
He turned around and stared at Sha Ying in disbelief.
Her stunning face still wore that cold, impassive expression.
There wasn't the slightest hint of embarrassment, nor any other expression.
"What?"
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