The next day, Belle was following right behind Grace. "Grace, are we going to look for another machine today?"
Koleda sighed. "None of this would have happened if Grace hadn't insisted on installing those emotion modules in the machines."
Grace stood atop a pile of lumber. "You never would have said that when you were little. You used to be so cute."
Ben shook his head. "Oh well, let's hurry up and find it. Hopefully, we're still in time."
At a construction site in the Hollow, Belle looked around curiously. It wasn't the same place as yesterday, and the facilities looked much newer.
"This is a private place for me and my beloved. No intruders allowed!"
"Why is there a girl's voice?" Ben asked, puzzled.
Belle's eyes suddenly widened. "Look! Is the kid you're looking for that machine on the unsafe building?"
"So it's you! You're the bad people who want to tear Mr. Mashiro and me apart!"
The machine, which clearly had a young girl's personality, spoke.
"Oh, oh, oh! I haven't seen the excavator for just a few days, and it's already turned into a super-cute girl!"
Grace said excitedly.
"Who's Mr. Mashiro?" Ben looked around. "You can't mean that unfinished building beneath you, can you?"
"Don't you dare insult Mr. Mashiro!"
The machine jumped straight down, kicking up clouds of dust.
[Wait, is that unfinished building really the machine girl's lover?]
[Genius plot, genius designers, genius devs.]
[I really can't even criticize this. Someone please check on the dev team's mental health.]
Xia Linxi sighed. "Seriously, you'd need ten years of brain hemorrhages to come up with a plot this genius."
"I've already decided to spend the rest of my life with Mr. Mashiro!"
"Please take back your unreasonable remarks!"
Belle: "That's a lot of dust."
"Wait!" Koleda shouted. "The dust has attracted the Ethereals nearby!"
"How dare you jump onto Mr. Mashiro! Get away! I won't let you touch him with your dirty hands!"
"Go away! You bad guys! If you keep being so rude, I... I'll..."
The next second, the excavator flew into a rage. "I said don't touch him! You bunch of coal slag, can't you understand me?"
The enormous drill slammed straight into a load-bearing wall of the unfinished building...
"Amazing! Is this what a girl in the throes of love is like?" Grace's eyes sparkled.
A bead of cold sweat ran down Koleda's face. "What lovestruck girl uses a 1,400-kilogram demolition saw powered by Ether-electric hybrid drive?!"
[This plot has left me speechless. All I can say is, genius.]
[Want to date a lovestruck girl? Make her unhappy, and she'll hit you with 1,400 kg!]
[One second: Baby, I'm angry, and you can't make it up to me. The next: she smashes you into mincemeat with 1,400 kg.]
[I'm scared to tears.]
"Wait!" Belle suddenly realized. "Didn't you just demolish your Mr. Mashiro yourself?"
"BOOM!"
"Ah... I'm sorry, Mr. Mashiro. I got too excited just now..."
Belle: (￢_￢)
Hey, why did she suddenly switch personalities again?
Is this shy, bashful girl really the same machine that was wielding that demolition saw just now?
The next second, the unfinished building crumbled into pieces, burying the lovestruck machine girl beneath it...
[Seeing this, I have nothing left to say.]
[Wait, isn't this a new novel? I Was Cruelly Hurt by a Lovestruck Girl, and She Cried Bitterly with Regret.]
[You up there, go become a screenwriter.]
[???]
"Mr. Mashiro! Stay with me, Mr. Mashiro!"
"I killed him... It's all my fault!"
Grace walked slowly across the rubble until she reached the machine. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault, and I should congratulate you, too."
Belle: ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll)
Hey, hey, hey!
Grace, do you want to listen to yourself?
She just lost her lover, and you go up and congratulate her?
Aren't you afraid she'll smash you over the head with her 1,400-kilogram saw?
[Grace has the linguistic skills of a lion.]
[How did Grace even live this long? With a mouth that vicious, how was she not beaten to death as a kid?]
"Huh?"
Miss Machine seemed not to understand, and a question mark slowly appeared above her head.
"Wait a minute, Grace! Do you want to listen to what you just said?"
Ben reached out a hand, looking a little alarmed.
"I let my guard down. Grace may know how to repair machines, but he's never been in love! He doesn't know the first thing about feelings!"
Cold sweat appeared on Koleda's forehead.
"Lift your head and look around you! Your lover, Mr. Mashiro, is holding you tight right now!"
Grace's voice grew a little impassioned.
"Every building can only give one hug in its lifetime. He not only gave you his one and only hug, he also drove away the Ethereals attacking you."
"What a gentle lover. You have good taste."
Belle: ...
Koleda: ...
Ben: ...
[...]
[...]
Belle: "Genius."
Ben slapped his forehead hard with his palm. "Whoa... She actually managed to turn that around."
Seeing that the matter was finally resolved, Koleda finally smiled. "That takes care of it."
That evening, at the video store.
Belle looked at Lu Yingheng on the sofa and Wise in a chair.
"Belobog Heavy Industries just contacted us. They said they'd send the two intelligent machines they found over the past two days in for inspection and repairs first. Once they locate the last pile driver, they'll contact us by private message."
"From what they said, finding the pile driver shouldn't take too long, but they won't have results right away, either."
"Brother, for now, just find something to do to pass the time."
Wise nodded.
Belle then looked at Lu Yingheng. "Oh, right, Brother Heng, I haven't asked when you remembered your abilities. How is your recovery going?"
Lu Yingheng kept his eyes closed, looking relaxed. "With a pretty girl like Belle keeping me company, even my incomplete memories are coming back much faster!"
Belle couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from lifting. "Then, Brother Heng, this pretty girl will give you a chance. Would you like to go see a movie with her in your free time tomorrow?"
Lu Yingheng opened his eyes and looked at Belle in front of him, his black contact lenses meeting her gaze.
"Belle, you already call me brother. Since my little sister is inviting me, how could I possibly refuse?"
Belle's gaze dimmed for a moment.
Just a little sister?
Wise stood off to the side, looking a little constipated. ...
Are you two seriously acting like I don't exist?
What a useless brother...