Seeing Qianling demonstrate her basic functions, Yangxia’s gaze grew even sharper as she stared at her.
“What’s with its eyes flashing?” she asked Yangmo.
“Ah, it’s because she’s in standby mode.” Yangmo’s professional smile remained flawless as ever. In terms of staying calm, even Qianling had to admit her companion was much better at it.
Yangxia pressed further, “You said it’s a Housekeeping Robot? Can you start it up and show me?”
“Of course, no problem! I’ll do it right now!”
Obeying her older sister’s instructions, Yangmo stepped behind Qianling, grabbed her elbow, and lifted her arm to be level with the ground before letting it fall back down—just like pulling a lever. During the process, Qianling also cooperatively used her arm to mimic the rebound of a lever.
With that, the “power-on” was complete.
Qianling loosened her jaw and broadcasted in a mechanical voice, “Bang bang ka bang~ I am the new model Housekeeping Robot, Qianling. Master, please issue your command.”
“Oh? What can it do?” Yangxia seemed rather interested.
“Uh…” For a moment, Yangmo found herself at a loss.
After all, she didn’t really know what kind of chores a memory-less Qianling could handle. Still, she quickly decided to give a simple answer.
“Probably things like sweeping the floor.”
“Sweeping, huh? Alright then.”
Saying this, Yangxia headed into the inner room.
“Big sis, where are you going?”
“Of course, to get a broom.”
Yangxia called back to Yangmo, and soon returned with a broom, which she handed to Qianling.
“Here, let’s see you sweep the floor.”
This made Qianling secretly delighted: Since they’re willing to let me try, does this mean I’m about to successfully bluff my way through?
“Understood, Master.” She replied with the same mechanical tone as before, taking the broom and heading to the open part of the living room.
Just sweeping the floor—piece of cake.
That’s what Qianling thought, but as she moved, the corner of a low table snagged her right leg. She went flying forward in a full-on dive.
And unfortunately, with both hands gripping the broom, she had no way to stop her face from making intimate contact with the floor.
“Ugh!”
With that cry, she fell silent.
Yangmo was so shocked by the sight that she gaped in disbelief, then immediately cried out with tearful eyes, “Qianling!”
She rushed over, scooped up the motionless Qianling, and turned her over by the shoulders.
At this, Qianling—her face blank—opened her jaw and let out a mechanical voice, slightly trembling, “Command execution… failed.”
The reason she hadn’t gotten up was because she was still playing the part of a Housekeeping Robot. Seeing this, Yangmo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, for Qianling, this was no time to relax.
Ow! It hurts! My nose—ow, ow…
She was still gritting her teeth through the pain to maintain her Housekeeping Robot act.
Yangxia, meanwhile, showed no sign of worry.
She approached, pointed at Qianling’s nose, and criticized, “And you call yourself a new model? Filthy and useless—you can’t even do this much. Looks like you’re just a broken machine. Don’t bring weird things like this home anymore.”
Yangxia’s words instantly infuriated Qianling.
Being mocked as a broken machine didn’t matter to her.
What really made her angry was—
Even if there’s still some dirt on me, it’s only thanks to Yangmo’s help that I got this clean.
And your own sister is obviously upset, yet the first thing you do is scold someone?
You were like this in the original story too! That’s why…
Thinking this, Qianling felt a surge of anger mixed with melancholy.
In the Original Yangmo’s Death incident, as Yangmo’s elder sister, Yangxia was certainly a victim as well, but Qianling had always felt that Yangxia wasn’t entirely blameless.
That day, there was a deep-sea-themed exhibition at the Aquarium.
Yangmo had planned to go with Yangxia, but Yangxia made excuse after excuse, choosing instead to go hang out with her friends at the Karaoke Hall. In the end, as Yangmo walked home alone, tragedy struck. By the time Yangxia rushed to the scene, it was already too late.
If you’d been there that day, would things have turned out differently?
With these thoughts flooding her, Qianling suddenly grabbed Yangxia’s finger that was pointing at her.
“Can’t you show a little more concern for your sister? Do you really think now’s the time for that kind of talk?”
She’d meant to use a harsher tone, but the natural gentleness of this body’s voice softened the impact. Still, it was enough for others to realize she was no Housekeeping Robot.
Yangxia’s face went pale; she flailed her hand free in a panic and took a step back, crying out, “So… so it really is an evil demon!”
Taking advantage of this, Qianling deftly hopped onto the windowsill, kicked off, and slipped away.
Yangxia meant to give chase, but Yangmo suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Big sis, don’t!”
“But if we leave it alone, it’ll cause trouble for others!”
“It won’t, Qianling is definitely not a bad person—please believe me!”
Yangmo tightened her grip, and as Yangxia turned, she saw tears glimmering at the corners of her sister’s eyes.
Yangxia could only sigh and tell her, “Alright… I understand. I won’t chase her.”
Then she gently patted Yangmo on the head.
Thinking about it now, maybe that strange doll wasn’t wrong after all.
Yangxia felt a wave of guilt.
“And also… I’m sorry.”
Yangmo shook her head gently at her.
“It’s alright…”
With that, she walked to the window and gazed in the direction Qianling had gone. Though Yangxia couldn’t see her face, at this moment Yangmo’s expression was intense—it was clear she had no intention of giving up.
On the other side, after escaping, Qianling couldn’t understand her own actions.
They’re just characters in a story, and I’ve seen this play out in front of me so many times… Why did I get so angry this time?
No, maybe it’s because I’ve seen it too many times.
She recalled her past life, the days spent in a hospital bed, where the anime airing repeatedly on the TV was her entire world.
But now, her world had grown so much broader.
Using the steel tentacles produced by “Iron Thorn,” Qianling swung herself along, leaping above the town.
Yangxia hadn’t given chase, so she simply enjoyed the wind in her face, overlooking the dusk-lit town, and her mood gradually improved.
Xinghu Town was built on gently rising hills, and from any high point, the whole town was visible at a glance.
Nearby homes were mostly two or three stories, while taller buildings—over ten floors—could be seen in the distance, a clear sign of the town’s growth and renewal.
Qianling paused atop a utility pole, admiring the view and idly thinking about random things.
If not for Stealth Magic, I wouldn’t dare strut around like this.
It was one of the few spells she could use after recovering some of her magic. As the name suggested, it erased her presence—making her hard to notice, and even interfering with electronic devices so her image wouldn’t appear in recordings.
She could swing through town like some web-shooting hero without worrying about causing a commotion.
Thinking of this, Qianling made the signature pose with her hand.
“Failing Spider.”
She wondered if in the world depicted by this anime, copyright warnings might bring about the world’s end.
Of course, nothing happened even when she tried.
Now that she’d finished playing around, it was time to get serious.
I should find a place to calmly think through my current situation and figure out what to do next.
With this in mind, Qianling happened to spot a park nearby, where there was a Central Fountain with a Statue Horse. Its back looked like the perfect spot to sit.