Su An was speechless.
She finally understood—Gu Yu’s tone was entirely that of someone teasing a child.
She hadn’t actually discovered her secret at all.
One should not speak while eating, nor speak while sleeping.
Su An remained silent.
Her small head pondered for a moment.
In order to increase Ms. Gu’s Affection Level and build a good relationship, she personally served some food onto the other woman’s plate.
Gu Yu’s eyes reflected the girl’s figure, which seemed a bit clumsy.
She didn’t look like the pinnacle of human technology at all.
But from another perspective, being able to perfectly replicate the clumsy, charming demeanor of a human teenage girl could be considered a testament to the programmer’s meticulousness.
***
‘Why does she keep looking at me? Eat your food!’
Su An blinked and shoveled rice into her mouth, feeling a bit puzzled.
She felt that Gu Yu’s gaze was strange.
It was a bit like how she used to rest her chin on her hand as a child, watching a hamster in a box eat.
Thinking of this made her feel uneasy, yet she didn’t know how to adjust.
A beautiful person looked good no matter what they did.
Gu Yu felt this deeply.
If any of her other friends had started shoveling food like a starving ghost, she wouldn’t have said anything on the surface, but her inner perception of them would have certainly plummeted for failing to maintain basic etiquette.
However, now that it was An’an, Gu Yu didn’t feel it was wrong.
On the contrary, she found it pleasing to the eye.
This was how she should eat.
It gave Gu Yu a sense of satisfaction, like watching her little hamster’s cheeks bulge after eating its fill.
“Be good, don’t be a picky eater,” Gu Yu said, picking up the green peppers that Su An was avoiding and placing them into the girl’s bowl.
Su An: ?
Su An: Is this right?
She might have hated green peppers when she was a child, but she didn’t mind them as much after growing up.
It was just that after the habit had formed, she subconsciously avoided eating them.
“Munch!”
Su An ate them all along with her rice.
***
After dinner, night began to fall.
Su An suddenly realized a very serious matter.
“Be good, An’an. Stop scrolling through videos. You should go to sleep after taking a shower,” Gu Yu said casually.
Su An was instantly alerted. She asked tentatively, “Um, where is my room?”
“Hmm? You still want to sleep in separate beds?”
Gu Yu lightly tilted Su An’s chin, her voice carrying the cool, mature tone of an older woman.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then be a good girl and warm the bed for Sister.”
“I… okay.”
Gu Yu’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Wasn’t her Affection Level maxed out?
Why did she sound a bit reluctant?
It seemed she would have to go back and adjust the settings in a bit.
***
Grasping the soft bedding, Su An’s expression was a bit strained.
She could not resist any mandatory orders from Gu Yu.
Unable to resist, powerless to fight back—it gave her a sense of total futility.
Just like now, she could only curl up on the bed wearing her pink and white pajamas, obediently executing the command to warm the bed.
The moment she thought of overstepping…
[You need to warm the bed!]
A Warning Wall constructed by programming stood tall.
No matter how much her soul struggled, she could not control her body even slightly.
‘This sucks!’
Su An thought irritably.
***
After dinner, there were still some minor issues regarding personnel transfers that Gu Yu needed to handle.
However, it didn’t take long.
She stretched and prepared to go back and enjoy the company of her little pet.
She casually opened the Control Panel.
[Status Window]
Affection Level: 50 (Stranger)
Personality: Fragile, sensitive, and dependent.
Seeing this low Affection Level, Gu Yu was stunned.
Hadn’t she locked this setting?
Without thinking much, she manually slid the value to the maximum of 100.
[Affection Level: 100 (Inseparable)]
“Yes, that’s more like it.”
Gu Yu nodded with satisfaction.
“Let me see what else.”
There were an enormous number of preset options on the Control Panel, more than Gu Yu could look through in a short time.
For example:
[Status Window]
Purity: 100 (Angel on Earth)
Physical Stamina: 20 (Success rate of dueling a chicken is not zero)
Willpower: 40 (A bit fragile)
Sexual Knowledge: 20 (Limited understanding)
Lewdness: 0 (Pure and ignorant)
Gu Yu could change these values at will, but after thinking about it, she decided not to mess with them.
She opened the status chart instead.
[Status Table]
Pain: 0 (Feeling good)
Excitement: 0 (Very calm)
Fatigue: 40 (A bit tired)
Pressure: 80 (Barely maintaining composure)
“Hmm?”
Gu Yu frowned.
The other stats were fine, but the Pressure was clearly abnormal.
“How can this be?”
Gu Yu didn’t quite understand.
“Is it because I told her to go warm the bed? Is she feeling that much pressure?”
Unable to figure it out, she simply took a shower, changed into her blue pajamas, and headed straight back to the room to see for herself.
“Is there a problem with her?”
Gu Yu knit her brows slightly.
She had seen rave reviews for Xingyu Fantasy’s Companion Androids online, which was why she had custom-ordered one from them.
If other people’s cheap, eight-hundred-and-eighty-dollar low-quality androids could be widely acclaimed, there was no reason her perfect masterpiece—which cost over ten million and was loaded with all sorts of high-end technology—would have issues.
Unless they wanted their product returned.
The little cutie was curled up under the covers, with only the top half of her head showing.
Her eyes were exposed, and the blue starlight within them flickered slightly.
Gu Yu held her breath and approached softly, seemingly afraid of startling the little creature.
Her eyes shifted slightly as Su An looked at Ms. Gu.
‘She’s really beautiful.’
Su An blinked her watery eyes.
‘But so what if she’s beautiful…’
Su An’s mood sank again.
[Affection Level: 100 → 60 (Beautiful Stranger)]
Gu Yu: ???
Gu Yu’s mind was filled with question marks.
What did she do?
The Affection Level plummeted for no reason.
As she thought, there was definitely something wrong with this Android!
Gu Yu decided she would return or exchange it tomorrow.
Human emotions were too complicated, which was why she had broken up with her ex-girlfriend.
And now, you’re telling her that the emotions of a custom-made doll were just as erratic?
She was here to enjoy herself, not to coax someone and suffer for it!
***
Ms. Gu looked a bit irritable.
Was it because of work?
Su An’s eyes remained fixed on her, and a few traces of sympathy inexplicably flashed through her heart.
She used to get irritable and lose hair because of heavy workloads too.
But she had no choice; she was the pillar of her family.
Her wife and three-year-old daughter needed her, so she truly didn’t dare to lose her job.
On July 14, 2030, it was also because of overtime that she had been delayed until that hour, only to be precisely struck down by a truck at that intersection.
Thinking of her own past, Su An felt a sudden sense of shared hardship.
‘She must be very lonely,’ she thought.
Otherwise, why would she buy a so-called Companion Android?
In such a large house, living alone must be very lonely.
Su An slowly lifted the quilt and reached out her hand, silently signaling for her to get into bed.
Gu Yu was stunned.
Faced with the invitation of the little beauty, she truly could not refuse.
The bed was very warm.
Su An’s execution of the command to warm the bed was quite thorough.
‘What comes next?’
Su An lowered her eyes slightly, and the starlight in them dimmed significantly.
[Pressure: 80 → 90 (She is on the verge of collapse)]
Gu Yu: ???
She practically shouted three question marks in her mind as she focused her attention on the little cutie.
There was no light in the little girl’s eyes.
No matter how dull Gu Yu was, she could see that.
‘Why is the pressure so high?’
Gu Yu thought with some distress.
If she had seen such high pressure before entering the room, she would have only thought, ‘Is she broken? Then let’s exchange her.’
However, the adorable being before her eyes prevented that dangerous thought from rising.
Instead, her heart felt a bit stifled, unable to bear the sight of the little cutie’s suffering.
“Be good! Baby, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here.”
Gu Yu slowly pulled Su An into her arms and lightly patted her back.
As their skin touched, Su An was slightly taken-back.
‘I’m being treated like a child.’
But soon, she narrowed her eyes, listening to that soft voice and feeling that gentle strength.
There was nothing more comforting to the human heart than an embrace like a mother’s.
If there was, it could only be from one’s actual mother.
Ten minutes later, Su An began to reflect.
‘Is it possible that I misunderstood her? Maybe all she wants is a simple companion who can stay by her side.’
She closed her eyes, indulging herself in this peaceful refuge.
[Pressure: 90 → 20 (She has briefly forgotten much, only wanting to enjoy this moment of tenderness.)]
[Affection Level: 60 → 80 (She feels the warmth of family)]