Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 1

By seven in the morning, Zhengyang Street was already bustling, the wind carrying the grating sound of rolling shutters being pulled up one after another.

The street was lined with wholesale shops, each marked by a large red signboard. Behind them lay a dilapidated neighborhood awaiting demolition, while along the road, a few scattered breakfast vendors set up their stalls.

Yu Ting stood in front of a vendor selling fried dough sticks, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and black shorts. He was exceptionally tall, standing at a full 190 centimeters, with a straight back and chest, like a sheathed sword. Within just a few minutes of standing there, he had already attracted the attention of many passersby.

“Hey, Xiao Yu, if you’re not busy, why not stand around here a bit longer?” The vendor, frying dough sticks, looked up and caught the eye of a passerby who had glanced at Yu Ting several times. Turning back to the young man in front of him, he chuckled warmly.

The young man frowned slightly, his gaze fixed intently on the dough sticks frying in the oil, as if he were facing a lavish feast. His features were strikingly handsome, with clean, smooth facial lines that made it hard to look away after just one glance.

Hearing this, Yu Ting looked up and smiled politely. “The fried dough sticks are more useful than my face.”

Uncle Liu laughed heartily at the obvious compliment. “I love hearing that. Here, I’ll give you one on the house today.”

The man used two oil-stained wooden sticks to lift the fried dough sticks onto a nearby metal rack. After wiping his hands, he grabbed a plastic bag and packed four dough sticks for Yu Ting. “Just give me three yuan.”

He then turned back to continue frying.

Yu Ting pulled out a neatly folded stack of money from his pocket, carefully took four one-yuan bills, and gently placed them into a small box nearby.

“Hey, Xiao Yu, do you still have any spare tricycle parts at your place? Even used ones are fine—nothing too expensive. You know my tricycle is just for frying dough sticks, nothing else, so I don’t need anything fancy,” Uncle Liu said while busying himself with his work.

“I’ll check when I get back. There should be some,” Yu Ting replied, picking up his portion.

After a moment of silence, the old man looked up from his work, only to find that Yu Ting had already left.

He glanced at the money in the box, then in the direction Yu Ting had gone, and shook his head regretfully, thinking of the rumors surrounding the young man. “Such a decent young fellow. What a shame his mind isn’t quite right.”

Yu Ting carried the fried dough sticks as he walked toward his workplace. The freshly fried aroma enveloped him as he made his way halfway down the street before turning into an alley to the east.

The alley wasn’t narrow, and after a few steps, it opened up considerably. Ahead stood an auto repair shop that occupied the space of two small stores. The smell of engine oil instantly enveloped Yu Ting and the fried dough sticks in his hand as he strolled over.

Next to the repair shop stood a red signboard with the words “Cheng Qiang Auto Repair” written on it.

The shop was a two-story building, with two rooms upstairs. Only one of the rooms had its curtains drawn open, while the other remained tightly closed.

Yu Ting glanced at the shopfront before walking straight inside.

He had moved all the auto repair-related parts to the warehouse, leaving the usual workspace empty. Stepping inside, aside from the dust kicked up, there was a faint echo with each footstep.

Yu Ting walked over to an empty table, pulled out a few sheets of paper to wipe it down, placed the plastic bag on it, and took out a fried dough stick. He ate it quickly but without any hint of roughness.

The fried dough sticks in the plastic bag hadn’t been sealed for too long, so although the texture had softened a bit, they were still quite delicious.

Shops around the area gradually saw customers arriving. When they noticed the person inside the auto repair shop was Yu Ting, they all gave him strange glances, almost as if avoiding him, and hurried away without greeting him.

Yu Ting didn’t pay attention. It suddenly occurred to him that he had been eating fried dough sticks for two weeks now, yet he hadn’t grown tired of them at all.

But then again, anyone who had consumed nutrient supplements for over twenty years would find it hard to resist the temptation of fried dough sticks.

Two weeks.

He had even been on Earth for two weeks now.

In fact, Yu Ting wasn’t from Earth but hailed from a planet called Darkwater Star, thousands of years in the future.

Earth, thousands of years later, had long become history, and their planet was governed by the Federal Empire, where the poor were only qualified to consume nutrient supplements from childhood.

Yu Ting was born in the slums. At eighteen, he was admitted to the empire’s best mecha academy. After joining the military, he became the youngest general at twenty-one.

However, during a mission to eliminate a group of insectoids, he accidentally piloted his mecha into a patch of darkness.

When he woke up again, he was in a nearby garbage dump, and later, he was taken in by the owner of this auto repair shop, Cheng Qiang.

As a general who had risen from the slums, Yu Ting’s adaptability could be described as exceptional.

Upon learning that Cheng Qiang was the owner of the auto repair shop, he proactively offered to try repairing vehicles, after all, his practical mecha skills had once earned him a perfect score.

And so, here he was now.

Thanks to his top-ranking performance at Darkwater Star’s First Military Academy, he successfully and smoothly secured the position of a mechanic at “Cheng Qiang’s Auto Repair Shop.”

By all accounts, he had been working for two weeks now.

Since arriving on Earth, he had been searching for a way back to Darkwater Star at every moment.

But no matter how much he searched online, he couldn’t find even a shred of information related to “Darkwater Star.” He had even come across posts where people claimed “I am an alien.”

However, after privately messaging them, those people either replied with “You’re crazy” or asked, “Are you from the 2D world?” Some even sincerely suggested he seek medical help and stop acting out online…

So, he had no choice but to give up for now.

Glancing at the time, Yu Ting tore the last half of the fried dough stick into pieces and ate it, wiped his mouth with a tissue, threw it into the trash bin, and stood up to head toward the warehouse.

Cheng Qiang didn’t live here. The second floor was currently occupied by Yu Ting and a teenager who had just come of age.

Every day, Yu Ting had to wake up early to take out the spare parts and put them away again at night. After years of military training, this level of work was nothing to him.

After tidying up for nearly half an hour, the already large room felt half as crowded again.

“All done?” A middle-aged man walked in, wearing a red-and-black jacket stained with oil marks that couldn’t be washed out. It was Cheng Qiang, the owner of the auto repair shop.

He inspected the shop and nodded in satisfaction.

Yu Ting pushed a small cart to put the items back in their places and replied with a simple “Mm.”

“Where’s Cheng Ze?” Not seeing the other employee, Cheng Qiang’s expression turned sour. “What time is it, and he’s still sleeping? What time did he go back to his room last night?”

Cheng Ze, the other of the auto repair shop’s only two employees, had just come of age.

Yu Ting had once heard Cheng Qiang mention that the two were related, and Cheng Ze’s parents had entrusted him to Cheng Qiang’s care.

Yu Ting knew he didn’t need to respond. He scooped up the price list from the table with one hand and began checking the tricycle parts by the cabinet.

Some of the old, unsold parts were either disposed of at low prices or simply thrown away by the auto repair shop. He had discovered a few while tidying the warehouse last time.

The young man stood in front of the cabinet, his tall frame casting a small shadow. His presence was restrained, pleasing to the eye, yet still felt somewhat unapproachable.

Cheng Qiang glanced at Yu Ting, muttered something under his breath, and went upstairs.

The local dialect didn’t sound particularly friendly, and Yu Ting caught the name “Cheng Ze” in it. He didn’t look away, continuing to lower his gaze and check the list in his hand.

After verifying the list, he found a part that could be used for Uncle Liu’s tricycle.

In the auto repair shop, only Cheng Qiang had a separate office. Mechanics like him usually just found a stool somewhere in the shop to rest.

But sometimes, Yu Ting wanted to lean against a table and read the latest news about this planet, so he had retrieved two tables from the warehouse and placed them in an unobtrusive spot. Cheng Qiang hadn’t said anything when he saw them.

Yu Ting placed the part on the table, unscrewed a nearby water bottle, and took a few gulps, glancing at the tricycle he had pulled out. It had been left by the shop across the street the night before, with a request to have it repaired today.

A stray drop of water rolled down his throat, carrying a chill.

Yu Ting shook his head, casually picked up a wrench from the ground, and smoothly slid under the vehicle with practiced ease, beginning the day’s repair work.

Parts, screws, wrenches. He carried out the repairs methodically, his eyes filled with focus, as if handling his beloved mecha from thousands of years in the future.

A little over ten minutes later, Yu Ting slid out from under the vehicle, reaching a hand to the side, where a small wrench was promptly placed into it.

Without turning his head, he continued with the final step. “Thanks.”

“Brother Yu, you’re up way too early,” said Cheng Ze, who had just come downstairs, squatting nearby and watching Yu Ting’s movements. “You must have gotten up at six, right?”

He had stayed too late at the internet cafe last night. If Cheng Qiang hadn’t banged on his door like crazy to wake him up, he would have slept until noon. Remembering Cheng Qiang’s frantic actions earlier, Cheng Ze curled his lip in disdain.

“Force of habit,” Yu Ting replied, grabbing a nearby handle and smoothly sliding out from under the vehicle.

He straightened up, removed his gloves, and walked to the nearby sink to wash his hands. The grime that had seeped into the gloves washed away under the running water, leaving only his fair, slender hands exposed to the air.

Cheng Ze stood beside Yu Ting, watching his movements intently. It wasn’t until Yu Ting turned off the faucet that he realized he had been staring at Yu Ting washing his hands the whole time.

He instinctively looked up, only to see Yu Ting’s striking face looking back at him with a hint of confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Ting asked.

It really wasn’t his fault, Cheng Ze thought to himself. Everyone around here knew about the handsome face at the auto repair shop. If it weren’t for Brother Yu having a few screws loose, they’d probably have a crowd of admirers here every day.

Thinking of this, he tentatively asked, “Brother Yu, are you still going to the dump at noon?”

The dump—the first place Yu Ting had arrived at on Earth.

Everyone living around Zhengyang Street knew that the auto repair shop had hired a new employee, but he wasn’t quite right in the head, visiting the garbage dump every day.

Only Yu Ting himself knew he was searching for a box that had fallen with him. Only by finding it could he send a signal to his home planet and allow his teammates to locate him.

But from the moment he crashed into the garbage dump until now, he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the box. Returning to Darkwater Star seemed more distant than ever.

Yu Ting turned sideways, tilting his head to glance outside. The sky was a deep, unbroken blue, stretching from the red tiles of the auto repair shop’s roof all the way to the distant horizon, dotted with a few white clouds. The temperature wasn’t low.

Although the smell of the garbage dump was never pleasant to begin with, the midday stench was particularly overwhelming.

“I’ll go again this afternoon,” Yu Ting turned his head back.

No rebuttal, just straightforward affirmation.

He was going to wander around the garbage dump again.

Cheng Ze, who had just felt a twinge of envy, now looked at Yu Ting with rare pity. The other man’s tall figure and strikingly handsome face seemed diminished at this moment. Cheng Ze even asked kindly, “What do you want for lunch? I’ll go buy it.”

Cheng Qiang only spent a few hours in the shop each day, leaving the rest of the time to Yu Ting and the slacking-off Cheng Ze.

Neither of them knew how to cook, so they always bought their meals.

“Anything’s fine, but no fatty meat,” Yu Ting replied.

“OK,” Cheng Ze nodded, shuffling out in his slippers with a “clip-clop” sound.

The shop was left with only Yu Ting again.

There weren’t many customers in the morning—just two looking for spare parts. With nothing else to do, Yu Ting rearranged the shop’s clutter and checked the day’s online news until Cheng Ze returned with the food.

“Kung Pao chicken and fish-flavored shredded pork, ten yuan,” Cheng Ze placed the boxed meals in plastic bags on the table and took the paper money Yu Ting handed him.

The two sat facing each other across two tables.

The dishes in the boxed meals here were all stir-fried in large woks—greasy but fragrant. Cheng Ze took a few bites, his mouth glistening with oil, and looked at the man across from him, who ate neatly. “Brother Yu, have you really never thought about looking for your family?”

An orphan, with some mental issues too, but handsome and with a good presence.

Just like in the dragon-ascendant novels he’d been obsessed with lately, a character like this should totally have a background of being a lost young master from a wealthy family.

Yu Ting paused his chopsticks.

Of course not, because this was a backstory he’d made up.

“I’m fine on my own.”

He was an alien, and his future was full of uncertainties. It was impossible for him to even consider starting a family.

That would be unfair to humans.

Cheng Ze knew Yu Ting had some quirks, so he lowered his head to take another bite of rice and picked up his phone to scroll through short videos.

After the meal, Yu Ting started working on another car, with Cheng Ze assisting him.

Outside, the sky gradually shifted from an endless blue to overcast, punctuated by occasional rumbles of thunder.

Yu Ting glanced at the door upon hearing the sound—it was going to rain.

The longer he delayed, the smaller his chances of finding the box became.

He pursed his lips, saying nothing, but his movements quickened.

Cheng Ze looked at the three wrenches in Yu Ting’s hands and understood what he was planning. “Brother, you should go first. We can fix this car later—the customer doesn’t need it until tomorrow anyway. Otherwise, it’ll start raining soon.”

He didn’t say it out loud, but Yu Ting’s gaze toward the door held more affection than when he looked at anyone else.

This was truly a deep love for the garbage dump.

“It’s fine, I’m almost done,” Yu Ting swiftly completed the final steps and even double-checked everything.

Outside, thunder rumbled frequently, and raindrops pelted the road, turning it into a wet, hazy expanse as if veiled by a layer of gauze.

He washed his hands, then grabbed an umbrella and hurried out.

Cheng Ze was about to ask where to put the wrench in his hand, but when he looked up, the man had already disappeared into the distance.

The torrential rain obscured his view, hiding any trace of the figure.

–

The landfill was close to their workplace, just a ten-minute walk away.

Rainwater pooling on the gray pavement soaked the soles of his shoes. Yu Ting tightened his grip on the umbrella handle and paused. Before him, garbage bundled in plastic bags was piled into a small hill. The rain enveloped it like a monster, and the stench was less pungent than before.

It was the perfect time to search.

But before he could move, a deafening clap of thunder exploded.

Yu Ting couldn’t help but think that the day he fell had also been a rainy day. He stepped forward into the landfill.

This area was cleared every ten days, and it was already his seventh day on Earth. Finding what he needed within ten days would be ideal.

It wasn’t that he was obsessed with Darkwater Star—it was just that his team was still waiting for him there.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have minded staying on Earth.

In the increasingly heavy rain, the young man held a black umbrella, scanning his surroundings. The sight was pleasing to the eye, but in a landfill, it felt strangely out of place.

Nothing in this section.

Nothing in that section either.

…

Only one corner remained.

Yu Ting stopped and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the corner. Just then, amid the roaring rain, a faint, childish cry reached his ears.

It was the sound of a child weeping.

On a rainy day—was the child lost or abandoned?

At the thought of the latter possibility, Yu Ting’s brow furrowed. He quickened his pace and stepped forward, his view suddenly clearing. Beside three or four bags of garbage sat a little boy.

He looked about four or five years old, his fair face smudged with dirt as if he had rolled on the ground. Dressed in a black jumpsuit, his clothes were soaked and clung damply to his body. One small fist rubbed at his eyes.

Sensing a presence, the boy looked up, his tear-filled eyes meeting those of the man bending down to shelter him with an umbrella.