Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 14

“……”

That remark, which sounded like a complaint yet also carried a sharp edge, drifted through the air. Yu Ting focused intently on the small speaker that resembled a miniature television, waiting for the other party’s response.

Human, or perhaps some other extraterrestrial being.

Or maybe, someone like him?

After uttering those words, Little E fell silent once more. It was then that Yu Ting remembered—this speaker only responded when asked specific questions.

He pursed his lips and posed a question.

Inside the silver spacecraft, several men dressed in white uniforms made of special material stood in a row, heads bowed as they awaited orders from the person before them. Sweat dripped from their foreheads, the atmosphere quiet yet thick with tension.

The newcomer, who had never before seen the legendary young man rumored to be undefeated, glanced up curiously. He saw the youth casually fiddling with a black, cube-like object held in his slender fingers.

Before he could withdraw his gaze, it met an intensely dangerous stare that instantly sent shivers down his spine.

It was unmistakable. The gaze of someone who had truly witnessed the battlefield. Yet, in the next moment, the young man calmly shifted his attention away.

Nian Yi tightened his grip on the box in his hand, his eyes half-closed. A faint, pale smile tugged at his lips, and the wound on his abdomen seemed to throb in response, disrupting the nerves in his brain.

Before he could issue any orders, a voice emerged from the box—clear and cold, yet unlike before, now laced with unmistakable vigilance.

“Are you human, or some other creature?”

Human?

Another creature?

Nian Yi shifted his posture, resting his long arm on the metal backrest. He intended to respond but glanced at the group before him, his thin lips curling slightly. “You may leave.”

“What about your injury?”

The young man raised a hand, the white uniform stained red with seeping blood, and waved dismissively.

Without another word, everyone filed out.

Nian Yi moistened his dry, blood-deprived lips with his tongue, his fingers tapping lightly on the metal seat. Yet the words he spoke were far more resolute than his severely weakened physical state.

“What else could it be besides Little E?”

The frail voice, distorted by the electrical current, was also much lower than before, tinged with a hint of inquiry, as if directed at Yu Ting.

Yes, he had checked as well—there were no listening devices or voice-altering mechanisms inside.

All of this only proved that Little E was a smart speaker with a flawed initial setup.

“Then why didn’t you speak earlier?” Yu Ting murmured softly, a trace of unknowing complaint in his tone.

On the other end, the young man clutching the small box paused the movement of his hand.

Only a few minutes apart, and already acting as if he couldn’t bear the separation—even suspecting he might be dead.

How could he possibly die?

Not expecting Little E to answer him, Yu Ting glanced at Dengdeng, who was watching television. The child sat on a stool, eyes fixed intently on the glowing screen, as if the cartoon had reached an exciting part.

Leaning against the wall, Yu Ting looked up, trying to understand what kind of cartoons children Dengdeng’s age enjoyed.

After watching for two minutes, he roughly grasped that it was a cartoon about two bears protecting the environment. But compared to the bears, he was more fascinated by the forest itself.

He had been abandoned in the slums of Darkwater Star, where only towering, dilapidated skyscrapers and steel forests blocked out the sky. There wasn’t a single tree—just a pale, suffocating landscape.

“Dad?” Yu Dengdeng had known Yu Ting was there for a while, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the TV. Only when the ending song started did he finally turn to look at the young man leaning against the wall.

“Hmm?” Yu Ting straightened up. “Take care of your eyes. Don’t watch for too long.”

“Have you seen this cartoon before? The one with these two bears?” Seeing that Yu Ting had been watching just like him, Dengdeng was a bit surprised.

But Earth’s cartoons were surprisingly good—unlike the ones on their planet, which were all about octopuses either fighting or fighting some more. He’d get tired of watching them in just one morning. They weren’t as good as these two bears.

Yu Ting shook his head. “Little E is fixed. Want to go take a look?”

Dengdeng: !

Although he really liked cartoons, he felt that compared to Little E, Little E was more important.

He really, really liked it.

Seeing how eager the little one was, Yu Ting couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion. Worried he might trip, he followed closely behind.

Dengdeng leaned against the table, standing on tiptoe. “Little E?”

Little E: Silence.jpg

After calling a few more times and still hearing no response from Little E, Yu Dengdeng immediately turned to Yu Ting. “Dad, Little E died again!”

Yu Ting sighed, choosing his words carefully. “Instead of saying ‘died,’ maybe you could use a different phrase. Like…?”

“Gave up on life?”

“…” Often stunned by Dengdeng’s way of thinking, Yu Ting paused for a moment before patiently suggesting, “How about ‘fell asleep’?”

“Oh, so Little E fell asleep!”

Though it still sounded a bit odd, Yu Ting couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He glanced at Little E.

No way, it was working just a moment ago.

“Little E?”

Having watched Yu Ge busy himself with this broken speaker all morning, Cheng Ze sat up from his recliner. “Why not just buy a new one? There’s definitely a phone shop nearby that sells them.”

Yu Dengdeng quickly shook his head. “No, you don’t get it. There’s only one Little E.”

His dad had said that smart products with factory setting errors were rare, and Little E was one of them—the most special one. He thought, because the ones who owned it were an octopus and a human.

Who else had such a unique experience?

Under the child’s reproachful gaze, Cheng Ze shrugged and looked at Yu Ting. “What do you think, Ge?”

“Let me check again. It was working fine just now.” Yu Ting lowered his head to examine the speaker in front of him and called its name once more.

Alright.

Cheng Ze nearly forgot—his Yu Ge was a total dad who doted on his kid!

At the same time, a deep male voice sounded, inexplicably tinged with gritted teeth.

“What do you want?”

Cheng Ze glanced at the speaker now cradled in Dengdeng’s arms. This thing seemed to have a mind of its own. Maybe it needed a heartfelt confession or two before it would respond.

His phone vibrated twice again. He looked down, a smile curling at the corners of his lips.

What Little E? Nothing beats the sweetness of love.

“He’s really awake now.” Seeing that Little E wasn’t broken, Yu Dengdeng felt relieved and waved his hand with casual indifference. “I’m going back to watch TV now!”

He didn’t know how long the commercial break would last—he had to hurry back.

Huh?

Before Yu Ting could say anything, the child had already dashed back into the office, leaving him and the “newly awakened” Little E staring at each other. He felt both helpless and amused.

……

In the evening, Uncle Liu walked into the auto repair shop again. In the cement-floored hall, only the tall young man stood by the sink, washing his hands.

Hearing his voice, Yu Ting turned around. “Uncle Liu?”

“Xiao Yu, long time no see.” Uncle Liu strolled in leisurely, waving the palm-leaf fan in his hand. “Why haven’t you been coming to my breakfast cart these past few days?” Yu Ting used to line up early every morning at his breakfast cart, but it had been several days since he last showed up.

“Without you, it feels like I’ve lost quite a few customers.”

Yu Ting turned off the faucet and shook the water droplets from his fingers. “I’ve been busy these past few days.”

In truth, his routine hadn’t changed much from before. It was just that since Dengdeng arrived, his sleep had improved significantly, averaging an extra half-hour each night.

Moreover, after the supermarket incident, Yu Ting rarely left Dengdeng alone at home, leaving him even less time to go out by himself.

“I see.” The old man had only asked casually. He chuckled as he glanced around the room but didn’t see anyone else. “Hey, where’s Dengdeng?”

“Cheng Ze took him out,” Yu Ting replied.

The little one seemed to rarely watch TV, which was both surprising and concerning—he had sat in front of the television for two hours straight, not even taking a break during commercials.

If Cheng Ze hadn’t offered to take him out to buy a ball to play with, he would probably still be glued to the screen.

Yu Ting even regretted turning on the TV for the child that afternoon. From now on, he would have to limit his screen time.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the speaker sitting quietly on the table before shifting his gaze away.

“I see.” Seeing no one else around, Uncle Liu lowered his voice. “I heard about what happened with Li Jinhua the other day.”

Yu Ting: “…”

“That’s just how she is—hasn’t changed in decades. Right or wrong, everything gets twisted in her mouth.” Uncle Liu sighed. It wasn’t just Li Jinhua; even he had once believed the young man before him had mental issues.

Even now, he couldn’t come to any definitive conclusion about him.

Some things, once spread around, become accepted as truth. Whether you believe them or not, there’s little you can do about it.

“Dengdeng is a good kid.” In his view, it was completely understandable for a child to get angry when their father was slandered. The old man clicked his tongue. “Has he not started school yet?”

Yu Ting, who had been listening absentmindedly, suddenly perked up. “School?”

“School?!!” Holding the newly bought ball, Yu Dengdeng froze in the doorway as soon as he heard those words.

Wait, he was an octopus—did he have to go to school on Earth too?

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