Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 18

Yu Dengdeng had spent the night dreaming about octopuses. When he woke up, he found himself clinging to Yu Ting in a twisted posture. The other man was sleeping peacefully, hands crossed in front of him, only his brows slightly furrowed. Even with his arm being hugged, he hadn’t woken up.

After sitting up, Yu Dengdeng glanced down again. The young man’s eyes were still closed, his steady, gentle breathing proof that he was still asleep.

The room, having had the air conditioner on all night, was now at a perfectly comfortable temperature—neither too cold nor too warm under the thin blanket. However, due to his sleeping position, a few strands of his slightly curly hair were stuck to his cheeks.

He roughly brushed those strands away with his hand and couldn’t help but reflect that back on the octopus planet, he was more accustomed to using his tentacles. Who would have thought he’d now handle things so effortlessly with his hands?

But thinking of this, Yu Dengdeng suddenly recalled last night’s events—both the barbecue they’d eaten, which he now ranked among humanity’s most delicious foods, and the drowsy words he’d mumbled to Yu Ting after waking up startled from a nightmare in the middle of the night.

“I’m an octopus, a three- or four-meter-long octopus, you know~”

“Three~ four~ meters~”

He subconsciously pursed his lips, his eyes and brows tinged with embarrassment, utterly unwilling to admit that the childlike person from last night was himself.

Goodness, what was he doing back then? Was he acting cute with Dad? Could he have been dizzy and confused?

He never spoke like that normally. Replaying the memory of his wavy, sing-song voice from last night, Yu Dengdeng wished he could flee to another planet right now.

He looked at the still-sleeping young man. But really, what was the big deal?

Yu Ting was his dad, after all! What was wrong with acting a little spoiled? Besides, he’d been genuinely frightened by that nightmare. Even now, fully awake, Yu Dengdeng still found the dream terrifying.

How could Yu Ting possibly dislike him just because he was an octopus?

A child’s mind is simple, and emotions like love and hate are straightforward. Just thinking this way, Yu Dengdeng’s embarrassment over the incident completely vanished.

This was something he’d never learned before coming to Earth, yet since arriving, he’d repeatedly reverted to his true nature, even repeatedly reminding himself in his heart that he was still a six-year-old child.

Yes, still Yu Ting’s precious little one.

Yu Dengdeng smiled shyly. Seeing that Yu Ting still hadn’t woken up, he finally realized what had felt odd since he awoke.

The person who was always the earliest to rise hadn’t even stirred yet.

Could he be sick? Remembering how he’d nearly passed out the last time he was ill, Yu Dengdeng quickly propped himself up on either side of Yu Ting, leaning his body over and gently resting his forehead against Yu Ting’s. He blinked, staring at the still-unconscious man.

Feeling that Yu Ting’s body temperature was even slightly lower than his own, Yu Dengdeng sat back up, anxiously tugging at his hair. Then why hadn’t he woken up yet?

Yu Dengdeng glanced around the room, his gaze eventually settling on the table. “Little E, are you awake?”

“What’s up?” The deep, magnetic male voice sounded—the smart speaker was working diligently as usual.

“Did Dad chat with you last night?”

“Yes.” Little E’s voice paused for a few seconds, carrying a tired, sleepy tone. “Your dad made me recite parenting guidelines for an hour.”

For a full hour, it was all about human parenting guidelines.

He had been making them up for as long as he had been reciting them.

“Ah, really?” Yu Dengdeng exclaimed in surprise, not expecting so much to have happened after he fell asleep. He was even more moved to learn that Yu Ting had been catching up on knowledge about him late into the night.

Little E: “Heh.”

“You shouldn’t laugh like that, Little E,” Yu Dengdeng corrected. “It sounds…”

“Sounds like what? Disgusting?” Someone clearly recalled Yu Ting’s comment about him from the previous night.

“How could I say that about you? It just doesn’t sound like something a good person would do,” Yu Dengdeng patiently corrected one of his few friends.

Little E: “…”

“Let’s not talk about that. Do you know why my dad hasn’t woken up yet?” Yu Dengdeng glanced back at the still-sleeping young man and tilted his head in confusion.

“He…”

“Why aren’t you saying anything again?” Yu Dengdeng asked.

The voice from the speaker cleared its throat softly. “Pick me up and place me on your dad’s chest, right where it goes thump-thump.”

“Huh?” Yu Dengdeng was taken aback. “Will that show us why?”

He scrutinized the smart speaker in front of him, his grape-like eyes meeting the device’s speaker.

And what did “thump-thump” mean? Of course, he knew what a heart was. Octopuses like him had two more hearts than humans.

Little E gave a cool “Mm” but said nothing more.

Though puzzled, Yu Dengdeng picked up Little E. “Should I place the speaker side against his chest?”

After hearing Little E’s confirmation, he gently followed the instructions and placed it there.

Thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump-thump.

One steady heartbeat after another now found its sole and attentive listener on another planet.

Yu Dengdeng knelt anxiously beside Yu Ting, waiting for Little E’s diagnosis. Several minutes passed, but there was still no response.

“Little E, did you malfunction again?” Yu Dengdeng anxiously lifted the silent smart device. “Weren’t you just repaired? Say something! Is Dad okay or not?! Never mind, I’ll check if Brother Cheng Ze is around.”

Even though Cheng Ze had almost eaten him in the dream, there was no time to worry about that now.

Yu Dengdeng was about to jump off the bed immediately.

“Wait,” Little E said.

“You’re alive again?” Yu Dengdeng held up the speaker and examined it. “Do you know or not? If not, I’ll find someone else.”

“Don’t rush. First, turn up my volume.”

Yu Dengdeng did as instructed. “And then?”

And then.

A loud sound erupted in the room, where only the air conditioner and Yu Ting’s steady heartbeat had been operating. A sorrowful melody accompanied by upbeat music exploded in Yu Dengdeng’s ears.

This sounded familiar—wasn’t it “Can’t Bear the Hurt” that Little E had played before?

But what was the point of this?

Just as Yu Dengdeng began to think he shouldn’t have trusted Little E, he half-covered his ears and reached to turn off the power. But then he saw Yu Ting frown and slowly open his eyes. He tossed Little E aside and immediately hugged him. “Dad, you’re finally awake!”

Yu Ting instinctively rubbed his throbbing head and, with his other hand, habitually patted the child’s back. Memories flooded his mind, accompanied by an all-too-familiar tune.

The plain white ceiling, the child beside him staring with worried eyes, and the music still playing relentlessly as if oblivious to human suffering. All of it told Yu Ting that something he didn’t know about must have happened while he was asleep.

But before he could ask for details, there was one important matter to attend to first.

“Xiao E, turn off the music,” Yu Ting said helplessly.

The melancholic, overwhelming music came to an end, followed by a firm statement: “You’re awake.”

“Dad, you’re really awake! I didn’t think Xiao E’s method would actually work.” Yu Dengdeng stared at the awakened young man with red-rimmed eyes, eagerly seeking Yu Ting’s gaze as if he couldn’t believe his father had come back to life.

“I’m sorry for making you and Xiao E worry,” Yu Ting said, sitting up and ruffling the child’s hair. Only then did the relieved Yu Dengdeng loosen the tight grip around his waist.

“I must have had too much to drink last night,” the young man said, a flicker of regret crossing his face. He hadn’t expected his alcohol tolerance to be this low.

Dengdeng must have panicked when he saw him not waking up in the morning. Yu Ting could even imagine the child suspecting he had died.

“Hmph.” A short, mocking laugh sounded.

Both Yu Ting and Yu Dengdeng looked at Xiao E, who had been abandoned in the panic and now lay pitifully on the summer quilt.

Yu Dengdeng quickly sat up, picked up Xiao E, and held it in front of Yu Ting. “It was Xiao E who came up with the idea just now! Otherwise, I would have been worried to death. Xiao E is amazing!”

Even though sometimes Xiao E’s words made him feel like he wasn’t talking to a normal person, and even though Xiao E wasn’t human, at that moment, Yu Dengdeng felt like worshipping this smart speaker.

“Dad, you should praise Xiao E too.”

The young man looked down at the small music-playing device in the child’s hands. Yu Dengdeng’s earnest gaze shifted between the man and the machine.

Though the scene seemed somewhat absurd, the child’s sincere expression dissolved any sense of ridiculousness in the air.

“No need to thank me. Just call me next time you get drunk at a barbecue.”

Even so, Yu Ting found the voice somewhat strange. Why did it feel like it was still blaming him for the rejection he’d heard yesterday afternoon?

“Oh, no need to take me along. I don’t have hearing or a sense of smell.”

Yu Ting’s eyebrows subconsciously twitched as he watched his son nodding in agreement while listening to Xiao E.

It was a bit absurd. Had artificial intelligence really become this human-like nowadays, or was the AI in front of him some kind of mutated product?

“Dad, maybe we should take Xiao E with us when we go out from now on. It sounds so pitiful,” Yu Dengdeng said, blinking his eyes.

Xiao E: “…”

Yu Ting glanced at the wire connected to the speaker. The moment it was unplugged, the smart speaker would instantly lose all signals and enter a period of dormancy.

And the duration of that dormancy depended entirely on its user.

This was the relationship between smart tools and humans.

The thought made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable. Yu Ting nodded. “Alright.”

Immediately, Dengdeng stood on the bed, holding the now calm and no longer noisy Xiao E, spinning around as if Yu Ting had just granted a royal pardon.

Had he really been that harsh toward Xiao E before? Yu Ting couldn’t help but wonder.

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