Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 19

When Cheng Ze went downstairs, he found the place completely empty. He froze for a few seconds, then hopped back up a couple of steps before descending again.

No one. Truly no one. He glanced at his watch—already nine in the morning, yet there wasn’t a single person in the shop.

Could Yu Ge still be sleeping? Cheng Ze instinctively looked toward Yu Ting’s room.

Ever since Cheng Ze had started working at the auto repair shop, Yu Ting had almost always been up by seven or eight in the morning. After Dengdeng arrived, Yu Ting sometimes slept a bit later, but he still got up earlier than Cheng Ze every day.

To think that Cheng Ze would one day be the earliest riser in the shop—not even he would believe it, let alone the boss.

Fortunately, Cheng Qiang wasn’t around. If he found out the shop hadn’t opened by nine in the morning, he’d probably go crazy and start yelling at Cheng Ze again. At that thought, Cheng Ze pursed his lips but didn’t go upstairs to wake Yu Ting.

First, he rolled up the shutter door, then returned to the table by the entrance, propped up his legs, and played on his phone for a while. After some time, he felt hungry and went out to buy a few steamed buns for a couple of yuan.

When he left, he left the door wide open. After all, the people around here had always kept their distance from Yu Ge. Unless they really needed something fixed, they never came by, so he wasn’t worried.

After eating a few buns, he tied up the leftovers and sat down to continue his online romance, all while collecting his monthly salary of around three thousand yuan.

Another half hour passed before there was any commotion upstairs—a series of clattering sounds, followed by the lively patter of footsteps coming down the stairs. It was the kind of energy that hadn’t yet been worn down by life.

Just as he sent the message “You’re the best, babe,” Cheng Ze looked up and saw Dengdeng standing on the stairs, clutching his ever-present small TV. The boy had been about to step down but pulled his foot back the moment he saw Cheng Ze.

Had he done something to upset this little treasure recently? Just yesterday, they’d all been happily eating barbecue together.

“Dengdeng, why aren’t you coming down? Where’s Yu Ge?”

Yu Dengdeng hugged Little E, watching Cheng Ze, who was sitting by the door playing on his phone. Judging by the smile on the young man’s face, Dengdeng knew he was still in his courtship phase.

He knew last night had been a dream, but just the thought of Cheng Ze sitting by the door eating octopus in that dream made him inexplicably angry.

And now, here was Cheng Ze, sitting right by the door—all that was missing was an octopus in his hand!

Yu Dengdeng walked down, placed Little E on the table to start it up, and then stood about two meters away from Cheng Ze.

“?” Cheng Ze looked at the unusually strange Dengdeng. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you want to eat octopus today? Right now?” Yu Dengdeng felt conflicted. He thought he should give Cheng Ze a chance to explain himself seriously.

He hadn’t realized it was just a dream. He thought that if Cheng Ze said yes, he’d keep his distance until Cheng Ze stopped eating octopus.

“Huh? Eat octopus? Why would I suddenly want to eat octopus in the morning?” Even if he were to eat octopus, it would be during a barbecue at night—especially grilled baby octopus, hehe.

“So, you want to eat octopus at night?”

Hearing the child ask another question about octopus, even with his simple mind and years of dropping out of school, Cheng Ze understood that this was definitely one of those “trap questions” and couldn’t be answered carelessly.

He rolled his eyes, his mind racing. When he caught sight of the person descending the stairs, he suddenly remembered the child’s heartfelt confession about octopus during last night’s barbecue.

So that’s what he was waiting for.

Yu Dengdeng watched as Cheng Ze put down his crossed leg, then replied with exaggerated surprise, “How could I eat octopus? Octopus is your friend, I know that much, Brother Cheng Ze.”

Yu Dengdeng hesitated, glancing at Cheng Ze. Though the other’s expression seemed oddly exaggerated and artificial, he slowly nodded and emphasized, “Not just my friend—I am an octopus too.”

After sleeping on it, he had made up his mind. There was no need to hide his identity from Yu Ting and Cheng Ze.

In his view, telling Yu Ting about his identity early would help him adjust sooner. That way, when the octopus soldiers came to pick him up, Yu Ting wouldn’t be scared, and Cheng Ze wouldn’t be sitting at the door eating octopus, damn it.

Thinking this, Yu Dengdeng gave himself a mental thumbs-up.

The boy looked up, his chin slightly raised, not in a haughty manner but with a kitten-like pride. His voice, still soft from just waking up, was clear and earnest, carrying a hint of adorable seriousness.

Cheng Ze was stunned by the child’s “octopus person” conclusion first thing in the morning but still managed to nod along, inwardly exclaiming, Holy crap, has Dengdeng been influenced by Brother Yu?

Brother Yu never insisted he was an octopus or a dinosaur. Is this kid already going through his chuunibyou phase?

“If you’re an octopus, then what are we?” Cheng Ze tentatively pointed at himself, only to be met with the child’s puzzled and slightly condescending look, as if he were questioning someone’s sanity.

“You’re a human. Don’t you even know that?” Dengdeng glanced at Cheng Ze but then remembered the other didn’t even know what mating season was, so he let it go.

This kind of thing probably exists among humans too.

Cheng Ze wanted to die. He rubbed his face up and down with his hands—he shouldn’t have asked such a dumb question.

A soft chuckle suddenly broke the silence, like the tail of a shooting star. Yu Dengdeng and Cheng Ze turned to look at the young man who had appeared.

“Dad!”

“Brother Yu.”

Facing the two pairs of bright, expectant eyes, Yu Ting paused, then greeted them, “Good morning.”

“My memory is terrible. I almost forgot the breakfast I bought.” Cheng Ze sat down and pulled a transparent bag from beside the counter, containing steamed buns and soy milk. He handed it to Dengdeng, saying, “Here, little octopus, eat your breakfast first.”

Yu Dengdeng, though pouting, took the breakfast. On Octopus Planet, they always called him “Prince”—no one would ever just call him by his species. He didn’t refer to Yu Ting and Cheng Ze as “humans” either.

Wait, he thought for a moment, mentally exempting Yu Ting.

Yu Ting was special, existing above both humans and octopuses.

“I’ll transfer the money to you,” Yu Ting said, taking out his phone.

“No need, no need. You paid for last night’s barbecue, Brother Yu. A few steamed buns aren’t worth much,” Cheng Ze waved his hand dismissively. Though young and often criticized by Cheng Qiang for not understanding manners, he still knew the basics of give-and-take. “But Brother Yu, why did you wake up so late today?”

Yu Ting only realized it was already nine o’clock after waking up. He put away his phone and rubbed his fingers together. “I’ve never had that kind of alcohol before. Drinking it for the first time made me a bit dizzy.”

What?

Cheng Ze blinked in disbelief. If he remembered correctly, Brother Yu had only had two or three glasses last night—was he already drunk?

“Bro, your alcohol tolerance is way too low. You gotta practice. You didn’t even blush last night, so I thought you were fine. Tolerance builds up with practice,” Cheng Ze declared confidently. “Like me, I used to max out at two or three bottles, but now I can down a whole case without a problem.”

Yu Ting shook his head. “Alcohol doesn’t really suit me.” He glanced at the “little octopus” who was currently focused on nibbling a steamed bun. If he passed out drunk again, Dengdeng would probably think he was dying.

And then there was that thing.

Yu Ting looked at Little E, which Dengdeng had taken down and placed quietly on the table. The melancholic dance tune from an hour ago still echoed in his mind like a hammer pounding against a wall—just thinking about it made his head throb instinctively.

Better just forget it.

The feeling after getting drunk really wasn’t pleasant either. Yu Ting frowned as he recalled his state from last night. Had he made Little E read parenting guidelines for two hours straight?

Although he knew he’d given that command, he couldn’t remember a single thing about what Little E had read.

He glanced guiltily at Little E, relieved that it was just a smart speaker. He breathed an inexplicable sigh of relief.

Thinking about how Little E had been left behind today because they went out for barbecue, he had no doubt that if it heard about this, it would probably get so angry it’d format itself.

“Daddy, what are you smiling at?” Yu Dengdeng asked curiously, holding up his greasy hands after finishing a bun and noticing the lingering smile on Yu Ting’s face.

Yu Ting rarely smiled, Dengdeng thought. Most of the time, it was when he looked at him—a warm, affectionate smile, like the one he’d seen in videos of big octopuses looking at little ones. This smile felt different, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

“Nothing,” Yu Ting replied, pursing his lips. He pulled two tissues from the table and wiped Dengdeng’s hands. “Once you’re done eating, go play with Little E for a bit. I need to get to work.”

The young man’s hands, holding the tissues, gently wiped Dengdeng’s face. Dengdeng quickly asked, “Can I watch TV?”

Yu Ting paused and looked at the child, who was gazing at him expectantly. “What about Little E?”

Oh right, there was Little E.

But that didn’t stump Dengdeng. He quickly made a plan. “I’ll watch TV, and Little E can stay with you. You two can get along nicely, okay?” He called out to Little E and explained his idea.

Yu Ting watched helplessly and amusedly as the child ran to the office to turn on the TV. He suddenly felt like a left-behind father. But his son had left him with a sarcastic smart device—honestly, he might as well not have.

“Is there a sleep mode?” he asked.

“Last night when you were drunk, I didn’t put you in sleep mode, did I?” Little E retorted without missing a beat.

Yu Ting glanced down briefly before shifting his gaze away. “Then do whatever you want.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, upbeat music started playing again. “Can’t Afford to Be Hurt”—Yu Ting felt that even if his memory were worse, he’d never forget this tune, let alone with his photographic memory.

Cheng Ze, who was chatting online, jumped at the sudden sound from the speaker, nearly dropping his phone.

He glanced at Yu Ting, who was quietly putting on black gloves. Did Brother Yu actually like this kind of slightly tacky song? Listening to it first thing in the morning—wasn’t that a bit too energetic?

“Brother Yu, can you tell that little what’s-its-name to keep it down a bit?”

“Little E?” Yu Ting nodded, putting on his gloves and interlacing his fingers with an elegant yet powerful motion. “Lower the volume.”

“You said I could do whatever I wanted.”

Yu Ting suddenly regretted his earlier words. “Think of something else to do.”

“Chat.”

“I still have work to do.”

The energetic music started up again, even louder than before. Yu Ting felt his headache returning.

Rubbing his temples, the former admiral of Darkwater Star found himself effectively held hostage by an AI with just one song. “Stop. Fine, let’s chat.”

“OK.”

Cheng Ze watched the exchange between the smart speaker and Brother Yu, utterly dumbfounded. How was this AI so different from the one on his phone? It seemed almost sentient?

What he didn’t say out loud was: Why did Yu Ting look like he was already used to this?!

Support