Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 4

After just an hour or two of playing, Dengdeng was already so tired that he kept yawning repeatedly.

Yu Ting had intended to send him upstairs to sleep, but the child didn’t say anything—though his expression clearly showed he didn’t want to leave Yu Ting’s side. So, Yu Ting had no choice but to let Dengdeng wait for him there for half an hour.

But by the time Yu Ting finished his work and was ready to accompany him upstairs for a nap, he found Dengdeng already fast asleep, sprawled across the seat of the tricycle.

Yu Ting felt both helpless and amused. He washed his hands, shaking off the droplets of water.

The water from the faucet was always cold, and as it splashed onto his warm arm, the chill refreshed him and made him feel more awake.

“Brother Yu, what are we having for dinner?” Cheng Ze had been scrolling on his phone all afternoon since the boss wasn’t around. When he finally looked up, he realized it was already getting dark.

He stretched lazily and noticed Yu Ting standing beside the tricycle, arms hanging loosely at his sides as if waiting for something.

As he got closer, he saw Dengdeng asleep on the seat.

“When did he fall asleep? How long is he going to sleep like this?” Cheng Ze pointed at the child, whose cheek was pressed against the seat, and lowered his voice. “Want me to bring you something to eat later? Instant noodles or a boxed meal?”

The upstairs of the auto repair shop had living quarters, but there were no cooking facilities, so meals couldn’t be prepared there.

In the week since Yu Ting had arrived, he’d been eating boxed meals from nearby for lunch almost every day.

Feeling the warmth return to his fingers, Yu Ting gently clenched his hand, leaned over the seat, and carefully picked up the still-sleeping child, cradling him in his arms. He turned around and said, “I’m not hungry yet.”

He glanced down at the child in his arms. Sensing the change in position, Dengdeng snuggled closer, turning toward Yu Ting’s chest. “We’ll decide after he wakes up.”

“Alright, I’ll go grab dinner first then.” Cheng Ze took a few steps toward the door but then turned back to look at the young man under the light.

Yu Ting was tall, and the overhead light cast a shadow over him, complementing his somewhat aloof expression.

At that moment, Yu Ting’s calm gaze fell on Cheng Ze, inexplicably making him feel a sense of pressure—as if he weren’t in an auto repair shop but had become a soldier being inspected.

Noticing Cheng Ze’s lingering gaze but lack of words, Yu Ting realized something. His expression softened slightly, and he eased the habitual intensity he carried. “What’s wrong?”

Nothing had really changed, but somehow Brother Yu seemed much more approachable now. Cheng Ze finally snapped out of it, scratching his head sheepishly. “Brother Yu, if there’s anything you need help with, just let me know. I’m free anyway.”

Since starting work here, Cheng Ze had noticed that Yu Ting was almost always the only one busy in the shop every day, while Cheng Qiang just wandered in for a bit before leaving.

As for Cheng Ze himself, who had just arrived, it was safe to say that Yu Ting was the only one actually doing any work in the shop now.

And now there was Dengdeng too.

Though Cheng Ze didn’t consider himself a particularly good person, he was still willing to help if Yu Ting needed it and if it was something he could actually do.

Yu Ting looked at the young man—or rather, the teenager who had just reached adulthood—standing by the door and gave a slight smile. “Alright.”

Having said something so responsible for once, Cheng Ze felt oddly embarrassed. He quickly added, “Okay, I’m off to have fun then.”

With that, he disappeared outside.

The empty first floor was now left with only Yu Ting standing where he was and Dengdeng, still sound asleep.

Every night before, it had been just him and the equally cold machinery, making him feel as though there wasn’t much difference between Earth and Darkwater Star—both were equally lonely and quiet.

But today, feeling the weight on his arm, Yu Ting suddenly sensed a difference—like a rootless tree finally finding soil, a sense of stability settling into the earth.

Before, because it was too quiet and boring, he would often work alone until one or two in the morning.

It was already ten o’clock now, and tomorrow he had to take Dengdeng to the hospital and buy clothes.

He decided to call it a day for now.

…

In the deep, tranquil blue ocean, a small dark octopus swam leisurely inside. As the prince of the Octopus Planet, he believed he could idle away his days doing nothing.

Seeing a strand of seaweed appear before him, Yu Dengdeng lazily extended one of his tentacles without even needing to move. But unlike what he imagined, his tentacle did not curl around the seaweed.

A sudden unease washed over him. Dengdeng looked down and discovered, to his shock, that he no longer had tentacles—instead, there was human flesh and blood!

He abruptly opened his eyes, meeting a pair of indifferent yet concerned eyes. His own hand was still clutching the other person’s arm.

Not a trace of princely dignity remained. Dengdeng, who had demanded to be held all day yesterday, couldn’t help but think.

“Awake?” Yu Ting glanced at the child clinging to his arm, whose dark, bright eyes were fixed on him. “Did you have a nightmare?”

After washing up and returning, he had heard the child struggling slightly in bed. Just as he approached to check if there was a fever, the moment he reached out, he was grabbed.

The curtains didn’t block the light very well, and a few strands of sunlight filtered through, as if reminding them that it was no longer early.

Dengdeng blinked his eyes, staring at Yu Ting for a few more moments. The sound of car horns outside pulled him fully from his dream, and his gaze finally settled on the face of the human he had chosen.

He had forgotten—he couldn’t return to his own planet anymore.

This was Earth.

Noticing the child seemed somewhat listless, Yu Ting pressed two fingers together and gently touched the skin near Dengdeng’s neck, close to his earlobe. Whether it was from just waking up or a slight fever, it did feel a bit warm.

Watching Yu Ting’s movement, Dengdeng tilted his head, leaning into the touch of the fingers. The messy strands of hair from his restless sleep slid onto Yu Ting’s pale hand, like a friendly little cat nuzzling close.

Not understanding what the human was doing, Dengdeng looked at Yu Ting with a puzzled expression.

“Do you feel unwell anywhere?” Yu Ting asked.

I’m just an octopus—how could there be anything wrong with my body?

I’m the healthiest creature there is!

But thinking of the dream he had before waking up, a faint, indescribable ache welled up in Dengdeng’s heart.

Although he was a little octopus—and a prince of the Octopus Planet at that—he wasn’t one anymore.

Dengdeng stretched his hand, feeling the sensation of his limbs moving together.

Right, he wasn’t an octopus anymore. He was human now!

Seeing Dengdeng remain silent, Yu Ting didn’t press further.

Last night before bed, aside from browsing his usual forums as always to see if there were any new aliens, he spent the remaining hour searching for posts on how to interact with young children.

After an hour of learning, he felt he had made some progress compared to his former self.

He paused, then reached out to brush aside Dengdeng’s bangs, slowly lowering his head.

Now, their foreheads pressed gently together.

Yu Dengdeng stared in shock at the scene before him. He had just been feeling a little moody, so why had Yu Ting suddenly pressed his forehead against his own!

He instinctively held his breath, not yet able to say a word, when the warm sensation quickly withdrew.

Yu Ting smoothed the child’s hair. The temperature of the forehead was easier to gauge—there was likely a low-grade fever, probably due to yesterday’s rain.

Seeing Yu Dengdeng still frozen, staring blankly at him, Yu Ting explained, “You’re sick. You probably have a slight fever.”

Sick?

Yu Dengdeng blinked. No wonder he had nightmares while sleeping and woke up feeling tired. So, it was because he was sick?

What should he do? He had never been sick before.

“Get up first. I’ll take you to the nearby community clinic,” Yu Ting said, standing up and retrieving the neatly folded clothes from the nearby stool.

Summer rain came and went quickly. Although it had rained yesterday afternoon, a cool breeze had already blown in by evening.

Yu Ting had hand-washed the clothes Yu Dengdeng was wearing when he found him and hung them on the balcony to dry. They were completely dry after just one night.

Now understanding that he was sick and realizing that Yu Ting had been checking his temperature earlier—though he still didn’t quite grasp how touching his forehead could tell him he was sick—Yu Dengdeng, as an alien, knew that Earthlings had their own knowledge. And as an alien, he should humbly learn.

So, he obediently put on his clothes and naturally stretched out his arms for Yu Ting to pick him up.

At the sight of the child instinctively reaching out, Yu Ting recalled the post he had saved last night.

It mentioned that at a certain point, adults should maintain some distance from children to encourage greater independence.

But…

Dengdeng was sick.

And he was still young.

After a moment’s thought, Yu Ting bent down and picked up Yu Dengdeng.

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