Pretending to Be Human, I Fell in Love with an AI - Chapter 9

They had come out early, with the sky just beginning to darken, and the northern entrance of Zhengyang Street was just starting to bustle.

Yu Dengdeng held the smart speaker in his hands, unable to put it down, examining the characters he couldn’t understand before looking up at Yu Ting, who seemed to be searching for something. “Will it really talk?”

Their planet also had robots, and there were even more robots than octopuses.

If it weren’t for the fact that octopuses were too large to ignore, their planet could almost be called a planet of robots.

“We’ll see when we get home,” Yu Ting replied, finally stopping when he spotted what he was looking for.

Yu Dengdeng followed his gaze and saw a row of streetlights illuminating vendors selling clothes, mostly children’s clothing. He hugged the box in his hands tightly.

Was this to buy clothes for him?

He pursed his lips, glanced up at Yu Ting, then curiously looked at the clothes hanging on the racks.

Yu Ting walked over, his eyes falling on the clothes bathed in the warm, dim glow of the streetlights. Even the white short-sleeved shirts seemed to take on a cozy hue.

He had no particular preferences or opinions about clothes, especially after entering the military academy, where he alternated between uniforms and military attire year-round. His casual clothes were simple too.

The black short-sleeved shirt and shorts he was wearing now had been bought casually at the night market here on the day he arrived.

“Do you see any clothes you like?” Yu Ting set Yu Dengdeng down and gestured for him to take a look.

Yu Dengdeng looked at Yu Ting in surprise, and when Yu Ting nodded in confirmation, he hugged the box and began circling the clothes. His black jumpsuit stood out prominently among the white short-sleeved shirts.

Yu Ting casually flipped through the shirts while keeping an eye on Yu Dengdeng’s movements.

“I want this one!” Spotting the pattern on a shirt in front of him, Yu Dengdeng stopped and looked at Yu Ting, who was bending down with his eyes lowered.

Yu Ting’s serious and reserved expression was unusually solemn, as if he were handling something of great importance.

But Yu Dengdeng didn’t think so. As someone “close” to Yu Ting—though not yet acknowledged as such by Yu Ting—he knew very well that Yu Ting wore the same expression when looking at the cars in the auto repair shop!

Yu Ting glanced at the shirt in his hands, which was printed with two little bears, then set it down and walked over to Yu Dengdeng, looking at the shirt he was holding.

It wasn’t much different from the ones he had been looking at, except for the pattern. Yu Dengdeng had chosen one with a little octopus lying in the middle of the shirt.

“You want this one?” Yu Ting asked.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“It should definitely fit.”

Seeing that the father and son had found a shirt they liked, the vendor, who had been watching them for a while, quickly walked over. He enthusiastically took the shirt off the rack and handed it to Yu Ting. “Check the height. If it’s about right, it should fit.”

Yu Ting gave a quiet “Mm” and took the shirt, looking at the child who was listening intently to their conversation. The boy’s dark eyes sparkled under the streetlights, like two stars adorning his face.

He walked over and crouched down. “Stretch out your arms.”

Yu Dengdeng obediently stretched out his arms, watching as Yu Ting held the sleeves of the shirt close to him, comparing the size.

“Look up.”

Seeing the child’s movements, a faint, pleased smile tugged at the corners of Yu Ting’s mouth. The size was just right. He stood up, picked up the shirt he had been looking at earlier, and checked its size as well.

Yu Dengdeng tilted his head, watching Yu Ting’s actions.

“I’ll take these two.” Yu Ting stood up and handed the clothes to the shopkeeper behind him.

“Are they both for me?” Yu Dengdeng asked.

Yu Ting didn’t answer, merely lowering his gaze to the child who looked up at him with innocent anticipation. He raised an eyebrow slightly, as if to say, “Who else would these clothes be for?”

Yu Dengdeng couldn’t help but let out a soft “hee-hee” laugh, his eyes crinkling. He finally had human clothes!

In the end, Yu Ting also bought him two pairs of shorts.

Yu Dengdeng was so excited that he didn’t even want Yu Ting to carry him. Instead, he walked ahead, swinging a shopping bag in one hand and clutching a box in the other, wearing the cartoon slippers Yu Ting had just bought for him.

Yu Ting followed behind, stepping alongside the child’s elongated shadow cast by the streetlights.

The heat in the air had thinned slightly, and a cool breeze drifted past, gentle as a soft caress.

The closer they got to where they lived, the quieter it became, and the sounds of nature grew more distinct.

Yu Ting glanced up at the starless night sky. The planet he had called home for over twenty years now felt incredibly light, almost negligible.

Did he still truly want to go back?

For a moment, Yu Ting found himself lost in rare contemplation, but he quickly snapped out of it when he heard Yu Dengdeng calling his name from ahead.

…………

Both the first and second floors of the auto repair shop were shrouded in darkness. Clearly, neither of the other two had returned since Yu Ting and the child left.

Yu Ting had considered asking Yu Dengdeng if he wanted dinner, but seeing the child’s round, full belly and remembering all the random snacks he’d eaten at the night market, he decided against it.

As soon as the child entered the room and started to unwrap the box, Yu Ting gestured for him to hand over the newly bought clothes first. “You can wear them after they’ve been washed once.”

Seeing Yu Ting’s firm stance, Yu Dengdeng—who had been eager to change into his new clothes that very night—pouted in reluctant agreement. “Fine.”

But as he handed them over, he quickly added, “Can I really wear them tomorrow?”

Yu Ting had no choice but to promise, “If it doesn’t rain, then yes.”

Yu Dengdeng pressed his hands against the pillow and quickly glanced out the window.

It better not rain!

After putting the clothes in the washing machine, Yu Ting returned to find the child sitting cross-legged on the bed, trying to open the white square box in his hands.

He approached, resting one knee on the bed as he looked down at the child’s efforts. “Need help?”

Yu Dengdeng, who had nearly resorted to using his teeth, huffed in frustration but gently handed the box to Yu Ting. “Yes!”

The box was wrapped in a transparent film that looked easy to tear, but he couldn’t get it open at all.

A faint smile tugged at Yu Ting’s lips, amusement glinting in his eyes. He pulled a pair of scissors from a nearby drawer and placed the smart speaker—the object of Yu Dengdeng’s obsession all evening—on the bed.

The speaker was rectangular, designed to resemble the old-fashioned televisions favored by the elderly in the neighborhood. It had no screen and could only produce sound.

Yu Ting picked it up, examined the data cable attached, and plugged it into the socket on the desk before connecting it to the internet.

At the same time, a third sound filled the room—a brief crackle of static in the first second.

Yu Ting rested his hand against the edge of the desk, turning to watch the speaker.

Unlike the excitement on Yu Dengdeng’s face, his own lips were slightly pursed. The crackling sound of the electric current reminded Yu Ting of an old-fashioned radio, like a signal device that had lost power.

“Hello, I am your intelligent assistant, Little E. How may I assist you?” This was followed by a somewhat deep, artificially intelligent, and slightly masculine voice.

“He spoke!” Yu Dengdeng exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the speaker in front of him, his voice rising to a pitch that bordered on cracking.

The child’s expression was utterly sincere, much like the first time he had seen a tricycle, as if he had never encountered a vehicle or an intelligent speaker before. It made one wonder what kind of place he had lived in for the past few years.

Naturally, Yu Ting had no idea that the child before him was not from some isolated place but rather from a planet tens of thousands of years in the future, where intelligence technology had long been widespread. Still, none of this prevented him from finding the child adorable.

He ruffled Dengdeng’s hair. “You can tell it what song you’d like to hear.”

What song?

Yu Dengdeng’s expression stiffened. He wasn’t from Earth—how was he supposed to know what songs Earthlings listened to?

At that moment, his enthusiasm for the intelligent speaker vanished as quickly as a receding tide.

What should he do? Should he reveal that he wasn’t from Earth?

Meanwhile, the alien Yu Ting also looked at Yu Dengdeng with curiosity, wanting to see what song the child would choose, hoping to better understand the thoughts of human children.

A few seconds later…

“I don’t know what I want to hear either,” Yu Dengdeng said, looking up at Yu Ting and blinking innocently. “Do you have any favorite songs?”

Yu Ting’s pursed lips relaxed.

Human songs… He hadn’t even heard many songs from Darkwater Star.

He couldn’t very well tell Dengdeng that he wasn’t from Earth either.

Both aliens thought the same thing.

Yu Ting cleared his throat lightly, his voice cool and detached. “Little E, play some children’s songs.”

Yu Dengdeng: 0.0

Why hadn’t he thought of saying that just now?

“Hello, Little E has gathered the latest children’s songs for you. Next, I will play ‘Children’s Song: Can’t Stand the Hurt.'”

Was this the latest children’s song? Why did the title sound a bit strange?

Yu Ting frowned slightly but said nothing, noticing that Dengdeng was listening intently.

The speaker first played a rhythmic melody, followed by a woman’s voice tinged with sorrow.

“You sold my love, left me behind, and when I finally learned the truth, my tears fell…”

Yu Ting was taken aback and looked at Yu Dengdeng, only to find the child staring back at him. Both their eyes were filled with shock.

Wait, was this a popular children’s song on Earth?

Where were the children in this song??

“Have you heard this before?” Yu Ting asked.

Yu Dengdeng shook his head firmly.

“Then let’s switch to something else. Little E, play some relaxing music.”

“Hello, I have received your request. Next, I will play relaxing music: ‘The Lupine Flower.'”

Another moment of silence fell between them as they listened carefully to the lyrics.

It sounded like a nursery rhyme.

But Yu Ting couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off the more he listened.

Especially when he heard the line “the child on the ground misses their mother,” Yu Ting immediately told Little E to pause. He frowned deeply, staring at the compact intelligent speaker on the table.

Wait, was this thing really intelligent??

“?” Still immersed in the music, Yu Dengdeng looked at Yu Ting’s actions in confusion, not understanding what was happening. He watched as Yu Ting unplugged and then reconnected Little E’s power cord.

After a long crackling sound, the voice spoke again.

“Li… Little E is at your service.” Compared to its original voice, Yu Ting inexplicably felt that the smart speaker’s tone had lowered a bit.

“Daddy, I don’t want to listen to music anymore. Let Little E talk with me.” Yu Dengdeng rested her chin on her hands, watching Yu Ting’s rare moment of being at a loss with this little gadget, and spoke softly.

Yu Ting nodded.

“Little E, Little E?” Yu Dengdeng called out tentatively.

“Hmm, what’s the matter?” Little E’s voice sounded again, and Yu Ting inexplicably felt that the newly restarted Little E’s tone was somewhat more “unpleasant” and indifferent than before.

Or perhaps it was just his imagination.

“Little E, what’s your name? Little E?”

The speaker fell silent for a moment.

“Little E, can I give you a new name?” Yu Dengdeng asked again.

“Whatever.”

“Daddy.” Yu Dengdeng looked at Yu Ting. “You give Little E a name too, like mine, so we can be a family.”

Yu Ting lowered his gaze to the speaker on the table. Although he thought it was highly unlikely that this speaker, which had already been factory-set as “Little E,” would accept a new name from its owner, he still pondered for a moment.

After thinking for a while, he said, “…Yu Little E…”

Yu Dengdeng: …

Little E: …

Suddenly recalling Yu Ting’s naming skills and the time she almost ended up being called “Big Lamp,” Yu Dengdeng inexplicably felt that this name was actually somewhat normal.

“Little E, can you be called Yu Little E from now on?”

Both of them looked at the smart speaker in front of them but received no response.

A few seconds later, they only heard a voice.

“Shutdown mode activated.”

“Ding—”

After a long pause.

Yu Dengdeng: “Daddy, Little E probably isn’t disliking the name you gave it, right?”

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