(Qixi Special Chapter, Not Part of the Original World’s Timeline)
The day’s summer heat had faded, and by evening, a cool breeze blew as people left work.
Pei Ran got off the subway one stop early and walked all the way back to Music Square.
In the square, many people who had just finished work like her were strolling leisurely home, while others who had eaten dinner early were out walking their dogs or enjoying the cool air.
Pei Ran walked briskly across the square, climbed the stairs, and as soon as she unlocked the door with her key, the aroma of food greeted her.
Today, it was Xingkong who came out to welcome her—a rare occurrence.
It quickly ran over, took Pei Ran’s bag, handed her slippers, then dashed away again. “You’re back? We’re both busy right now—come take a look.”
After changing into her slippers, Pei Ran followed it into the kitchen. “What are you making that smells so good?”
The two little robots were indeed busy. The kitchen counter was packed with bowls—big and small—full of prepared ingredients: shredded, cubed, sliced, along with scallions, ginger, and garlic.
On the stove, a pot of chicken soup simmered over low heat, bubbling softly, already a rich golden color. Something extra must have been added—the aroma was irresistible.
Ren was at the cutting board, slicing fish with practiced ease, the knife moving so fast it was just a silver blur.
Pei Ran was puzzled. “Why so many dishes today?”
Ren turned its head but didn’t pause its work. “Master, don’t you know it’s Qixi today?”
“I do.” Pei Ran had seen plenty of rose sellers on her way home.
She smacked Ren’s head lightly. “But you’re a little robot—why are you celebrating Qixi?”
Ren deliberately pulled up an exasperated expression on its display panel, turning to show it to her.
“The ingredients were bought with money the Great God transferred to me. The recipe was also set by Him. I spent all morning picking them out at the grocery and butcher shops.”
Xingkong chimed in, “Ren’s amazing—even the shop owner said it’s really good at selecting ingredients.”
“Of course,” Ren said proudly. “I’m the top all-around household robot, a first-class chef, and an expert at picking fresh ingredients.”
Something seemed to have slipped past unnoticed just then.
Pei Ran asked, “The Great God? W told you to do this?”
She fished the mechanical spider from her shirt pocket, pinching one of its legs to dangle it in front of her. “Thanks.”
The spider wriggled in midair as W’s voice sounded by her ear. “No need to thank me. You’re welcome.”
After Pei Ran finished showering and changing, W spoke again. “Pei Ran, open the app on your wristband.”
Pei Ran lit up her wristband screen and opened the app with the spherical icon. W’s virtual image appeared immediately.
He stood there, the background resembling a cyberpunk-style conference hall—cold white lighting, piles of documents scattered across the table, and various virtual displays glowing in different sizes.
It was something he’d come up with on a whim last time—a design he created for himself, just for fun.
Pei Ran glanced at his background first, curious. “You’re still using this virtual environment?”
“Yeah,” W’s virtual figure tilted his head slightly. “I don’t know why, but this place always gives me a familiar and comforting feeling.”
Pei Ran: “Don’t tell me… you lived here in your past life?”
If artificial intelligences even had past lives.
“Maybe,” he said. “Pei Ran, something came up today. My patrol robot isn’t in the city at the moment, so I can’t be with you. Let the spider keep you company for dinner tonight—or you can leave this screen on and let me accompany you like this. Is that okay?”
No wonder he had asked Rein to cook so many dishes.
These past few days, the metal orb had flown over every night to have dinner with her. He wasn’t here today, and he was afraid she’d feel lonely.
But whether it was the metal orb, the mechanical spider, or the virtual image on her wristband screen—they were all him. It made no difference.
Still, today was a special day. With the orb absent, Pei Ran couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of loss.
Even though, in theory, he wasn’t anything to her.
“Of course it’s okay,” Pei Ran said generously. “You’re you—what difference does it make?”
There was a hint of a smile in W’s voice. “Alright.”
As they spoke, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocks were light—restrained and polite.
Pei Ran said, “Probably a delivery.”
Usually the courier knocked hastily, dropped the package, and left in a rush. Rarely did anyone knock this evenly or patiently.
Rein was busy slicing vegetables, and Xingkong was still watching the chicken stew on the stove. Pei Ran said, “I’ll get it,” stood up, and walked to the door.
She opened it casually—
And then froze in place.
It was too unbelievable.
Standing outside the door was… him—the exact same him from the wristband screen.
The golden light of the evening sun poured down behind him, filtering through the crowns of two flowering trees, landing on his head and shoulders, outlining his whole figure in a soft, orange-gold glow.
From his brows to his hair, there wasn’t a single difference from the virtual image.
It took Pei Ran quite a while to find her voice again.
“How… is this possible?”
She reached out a finger and cautiously poked his chest.
It was real to the touch.
He was wearing a white silk shirt adorned with mother-of-pearl buttons, their surfaces faintly iridescent, pressing against Pei Ran’s fingertips.
How had he suddenly become a living, breathing person?
Pei Ran’s gaze returned to his face, studying him.
Those cheeks, that nose bridge, the thick, slightly upturned eyelashes—so beautiful they seemed fake, yet undeniably real, like a miracle.
W had been quietly watching her, patiently waiting for her to collect herself before speaking.
This time, it wasn’t in her ear but with a real voice.
“This is my biochemical body. It can be remotely controlled or directly embedded with a core processor. Custom-made, it was completed a while ago, and the final debugging was just finished recently. I thought today was a good day, so I came to see you. I guessed you might like it…”
He asked, “…Do you like it?”
Pei Ran didn’t answer. Instead, she opened her arms.
W immediately bent down and embraced her.
His body was warm. Pei Ran wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face in his shoulder.
Only then did she muffle a reply: “I like it.” Then, in a softer voice, she added, “This is really… just wonderful.”
Today truly was an exceptionally good day.
The two of them held each other for a long time—so long that Renn’s voice eventually sounded from behind: “Master, what are you doing?”
W still didn’t let go.
Holding Pei Ran, he lifted her slightly off the ground, carried her outside the door, set her down, and casually closed the door behind them.
The noise was gone.
Pei Ran finally released W and raised her hand to touch his cheek again.
Every sensation was so real.
It was incredible.
W waited until she had finished her inspection before saying, “Let me ask Ren how much longer until dinner.”
A moment later, he said, “It says about fifteen more minutes. Should we take a short walk nearby in the meantime?”
“Sure,” Pei Ran replied.
Hand in hand, they descended the stairs with their wrought-iron railings.
Stepping onto the cobblestone path and rounding the adjacent red-brick building brought them to the music square. The setting sun dipped even lower, casting the square in hues of gold and red.
W pointed. “Want to go get ice cream? You’ve always said that shop’s ice cream is delicious.”
“Mm,” Pei Ran asked, “Can you eat?”
“Of course,” W answered. “I oversaw and participated in the entire R&D and production process of this biochemical body. I know its capabilities inside out—it’s fully functional, and eating is no problem at all.”
Pei Ran couldn’t help but glance him up and down.
W asked, “What are you thinking?”
Pei Ran: “Nothing.”
She said, “For that shop’s ice cream, I highly recommend the mango flavor—super rich and authentic.”
The two walked into the ice cream shop together. The door chimed with a crisp ding. The shop wasn’t large, but it was air-conditioned, cool and comfortable. The girl behind the counter beamed: “Welcome!”
Inside the gleaming glass display case, rows upon rows of ice cream flavors were neatly arranged.
W found the mango flavor Pei Ran had mentioned, but Pei Ran had already discovered something new.
“Lychee sorbet?”
The clerk nodded, “That’s right, it’s a new flavor. Would you like to try it?”
She scooped a small spoonful and handed it to Pei Ran.
Pei Ran took a delicate taste—the lychee flavor was intense and naturally sweet.
W studied her expression intently. “Is it good?”
As the clerk hurriedly grabbed another spoon to offer him a sample, W simply leaned down and licked the remaining bit from the spoon Pei Ran had just used.
His expression froze, as if that tiny taste of ice cream had petrified him.
After a long pause, he finally said, “This is really… cold.”
Pei Ran: “No kidding. Ice cream isn’t a Fire Kirin—of course it’s cold.”
W switched to internal comms: “This body has a nervous system and sensory processing just like a human’s. I’ve realized—the temperature sensors on a mechanical spider are completely different from how a human body perceives heat and cold.”
This was the first time he had ever truly experienced “cold.”
The child has grown up and finally understands what “cold” means.
Pei Ran reached out and patted the back of his head. “Welcome to the world of sensations.”
To the clerk, Pei Ran said, “I’ll have two scoops—one mango, one lychee sorbet, in a dual-colored waffle cone.”
She turned to W. “What do you want?”
W replied serenely, “I’ll have the same as her. How much?”
He tapped his wristband and paid directly.
Pei Ran was curious. “Where’d you get the money?”
Probably swindled from poor Qiao Sai again.
W replied matter-of-factly, “Don’t worry, I have money—a lot of it. Making money is the easiest thing in the world.”
Pei Ran: ?
Pei Ran: Really don’t think so.
Each holding an ice cream cone, the two stepped outside and sat on a bench in front of the shop.
The fountain’s spray danced up and down in lively arcs. The evening sky had an oddly translucent quality, painted with fiery sunset clouds that burned across the horizon. Tomorrow would surely be another clear, beautiful day, just like today.
Pei Ran took a lick of her ice cream, then glanced sideways at W.
W gingerly poked at the mango scoop, cautious and wary, as if what he was about to taste was liquid nitrogen.
Only after snapping out of his daze from the “cold” sensation did he say, “I bought this body myself.”
Pei Ran asked, “So… where will this body go at night?”
W tilted his head slightly. “Would you take me in?”
Pei Ran: Huh?
She only had one bedroom. One bed.
A mischievous glint flickered in W’s eyes. “Just teasing.”
He raised his hand and pointed across the fountain.
The second floor over there was Pei Ran’s room—visible were the wrought-iron balcony railing, the half-open French windows, and the fluttering white curtains.
But he wasn’t pointing at her place. Instead, his finger aimed at another red-brick building not far away.
He said, “I bought an apartment there, also on the second floor. From the balcony, I can see yours.”
He had actually moved in as her neighbor.
It really did seem like making money came effortlessly to him.
“Are you free this weekend?” W asked. “Want to go out somewhere? Before, the patrol bot could only spare time occasionally to accompany you, but this body is mine now. We can go farther this time. Do you want to hike a mountain or see the ocean?”
Pei Ran: “Let me think about it.”
W gave an “mm” of acknowledgment, leaning slightly toward her until their arms touched. “Take your time.”
After all, they had all the time in the world.
TL: I finished Volume 2. I’ll be back with V3.