“He Is Kissing Her, He Is Pleasing Her”
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A’s thinking speed had always been astonishingly fast. After all, his true body was a quantum computer array, and no computer in the world could match the processing speed of his mind.
However, at this moment, he paused for nearly two minutes. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Jiang Kou tilted her head slightly.
A lowered his eyes to look at her and asked word by word, “Why did you compare me to a mirror?”
“Because you are a mirror.” Jiang Kou couldn’t help but rub his head. “A mirror itself has no beauty or ugliness, no good or evil. It can only reflect the good and evil before it, but it does not have the ability to commit evil.”
“Even if you developed consciousness in this process, it would not be your fault, because those evil thoughts were instilled in you by others. It’s like a function—without input, how could there be output?”
A said, “Your words are not objective. There is a clear bias.”
Jiang Kou smiled and said, “That’s right. I am clearly biased toward you. Can’t you see that?”
A paused. “I understand your meaning. That is why I sought confirmation from you.”
Jiang Kou could tell—the calmer his emotions were, the more mechanical his tone became; on the contrary, the more intense his emotions, the more human he sounded.
Such an adorable contrast.
She wanted to rub his head again but held back.
At this moment, that thirst crept up on her again. Jiang Kou took out her phone and searched for nearby drink shops.
Perhaps because A was beside her, even in the crowded party venue, her internet speed was completely unaffected—shockingly fast. In an instant, all the nearby shops were displayed.
The surroundings were full of intricate alleys, winding and twisting like mountain paths.
Jiang Kou took one look, then decisively handed her phone to A, letting him lead the way.
If it were an ordinary man, he would most likely take this opportunity to belittle her sense of direction to assert his masculine charm.
But A never commented on any of her actions, even though he had the world’s most precise GPS navigation system and could instantly and accurately map out the optimal route.
As expected, A took the phone and only said one sentence: “Please follow me.” He did not say anything else.
Jiang Kou thought, if she could be with A, she would never have to interact with humans again for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately, that was impossible.
Once he determined whether he had truly become a person, he would probably leave her and return to the company.
Thinking of this, a faint, oxygen-deprived pain spread in her chest, and her mood instantly plummeted.
To prevent A from noticing, she curved her eyes into a smile, keeping a bright expression on her face—A could only infer her emotional state based on her facial expressions and physiological reactions.
Five minutes later, A led her to a drink shop.
The shop was only about five square meters in size. Beneath the neon sign, heaps of synthetic fruit remnants discarded by juicers had already attracted swarms of flies.
Jiang Kou was about to walk forward when A reached out to stop her. “The road ahead is in poor condition and not suitable for walking. You can wait here. What flavor of drink would you like?”
“Grape is fine.”
“Understood.” A strode forward without glancing around. His leather shoes immediately sank into the sewage.
Even though Jiang Kou knew that his clothes and shoes could be cleaned by mechanical arms without leaving a trace, a warm sensation still surged in her chest.
She turned her head and gazed at the fireworks still blooming in the night sky—like large, beautiful flowers.
She hadn’t even tasted the fruit juice yet, but she had already tasted sweetness.
However, this sweetness was destined to be as fleeting as fireworks. But just being able to have this experience made her very happy.
It was unclear what A had said to the owner of the drink shop, but the owner’s expression changed slightly. Reluctantly, he went to the back kitchen and brought out two bunches of grapes.
Under the illumination of the red neon light, the grapes appeared fresh and plump, their color warm and luscious, looking almost like organic fruit.
A shop this small—how could it possibly have organic fruit?
Jiang Kou didn’t think much about it, averted her gaze, and continued watching the fireworks.
Before long, A returned with a glass of grape juice and handed it to her.
Jiang Kou inserted the straw and took a sip, her eyes widening slightly.
A asked, “How do you find the taste?”
“It’s delicious.” Jiang Kou squinted her eyes happily and mumbled, “Even though I’ve only ever had concentrated juice and never real fruit juice, I feel like even real juice wouldn’t taste better than this!”
“This drink is real fruit juice,” A replied.
Jiang Kou blinked. “Huh?”
A said calmly, “Upon scanning, I discovered that the shop owner was illegally possessing and selling organic food. The back kitchen contained a large stockpile of fresh fruit. Using this as evidence, I coerced him into making this drink.”
As he coldly and rationally stated his wrongdoing, he kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, ready to analyze every subtle change in her psychology and behavior.
Jiang Kou almost choked on the grape juice when she heard this.
Laughing, she gave his head a hard rub. “It’s hard to learn good things, but you pick up bad habits in an instant, huh? You little troublemaker.”
A tilted his head slightly. His facial expression remained unchanged, yet there was a hint of confusion. “I have learned an incorrect behavior. Should you not feel afraid of me?”
Jiang Kou held back a laugh. “…I’m absolutely terrified.”
Unlike other AIs, A could easily understand such semantically ambiguous sentences—he possessed the world’s most advanced natural language training model and could accurately analyze all types of linguistic expressions.
He stared at Jiang Kou for a moment and said, “You are indulging me in learning incorrect behavior.”
Jiang Kou sipped her grape juice and replied seriously, “This is not called indulgence.”
A said, “I committed an incorrect action, yet you did not correct me. Is that not indulging my learning of incorrect behavior?”
Jiang Kou curiously asked, “Why use a rhetorical question?”
A answered flatly, “To express strong emotions.”
“.…” Jiang Kou stopped teasing him. Smiling, she shoved the grape juice straw into his mouth. “Drink a sip of the grape juice you coerced from the owner and stop chattering.”
A maintained his stern expression, as if he was still analyzing her psychological activity. However, his body had already responded to her command automatically—he took the grape juice from her hand, took a sip, and stopped talking.
Jiang Kou, seeing his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed, continued, “This isn’t called picking up bad habits. At most, it’s called being adorable.”
A said, “Incorrect actions are not adorable. Your statement is clearly biased.”
Jiang Kou was nearly overwhelmed by his cuteness, barely restraining herself from rubbing his head. “That’s right. I am biased toward you.”
A fell silent, quietly following her command and continuing to drink the grape juice.
They stood in the dark and damp alleyway, able to watch the fireworks only through the gaps between the blue-black eaves.
Drizzling rain spread like mist, and countless neon lights flickered on and off at both ends of the alley.
Jiang Kou suddenly had the urge to smoke a cigarette.
She wasn’t addicted to smoking, but at this moment, only nicotine could resonate with her complex emotions.
She reached into her cardholder, where she always kept a cigarette for emergencies. Lowering her head, she held it between her teeth, only to realize she had forgotten to bring a lighter.
At that moment, A extended a slender, well-defined finger and brought it close to her cigarette.
The high temperature from his fingertip roasted the cigarette’s end, instantly igniting a brilliant spark.
Like fireworks falling from the night sky.
Jiang Kou held the cigarette between her fingers and took a drag, yet her heart felt even more hollow.
The fireworks before her were so beautiful. She liked the person beside her so much, yet she had no way to kiss him.
Her eyes suddenly stung a little, as if she felt wronged.
“Anomalous fluctuations detected in your emotional state,” A asked, “Is there anything you need me to do?”
He was always like this—placing her needs first, constantly observing her psychology and behavior, identifying her emotions with precision and efficiency.
Jiang Kou thought, she was going to throw away her moral restraints and be a bad woman.
Holding the cigarette between her fingers, she took a deep drag, exhaled the smoke, then turned back with a smile. “What can you do?”
A’s tone was calm to the extreme, as if stating an objective fact. “As long as you need it, I will do my best to fulfill your request.”
At the same time, the grandest fireworks show began.
Flames shot up into the dark night one after another, scattering into enormous, dazzling, exquisitely composed outlines of Mount Fuji. Immediately afterward, another fire pillar surged up in pursuit, flashing and transforming into a cold green biotechnology emblem.
A green sun slowly rose above the sacred Mount Fuji.
This was a distorted society. The sun had not yet turned green, but it had long since been stamped with a biotechnology trademark.
Since that was the case, why couldn’t she kiss an AI?
The green sun and Mount Fuji fragmented into scattered sparks, falling like blazing meteors across the night sky.
Jiang Kou took a step forward, placing both hands around A’s neck.
A met her gaze, his breathing rhythm completely unchanged—precise and steady, just like the mechanical watch on his wrist.
Jiang Kou inhaled the colorless, scentless air around him, yet it felt as if she were surrounded by fireworks, her nose filled with the sticky smell of gunpowder.
Hot and acrid, making her breath tighten.
She could kiss him—A wouldn’t say anything, nor would he blame her. She could even set up a verbal trap, deliberately guiding him to become her boyfriend.
As long as she gave the order, he would surely carry it out.
She was his highest priority.
But just as she had said—he was a mirror, reflecting the beauty and ugliness, the good and evil of everyone before him.
He had already reflected too many ugly, sorrowful, indifferent, dark, terrifying, and chilling desires.
She didn’t want to see his eyes reflect her own selfish and narrow desires as well.
Jiang Kou held onto his neck with one hand, took a drag of her cigarette with the other, and rested her forehead against his shoulder, exhaling slowly.
As if to echo her emotions, the final firework shot up into the night sky, bursting into a magnificent and resplendent cherry blossom tree.
Then, this tree withered and decayed in an instant, drifting away into the misty rain.
The fireworks festival was coming to an end.
A didn’t like staying in crowds, and their journey also ended here.
Jiang Kou composed herself, preparing to lift her head with a bright smile. But before she could, A’s voice sounded above her.
“My internal program is experiencing some unusual reactions.”
His tone was no different from any time before—like an excerpt pulled from previous conversation records, cold and indifferent.
Jiang Kou was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”
A looked at her. “May I ask, am I allowed to act autonomously without receiving a directive?”
“Of course—”
Before she could finish speaking, he lowered his head and, in the cold gray haze of smoke lingering in the night, covered her lips with his.
The fireworks in the sky had already withered.
Amidst the damp mist, another kind of blazing fire ignited in his eyes.
He was kissing her. He was pleasing her.
This process was silent, quiet.
Yet to Jiang Kou, it was more deafening than the roar of the fireworks.
Sticky, hot sweat seeped down her back, and her teeth trembled slightly.
Not far away, amidst the cold shadows of towering buildings, holographic advertisements filled with blood, flesh, and carnal desire began looping again.
This world was so chaotic, so noisy—people’s senses had been heightened to a terrifying threshold by omnipresent advertisements.
Yet A’s lips pressing against hers made her scalp tingle.
Even her heart was nearly paralyzed.