Chapter 40
Qiu Chi was a little surprised when Jian Yu stumbled home, drunk, but without a woman by his side as the plot had dictated.
The drunken Jian Yu staggered toward the study. Qiu Chi closed her book, curious to see what this drunkard wanted in there.
Jian Yu had come to the study to throw a drunken fit.
He pushed open the study door, and upon seeing Qiu Chi, he moved forward to pull her into his arms, but she dodged him nimbly.
He frowned in displeasure. “Alice, why are you avoiding me?”
Qiu Chi said, “…I take it you didn’t get beaten enough today?”
How dare he come here and act out while drunk.
But it was useless to say such things to a drunkard. As if he hadn’t heard her, Jian Yu continued on his own, “Whether you’re called Alice or Qiu Chi, you are my exclusive robot. That will never change. You can’t refuse me!”
A robot… that included special services.
Jian Yu finished speaking and reached out again, but Qiu Chi had already clenched her fists. After giving him a solid beating, she tossed his unconscious body to the regular robots waiting outside.
Although she didn’t know why Jian Yu hadn’t followed the plot, it didn’t matter. She just needed to do her own thing.
When Jian Yu woke up the next day, he ached all over. He had been so drunk that he couldn’t remember what had happened the previous night.
While washing up, he looked in the mirror and discovered a fading bruise on his face. He figured he had found the reason for his body-wide soreness.
Jian Yu’s brow furrowed. After getting ready, he went to settle the score with Qiu Chi. “Did you hit me again yesterday? Alice—no, Qiu Chi, you’ve gone too far! Even if you’ve changed your name, you are still my exclusive robot. Don’t take my affection for granted and forget your place!”
Qiu Chi held up her fist. “So, are you saying all this because you want another beating?”
Take his affection for granted? What a joke.
Jian Yu was furious. He couldn’t help but be angry at himself for coming back yesterday.
Fuming, he turned and left the manor again, silently vowing that he absolutely would not return so soon.
Little did he know, his departure gave Jian Qiu the perfect opportunity to approach his manor.
Jian Yu didn’t know, but Qiu Chi did. She simply didn’t stop it.
Without Jian Yu’s command, no one could enter the manor. The perimeter was lined with an electric fence, something Jian Yu was very confident about. After all, no truly capable person would break into his manor just to steal a robot.
And this gave Jian Qiu his chance.
Jian Qiu chose an indirect approach. He bought the manor next to Jian Yu’s under someone else’s name, then sabotaged a section of the electric fence around Jian Yu’s property.
Qiu Chi watched as Jian Qiu sent his people to do all this.
Not only did she not stop them, but when Jian Qiu appeared at the site of the successful sabotage, she also appeared there, holding a book.
Jian Qiu put on a cheerful expression and greeted Qiu Chi. “Hi, my name is Qiu. What’s yours? Are you the custom robot for the owner of the neighboring manor? You’re very beautiful.”
It was easy to distinguish between robots and humans because robots had a special mark between their eyebrows.
Qiu Chi gave Jian Qiu a cold look, her voice indifferent. “My name is Qiu Chi. Thank you for the compliment.”
Such a cold Qiu Chi made Jian Qiu pause.
He thought of the smiling Alice in the photos and couldn’t help but suspect that Jian Yu had set Alice to a cold-and-indifferent mode while he was away.
But, wasn’t her name Alice? Why did she say she was Qiu Chi? Had she changed her name?
Jian Qiu felt it wasn’t that simple.
He pretended to know nothing and continued to greet Qiu Chi with a smile. “So your name is Qiu Chi. That’s a lovely name. Is your customizer not home?”
Although Jian Qiu’s compliment was casual, and who knew what schemes he was plotting in his heart, Qiu Chi still gave him a satisfied glance. “You have good taste. He’s not home.”
Jian Qiu froze for a moment before realizing what Qiu Chi meant. Then he chuckled. “You’re really interesting. With your customizer away, don’t you get bored all by yourself?”
Qiu Chi reverted to her indifferent tone. “It’s fine.”
Jian Qiu didn’t find anything amiss. Although she was a little different from what he had imagined, he still liked her very much and wanted to make her his own.
He didn’t press her with more questions. Instead, he started talking about himself. “I finally managed to buy this manor, but when I was inspecting it today, I found the electric fence here is broken. Have you checked the fence on your side?”
Qiu Chi’s gaze swept placidly over the electric fence before her. Then she replied, “No.”
Jian Qiu didn’t mind her attitude. Holding a tool for testing electric fences, he walked through the broken section. “How about I help you check from the outside to see if your fence is broken?”
Robots didn’t quite understand the ways of the world. Even Alice, who had gained self-awareness, was no exception, which was why she was so easily tricked by Jian Qiu in the original story.
Qiu Chi, on the other hand, understood perfectly. She just didn’t feel like reacting. After all, for now, Jian Qiu’s little schemes were all in his head. On the surface, he was acting quite normal and wasn’t so deserving of a beating.
Although she didn’t want to follow the plot, who could she blame when this world was so special?
So, for now, Qiu Chi could accept going along with the plot.
She nodded, signaling her agreement.
The still-muted System was so moved it could have cried. After all, Qiu Chi was finally willing to follow the plot obediently.
After getting Qiu Chi’s consent, Jian Qiu took his tool to test the electric fence. A series of crackles and pops later, the fence went dead.
Jian Qiu tried again. This time, there wasn’t even a crackle; it was completely unresponsive.
Jian Qiu frowned at the testing tool in his hand. “This… could it be my tool? Otherwise, why would it show as broken both times?”
“Maybe it’s really broken.”
Qiu Chi reached out to touch the fence, but Jian Qiu quickly stopped her. “Wait, let me. Don’t move.”
Qiu Chi obediently retracted her hand and watched him. Jian Qiu reached out and touched the fence. It remained inert. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. “Looks like it’s really broken. When your customizer gets back, remember to tell him to get the fence fixed.”
Qiu Chi ignored him, instead staring at the unresponsive fence.
As if noticing her gaze, Jian Qiu smiled and suggested, “It must be boring staying in the manor all the time, right? Why don’t you take this chance to come out? I can show you around.”
Only then did Qiu Chi raise her eyes to look at him. Although her face was expressionless, Jian Qiu seemed to see a look of longing in her eyes. His smile grew gentler. “Don’t worry, we’ll just take a short walk and be back soon. Your customizer will never find out. Otherwise, staying in the manor all the time is just so terribly boring.”
As if truly swayed by his words, Qiu Chi actually stepped through the gap in the electric fence.
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