Days passed and Iris felt well enough to resume her daily activities. Her minor wounds all healed. The bruises on her body gradually faded, although the larger ones still stained her skin an ugly yellowish-brown, infuriating Jin Liwei whenever he saw them. She would then need to assure him that she was feeling fine because if she didn’t, he would most likely drag her big brother and beat the shit out of Tian Kong together, even though the attempted murderer was still in police custody.
It would take some time for the major wounds on her neck and shoulder to heal completely, but at least they had already closed and didn’t hurt as much anymore. With her body feeling better and her mind rested, she decided that it was now time to work on the tasks that she needed to do.
Iris headed to her computer room. The security personnel nodded at her while she passed by them in the hallways. Fortunately, they didn’t follow her around, only taking note of her whereabouts.
Jin Liwei returned to full-day work a couple of days ago after reassuring him that she could manage on her own. If she didn’t, he would continue rushing home every lunchtime to check up on her and follow her around the house. She loved him very much but it was beginning to feel annoying with him always following her wherever she went. If it was up to him, he would probably tie their waists together so that she would always be with him.
She sighed, a helpless smile on her face. Warmth and annoyance mixed together inside of her.
“Well, he was already annoying to begin with yet I still chose to be with him,” she muttered on the way to her computer room. “He managed to seduce me and make me fall in love with him even when I find him annoying.”
Her helpless smile turned into a stupid grin, as she chuckled like an idiot by herself. She might be a formidable genius enrolled in the legendary Cross Academy but falling in love with Jin Liwei had drastically changed her. She didn’t mind the changes, though. On the contrary, she welcomed them because they made her feel free to explore and express her deepest emotions and desires.
Finally, she arrived at her computer room. Her good mood plummeted when she had to open it by herself. It was Ketchup who usually welcomed her with her adorable child voice and opened the door for her.
Standing inside the familiar computer room, it felt colder and emptier than usual. There was no naughty white cat jumping from screen to screen while chatting about inappropriate words she learned from her Uncle Dom and Auntie Clover. Iris sighed and then took a few deep breaths before getting to work.
First, Iris examined Ketchup’s system. She gasped seeing how badly the cat AI was damaged. It made Iris’ head and heart hurt. She could see the corrupted part which caused Ketchup to lose control. It was like a virus multiplying and infecting all the healthy cells.
Next, she worked on separating the corrupted part from Ketchup’s system. She tuned out everything else in order to fully concentrate on this important task. Any mistake from her and she might spread the corruption even further. This process took almost six hours.
“Done.”
She sighed in relief after the removal. However, she couldn’t relax yet. The original plan was to destroy the corrupted part but something stopped her from doing so.
“I’ll study it for now,” she decided. “Maybe I’ll learn something new to improve Ketchup and tighten her security so that something like this won’t happen again.”
And so she ended up not destroying the corrupted part, locking it under heavy quarantine instead. She looked at it for a few moments before allowing herself to finally relax.
She took a five-minute break to stretch her body, rest her eyes and hands, and drink water. Then she returned to her station and started fixing Ketchup. This time, it only took her less than two hours to complete the repairs on the cat AI’s system.
“Meow…”
Iris trembled a bit, as she watched the screen in front of her show a familiar ball of white fur. A pair of bright, glowing green eyes opened and stared at her with a dazed expression.
“Mommy…”
“Ketchup, welcome back.”
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[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]
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It was already evening when Iris came out of the computer room. She had forgotten to check the time, unknowingly spending more than eight hours in the computer room.
Jin Liwei was waiting for her outside the door with a stern expression. He was still wearing his business suit, obviously rushing here after arriving home from work instead of changing his clothes first. He looked angry but restrained himself from scolding her. Instead, he remained silent and waited for her to explain herself.
Iris wanted to feel annoyed and defensive but felt guilty instead. She was recently injured and yet spent more than eight hours locked in her computer room without eating and taking her medications. Biting her lips, she walked towards Jin Liwei and hugged his waist.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not bothering to defend herself.
He didn’t move.
“Sorry.”
His stern expression cracked. Then he sighed. His arms also wrapped around her, embracing her tightly.
She smiled, knowing that everything was okay now. He was pissed at her but not enough to pick a fight with her. His concern for her well-being trumped his anger.
“I really want to smack your butt right now,” he mumbled before framing her delicate face with his large hands. “My hard-headed baby girl.”
Her smile widened. It felt like a long time since he called her his “baby girl”. She somewhat missed it.
“Don’t smile. I’m still angry at you,” he said, although his voice had already become gentle. “You know that you’re not 100% recovered yet, so why did you lock yourself inside your computer room again? I heard that you didn’t eat anything. Yi Mei has been crying and wanted to call the firefighters to rescue you inside. Five more minutes and I would’ve already ordered my subordinates to blow up the damn door. I shouldn’t have left you alone so soon. Don’t do this again. Okay, love?”
She felt even guiltier after hearing that Yi Mei cried. The old housekeeper rarely allowed herself to lose her composure, so it was a big deal whenever she did so. Sighing, she apologized again.
Jin Liwei finally allowed himself a small smile. “I’m not forbidding you to go into your computer room. I only hope that you’ll let us know that you’re okay inside. Food can be delivered here if it’s not convenient for you to leave the computer room. Please don’t skip your meals. We all worry about you. I worry about you.”
“I understand.”
“Okay.” She moved her arms from around his waist to his neck. Then she leaned her head on his chest, feeling exhausted.
He bent down a little and carried her like a bride. But before he could walk away…
“Meow… Daddy…”
Jin Liwei froze and looked at the door of the computer room.
“Ketchup?”
“Meow…”
He looked at Iris. “You already fixed her? So quickly? This is the reason why you locked yourself in your computer room today?”
She nodded. “I had to fix her. I missed her.”
His eyes became even more gentle.
“Go to sleep while you complete your updates, Ketchup. I’ll check you again tomorrow,” Iris said.
“Okay, Mommy. Good night, Mommy and Daddy… Meow…”
“Good night, Ketchup,” both Iris and Jin Liwei said.
