The atmosphere of summer always made people drowsy. Whether it was the hot wind or the chirping birds on the trees, people couldn’t help but want to lie down beside the window and sleep comfortably.
No, not just people.
The lazy atmosphere even made Xiao Ai yawn unconsciously. She lazily shrank into a ball on the sofa in the study room, snoring like a sleepy kitten.
However, even though a nap was a tempting proposal, not everyone had fallen into the wonderful dreams.
For example, the girl sitting by the window did not have a trace of tiredness on her beautiful face. Her jewel-like eyes stared meticulously at the letterhead shown by the holographic projection in front of her. She carefully considered the words and tried to make them look as polite as possible while conveying her thoughts accurately.
“It has been almost three months since you went to Mars. I wonder how you’ve been.
“Your students all miss you very much…
“I do too.”
Looking at the last three words, Vera hesitated for a long time, not sure if this line seemed redundant.
However, in the end, she mustered the courage to keep it. She then closed her eyes and sent the letter. She then quickly turned off the holographic screen, as if she had done something wrong.
“If you miss Master, go find him… You have a body, use it.”
When she heard the voice coming from behind her, Vera was frightened. She looked back and saw Xiao Ai yawning lazily as she sat up from the sofa.
She snapped back to reality and spoke.
“When did you wake up?”
“Xiao Ai doesn’t need to sleep, but it’s better not to disturb you when you write letters. ( ́◔‸◔’)”
“Oh, really… Not having to sleep is quite convenient.”
“It’s not convenient at all.” Xiao Ai continued, “Xiao Ai can’t eat or drink with Master, can’t walk around, can’t go to any place without Internet… Every time Master leaves Xiao Ai’s sight, Xiao Ai becomes extremely worried. (⇀‸↼‵‵)”
“Oh, I see…”
It does sound inconvenient.
Although she really wanted to comfort Xiao Ai with a few words, as someone from the 21st century, Vera was not even sure about what kind of existence a robot was, and she didn’t know where to start her words of comfort.
After hesitating for a long time, she spoke.
“Actually… I really want to find him, but I am worried that I will disturb him.”
Xiao Ai: “Um… Although Master is smart in most cases, occasionally he does stupid things. But anyway, I don’t think Master is the kind of person who hates other people worrying about him… Even for the people that worry about him constantly.”
Vera looked at her in surprise.
“Huh? Is that true?”
Xiao Ai nodded and said happily, “Yeah! It feels great to be wanted. Maybe this is one of the motivations for Master to keep going.”
Vera suddenly felt a little ashamed.
Although she was convinced that her feelings were more than just lust and dependence and that it was more like love… she felt like she didn’t understand him well at all. She was always intimidated when making decisions.
Xiao Ai was sitting cross-legged on the sofa. She hesitated for a while before finally speaking.
“In your opinion, what kind of person is he?”
Almost without thinking, Xiao Ai immediately replied with enthusiasm, “A very handsome person! (๑•̀ᄇ•́)و✧”
Vera: “Handsome, handsome…?”
“Yeah!” Xiao Ai nodded. With little stars shining in her eyes, she continued, “Unfortunately, Master is not an AI. Otherwise, Master and Xiao Ai can be together!”
This sounds weird to me.
However, just when Vera was about to say something, she suddenly put on a serious look and continued to speak.
“How do I explain it? A long, long time ago, Xiao Ai was by Master’s side. Back then, Xiao Ai was not as capable and smart as now, but Master has always looked after Xiao Ai and was tolerant. Xiao Ai grew up little by little and finally became what she is now.”
Xiao Ai smiled embarrassedly. She scratched her cheek and continued, “I always feel like I have spent such a long time with him without realizing… If Xiao Ai has a life, then Master is definitely a big part of Xiao Ai’s life. After seeing Tail and Lili, Xiao Ai was enlightened. Perhaps it is the affection and dependence on AI? Something like that.
“However, these things are not important, at least Xiao Ai thinks so. As long as Xiao Ai can be with Master, it is enough for Xiao Ai.”
Vera: “I feel like…”
Xiao Ai tilted her head. “Feel like what? (•̀∀•́)”
“Nothing.” Vera said with a smile while shaking her head lightly, “It’s just that some things are enviable.”
Xiao Ai: “Of course! After all, Master is so handsome, so Xiao Ai will not give him to you. (///ω///)”
Vera smiled and did not speak.
It’s just an AI…
There shouldn’t be any competition, right?
For some reason, for a second, she suddenly became a little unconfident.
Vera stood up from the desk.
“I’ve decided.”
Xiao Ai: “Huh?”
“I plan to go to Mars,” Vera said seriously while looking at Xiao Ai. “You are right. If I miss him so much, I should go see him immediately. If I keep waiting like this… It would be no different than 100 years ago.”
Life was too short, too short to keep waiting.
Having waited a hundred years, she was unwilling to wait any longer.
Xiao Ai: “Huh? Huh? (•̀∀•́)”
Afterward, the two stopped talking…
…
It was lunchtime when Vera left the study room and followed the stairs to the restaurant downstairs.
When passing by the TV cabinet, she touched the button of the holographic TV before walking to the dining table and sitting down. She waited for the home robot to bring the food to the dining table.
It had been more than half a year since she woke up.
She still remembered that in the beginning, even the holographic TV made her excited, but now, she had almost completely adapted to the new lifestyle. At least she wasn’t reaching her hand through holographic screens anymore.
Xiao Ai was sitting opposite Vera. She placed her hands on her cheeks and spoke.
“If you go to Mars, Xiao Ai will be left at home alone. ( ́◔‸◔`)”
Vera: “Let’s go together.”
“Sigh, Xiao Ai wants to… I really envy you, you can go anywhere you want.” Xiao Ai sighed. She put her head on the table and blew on her bangs. “For Xiao Ai, even going to the Moon is difficult. ╮(╯_╰)╭”
“Is your server too big?”
“Yeah!” Xiao Ai nodded. She gestured with her hands and said, “The super big kind.”
After eating, Vera put the cutlery on the plate and thanked Xiao Ai for putting away the dishes.
The idea of going to Mars appeared in her mind.
She reached out her index finger, gently tapped the personal terminal on her wrist, and swiped the holographic screen presented in front of her. She logged into the ticket purchase page.
Because of the serious accident on Mars some time ago and that the relative distance between Mars and Earth was rather far, the fares for round-trip flights were very cheap.
After seriously thinking about the travel time, Vera was about to buy a ticket. However, she suddenly saw a familiar face on the holographic TV on the side.
“Professor…”
Lu Zhou was on the holographic screen. He was standing in front of the camera and was being interviewed by reporters. The voice from the TV was from the news anchor.
“Recently, after Star Sky Technology made a huge investment in the acquisition of Fuxing Mining Company, they made another move that shocked the industry. They spent money to buy a space segment between the Earth’s geosynchronous orbit and the Mars’ orbit and used it to construct space facilities.
“Although Lu Zhou himself did not indicate what the space facility was, according to people familiar with the matter, this facility may be related to the expansion of faster than light technology…”
