Chapter 30: The Rut and the Bird’s Struggle

A few days after the Halloween party, Shen Zheming entered his rut.

He was isolated at the Shen residence. Shen Luo entered wearing a mask and performed a check on him.

“Your pheromone concentration is very high. This rut should be more intense than before. Let me give you a sedative first.”

The needle pierced the pale blue vein on the inside of his forearm. It didn’t hurt.

Shen Zheming looked down at the picture Lu Shi had sent on his phone. It was a problem that required college-level calculus to solve.

Shen Luo glanced over. “Seriously? What are you pretending at home? Looking at math problems during your rut? Not afraid of frying your brain?”

Shen Zheming didn’t look up. “It’s not mine.”

Shen Zheming opened the keyboard to type. Shen Luo caught a glimpse of the friend’s name on the screen: L·S.

“L… S…” Shen Luo squinted. “So it’s Lu Shi.”

Shen Luo couldn’t help but think of the recent gossip about her younger brother. “I saw photos of you two at some school party. Did you pick that mask?”

Seeing Shen Zheming silent, Shen Luo assumed he had chosen it and couldn’t help laughing, leaning on the table.

“Shen Zheming, since when did your taste get so bad? The stripes on that mask aren’t even symmetrical. Don’t you think it looks weird on your face? I really don’t understand how the kids at your school can imagine so much content from such an ugly mask, haha…”

Shen Zheming said, “Lu Shi picked it.”

“Ha…”

Shen Luo’s unrestrained laughter gradually stopped. She pursed her lips, adjusted her glasses, and threw the used cotton swab into the trash.

“Actually, looking closely, it’s kind of ugly-cute.”

“This kind of high art requires careful contemplation. You can’t see it at first glance.”

“The designer has good taste.”

Shen Luo never attacked anyone except Shen Zheming. Shen Zheming was used to it and couldn’t even be bothered to give her a contemptuous look.

Suddenly, a video call request popped up on the phone in his hand.

As soon as he answered, Lu Shi held up his phone, pointing it at a fully charged, fully energized robot in front of him.

“Didn’t you say it couldn’t return to its charging dock on its own and would starve itself? What’s going on? Why is it fully charged?”

For the past few days, Lu Shi had felt deeply guilty for bringing bad publicity to Shen Zheming.

Not only had Shen Zheming tutored him, but before being isolated for his rut, he had even compiled a list of frequently tested knowledge points for him.

Lu Shi felt he had to do something for Shen Zheming. If he couldn’t contribute money, he could contribute effort. So Shen Zheming asked him to go charge Er Bai Wu, saying this artificial idiot sometimes had issues with its auto-cruise and often couldn’t find its charging dock.

Lu Shi assured Shen Zheming to rest easy. On the first day of Shen Zheming’s isolation, Lu Shi came over to ‘take care’ of Er Bai Wu.

But upon entering, he saw Er Bai Wu gliding around with quick, steady steps, precisely avoiding all obstacles. With Shen Zheming away, it acted like the boss of the house, commanding all the smart home devices. It didn’t look like it needed his help at all.

Shen Zheming made eye contact with Er Bai Wu through the screen.

“Maybe it gained intelligence today. Tomorrow, who knows?”

Er Bai Wu heard Shen Zheming’s voice but didn’t understand his meaning.

So it raised its head and asked Lu Shi, ‘What does “gained intelligence” mean?’

Er Bai Wu had been switched back to its original cold mode, and its voice and tone were about fifty percent similar to Shen Zheming’s. For some reason, its confused, naive questioning really did resemble a dumbed-down mini Shen Zheming.

Lu Shi wanted to laugh, but he felt it was immoral.

He tried hard to suppress his smile, cleared his throat, and said, ‘He’s praising you for being smart.’

Er Bai Wu thought to itself for a while. It had learned a new word today and silently recorded it into its language system.

Lu Shi asked, “So I have to come over every day to check if Er Bai Wu has returned to its charging dock?”

It was like coming over to feed a cat.

Shen Zheming said, “No need for that trouble. You can stay at my place for a few days.”

“Ah? That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

He refused verbally, but his body honestly sank into the soft, comfortable sofa.

The view from Shen Zheming’s place was truly expansive. Standing by the window made him feel much more relaxed. No wonder rich people liked to buy big houses.

“There’s nothing inappropriate. When I’m not here, you can boss it around however you like.” Shen Zheming’s tone was merciless. “Don’t let it sit idle. If it uses electricity, it has to work.”

The vile capitalist didn’t even bother to pretend anymore, openly displaying exploitation of labor.

Er Bai Wu: “…”

The video call ended.

Shen Luo, who had been silent off-screen, looked at Shen Zheming with a complicated expression.

“Er Bai Wu can’t charge itself? If the original developer of Er Bai Wu heard that, he’d probably be so angry he’d swim back from across the ocean. This is the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.”

Shen Zheming turned off his phone and said flatly, “It wasn’t said for you to hear.”

Shen Luo crossed her arms. “What’s your intention in tricking him into coming to your house?”

“Er Bai Wu recently learned a nutritional recipe book. Perfect timing for him to test it for poison.”

“Are you looking for someone to test poison, or are you tricking someone to come take care of you?”

Er Bai Wu’s programs never made mistakes. If Shen Zheming didn’t have confidence in Er Bai Wu’s cooking, how could he have consistently assigned it cooking tasks and never hired a housekeeper?

Shen Luo noticed another small detail.

“It learned a nutritional recipe. Why? Because I once said he was malnourished?”

“Shen Zheming, if this continues, I’ll start believing the rumors online. Are you sure you have nothing to do with him?”

Shen Zheming was a bit annoyed with Shen Luo. “No. We’re just friends.”

“Just friends, and you care about him so much, get so close to him? I remember when Huo Qian invited you to a party, you told him to get lost.”

Shen Zheming retorted coldly, “What else? Go watch him pick up omegas?”

After saying that, Shen Zheming paused and looked up outside.

Shen Luo subconsciously followed his gaze.

The room and the terrace were separated by a light brown glass door. On a French-style round table in the corner of the terrace sat a small potted plant. Because Shen Zheming rarely returned, and the servants didn’t dare enter his room without permission, the plant hadn’t been watered for a long time. It had turned into dried flowers, drooping, shriveled, lifeless.

Shen Zheming’s voice was deep and calm. “I don’t think it should wither.”

Shen Luo was stunned, not sure if Shen Zheming was referring to the flower or to a person.

This reminded her of an incident from their childhood.

That day, there was a heavy storm with lightning and thunder. The family driver picked them up from school.

The road was congested, and rain lashed against the car windows. Shen Luo glanced casually and saw a small black bird on the curb in the distance.

The bird flapped its wings, trying to take off, but the rain was too heavy. No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn’t lift off, and it writhed weakly on the ground.

Shen Luo looked at it and said, “So pitiful.”

Since childhood, they had been taught that there were many tragic things in the world, and one couldn’t manage them all. So don’t meddle in things that don’t concern you. Everything is fated. Respect others’ destinies.

Shen Zheming, who had been dozing against the window, opened his eyes. He watched together with Shen Luo for a while, then asked the driver how long the traffic would last.

The driver wasn’t sure, estimating at least another ten-plus minutes.

Shen Zheming picked up the umbrella in the car and prepared to get out.

Shen Luo was surprised. Her younger brother was usually even more indifferent than she was, and had never shown any affection for animals. But she knew he was getting out for that bird.

“Don’t go. The rain is so heavy, it will splash into the car. Besides, in extreme weather, many birds will die. It’s just natural law. You can’t save them all. Have you forgotten what Mom and Dad always told us?”

“Respect others’ destinies.”

They said in unison.

Shen Zheming said, “I haven’t forgotten. But this bird didn’t fall into the bushes, wasn’t eaten by a stray cat, wasn’t run over by a car. Instead, it caught our attention.”

“It struggled until I saw it—that’s its ability. So encountering me is its fate.”

With those words, Shen Zheming opened the umbrella and got out of the car.

Perhaps if the bird had moved one less time, or simply given up and lain on the ground waiting to die, Shen Zheming would have looked away.

Later, the bird was nursed back to health by a professional vet. The vet said it had a good temperament and could be kept as a pet at home, but Shen Zheming mercilessly set it free.

Shen Zheming didn’t like animals. He saved that bird out of pity, even with a hint of condescending charity.

Shen Luo didn’t know when this battered little bird named Lu Shi had first appeared in Shen Zheming’s sight.

But she always felt that Shen Zheming’s treatment of Lu Shi was not mere pity or charity.

Shen Zheming lowered his eyelids, a heavy gloom and weariness covering his eyes.

He couldn’t be bothered to continue controlling his pheromones. The intense, domineering pheromones began to spread wildly in the room, pressing toward Shen Luo like an overwhelming tide.

He looked up again, his cold eyes carrying a clear warning: “You can leave now.”

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