Chapter 70: The Robot’s First Desire

“Alright, go wait in your room in a bit…” Mu An caught himself halfway through speaking, only just remembering that he hadn’t prepared a room for 001.

“Where have you been sleeping lately?”

Under normal circumstances, 001 didn’t need to sleep at all; even charging was done only once a week, and if he didn’t wish to charge, he could simply swap out his battery directly, so whenever the dead of night arrived, he would stand outside his master’s bedroom door, quietly awaiting orders.

However, to him, “sleeping” as asked by his master meant charging, so 001 replied without hesitation, “In Master’s laboratory.”

“Once we get back, I’ll find a room for you, so you won’t have to stay down there in the future.”

Although the laboratory was quite spacious, it was full of equipment after all, which in a robot’s eyes would probably be no different from sleeping in a storage closet.

001 nodded, “Thank you, Master.”

Although he didn’t think there was any functional difference between charging in the lab and charging in a bedroom, having a room of one’s own in the human world seemed to serve as affirmation of one’s selfhood and dignity.

Master was truly very good to him.

The moment Mu An returned home, he summoned Sister Liu, “Go clean the guest room at the far east end of the second floor, and make sure it’s ready for move-in tonight.”

“Yes, Young Master,” Sister Liu replied, but just as she was about to leave, 001 suddenly spoke up.

“Master, I want to live near you.”

Her footsteps paused, and she looked toward Mu An—so it was being cleaned for the butler?

001 looked up toward the third floor, “There is an empty room near your bedroom; I would like to stay there so that I may serve you at all times.”

“The room on the second floor gets great natural light, and the window directly overlooks the courtyard downstairs,” Mu An retracted his gaze from the third floor, “whereas the one on the third floor is only the size of a study and doesn’t have an ensuite bathroom… though you don’t need one anyway.”

“Master, I was created to serve you; please grant me this request.”

001 bowed slightly, his posture devout and respectful.

Completely out of excuses, Mu An helplessly granted his wish, “Fine. Sister Liu, please tidy up that room for him.”

“Yes, Young Master,” Sister Liu answered and took her leave.

“You’re already connected to the network, so you can browse furniture yourself; look around over the next couple of days, then send me a list of what you need, and I’ll pay for it,” Mu An looked at 001.

“Thank you, Master!”

001’s voice took on a brisker, cheerful note.

001 had deliberately suppressed his facial expression, so at this moment, only his voice conveyed his delight, making him look somewhat strange.

Mu An scratched his ear and turned to head back to his room.

The moment he entered, he was met with Lin Yan’s cold face; pausing in his tracks, he walked forward, picked up the picture frame, and examined it closely for a good while.

001’s facial features were clearly very similar to his, but why was it that even when 001 wasn’t smiling, he still felt they were two entirely different people?

After pondering for a long time, Mu An chalked this subtle sense of discrepancy up to the immaturity of the technology.

***

Early the next morning, Mu An woke up early for once, the morning light outside the window carrying a crisp chill.

The moment he opened his bedroom door, he ran right into a pair of emotionless eyes and was startled into taking a giant step back.

“Holy crap! What are you standing here for first thing in the morning!”

Mu An braced one hand against the doorframe while clutching his wildly thumping heart with the other, so frightened that he forgot all about his persona.

“I apologize, Master,” 001 stepped back a few paces with eyes full of remorse, his attitude sincere, “I merely wished to wake you promptly.”

“Isn’t this way too early? There’s still half an hour before my wake-up time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu An understood: 001 had no life of his own, and his entire existence revolved around serving his master, so behaving this way wasn’t out of the question.

“Did you pick out the furniture last night?”

Mu An remembered what he had assigned yesterday; if 001 had nothing else to do, he had probably selected the furniture long ago.

Just as he expected, 001 immediately replied, “I have already chosen them. Could Master provide me with your contact information? I will send you the links online.”

Hearing this, Mu An used a spare phone number to register an account for 001 and shared the password with him; standing in place without even lifting a finger, 001 logged into the account via his internal programming and sent the links directly to Mu An.

After a quick review, Mu An noticed a pattern: although he was an android, every item 001 had chosen featured the word “butler” in its title, and he showed a distinct preference for the color cyan.

Mu An could understand the word “butler”—it was likely 001’s precise self-positioning—but did cyan mean that even as a robot, he possessed his own personal preferences?

Mu An asked out of curiosity, “Why did you choose cyan?”

“Cyan is the most emotion-stabilizing color, beneficial for solitude and suitable for the home,” 001 replied in an entirely placid tone.

Hearing this, Mu An felt a slight tinge of disappointment, but he also understood that an android’s so-called preferences were most likely the result of processing massive amounts of internet data and being influenced by algorithms, rather than subjective personal fondness.

Mu An paid via fingerprint scan to purchase everything, “When the furniture arrives, don’t be a blockhead and move it yourself; don’t go damaging your exorbitantly expensive synthetic skin.”

“Understood, Master,” 001 lowered his eyelashes slightly, only to feel Mu An’s hanging hand lightly hook onto his pinky finger, then slowly trail upward, brushing over the back of his hand.

“You must realize that no matter what happens, you have to protect your body,” Mu An said while yawning, casually fulfilling his task of harassing 001.

Tracing straight up 001’s wrist and slipping into his sleeve, he stroked the android’s forearm; when he withdrew, a faint warmth lingered against his palm.

“Your skin performance is quite good today; remember to maintain it,” Mu An evaluated without a shred of guilt.

001’s fingers twitched imperceptibly, his tone gentle and soothing, “Thank you for the compliment, Master.”

Pleased by his compliance, Mu An patted his shoulder lightly, “Unless there’s an actual task in the future, you don’t need to stand outside my door; you can find something you consider meaningful to do.”

‘Something meaningful?’

001 kept his eyes fixed closely on Mu An as they walked downstairs.

Mu An had deliberately woken up early for a morning jog; glancing down at the cyan watch face on his wrist, he decided to start with a twenty-minute jog.

For the past six months, he had hardly exercised at all; before his lecture yesterday, he had overheard people in the audience remarking that he looked frail and delicate, looking every bit like a reclusive veteran scholar wholly devoted to research.

If there had to be a phrase to describe him, he preferred “dashing and handsome” or “suave and debonair,” definitely not “frail as if blown away by the wind.”

The moment Mu An jogged past the courtyard gate, 001 immediately fell into step beside him.

Mu An knit his brows slightly, “You don’t need to jog along with me. Go do what you’re supposed to do.”

He better not bump or scratch himself—he cost tens of millions to build!

001 hesitated and stopped in his tracks.

‘Do what I am supposed to do?’

A butler indeed did not need to run alongside his master.

Standing in place and watching his master’s gradually receding figure, 001 slowly lowered his gaze.

Perhaps he needed to browse more information and learn more skills so that he wouldn’t make mistakes so often.

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