Chapter 70: Artificial Stupidity (6)
70 – Artificial Stupidity (6)
He was dreaming again.
From a certain point onward, it seemed that every time he fell asleep, he would dream.
Perhaps it was autumn, and the night was as cool as water.
Stars filled the sky, and the night was deep. He was swinging on a swing in the courtyard.
The swing was an old fixture in the courtyard.
Swinging late at night meant waiting for someone—he didn’t know why he had such a thought.
The light in the small building was still on. Lin Ting had set up an easel under the corridor light and was painting, using a small flower that bloomed at night in the courtyard as her subject. Based on Lin Ting’s appearance, Lin Xun guessed that he was no older than ten at the time.
In the quiet night, a sudden knock sounded at the door.
Lin Xun jumped off the swing and went to open it.
As soon as the door opened, a beautiful little face came into view.
It was a long-haired little beauty, about the same age as him, wearing a soft white silk shirt with delicate lace on the sleeves and a pretty silver satin ribbon tied at the collar. At first glance, their features were ambiguous, neither distinctly masculine nor feminine.
“Can’t sleep,” the little beauty rubbed their eyes. Their eyes were well-shaped, with sharp corners and dense eyelashes that looked as if they were painted on.
Lin Xun said, “I’ll sleep with you.”
Then he added, “Will your dad notice you’re not sleeping at home?”
The little beauty replied, “He doesn’t care about me anyway.”
They took Lin Xun’s hand, holding it tightly.
Lin Xun led them upstairs. When they reached the top step, he looked back at the person on the stairs.
“You look like a little princess,” he said.
The little beauty’s expression was calm and gentle as they looked up at him. “I’m a boy.”
“Exactly.”
“Alright then.”
Lin Xun settled them into bed, where there were two pillows—one for himself and one for his pretty friend.
He remembered Lin Ting’s name, remembered his grandfather’s name, but he couldn’t recall this person’s name.
Standing in front of the bookshelf, he asked, “Do you want to read a book, or are you going to sleep right away?”
“No,” the little beauty in bed said, their dark eyes fixed on him as if they hadn’t looked away the entire time. Their voice was soft. “Come here.”
So Lin Xun went over, climbed into bed, and buried himself under the covers. The next moment, someone gently hugged his arm. The pretty boy rested his head on Lin Xun’s shoulder in a very affectionate posture, then gradually tightened his grip on Lin Xun’s hand.
It was actually a bit too tight, but Lin Xun seemed accustomed to it. He naturally reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.
“Goodnight,” he said.
“Goodnight.”
He fell asleep quickly, soon drifting off again within the dream.
When Lin Xun woke up, he was lying down.
White ceiling, dim surroundings.
His head was still a bit foggy, but it was much better than before.
Every muscle in his body was deeply relaxed, as if he had finally had a long, restful sleep after days of exhaustion. The pillow and bed were soft, and the long-lost sense of safety and comfort reminded him of his childhood room, with a bedside lamp glowing softly.
But this wasn’t his room.
Lin Xun sat up, and at that moment, a soft “beep” sounded beside him. A small robot lit up. Lin Xun and it stared at each other for a few seconds, confirming that this was the legendary medical robot that was about to be released but hadn’t yet been. Galaxy claimed it would become part of the smart home, providing a comprehensive health management system for every member.
The small robot’s wheels rolled beneath it, pushing it toward the room’s door.
Then—
Clang.
It bumped into the door.
Lin Xun laughed out loud.
The little robot got up and continued charging headlong into the door.
Lin Xun tentatively spoke a sentence.
He said, “Could you pull the curtains?”
As his voice fell, the curtains opened on their own. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was the evening scenery, the forest landscape very serene, the distant lake water reflecting the glow of the sunset.
He had been to this place before—it was the lakeside villa area where Dong Jun lived.
Amid the background noise of the door-bumping, Lin Xun picked up his phone. Various messages overwhelmed his mind.
The messages from Goddess of the Luo River that hadn’t been sent earlier finally went through after the signal was restored. The Cultivation world’s people had infiltrated the basement level of the children’s hospital after the police cars left and indeed discovered a sinister demon realm rift. They were currently working on repairing it. As the discoverer of the rift, Lin Xun received praise from the elders once again.
Of course, there were also elders who said this kid was just too unlucky.
Apart from that, the one who sent the most messages was Zhao Jiagou.
Zhao Jiagou: Lin Daima said he took you home. Are you still alive?
Lin Suanfa: Alive.
Zhao Jiagou: How did you just get packed up and taken away??
Lin Suanfa: Because of some non-materialist events, I fainted.
Zhao Jiagou: So you didn’t ask me and Anquan, your most loyal friends, for help, but instead asked your male god whom you’ve only known for a few days.
Lin Suanfa: ^^
After perfunctorily dealing with Jia Gou, he opened his memo app, jotted down a few more notes in the “Dreams” folder, then clicked on the “Suspicious Points” folder and hastily typed a few fragmented words:
System damaged, the demon’s target is the Cultivation system? Doesn’t hold up, the system only applies to me.
Stay away from demons? Stay away from Zhi Zhen? Questionable.
Is Zhi Zhen actually the Emperor?
The time the system went offline coincides with when Dong Jun arrived.
Lo’s intelligence level exceeds expectations, needs further investigation.
Just as he finished typing, another sound came from the doorway—aside from the medical robot bumping into the door, scratching sounds from animal claws and meowing could be heard from outside.
Zhi Zhen wanted to come in.
Just as Lin Xun was about to get out of bed to open the door, let the medical robot out, and let Zhi Zhen in, the doorknob turned and someone pushed the door open and walked in.
It was Dong Jun.
But Zhi Zhen was a step faster than Dong Jun. After a few light pats of paws on the floor, it jumped onto the bed.
Holding the fluffy Zhi Zhen, Lin Xun looked up at Dong Jun, momentarily unsure what expression to make: “…Good evening.”
“Good evening.” Dong Jun approached and sat by his bedside. “Feeling better?”
His voice was low and soft, his tone the kind full of concern.
“Much better,” Lin Xun said. He was trying hard to fabricate a plausible reason to make Dong Jun believe his fainting was within normal bounds, but before he could come up with one, he heard Dong Jun say, “The robot’s diagnosis was excessive fatigue.”
“Probably,” Lin Xun went along with it.
A hand pressed against his forehead. Lin Xun was taken aback.
Realizing it was Dong Jun checking his temperature, he pursed his lips, feeling his ears grow warm.
In his memory, it seemed like no one had done something like this to him in a long time.
Back in high school, Lin Ting had already gone abroad. Later on, he spent most of his time hanging out with Security Architecture and the others. Though they were practically inseparable in daily life, their days were just casually lived—when they found out he had a fever or a cold, aside from a “Don’t make your dad worry, son,” there was never any actual care or concern. At most, they’d toss him a box of ibuprofen, or if not ibuprofen, then acetaminophen.
“Slept for nine hours,” Dong Jun moved his hand away, his voice slightly heavy, and asked, “Haven’t been sleeping on time lately?”
Lin Xun’s gaze began to wander.
He couldn’t tell Dong Jun, whose worldview currently seemed entirely grounded in materialism, about the demonic creatures, nor could he lie and claim he hadn’t slept at all, risking Dong Jun’s reprimand.
Dong Jun looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Under Dong Jun’s gaze, Lin Xun lowered his eyes, his right hand stealthily moving to slip out from under the edge of the blanket.
Then, he gently hooked Dong Jun’s finger.