Seventeen

17. Ordinary Life ~

Wang Fei’s envy was met with utter calm from Yuchi Ankang. “If you delegate some of your household authority to the robot, I guarantee it will stop being so rigid.” Wang Fei believed this wholeheartedly, while Zhao Long remained half convinced. As former soldiers, they were used to entrusting their lives to comrades, but not to machines. However, after Zhu Anfu helped them raise their power levels, Zhao Long found their words more persuasive. Still… handing over authority was something he needed to consider.

Yuchi Ankang didn’t try to persuade further; everyone has their own way of living, and he wouldn’t interfere.

“Anfu, my favorite author started a new story. I’m torn about whether to read it. Why isn’t the great author you or Yuchi Ankang? If only it were one of you, I wouldn’t be hesitating now. Just thinking about those who ran away makes me angry, and knowing the author is among them makes me want to cry. How could someone like that be the author?” Wang Fei began his usual rant after finishing his meal. “By the way, Anfu, what’s your pen name?”

“Huh? My pen name is Frost Dance.” Zhu Anfu glanced sidelong at Wang Fei. When had he ever claimed not to be Frost Dance? And what did he mean by ‘among them’?

Wang Fei froze for a moment, then lunged at Zhu Anfu. “Aaah! Zhu, you villain! You’re Frost Dance and you never told me! You actually—” Before he could finish, Yuchi Ankang and Zhao Long each grabbed an arm and tossed him onto the sofa. Zhao Long apologized to Yuchi Ankang, ignoring Wang Fei’s resentful glare. “Sorry, I’ll keep him in line.”

Zhu Anfu felt extremely uncomfortable under Wang Fei’s resentful gaze and slipped over to Yuchi Ankang’s side. Anyone would be unsettled being stared at by a so-called friend as if they’d been abandoned. He shifted awkwardly. “Brother Zhao Long, could you take your spouse home? I’m getting the creeps. Um… Wang Fei, you should focus on living happily with Zhao Long. I’m already married…”

Zhu Anfu’s words only deepened Wang Fei’s grievance, but before he could react, Zhao Long had already dragged him out the door. Zhu Anfu somehow produced a handkerchief and waved it at Wang Fei, who kept looking back.

Yuchi Ankang looked at Zhu Anfu helplessly. “Did Wang Fei squash you just now?”

“I’m not going to bother with him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand a chance against me.” Zhu Anfu was full of bravado. “Go clean the kitchen. Don’t let Prince do all the chores. If you keep this up, you’ll regress.”

Yuchi Ankang ignored him, set Prince to cleaning duties, then scooped Zhu Anfu into his arms. “I need to disinfect you after Wang Fei squashed you.”

“Come on, I’m not a sterilization cabinet. What’s to disinfect?” Zhu Anfu squirmed, but his strength was no match for Yuchi Ankang’s. Unable to escape, Zhu Anfu gloomily considered fetching some food from his space, eating more, and then pinning Yuchi Ankang beneath him. But it was just wishful thinking. The idea of taking the initiative seemed too exhausting—why not just lie still? Of course, if only he could wake up without a sore waist, that would be best.

Yuchi Ankang’s “disinfection” was really just giving Zhu Anfu a bath, with a few playful pokes along the way. After carrying the breathless Zhu Anfu to the bed, Yuchi Ankang didn’t immediately pounce—Prince still needed to recharge. Prince seemed less energetic than usual today. Yuchi Ankang never saw Prince as just a robot; he was so much like a real person, except for lacking a human body.

“Prince, you’re a member of our family. Don’t worry, no one’s going to send you away. Unless you want to leave.” Thinking back, Prince had been perfectly fine when he got home, but after Wang Fei praised him, he’d become subdued. Perhaps people nowadays had a habit of giving away robots, and Prince was afraid.

Prince immediately became lively, spinning excitedly around the room. His body’s curve graph shot upward, and the little red heart appeared, blinking on and off. Yuchi Ankang was speechless. For all his impressive appearance, Prince was as simple and pure as a child. Yuchi Ankang simply couldn’t understand why such adorable little beings were seen only as cleaning tools by people nowadays.

After setting up Prince to recharge, Yuchi Ankang returned to his room to find Zhu Anfu, freshly bathed, already typing away at his computer. Yuchi Ankang massaged his forehead. If you called Zhu Anfu lazy, he certainly had a diligent side—when writing, he was utterly absorbed, and any interruption could make him irritable. But if you called him hardworking, he was incredibly lazy: rarely leaving the house, not wanting to take a single extra step a day, and needing to be nagged endlessly just to take a bath.

Yuchi Ankang didn’t try to stop Zhu Anfu from writing—this was his passion. Instead, he simply sat nearby, watching the clock and occasionally passing him snacks and drinks to keep up his energy.

Zhu Anfu greatly enjoyed Yuchi Ankang’s care, accepting everything he was given and pausing now and then to steal a kiss, the two as sweet and clingy as any young lovers. When it was time for bed, Zhu Anfu automatically closed his document, and Yuchi Ankang would never do anything as drastic as pulling the plug—besides, there wasn’t an actual plug anymore. Computers now ran on solar power. Of course, there were still ways to force a shutdown, but Yuchi Ankang saw no reason to provoke annoyance. His method was simple: a gentle tap on the desk, enough to break Zhu Anfu’s concentration and make him stop naturally. Each time, Zhu Anfu would stare at him, utterly frustrated, and resolutely refuse to let Yuchi Ankang make any moves that night.

Yuchi Ankang didn’t mind missing out for one night—there would always be another time, and too much of anything wasn’t good for the body.

Their days together were sweet and comfortable, but Wang Fei was far from content. After returning home, Zhao Long kept him busy in bed for so long that he couldn’t get up the next day. Watching his robot move around the room, he thought of Zhu Anfu’s household… No, he didn’t even get that far; just thinking of Zhu Anfu made him feel suffocated. He ordered the robot to set his computer on the bed—he wanted to read his favorite author’s new story. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t the first to know about it.

Marriage leave seemed long on paper, but in practice, the days flew by. When it ended, it was time to return to reality—school for some, the army for others, and the start of new lives ahead. Zhu Anfu woke up early, standing at the door to see Yuchi Ankang off to university. Seeing him dressed for class, Zhu Anfu suddenly laughed. “A university professor turning into a university student—if your former students found out, I wonder if they’d gloat a bit.”