TGMNDIAR - 16
Xu Mu originally wanted to let the lop-eared rabbit stay and sleep with him.
Just as he finished speaking but before he could put it into action, he was kicked by the rabbit. It struggled to get up, and Xu Mu didn't dare to resist, afraid that the rabbit might hurt itself.
"Are you really leaving?" Xu Mu lightly touched the lop-eared rabbit's ear and asked softly.
Bai Nian remained silent, pulling his ear back and giving him a disdainful glance before jumping off the bed and running out of the room.
Xu Mu followed, a few steps behind the lop-eared rabbit. "Wait, don't go through the balcony, it's dangerous. Let me open the door for you..."
The curtains in the living room fluttered freely, and the cool night breeze slipped in through the gaps in the glass windows.
But the lop-eared rabbit's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Xu Mu sighed. Those little rabbit legs kicked hard, and walked fast too.
Nades: "Master, do you want to take a look in the mirror?"
Xu Mu was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Nades didn't any time. The mechanical arm lifted, a blue light flashed, and a holographic screen appeared in the air, clearly capturing Xu Mu's current appearance.
—His eyelids drooped, the white of his eyes showing underneath, his face cold, with a few faint red marks overlapping on his cheeks.
"You can still leave a mark on someone even without nails..." Xu Mu touched his face, feeling no pain or swelling.
Hmm, it has nothing to do with the rabbit. His face is just too fragile.
Blame him.
---
Morning
"Daddy, wait... I'll go too..." Ye Ye, dressed in dark blue overalls, sat in his toy car. His face showed confusion as he said in a childish voice, "Together."
Bai Nian stiffened for a moment, then quickly said gently, "Daddy will be late for work today, so I won't be going next door with Ye Ye."
He ruffled Ye Ye's hair, "Can Ye Ye go alone?"
Ye Ye squinted comfortably, wrapping his short arms around Bai Nian, "...Okay, I'm super awesome."
Bai Nian chuckled, "Yes, Ye Ye is super amazing."
---
"It can't be, I just paid the water and electricity bills yesterday. Did the power outside go out? Let me check." Xu Mu got up and started washing up, but the water suddenly stopped in the bathroom.
He called Nades over, and Nades said that everything in the house's systems was normal.
Nades said, "Are you sure the bills were automatically deducted successfully, and not showing insufficient balance to pay?"
Xu Mu was speechless, "It’s not like you can't access my household's public accounts. Just go up and check."
As a household robot and having taken care of the original owner from adolescence to adulthood, Nades can be said to be fully functional with high authority.
"Master, since you reached adulthood, I have returned most of your authority."
Xu Mu exclaimed, "Oh, is that so?" He operated the Light Brain for a moment, "Now, take a look."
Nades: "Alright, I have successfully retrieved the information. Congratulations! As of now, you have paid off two years of loans and four months of public and private bills. Now, you only owe two months and seven days of debt and sixteen years of government loans."
“...” Xu Mu couldn't take it anymore, "Okay, stop talking. You're making me feel guilty about eating later."
He went to check the communal fiber-optic strip on this floor and found that the screen belonging to his own home was black.
Looking up, Xu Mu said, "Nades, it seems like there's a real problem. Should we call for maintenance?"
Nades replied, "Please step aside, I'll check."
"Okay."
Xu Mu frowned, staring at Nades without paying attention to the movement behind the elevator.
Bai Nian almost held his breath as he entered the elevator. The "ding" sound, which he rarely paid attention to on ordinary days, was amplified countless times, becoming a small hammer pounding his heart.
It wasn't until the elevator doors slowly closed that he finally exhaled.
He wasn’t discovered... Bai Nian lowered his gaze, his fingertips involuntarily curling. He tightly gripped his wrist, feeling the pulse transmitting through his palm, a tingling sensation, a suffocating feeling, as if he were about to lose consciousness.
His face was really not as thick as the young person. After doing so many things to him, he could still maintain an indifferent appearance.
Bai Nian pursed his lips. Strangely, the other person was the one who should feel nervous, yet he felt paranoid.
Xu Mu didn't know how Nades managed to fix the power issue, but after a few minutes of tinkering with the robot, he was told to go home and check.
—The water was back.
"So where was the problem?" Xu Mu asked.
Nades replied, "Poor contact. This is an old building area, and many system devices are aging."
"Oh, I see." Xu Mu nodded. "Do we need to..."
"Daddy!!!" A loud shout interrupted Xu Mu's words. Following the sound, he saw Ye Ye squatting at his doorstep.
Xu Mu hurried over and lifted him up. "Hey, you're here. Where's Brother Nian?"
Ye Ye tilted his head. "Nian late..."
Xu Mu asked, "Where’s your dad? Is he at work?"
For some time, Ye Ye not only came to Xu Mu's house in the afternoons but also in the mornings, often staying for the whole day.
Ye Ye, was quiet and calm. Rather than seeking Xu Mu as a playmate, he seemed to just want someone to accompany him. While Xu Mu played games or studied, Ye Ye would sit beside him, sometimes just daydreaming or entertaining himself with toys.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, they would go downstairs together to play soccer. After playing for a while, they would return home, repeating the same pattern of interaction as in the morning.
When Bai Nian returned home, Ye Ye would "change places," and at this time, Xu Mu would be invited to have dinner at their place.
At first, Xu Mu was polite, but gradually it became a habit.
He scorned himself for being greedy, but his stomach controlled his brain, so he would only shamelessly say, "Okay, okay."
"Daddy, eat!" Ye Ye waved his small hand, and behind him, Kadou handed over a thermos box containing breakfast, lunch, dessert, and juice, all made by Bai Nian, covering most of his meals for the day.
Hmm, there was even a portion for Xu Mu.
"Is your dad at work?" Xu Mu asked again.
Ye Ye nodded heavily, "Yes, almost late. I'm amazing, I can handle it myself."
Xu Mu understood and gave Ye Ye a thumbs up. "Yes, Ye Ye is really amazing."
He thought Bai Nian must be quite busy with work these days. When he came home for dinner, he didn't have time to relax; instead, he would prepare food for Ye Ye and then go back to his room to work.
In the mornings, he rushed off to the company in a hurry, probably working late into the night and having limited sleep and tight waking hours.
—--Shouldn't he stop mooching off their meals in the future?
---
Fuxin Architectural Design Firm
"I hate this kind of rainy day." Jin Fei was full of complaints, her arms hanging a damp coat, shivering from the cold. "It's bad enough that the public airships are crowded, but some people have no manners at all. When their rain deflectors leak, they just let the water spill onto others' shoes!"
Tang Wanan was touching up her lipstick in front of the mirror. When she was satisfied, she turned around slowly. "There's nothing we can do. We're all just office slaves. But when we make a name for ourselves in the future, we can open our own studio and work from home."
She casually adjusted the thermostat and pointed the space heater towards Jin Fei.
Jin Fei pressed her palms against the warm air, continuing her rant, "And you know what's even more outrageous? I spoke to him nicely and politely, and guess what? He actually had the nerve to scowl at me, impatiently pull down his rain deflector, and mouth off at me as if I were causing trouble?!"
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became. "I swear, if it weren't for the crowded airship making me feel suffocated and short of breath, I would have given him a piece of my mind right then and there."
She stomped her foot again. "My feet feel like they're in an ice cave!"
Tang Wanan said, "Then you should change your shoes quickly. Are the heaters on in the public airship?"
Jin Fei was indignant. "They are, but is it enough? Water is seeping in through the seams of my shoes, and the foot warmers on the floor are scalding my feet but still not enough!"
Tang Wanan comforted her, "Oh, don't be upset. I'll make you some ginger tea to warm you up. You can change your shoes in the bathroom later."
Before Jin Fei could respond, a cheerful voice sounded.
"Good morning, Sister Fei, Sister Wanwan."
Jin Fei was surprised. "Oh, Yuntao, have you finished your thesis at school?"
"Yeah." Jiang Yuntao replied. "Now I'm back to continue my internship."
He had a sunny and handsome appearance, with a hint of rebelliousness in his features. When he smiled, he revealed a set of perfectly aligned teeth. With wheat-colored skin and well-developed muscles, it was clear that he had a habit of regular exercise.
"Yuntao, I saw the banquet performance from your school a few days ago trending all over the internet. Did you participate?" Tang Wanan asked curiously.
Jiang Yuntao replied, "Yes, I did, and I..."
Clang!
A bookshelf model at the door fell from a high place and rolled several times on the ground.
Bai Nian sidestepped to avoid it, then casually picked it up and placed it back in its original position.
He walked to his workstation and greeted, "Morning."
Jin Fei and Tang Wanan both waved with smiles.
"Oh, your clothes are wet too." Jin Fei noticed Bai Nian's dark shoulder and remarked.
Bai Nian touched his shoulder, which was covered in water stains. "I didn't notice and got caught in the rain."
"Hey, are you an intern too?" Jiang Yuntao interjected suddenly, "I don't think I've seen you before."
The man in front of him seemed to completely ignore him from start to finish, sitting back in his chair without even a glance.
Jiang Yuntao looked him up and down.
His angle was a bit tricky because the other person's head was lowered, so he only saw some brownish hair softly covering his forehead, wearing a pair of large black-framed glasses. The exposed chin was slightly pointed, and his skin was so pale that it seemed to lack any color, as if radiating a cold aura.
He wore a rather stiff thin cotton jacket, with a high-necked flannel undershirt, and brushed fleece tapered trousers, all in unremarkable black.
Bland, dull, unremarkable.
Bai Nian only just noticed the person standing beside his workstation. He shook his head and said, "No, I just started this job."
Tang Wanan said, "Brother Bai started half a month ago. You were just back to school at that time, so you didn't see him, right?"
Jiang Yuntao nodded, "Right, I didn't see him."
Jin Fei said, "Brother Bai is really amazing. He became a top-level architect in his thirties, won many prestigious awards, and was previously a project leader in a big company. If you ever have any problems you can't solve, you can go ask him."
Bai Nian gently replied, "Feifei is exaggerating. We're all good partners who progress together."
Jin Fei smiled and said, "Alright, Brother Bai is really modest."
Tang Wanan remembered something and said to Jiang Yuntao, "Oh, you said you participated. What did you do?"
Jiang Yuntao replied, "I performed too."
Jin Fei exclaimed, "Wow," curiously asking, "What did you perform?"
Jiang Yuntao took out his Light Brain and directly played a video, saying generously, "A friend recorded it. You can take a look."
Jin Fei and Tang Wanan leaned over to watch.
After watching for a few minutes, Jin Fei exclaimed in surprise, "Young people nowadays..."
She hesitated, "Are these all real mimicry?"
"Yes," Jiang Yuntao smiled, "for a realistic effect."
Tang Wanan patted Jin Fei on the back, "Alright, we're becoming old-fashioned. The younger you are, the more broad-minded you are, understand?"
Jin Fei quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, this is the world for you young people."
Jiang Yuntao chuckled openly, "Don't you want to ask which one is me?"
Jin Fei cleared her throat awkwardly, "Which one is it?"
"The one with the light golden mane."
"Strong and majestic, not bad," Tang Wanan praised.
Jiang Yuntao's smile deepened, eager to try, "Sis, do you want to take a look?"
Tang Wanan quickly waved her hand, "No need, the video is enough."
Jiang Yuntao was about to say something when suddenly, a voice came from the partition.
"The sandwiches and coffee are ready." He waved, "I'm going to have breakfast."
As Jiang Yuntao walked away, Jin Fei and Tang Wanan sighed, "Oh dear, young people are becoming more and more open-minded. Jiang Yuntao is only seven or eight years younger than us, but is the generation gap already this big?"
"In our time, we would only feel comfortable enough to show off our mimicry if our relationship was closer. Now it's evolved to this."
Tang Wanan returned to her workstation. "It's not really a generation gap, I suppose. It's just that each generation has its own set of beliefs. They probably don't see anything wrong with using their mimicry to interact publicly." She smiled. "Nowadays, there are even livestreamers who rely on their mimicry to attract fans, right? We may not like it, but young people do."
Jin Fei said, "Well, I didn't mean it that way. We had people who were open to using their mimicry for socializing back then too, just not as many. I don't have any issues with them, it's not like I'm that conservative."
"Now—"
Bai Nian had been quietly listening, not joining in their conversation until now. Suddenly, he spoke up, "Do young people really like to use their mimicry to interact?"
Tang Wanan chuckled, "You might not know, Brother Bai, but mimicry-based socializing is really trending lately. It used to be seen as a step further in intimate relationships, but now everyone says that using mimicry to socialize is the only way to sincerely reveal oneself, and everyone likes and is willing to show their mimicry.”
Jin Fei sighed, "I guess I'm doomed. I don't think I can do it."
Tang Wanan said, "Trends like these come and go, and it's only the perspective of a small portion of people. Why, are you really planning to find yourself a younger brother to talk to?"
Jin Fei replied, "Younger brothers are great! Who doesn't like enthusiastic and generous younger brothers?"
Tang Wanan burst into laughter.
...
Bai Nian's hand, holding the stylus, tightened for a moment, the joints protruding slightly, with faint blue veins winding through, slightly bulging.
So, this is the trend... His expression turned subtle. Do young people really prefer to socialize using their mimicry?
No, that's not right.
Even if it's mimicry-based socializing, it should be mutual.
Bai Nian clenched the stylus tightly, his jaw slightly tensed.
Xu Mu... Well, even if he took ten thousand steps back, he would still be a little sick.
He needs treatment.
---
"The rain... It's so heavy!" Ye Ye lay on the glass window, eyes wide with astonishment. "It's dark, so dark, time to sleep..."
Xu Mu drew back the curtains. "No, it's not. The sun hasn't set yet at this time, it's not considered nighttime."
Ye Ye pouted, not listening, "Stars... Goodnight!"
Outside, thick dark clouds loomed, thunder rumbled, and torrential rain poured down. Looking down from above, visibility was extremely low, making it nearly impossible to see objects clearly.
It was the most intense downpour in these past few days. Xu Mu couldn't help but frown, feeling a bit worried.
He wonders how Brother Nian is doing on his way back from work... He shouldn't have any trouble, right?
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