Xu Qichen was pleasantly surprised and looked at Xia Zhixu, “Did you do this?”
Xia Zhixu nodded, putting the cup down. “I thought you liked 0901, so I just made him your AI assistant. We can install him on your phone too. You can give him voice commands.” Seeing Xu Qichen’s delighted expression, Xia Zhixu rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. “You really like 0901 huh?”
“Not really.”
The moment he said that, 0901 said, “Mr. Xu, your words hurt me deeply.”
He immediately smiled and changed his words. “I have a very deep revolutionary friendship with 0901,” Xu Qichen said. “Are you really the system administrator that 0901 mentioned?”
“Yes,” Xia Zhixu admitted readily.
“So you could actually hear what I said to 0901?” Xu Qichen felt very angry and pinched Xia Zhixu’s waist. “This is too unfair!”
Xia Zhixu smiled and sat next to Xu Qichen, affectionately hugging his shoulder. “I don’t think you said anything private? Even if you said it, it’s okay. I don’t have a good memory.”
“That’s still very unfair. I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but you could hear everything I said. And all my permissions in the system were given by you, my points were always overdue, and things sold were so expensive…”
Seeing that his little ancestor had so many complaints and was becoming increasingly angry as he spoke, Xia Zhixu quickly admitted his mistake and apologized, “I’m sorry. I will definitely not use cheats next time.” He raised his right hand and swore to the sky, then hugged Xu Qichen, almost wagging his tail at him. “These rights and restrictions are all fake. In our family, you are the administrator, and our Xiao Xu permanently enjoys the highest authority. How about that?”
His words were better than a song. Xu Qichen used his elbow to turn away the playful and smiling Xia Zhixu and lowered his head to tinker with his computer.
“Stop that, it’s so late already. Let’s go to bed.” Xia Zhixu tugged him away. “Go shower.”
Xu Qichen snorted twice, sat still, and saved the chapter he had just written on his computer. “You go first, I’ll wash later.”
“I wash quickly, finish up soon.” Xia Zhixu touched Xu Qichen’s head and walked into the bathroom.
Xu Qichen had solved all the problems in the manuscript and was ready to try the function of 0901. “0901, how can I port you to my phone?”
0901 replied, “If Mr. Xu needs it, I can teach you how to operate it. The administrator’s phone is also one of my devices. You can try his phone first and experience the specific functions.”
Hearing that, Xu Qichen decided that it was a good idea. He looked around and found Xia Zhixu’s phone on the sofa.
However, it’s not a good habit to look at somebody’s phone without permission. Even though Xia Zhixu just said he had the highest authority, Xu Qichen thought it was better to let him know.
He went to the bathroom door. “Zhixu, can I borrow your phone?”
The reply came from within the bathroom, amidst the sound of flowing water, “Sure, it’s on the sofa.”
With Xia Zhixu’s permission, he felt much better.
“But I don’t know the password…” Xu Qichen sat down on the sofa, mumbling to himself.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
0901 quickly piped up, “Mr. Xu, all the administrator’s passwords are your birthday.”
Ciatbeut la kjr jc fwbalbcifrr rajafwfca, We Hlmtfc ofia kjgw lc tlr tfjga jr tf asqfv tlr ylgatvjs lcab atf qtbcf.
Lf tjv tfjgv atja ab byrfgnf ktfatfg rbwfbcf ibnfr sbe, kbgvr jgf atf wbra reqfgolmlji kjs, agef ibnf boafc rtlcfr lc atf vfajlir. Mbg tlw, lc atf qjra, remt kbgvr kfgf cbatlcu wbgf atjc mtlmxfc rbeq obg atf rbei, yea cbk tf atbeuta atfgf wjs yf rbwf ageat.
All the details of Xia Zhixu’s life seemed to be related to Xu Qichen.
No one can resist such strong emotions.
After unlocking the phone, 0901 prompted Xu Qichen to control the phone by giving him instructions. Xu Qichen’s original purpose was to understand the functions of this embedded AI and was not curious about Xia Zhixu’s private matters. After thinking for a moment, he said to 0901, “Then let’s play a song on his phone.”
Soon, the music software of the phone in hand was opened, and 0901 asked, “Which playlist would you like to listen to?”
The main point of this feature seems to be to allow hands-free usage, Xu Qichen observed.
He didn’t know what to listen to either. “Just… let’s hear the most frequently played songs.” After making his choice, Xu Qichen laid back on the sofa. Writing the novel for a long time had left him with a slight pain in his back, so he thought of this as taking a break.
0901 said, “Now playing: Lullaby.”
Lullaby?
Xu Qichen looked at the ceiling and blinked his eyes.
So this must be what he listens to to sleep.
Originally he thought he would hear a piano piece that was soft and gentle, or a lyrical song with a deep and moving tone, but for some reason, after half a day of playing, Xu Qichen did not hear any sound.
“Why is it so soft?”
0901 replied, “Turning up the volume.”
Xu Qichen raised his head and seemed to hear some strange sound. It sounded like breathing. It was not ordinary breathing, but slightly deeper and slower.
He picked up the phone he had set aside and manually found the music that was being played. The name was indeed Lullaby, but there was no information related to the song or cover. It was something Xia Zhixu had uploaded to this music app himself.
He exited the playback page and found the playlist where the song was located. There was only this lonely song lying inside, and what was even stranger was that the name of the playlist was the emoji of a broken heart.
Just as he was puzzling over it, Xia Zhixu walked out of the bathroom after his shower, drying his hair with a towel in his hand. “I’m done, and I’ll just put your new pajamas here…”
Trailing off, Xia Zhixu’s face changed and he said directly to 0901, “Turn it off.”
Xu Qichen looked at Xia Zhixu in confusion and said, “What’s wrong?” He quickly realised that he was still holding Xia Zhixu’s phone in his hand. He handed it to him and explained, “I didn’t peek at your messages or anything, I just listened to a song.”
The strange expression on Xia Zhixu’s face made Xu Qichen even more suspicious of what the inexplicable Lullaby he had just heard was.
“Go shower ba.” Xia Zhixu avoided the topic and picked up his phone. Xu Qichen noticed that his ears had turned red.
Is it because of the warm shower?
Xu Qichen stood up, picked up the towel, and rubbed Xia Zhixu’s hair. He asked softly, “What’s that Lullaby?”
Xia Zhixu’s lowered eyelashes quivered. “Nothing.”
“Tell me ah,” Xu Qichen rubbed his hair and softened his voice even more.
“It’s really nothing.”
So stubborn. Xu Qichen sighed, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll ask 0901.”
“See if he dares to tell you.”
Xu Qichen pretended to be dissatisfied and threw the semi-wet towel on his face. “You said I’ll become an administrator, but it’s all a lie, and you won’t even tell me about this small matter. I won’t trust you anymore.”
He knew if he waited for three seconds, Xia Zhixu would give in.
3.
2.
1.
“Sorry.” As he had expected, Xia Zhixu grabbed him as he was pretending to leave. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s… it’s…”
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.” Xu Qichen tried to shake off his hand but failed. “I won’t force you.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Xia Zhixu, who had already been eaten to death, had no choice but to lay down his cards.
“That’s something I recorded before, the sound of your breathing while sleeping.” He sighed in despair, “I secretly recorded it during lunch break in freshman year. I didn’t tell you, I know it’s not right, but…”
He couldn’t continue.
Xu Qichen, who had originally intended to cause trouble, was stunned. He never expected that the answer would be like this.
So that was the sound of his breathing.
That’s why the playlist was labeled as a broken heart.
Even though he missed him as he listened to it, he had to listen to it repeatedly on sleepless nights. Afraid of addiction but unable to control it.
Both of them fell silent. Xia Zhixu was embarrassed because the secret was exposed, while Xu Qichen was surprised and embarrassed after discovering the secret. Complex emotions intertwined, almost freezing the air in the living room.
Xia Zhixu scratched his semi-dry hair in distress and explained with a flustered expression, “Are you thinking that I’m perverted? Actually, I don’t listen to it every day… Just sometimes, when I can’t sleep…”
Xu Qichen pursed his lips and chuckled lightly, “Really, but the data shows that you play it an average of eight times a day.”
Once again exposed! Xia Zhixu felt utterly ashamed.
He wanted to say something to defend himself, but his ability to organize words cohesively was completely lost. Looking at him like this, Xu Qichen felt like he was back in high school and saw Xia Zhixu, who was eager and embarrassed every time he faced him.
He stepped on Xia Zhixu’s foot, wrapped his hand around his neck, and leaned in to kiss him.
Moving back slightly after the deed was done, he asked in a gentle voice, “Do you really like me that much?”
As he said these words, Xu Qichen’s eyes blinked slowly. The light-colored pupils contained Xia Zhixu’s handsome face, his eyes seemed to be covered with water vapor, shimmering slightly.
Xia Zhixu’s ears felt very hot.
Even though he was already an adult, even though he could calmly say shameless or heartfelt words to tease the person in front of him, at this moment, his heart was held in his hand, staring at him with a cute expression like showing off spoils of war. Xia Zhixu’s abilities were all gone, and he could only be like a teenager, speechless.
Seeing his breathing quicken, Xu Qichen put his arms around Xia Zhixu’s neck once again and kissed his chin.
“I’m by your side,” his soft lips rubbed against Xia Zhixu’s short stubble. “You don’t have to listen to that anymore, I can produce that in 3D surround sound.”
Seeing that Xia Zhixu was still silent, Xu Qichen reached out and grabbed his two hands around his waist. He approached Xia Zhixu and whispered to him, “Don’t you want to kiss me? Kiss me.”
A cat seeking its owner’s affection will always shoot a soft arrow with treacherous accuracy.
Xia Zhixu tightened his hand around his waist and lowered his head to kiss Xu Qichen.
The love he had hidden for ten years was so much that he dared not easily let Xu Qichen see it, afraid that this overwhelming obsession would scare him. He wished to find a dark basement to lock up all those overly intense emotions, not wanting him to see his past struggles and the madness on the brink of collapse.
He just wanted to give him a perfect version of himself.
But he forgot a very simple truth: what Xu Qichen wanted was not a version of him, but the whole him.
From the first version to the newest.
He always loved Xia Zhixu completely.
The mint aroma of the toothpaste pierced Xu Qichen’s mouth, and the simultaneously cool and spicy sensation hit his heart. The feeling of being loved was so beautiful that it was difficult to distinguish between dreams and reality. At this moment, he only wanted to gain a deeper sense of reality from the sensory stimulation of touch.
Realizing that Xu Qichen’s enthusiasm had gone too far, Xia Zhixu pressed down on his shoulder and reminded him during the kiss, “Wait a minute, I’ve set up the heater for you. You…”
Xu Qichen’s hand wrapped around his ear, and his fingertips gently traced the shape of his ear, causing Xia Zhixu to itch. “Yes, I almost forgot about the shower.” His fingers rubbed against Xia Zhixu’s almost dry hair roots, his voice half-filled with damp air as he whispered, “I’m so tired… Help me wash up ba.”
