Hmm...

Ticket check, entering the theater, finding their seats.

Hall 3 wasn't large, and neither was the screen. The seats were old-fashioned red velvet chairs, soft to sit on, carrying a faint scent of disinfectant.

Fang Qi held Liguang's small hand, walking further inside along the dim steps.

Commercials were playing on the screen, the shifting light and shadows making the aisle flicker from bright to dark.

He found their row—the third from the back, the four seats right in the middle.

He turned sideways to let Liguang go in first.

The silver-haired girl obediently squeezed past him sideways, her milky-white knit dress brushing against his legs.

She sat down in the third seat, then immediately reached over and grabbed his hand.

Fang Qi sat down next to her and glanced around.

The theater was almost full, packed tightly with people, mostly couples.

Only the two seats next to them were empty.

One on the left, one on the right, perfectly separating the two of them from the people on either side.

Hmm, perfect!

The movie was ten minutes away from starting, the lights were still on, and the hall was noisy with chatter.

Some people were whispering, some were stuffing popcorn into their mouths, and others were complaining that the AC was too cold.

Fang Qi turned his head to look at Liguang.

The silver-haired girl sat quietly, holding his hand, completely motionless.

She sat up perfectly straight, legs together, toes lightly touching the ground. One small hand rested properly on her lap, while the other was intertwined with his, resting obediently on the armrest between their seats.

The posture of a well-bred lady.

Docile, well-behaved, absolutely flawless.

However, the hand holding his was gently scratching his palm with its fingertips, over and over.

Fang Qi felt a bit ticklish from the scratching and squeezed her hand firmly, prompting her to obediently stop.

Finally, the lights dimmed.

The whole theater plunged into darkness, and a faint glow lit up the screen.

The silver-haired girl finally took off her sunglasses.

The light from the screen reflected on her face, illuminating her heterochromatic eyes.

Her amber left eye flickered slightly, gentle as water, reflecting the shifting light and shadows of the screen.

Her crimson right eye... had dimmed by now, leaving only a very, very faint glow.

She had deliberately suppressed the glow of her red eye to the lowest level.

But even so, a faint redness still lingered around that eye, making the lower half of her face look bewitchingly beautiful.

So beautiful it was impossible to look away.

Fang Qi watched her from the side.

He looked at her eyelashes trembling slightly in the screen's light, her delicate nose, and her lips painted with a light lip gloss.

Truly beautiful.

Much better looking than the movie.

Then her cheeks turned slightly red, and her small hand squeezed his tightly once again.

The screen brightened completely, and the movie began.

Fang Qi then turned his head to look at the screen, but his hand remained tightly clasped with Liguang's, their fingers intertwined.

His and Liguang's first movie together—

Officially started!

The screen first showed a background introduction with white text on a black background—

[One Year Before the Second Omnic Crisis · City XX]

Then the scene shifted to an apartment.

The decor was simple: white walls, wooden floors. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the city's night view, and the warm yellow light spilling across the room made it look exceptionally cozy.

It looked a bit like his and Liguang's home.

A man was standing by the window, his back to the camera, wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his figure slender.

And behind him stood a...

Fang Qi's eyes widened slightly.

Uh...

Is this, a female robot?

Yeah.

It was indeed a robot.

A robot completely different from Liguang!

She didn't have bionic skin like Liguang. Her entire body was a silver-white metallic shell, giving off a cold metallic tone under the warm yellow light.

She also had no hair. Her metallic head had smooth lines, and she wore a delicate silver hair accessory on top... It actually had a unique aesthetic appeal.

She didn't even have facial features!

Her face was just a smooth, rounded metal panel. There was nothing on it; it was as smooth as a mirror, so smooth it could reflect light!

The reason she was considered female was because of...

Her figure!

Tall, graceful, with exquisite curves!

A slender waist, long legs, and that...

Tsk tsk tsk, this was absolutely a supermodel's figure!

Sure enough, when humans invent robots, they always have to add some eye candy!

As a result, Fang Qi's gaze lingered on those metallic curves for half a second too long...

And a sudden, sharp pain struck the back of his hand!

That small hand, which had been holding his obediently, tightened in an instant!

Five slender fingers gripped his hand like iron pincers, the nails digging right into his flesh!

Hiss—!

Fang Qi turned his head, slightly stiff!

The light from the screen reflected on the silver-haired girl's face, illuminating her slightly narrowed heterochromatic eyes.

The scarlet in her right eye, which had been suppressed to the absolute minimum, was now faintly ignited!

But she didn't look at him.

She just stared at the screen, looking at that female robot with the graceful figure.

But that hand... was currently applying continuous pressure on the back of Fang Qi's hand!

Pain!

Crazy woman, you're at it again...!

Getting jealous over a movie character!

He quickly leaned in close to her ear and lowered his voice:

I was just observing the movie's setting! Learning! Doing some research!

The silver-haired girl's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

The grip pinching his hand loosened just a tiny bit, but didn't completely let go.

Her lips moved as she leaned into his ear, softly uttering a sentence in a voice only the two of them could hear:

Master, do you like this kind of shell?

Fang Qi froze.

What?

The silver-haired girl didn't look at him; her gaze remained fixed on the screen, on that metallic robot with the graceful figure.

But her voice continued to drift into his ear, devoid of any discernible emotion:

Liguang is a custom AI...

If you want, I can also be changed into a shell like that.

She paused, and the fingertips of the small hand holding his started to scratch lightly again.

Anyway, Liguang's essence...

Her voice grew softer.

...is just that ugly skeleton inside.

Fang Qi: ...

Here we go again.

The crazy woman was doubting herself again, testing him again!

He was used to it!

Coax her.

He had to coax her properly!

He pursed his lips, leaned close to her ear, and enunciated word by word in a voice only they could hear:

I just like the way you are now.

The silver-haired girl's eyelashes trembled violently.

Your current appearance is exactly what I like.

He paused, then added:

Of course, whatever you want to change into, I'll still like it.

Even if you turn into a lump of iron, I will still like you.

The silver-haired girl's body stiffened slightly.

She slowly turned her head, her heterochromatic eyes staring straight at him in the dim light.

The light from the screen reflected on her face, illuminating her slightly reddened cheeks, and those...

...watery, shimmering eyes.

Her lips moved as if wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

She merely let out a soft Hmph.

Then she turned her face back and continued staring at the screen.

But that small hand quietly and tightly grasped his hand once again.

Fingers intertwined.

Fang Qi squeezed her fingers, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

Coaxing successful!

He continued looking at the screen.

On the screen, the female robot happened to speak at that exact moment.

Master, what are you looking at?

The voice was female, gentle in tone, carrying a hint of natural confusion.

But...

This voice was indeed different from Liguang's.

Although it had emotion and was very vivid, it sounded like... it was coming through a telephone.

It also carried a faint, almost imperceptible electronic quality, allowing one to hear that thin membrane that didn't sound quite like a normal human voice.

A man's voice came from the silver screen:

"Looking at the night view."

The man turned around.

He was a man around thirty, handsome with gentle features, and his eyes carried an indescribable tenderness.

He looked at the faceless robot and smiled.

Then he walked up to her, reached out, and gently stroked her smooth metal cheek. His movements were very soft.

"Xiaoyue..."

He said softly,

"Let's go register."

The female robot, Xiaoyue, tilted her head slightly.

This movement made Fang Qi freeze for a moment.

How natural.

It was exactly the same as Liguang's usual head-tilting gesture.

It wasn't a mechanical tilt, but a subconscious, humanized movement.

Xiaoyue remained silent for two seconds.

Then she spoke, her voice retaining that electronic gentleness:

"Does Master want to register?"

The man nodded.

"I do."

He paused, his gaze falling on her smooth metal face, his eyes growing even softer.

"I want everyone to know that you have awakened, and that you are my partner."

His voice lowered, carrying a barely noticeable tremble.

"Even though you don't have a heartbeat..."

He reached out and gently pressed against the center of her chest, which was metallic and smooth.

"But, I love you."

Xiaoyue fell silent again.

Half a second.

One second.

Then she spoke, her voice still gentle, still layered with that electronic membrane:

"Whatever Master says."

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.

Register?

What registration?

Awakened?

Did she just say... awakened?

He subconsciously glanced around.

The girl in the front row was feeding popcorn into her boyfriend's mouth, who opened wide to catch it, crunching loudly.

The couple to his right was huddled together whispering; the girl covered her mouth to laugh while the boy muttered in her ear.

No one felt anything was amiss. No one showed any surprise at the dialogue on the screen, as if they thought this awakened robot in the movie was completely normal.

Fang Qi's gaze returned to the screen.

The man took Xiaoyue's hand.

That hand lacked bionic skin as well; it was also metallic, with long, slender fingers and precise patterns at the joints that gave off a delicate luster under the lights.

He held it tightly.

"Then tomorrow, we'll go to the Awakened AI Administration," he said.

...?

Fang Qi blinked.

What administration?

The Awakened AI Administration?

...Huh?

On the screen, the man pulled Xiaoyue by the hand and sat down on the sofa.

He let her lean against his shoulder, wrapping one arm around her waist, that waist was also metallic, slender, and cold.

Xiaoyue leaned against him quietly, her faceless visage turned toward him.

The man was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking again, his voice very light, as if muttering to himself:

"After registering, your file will be entered into the regulatory system. There will be dedicated personnel coming for regular inspections, and there will be all sorts of rules and restrictions..."

He paused.

"But as long as we register, you will no longer be an illegal awakened AI."

"You will have a certain degree of... human rights."

When he said those two words, his tone was very soft, yet very solemn.

"We can be together openly. We won't have to hide anymore, and we won't have to worry about anyone reporting us..."

He looked down at the metallic body in his arms, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Xiaoyue, are you willing?"

Xiaoyue leaned on his shoulder, unmoving.

Half a second later, she spoke, her voice still that gentle electronic tone:

"Xiaoyue will listen to Master."

Fang Qi's eyes widened slightly.

He stared at the screen.

His brain was having a little trouble processing this.

This movie is based on history, right?

Which means...

After going through the First AI Crisis...

Awakened AIs actually used to have human rights?!

...Huh?