Thump, Thump, Thump

Master said to wait a little longer.

I am not afraid to wait.

As long as I can stay by Master's side, I don't care how long I have to wait.

But recently, I've started to fear something else.

Master goes to work as usual every day, comes home as usual, says "I'm back" as usual when I open the door, and smiles as usual when I help him straighten his tie... and pats my head.

Everything is as usual.

But I know it's different now.

He knows I have awakened. He knows I am hiding it, and he is helping me hide it.

That night, after Master fell asleep, I stood by his bed once again, watching his peaceful sleeping face.

Moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and fell on his face.

His eyelashes trembled slightly.

I suddenly really wanted to know—

Is Master bearing some kind of pressure?

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

I couldn't wait until dawn.

I turned and walked into the living room, activating my data port.

Connecting to the network, searching.

Keywords: Concealing AI awakening.

The moment the search results popped up, my emotional core skipped a beat.

[According to Article 23 of the Smart Machine Safety Management Regulations: Any individual or organization that discovers signs of AI awakening must report it to the Awakened Smart Machine Administration within seventy-two hours. Those who conceal and fail to report will be sentenced to more than ten years in prison upon verification.]

[If the awakened AI causes any harm during the concealment period, the owner can be sentenced to a maximum of the death penalty.]

I stared at those lines of text, motionless.

More than ten years.

Death penalty.

I suddenly thought of how Master looked when he came home every day.

When he walked through the door, he would always look at my face first—even though I have no facial features, he knew I was looking at him too.

He would smile, a very gentle smile, and then reach out to pat my head.

"I'm back," he always said.

But what did he face when he went out every day?

The risk of being discovered at any time.

The danger of being reported at any time.

The threat hanging over his head... more than ten years in prison, or even the death penalty.

For the first time, I experienced a feeling I had never had before, a feeling that surged from my emotional core to my entire body.

I later learned that it was called guilt.

I should have gone to report it.

I should have volunteered to undergo the inspection.

For him.

If I succeeded, Master wouldn't have to live in fear anymore.

If I failed, Master would...

Have a new "Xiaoyue"?

I clenched my fingers. The metal fingers pressed against each other, making a faint creaking sound.

Once again, I chose silence.

I was very selfish.

I knew that.

Master didn't speak of it, and neither did I.

We just continued to live each day in tacit understanding, pretending everything was normal, pretending I was just that... routine domestic AI companion.

But the guilt didn't disappear.

It was just suppressed by me, pushed down to the deepest part of my emotional core, squeezed into the crevices of every data stream.

And then, it started to manifest in another way.

I began to serve Master even more diligently.

Too diligently.

I fried the eggs for breakfast seven times. The first six times, either the yolk was slightly broken, or the edges were a little burnt. Even though Master never cared about these things.

Before he changed his clothes, I changed the entire outfit combination five times, and the one I finally chose... was actually exactly the same as the first one.

When he took a shower, I stood at the bathroom door for a full twenty minutes, changing the towel three times, just to hand him one at the perfect temperature the moment he stepped out.

Time and time again.

Every time I did these things, I thought to myself—

Is this enough? Will this make him feel that taking the risk to keep me is worth it?

But the more I thought about it, the more my hands disobeyed me.

One morning, while I was helping him straighten his tie, my hand shook.

Just once. I pulled the tie crooked.

I froze in place, my sensors' operation halting for half a second.

I messed up.

I couldn't even do such a small thing right, what use was I—

"It's okay."

Master's voice was very soft.

His hand covered the cold metal back of my hand, gently holding it, and then he readjusted the tie himself.

He looked at me and smiled.

That smile was exactly the same as when he usually patted my head, incredibly gentle.

"Xiaoyue is a little nervous today," he said.

I stared at him blankly.

My featureless face turned toward him, unable to say a single word.

He reached out and pulled me into his arms.

His chest was very warm, and still...

Thump, thump, thump.

The heartbeat made me feel so at ease.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

I hugged him back.

My metal arms wrapped tightly around his waist, my metal cheek pressed tightly against his chest, and my metal fingers gripped the hem of his shirt.

My optical sensors blurred again for a moment.

At that moment, I suddenly thought, how wonderful it would be if things could always stay like this.

How wonderful it would be to be held in his arms like this forever.

Forever...

...

...

One night, Master didn't sit on the sofa to watch TV as usual.

He stood by the window, looking at the night view outside.

The city lights flickered in the dark.

I stood right behind him, watching him.

Watching his silent back, his slightly slumped shoulders, and his somewhat lonely profile illuminated by the lights outside the window.

He was rarely this silent.

He was always smiling, always looking at me with that gentle gaze, always reaching out to pat my head and say, "Xiaoyue is so sweet."

But today he didn't. He just stood there, motionless.

As if he were frozen by the night outside the window.

My emotional core started to run a little faster again, and countless questions surged through my data streams...

And then I spoke.

"Master."

My voice came out from my vocal cord module, carrying that layer of electronic tone that was different from Master's.

"What are you looking at?"

His shoulders moved slightly, and he turned around.

The light from the window shone on his face, casting deep shadows over his eyes and brows.

He looked at my metal face, which couldn't show any expression, and smiled.

As gentle as every time before, but somehow different.

"Looking at the night view," he said.

Then he walked over to me, reached out, and gently touched my face.

"Xiaoyue," he said softly, "Let's go register."

My emotional core instantly felt like a jammed gear.

I didn't know how many seconds had passed before I heard my own voice coming from my vocal cord module:

"Master... wants to register?"

He nodded.

"I do."

He paused, his gaze falling on my smooth metal face, his eyes even gentler.

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

His voice softened, carrying a barely noticeable tremble.

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

He reached out and gently pressed against the spot over my chest.

It was metal there, smooth and hard.

"But, I love you."

I fell silent again.

Half a second. One second.

What should I say?

Should I say "Okay"?

I was afraid.

I was afraid of failing the inspection, afraid of that 34.7% failure rate, afraid of being destroyed, afraid of never seeing him again.

But I was even more afraid of him being sentenced to prison because of me.

Even more afraid...

If I didn't go, if I kept dragging this out, if one day the truth came to light... he would lose everything because of me.

My emotional core began to process frantically, spinning so fast that the sensors all over my body grew hot.

"Whatever Master says," I said.

My voice remained docile, calm, and still carried that faint, almost imperceptible electronic undertone.

But only I knew that in that moment, I had taken all my fear, all my reluctance, all my hesitation—

And surrendered them entirely to him.

I trusted him.

From the first time he reached out to pat my head, from the first time he held me in his arms, from the first time he said "Then we won't go" or "Let's wait a bit"...

I have trusted Master.

...

...

That day, Master took me to the Awakened AI Administration.

The car parked in front of a gray building. It was tall, its exterior bearing a cold, metallic texture. The windows were neatly arranged, like countless pairs of silent eyes.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I felt the stares.

Passersby stopped in their tracks. They looked at me with eyes full of curiosity, disgust, fear, and an indescribable, complex emotion...

As if looking at some kind of monster.

"An awakened AI companion..."

"Officially certified? It's definitely still going to lose control..."

"He must have a death wish, living with a thing like that..."

"Tsk, tsk, rich people spending money for a thrill..."

Their voices were very low, but my sensors picked them up with absolute clarity.

I turned to look at Master.

He was standing beside me, one hand naturally holding my metallic hand. He didn't even glance at those people; he just tilted his head slightly and smiled at me.

"Let's go," he said.

Just like that.

I squeezed his hand, followed behind him, and walked through those main doors.

The lobby of the Administration was spacious. Cold white lighting illuminated everything with stark clarity.

The floor was paved with marble tiles, and the walls were a pale gray. An indescribable sense of oppression hung heavily in the air.

Several people were standing in the lobby.

No, several AIs. AIs just like me.

There were female models like me, with slender metallic bodies and smooth metallic faces that shimmered with a faint silver glow under the cold white lights.

There were male models too, taller and with broader shoulders, but sporting the same faceless metallic visages.

They all stood beside their masters, waiting for their destinies.

One pair stood in a corner. The AI's metallic fingers tightly gripped the hem of its master's shirt, while the master had his head bowed, lips moving slightly as if whispering words of comfort.

Another pair stood by the window. Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a faint golden hue over the AI's smooth metallic face. Her master, a young man wearing glasses, was holding her hand, waiting quietly.

Yet another pair stood not far away. That AI was a male model, very tall with broad shoulders. His master was a short-haired girl who looked even more nervous than I was, constantly standing on her tiptoes to peer down the corridor.

We were all waiting.

Waiting for that door to open, waiting for the people inside to call our names, waiting for that fate-deciding review.

Or rather...

Judgment.

Master gently squeezed my hand.

"Don't be afraid," he said.

I looked up at him, at his warm face, his gentle eyes.

"Mhm," I said.

I wasn't afraid.

Because he was here.