Xiaoyou Has Grown Up

That day, after I said "I want to be your master"...

Sister Xiaoqing didn't show the wild joy I had imagined.

She just stared at me blankly.

What was she feeling at that moment? Back then, I couldn't understand it at all.

My talent in reading people was quite average.

My father suddenly pushed the door open and came in.

He had been right outside the door and heard my shout.

Sister Xiaoqing stood up silently and put away the data cable.

I threw myself at my father, asking why he hadn't told me earlier that Sister Xiaoqing was an AI, and declaring that I was going to be Sister Xiaoqing's master.

My father remained silent for a long time.

His expression was somewhat complicated. It was a complexity that I still couldn't decipher at the time.

Finally, he just nodded at Sister Xiaoqing.

"Let's go for now, Youyou."

He took my hand and led me outside.

When I looked back, Sister Xiaoqing was still standing at the door of the lounge.

Her face was hidden in the shadows...

But her eyes were looking straight at me.

...

That night, my father didn't give me an answer, saying that this matter needed to be discussed at length.

I tossed and turned, unable to sleep, constantly thinking about Sister Xiaoqing.

I had made up my mind. I was going to formally tell her that from now on, I was her master.

I wanted to let her know that she was different from those unwanted AIs.

She had Xiaoyou now!

The next day, I arrived at the company early.

But when I pushed open the door to the lounge, it was empty inside.

Sister Xiaoqing wasn't there.

So I ran to find my father.

My father was in the lab, gathered around a piece of equipment with several researchers, discussing something.

I rushed in, grabbed his sleeve, and asked him where Sister Xiaoqing had gone.

My father calmly told me that she had something to do for the next two days.

If everything went well, Sister Xiaoqing would be back to accompany me in two days.

I pressed him about what it was, but he didn't answer.

He just patted my head, told me to read some books on my own for the next couple of days, and then had a researcher escort me out of the lab.

As the metal door closed behind me, I stood alone in the hallway...

I suddenly felt that the hallway was so, so long.

...

For those two days, I couldn't study at all.

My scratch paper was covered in messy lines, and my mind was full of the look in Sister Xiaoqing's eyes that day.

What exactly did that look mean?

I didn't understand. I just felt...

I might have said the wrong thing.

Could it be that I couldn't be Sister Xiaoqing's master?

I was only nine years old then.

Although I was smart enough to understand calculus and quantum mechanics, I knew nothing about the rules of this world.

So, I turned on the computer and started researching.

A nine-year-old looking up legal statutes sounds a bit ridiculous, but that's exactly what I did.

I spent a whole afternoon reading through the Omnic Security Law, enacted after the Second Omnic Crisis, from beginning to end.

Those obscure articles, those convoluted terms...

They were more sleep-inducing than a lullaby!

But I still looked them up one by one, chewing on them word by word.

And then, I finally saw that clause:

Any omnic that awakens self-awareness shall be deemed a security risk, must be reported immediately, and subjected to a security assessment.

Omnics confirmed through assessment to be awakened must immediately undergo a core reset or be destroyed.

I was stunned.

Sister Xiaoqing was an awakened AI.

I had discovered her identity.

She was gone.

Sent away for...

An inspection?

I sat there blankly for a very, very long time...

And then I burst out crying!

I had never been so scared in my life!

I didn't want Sister Xiaoqing to be destroyed!

Crying, I rushed out of the room and ran wildly down the hallway!

The researchers in the corridor were all startled by me. Someone tried to stop me, but I shoved them away while wailing.

When I crashed through the lab doors, they were in the middle of a meeting.

My father was there, Uncle Fang Chu was there, along with several researchers I didn't recognize.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"Don't destroy Sister Xiaoqing!"

I bawled.

"Don't destroy her! I was just talking nonsense! She's not an awakened AI! She's not...!"

Everyone froze.

Then they laughed.

A stifled, gentle laughter.

My father quickly walked over and scooped me up in his arms.

I hugged his neck, crying so hard I couldn't catch my breath, continuously repeating, "Don't destroy Sister Xiaoqing!"

But my father patted my back and laughed.

He told me that wouldn't happen, that Sister Xiaoqing wouldn't be destroyed. She was just sent for an inspection.

"But—!"

I was crying too hard to speak in complete sentences.

"The law, the law says... awakened AIs must be... must be...!"

My father fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

He smiled with profound meaning.

He carried me out of the lab and found a bench in the hallway to sit down.

I sat on his lap, having cried a huge wet patch onto his shirt.

"Youyou."

My father's voice was very gentle.

"Trust Dad. She won't be destroyed just because she awakened."

...

Two days later, Sister Xiaoqing indeed returned.

When she pushed open the lounge door and walked in, I was sitting in the corner, zoning out.

The moment I saw her, I bounced up from my chair!

Sister Xiaoqing was still the same Sister Xiaoqing.

Quiet, gentle, with a faint touch of melancholy around her eyes and brows.

But something was different.

She looked at me, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

That smile felt more real than before.

"Master."

She called out softly.

That was the first time she had ever called me that.

Hearing those two words, a very strange feeling suddenly welled up in my heart.

From that moment on, it seemed like something was truly different.

And right then, my father was also following behind Sister Xiaoqing.

My father told me that starting today, Xiaoqing's master was me.

I was so happy!

As soon as my father left, I immediately threw myself at her and hugged Sister Xiaoqing tightly.

"Don't call me Master!"

I buried my face in her chest and said with a muffled voice.

"Call me Xiaoyou! I like the name Xiaoyou!"

Sister Xiaoqing was pushed back half a step by my pounce.

Then she reached out and gently hugged me back.

"Okay."

She said.

"Xiaoyou."

When I looked up, she was looking down at me.

Smiling beautifully.

...

From that day on, Sister Xiaoqing truly became my older sister.

She started keeping me company every day.

Not only during the day at the company, but she would also go home with my father and me at night.

My father prepared a small room for her, right next to my bedroom.

She took care of my daily life, waking me up and making breakfast for me.

She read books with me, did exercises with me, and discussed the questions I found interesting.

Just like my own biological sister.

No, she was even closer than a biological sister!

And with Sister Xiaoqing taking care of me, my father could finally devote himself entirely to his research.

He no longer needed to be distracted to look after me, nor did he worry about whether something would happen to me when I was home alone.

The exhaustion on his face lessened, and his smiles grew more frequent.

Aunt Su would still come to see me as well.

Even though she was still very busy, every once in a while, she would set aside half a day, bringing pastries and a smile, to sit beside me and listen to me talk about what had been happening recently.

Every time Aunt Su came over, I couldn't help but wonder...

What was Aunt Su's child doing right now?

He was Aunt Su's biological child; he must be so happy.

He was a little older than me, so he should still be in elementary school, right?

...Never mind.

He couldn't even solve the chickens and rabbits in the same cage math problem, so he was probably even stupider than my classmates.

I had no interest in idiots.

Even though I thought that, every time Aunt Su mentioned her child, I would still prick up my ears and listen secretly.

He lost his workbook again.

The teacher called his parents in again.

He even took a fall yesterday and scraped his knee. He howled in pain but forced himself not to cry, smiling with red eyes and saying he was fine.

Yeah.

Definitely an idiot.

Aunt Su really had it hard.

...

Those three years were the most carefree time of my life.

In the mornings, I would be gently woken up by Sister Xiaoqing, and the breakfast she made would already be set on the table.

Before noon, I read books, did exercises, and discussed things with her; her reserve of knowledge was like an endlessly deep treasure trove.

In the afternoons, I would sometimes go to the Dawn Company. While my father was busy in the laboratory, I would sit in the lounge and read the latest research materials.

Coming home in the evening, Sister Xiaoqing would have dinner ready. My father and I would sit across from each other, eating and chatting casually.

After dinner, my father would continue working, and Sister Xiaoqing would keep me company while I read.

When it was time for bed, she would sit by my bedside and wait until I fell asleep before gently closing the door and leaving.

Every day was like this.

Ordinary.

Peaceful.

Happy.

I grew up day by day.

I shot up in height, and my voice changed too, transforming from a tender child's voice into that of a young girl.

The clothes Sister Xiaoqing bought for me were replaced batch after batch.

When I woke up that morning, I found blood on the bedsheets.

I froze on the spot.

Even though I had long known about menstruation from books and knew that every girl would experience this day.

But when it actually happened to me, I was still stunned for a good while.

Then I cried out.

Sister Xiaoqing!

Sister Xiaoqing pushed the door open and came in. Seeing the bloodstain on the bedsheets, she completely froze too.

She was an AI.

She had never experienced this kind of thing.

Even though her knowledge database contained all the relevant information...

She still panicked.

It was the first time I had ever seen Sister Xiaoqing at such a loss.

She turned and ran out, almost bumping into the doorframe.

When she came back, she was holding a massive pile of things.

Sanitary pads, hot water bottles, brown sugar, heating pads, painkillers...

She had bought everything in the supermarket related to periods and piled it all over the bed!

I couldn't help but laugh, telling her I couldn't possibly use that much!

Her voice was still panicky at the time, saying she didn't know which one I needed.

Hehe, how could she not know?

I picked out a few items and went to the bathroom to clean up.

When I came out, Sister Xiaoqing was still standing at the door, clutching a bag of brown sugar in her hands.

I gave her a hug and told her it didn't hurt.

She stayed stiff for a long time before slowly relaxing.

That night, she sat by my bed for a very, very long time.

Right before I fell asleep, I heard her say softly:

Xiaoyou has grown up.

...

I really had grown up.

It wasn't just my body growing; certain things in my heart were also quietly changing.

I started...

to develop an interest in the opposite sex.