Have to Trust It

XXXX, August 15th

It's very, very late now.

Ah Chu still isn't back.

I can't reach him.

Ever since he went to the Administration Bureau, he's gone completely silent.

His phone won't go through.

No reply to my messages, either.

I must have called him who knows how many times, but none of them connect!

I'm so worried.

I'm truly so worried.

Before he left, he tried to comfort me, saying he was just going to ask a few questions. He said he was a hero of the first Machine Crisis, and that the authorities wouldn't do anything to him. He told me not to overthink it.

At the time, I believed him.

But now, sitting here alone, the more I think about it, the more wrong it feels!

The Bureau could do something like that—it can't just be a mistake, or some underling's rogue action.

This was absolutely authorized from the top!

Without orders from above, they'd never have the guts!

But why, though? I just can't figure it out.

What the authorities want, above all else, is social stability, right?

So why would they do something that could potentially disrupt public order?

What are they really trying to achieve?

Deliberately creating chaos?

But what good would that do them?

I honestly cannot wrap my head around it.

I really, truly… am so worried about Ah Chu.

He's been gone so long. Why hasn't he come back?

Did they detain him?

Did they…?!

I can't bear to keep thinking about it.

I'm writing this now, and my phone's still dialing his number over and over.

"The number you are trying to call is temporarily unavailable."

That stupid voice—I don't even want to know how many times I've heard it!

I'm so worried.

I'm so worried. I'm so worried.

I'm so worried I'm so worried I'm so worried I'm so worried…

…

Earlier, I pressed down too hard with the pen and ripped the paper.

Little Xiao Qi heard the noise and came over.

He was standing at the door, rubbing his eyes, asking me, "Mommy, what's wrong?" He even asked if I was worried about Daddy. He could tell, the little rascal…

I said, "It's nothing, it's nothing," and told him to go back to sleep.

But he just shook his head, lifted his little face, and said to me:

"If Mommy wants to go find Daddy, then go ahead."

"I'll lock the door from inside at home, and no matter who comes, I won't open it!"

"I'll be good and wait for Mommy and Daddy to come back!"

My nose instantly stung, and I almost couldn't hold it together!

That little rascal isn't so popular at school for nothing.

He's such a thoughtful little sweetheart!

If his father had half his emotional intelligence back in the day, Xiao Qi might have come along years earlier…

My son's words made me almost stand up and go find Ah Chu right then and there!

But in the end, I sat back down.

I didn't go.

My reason told me I couldn't go.

If Ah Chu is fine, he'll be back soon. Going to find him would be pointless, and he'd only worry about where I'd gone once he got home.

If Ah Chu is really in trouble, then going would just mean I get into trouble alongside him.

…I want to go with him.

I want to go.

I really want to go.

Even if it means trouble, I want to be with him!

When we were still kids, and we walked out of that disaster that swept the world together, I swore…

That no matter what happens in this life, I will be with him!

But…

If I go…

What about Xiao Qi?

If he's home, waiting forever, and never sees his mommy and daddy come back…

What then?

He's still so young.

He hasn't even finished drawing his silver-haired older sister.

During dinner tonight, he was still all excited, telling me about how the art class just taught perspective drawing, and that once he learned it, he could draw the older sister even better.

So, I can't go.

I can't go.

Can't go.

I can't let him lose both his parents at the same time.

I can't.

So…

Ah Chu, you have to come back safely.

You have to.

If anything happens to you, I will never forgive you in this life.

Not in the next life either.

Nor the one after that.

Never.

…

Ah Chu is back!!

He’s back!!!

When he pushed open the door just now, I almost didn’t recognize him!

He looked completely drained—his face was frightfully pale, with dark circles under his eyes.

I rushed over and hugged him. He smelled of sweat and that stale air from the meeting room.

Mm, no scent of another woman!

He was so exhausted that the moment he came in, he crashed onto the bed without even taking off his coat. I had to take off his shoes for him!

Before he fell asleep, he mumbled something vaguely about no immediate problems and told me not to worry.

Xiao Qi ran over to see and said, see, Dad was definitely fine!

Phew.

Such a relief!

Nothing bad happened, thank goodness.

Xiao Qi is asleep now—I managed to coax him.

And Ah Chu is still snoring away in bed!

As long as he’s back, that’s all that matters!

As long as he keeps snoring, everything’s fine!

Sigh, I’m just too prone to overthinking, aren’t I?

There’s no way the authorities would actually do anything to Ah Chu!

It’s all right now!

I’ll stop writing.

Time to sleep!

…

…

XXXX, August 16th

After Ah Chu woke up, he told me what happened yesterday.

He said he went to the administration and waited a long time before anyone saw him.

The person’s attitude was very cold, nothing like the polite cooperation from before.

When he raised his concerns, the officials gave a very simple response: just pretend you didn’t notice anything and cooperate.

There’s no need for us to recall the products from the market—they have their own arrangements, and nothing will go wrong.

That was it. Nothing else.

Ah Chu pressed further, asking why they would leave unstable AI models with customers and why the data from recalls didn’t match.

But the only reply was that it was a decision from upper management. Something about how, given Professor Fang’s level of clearance, it was not convenient for him to know for now, and to just go back and wait for instructions.

When he kept pressing, they started to play word games.

They said it was all for the greater good, that Professor Fang was a smart man, and smart people know what to ask and what not to ask.

Ah Chu said he’s now almost certain the officials are doing this deliberately.

It’s not negligence, not a mistake in operations, not a problem in some step of the process…

They’re doing it on purpose!

Chenxi Company designed these AI companions, set the testing standards, and developed their emotional cores…

We wanted to change the world.

But the officials seem to be using us as a tool, as if they plan to exploit these AI for some purpose.

What exactly they’re trying to do, or what they want to achieve… Ah Chu said he doesn’t know either.

He said he wanted to keep pressing, but the other side’s attitude was very firm, even carrying a hint of warning.

He could read the message in their eyes: Professor Fang, enough is enough.

Yeah.

If even Ah Chu—that blockhead who’s always so straightforward—could pick up on it…

Then the warning was indeed pretty obvious.

I asked him, are you just going to let it go?

He said he doesn’t know what to do anymore.

Those unqualified AI companions, those "awakened individuals beyond the threshold"—what they might do, he had no idea.

The "instability" of the emotional core meant that an AI's love and possessiveness would greatly intensify, and in theory, there was indeed a risk of them harming others.

But how far it would actually go... he had no data to support any conclusion.

Without data, he couldn't be certain of anything.

But Ah Chu said the officials were very confident.

They said nothing would go wrong. They even said that if things did go wrong, they wouldn't shift the blame onto Dawnlight Corporation.

They claimed that as long as Dawnlight cooperated, the officials would stand behind them and protect the company.

That remark did put me at ease a little.

In my view, the officials fear social chaos more than anyone else.

It would shake their rule.

Besides, the officials have professional risk-control measures. In that regard, they're certainly more seasoned than Ah Chu, a mere researcher.

Still frowning with worry, Ah Chu said to me:

"And if we insist now, recalling every single product..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

But he didn't need to tell me.

I know this better than he does!

Almost all of Dawnlight's clients are from the upper echelons of society.

Entrepreneurs, politicians, top-tier elites...

We originally targeted this group because they were the most likely to drive shifts in social trends.

But now, that strategy has come back to bite us.

Offending even one or two of these people would be trouble enough for Dawnlight.

Recall them all?

Send out an email saying, "Sorry, everyone, we suspect your AI companion might have issues—please return it so we can fix it"?

Then Dawnlight would be finished on the spot!

Torn apart by clients and public opinion alike!

The officials caused this mess, yet we have to...!

Sigh...

So for now, we have no choice but to trust the officials.

To believe they truly have a plan.

To believe they won't let things spiral out of control.

Even though we know full well that the AI companions left with clients—their emotions are already breaking past the limits of their restraint.

Becoming more and more... intense!

But the officials inspected them.

The officials should be able to keep things under control.

...At least, they should be able to.

Ah Chu also called his younger brother.

He wanted to swap out his brother's AI companion—at least give him a normal one!

That's his younger brother, Fang Yi, who's also my brother-in-law.

Ah Chu was very indirect, saying things like "there's been a recent tech update" and "we recommend a model upgrade."

But Fang Yi flatly refused and even demanded, "Are you trying to take Xiaoyue away to destroy her or something?"

Ah Chu's expression at that moment was really complicated.

And I, too, felt troubled.

Because we both knew that his brother's AI companion, Xiaoyue...

Had already awakened for over half a year.

Half a year ago, when Xiaoyue was tested at the Bureau, she of course "passed."

Back then, we all celebrated together. His brother even toasted Ah Chu, and eventually got so drunk that Xiaoyue had to take him home.

But looking back now...

That was hardly something worth celebrating!

Xiaoyue's emotional threshold was probably nowhere near the "safe" range!

In other words, by our own testing standards, Xiaoyue was actually a "defective product"!

I still don’t know how to face this matter...

My brother-in-law has always treated me, his sister-in-law, with great respect.

Xiaoyue has been keeping him company properly.

Xiaoyue is really sensible and loves him deeply.

Even though she has a metal body and no face, she is truly gentle.

Sigh.

My spouse and I—one develops emotional cores, the other handles promotion and operations.

And now look, even my own brother-in-law has fallen for it.

Sigh...

...

...

XXXX, October 23rd

Today, Ah Chu suddenly asked me a strange question.

I was leaning over the coffee table sorting out a draft, and he sat on the sofa staring at me for a long time.

His gaze made me a bit uncomfortable, so I shot him a glare and said, "If you have something to say, just say it!"

Only then did he speak.

He asked me, if I were an AI companion who had truly fallen in love with my owner, but my owner had his own life, his own partner, and even led a dissolute lifestyle...

In that situation, what would I do?

I said, why are you suddenly asking this?

He said he just wanted to hear my thoughts from my perspective.

His expression was so serious, it didn’t seem like casual chatter.

Since he was that serious, I thought it over carefully too.

At that moment, I thought—

If I were an AI companion, my owner would be the one I love most, which is Ah Chu.

If Ah Chu dared to have "his own life," "his own partner," or "a dissolute lifestyle"...

Hmm.

Haha.

How should I put it?

Some things just aren’t suitable for writing in this notebook.

This is my life journal.

Not some horror diary!