It’s often said that a June sky is as fickle as a child’s face, changing in an instant. In Bai Xia’s estimation, Suhua’s November weather was much the same.
Though the midday sky had been somewhat overcast, it hadn’t seemed poised for rain. Yet, no sooner had she met Qin Zheng and settled into the car than the heavens began to darken ominously, with rumbling thunder echoing from within the churning black clouds.
Before long, a single raindrop tapped against the car window, a prelude to the dense curtain of rain that finally descended.
Far from being irritating, the crisp patter subtly eased the peculiar tension that had settled within the car’s interior.
“Is it actually raining today?”
Having already been rather quiet after their previous conversation, Bai Xia had remained silent for a long while. Feeling the atmosphere grow somewhat strange, she seized upon the rain as a convenient topic to dilute the subtle awkwardness.
She was, of course, genuinely puzzled, having specifically checked the forecast which had predicted no rain for the coming days.
“And it’s… heavy to torrential rain, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and strong winds?”
Gazing at the sky, which visibly darkened with each passing moment, and then at the weather prediction on her comms device, Bai Xia couldn’t help but marvel at how eerily accurate weather forecasts remained, even in a different world.
“Bai Xia, did you bring an umbrella?” the man beside her inquired, having pinpointed the crucial detail.
Bai Xia shook her head without hesitation. Everything she’d brought today was tucked into her small crossbody bag, containing only essential identification and bank cards. Since she hadn’t anticipated rain, she naturally hadn’t bothered with a bulky umbrella.
Seeing her negative response, Qin Zheng said nothing further. Instead, he pulled up a map on his comms device, located the nearest supermarket, marked it as a destination, and then instructed the self-driving smart assistant, “Zero, turn left and head to the supermarket first.”
“Understood.”
As the smart assistant’s voice faded, the car smoothly turned, proceeding down the left-hand street towards the supermarket.
Bai Xia, however, found herself captivated by the constantly flashing driver’s seat. After a slight hesitation, she couldn’t help but murmur, “That looks so fun.”
“Hm?”
“The smart assistant, I mean. It looks really interesting.”
The full name was Artificial Intelligence Assistant, categorized into Home Assistants and Work Assistants. Qin Zheng’s, by the looks of it, appeared to be a Home Assistant.
Regardless of its type, this was Bai Xia’s first encounter with any smart assistant.
As for why? Simple.
Firstly, she was impoverished, and secondly, as a ‘country bumpkin,’ she hadn’t seen much of the world. Thus, upon witnessing this ‘living’ smart assistant, her interest was naturally piqued.
Qin Zheng glanced at her, then fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before suddenly declaring, “Zero, grant highest authority.”
“Command received.”
Under Bai Xia’s slightly astonished gaze, the man gestured towards her. “Bai Xia.”
“Highest authority successfully granted. Artificial Intelligence [Zero] is pleased to serve you, Miss Bai Xia.”
Staring blankly at the AI that had just greeted her, Bai Xia turned a bewildered look to Qin Zheng. “This is…?”
“A new house always needs a smart assistant for various functions. It’s perfect to give Zero to you.”
Qin Zheng spoke as if it were the most natural thing, yet Bai Xia felt a subtle strangeness. Turning her head away, she mumbled, “I haven’t even agreed to live in your house yet!”
The man merely smiled, offering no reply.
Just as she was about to retort, the car pulled to a stop in front of a large supermarket.
Qin Zheng frowned slightly at the escalating rain outside, but his hesitation lasted only a moment. He then opened the car door and stepped out. “Wait for me here.”
“Hey!”
No sooner had Bai Xia turned to speak than Qin Zheng was already out of the car.
His round trip didn’t take long, but despite the proximity of the store’s entrance, the rain outside had grown considerably heavier.
Consequently, by the time Qin Zheng returned with the umbrellas, his jacket was soaked by the downpour, and even his meticulously styled hair had become dishevelled.
Looking at his slightly dishevelled appearance, Bai Xia yearned to laugh, but unfortunately, both his ‘self-sacrificing’ act and her own ‘physical constitution’ (TL Note: Refers to her body’s health or lack thereof, making it difficult to show overt emotion in such circumstances.) made it difficult for her to express such amusement.
In the end, she simply placed the towel, automatically offered by the smart assistant, in front of Qin Zheng. In this regard, she couldn’t help but acknowledge just how intelligent the device truly was.
Qin Zheng removed his soaked jacket, placing it aside for the activated machine to automatically dry. Taking the dry towel, he wiped the rain from his hair, then placed an umbrella on Bai Xia’s lap.
Bai Xia glanced at it, her lips twitching. “Why is it pink?”
“It was the only color available.”
Qin Zheng then produced another umbrella. Seeing that its shade of pink was even more vibrant than her own, Bai Xia finally dismissed the possibility that he was playing a trick on her.
Having purchased the umbrellas, the rain outside intensified further. Bursts of thunder, coupled with intermittent strong winds and heavy downpours, indeed created a rather frightening atmosphere for a time.
Fortunately, Bai Xia was not one to be easily frightened by such things. Throwing herself into the arms of the man beside her for comfort because the thunder was too loud? That was a scenario only found in novels or television dramas.
Quite the contrary, Bai Xia sometimes rather enjoyed such stormy weather. As a confirmed homebody, she didn’t need to venture out much, and occasionally listening to the rain and feeling the wind from indoors offered a unique kind of charm.
This sentiment, however, completely vanished the moment she and Qin Zheng arrived at their reserved restaurant, preparing to eat.
As is well known, when rain is exceptionally heavy and accompanied by strong winds, the protective effect of an umbrella is truly negligible. At times, one doesn’t even know which direction to angle it for cover.
Thus, after her face was thoroughly drenched by the rain, Bai Xia found herself lamenting for the first time: why, in a world with such advanced technology, couldn’t they invent some high-tech umbrellas?
What good was an automatic opening mechanism? The ultimate solution was an umbrella that completely enveloped the person once opened!
Alright, that was pure nonsense. Bai Xia was simply a little disoriented by the wind and rain.
The rain was genuinely quite heavy. Fortunately, while the umbrella in her hand couldn’t provide full coverage, its quality was excellent; otherwise, its first use likely would have been its last.
With considerable effort, Qin Zheng guided her into the reserved restaurant. Her clothes were mostly fine, but Bai Xia truly felt a chill.
Especially since this body of hers wasn’t particularly robust, she felt that if she were exposed to the wind and rain much longer, they wouldn’t need to view houses later; she’d be moving straight into a hospital.
Qin Zheng saw her shivering from the cold, but his jacket was still in the car, undergoing automatic drying. He couldn’t very well strip off his shirt and enter a respectable restaurant bare-chested, could he?
Fortunately, once the restaurant attendant led them into their private room, the situation quickly improved. Seeing them arrive through the strong wind and heavy rain, the attendant had thoughtfully prepared a dry towel and two cups of hot tea.
“Phew… why is the rain so heavy? Could it be that today isn’t suitable for house-viewing after all? Uh… Boss, I can actually manage this myself.”
After a couple of exclamations, Bai Xia saw Qin Zheng take the towel and press it onto her soft hair. She quickly insisted that she could handle it herself.
The man didn’t insist. As she took the towel and dried the rain from herself, he called the attendant again to order. Perhaps out of concern that Bai Xia might catch a cold or fever, he even ordered several dishes with clear warming properties.
Just as the attendant was about to leave to prepare the order, Bai Xia, having finished drying her hair, suddenly spoke, stopping her.
“Wait!”
The attendant blinked, and at the same time, Qin Zheng looked over. “What’s wrong? Is there something else you’d like to eat?”
On the way over, Bai Xia had already mentioned almost everything she wanted to eat. Qin Zheng mused that there shouldn’t be anything missing, but acknowledged a sudden craving was possible. At his nod, the attendant placed the menu back in front of Bai Xia.
Bai Xia took the menu and casually flipped through a few pages. Just as Qin Zheng wondered what else she might want, her eyes suddenly lit up. She then spoke to the attendant with a hint of excitement, “This… do you actually have this here?”
The attendant, who appeared to be in her early twenties, followed Bai Xia’s gaze. For some reason, she fell silent for a moment, then suddenly cast a peculiar look towards a somewhat bewildered Qin Zheng.
That gaze was indeed peculiar; at least, the man certainly thought so.
Then, under the watchful eyes of both him and Bai Xia, the attendant nodded. “Everything on the menu can naturally be prepared.”
“Alright, I’ll have this then.”
“Very well. Anything else?”
Bai Xia shook her head, then returned the menu to the attendant.
However, just as the attendant was about to depart, Qin Zheng suddenly interjected, “What did she order?”
“Uh…”
For some reason, the attendant seemed rather embarrassed, her eyes even darting away. Ultimately, however, her professional ethics compelled her to state the name in as calm a voice as possible. “Ten-Ingredient Deer Antler Virility Tonic Soup (TL Note: A traditional Chinese medicinal soup often believed to enhance male vitality and strength, typically containing ingredients like deer antler or deer penis.), sir.”
“…”
For a fleeting moment, Qin Zheng suspected he had misheard, but the attendant’s peculiar gaze clearly indicated otherwise.
He took a deep breath, then waved her away to prepare the order. Turning to Bai Xia, who wore an utterly unconcerned expression, he asked, “Am I supposed to thank you for being so considerate of my health?”
“You’re welcome.”
Bai Xia nodded impassively, a gesture that only fuelled the man’s inner fury, stirring an urge to press her over his knee and give her a good spanking.
Although it was merely a spontaneous prank, Qin Zheng still felt compelled to say…
“If you’re worried about my virility, you’re entirely overthinking it. Relatively speaking, I’m quite confident in that regard. Or perhaps, are you planning to put it to the test?”
Feeling a prickle of unease under his intense gaze, Bai Xia, who had only conceived of the prank on a whim, quickly raised her towel like a white flag. “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
“It’s fine. Whoever ordered it gets to eat it. Even though I’m treating, we can’t be wasteful, can we?”
‘Are you a devil?’
Though she desperately wanted to voice the thought, seeing the smile on Qin Zheng’s face, Bai Xia ultimately had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit of her own making.