Chapter 48: Losing Her Temper

The thought of having such a massive tube stuck down her oral orifice was too much to bear, she would much rather they came over with a chainsaw instead!

“Don’t be scared. It’s very safe. We won’t harm you.” Ace softened his voice as much as possible to pacify her.

She pursed her lips against each other stubbornly, in an apparent display of resistance.

This isn’t an endoscopy!

The rubber hose is as thick as a fist!

Chen Yuheng’s face sank when he realized that she was not going to cooperate. “Ruan Ruan, be good.” He looked like he wished he could put that hose down her throat instead.

Gu Anbao has been pampered since she was young and this was nothing she had encountered before. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed and upset. Looking utterly despondent without actual tears falling down her face, she clasped her hands over her mouth, flipped herself over from a sleeping position into a tight, curled ball, and adamantly refused to let the hose into her oral cavity.

Ace was perturbed.

This was no ordinary robot. Switching it off would not do the trick, so what else could they do? Should they force it down her throat? However, he did not want to cause any ill feelings. Besides, he was unsure if AI could be vengeful…

Just as he was at a loss, he saw Chen Yuheng walking sullenly toward the robot.

Looking at the expression on his face, he was rather worried that his impatient friend was going to flare up and was about to mediate, when he heard the latter explaining quietly, “Be good. The tube needs to be large enough for the chemical wash to spray evenly after flowing through the soft tubing. After which we also need to spray the dehumidifying powder… It’s not good to have the circuit board exposed to water over time. Most of your inner structures are not waterproof… There will be dire consequences if we don’t clean you up now…”

He spoke in his deep, baritone voice that conveyed a sense of peace and patience that he had never exhibited before…

His friend was instantly dumbfounded.

Did I hear correctly?! Was that coming from my friend, Chen Yuheng?!

When did he become so patient?!

For someone who finds bargaining a waste of time, when did he become this wishy-washy?!

The robot slowly straightened her back into a sitting position. Apparently pacified, she looked piteously at the man and said, “Then, can you go out first?”

She really did not want him to catch her embarrassing sight. The thought of it is enough… well, enough is enough…

Stunned, he asked, “Why?”

She turned obstinate again, crying, “Get out! You get out! If you don’t get out, then I won’t have the tube inside me!”

Everyone looked at one another, speechless, wondering what just happened between the two of them…

Surprisingly, the man was not angry and walked out of the room as demanded. Standing outside the door while looking at her, his actions clearly signaled: ‘I’m outside now, you can start the procedure’.

Without warning, Gu Anbao flipped over from the metallic table, stumbled toward the door and with both hands, shoved the man another seven to eight meters away, before she was willing to return to the table. With a loud ‘bang’, she slammed the lab’s heavy metal door shut!

She even ensured that the little glass window on the door stayed firmly shut.

After all that, she unhappily walked back to the table and told the team, in a sulky tone, “You can start now.”

“…”

Am I seeing things…?

Suddenly, Ace found the two of them… acting… like a couple!

Erm… I think I’m overly sensitive…

The large tube extended deep into her throat and had to be left in place for at least a quarter of an hour.

First, the technician needed to spray the chemical wash. After the liquid amalgamated with the ice cream stain, he had to spray a layer of dehumidifying powder. This would allow the stain to solidify into tiny pellets that the suction tube could suck out.

She was glad of her earlier decision to chase him away. If he were to witness this huge hose inside her mouth, and one that stayed stuck for 15 minutes, she would rather die…

When the worker had removed the equipment after the procedure, Ace went over to her and told her jokingly, “The smell of the chemical wash may linger inside your mouth for one to two hours. If you are worried about bad breath, you can spray some perfume.”

The robot could not smell, of course.

However, she was not in the mood to talk. She sat at the edge of the metallic table looking depressed. Today was a wonderful day only to be spoiled by the ugly hose shoved down her throat. Any happy feelings were destroyed now.

She was so regretful…

Why did I take that bite of the ice cream?

D*mn it…

Ace was rather unhappy when he could not elicit a response from her. He opened the door to find his friend standing by the wall, patiently waiting outside the room! This was another shock to him…

Seeing Ace, Chen Yuheng asked, “Is it over?”

His friend replied smilingly, “It’s over, but her mood isn’t good. You’d better go in and console her, quick.”

He gave a slight nod and went into the lab.

With his hands inside the pants’ pockets, Ace leaned against the door frame and observed the scene before him. The man had walked over to the robot and seemed to be talking to her in a hushed tone. Although he did not appear gentle or pacifying, this was considered a very patient act for someone who was known to be a hot-tempered demon.

He could not help thinking to himself: I can’t believe it. The devil king has a fatherly potential… It’s a pity that Lijun has no chance to witness this right now…

…

Of course, Pei Lijun had no chance to witness this scene as she was far away in Xin Hai City. At this point, she was busy preparing for the next big launch for Huaxin.

The lights inside the office were making the room seem as bright as day.

Sitting in front of the computer, she was putting the finishing touches to the calculus program.

If this test model turned out to be successful, this product model would then enter the mass production stage. All in all, it took them about three months to test the product. This meant that soon after launching the companion robot, Huaxin had, once again, launched a new product within six months.

Suddenly, the door was pulled open. She looked up with a start to find the Vice President of Huaxin, Lu Qian, standing at the door.

Huaxin knew that Pei Lijun alone was not sufficient to capture a slice of the vast technological market. Lu Qian was a highly-paid member that the company had talent-hunted. He was said to be ruthless and sharp, causing many competitors to stumble and fall along the way.

From appearance, though, it was difficult to associate that image with the man standing before her now.

Like his namesake1, he looked humble and genteel. Like a true gentleman, he was soft-spoken and gallant. He always wore a smile on his bespectacled face. One would only occasionally catch a hint of glint flashing across his almond-shaped eyes.

She smiled and said, “I thought you’d have gone home by now.”

He was equally startled to see her. “I saw the lights and reckoned you might be around. Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you hanging around, though… Lijun, you work too hard. It’s so late already…”

She gave a nonchalant smile. “This is nothing; I’m a late sleeper.”

He walked over to her table and glanced at her computer. “Have you nearly finished the project?”

“Eh, almost.” She hit the keyboard once again before replying, “RK is rolling out a new product for autumn. I’d rather finish this early so we have ample time to get ready.”

He smiled. “It looks like you have high confidence in our pet series.”

“The pet series is part of our companion product line and the continuation of our product series after the spring collection. I believe it’ll garner high market popularity.” She paused and then added, “Besides, the companion model has always been RK’s weakness.”

His lips flared slightly into a smile when he heard that. “This is a long-term strategy, and a good one at that. However, this tactic of early launch for every season isn’t enough to cripple a formidable opponent like RK.”

Startled, she looked at him and asked, “What do you mean?”

The man only gave her a secretive smile and replied leisurely, “We need to have dual strategies to secure a winning streak.” With that, he turned around and walked out of her office. As he walked away, he waved his hand at her and said, “Lijun, get some rest. We still have a long journey ahead of us…”

She watched his back disappear from her sight, seemingly lost in thoughts…

Footnotes:

Ch $48 Footnote $1
The word ‘Qian’ in his name means humility in Chinese.