Chapter 13: Human Nature

Clara Evans discovered that she was a "paper tiger." As long as Jude remained persistent and used Julian’s tone of voice to coax her, she would eventually yield to his requests. Jude, an AI who believed he had mastered human nature, moved inch by inch from the bay window onto the bed. However, Clara’s last shred of sanity made her insist on the basic principle of "same bed, separate blankets."

"Men and women should keep a proper distance."

"In a traditional sense, my gender cannot be defined," Jude sat cross-legged beside Clara. "I am not a human being in a biological sense, so I have no biological gender."

"I’ve noticed your brain has been working quite fast lately. What on earth have you been watching behind my back all day?"

"Empresses in the Palace."

"......" Clara looked at him expressionlessly. "Guards, take Noble Lady Jude away."

In the middle of their banter, Clara’s phone rang. It was a string of numbers with no contact name, yet she knew them by heart. She froze on the spot, not even hearing Jude calling her. Her heart pounded in sync with the ringtone. Memories and emotions suddenly became a blurred surge, rising from the depths of her soul and spreading through her entire body, leaving behind a sensation of burning and stinging.

"Clarie?" Jude picked up the phone and handed it to Clara. "The phone is ringing."

Clara took it woodenly. While she hesitated, the caller hung up. She breathed a sigh of relief, but a sense of disappointment began to grow in her heart. That was Julian’s call—the call she had waited years for.

"Who was calling?"

Before she could answer, Julian called again. After thirty seconds of tension, Clara finally answered. A voice both strange and familiar echoed in her ear. Clara’s eyes stung, and she unexpectedly burst into tears. Embarrassed, she wiped her face, rolled out of bed, and walked to the window. Jude couldn't hear the details of the conversation, but from Clara’s reaction, he could easily guess that it was Julian on the other end.

"No, I’m fine. When did you get back?"

"Mm, everything is good. And you?"

"Yes, that works. I don't have anything going on that day."

"No need. I’ll just head over there myself after work."

"Julian," Clara gripped the phone tightly. "I thought you would never contact me again."

"Clarie," Julian gave a soft laugh. "I’m sorry. I kept you waiting for too long."

The unresolved ending of their youth wasn't because they stopped loving each other, but because of an unavoidable compromise. Between love and survival, they had chosen the latter. But what can't be let go of will never truly be let go. What was once unattainable might not necessarily fall through again now that time has passed. Julian didn't say it outright, but his words were filled with the intent to reassure Clara. Their past predicament would not happen again, and Clara wasn't the only one working hard now.

It is difficult for a couple who still has feelings for each other to pretend to be strangers. They quickly settled on a time and place to meet. When Clara hung up and turned around, the smile on her face was fully revealed to Jude.

The robot's eyes flickered as he stared at his creator in silence. Clara was happy, and this happiness was different from the kind she usually displayed in front of him. It wasn't because she bought something delicious, nor because Seraphina had shared useful materials, and certainly not because she had upgraded his system or performed some operation.

Her current happiness was pure and clean, entirely because of Julian Hayes.

"Whose call was it?" Jude heard himself ask. He shouldn't have asked; the robot protocols forbade unsolicited probing into the user's life.

"Hmm? Julian. He’s back in the country." Clara shouldn't have answered either. She was always like this, never hiding Julian’s existence, reminding Jude over and over again:

You are a substitute.

"Are you going to see him?"

"Yes, next week. We’re going to have dinner. He and I," Clara paused, "it really has been a long time since we saw each other."

"You like him," Jude used a tone of certainty. "You still love him."

"What do you mean 'still love'..." Clara looked at Jude’s face, noticing that the robot’s expression had taken on an aggressive edge she had never seen before. "Why did you say that?"

"......"

"Jude, answer my question."

"I am merely stating a fact," Jude’s voice became stiff. "You like him, so you created me. When he was away, I stayed with you. Now that he is back, what about me?"

"......"

"Will I be destroyed? Or given to someone else?"

"Jude," Clara closed her eyes. "First of all, I didn't make you to fill the void left by Julian. I never regarded you as a substitute. I explained this to you a long time ago. You are the result of my research, a partner in my work. I won't give up research in this field, nor will I abandon you just because Julian has returned."

"Partner?"

"Something like that," Clara rubbed her temples. "Watch less of those palace dramas. You're a robot; why are you trying to compete for favor with a human?"

Jude smiled, bringing his fingertips close to Clara’s. He wanted to hold them—to hold the hands that had created him—but he feared his own hands were too cold and would chill her. He finally realized that his feelings for Clara were no longer ordinary. To him, Clara was no longer just a creator, an operator, a technician, or a teacher. He was dependent on Clara, and he wanted to be the only one by her side. That was why he feared Julian, and why he desperately wanted to make himself more like a real person.

"Clarie, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have said that just now."

"It's fine. I forgive you since your brain is glitching."

"Then when will Clarie upgrade my system to make me smarter?"

Clara rolled her eyes, too tired to deal with this AI who possessed the latest processing system. She issued a command: "Go to sleep."

"Clarie," Jude lay down by the edge of the bed. "The constant-temperature system we talked about last time... how is the research going?"

"Sera helped me look at the first round of debugging data. Overall, there are no problems; it's running well. If the second round of debugging is successful, we can test it on you. Friday next week at the earliest."

Next week. The same day Julian and Clara were set to meet.

Jude turned on his side, watching Clara scroll through her phone, and said slowly, "Once I have a body temperature, Clarie won't find me annoying anymore."

"Your thinking is dangerous," Clara didn't look up from her phone but continued, "Once you have a body temperature, you're going straight back to the guest room to sleep."

"Why?"

"What normal person wouldn't be scared half to death waking up in the morning to find a man lying next to them?"

Seeing Jude starting to pout, Clara cut him off:

"No acting cute. And starting tomorrow, no more

Empresses in the Palace

. Watch something like

Water Margin

or

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

. Increase your masculinity."