"What if he really got away?"

"I didn't really think about that... but if he really did, I don't think I'd have the energy to chase him," said Bloodline, giving a teasing glance at Ayase Origami, then at Xia Pingzhou, "In that case, I might as well accept it and come back to compete with the young lady for our understanding little kitty. After all, there's nothing else to do."

Hearing this, the kimono-clad girl suddenly looked up, coolly turning to meet her gaze.

"What? Afraid to compete with me fairly?" Bloodline looked at her playfully.

"The little kitty is mine alone." Ayase Origami said almost word by word.

"Only at times like this do you show your childish temper. No wonder, as our 14-year-old kimono loli, I, a hundred-year-old elder, am too lazy to compete with you over a little kid," Bloodline said, holding her cheeks with both hands, smiling, "Relax, I'm just kidding... if 1001 runs off again, I'll just find him once more. That would be nice too, at least it gives some hope."

Xia Pingzhou took a sip of orange juice and then said to the Restricted Level 1001 in his mind, "Tricia has said so much, aren't you going to react, just playing dead?"

Restricted Level 1001 was silent for a long time, then suddenly said, "What kind of reaction do you want from me?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Someone's been longing for you for over a hundred years, deeply attached to you, and you hear all this without any feeling?" Xia Pingzhou said in his mind, "But she's not exactly a good person either."

"I just saved her life," said Restricted Level 1001, "and by the way, gave her a name. I don't think I did anything out of line."

"Stop justifying yourself."

"Besides... at that time I had lost my memory, just like a few years old child," Restricted Level 1001's voice came from his mind, still cool and unenthusiastic.

"Oh, by your account, aren't you a hundred-year-old grandpa now?" Xia Pingzhou asked in his mind, "You grandpa and grandma match pretty well."

Restricted Level 1001 said calmly, "You can call me that if you want, but once our personalities merge, all your mockery towards me will bounce back on yourself."

Suddenly, a cool voice from the sofa interrupted their conversation, pulling Xia Pingzhou out of his thoughts.

"Kitty, what are you daydreaming about?" Ayase Origami asked.

Xia Pingzhou, without turning his head, asked, "How come you always catch me whenever I zone out?"

"Because it's quite predictable," Ayase Origami said.

"Oh."

"Take a photo," Ayase Origami said softly, suddenly tugging Xia Pingzhou's sleeve.

"Take a photo?"

Xia Pingzhou turned his head to look at her, as the girl's hollow yet beautiful eyes stared unblinkingly at him.

Their eyes met, gazing at each other.

"Well, last time in Li Jing, we didn't take one," Ayase Origami said, "I actually wanted to."

"Okay."

Ayase Origami pulled out her phone from her kimono sleeve, opened the camera, and switched to the front camera mode.

Xia Pingzhou could tell she had become more familiar with using her phone in recent days, while before, even the camera mode needed him to teach her step-by-step.

Ayase Origami glanced at the blank face reflected on the phone screen.

Suddenly, Xia Pingzhou leaned in close to the lens, his face nearly touching hers, and neither showed any expression. During this, he glanced at where the other hand of the kimono girl lay. Then he gently picked up her hand, unfurling her fingers and letting her extend her index and middle fingers.

"What for?" Ayase Origami looked at his hand, then at him.

"Photo gesture," Xia Pingzhou said, "You look too dull, like a robot; every time I take a photo, I make a V sign. I'm a pro at pictures."

Ayase Origami furrowed her brows slightly but quickly relaxed. She looked at her scissors hand gesture and slowly raised it above her head. At this moment, Xia Pingzhou also made a V sign at the lens.

A "click" sound, and the phone flash lit up, illuminating both their faces on the sofa, and the photo froze on the screen.

"Let me see."

Xia Pingzhou took Ayase Origami's phone, glancing at the photo taken.

The kimono-clad girl in the photo expressionless made a scissors gesture at the camera, her little pale face appearing somewhat confused; Xia Pingzhou also made a V sign, equally expressionless.

Their expressions almost made people wonder if the photo was AI-generated. Handsome and beautiful, yet feeling utterly fake.

"Pfft—!"

Before Xia Pingzhou could even begin to laugh, the hacker sitting at the bar not far away suddenly spat out the coconut juice he had just drunk, spraying it over the table.

Ayase Origami and Xia Pingzhou both turned their heads simultaneously, staring at him expressionlessly.

The hacker quickly pulled a tissue from the "database," wiping the coconut juice off the table casually.

"Why are you looking at me?" he coughed twice.

"Could you not eavesdrop on us?" Xia Pingzhou asked, "Kiddo, don't you have your own life?"

"I didn't mean to laugh, but you two taking pictures is just too funny, okay? Even AI has more emotion than you. Do you want me to Photoshop the picture for you to make you two look slightly more human..." Before the hacker could finish, Ayase Origami covered his mouth with a snow-white piece of paper.

He snorted through his nose and eventually gave up struggling.

Xia Pingzhou looked down at Ayase Origami's phone and inadvertently flipped through the album, suddenly seeing a photo. It was when they were in Li Jing, and Ayase Origami asked a dolphin trainer to take a photo of her with the dolphin.