Half-baked

8.
Before hearing Duan Huaian's words, Huai Nian felt that he might be in some dark corner that she didn't know about, and her heart became broader.
After hearing Duan Huaian's words, Huai Nian was certain that Duan Huaian was still the same Duan Huaian, hypocritical and malicious.

"..."
Miss pursed lips slightly.

She knew that his favorite thing to do was to tease her whenever he could.
Don't expect him to be very understanding.

Huai Nian thought for a while, took out his cell phone, and decided to find Chi Jingting, the "main culprit" who made the deaf-mute robot Xiaomei open her mouth and speak.
She and Chi Jingting have become friends, but they have never chatted. Therefore, the process of finding Chi Jingting is a bit complicated.
I scrolled down the friend list and searched around, but I hadn’t reached the “C” column yet.

Suddenly.
A hand blocked her phone screen.

Duan Huai'an lowered his eyes and said casually: "I'll contact Chi Jingting."

Nostalgia looked at him doubtfully.
Duan Huaian simply turned on the hands-free mode for the voice call.

After waiting for a while, the voice was connected.
There should be someone on Chi Jingting's side, who mumbled a long string of words mixed with a bunch of complicated professional terms, and then said to the person next to him: "I have an important call."
After the sound of short footsteps, Chi Jingting's nonchalant voice came again: "At this time, you are either staying with your family, or thinking about your mechanical hand. Why did you think of calling me?"

Duan Huai'an said succinctly: "Change Xiaomei's voice."

"Why do you want to change it?" Chi Jingting said lazily with a smile in his voice, "Don't you like the sound of your family's nostalgia?"

"I haven't called him 'Master' either, okay?" Huai Nian couldn't help but speak out.

Chi Jingting was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized: "I thought so, it turns out that you are asking for a change of voice because you miss him."
He put away his smile and said in a serious and persuasive tone: "But there is only this one voice in the voice system, and I haven't had time to make it yet."

Huai Nian actually believed it: "Then change your name."

To be honest, I don't mind the fact that Xiaomei speaks with her own voice. I even find it novel.
It is said that the sound of your own voice is different from the sound of your voice heard by others. Huai Nian also heard some differences. Xiao Mei's voice is sweeter than what she thinks her own voice is.

Chi Jingting agreed readily: "Sure, there are many alternative options in the vocabulary library, which one do you like?"

"for example?"

"For example - baby, husband, dear, sweetheart, honey..." Chi Jingting said in a tone, "Which one do you think suits you better?"

"..."
Every word was like a fist thrown at Nostalgia from all directions, hitting her dizzy.
Huai Nian struggled to maintain her facial expression, not letting her collapse too obviously. She realized later that Chi Jingting was teasing her.

"I don't like any of them, thank you." Huaian's words were very polite, but his tone was very impolite. "Please change it for me immediately."

"What will happen if you don't change?" Chi Jingting acted like a scoundrel.

The nostalgia suddenly died down. As he said, she really had no way to deal with him.

During the brief silence, Chi Jingting's short, boastful laugh came from the phone receiver.
Suddenly, another voice rang in my ear, a familiar, close-to-my-ear command: "I know you can control it remotely, you should cancel the title now."

After saying this, Duan Huaian hung up the call without waiting for Chi Jingting to respond.

About half a minute later, a "beep" sound was heard in the living room.

There was doubt in his eyes.
She asked tentatively: "...Xiaomei?"

Xiaomei's voice has become an official and polite AI female voice, like the calm and cold voice in the navigation software. At this moment, she said happily,
"Good evening, the most beautiful girl in the Explosion Thunderbolt Universe."

"..."
"..."

No matter who hears this name, they will be absolutely certain that the owner of the robot is an extremely narcissistic person who is extremely confident in his appearance.

An overwhelming sense of embarrassment came over me as I recalled the past.
After two or three seconds, she stepped forward and pressed the power off button.

Before shutting down, Xiaomei also had voice.
Xiaomei: "It's so nice to chat with you! I look forward to seeing you next time!"

Huai Nian felt embarrassed and annoyed, and her face turned red.

She was not happy at all and didn't want to talk to it anymore.
She couldn't get angry at Xiaomei, after all, she was a robot that acted according to instructions and had no ulterior motives. The one who was ulterior motives and loved to play tricks was Chi Jingting. Chi Jingting had evil intentions and deliberately wanted to embarrass Huai Nian.

Duan Huai'an raised his eyebrows slightly: "Don't be unhappy. He praised you for being beautiful."

"Xiao Mei is made by you, it should say hello to you." Huai Nian was speechless, and then called him word by word, "The most beautiful boy in the Explosion Thunderbolt Universe."

It's really a name that is too childish and too narcissistic.
It is even more lethal than Nanjing University’s final shot.

Duan Huaian's dark eyes and brows were instantly filled with a hint of disgust and impatience.

He grabbed the phone and called Chi Jingting again.

Huai Nian sneered and didn't listen to the conversation between the good friends. She went back to the room, got her pajamas, and washed up.

Next week is the midterm exam week, and medical students face much greater exam pressure than students from other majors.

The exam week that other students complain about is a real pleasure for Huai Nian.

Because exam week meant that she could find a suitable reason that Duan Huaian wouldn't reject to not meet him.

They can only be contacted by mobile phone.
Huai Nian would never contact Duan Huaian on her own initiative, it was always Duan Huaian who took the initiative to contact her.

Unexpectedly, for two consecutive weeks, Duan Huai'an did not let Huainian spend the night with him, but sent her messages every day.

The time is very strange, four or five in the morning, twelve o'clock in the middle of the night.
The content of the message was plain and simple, either "I'm home" or "I'm asleep".

I missed not replying his message.

I miss Duan Huai'an, but I have no desire to spy on him, no desire to share with him, and even less desire to chat with him.

It's past three in the morning.
In the robotic laboratory.

Duan Huaian was fiddling with the robotic arm on the lab table when the door of the lab was suddenly pushed open.

The man who came in had a chill from the outdoors on him. He approached Duan Huai'an and asked, "Isn't it done yet?"
Duan Huai'an pulled the chair behind him and leaned back against it. He took out his phone and opened the control app.
As if guessing what he was going to do, Chi Jingting turned off the lights in the laboratory, leaving only one lamp near the door.

The light was dim, and Duan Huaian's dark hair hung down on his eyelashes, casting a long shadow on his eyelids. His lazy face, with the raised arc at the end of his eyes, showed a bit of cynical arrogance.
The phone in his hand was glowing, and the light captured the movements of his fingertips and was reflected on the robotic hand in front of him.

click it once.

The mechanical arm made a "hissing" sound.
The robot's index finger is raised.

Press again.
The robotic hand holds up two fingers.

"Fuck?" Chi Jingting was shocked and asked, "Can it only be controlled by an app? I mean, isn't the robot arm installed on a person? Can it be freely controlled like my own hand?"

When talking about his professional field, Duan Huai'an is not stingy with words: "The hand is gone, but the nerves that control the fingers are still there. The robotic hand can determine the user's desired action by detecting arm nerve signals and muscle signals."

Chi Jingting: "What I mean is that the robotic arm can replace my own hand, right?" Duan Huaian nodded lightly.
Chi Jingting exclaimed: "This hand looks like the Armor Hero we watched when we were young. The sound of electricity when it moves is so exciting."

Duan Huaian was in low spirits. After finishing his work, he picked up the cell phone beside him.
There were a few tickets pressed on the phone, and he took them all.

It's a ticket to the robot fighting competition in a few days.

Duan Huaian's expression was distracted and his meaning was difficult to discern.

Chi Jingting saw the ticket in his hand and smiled coldly, his words unable to hide the sarcasm: "I think your uncle is quite interesting. He forced you to participate in this competition. Weren't you forced to participate in the previous two competitions by your uncle? To be honest, I still think it was more interesting to participate in competitions in high school. A large group of people went to watch the game, so lively. Now in college, everyone is not in the local area, and it is difficult to gather people together."

"And you've been busy with the robotic arm recently, how can you find time to participate in this crappy competition?"

"what do you think?"

Chi Jingting said a lot of gibberish, but Duan Huaian didn't respond at all.
Chi Jingting looked at him.
The light and shadow made Duan Huaian's facial lines sharper. He looked thoughtful, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Chi Jingting waved his hand in front of his eyes.
"what are you thinking?"
"Nothing." Duan Huai'an's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he withdrew his thoughts. "It's late, let's call it a day and go to bed."

Chi Jingting came by car, and Duan Huaian took his car back.

The night was deep and the dew was thick, and the air was filled with the dampness of late autumn.
The signal light cast an eerie red light, and a few drops of rain fell.

In the dead of night, during the long wait at the red light, Duan Huaian glanced outside casually.
Outside the car window is an empty bus station.

Through the hazy rain and fog, the faded memories deep in time come to the fore and become vivid.

……

It was late August of my second year of high school.
The World Youth Robot Competition Championship kicked off in South City.

This was Duan Huai'an's first time participating in the World Youth Robot Competition. All the contestants around him were very nervous, except for him, who looked indifferent, as if he was an outsider who was not involved.

There were many friends and family outside the stadium cheering for the players.
Duan Huaian’s relatives and friends include Chi Jingting and other childhood friends.

They were just like Duan Huai'an, relaxing and leaning against the wall, asking nonchalantly, "Where are we going to celebrate later?"
Arrogant, overbearing, ostentatious, and unrestrained.
Naturally, I also received a lot of contemptuous looks.

Duan Huaian was too lazy to pay attention to them. He slowly withdrew his gaze, and stopped suddenly halfway through.
Frozen somewhere in the crowd.

He saw nostalgia.
She was with her friends. She was wearing a navy collar shirt and a skirt of the same color, looking pure and bright. When someone around her talked to her, she smiled back, and the dimples at the corners of her mouth were like two drops of rain, falling directly into his calm eyes.

There was no extra time to look at her, as the referee came over to urge Duan Huai'an.

Duan Huai'an withdrew his gaze and walked towards the competition area.

The long game is over.
Amid the cheers of the audience, Duan Huaian won first place in two individual events.

After the award ceremony, Duan Huaian hurried off the stage.

The scene was chaotic and noisy. Chi Jingting shouted at him several times, but he didn't even turn around.

Chi Jingting wondered: "Aren't we here? Why is he in such a hurry to run out?"

It started raining outside without me noticing.
Heavy rain accompanied by thunder.

Chi Jingting looked around and soon found Huaian at the bus stop on the side of the road.

She was soaked by the rain, standing awkwardly in the bus stop. The wind was strong, and the raindrops blew up her skirt. She used one hand to comb her messy wet hair, and the other hand hurriedly covered the hem of her skirt.
Duan Huaian narrowed his eyes and walked towards her without any hesitation.

When I was busy and confused, there was suddenly a person in front of me, standing in the wind.

Huai Nian raised her eyes and unexpectedly met Duan Huaian's eyes.
Duan Huai'an held an umbrella and stood face to face with her. He lowered his eyes and looked down, colliding with her nostalgic gaze at the empty node in the air. They were so close that they could see the curve of each other's eyelashes.

What passes is time, and what is frozen is the world under the umbrella that belongs to the two of them alone.

They were not standing in the rain, but they were wetter than if they were standing in the rain.

It was Hua Nian who spoke first, making the stagnant time start moving again: "...What a coincidence, I just saw you at the competition venue."

Duan Huai'an: "Yeah."
"Congratulations on getting first place in two events."
"Ah."
"..."

As if realizing that his response was too brief, Duan Huai'an said in a clear and sweet voice: "Thank you."

Nostalgic smile: "I watched your competition, it was amazing, and your robot is very cool."

Duan Huaian nodded lightly, the wind blew up his clothes and the rain was getting heavier.
Duan Huai'an asked her: "Going home?"
Huai Nian paused for a moment and explained, "Well, my friends all got on the bus, but I don't know what happened, my bus never came."

"I want to go home, too," he said, "together."
"Ah?" Huai Nian asked, "Aren't you with your friends?"

"They left." Duan Huai'an said calmly, fearing that she would not believe him, he added another word and repeated, "They left me and left."

The rain soaked the city, and there seemed to be a layer of mist in Nostalgia's eyes. The emotions that flowed out for no reason included surprise and heartache after learning that he had been abandoned.
She whispered, "Well, shall we wait for the bus together?"

Duan Huai'an said: "The driver is almost here."
Huai Nian bit her lip and thanked me politely: "Thank you for taking me home."
Duan Huai'an said with a cold expression, "You're welcome."

After they get on the bus.

Duan Huaian unlocked his phone and saw the message from Chi Jingting.
Chi Jingting: [Where are you? ]
Chi Jingting: [Didn’t we agree on a celebration banquet? ]
Chi Jingting: [It's raining heavily outside. I'll take your car.]
Chi Jingting: [? ]
Chi Jingting: [You're not leaving, are you? No? Buddy? Don't you need your best buddy to be by your side during this glorious moment of success?]
Chi Jingting: [The teacher once said, if you share your happiness, you will get double the happiness.]

Duan Huaian turned his face away.

The car window reflected the face of the person sitting next to him.
She sat stiffly, her hair wet from the rain stuck in clumps, and her pure white clothes clung to her skin.
Duan Huaian took a towel and handed it to her.

I miss the feeling of being flattered.

Duan Huai'an could guess what she would say, and took the lead in saying, "You're welcome."

She was stunned for a moment, then smiled, her round eyes curved into a crescent shape.

Duan Huaian's Adam's apple rolled, and he moved his gaze back to the screen of his mobile phone. The movement of typing brought with it a barely perceptible tremor.

Duan Huai'an: [No need.]
Duan Huai'an: [I am already very happy.]

Chi Jingting replied immediately: [Stop talking nonsense, you are not happy at all. ]

(End of this chapter)