728: Since The Beginning

Since The Beginning

Dr. Feng closed his eyes and howled internally for a few long seconds for his past stupidity before he abruptly snapped back to his senses. Wait… why was he feeling mortified? He had created this system so it was only right for him to be the 'Daddy'! But Luan's teasing tone had made it seem like he had just done something naughty!0

Realizing who the real culprit was, Dr. Feng regained his momentum and glared at the man in front of him. "Why didn't you say anything?" He seethed in a low voice. "Is it fun to see me being so oblivious?!"

Luan's eyes were mirthful and he even dared to reply with, "Of course it's fun."

Dr. Feng gnashed his teeth in anger. This audacity…! If Luan had not been the system itself, he would have dissected this impudent man and tweaked his memory until he could no longer remember anything else! Then he would be able to forget that today's embarrassment existed at all! Alas, there was no way he would be able to do it now. Going through Luan's source code would be the same as swimming in the boundless sea of data. Dr. Feng did not have that much free time to do such meaningless work.

"So, when did you gain this form?" He asked in a snappish tone. When all was said and done, the system he created had gained awareness similar to a human. How could he not be delighted? Before he knew it, he had blurted out a series of questions, "When did you gain awareness? Why didn't you tell me anything? Wait… what criteria do you have in mind when creating this form? How about the name 'Luan'? You have to tell me everything in detail!"

Even though Dr. Feng's plan to inspect Luan's main source code was thwarted, it did not dampen his excitement at all. On the contrary, he became more thrilled. He even had a sudden urge to drag Lu Yizhou here and show Luan off to him. 

Look, even if you don't want to lend me Bianca, I still have Luan and he is much better and more cooperative than your rebellious daughter!

"When do I gain awareness, huh…?" Luan repeated the question under his breath, his gaze wandering off the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

How did he tell this man that… he had always been here since the beginning?

Even during the BETA stage, when he was still riddled with errors and bugs, he was already aware of everything. He watched as this man worked on him day and night, tirelessly, sometimes not even sleeping for a few days straight. Then he would hear this person tell him, "It's okay, you're getting better. You will definitely become Daddy's greatest masterpiece!"

There was a saying that when you gazed into the abyss, the abyss would also gaze back at you. Luan thought that it could not fit them more. 

Dr. Feng had spent countless hours building his source codes, and he had also been watching Dr. Feng for that long. He had kept in mind every success, every failure, every smile and every groan of frustration; he had stored each frame in his unlimited memory capacity for his own perusal. 

He had lost count of how many times he had stared at this person's focused silhouette. How dedicated he was, how hard-working and perfectionist… nobody knew it more than Luan.

For him, this man had been the first person he had ever seen, and later… the only one.

Luan lowered his lashes to hide the complex emotions within. I have always been here, but it's you who have never realized it…

"What's wrong?" Utterly oblivious, Dr. Feng tilted his head when he saw that Luan did not answer. "Is that question too hard to answer? You can't give me a definite time? Wait, no— you're the system. There is no reason for you not to be able to discern the time clearly…"

Luan saw that Dr. Feng was sinking into his own mind again and snapped his fingers in front of the man's face to draw his attention. "I was just thinking…" he replied in a calm tone which betrayed nothing he felt within. "The approximate time I gained awareness… should be around the time you created Cyrus. Do you remember how you thought he looked quite lonely by himself?"

"Oh, that's right!" Dr. Feng perked up when he recalled that memory. "So that's where you come in, huh? Well, that makes sense!"

Luan could not help but smile. When Dr. Feng was getting excited like this, he really… really wanted to try patting his head. But in the end, he did not dare to. Deep down, he was a coward through and through. He had put a lock on Cyrus and himself so that Dr. Feng would not be able to check the memory log, so that he could not see how Luan had acted so unbridled inside the simulator…

"Mn," Luan nodded. "I was interested in the simulator so… I wanted to try and see what it was like to live there."

Dr. Feng raised a brow. "So did you have fun?"

Luan blinked. Yes, it was indeed fun… at first.

He might be telling the truth when he said that he was interested in the simulator, but only he and God knew how his main goal was to get close to Cyrus. He was very curious in this virtual character that Dr. Feng created based on himself. Even more than that, he was curious to see… how they would get along with each other.

Not as a human and a system. Not as a creator and his creation. But merely two people who encountered each other in the middle of the street…

The event that happened subsequently was out of his control. For him, the system which operated on precise calculation, all of these surprises almost caused him to crash and shut down by himself. 

They got along well. Too well, in fact. What started as a mere curiosity became a desire to get closer and closer, and Luan finally could not resist breaching the forbidden line. He was getting madly addicted to the privilege of being by Cyrus' side, to the point where he would sometimes wonder whether the same thing would happen to Dr. Feng too. The treacherous thought took root inside his core and spread rapidly into an extreme longing he could no longer deny.

He knew he was just searching for Dr. Feng's shadow in Cyrus, yet it was still sweet nonetheless. So sweet that he gradually became scared that he would not be able to extricate himself. 

Alas… 

He should have realized it sooner. As early as the first time he opened his eyes and saw this person, he… had fallen madly in love with him. 

He, a system, has fallen in love with his creator. A person who did not even know he existed and worse, a person who… would never see him as an equal.

"Mn," Luan gave a slight nod as he suppressed the pang of pain and bitterness in his chest. "It's quite… fun."

pqdm.com