AHDIBCB Chapter 23

A special thanks to Sealunis for your love and support!! Here is the additional update. Please enjoy!!!

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This AI was named Li Mian. Before Yuan Yi knew of its existence, it resided in a small, two-headed-body robot only the height of a palm. This little robot wore a gray sweater and jeans, looking both refined and a bit cute.

Yuan Yi discovered it in Li Heng’s bedroom, and the first to greet the other was not him but the AI.

It asked Yuan Yi, “Who are you?”

At first, Yuan Yi was startled, but when it scuttled out sideways from behind Li Heng’s study like a little crab, he finally relaxed and answered its question.

He said he was Li Heng’s other half. Li Mian thought for a moment and said that in that case, it was Li Heng’s little bookboy¹T/N: like study companion.

In this era, words like “bookboy” were rarely heard anymore. Yuan Yi found it interesting and started chatting with it. As they talked, he realized that the AI possessed knowledge from astronomy to geography and was especially well-versed in medicine, military science, philosophy, and history. As their conversation went on, Yuan Yi discovered that there was no question he asked that Li Mian couldn’t answer.

Wouldn’t this be like having a ready-made teacher? Then why should he bother going out to study? Although the time spent commuting to school wasn’t long, even the smallest gains added up. Wouldn’t it be better to use that time to rest?

Besides, the people at the medical school already knew he wasn’t completely clueless about medicine, and they were gradually realizing that he was determined to transfer there. At first, some people assumed he was relying on President Li, but now, fewer and fewer held that belief.

“You can rest assured. With your aptitude, as long as you master everything I’ve taught you, getting straight A+’s will be no problem at all,” Li Mian said. “All this knowledge of mine was organized together with my master.”

“Sounds like your master was really impressive. But wasn’t he a soldier? Why did he study such a wide range of subjects?”

“How could knowledge ever be too much? Especially for a combat commander—the more they understand, the more flexible their thinking, and the more ideas they have on the battlefield. My master was very good at learning,” Li Mian said, taking great pride in this, speaking with a sense of honor. However, as it spoke, it gradually became downcast. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to contact my master for almost a year now. I heard Professor Jian say that my master is no longer in this world.”

“Are you very sad?”

“Of course. He was my best friend and my master. Other than him, I have no other close friends.”

“Then maybe we could be friends? I’d like to hear you tell his story.”

“Of course!”

Li Mian was as happy as a little child, even performing two backflips on the spot to express its excitement.

Yuan Yi found it adorable, so when he was at home, he took it with him wherever he went. As for why he didn’t bring it outside, that was because back when Li Heng was around, he had set it to only operate within the house.

Its data form could move around outside through the network, but its physical body could not. And since it always prioritized Li Heng’s commands above all else, it would never violate this rule.

Yuan Yi had no intention of forcibly changing its way of operating, nor could he even if he wanted to. When going out, he simply carried Li Mian’s data form with him. Li Mian could “climb walls” and transfer itself into his communicator. It was a highly advanced AI.

According to Li Mian, it had followed Li Heng for a full eleven years. During that time, its body had never been replaced, but its data had been upgraded countless times.

Yuan Yi rather enjoyed listening to Li Mian talk about Li Heng. At first, he hadn’t thought that a deceased person would have much of an impact on him. But perhaps because of the child, he had recently become increasingly curious and attentive to matters concerning Li Heng. Tonight, he planned to fall asleep listening to these stories.

Yuan Yi pulled up the blanket, and Li Mian turned off the lights.

Upon learning that Yuan Yi had a child—and that the child was its master’s—Li Mian considerately adjusted the room temperature to the most comfortable setting for him. Then, it began recounting stories about Li Heng’s childhood studies.

As it spoke, it suddenly asked, “Should I change my voice or speaking speed? What kind of voice do you prefer?”

Yuan Yi asked, “Can you imitate Li Heng’s voice?”

Li Mian replied, “Of course I can.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it wasn’t just similar—it was identical.

Yuan Yi had watched Li Heng’s speeches online before. The voice Li Mian imitated was no different from those recordings.

Li Heng’s natural voice was deep and magnetic—the kind known as a “low-pitched bass cannon.” His tone was steady and measured, giving off a sense of calm strength. Yet, occasionally, a joke would slip in, carrying a subtle trace of uninhibited wildness.

With his eyes closed, simply listening gave Yuan Yi an almost surreal feeling—like Li Heng had come back. This sensation helped him relax. Combined with the subtle traces of Li Heng’s presence still lingering in the bedroom, he fell asleep noticeably faster than usual.

Though he woke up twice during the night, he quickly dozed off again while chatting with Li Mian.

The next morning, Li Mian woke him up using the same voice.

Yuan Yi was momentarily dazed, staring at the bedroom—larger than the one before—and at the pillow in his arms. It took him a few seconds to realize he had moved to a new place. No wonder he had slept better than usual, and even after waking up, his body felt lighter than before.

He had a habit of holding onto something while sleeping. As a child, he lacked a sense of security and could only sleep soundly when hugging something. But in the orphanage, there were so many children, and the staff couldn’t always cater to such “optional” needs. So, he clung to his own blanket to sleep.

As he grew older and started earning money, his pillow got an upgrade—it became a giant stuffed crocodile.

He had hugged that crocodile pillow for a long time. Even when the seams split and the stuffing started spilling out, he still couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.

Li Mian saw him gently stroking the pillow in a daze and asked, “Do you want to rest a little longer?”

Yuan Yi sat up, rubbed his hands together until they were warm, then rubbed his face and ears repeatedly. It was clear he wasn’t doing this randomly but rather with a specific purpose in mind.

Li Mian didn’t understand and asked, “Are you imitating a cat washing its face?”

Yuan Yi laughed and said, “No. Doing this helps to clear the meridians, stimulate blood circulation, and is beneficial for the skin and internal organs. It’s part of traditional Chinese medicine’s health practices, but also just a personal habit of mine. Also, could you change your voice back to your own?”

Li Mian asked in its original voice, “Why?”

Yuan Yi said, “Because hearing Li Heng’s voice coming from your two-headed-body form is really weird.”

It was fine when his eyes were closed, but watching Li Mian speak in Li Heng’s voice while looking like that was like seeing a child pretend to be an adult—uncomfortably strange.

Li Mian was very adaptable. After switching back to its own voice, it asked, “Traditional Chinese medicine—is that the very, very old art of Qi Huang?”

Surprised, Yuan Yi asked, “You know about it?”

After arriving here, aside from learning about the Li family and contemporary laws and regulations, he also studied the history of this empire.

The primary star, Huamei Star, was still in the solar system, but it was not the Earth he once knew. Based on the timeline, it should be about three thousand years after the time he had lived on Earth in his previous life.

Earth had undergone drastic changes. The oceans he once knew might have turned into land, while the land could have become oceans. With frequent natural disasters, humanity altered their genes for better survival and migrated to other planets. After generations of adaptation, the world had become what it was now.

Traditional Chinese medicine had declined even further. When he first realized this, he felt deep regret. Though he studied Western medicine, anything that had been passed down for thousands of years must have had its merits. There were some principles of Chinese medicine that he genuinely appreciated—he hadn’t expected Li Mian to know about it.

“Did Li Heng tell you about it?”

“Mm. My master was well-read and knew a great deal,” Li Mian said. “Back when he was alive, I can’t even count how many omegas liked him—it was like fish in a river, endless. Some of them even used to send letters and packages to the Sirius Fleet regularly.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. But the master didn’t like them. He refused to accept any of the gifts. Professor Jian was so angry that he said the master was a block of wood. But the master said that dating without the purpose of marriage is a waste of life. He said he wanted to wait for someone who could truly move his heart, and then spend a lifetime with that person.”

“Did he find them?”

“He did.”

“Hmm?”

Yuan Yi turned around. How come he had never heard that Li Heng had someone he liked when he was alive?!

But thinking about it, that made sense too. A thirty-year-old man who had never liked anyone would be strange, right? And at this age, it was impossible to tell the family everything. It was perfectly normal that Professor Jian and Principal Li didn’t know.

Li Mian didn’t realize at all that he had said something incredible. He only felt that since the master was no longer in this world, saying it didn’t matter. He admitted honestly, “It should have been the day before reaching the Nine-Colored Star Bridge. I asked the master if he had found the love of his life. He said he had.”

Yuan Yi said, “Then he really didn’t find them at the right time. Forget about him. I’m going to wash up and eat, then start studying in a bit.”

Li Mian, “Okay! I’ll use light waves to disinfect the bedroom. You have a little master in your belly, so I have to protect you well.”

Yuan Yi, “Thank you. But I have one more thing to ask of you. That is, at night, when you use Li Heng’s voice to tell me stories… can you not let anyone else know? This ‘anyone else’ refers to everyone except me.”

Li Mian said, “I can agree to that. If the master were to ask me, I wouldn’t be able to hide it, but since he’s not around anyway, I can keep my promise to you!”

Not bad, this AI is worth keeping around.

Yuan Yi rinsed a towel and wiped the dust-off Li Mian’s surface. “Stretch out your hand.”

Li Mian held out his little chubby hand. Yuan Yi wiped it clean, then wiped his feet and shoes. “How about I wash your clothes too?”

Li Mian said yes, so Yuan Yi took off its clothes. This little robot even got embarrassed, quickly wiggling its two short legs and running off bare-bottomed.

The clothes were so small that Yuan Yi only needed to rub them a few times to get them clean. And since they were tiny, even wringing them out once felt like a hassle, so he simply used a hairdryer to dry them and put them directly back on Li Mian.

Li Mian bounced twice. “Thank you, madam. When the master was around, he never washed my clothes even once. I’ve been wearing these for eleven years. He dressed himself in bright and clean clothes but never washed mine.”

Yuan Yi: “…What did you just call me?”

Li Mian said, “Madam! You are the master’s wife, so aren’t you the madam? Or should I call you Dad? The master is both my master and my father, so I can also call you Dad.”

Yuan Yi: “…”

Thinking about this little guy using Li Heng’s voice to tell him bedtime stories at night and then calling him “Dad,” Yuan Yi suddenly shuddered. “You’d better just call me ‘Brother Yi.’ Also, during the day, change your voice to something more mature. If you teach me lessons with that childish voice, my attention will keep drifting away.”

Li Mian said that was no problem. And so, master and servant switched to “brother mode,” deciding to make a final week of intense studying before exams.

Li Heng noticed that Yuan Yi really wasn’t coming back to school and started feeling a bit anxious. Luckily, there was still the matter of the tongue twister. He could use the excuse of returning Yuan Yi’s notes to get him to come to school.

He called him on the phone. “Junior Yuan, I’ve finished with your notes. When will you come pick them up?”

Yuan Yi said, “Thanks, Senior He. I’ll just send a same-city smart courier to pick them up from you.”

Li Heng said, “Wouldn’t that be too slow?”

At this moment, Li Mian spoke up, “Brother Yi, I’ve finished planning the part you need to study today. Take a look and see if it works for you?”

Li Heng was immediately alert. “Who just spoke?”

Yuan Yi thought that if he said it was a robot, He Yanwu might start asking more questions. Deep down, he didn’t really want more people to know about Li Mian’s existence. After all, even Li Heng didn’t allow it to leave the house, which might mean there was some special, undisclosed reason for keeping it a secret. So he said, “It’s my little brother, the one I mentioned before, who’s studying with me.”

Hearing this, Li Heng thought to himself—Oh? So this love rival is actually a little wolfdog!