Master, I Need Charging - Chapter 21: Special Rental

The next day, Chen Yuheng boarded an early flight to Xin Hai City.

As soon as he got on the plane, as usual, he went to find his seat and closed his eyes to rest straight away.

After takeoff, a flight stewardess led a service robot slowly down the aisle.

The robot had a rectangular body, a semi-circular head, and a 360-degree controlled view that enabled it to capture images from all directions. The chip inserted in it contained most of the terms people used in daily life, which could also be translated into multiple languages.

It trailed behind the flight stewardess while pushing along the trolley cart. Upon hearing any passengers ordering juice or coffee, it would use its retractable arm to place the item the passenger required on the tray and hand it over to them.

All of a sudden, there was a shriek coming from the front seat.

“Ugh! My clothes…!”

The flight stewardess swiftly handed over a paper towel, but that did not stop the female passenger from cursing.

“D*mmit! It can’t even hold a cup of water properly…! Never am I going to board a robot plane again!”

The commotion awoke the man, who peeled his eyes open and glanced at the front.

The cup had been knocked over, but because it was placed on the tray, most of the water was spilled on it. Nevertheless, some still splashed onto the woman’s top.

The stewardess kept her composure with a smile as she apologized to the former while the robot remained motionless.

……

Be it its retractable arm or the tray, both were very stable.

From the looks of it, he could roughly surmise that it was the woman who had failed to hold the cup properly.

Indifferent to the situation, he retracted his gaze and closed his eyes again.

That was human nature. People always liked to push the blame to others and insist that they were the innocent ones.

He, too, had encountered plenty of such situations. When Ming Rui Hospital was first founded, some patients’ families would vent their anger on the robots because the patients had died in the course of treatment… It was not at all unusual to see them turning to verbal and physical abuse. They would stand at the hospital entrance with banners holding their protest against the use of robots in hospitals.

No matter how many patients got treated and cured, as long as there was one person who could not be cured, one would turn into a liar, a jerk, and a sinner.

Anger made people lose their minds and instantly forget all the convenience and comfort that robots had brought to them.

Fortunately, it was just a robot; it knew no anger nor grievance. Due to its lack of emotions, it still stably held onto the tray, not letting any more water spill, despite being scolded by the passenger.

No… emotions…?

He opened his eyes again and took a look at that robot in front of him. He was reminded of the robot in his office, Ruan Ruan.

Is it because of its high anthropomorphism…? Somehow, she seems to have emotions.

That’s just an illusion, right…?

Now that he recalled her desolate expression when he had left, he felt somewhat uncomfortable… It was a very strange feeling.

His brows knitted slightly. Disliking wasting time on strange emotions, he shook his head lightly and emptied his mind of those thoughts and feelings he did not understand. His focus soon turned to his work.

The purpose of this trip to Xin Hai City was to attend Huaxin Software Technology’s product launch press conference.

It was Pei Lijun’s first product launch since she had joined that company. In order to gain a footing in this competitive industry as a new company, Huaxin’s first product launch was akin to the first shot on the battlefield. Its significance was extraordinary.

Thereafter… she would surely launch her attack on RK.

He could already foresee them becoming RK’s biggest rival… And, in a few hours, he would be able to meet this rival-cum-ex best friend, Pei Lijun.

RK Twin Towers.

When Gu Anbao was taken into the meeting room by Lu Lu, she was feeling a little dazed…

Even though she had been mentally prepared since last night, it still felt surreal to her to be treated as possession by others… to be lent out…

Meeting the robot was truly astonishing to Yu Qinglan. It was her first time seeing a robot that closely emulated a human.

Shen Xinran, however, was not overjoyed as she should be.

She originally intended to find a reason to get close to Chen Yuheng, and she had already found an excuse. Brother, why isn’t this robot listening to orders? Come and take a look…

Who knew that the man was truly not in the building. Alan even produced an air ticket e-receipt as proof.

To think he had left for Xin Hai City…

Her mother, not having to worry about her daughter’s stand-in for filming in the future, was delighted and very satisfied with the robot.

The smile failed to last long, however, since Cheryl handed out three sets of contracts with a smile.

“Before Director Chen left, he instructed us to let Madam and Ms. Shen leave with the robot once both of you sign the contract. There are three sets of the same contract here, and Director Chen has already affixed his seal on the documents.”

The older woman’s face ashen as she asked in disbelief, “I’m here to borrow his robot for a while, and I need to sign a contract for it?”

With a cold face, her daughter picked it up and flipped through it.

The secretary kept the smile on her face. “Please understand, even though Director Chen is currently using the robot, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s our company’s property. So, naturally, we have to act in accordance with the company’s regulations and have the contracts signed. This way, we can also keep records…”

“Look, mom!” The actress pointed at a page of the document to her mother.

Yu Qinglan’s face grew increasingly grim as she read those few lines. “Usage of the robot is only limited to three days…? The compensation amount is… 35 million?!”

“Usually the company’s rental service is divided into a monthly and annual rental. However…” The employee explained with a smile, “Director Chen is still testing this robot, so we can only let you rent it for three days at most. When he returns in three days’ time, he’ll still have to continue to test the robot. May I seek your kind understanding for this.”

“What’s with this compensation amount, then?” asked the young actress, her brows raised.

Smirking inwardly, Cheryl then calmly answered, “Fret not, Ms. Shen. We won’t charge you any fees during this rental period. This compensation amount… is just a formality, so you don’t have to be bothered about it. Besides, this term will only become effective should the robot be damaged. Since Ms. Shen is borrowing the robot, I’m sure you’ll use it with care. Surely you won’t deliberately damage it?”

Her words sent the former choking and at an immediate loss for words. Unable to suppress the raging temper, she instinctively tugged on her mother’s arm, who was sitting beside her.

The latter was still greatly in shock at having to sign a document for borrowing her son’s belongings…

Slowly she put down the contract and hesitantly asked, “Do I have to sign… this contract?”

The head secretary nodded.

A spine-chilling sensation instantly hit her as if she had been splashed with cold water.

Despite knowing her son was not close to her… she had always thought that their blood relation and time would resolve everything. She was his birth mother, after all… Must a mother sign a contract for borrowing something from her son?

Feeling pained and agonized, it was as if she had instantly aged ten years. The woman sat in a daze as she stared blankly at the contract on the table.

Shen Xinran inevitably could not bear to see her looking like this. And so, she consoled her, “Don’t overthink it, Mom. It’s just a formality since the robot is the company’s property after all. It’s the same for filming as well. The clothes we wear are all recorded down… What’s more, it’s only natural for them to have more rules since it’s a big company…”

Upon hearing her words, Yu Qinglan raised her head to look at Cheryl. “Does he know about this contract?”

The latter gave an ambiguous answer in return. “We’re just following the rules.”

At that, she fell silent and went into a trance, quietly sitting there before she turned to her daughter and asked, “… Xinran, shall we… not borrow that robot?”