And so, she was taken home by him.
That was right.
To prevent her from running away, Chen Yuheng, with a splitting headache, could not think of any other solution, so he took her home with him to his upscale apartment in the city center.
When Gu Anbao entered the apartment, she was somewhat surprised. She thought that… magnates like him would live in mansions.
To think that the RK founder's residence… was actually a three-room apartment. In fact, it really had just three simple rooms—a master bedroom, a study, and a guest room—with its interior of a minimalistic style.
On second thoughts, her family lived in a mansion because they had many people. He alone, of course, need not stay in such a huge house.
Poor thing… He's alone.
That was what she thought in her heart.
After he entered, he closed and locked the door before adding a fingerprint lock…
He seemed to be exhausted, seeing how he loosened his shoulders for a bit. Not bothering about his robot, he changed into his bedroom slippers, headed straight to his bedroom, and closed the door with a bang… No sound of activity could be heard from within after that.
He's asleep… already?
She turned around to take a look at the fingerprint lock… then she gave up and bent down to change into slippers as well…
According to the wall clock, it was 3 AM now. Gu Anbao vacantly sat on the sofa in the living room, not knowing what she should do…
Sleep? Was there a need to do so? Although she felt mentally tired, she had no desire to sleep at all. After sitting around for a long time, the robot automatically went into standby mode due to the long period of inactivity. This time, though, she no longer resisted it…
Her eyes remained wide open for the entire night… and her mind gradually sobered from its hazy state. She was not sure if this could be considered as sleep…
At 8 AM, there was a soft beep in the living room. The household robot, standing next to the fridge, automatically started up at the set time.
It was currently a widely popular robot model on the market, and Gu Anbao had one at home as well. It had the nickname 'domestic helper' as it was capable enough to tackle most of the household chores. There were two models; the blue one named Nono, and the pink one named Momo. They had the same functions, the only difference being the male and female voices input in them.
The one at Chen Yuheng's home was the blue version, Nono.
With the standby mode off, Nono proceeded to work as usual; retrieving eggs and milk from the fridge, heading to the kitchen, and moments later, returning to the living room with a tray which contained a cup of warm milk and an egg sandwich.
Done with the breakfast preparation, it then stopped beside the washing machine to pull out the soiled laundry from the laundry basket and dumped them into the washing machine… Gu Anbao chanced upon a pair of male underwear…
As her face reddened, she turned her head away in avoidance, thinking: It's better… for undergarments… to be hand washed…
While the washing machine began to work, Nono did not stand idle. Instead, it opened its exterior shell and used its in-built vacuum cleaner function to clean the house. The apartment was not actually dirty… Still, it continued to clean the entire house on its wheels. When it passed by the sofa and she kindly raised her legs for it to pass, its blue-light display revealed a smiley face and it said, "Thank you."
She bashfully replied, "You're welcome…"
This was the interaction between the two robots throughout which, Chen Yuheng had never once stepped out of the room.
She looked at the wall clock. It's already 8.40 AM. If he still doesn't get up… will he make it on time? Doesn't work usually start at 9 AM? Hm, he's the CEO, though… I suppose it's fine if he gets to work a little later?
Besides, he seemed dog-tired last night… It's better if he sleeps in a little.
Just like that, she waited a while until the clock showed 9 AM, but there was still no sounds of activity from the bedroom.
The household robot had already completed its jobs and was now on standby mode in its original resting spot.
Feeling increasingly restless, she got to her feet and headed to the direction of his bedroom, hesitating whether to enter the room.
As she wondered whether to go in, she heard a phone ringtone from inside.
Surely he will wake up now?
The ringing continued, but it seemed that he had no intention of answering the call at all. Standing outside the room, Gu Anbao could not resist but lightly turn the doorknob and push open the door—
With a thick blackout curtain keeping the sunlight at bay, the entire room was pitch-black inside except for a flashing blue light from the phone on the table.
From the doorway, she hesitantly attempted to call him, "… Chen… Chen Yuheng? Your phone's ringing…"
It was too dark… She could only vaguely see a figure on the bed, but his face was not clear…
"Chen Yuheng…?"
She carefully trod across the room and called him twice from the end of the bed. His non-reaction had her moving to his bed head instead, and when she probed her head forward to take a look at him…
Her heart thumped when she got a clear look. His fringe was entirely drenched with sweat, his face was abnormally flushed, and his lips were dry.
She stuck her hand to his face, feeling for his temperature. It felt scalding to touch.
"… Chen Yuheng, you're running a fever…?!"
Panic coursed through her! F-Fever… What do I do with a fever…? A thermometer! Right… I should look for a thermometer first!
She anxiously ran about the whole house!
Where on earth am I going to find one???
That's right! The robot! I can go ask the robot!
"Nono!" She rushed toward the household robot and asked, "Nono! Where's the thermometer kept?"
Nono's blue-light screen lit up. "The thermometer, a general term for temperature-measuring instruments, can accurately judge and measure temperature. Its design is based on the influence of temperature on solids, liquids, and gases—expanding when it's hot and contracting when it's cold.."
Her fluster got her on the verge of tears. "No, no! I'm not asking you to explain the word! I'm asking where's the thermometer kept?!"
"There are kerosene thermometers, alcohol thermometers, mercury thermometers, gas thermometers, resistance thermometers…"
Hearing that, she completely gave up on it and ran back to the bedroom to rummage through the cabinets.
From drawers to cabinets, and beneath the bed, she didn't miss a corner. The more she searched for it, however, the more anxious and flustered she got!
"… In the living room…" A hoarse voice was heard.
She froze, then speedily turned around and ran to the bedside, crying, "I can't find the thermometer…!"
The man's head was already pounding, but seeing her in this useless state, worsened it…
I'm only running a fever and she's already so flustered about it… How can I be assured to leave the old man under her care? He has rheumatism, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and fatty liver… Each of those mentioned conditions was much more frightening than a cold when it acts up.
"The living room… There's a white medical kit inside the standing cabinet beside the TV console…" His voice sounded hoarse and weak as he lay on the bed.
Gu Anbao hurriedly dashed to the living room and opened the cabinet. There was indeed a medical box inside. It's in such an obvious place… In fact, she had looked there in the beginning, but in her hurry to find a thermometer, she had failed to notice that this box was actually the first aid kit.
She raced back to the room with the kit and found a digital thermometer inside… This… How should this be used? The one we used at home is an old-fashioned mercury thermometer…
A big, defined hand reached for the thermometer. Chen Yuheng took his own temperature—39.8°C.
It's relatively high…