Once Upon A Star

[Hello, my name is Anil. Nice to meet you, Mr Feng] a bland male voice echoed from his computer screen. Su Feng froze and looked in amazement at the program. He thought for a moment and then replied. "Uhh, nice to meet you too Anil." It felt weird talking to a non-human sentient and Su Feng admitted he was a bit freaked out. At least it was polite.

[Don't worry Mr Feng, I have no plans of taking over this house. If it wasn't for my Lady's orders, I wouldn't be here in the first place] a snort of disgust made its way through the speakers. 'Scratch that,' Su Feng thought with a darkened face, 'I want to reach through the screen and throttle it.' In any case, he didn't expect the AI to be this good. He could already see what would follow. And what immediately sobered his excited thoughts were: war.

If people around the world discovered that there was an AI capable of transmitting such realistic and human-like emotions, they would definitely committ atrocities to get their hands on it. Humans were greedy creatures, there was no way through it. What more was that the AI Anil seemed to be able to... read minds? No, that was silly, of course it was. The implications would be catastrophic.

Su Feng did think that Anil better not take over his house, but he never said it out aloud. How exactly did it know?

[Mr Feng, I have sensors that can translate your brain waves which help me to understand what your thinking. It was what I was programmed to do] Anil cleared away Su Feng's confusion but the latter also regarded it with wariness. He put that aside for now. "Anil, I want you to alert me if anything were to happen to Xing. Your main job will be to send me information on Xing's enemies."

[Hmpf! Who do you think I am? Unlike you, my Lady is someone I care about, I'd have protected her even if you hadn't asked of me to!] Anil made an angry huff.

Su Feng rolled his eyes. What a dramatic AI. "Good. Also..." Anil could see that the man's heart beat had increased. Within Anil's mindpsace, he could detect even the smallest of changes within the human body and get a reading on their empathy levels. Humans were such lucky creatures and they didn't even know it. 'Hmm this fool seems to be anxious about something.'

Su Feng let out a small cough. "Anil, check if there are any men around Xing." Anil narrowed his eyes with realisation. 'How dare this incompetent piece of shit covet my Lady!' On the computer screen, an emoji popped up and smiled creepily at Su Feng. [My Lady is very beautiful isn't she? She has many suitors chasing her, it's best for you to quit now] Anil's pitying tone grated on Su Feng's nerves but he focused on the former part of the sentence with a green face. Many suitors? Dammit! Those trash!

While Su Feng was devising a plan to get rid of all the men chasing Yuan Xing, Anil sneered at him. 'What an obssessive man. I must not let him near my Lady.'

Meanwhile, in a different suburb, Song Chen was in his own home, laid back against the office chair, frowning thoughtfully. He got up and walked towards the wide window that had a magnificent view of Imperial's city lights. There was something strange going on with the Yuan family. That was rather obvious. He wasn't much concerned for their in-family conflicts but because they were closely tied with the Song's, anything they did would indirectly impact his family.

If the Yuan family wanted to fall, then let them! Just don't drag his family into the storm, otherwise...a chilly look reflected against the window pane. 'Don't blame me for being heartless, Yuan Rong! If you can't get your family under control, I'll intervene.' A female silhouette emerged from his mind and Song Chen paused. 'There is also her to consider. I must not get on her bad side.'

From the information he had recently received, Yang He had contacted someone outside. The problem lay in who she had contacted. This would be a good way to see if Yuan Xing was worth his effort. Moreover, he wanted to see Yuan Xing's capabilities and how far they extended. There was something not normal about her. Too much darkness, a thick cloud that hovered around her. Like him.Perhaps that was why he was so interested in her.