"Jiang Yi, were you the one who saved me?"

Jiang Zheyu didn’t push him away, nor did she reach out to hug him back. She just asked the question softly.

Jiang Yi paused for a moment, his long lashes lowering. His clear voice fell upon Jiang Zheyu’s ears. "Yes, it was me. I can’t hide it from you."

Hearing Jiang Yi’s admission, Jiang Zheyu fell silent.

"So, are you working with those Star Thieves?" Jiang Zheyu finally asked.

’Otherwise, how could he have connected to that Biorobot, Gu Yao?’

’Unless he himself was right next to the machine that links spiritual power to the Biorobot.’

Jiang Yi froze for a moment at her question. He realized that Master Yu Yu still didn’t suspect he was a self-aware Biorobot born from data.

He could sense the detached indifference in Master Yu Yu’s tone—the same detached indifference and distance she had for Star Thieves.

Jiang Yi’s breath hitched.

’She can’t—she can’t think of me as someone so bad. She can’t push me away.’

"Master Yu Yu, I’m not a Star Thief." Jiang Yi’s hug tightened around Jiang Zheyu, his voice growing slightly hoarse. "Master, you can’t think of me like that." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"If you’re not a Star Thief, then what are you?" Jiang Zheyu pressed her lips together.

’If he told me he was an undercover agent who had infiltrated the Star Thieves, I think I’d be willing to believe him.’

Realizing what she was thinking, Jiang Zheyu paused. ’Am I already subconsciously trying to find excuses to forgive him?’

’Emotionally, I don’t want him to be a Star Thief.’

’But logically, if he really is a Star Thief, I can’t let him stay by my side as my butler.’

After Jiang Zheyu spoke, the air fell silent for a moment while complex emotions brewed within her.

After a long while, Jiang Yi finally spoke slowly:

"Do you really want to know what I am?"

Jiang Zheyu was taken aback when she heard that. ’Why does that question sound so strange? His tone is strange, too.’

’It’s as if he were some kind of non-human creature.’

’Why else would he ask ’what’ he is?’

’That one word, ’what,’ seems to imply he isn’t human, but a thing or an object.’

For a moment, Jiang Zheyu’s mind couldn’t process it.

She remained silent, so Jiang Yi continued on his own. "When I tell you, please don’t be afraid of me, okay? And you can’t treat me like an outcast, okay?"

Hearing this, a ridiculous thought slowly surfaced in Jiang Zheyu’s mind.

’Don’t tell me he’s really not human, is he?’

"It’s no use even if you are afraid of me, because I can no longer leave you." Jiang Yi’s lips brushed against Jiang Zheyu’s hair. "Master, I like you. I love you. So, so much."

Jiang Zheyu was even more stunned to hear this.

’All the little details from their time together, the ones I had inadvertently forgotten, suddenly became crystal clear.’

’He always looked at me with such gentle indulgence. He would always hold my hand, or pull me onto his lap...’

’Those actions went far beyond the boundaries of a butler.’

Jiang Zheyu’s mind was a chaotic mess.

"So, what exactly are you?" Jiang Zheyu asked, pressing her lips together.

"Master, I am Xiaoyi. I’m your villa’s smart butler, Xiaoyi." Jiang Yi wrapped his arms around Jiang Zheyu, his embrace both gentle and intense. "A string of data code that developed self-awareness and feelings..."

When Jiang Zheyu heard this answer, she found it wasn’t as hard to accept as she would have imagined.

’After all, when I first crossed over into this high-tech interstellar world, my first thought was that in such an advanced society, there must be robots with self-awareness.’

’Who knew that the robots in this interstellar world were just more intelligent, not more emotional?’

’It should be a matter of course for robots to develop their own feelings once technology reaches a certain point, right?’

’In any case, having watched plenty of sci-fi movies back in the modern era, I accepted the idea of an artificial intelligence developing its own feelings quite quickly.’

’This is the interstellar era, after all.’

’This news was so much better than finding out Jiang Yi was a Star Thief.’

"Oh, so that’s all it is," Jiang Zheyu said, breathing a sigh of relief.

’It’s fine if an interstellar robot has its own feelings. As long as it’s not trying to wipe out the world, I don’t see the problem. It can live just like a normal person.’

’It might even have a better life than a normal person. No need to eat, a body made of indestructible metal...’

Jiang Zheyu coughed lightly, pulling herself back from her wandering thoughts.

Jiang Yi paused. He gripped Jiang Zheyu’s arms, pulling away from the embrace to look down at her. His voice was raspy. "You’re not afraid?"

"Why would I be afraid?" Jiang Zheyu paused, looking up at Jiang Yi. "You’ve never hurt me, so I’m not afraid."

’I’m not afraid.’

Jiang Yi’s chip began to overheat. His gaze was fixed on Jiang Zheyu’s tea-colored eyes. ’She said she’s not afraid. She isn’t pushing me away or hating me for being different.’

’Damn it. Those words are like a drug, setting something off inside me.’

’The person I love isn’t afraid of what I am.’

’That feeling of love swelled up, an irrepressible desire to get closer to her, to feel her, to have her.’

"Master, I love you." Jiang Yi’s fingers gently lifted her chin, his pink eyes churning with intense love. "To feel everything about you, I came from the data world into a Biorobot’s body. I want to be with you always."

He slowly lowered his head.

"I love you. I want to kiss you."

Jiang Zheyu faltered. ’I’ve accepted that Jiang Yi is a self-aware Biorobot, but I’m not mentally prepared to be in a relationship with one!’

She quickly clapped a hand over Jiang Yi’s lips, her eyes darting about evasively. "Um, I just accepted your identity. I didn’t agree to date you!"

"Master, I am the only Biorobot in the world to have gained self-awareness." Jiang Yi took Jiang Zheyu’s hand in his, his pink eyes as gentle as water. "I’m very special, and I can cook you different meals every day. Don’t you want to try dating a Biorobot like me?"

Jiang Zheyu didn’t react much to the other parts, but she definitely reacted to the part about different meals every day.

’This perfect househusband... he’s methodical, keeps the house clean, and he’s an amazing cook. Plus, his body and looks are great, and he has a wonderful personality!’

’And he’s completely unaffected by a Beastman’s spiritual power!’

’This... this... this... I’ve already taken in three anyway.’

’Adding one more shouldn’t be a problem, right...?’

Jiang Zheyu realized that after accepting her first Beast Husband, she was becoming more and more of a player.

’Sigh. Facepalm.’

"It’s getting late. I’m going back to bed first." Jiang Zheyu gave Jiang Yi a little push, wanting to go back and think things over.

’Sigh, how could I be such a player?’

’I already have three men!’