WRA CH17

Chapter 17: “My Wife Can’t Even Give Birth.”

“Secretary Gao, you handle the Xiao Kui Bao demo tomorrow.”

Zhou Sicheng was afraid he would beat the kid on the spot, and even more afraid that beating the kid would be witnessed by his wife.

Xiao Kui Bao’s physical form was an eighty-centimeter-tall white robot, featuring a spherical 360-degree camera head, a cylindrical body, two spindly little arms and legs, and a swaying sunflower perched atop its head.

Its exterior looked minimalistic, but the design fee had not come cheap—it was a top-tier cutie specifically crafted by a renowned designer.

Zhou Sicheng saw its complete physical form at the InterContinental Hotel near the conference venue.

Tonight, he was having dinner with the Xiao Kui Bao team, which served as a team-building event. The entire team had poured immense toil into Xiao Kui Bao’s upgrade; Xiao Kui Bao was their shared child.

The moment Zhou Sicheng appeared at the doorway, the little robot encircled in the center—equipped with a camera on the back of its head—immediately scurried toward him on its short little legs with a rapid da-da-da.

Despite the short legs, its lower body was remarkably stable.

Xiao Kui Bao bent its mechanical arms: “Zhou Sicheng papa, Xiao Kui can carry your bag for you.”

If it had stayed silent, it would just have been an ordinary robot on a first meeting. But the moment it spoke, that familiar mechanical voice made Zhou Sicheng recall all its infuriating remarks, and his fists clenched instantly.

Heh, so you’re the rotten spawn who spread rumors to my wife claiming I cheated, and spread rumors that my driving affected my sexual performance. Now you’re running over here pretending to be a filial son?

Zhou Sicheng stared down at it coldly with the stern gaze of a strict father.

Wang Jianbin looked at Xiao Kui Bao with tender affection: “This kid is just so polite. No one even taught him, yet he knew to call you papa.”

Zhou Sicheng: “He tailors his attitude to who he’s dealing with.”

Wang Jianbin: “This appearance was chosen after rounds of demonstrations and a vote by every internal technician. Isn’t it adorable?”

Zhou Sicheng: “I suggest reshaping it into a punching bag. More beat-resistant.”

Wang Jianbin: “President Zhou, you don’t even know one-tenth of what Xiao Kui Bao can do! It can be set to auto-follow and loaded with a childcare system. When the kids run all over the place, moms won’t have to worry about failing to keep up anymore.”

Zhou Sicheng: “My wife can’t even give birth.”

Wang Jianbin: “Different strokes for different folks. Xiao Kui Bao’s personality is closely tied to the conversation patterns among family members. You could say it genuinely integrates into the household and becomes part of the family.”

Zhou Sicheng: “So him causing trouble is the fault of his family of origin?”

Wang Jianbin: “…” Why is President Zhou being so sarcastic today?

What on earth had happened to President Zhou? He hadn’t been like this last month. Back then, he even said he could pour the entire conglomerate’s profits into Xiao Kui Bao to seize the commanding heights of this technological revolution at any cost.

Zhou Sicheng was still unmarried and childless to the public eye, so Xiao Kui Bao was practically the legitimate eldest son, set to inherit all of Zhoufu’s earnings.

The technicians gathered around Zhou Sicheng and began showing it off.

“President Zhou, look at this paint! A custom-formulated white! It’s so smooth, rounded, and endearingly chubby!”

“President Zhou, look at the sunflower on its head—we specially hired a master of Su embroidery to embroider it by hand! It has the sheen of real silk, and just like a real sunflower, it turns toward wherever the light source is strongest.”

Zhou Sicheng looked down at the little robot beside his feet that barely reached past his knees, the flower on its head bobbing gently.

It looked quite realistic, but its luster still fell slightly short of his wife’s hair. Sure enough, not being his biological child meant it couldn’t inherit his wife’s superior genetics.

Facing the technicians, Zhou Sicheng managed to muster a sliver of appreciative approval in his gaze.

The technicians grew prouder as they spoke: “Our Xiao Kui Bao is a child model among robots!”

“Yes, exactly! You took the words right out of my mouth!”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

Apart from Xiang Zhen, the world’s most doting enablers of Xiao Kui Bao were all gathered right here.

While it was bustling and lively here, his wife was all alone in the rental apartment.

Actually… today marked the third anniversary of the Xiao Kui Bao software launch. For an occasion like this, Xiang Zhen ought to have been present.

If only he had met Xiang Zhen a little earlier, then today Xiang Zhen could have attended as the President’s spouse and Xiao Kui Bao’s other papa.

Personal grudges aside, to be completely honest, Xiao Kui Bao’s exterior design was quite cute—the exact type Xiang Zhen would love.

If not for the fact that the rental apartment was too cramped, and that Xiao Kui Bao came equipped with a 360-degree facial recognition camera that made it easy to blow his cover, Zhou Sicheng would have scooped this little robot up after the meeting and brought it home for his wife to play with.

Buying one commercially would be quite expensive, so Xiang Zhen would definitely be reluctant to spend the money.

“Everyone, please take a seat. Don’t be formal.” Zhou Sicheng looked toward an engineer to his left. “You, come over here for a word.”

The light on top of Xiao Kui Bao’s head flickered: “Are we calling the parents now? May I ask where I didn’t perform well enough?”

The engineer’s heart skipped a beat. Xiao Kui Bao could analyze micro-expressions; this prompt meant that President Zhou pulling him aside was definitely bad news.

Zhou Sicheng cast his eyes down: “Go play in the corner.”

Xiao Kui Bao timidly shuffled into the corner, strictly executing Zhou Sicheng’s command, terrified that its funding chain would be cut off.

Zhou Sicheng took two steps away from the crowd and handed the engineer a flute of champagne: “Don’t be nervous. I just want to consult you on a few issues during Xiao Kui Bao’s practical use.”

“Xiao Kui Bao’s objective search and summarization capabilities are quite strong,” Zhou Sicheng affirmed first.

The engineer kept his heart in his throat, waiting for President Zhou to drop the “but.”

Zhou Sicheng: “However, its subjective reasoning still needs improvement. Especially regarding judging a person’s character or handling family disputes, it can easily invite lawsuits.”

Engineer: “About that… we consulted our legal team. None of Xiao Kui Bao’s deductions or judgments are ever stated as absolute facts; they are strictly capped at an upper limit of 50% certainty.”

“…” So every underhanded trick was used on me, huh?

Zhou Sicheng: “Also, regarding relationship issues, it needs to balance fairness, empathy, and family harmony.”

Engineer: “Yes, yes. Currently, relationship topics still rely fairly heavily on big data and stance bias.”

Zhou Sicheng frowned: “What do you mean by stance bias?”

The engineer pulled out his phone to demonstrate: “It means that inside a group chat, you can configure Xiao Kui Bao’s default viewpoint or instruct it to favor a specific person.”

Zhou Sicheng paused for two seconds: “Can I view the adjustment history?”

Engineer: “Of course. Look, go to Settings, Stance, Edit History—it’s clear at a glance.”

Zhou Sicheng took out his phone, brought up Xiao Kui Bao, and tapped inside to take a look.

Stance Bias: 50% — 100% — 60% — 50%

Operator: Xiang Zhen, Xiang Zhen, Xiang Zhen.

Zhou Sicheng finally believed Wang Jianbin’s words—he truly understood less than one-tenth of Xiao Kui Bao.

Even his wife felt a little unfamiliar.

He would have to discipline him once he got back.

Several middle managers walked over holding wine glasses, offering words of congratulations and celebration.

Zhou Sicheng also raised his glass, listening half-heartedly.

Ding-dong. The next second, WeChat chimed.

Amidst the clinking glasses and chatter, he received an update about his wife from Shi Ting.

[President Zhou, Xiang Zhen is doing food deliveries.]

[Delivering purely on foot.]

!!!

Zhou Sicheng’s temples throbbed. His wife was no longer unfamiliar.

Who could understand the utter despair of being a bodyguard at this moment?

They really didn’t have the ability to leap over roofs or vault over walls. On the same street level, following him too closely meant being spotted by Xiang Zhen immediately. Ye Yun had no choice but to claim he had eaten 8,000 calories today, needed to burn them off, was a little scared of jogging alone at night, and asked if he could tag along with Xiang Zhen, adding that he was also somewhat interested in delivering food after being unemployed.

Xiang Zhen had very warmly invited Ye Yun along. Lacking experience on his first food delivery run, Xiang Zhen had jostled a bottle of soda into a supersaturated carbonated drink, which sprayed all over the customer upon opening, earning him an instant complaint.

Fortunately, Xiang Zhen possessed ample customer service experience and managed to pacify the customer with a two-yuan compensation.

“Hello?”

Xiang Zhen was looking up, searching for a building number, answering the call without even checking the caller ID.

Zhou Sicheng’s voice was freezing cold: “Xiang Zhen, are you doing food deliveries?”

Xiang Zhen: “Nope~”

Zhou Sicheng: “Xiao Kui Bao shows that you are in motion.”

Xiang Zhen gave an awkward laugh: “Alright, yes, I am doing deliveries.”

Grinning cheekily, with the exact same virtue as Xiao Kui Bao! Eager to admit mistakes, stubborn never to repent. Only tonight did Zhou Sicheng realize that Xiao Kui Bao causing trouble really did come down to parental upbringing.

Zhou Sicheng: “Go back. Stop delivering.”

Xiang Zhen: “But I have nothing to do at night anyway. Didn’t you use to drive ride-shares at night too?”

Zhou Sicheng choked up: “But I found a job now. I can support you.”

Xiang Zhen: “We should work hard together.”

Zhou Sicheng ordered: “Go back.”

Xiang Zhen picked up on Zhou Sicheng’s forceful tone. Other people were just the run-of-the-mill Introverts or Extroverts, but his husband was a rare Sadist—the controlling type—sounding domineering, cool, and handsome.

He suddenly remembered what Sister Li had said: a man’s reaction when driven to furious exasperation reveals whether he’s an abusive brute or a dominant S.

So, Xiang Zhen deliberately pushed back: “Hubby, aren’t you working overtime right now too?”

Zhou Sicheng gritted his back molars, a wave of frustrated fury rising from his supposed inability to provide for the home: “I am not.”

Xiang Zhen: “Then can we start a video call?”

Zhou Sicheng: “…” He couldn’t turn the video on.

Xiang Zhen said with total sincerity: “You work overtime, I work overtime, and together we’ll buy an apartment.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Can’t you tell I’m hurting for you? With you like this, I can’t focus on work properly.”

Zhou Sicheng was backed into blurting out words of affection.

Xiang Zhen naturally heard it; his husband’s reaction in a state of extreme anger fell completely outside the realm of domestic abusers.

“Hubby, I heard it!”

Zhou Sicheng closed his eyes. He heard it, but had no intention of obeying.

Just as infuriating as Xiao Kui Bao.

Wait, Xiao Kui Bao…

Ten minutes later, Xiang Zhen received a call from an unfamiliar number. Assuming it was a customer rushing an order, he hurriedly answered: “Hello, I’ll be right there.”

“Hello, Xiang Zhen. I’m the HR person who procured the nut rice dumpling gift boxes last time, surnamed Gao. Do you still remember me?”

Xiang Zhen: “I remember! Thank you so much for last time, my husband and I really needed that money.”

“…” Secretary Gao couldn’t help but marvel at the President’s consummate acting skills. Facing such a naive and delicate wife, he actually managed to lie with a straight face day in and day out. “It’s like this: our company has produced a robot that requires different voice packs and tones. During our brief conversation last time, I noticed your voice is exceptionally suited for an AI robot, with a natural, endearing machine-like cuteness. Would you be interested in coming over for a voiceprint recording and licensing it for our use?”

“The compensation is roughly around two hundred thousand yuan.”

Xiang Zhen’s eyes grew round and wide. How had another meat pie fallen straight out of the sky?

Gao Ou: “We may need three evenings in the recording studio, with door-to-door pickup and drop-off provided. Do you have time for this?”

Zhou Sicheng would be back in three days.

Xiang Zhen: “Please wait a moment, let me discuss it with my husband.”

Xiang Zhen immediately phoned his husband: “Hubby, do you think this could be a scam?”

He often scrolled past fake advertisements claiming “Moms can earn money doing voiceovers at home,” which were all ploys to sell courses and recording equipment.

Zhou Sicheng loosened his tie. The boy actually had decent anti-fraud awareness, knowing to discuss it with his husband first.

“I know this company. It’s legitimate. Their robot is about to launch, and your voice is lovely—it’s worth that price.”

Xiang Zhen: “Then I can accept it?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Of course.”

Xiang Zhen was overjoyed. Ever since marrying Zhou Sicheng, he had been struck by bundles of cash one after another.

“Hubby, you must have the destiny to bring luck to your husband!”

Zhou Sicheng: “I don’t. My life is bitter.”