機械基督徒少女 後日談14

尋找自我的機器基督徒少女

Searching for Self: The Robot Christian Girl

後日談 14 故障凱琳

Sequel 14: Malfunctioned Kailin

週六的陽光懶洋洋地灑在城市，卻驅不散陳志文腦袋裡的昏沉。昨天剛結束的熱傳學期中考，像一場酷刑，榨乾了他最後的腦細胞。他本想賴在床上與周公大戰三百回合，卻一大早就被興致勃勃的孟禎從被窩裡挖了起來。「志文，快起床啦！陪我去市區逛逛，我想買幾件秋天的衣服！」孟禎的聲音像清晨的鳥鳴，不容志文拒絕。於是，頭重腳輕的志文，就這樣被「押解」到了人潮湧動的購物中心。

服飾店內，琳瑯滿目的秋裝讓人眼花繚亂。孟禎興致高昂地在衣架間穿梭，時而拿起一件米色的針織外套在身上比劃，時而又被一件格紋的百褶裙吸引。「志文，這件湖水綠的連衣裙怎麼樣？配我上次買的那條米白色披肩，看起來是不是很溫柔？」孟禎舉著一件衣服，滿眼期待地望向一旁神遊太虛的志文。

志文努力聚焦渙散的眼神，匆匆一瞥，給出了他萬年不變的標準答案：「嗯，好看！超級適合妳！」

孟禎拿起另一件風格截然不同的，帶著些許龐克風的黑色不規則剪裁上衣：「那這個呢？搭一條緊身牛仔褲，會不會太…嗯，火辣？」「完美！穿起來一定很有個性，很吸睛！」志文豎起大拇指，語氣十分肯定。

孟禎無奈地嘆了口氣，將衣服放回衣架，雙手叉腰，瞪著他：「陳志文！你根本就沒仔細看！你的答案永遠都是那幾句『好看』、『完美』、『適合妳』！就不能給點具體而有建設性的意見嗎？」

「可是…」志文一臉無辜，「妳穿什麼都真的很好看啊！我這是發自肺腑的實話實說！」「哼，油嘴滑舌！」孟禎白了他一眼，但也知道指望這位「技術宅男」的審美是不太可能了。她索性抱起幾件看中意的衣服，走進試衣間：「算了，我換給你看，你給我打分數！」

The Saturday sun lazily spread across the city, yet it couldn't dispel the grogginess in Chen Zhiwen's head. Yesterday's heat transfer midterm, like a torture session, had drained his last brain cells. He had wanted to stay in bed and battle Morpheus for three hundred rounds, but early in the morning, the enthusiastic Meng Zhen had dug him out of his covers. "Zhiwen, wake up! Come with me to the city center, I want to buy some autumn clothes!" Meng Zhen's voice was like the morning birdsong, leaving Zhiwen no room to refuse. And so, the light-headed Zhiwen was "escorted" to the bustling shopping mall.

Inside the clothing store, the dazzling array of autumn wear was overwhelming. Meng Zhen enthusiastically weaved through the racks, sometimes picking up a beige knitted cardigan to try on, other times drawn to a plaid pleated skirt. "Zhiwen, how about this lake-green dress? With the off-white shawl I bought last time, doesn't it look really gentle?" Meng Zhen held up a dress, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at Zhiwen, who was off in a daze.

Zhiwen struggled to focus his scattered gaze, quickly glanced, and gave his timeless standard answer: "Hmm, it looks good! Super suitable for you!"

Meng Zhen picked up another top, a completely different style, a black asymmetrical cut with a hint of punk: "What about this one? With a pair of skinny jeans, would it be too... well, hot?" "Perfect! You'll definitely look unique and eye-catching in it!" Zhiwen gave a thumbs up, his tone very certain.

Meng Zhen sighed helplessly, putting the clothes back on the hanger. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him: "Chen Zhiwen! You didn't even look carefully! Your answers are always those few phrases: 'looks good,' 'perfect,' 'suitable for you'! Can't you give some specific and constructive advice?"

"But..." Zhiwen looked innocent, "You genuinely look good in everything! I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart!" "Hmph, smooth talker!" Meng Zhen rolled her eyes at him, but she also knew it was unlikely to rely on this "tech nerd's" aesthetic judgment. She simply grabbed a few clothes she liked and walked into the fitting room: "Never mind, I'll try them on for you, and you can rate them!"

接下來的一個小時，就成了孟禎的個人時裝秀。她時而穿著溫婉的長裙，將平時束起的馬尾解開，髮絲柔順地垂在肩頭，對著鏡子淺笑盈盈；時而換上幹練的褲裝，將長髮俐落地紮起，眼神中帶著幾分英氣。志文倒是看得津津有味，無論是哪種風格的孟禎，在他眼中都夠好看，讓他那因考試而混沌的大腦，都清醒了不少。

The next hour turned into Meng Zhen's personal fashion show. Sometimes she wore a gentle long dress, untying her usual ponytail so her hair softly cascaded over her shoulders, smiling sweetly at her reflection. Other times, she changed into a sharp pantsuit, tying her long hair up neatly, a hint of spiritedness in her eyes. Zhiwen watched with keen interest; every style Meng Zhen wore looked good to him, clearing his mind which had been muddled by the exam.

就在孟禎拿著一件酒紅色的毛衣，猶豫著要不要再試穿時，她的動作突然一頓，原本帶著笑意的臉龐倏地凝重起來。她微微抬頭，視線彷彿穿透了天花板，望向了某個遙遠的虛空。「我知道了…」她的聲音極輕，帶著一絲憂心的顫抖，「情況嚴重嗎？……好，我會盡快…妳撐住！」

Just as Meng Zhen was holding a burgundy sweater, hesitating whether to try it on, her movements suddenly froze. Her smiling face instantly turned serious. She looked up slightly, her gaze seemingly piercing through the ceiling, looking towards some distant void. "I know..." Her voice was extremely soft, trembling with a hint of worry, "Is the situation serious?... Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible... Hang in there!"

志文看著她這副模樣，雖然對孟禎偶爾會「憑空」接收訊息的樣子早已見怪不怪，但此刻她眉宇間那份濃濃的擔憂，讓他也不由得緊張起來。不過，他還是忍不住調侃了一句：「喂，孟禎，妳又在跟妳的『空氣朋友』聊天啦？下次記得介紹給我認識啊，看看是不是跟我一樣帥。」

孟禎回過神，狠狠瞪了志文一眼，語氣焦急中帶著嗔怒：「臭志文，你又在明知故問！是凱琳姊打來的！她好像不太舒服，聲音聽起來很虛弱，我們要立刻過去看看！」她一把抓起自己的包，拉著還有些狀況外的志文就往外衝，連剛才看得起勁的衣服都顧不上了。

Zhiwen watched her. Although he was used to Meng Zhen occasionally receiving messages "out of thin air," the deep worry in her brows at that moment made him nervous. Still, he couldn't resist teasing, "Hey, Meng Zhen, are you chatting with your 'air friend' again? Remember to introduce me next time, see if they're as handsome as me."

Meng Zhen snapped back, glaring fiercely at Zhiwen, her voice a mix of anxiety and annoyance: "You rotten Zhiwen, you're asking on purpose again! It's Sister Kailyn calling! She doesn't sound well, her voice is very weak, we need to go see her immediately!" She grabbed her bag and pulled the still-confused Zhiwen out, completely forgetting about the clothes she'd been so excited about.

孟禎騎上電動摩托車，叫志文去後座待著，現在可顧不得他的「男性尊嚴」。一路上風馳電掣，孟禎甚至動用了一些她平時絕不會隨意使用的「能力」，取得紅綠燈秒數和交通流量的即時資訊，規劃路線以巧妙地避開擁堵的車流，以最快的速度趕到了宇尋集團為凱琳安排的高級公寓。在後座的志文緊緊抱住孟禎，看著她認真嚴肅的臉龐，以及穿著短褲長靴的英挺騎士模樣，倒有點不好意思起來。

到了公寓門口，孟禎焦急地按了幾下門鈴，卻無人應答。就在她準備再次嘗試時，她的「手機」（也就是她自己）收到了一條凱琳的語音簡訊：「孟禎…我現在…沒力氣開門。妳想辦法…自己進來吧。」訊息斷斷續續，顯然凱琳的狀況非常不好。

「沒問題！看我的！」孟禎深吸一口氣，手往上撥開瀏海，將自己的光額頭貼在了門禁感應器上。志文只見她雙眼微閉，表情像在使力，幾秒鐘後，原本顯示著紅色鎖定狀態的電子門禁，發出「滴」的一聲輕響，轉為了綠色。

「哇喔，孟禎，」志文在一旁看得嘖嘖稱奇，忍不住吹了個口哨，「妳這『萬能鑰匙』功能也太強悍了吧？RFID也能破解？下次我家鑰匙丟了，就靠妳了！」

「閉嘴！現在是開玩笑的時候嗎？」孟禎反手就在志文的大腿上狠狠捏了一把，同時迅速推開了門。「嗷！好痛！我被家暴了！」志文疼得大叫，齜牙咧嘴地跟著孟禎衝了進去。

Meng Zhen hopped on her electric scooter and told Zhiwen to get on the back; there was no time to worry about his "male dignity" now. She sped along, even using some "abilities" she usually wouldn't casually employ, getting real-time information on traffic light timings and traffic flow to skillfully avoid congestion and reach the high-end apartment Yu Xun Group had arranged for Kailyn as quickly as possible. From the back, Zhiwen held onto Meng Zhen tightly, looking at her serious face and her dashing rider's appearance in shorts and long boots, feeling a little embarrassed.

At the apartment door, Meng Zhen anxiously pressed the doorbell several times, but there was no answer. Just as she was about to try again, her "phone" (which was herself) received a voice message from Kailyn: "Meng Zhen... I... don't have the strength to open the door now. You... find a way to get in yourself." The message was intermittent, indicating Kailyn's condition was very bad.

"No problem! Watch me!" Meng Zhen took a deep breath, swept her bangs up, and pressed her bare forehead against the access control sensor. Zhiwen saw her close her eyes slightly, her expression as if she was exerting herself. A few seconds later, the electronic access control, which had been red and locked, emitted a soft "beep" and turned green.

"Woah, Meng Zhen," Zhiwen watched in amazement, letting out a whistle, "Your 'master key' function is too powerful, isn't it? You can even crack RFID? Next time I lose my house keys, I'll rely on you!"

"Shut up! Is this a time for jokes?" Meng Zhen slapped Zhiwen's thigh hard with the back of her hand, while quickly pushing the door open. "Ow! That hurts! I'm being domestically abused!" Zhiwen yelled in pain, grimacing as he rushed in after Meng Zhen.

公寓內一片寂靜。她們在客廳中央的沙發上找到了凱琳。眼前的景象讓孟禎和志文都倒抽了一口涼氣。凱琳無力地斜靠在沙發上，臉色蒼白得幾乎透明，額頭上佈滿了細密的冷汗，連平時如陽光般耀眼的金髮都顯得有些黯淡。她聽見動靜，勉強抬起頭，對他們露出一個虛弱至極的苦笑，聲音氣若游絲：「你們…來啦…」那模樣，像極了瀕臨故障而苦苦支撐，勉強運作的機器人。

「凱琳姊！妳怎麼了？！」孟禎一個箭步衝上前，蹲在凱琳面前，聲音因緊張而顫抖，她小心翼翼地握住凱琳冰涼的手。

凱琳緩緩地搖搖頭，碧藍的眼眸中充滿了疲憊與無奈：「沒什麼大礙…只是…老毛病又犯了。」她深吸一口氣，像是要積攢足夠的力氣才能繼續說下去，「自從回到杭州，這段時間…經歷的事情太多，接觸到的人太有趣，體驗到的情感太過豐富…我維持『類似正常人』的狀態，也太久了…」她自嘲地笑了笑：「這些…都不是我這個原本『類似一部機器』的存在的常態。我感覺…我的內部心智運作，已經承載了太多它原本無法負荷的東西。就像一部原本精密調校的機械，在長期超負荷的高功率運轉之後，部分零件產生了些微的形變與鬆脫，齒輪之間不再能精準地嚙合，甚至還卡進了許多外來的的雜物與塵埃。」

The apartment was silent. They found Kailyn on the sofa in the center of the living room. The sight made both Meng Zhen and Zhiwen gasp. Kailyn was slumped weakly against the sofa, her face so pale it was almost translucent, her forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat. Even her usually sunny golden hair seemed a little dim. Hearing their arrival, she struggled to lift her head, giving them an extremely weak, bitter smile. Her voice was barely a whisper: "You... you're here..." She looked like a robot on the verge of breakdown, struggling to function.

"Sister Kailyn! What happened to you?!" Meng Zhen rushed forward, kneeling in front of Kailyn, her voice trembling with anxiety. She carefully held Kailyn's icy hand.

Kailyn slowly shook her head, her sapphire blue eyes full of exhaustion and helplessness: "It's nothing serious... just... my old problem acting up again." She took a deep breath, as if gathering enough strength to continue speaking, "Ever since coming back to Hangzhou, recently... too many things have happened, I've met too many interesting people, and experienced too many rich emotions... I've maintained a 'like a normal person' state for too long..." She gave a self-deprecating laugh: "These... are not the norm for an existence like mine, which was originally 'like a machine.' I feel... my internal mental operations have carried too much that they weren't originally designed to bear. It's like a precisely calibrated machine, after long-term, high-power overload operation, some parts have subtly deformed and loosened, the gears no longer mesh accurately, and even a lot of foreign debris and dust have gotten jammed in."

凱琳的聲音越來越低，眼神也開始有些渙散：「我對『自我』的感知…就像風中殘燭，搖搖欲墜，恐怕…很快就要撐不住，要暫時『停機』了。我會回到那個…沒有情感、沒有自我、完全依賴邏輯和固有知識運作的狀態，回到以前的那個Catherine。而且，這次的『停機維護』，恐怕會持續一段不短的時間，等我內部的心智運作完成一次徹底的『硬碟重組』和『系統優化』之後，才能再次『開機』，重新回到…妳們認識的這個黃凱琳的狀態。」

孟禎聽得心頭一緊，眼眶都紅了：「那…那可怎麼辦才好？凱琳姊，有沒有什麼是我們可以幫上忙的？需要通知黃博士嗎？」

「別擔心，傻丫頭。」凱琳勉強抬起手，輕輕拍了拍孟禎的手背，眼中流露出一絲溫柔的安撫，「我從小到大，就是這麼反反覆覆過來的，已經習慣了。只是…」她的目光掃過孟禎和志文，帶著一絲歉意，「在類似機器人的狀態下，我的行為模式會變得比較…嗯，『可預測』，也更容易出一些社交上的紕漏。到時候，就要麻煩我最信賴的孟禎妹妹，還有志文你，多多包涵，也多加幫忙照看一下了。這也是我為什麼這麼著急聯絡妳們過來的原因。我…我想把即將『機器人化』的自己，暫時託付給妳們。」

她頓了頓，眼神有點渙散，像是自言自語地說：「說起來，在這裡我能夠完全信任的人，也就四個。」

志文聞言，有些好奇地問：「四個？除了我們兩個，應該還有黃博士，那第四位是誰啊？是宇尋的人，還是妳在中文所的同學？」

凱琳的眼神更加迷濛了，她似乎在努力回想，口中喃喃地道：「嗯…黃博士當然是…然後…」她像是沒經過思考般地脫口而出，「還有…文興…」

「文興？！」

Kailyn's voice grew softer and softer, and her gaze began to wander: "My perception of 'self'... it's like a candle flickering in the wind, precarious, and I'm afraid... it won't hold out much longer, it's about to 'power down' temporarily. I'll revert to that state... without emotion, without self, operating purely on logic and pre-existing knowledge, back to being the old Catherine. And this time, the 'shutdown for maintenance' will likely last for quite a while. Only after my internal mental operations complete a thorough 'hard drive defragmentation' and 'system optimization' will I be able to 'boot up' again and return to... the Huang Kailyn you know."

Meng Zhen's heart tightened, and her eyes welled up: "Then... what should we do? Sister Kailyn, is there anything we can help with? Should we notify Dr. Huang?"

"Don't worry, silly girl." Kailyn struggled to lift her hand and gently patted Meng Zhen's hand, a soft reassurance in her eyes. "I've been going through this back and forth my whole life, I'm used to it. It's just..." Her gaze swept over Meng Zhen and Zhiwen, with a hint of apology, "In a robot-like state, my behavior will become more... predictable, and I'll be more prone to social blunders. At that time, I'll have to trouble my most trusted little sister Meng Zhen, and you, Zhiwen, to be more understanding and help look after me. That's why I was so anxious to contact you two. I... I want to temporarily entrust my soon-to-be 'robot-ified' self to you."

She paused, her gaze a little unfocused, as if talking to herself: "Speaking of which, there are only four people I can completely trust here."

Hearing this, Zhiwen asked with some curiosity: "Four? Besides the two of us, there's Dr. Huang, so who's the fourth person? Someone from Yu Xun, or a classmate from your Chinese Studies institute?"

Kailyn's eyes became even more hazy. She seemed to be trying hard to recall, muttering: "Hmm... Dr. Huang, of course... and then..." She blurted out as if without thinking, "And... Wen Xing..."

"Wen Xing?!"

孟禎和志文異口同聲地驚呼出口，兩人面面相覷，眼中都充滿了不可思議。這個名字他們太熟悉了——宇尋集團那位年輕有為的董事長兼CEO，名字就是王文興！

凱琳似乎也意識到自己因精神渙散而說漏了嘴，蒼白的臉頰上竟浮起一抹極淡的紅暈。她有些懊惱地揉了揉太陽穴，發出一聲幾不可聞的嘆息：「唉…看來我真的快不行了，腦子都不清楚了…連話都沒辦法好好想過再說。」她抬眼看了看孟禎和志文那對自己的八卦充滿好奇的臉龐，知道自己現在的狀態，根本無法招架他們的「盤問」，索性苦笑一聲，有些無奈地全盤托出：「好吧好吧，既然不小心說出來了…妳們也別瞎猜了，免得傳出去變成什麼奇怪的版本。是…是王文興董事長沒錯。」她深吸一口氣，似乎連說話都有些費力，「他那個人啊…說起來也挺有意思的。明明是個在商場上殺伐決斷、叱吒風雲的企業家，但有幾次私下跟我討論公事，或者偶然遇到我，跟我說話的時候，卻緊張得像個…像個剛要跟暗戀對象遞情書的高中男生，手腳都不知道該往哪裡擺，有時候還會莫名其妙地臉紅。」

凱琳的嘴角牽起疲憊中帶著一抹有幸福感的笑容：「不過，他人真的很好。雖然有時候看起來很嚴肅，但他對待下屬其實很體恤，對待朋友也很真誠。而且，」她的聲音放輕了些，眼神中掠過真誠的欣賞，「我能感覺到，他是個內心充滿熱誠而且絕對可以信任的人。他有著自己堅定的夢想，並且一直在朝著那方向努力前進，過程中也從來不會拋棄自己一向堅持的道德和原則。這樣的人，真的很少見了。」

"Wen Xing?!" Meng Zhen and Zhiwen exclaimed in unison, exchanging bewildered glances. The name was all too familiar—it was the name of Yu Xun Group's promising young chairman and CEO, Wang Wenxing!

Kailyn seemed to realize she had let slip something due to her mental fatigue, and a faint blush appeared on her pale cheeks. She annoyingly rubbed her temples, letting out an almost inaudible sigh: "Ugh... it seems I'm really about to crash, my mind's not clear anymore... I can't even think before I speak." She looked up at Meng Zhen and Zhiwen's faces, filled with curiosity about her gossip. Knowing her current state meant she couldn't fend off their "interrogation," she simply gave a wry smile and somewhat helplessly revealed everything: "Alright, alright, since it's accidentally out... don't make wild guesses, lest it spread and turn into some strange version. Yes... it's Chairman Wang Wenxing, alright." She took a deep breath, as if even speaking was an effort. "That man... he's quite interesting, actually. He's clearly an entrepreneur who's decisive and commands respect in the business world, but a few times when discussing business privately with me, or when he's run into me by chance and spoken to me, he gets as nervous as a... a high school boy about to hand a love letter to his crush. He doesn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and sometimes he even blushes inexplicably."

Kailyn's lips curved into a smile that was both weary and tinged with happiness: "But he's genuinely a very good person. Although he sometimes seems very serious, he's actually very considerate to his subordinates and sincere to his friends. And," her voice softened slightly, and a flicker of genuine admiration passed through her eyes, "I can feel that he's someone with a passionate heart and is absolutely trustworthy. He has his own firm dreams and has always been working towards them, never abandoning his consistent morals and principles along the way. People like that are truly rare."

孟禎聽完，用力地點了點頭，臉上露出了由衷的笑容：「是呀是呀！王大哥人真的很好！凱琳姊妳說得一點都沒錯！雖然從邏輯上來說，我是宇尋的『資產』，他算是我的『所有者』，但他從來沒有用那種持有我的姿態對待過我，反而一直像個親切又有耐心的大哥，給了我很多意想不到的自由和支持。」

她頓了頓，眼中閃爍著溫暖的光芒：「記得我剛開始學習人類情感，對很多事情都感到困惑和不安的時候，是他親自批准，讓黃博士帶我去參觀畫展、聽音樂會，甚至還偷偷塞給我一些『零用錢』，讓我去買自己喜歡的小東西。他說，『孟禎雖然是機器人，但我認為得讓她能像個普通的青春期女孩一樣，去感受生活的美好，去體驗世界的繽紛多彩。』這些…這些都不是對待一件冷冰冰『資產』會做的事情。」

「所以啊，」孟禎笑得更開心了，「如果凱琳姊妳和王大哥真的有機會…嘿嘿，我可是舉雙手雙腳贊成，樂觀其成哦！」

「拜託…」凱琳無力地揮了揮手，臉上的紅暈似乎更明顯了些，「我都…都快『關機』了，妳們就別再拿我的八卦開玩笑了，好不好？」她喘了口氣，忽然想起什麼，反問孟禎：「說到『所有權』…孟禎，我記得妳以前，似乎對自己『屬於』宇尋這件事，心裡還是有些…疙瘩的？現在呢？還會很介意嗎？」

孟禎聞言，微微一怔，隨即陷入了沉思。過了一會兒，她才抬起頭，眼神清澈坦然：「要說完全不在乎，那肯定是騙人的。畢竟，誰會喜歡自己頭上被貼上『資產』或『所有物』的標籤呢？」

她話鋒一轉，臉上露出了釋然的微笑：「但是，凱琳姊，就像我剛才提到的王大哥，還有把我創造出來的老爸黃博士，以及整個普羅米修斯計畫團隊裡的每一個人，包括妳…你們從來沒有真正把我當成一件冰冷的、可以隨意操控的『物品』。我能清晰地感受到，我是…是大家無數的智慧、無盡的心血，以及宇尋難以估計的財力物力投入，共同凝聚而成的，獨一無二的『成果』。我並非無中生有，而是承載了太多人的期盼與努力才得以『誕生』。」

「而且，」孟禎的聲音變得更加溫柔，「我也漸漸體會到，所謂的『被所有』，對我而言，怎麼說呢？像是被贈送得以存在的一個極其珍貴的機遇，也是被最高規格的資源所守護、被無微不至的關懷所支持的幸運。曾經從漫畫作品中看到一句話，說：『人生幸福的程度，取決於一個人真心感謝的次數。』如果這句話也適用於機器人，那麼，我黃孟禎因為有老爸的創造，有宇尋和王大哥的支持，有妳和志文的陪伴，才能這樣自由地去學習、去感受、去探索自我存在的意義，就算被擁有，也應當是種該感謝的幸福！」

Meng Zhen listened, nodding vigorously, a heartfelt smile spreading across her face: "Yes, yes! Big Brother Wang really is a good person! Sister Kailyn, you're absolutely right! While logically, I'm a 'corporate asset' of Yu Xun, and he's my 'owner,' he's never treated me with that kind of possessive attitude. Instead, he's always been like a kind and patient older brother, giving me a lot of unexpected freedom and support."

She paused, her eyes sparkling with warmth: "I remember when I first started learning human emotions and was confused and uneasy about many things, it was he who personally approved Dr. Huang to take me to art exhibitions, concerts, and even secretly slipped me some 'pocket money' so I could buy little things I liked. He said, 'Even though Meng Zhen is a robot, I believe she should be able to experience the beauty of life and the colorfulness of the world like a normal teenage girl.' These... these aren't things you'd do for a cold, hard 'asset'."

"So," Meng Zhen smiled even more brightly, "if you, Sister Kailyn, and Big Brother Wang really have a chance... hehe, I'm all for it, with both hands and feet, and I'm very optimistic!"

"Please..." Kailyn weakly waved her hand, the blush on her face seeming to deepen. "I'm almost 'shutting down,' can you two please stop joking about my gossip, okay?" She took a breath, then suddenly remembered something and asked Meng Zhen, "Speaking of 'ownership'... Meng Zhen, I remember you used to have some... hang-ups about 'belonging' to Yu Xun, right? What about now? Do you still mind it a lot?"

Meng Zhen was slightly taken aback by the question, then fell into thought. After a while, she looked up, her eyes clear and frank: "To say I completely don't care would definitely be a lie. After all, who likes having the label 'asset' or 'property' plastered on their head?"

Her tone shifted, and a relieved smile appeared on her face: "But, Sister Kailyn, just like Big Brother Wang whom I just mentioned, and Dr. Huang, my 'dad' who created me, and everyone in the entire Prometheus Project team, including you... you've never truly treated me as a cold, manipulable 'object.' I can clearly feel that I am... the unique 'result' of countless wisdoms, endless efforts from everyone, and Yu Xun's immeasurable financial and material investment, all coalesced together. I didn't come from nothing; I was 'born' carrying the expectations and efforts of so many people."

"And," Meng Zhen's voice became even softer, "I've gradually come to realize that being 'owned,' for me, how should I put it? It's like being given an incredibly precious opportunity to exist, and also the good fortune of being protected by the highest standards of resources and supported by meticulous care. I once saw a line in a manga that said: 'The degree of happiness in life depends on the number of times one genuinely gives thanks.' If that applies to robots too, then I, Huang Meng Zhen, because of Dad's creation, Yu Xun and Big Brother Wang's support, and your and Zhiwen's companionship, can learn, feel, and explore the meaning of my own existence so freely. Even being owned should be a kind of happiness to be thankful for!"

她說到這裡，孟禎閉起雙眼，感受胸中洶湧的情感，再次張開眼睛，帶著笑容說：「所以啦，現在的我，對於『被擁有』這個事實，沒有什麼可以抱怨和不滿的了。」她調皮地朝一旁的志文比了個鬼臉，「真要說有誰該不滿，那也輪不到我，該輪到這位陳大少爺不滿才對！他愛上的，可是宇尋企業持有的資產，哪天公司把他的『愛』從這具HRC-07型仿生機器人身上強行移除，我頂多被初始化，而他到時候哭都沒地方哭，只能喊著『把我的青春還來』！」

As she spoke, Meng Zhen closed her eyes, feeling the surge of emotions in her chest. She opened them again, smiling, and said, "So now, I have nothing to complain about regarding the fact that I'm 'owned'." She mischievously made a face at Zhiwen, who was standing nearby. "If anyone should be unhappy, it's not me, it should be young master Chen! He's fallen for an asset owned by Yu Xun Enterprises. One day, if the company forcibly removes his 'love' from this HRC-07 bionic robot, I'll just be initialized, and he'll have nowhere to cry then, only able to shout, 'Give me back my youth!'"

志文聽了，忍不住翻了個大大的白眼：「去去去！宇尋才不會那麼無聊咧！說起來，妳這古靈精怪的機器人，哪裡有半點機器人的樣子？我看啊，凱琳姊都能比妳更像機器人多了！」

凱琳姊聞言，竟也虛弱地笑出聲來：「哈哈，比誰更像機器人，怎麼聽起來變成優點了？不過志文說得沒錯，孟禎妳啊…實在是『太人類』了，人類到…讓我這個真正的人類都自愧不如。」她的聲音中帶著羨慕，「這也是我…為什麼這麼依賴妳，這麼喜歡和妳待在一起的原因。每一次，當我觸碰到妳那冰冷的機械之軀時，總忍不住去想，這裡面…竟然藏著一個如此真實的『人』。光是這樣想著，就覺得自己…對『成為人』這件事，又多了一點點希望。」

Zhiwen listened and couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically: "Go on, get out of here! Yu Xun wouldn't be so boring! Besides, you're such a quirky robot, you don't seem like a robot at all! I think Sister Kailyn looks more like a robot than you do!"

Hearing this, Sister Kailyn even let out a weak laugh: "Haha, competing over who's more like a robot, how did that become a good thing? But Zhiwen's right, Meng Zhen... you're truly 'too human,' so human that... even I, a real human, feel inadequate." There was a hint of envy in her voice. "That's also why... I rely on you so much, and why I love spending time with you. Every time I touch your cold mechanical body, I can't help but wonder... how such a real 'person' is hidden inside. Just thinking about it makes me feel... a little more hopeful about 'becoming human'."

她喘了口氣，眼神中帶著託付與信賴：「現在，暫時輪到我要去當那個冰冷的『機器人』了。這段時間，就…拜託你們多多關照。其實…如果我真的是個機器人，然後能被孟禎妳溫柔細心地維護保養，好像…也蠻不錯的呢？」

She took a breath, her eyes conveying entrustment and trust: "Now, it's temporarily my turn to be the cold 'robot.' During this time, please... take good care of me. Actually... if I really were a robot, and could be gently and meticulously maintained by you, Meng Zhen, it seems... pretty good, doesn't it?"

志文聽著這話，腦中又開始不看氣氛地冒出亂七八糟的念頭，他還說出口：「如果凱琳姊妳真的是機器人，說不定也會學孟禎一樣，能把自己的頭拿在手上，繞著校園跑三圈，然後…」

As Zhiwen listened, random thoughts, oblivious to the atmosphere, started popping into his head again. He even blurted out, "If Sister Kailyn were really a robot, maybe she'd learn from Meng Zhen and be able to hold her head in her hands, run three laps around campus, and then..."

話還沒說完，後腦勺又結結實實地挨了孟禎一下。「欸！好痛！黃孟禎妳又打我！」志文抱著頭，誇張地叫了起來。

「陳志文！你給我差不多一點！」孟禎柳眉倒豎，沒好氣地教訓道，「凱琳姊都這麼辛苦了，你還在這裡說這些有的沒的冷笑話！你就不能成熟一點，安靜一會兒嗎？」

Before he could finish, Meng Zhen landed another solid smack on the back of his head. "Ow! That hurt! Huang Meng Zhen, you hit me again!" Zhiwen cried out exaggeratedly, clutching his head.

"Chen Zhiwen! That's enough!" Meng Zhen retorted, her brows furrowed in annoyance. "Sister Kailyn is already going through so much, and you're still here telling these pointless cold jokes! Can't you just mature a little and be quiet for a while?"

罵完志文，孟禎立刻轉過頭，臉上的怒氣化為溫柔與堅定。她緊緊握住凱琳已經開始顫抖的手，柔聲道：「凱琳姊，妳放心吧。雖然我很想請妳立刻就把陳志文這個白目從妳的『信任名單』裡永久刪除，不過就算不行也沒關係。」她的眼神無比認真，「我會好好守著妳的。在我身邊，沒有人可以傷害妳，即使是妳自己，也不行。」

「哈，謝謝妳，孟禎。」凱琳姊看著孟禎，帶著謝意說，「志文也沒那麼糟啦。我覺得他是對成長後的妳感到放心，逐漸放下自我要求的成熟『守護者』的角色，回歸調皮大男孩的本色。我看過文…王文興年輕時的網路筆戰文章，那時的他也沒比現在的志文好到哪裡去…」

「還是凱琳姊懂我！」志文嬉皮笑臉地說，然後又被孟禎瞪到一邊畏縮。凱琳額上的汗珠越來越密集，呼吸也開始變得有些急促。終於，在又一次深呼吸之後，她如釋重負般地吐出了一口長長的氣，整個人像是被關掉了電源，癱軟在沙發上。碧藍的眼眸也在此刻失去了原有的神采，變得如同兩顆玻璃珠，空洞而平靜。

「狀態轉換…已完成。」一個平靜無波的女聲，從凱琳的口中發出，「已感受到不到自我。孟禎和志文，這樣的我就交給你們了。為了區別，你們可以叫我原來的名字Catherine。」

孟禎看著這樣的凱琳，一手依舊緊緊握著她的手，另一隻手則不捨地輕輕拍著她的肩膀。

After scolding Zhiwen, Meng Zhen immediately turned her head, her anger transforming into tenderness and resolve. She squeezed Kailyn's already trembling hand tightly and said softly, "Sister Kailyn, don't worry. Although I'd really like to ask you to permanently delete this idiot Chen Zhiwen from your 'trusted contacts list,' it's okay even if you can't." Her gaze was incredibly serious. "I'll watch over you well. No one can hurt you when you're with me, not even yourself."

"Ha, thank you, Meng Zhen." Sister Kailyn looked at Meng Zhen and said gratefully, "Zhiwen isn't that bad. I think he's grown more at ease with the mature you, gradually shedding his self-imposed role as a 'guardian' and returning to his true nature as a mischievous big boy. I've read Wen... Wang Wenxing's online debate posts from when he was younger, and he wasn't much better than Zhiwen is now..."

"Sister Kailyn truly understands me!" Zhiwen said with a goofy grin, only to be glared at by Meng Zhen again, making him shrink back. The beads of sweat on Kailyn's forehead grew denser, and her breathing became somewhat rapid. Finally, after another deep breath, she let out a long sigh of relief, as if her power had been cut. She slumped onto the sofa. Her sapphire blue eyes, at this moment, lost their original sparkle, becoming like two glass beads, empty and calm.

"Status change... complete," a calm, uninflected female voice came from Kailyn's mouth. "Self-perception is gone. Meng Zhen and Zhiwen, I leave myself to you. For distinction, you may call me by my original name, Catherine."

Meng Zhen looked at Kailyn like this, one hand still tightly holding hers, while the other gently patted her shoulder with reluctance.

然而，就在這氣氛略顯沉重與傷感的時刻，一旁的志文，那個剛剛才被孟禎「修理」過的傢伙，又一次「不負眾望」地開口了。看著「機器人化」的凱琳，他心中產生了躍躍欲試的想法，小心翼翼地問道：「那…那個…Catherine，是嗎？我有個請求，能不能請妳…嗯，幫我把快交不出來的自動控制課程作業給…寫了？下週就要交，但我還沒動工。妳的運算能力超強，這點小事輕輕鬆鬆就能搞定，對不對？」

「陳——志——文！」

在Catherine開口之前，先行回答志文的，是孟禎一聲充滿了抓狂意味的怒吼，以及緊隨其後，在他屁股上挨的一記充滿「愛心」的膝擊。

「自己的功課自己做啦！你這個無可救藥的笨蛋！」孟禎氣到追著志文滿屋子跑。這男朋友，有時候真的皮到讓人想把他拆開來研究一下腦部構造，偏偏還特別抗揍耐打，真是…徹底輸給他了。孟禎在心中無奈地嘆了口氣，不過想起這麼皮的傢伙當初為了守護脆弱的自己，在本性上強加的正經與成熟，嘴角又忍不住勾起一抹笑意。

於是，凱琳久違的「人類機器人」時刻，就在一場小小的鬧劇中，正式拉開了序幕。與以往的孤獨不同，這一次，她不再是一個人。她知道，在她感知不到自我的時候，有她可以全然信賴而且了解她的人，在身邊扶持著她，保護著她。這一次，她真的不需要擔任何心，可以好好「享受」徹底的放空。放自己的「自我」一個沒有固定期限的長假，讓疲憊不堪的心智運作，好好地進行深層的「雜訊清理」與「系統維護」。

However, in this slightly heavy and melancholic moment, Zhiwen, the guy who had just been "disciplined" by Meng Zhen, once again "lived up to expectations" and spoke. Looking at the "robot-ified" Kailyn, he felt a surge of eagerness and cautiously asked, "So... um... Catherine, right? I have a request, could you please... well, help me write my automatic control homework that's almost due? It's due next week, but I haven't even started. Your processing power is super strong, this little thing should be a piece of cake for you, right?"

"Chen—Zhi—Wen!"

Before Catherine could speak, Zhiwen was answered by Meng Zhen's furious, exasperated roar, followed immediately by a "loving" knee strike to his backside.

"Do your own homework! You hopeless idiot!" Meng Zhen was so angry she chased Zhiwen around the room. This boyfriend, sometimes he was so annoying she wanted to dissect his brain, yet he was also remarkably resilient and tough. She truly... completely lost to him. Meng Zhen sighed helplessly in her heart, but then a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips as she remembered how this mischievous guy had once forced himself to be serious and mature to protect her vulnerable self.

Thus, Kailyn's long-awaited "human-robot" period officially began amidst a small farce. Unlike her previous solitude, this time, she was not alone. She knew that when she couldn't perceive herself, there were people she could fully trust and who understood her, supporting and protecting her. This time, she truly didn't need to worry about anything; she could properly "enjoy" a complete mental blankness. She could give her "self" an open-ended long vacation, allowing her exhausted mental operations to thoroughly undergo deep "noise cleansing" and "system maintenance."

凱琳隱隱期待著，當那扇緊閉的「自我」之門再次緩緩開啟，心智運作整備完成，再次歸來的那一天。因為她知道，這一次，在門後等著她的，除了孟禎、志文、黃博士之外，還會多出一個帶著靦腆笑容，眼神卻真摯溫暖的文興…不，是王文興董事長。

而那一日，將會是一個全新的開始。

Kailyn vaguely anticipated the day when the tightly shut door of "self" would slowly reopen, her mental faculties fully restored, and she would return. Because she knew that this time, waiting for her behind that door, in addition to Meng Zhen, Zhiwen, and Dr. Huang, there would also be a new addition: Wenxing, with his shy smile and genuinely warm eyes... no, Chairman Wang Wenxing.

And that day would mark a brand new beginning.

機械基督徒少女 後日談13

尋找自我的機器基督徒少女

Searching for Self: The Robot Christian Girl

後日談 13 平凡日子

Sequel 13: An Ordinary Day

炎炎夏日，窗外高分貝的蟬鳴如同永不停歇的轟炸機群，一波波地衝擊著志文昏昏欲睡的耳膜。工程數學課的教授，正口沫橫飛地在黑板上推演著複變函數的柯西積分定理，那些扭曲纏繞的contour積分路徑，在志文眼中幻化成一條條張牙舞爪的毒蛇，繞得他眼冒金星，頭昏腦脹，大腦的CPU佔用率眼看就要飆升到100%，瀕臨當機。

就在他感覺自己快要被數學符號淹沒，靈魂即將出竅之際，口袋裡的手機發出了一聲悅耳的「叮咚」輕響。

彷彿抓住了救命稻草，志文在教授轉身寫板書的瞬間，迅速掏出手機解鎖。螢幕上跳出的是孟禎的訊息，帶著一個俏皮的吐舌表情符號：「親愛的志文同學～我的浪漫主義文學研討課剛結束，今天討論雪萊和拜倫，氣氛熱烈到我的情感核心都快跟著燃燒起來了！等你熱愛的數學課結束，要不要一起去湖邊散散步，分享一下彼此的『學習成果』呀？(¬‿¬)」

看著訊息，志文的嘴角不由自主地上揚。說起來，孟禎最近使用的「手機」，嚴格意義上，其實就是她自己。自從宇尋幫她申請到合法的行動門號後，那張小小的SIM卡就被實驗室的技術人員破解並複製參數，然後在她的核心系統中，新增了以軟體形式運作的虛擬SIM卡模組。至於手機所必需的應用處理器和通信基帶晶片，孟禎體內搭載的那些高性能硬體，其功能之強大，早已遠遠超越了市面上任何一款頂級智慧型手機，虛擬出這些功能對她而言不過是小菜一碟。

於是，在志文的手機聯絡人列表裡，孟禎的頭像旁邊，總是亮著「線上」的綠燈，彷彿她真的無時無刻在待命。這種「女朋友本身就是一支超高性能智慧型手機」的奇妙設定，每次都讓志文感到一陣莞爾，心中湧起難以言喻的特殊感受。

他天馬行空地想著，如果哪天真的突發奇想，透過視訊會議App，直接和「偽裝」成手機的孟禎舉行場線上會議，那會是什麼樣滑稽的景象？如果在會議中分享他的手機主畫面，孟禎的雙眼看到的，會不會也同步變成他手機螢幕上那些雜亂無章的App圖示？如果他一不小心，把一個幾百MB的簡報檔案，直接透過通訊軟體「扔」進孟禎的系統裡，激起的波浪會不會讓她的電子腦瞬間跳出「異常檔案傳輸」的警告，然後被她用甜美又略帶無奈的聲音抗議？

During the scorching summer, the high-decibel cicada chirps outside the window, like incessant squadrons of bombers, assaulted Zhiwen's drowsy eardrums in waves. The engineering mathematics professor, spitting as he went, was deriving Cauchy's Integral Theorem for complex functions on the blackboard. The twisted, winding contour integral paths transformed into venomous snakes with bared fangs in Zhiwen's eyes, making him dizzy and lightheaded. His brain's CPU usage was rapidly approaching 100%, on the verge of crashing.

Just as he felt he was about to be submerged by mathematical symbols, his soul threatening to depart, a pleasant "ding-dong" chimed from his pocket.

As if grasping a lifeline, Zhiwen swiftly pulled out his phone and unlocked it the moment the professor turned to write on the blackboard. A message from Mengzhen popped up on the screen, accompanied by a playful, tongue-sticking-out emoji: "Dearest Zhiwen~ My Romantic Literature seminar just ended. Today we discussed Shelley and Byron; the atmosphere was so heated my emotional core almost ignited! After your beloved math class, want to take a walk by the lake and share our 'learning outcomes'? (¬‿¬)"

Looking at the message, Zhiwen's lips involuntarily curved into a smile. Strictly speaking, the "phone" Mengzhen had been using recently was, in fact, herself. Ever since Yuxun helped her apply for a legal mobile number, that tiny SIM card had its parameters cracked and duplicated by the lab's technicians. Then, a virtual SIM card module, operating as software, was added to her core system. As for the application processor and communication baseband chips essential for a phone, the high-performance hardware within Mengzhen was already far more powerful than any top-tier smartphone on the market. Virtualizing these functions was mere child's play for her.

Consequently, in Zhiwen's phone contact list, the "online" green light always glowed next to Mengzhen's avatar, as if she were genuinely on standby at all times. This peculiar setup, where his "girlfriend herself was a super high-performance smartphone," always brought a wry smile to Zhiwen's face, filling him with an indescribable, special feeling.

He found himself wondering wildly, what a comical sight it would be if, on a whim, he actually held an online meeting directly with Mengzhen "disguised" as a phone via a video conferencing app? If he shared his phone's home screen during the meeting, would Mengzhen's eyes simultaneously see the same jumbled app icons on his phone screen? And if he accidentally "threw" a several-hundred-MB presentation file directly into Mengzhen's system via a messaging app, would the resulting ripple cause her electronic brain to instantly flash an "abnormal file transfer" warning, prompting her to protest in a sweet yet slightly helpless voice?

想著想著，志文忍不住「噗哧」一聲笑了出來，引來周圍幾個同學疑惑的目光。他趕忙低下頭，假裝認真看書，心中暗自慶幸這些異想天開的念頭沒有說出口。不然，那個越來越古靈精怪的女朋友，肯定又要噘起嘴，氣呼呼地控訴他「又把女朋友當成新奇玩具了，整天就想著怎麼玩弄人家的系統，一點都不尊重機器人人格權！」

這一分心，黑板上那些令人頭疼的積分公式，就更像天書了。志文索性放棄治療，開始掰著手指頭倒數下課時間。好不容易，解脫的鐘聲終於響起。他長長地吁了一口氣，將那些柯西積分、留數定理暫時拋諸腦後，三下五除二地收拾好書包，腳步輕快地準備奔赴佳人的約會。「總之，先去湖邊轉換一下被數學荼毒的心情吧！」

還沒走到約定好的湖畔大榕樹下，口袋裡的手機又「叮咚」一聲。是孟禎的訊息：「我看到你了，木頭人！還不走快點！太陽快下山，我的浪漫情懷也要跟著溜走啦！」

志文頭一抬，心臟也漏跳了一拍。不遠處的湖邊，那抹熟悉又總能讓他驚艷的身影，正俏生生地坐在微風中。哇喔…雖然早已看習慣了，但今天的孟禎，依舊美好得讓他有些呼吸不暢。

她穿著一件白底綴著藍綠色碎花的短袖連衣裙，裙擺隨著微風輕輕搖曳，整個人宛如一尊從宋代官窯走出的青花瓷瓶，高雅脫俗，曲線窈窕。腳上那雙暗紅色的休閒瑪莉珍皮鞋，則為這份古典雅緻增添了幾分恰到好處的可愛與閒適。裸露在外的白皙手臂與小腿，在陽光下泛著健康的光澤，充滿了青春少女特有的靈動氣息。她遠遠地朝他看過來，眼神溫柔得像道暖暖的電流，穿透了夏日的暑氣，電得志文心頭一陣酥麻。

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Zhiwen couldn't help but let out a snort, drawing puzzled glances from a few classmates nearby. He quickly lowered his head, pretending to study intently, secretly relieved he hadn't voiced these wild ideas. Otherwise, his increasingly eccentric girlfriend would surely pout and angrily accuse him of "treating his girlfriend like a new toy again, always trying to mess with her system, with no respect for robot personal rights!"

With this distraction, the headache-inducing integral formulas on the blackboard looked even more like hieroglyphs. Zhiwen simply gave up, counting down the minutes until class ended on his fingers. Finally, the bell of liberation rang. He let out a long sigh, temporarily casting aside Cauchy integrals and residue theorems, quickly packed his bag, and cheerfully headed for his date. "Anyway, I need to go to the lake and change my mood after being tormented by math!"

Before he even reached the agreed-upon banyan tree by the lake, his phone chimed "ding-dong" again in his pocket. It was a message from Mengzhen: "I see you, blockhead! Hurry up! The sun's almost setting, and my romantic mood is about to slip away!"

Zhiwen looked up, and his heart skipped a beat. By the lake not far away, that familiar and always stunning figure was sitting gracefully in the breeze. Wow... though he was used to seeing her, today Mengzhen was still so beautiful it almost took his breath away.

She wore a short-sleeved white dress with blue and green floral patterns. The skirt swayed gently in the breeze, making her look like a blue-and-white porcelain vase from a Song Dynasty official kiln – elegant, refined, and perfectly sculpted. The dark red casual Mary Jane leather shoes on her feet added just the right touch of cuteness and casualness to her classical elegance. Her fair, exposed arms and calves glistened with a healthy glow in the sunlight, full of the unique vivacity of a young girl. She looked at him from afar, her gaze as gentle as a warm current, piercing through the summer heat and sending a jolt of pleasant numbness through Zhiwen's heart.

志文三步併作兩步地走了過去，臉上是怎麼也收不起來的傻笑。「哈囉，親愛的黃同學～今天也是這麼光彩照人啊！」他揮了揮手，語氣刻意地帶著幾分生疏的客套。

孟禎看著他那副傻樣，忍不住笑了出來，眉眼彎彎，如同湖面盪開的漣漪：「陳志文同學，我們很不熟嗎？你這招呼打得，活像第一次見面要搭訕的小男生。怎麼，靈感來了，想好告白詞了？還是說，今天的工程數學課太燒腦，把你的記憶體給燒壞啦？」

志文被她調侃得有些臉紅，不好意思地摸了摸後腦勺傻笑：「哎呀，別取笑我了…我這不是…每次看到妳都像這樣？哼哼，誰叫妳是機器人，要造多漂亮就多漂亮？」

孟禎白了志文一眼，沒好氣地回他：「哎喲，講這樣，那再造一個超美的機器人，你就外遇啦？去去去~」

志文嘿嘿地乾笑幾聲應付。他真的好喜歡，好喜歡這樣的孟禎。無論他們已經多麼熟悉，無論他已經看過她多少種樣貌——從實驗室裡那些令人驚嘆的機械構造，到此刻眼前這個巧笑倩兮的鄰家女孩——每一次的相見，她總能讓他重新體驗初戀般的心動。

Zhiwen quickened his pace, a goofy grin he couldn't quite hide plastered on his face. "Hello there, dear Miss Huang~ Looking radiant today as always!" He waved, his tone deliberately feigning a touch of polite unfamiliarity.

Mengzhen chuckled at his silliness, her eyes curving like ripples on the lake. "Classmate Chen Zhiwen, are we not well acquainted? You're greeting me like a shy boy trying to pick someone up for the first time. What, did inspiration strike? Have you thought of a confession speech? Or perhaps today's engineering math class was too brain-burning and fried your memory?"

Zhiwen blushed a little at her teasing, awkwardly scratching the back of his head and grinning. "Oh, don't tease me... It's just... I'm like this every time I see you, aren't I? Hmph, whose fault is it that you're a robot and can be made as beautiful as one pleases?"

Mengzhen rolled her eyes at Zhiwen, retorting playfully, "Oh, saying that, if they made another super beautiful robot, would you cheat on me then? Go on, shoo~"

Zhiwen chuckled dryly a few times in response. He really, really loved Mengzhen like this. No matter how familiar they had become, no matter how many different forms he had seen her in—from the astonishing mechanical structures in the lab to the charming, girl-next-door before him now—every time they met, she always made him experience the thrill of first love all over again.

兩人並肩走在湖邊的小徑上，夏末的風帶著湖水的濕潤氣息，輕拂過他們的臉龐。「都是妳啦！」志文假裝抱怨道，「上課上到一半，突然收到妳的『浪漫邀約』，害我心情一下子跟著妳飄走，認真學習的精神都飛了。後面教授講的什麼柯西積分定理、留數定理，在我聽來全變成妳的笑臉和搖曳的裙擺，一個字都沒聽進去！」

孟禎聞言，掩嘴輕笑：「哦？是嗎？那可真是罪過。不過，」她話鋒一轉，眼中閃過一絲狡黠，「既然陳大才子因為小女子而耽誤了學業，那小女子只好勉為其難，替你補習一下功課囉？說吧，柯西積分定理的哪個部分讓你『魂牽夢縈』了？」

志文眼睛一亮：「真的？妳也懂複變函數？」他知道孟禎的學習能力超強，但沒想到她連這種硬核的數學領域也有涉獵。

「略懂略懂，」孟禎俏皮地眨了眨眼，「之前為了優化我情感核心的某些拓樸結構模型，凱琳姊帶著我一起啃了不少這方面的書呢。」

於是，接下來的幾分鐘，志文便親身體驗了一把「學霸女友的貼心輔導」。孟禎側著頭，認真地聽完他對定理的困惑之處，然後用一種極其清晰且極易理解的方式，一步步地為他梳理思路，點出關鍵。她的聲音溫柔悅耳，講解時嘴角還帶著淺淺的笑意，偶爾還會用一些生動的比喻來幫助他理解那些抽象的概念。

看著孟禎一面微笑著，一面輕鬆寫意地向自己解說著本該屬於自己專精範圍的艱深知識，志文心中不禁湧起一陣奇妙的感嘆：「有這樣一個又漂亮又聰明，還能隨時充當超級家教的女朋友，真是…太方便了啊！」當然，這句話他只敢在心裡默默地想。

The two walked side-by-side on the lakeside path, the late summer breeze carrying the damp scent of the lake as it brushed their faces. "It's all your fault!" Zhiwen feigned a complaint. "In the middle of class, I suddenly got your 'romantic invitation,' and my mood just floated away with you. All my focus on learning flew out the window. Everything the professor said afterward about Cauchy's Integral Theorem and Residue Theorem just turned into your smiling face and swaying skirt in my ears; I didn't hear a single word!"

Mengzhen giggled, covering her mouth. "Oh? Is that so? What a sin. However," she shifted gears, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "since this humble girl has caused the great scholar Chen to neglect his studies, then this humble girl will reluctantly tutor you? Tell me, which part of Cauchy's Integral Theorem has you 'haunted'?"

Zhiwen's eyes lit up. "Really? You know complex functions too?" He knew Mengzhen was an incredibly fast learner, but he hadn't expected her to delve into such hardcore mathematical fields.

"Just a little, just a little," Mengzhen playfully winked. "Kailin-jie and I read quite a few books on the subject when I was optimizing some topological structure models for my emotional core."

Thus, for the next few minutes, Zhiwen personally experienced "the attentive tutoring of a genius girlfriend." Mengzhen tilted her head, listened carefully to his confusion about the theorem, and then, in an incredibly clear and easy-to-understand way, step-by-step, helped him sort through his thoughts and pinpoint the key points. Her voice was gentle and pleasant, a faint smile playing on her lips as she explained, occasionally using vivid metaphors to help him grasp the abstract concepts.

Watching Mengzhen smilingly and effortlessly explain profound knowledge that should have been within his own specialized field, Zhiwen couldn't help but feel a strange sense of awe: "Having such a beautiful, intelligent girlfriend who can also double as a super tutor anytime is just... too convenient!" Of course, he only dared to think this silently to himself.

「所以，這裡的圍道積分其實可以利用留數定理來簡化計算，關鍵是找到奇點的性質…」孟禎講解完畢，看著志文恍然大悟的表情，滿意地點了點頭，「這樣，理解了嗎？」

「理解了！黃同學...不對，是黃老師，妳真是太厲害了！」志文心悅誠服地豎起了大拇指。

聊完了令人頭疼的數學課，孟禎的心思又回到了剛才那堂浪漫主義文學課上。「志文，」她拉起他的手，眼中閃爍著憧憬的光芒，「剛才課堂上討論的那些詩句，那些奔放的情感，讓我覺得…心裡好像也開出了一朵朵小花。我們再多走走，好好享受一下這份浪漫的餘韻，好不好？」

他們信步走到橫跨湖心島的木棧橋上。徐徐的微風吹過，吹亂了孟禎的髮絲，也吹得她心情格外舒暢。湖面波光粼粼，遠處的青山在午後邪陽的燦光下勾勒出溫柔的剪影。「好舒服啊…」孟禎發出一聲滿足的輕嘆，拉著志文在橋中央席地而坐，「我們就在這裡坐一會兒，看看風景，吹吹風吧！」

兩人並肩坐著，孟禎將頭輕輕靠在志文的肩上。他們靜靜地看著天邊的白雲緩緩舒卷，看著水鳥輕盈地掠過湖面，偶爾交談幾句，分享著一些無關緊要的卻能讓彼此會心一笑的小事。時間彷彿在此刻放慢了腳步。

不知過了多久，志文感覺自己的腿被壓得有些發麻，他忍不住站起身，單腳跳著，甩著腿，模樣有些滑稽。

「噗哈哈哈哈！」孟禎看著他那副手舞足蹈的樣子，忍不住開懷大笑起來，清脆的笑聲像一串銀鈴般灑落在湖面上。志文也被她的快樂所感染，跟著她一起傻笑。那一刻，他們彷彿變回了兩個純真爛漫的孩子，在這片小小的天地間，肆意地享受著無憂無慮的逍遙時光。

"So, the contour integral here can actually be simplified using the residue theorem; the key is to find the nature of the singularities..." Mengzhen finished explaining, nodding with satisfaction at Zhiwen's look of sudden understanding. "Understood now?"

"Understood! Classmate Huang... no, Professor Huang, you're amazing!" Zhiwen gave her a thumbs-up, completely convinced.

Having discussed the headache-inducing math class, Mengzhen's thoughts returned to the Romantic Literature class they had just had. "Zhiwen," she took his hand, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, "the poems we discussed in class, those unrestrained emotions, made me feel like... little flowers were blooming in my heart too. Shall we walk a bit more and really savor this lingering romantic feeling?"

They strolled onto the wooden boardwalk that spanned the central island of the lake. The gentle breeze ruffled Mengzhen's hair, putting her in an especially good mood. The lake surface shimmered, and the distant green mountains cast soft silhouettes under the brilliant afternoon sun. "So comfortable..." Mengzhen sighed contentedly, pulling Zhiwen to sit cross-legged in the middle of the bridge. "Let's just sit here for a while, enjoy the view, and feel the breeze!"

They sat side-by-side, Mengzhen gently resting her head on Zhiwen's shoulder. They quietly watched the white clouds slowly unfurl in the sky, and water birds gracefully skim the lake's surface, occasionally exchanging a few words, sharing trivial things that brought a knowing smile to both their faces. Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhiwen felt his leg had become numb. He couldn't help but stand up, hopping on one leg and shaking his leg, looking a bit comical.

"Pfft ha ha ha ha!" Mengzhen burst into hearty laughter at his antics, her clear laughter scattering across the lake like a string of silver bells. Zhiwen was infected by her joy and grinned foolishly along with her. In that moment, they seemed to revert to two innocent, carefree children, freely enjoying their unburdened time in this small corner of the world.

志文的腿終於不那麼麻了。孟禎依舊坐在橋上，仰頭看著他，眼中帶著一絲狡黠的笑意，然後，她向他伸出了纖細的手，掌心向上，姿態優雅得像一位等待王子邀舞的公主。雖然身為機器人的她，根本不可能會有所謂的「腳麻」，但她就是想這樣，讓志文扶她起來，想享受那份被體貼被呵護的溫柔。

志文看著孟禎那雙充滿期待的亮晶晶眼睛，心中原本冒出的一兩個想要惡作劇的念頭--比如故意說「妳不是機器人嗎？也會腳麻喔？」氣她，瞬間就被那溫柔的目光融化了，硬生生地吞回了肚子裡。

他沒有像往常那樣接過孟禎的手，而是微微一笑，在她略帶驚訝的注視下，蹲下身子彎腰，手臂穿過她的膝彎和背脊，穩穩地將她打橫抱了起來——一個標準的「公主抱」。

「哇！」孟禎輕呼一聲，感受到身體突然騰空，下意識地伸出雙手環住了志文的脖子。一絲驚訝過後，她的臉上重新綻放出燦爛的笑容，將臉頰輕輕地貼在了志文堅實的胸口，感受著他有些急促的心跳。

志文感受著懷中的溫暖與柔軟，心中一陣得意。雖然他體力平平，抱起孟禎對他著實有些費力，手臂還開始微微發抖，但他卻捨不得就這樣放下。

Zhiwen's legs finally felt less numb. Mengzhen remained seated on the bridge, looking up at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Then, she extended a slender hand to him, palm upwards, her posture as graceful as a princess awaiting a prince's invitation to dance. Though as a robot, she couldn't possibly experience "numb legs," she simply wanted Zhiwen to help her up, to enjoy the tenderness of being cared for and pampered.

Zhiwen looked at Mengzhen's bright, expectant eyes. The one or two mischievous thoughts that had popped into his mind—like intentionally saying, "Aren't you a robot? Do your legs get numb too?" to tease her—instantly melted away under that gentle gaze, swallowed hard back into his belly.

Instead of taking Mengzhen's hand as he usually would, he offered a slight smile. Under her slightly surprised gaze, he knelt down, then bent over, slipping his arms under her knees and back, and steadily lifted her horizontally—a perfect "princess carry."

"Oh!" Mengzhen let out a soft gasp as her body suddenly left the ground, instinctively wrapping her arms around Zhiwen's neck. After a moment of surprise, a brilliant smile bloomed on her face again. She gently pressed her cheek against Zhiwen's firm chest, feeling his slightly rapid heartbeat.

Zhiwen felt the warmth and softness in his arms and a surge of triumph. Although his physical strength was average, carrying Mengzhen was quite strenuous for him, and his arms even began to tremble slightly, but he couldn't bear to put her down just yet.

然而，就在志文沉浸在這份小小的「英雄氣概」中時，懷裡的孟禎卻突然開口，語氣帶著一絲促狹的笑意：「哎，大膽狂徒，你這架勢，是不是盤算著把我拋進湖裡，來個『機器人兇殺案』，好換個溫香軟玉的人類女友呀？跟你說，沒用的喔，身為高科技機器人，本小姐的玉體可是IP68級防水防塵，還內建GPS全球定位求救訊號，宇尋的救援隊五分鐘內就能趕到，到時候你就等著被老爸和凱琳姊混合雙打吧！」

志文聞言，「哼」了一聲表示不屑與反駁，但他沒有答話，因為光是抱著孟禎保持平衡，就已經耗盡了他大半的力氣，額頭上甚至滲出了細密的汗珠。他強撐著，想再多享受一會兒這難得的親密，腳下卻一個不穩，身體晃了兩下。「啊！小心！」孟禎驚呼。

最終，體力平庸的志文還是沒能堅持住，抱著孟禎，兩人一起狼狽地摔在了木棧橋堅實的橋面上，幸好摔得不重。起身四目相對，看著彼此有些狼狽的模樣，兩人先是一愣，隨即不約而同地爆發出震耳欲聾的「哈哈哈哈」大笑聲。笑聲在湖面上迴盪，驚起了一灘鷗鷺。這對笨蛋情侶，相處起來是那麼的笨拙，那麼的傻氣，卻又洋溢著純粹而美好的青春氣息，旁人看到都得覺得害羞。

笑鬧過後，兩人攜手走下木棧橋，漫步進了湖畔一片幽靜的小樹林。夏末的陽光透過層層疊疊的樹葉，灑下斑駁的光影，蟬鳴聲也似乎被隔絕了不少，顯得格外寧靜。

走了一陣，志文覺得有些口渴，他提議道：「孟禎，妳在這裡等我一下，我去買兩瓶飲料。」「好呀，」孟禎乖巧地點點頭，在路旁一塊光滑的石板椅上坐了下來，「別跑太遠哦。」

志文在不遠處的體育館旁找到了自動投幣販賣機，仔細挑選了兩瓶他記得孟禎體內的生化過濾及層析分餾器能夠順利處理的冰涼運動飲料。拿著飲料，他快步走回約定的地點。

遠遠地他就看見了孟禎，靜靜地坐在石板凳上，微微側著頭，仰望著透過樹葉間隙灑落下來的斜陽。那燦爛卻不刺眼的、帶著溫暖金黃色調的光芒，輕柔地籠罩著她恬靜美好的側臉，將她每一根髮絲都染上了金色的光暈。她微開雙眼，嘴角帶著感動的開心，神情是那麼的安然與陶醉，徹底沉浸在這片寧靜美好之中。

那一瞬間，志文看得有些痴了。時間彷彿也為她凝滯，連灑落的陽光都帶著虔誠的意味，親吻著她的髮梢與臉頰，勾勒出近乎神聖的光暈。他覺得眼前的這一幕，美得像一幅精緻的油畫，讓他捨不得發出任何聲音去打破這份美好，心中甚至湧起一股強烈的衝動，想就這樣，將光陰永遠停留在這一刻。

However, just as Zhiwen was basking in this small act of "heroism," Mengzhen in his arms suddenly spoke, a hint of teasing laughter in her voice: "Hey, you audacious ruffian, are you planning to throw me into the lake for a 'robot murder case' so you can get a soft and warm human girlfriend? I'm telling you, it's no use. As a high-tech robot, my delicate body is IP68 waterproof and dustproof, and I have a built-in GPS global positioning distress signal. Yuxun's rescue team can arrive in five minutes, and then you'll face a tag team beating from Dad and Kailin-jie!"

Zhiwen "hmph"-ed in disdain and rebuttal, but he didn't reply. Just holding Mengzhen steady had already drained most of his strength; fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead. He held on, wanting to savor this rare intimacy a little longer, but his footing wavered, and his body swayed twice. "Ah! Be careful!" Mengzhen cried out.

Ultimately, the physically unremarkable Zhiwen couldn't hold on. He and Mengzhen both tumbled clumsily onto the sturdy wooden boardwalk. Fortunately, it wasn't a hard fall. Getting up, their eyes met. Looking at each other's somewhat disheveled appearance, they first froze, then simultaneously burst into deafening laughter. Their laughter echoed over the lake, startling a flock of gulls and egrets. This clumsy, foolish couple, though seemingly awkward and silly in their interactions, exuded a pure and beautiful youthful charm that would make anyone witnessing it blush.

After their laughter subsided, they walked hand-in-hand down the wooden boardwalk and into a quiet grove of trees by the lake. The late summer sun filtered through layers of leaves, casting dappled light and shadow. The cicada chirps seemed largely muffled, making the area exceptionally peaceful.

After walking for a while, Zhiwen felt thirsty. He suggested, "Mengzhen, wait for me here. I'll go buy us some drinks." "Okay," Mengzhen nodded obediently, sitting down on a smooth stone bench by the path. "Don't go too far."

Zhiwen found a coin-operated vending machine near the sports complex not far away. He carefully selected two cold sports drinks that he remembered Mengzhen's internal biochemical filtration and chromatographic fractionation system could handle smoothly. Holding the drinks, he hurried back to their agreed spot.

From a distance, he saw Mengzhen, sitting quietly on the stone bench, her head tilted slightly, looking up at the setting sun filtering through the gaps in the leaves. The brilliant yet gentle light, with its warm golden hue, softly enveloped her serene and beautiful profile, tinting every strand of her hair with a golden halo. Her eyes were slightly open, a smile of moved happiness on her lips, her expression so peaceful and absorbed, completely immersed in the tranquil beauty.

In that instant, Zhiwen was utterly captivated. Time seemed to freeze for her, and even the falling sunlight carried a sense of reverence, kissing her hair and cheeks, outlining an almost sacred halo. He felt that the scene before him was as beautiful as an exquisite oil painting, making him reluctant to utter any sound to break the spell. A strong urge even welled up within him to forever hold this moment in time.

幾分鐘後，眼看著陽光漸漸西斜，志文才從那份沉醉中回過神來。他輕手輕腳地走到孟禎身邊，將冰涼的飲料瓶貼在她溫熱的臉頰上。

「呀！」孟禎被冰得輕呼一聲，睜開眼，看到是志文，臉上露出了嗔怪的表情，「壞蛋志文，嚇我一跳！」

「誰叫妳看得那麼入神，」志文笑著將飲料遞給她，「喏，妳最愛的檸檬口味，再不喝就要不涼了。」

他們並肩坐在石板凳上，一邊喝著飲料，一邊說說笑笑。樹林裡的光影隨著微風輕輕晃動，讓志文不由得想起了一件往事。

「孟禎，」他突然開口，「妳還記得嗎？大二那年暑假，有一次我約妳去爬附近那座青雲山。」

孟禎偏過頭，眼中閃過一絲回憶的光芒：「嗯？記得呀。那次不是還遇到大暴雨了嗎？某個笨蛋出門前忘了看天氣預報，沒帶雨具，差點淋成了落湯雞。」她說著，還調皮地朝志文做了個鬼臉。

志文老臉一紅，乾咳了兩聲：「咳咳，那、那次是意外！意外！當時雨下得特別大，我急得團團轉，結果妳一點都不慌張，還把妳帶的折疊傘塞給我，然後自己從包裡摸出件一次性的輕便雨衣穿上。」

「對呀，」孟禎點點頭，眼中帶著笑意，「說起我的包，那可是跟哆啦A夢的百寶袋一樣，看起來小，其實能裝不少東西呢！緊急備用雨具可是戶外活動的標配哦。」

「可是，」志文的聲音低沉了下來，帶著一絲不易察覺的憐惜，「那雨衣太小了，根本遮不全妳。我們走在下山的路上，雨水像用倒的一樣，妳的頭髮、衣服很快就濕透了。當時我心裡愧疚得要命，偷偷轉頭看妳，結果妳…妳還對著我吐舌頭，做鬼臉，一點都不在乎的樣子。」

A few minutes later, as the sun gradually dipped lower, Zhiwen snapped out of his trance. He tiptoed over to Mengzhen and pressed the cool beverage bottle against her warm cheek.

"Oh!" Mengzhen let out a little yelp, startled by the cold. She opened her eyes, saw Zhiwen, and gave him a playful, scolding look. "You bad Zhiwen, you scared me!"

"Who told you to be so engrossed?" Zhiwen chuckled, handing her the drink. "Here, your favorite lemon flavor. It'll get warm if you don't drink it soon."

They sat side-by-side on the stone bench, sipping their drinks and chatting. The shifting light and shadows in the grove, stirred by the gentle breeze, brought an old memory to Zhiwen's mind.

"Mengzhen," he began suddenly, "do you remember? That summer vacation during our sophomore year, I once asked you to climb Qingyun Mountain nearby."

Mengzhen tilted her head, a flicker of remembrance in her eyes. "Hmm? I do remember. Didn't we run into a huge downpour that time? Some silly boy forgot to check the weather forecast before leaving, didn't bring any rain gear, and almost got drenched." She finished, playfully sticking her tongue out at Zhiwen.

Zhiwen's face flushed. He cleared his throat a couple of times. "Ahem, that, that was an accident! An accident! The rain was particularly heavy then, and I was so anxious, but you weren't flustered at all. You even handed me your folding umbrella and then pulled out a disposable lightweight raincoat from your bag and put it on."

"That's right," Mengzhen nodded, a smile in her eyes. "Speaking of my bag, it's like Doraemon's magic pouch—looks small, but can hold quite a lot! Emergency rain gear is standard for outdoor activities, you know."

"But," Zhiwen's voice deepened, carrying a hint of imperceptible pity, "that raincoat was too small; it didn't cover you completely. We were walking down the mountain, and the rain was pouring like crazy. Your hair and clothes quickly got soaked. I felt terribly guilty then. I secretly turned to look at you, and you... you still stuck your tongue out at me, made a face, as if you didn't care at all."

孟禎回想起當時的情景，也忍不住笑了起來：「傻孩子，我當然不在乎啦！那時候就跟你說了，不要想太多，我這身『皮囊』可是宇尋的最新科技，防水防潮性能一流，別說淋點雨，就算泡在水裡開機都沒問題。倒是你，細皮嫩肉的普通人類，我才擔心你淋雨生病呢！」

「可是妳讓我用妳的傘，卻讓自己被淋濕...妳因我被淋濕，我很過意不去，而妳一副無所謂的調皮笑容，說真的…真的讓我放下了當時壓在心上的大石頭，」志文回想起那被雨水浸濕、緊貼在臉頰上的髮絲，回想起馬尾辮梢不斷滴落的水滴，輕輕嘆了口氣，眼神變得格外溫柔，「說實話，孟禎，我那時候…覺得好心疼，也好想跟妳說謝謝。」

當然了，這樣一個落落大方體貼善良，在困境中還能反過來關心別人，甚至調皮地讓對方放心的女孩，任誰看了，又怎能不心疼呢？志文想著。

孟禎聽著志文的這番「深情告白」，先是微微一愣，隨即臉頰泛起一抹動人的紅暈，但很快，她便揚起嘴角，眼中閃爍著狡黠的光芒，故意用一種恍然大悟的誇張語氣說道：「哦～我明白了！看來某人從那個時候開始，就已經被本姑娘迷得神魂顛倒了嘛！嘖嘖嘖，這種小事都記得這麼清楚，還『心疼』咧！看來你一定是很喜歡我，對不對？可愛的小文文，嘿嘿~」

志文被她說得面紅耳赤，有些語無倫次地反駁道：「才…才不是只有我會這樣想！妳…妳被造得如此漂亮，性格被設定的細心體貼，偶爾還有點傻氣的女孩，是男人看到了都會喜歡，都會心疼好不好！妳的迷人是黃博士和宇尋團隊的功勞，少…少往自己臉上貼金了！」

Mengzhen recalled the scene and couldn't help but laugh. "Silly boy, of course I didn't care! I told you back then not to overthink it. This 'flesh' of mine is Yuxun's latest technology, with top-notch waterproofing and moisture resistance. Never mind a little rain; I can even power on while submerged in water. It was you, a delicate human, that I was worried about getting sick from the rain!"

"But you let me use your umbrella and got soaked yourself... You got wet because of me, and I felt so bad, but your mischievous smile, pretending it was nothing, honestly... it really lifted a huge weight off my mind back then," Zhiwen reminisced about her rain-soaked hair clinging to her cheeks and the water dripping from the tip of her ponytail, sighing softly, his gaze becoming exceptionally tender. "To be honest, Mengzhen, back then... I felt so much sympathy for you, and I really wanted to say thank you."

Of course, Zhiwen thought, who wouldn't feel for a girl so generous, considerate, and kind, who could even turn around and care for others in a difficult situation, even playfully reassuring them?

Mengzhen listened to Zhiwen's "heartfelt confession," first slightly taken aback. Then, a charming blush spread across her cheeks, but quickly, she curled her lips, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and deliberately said in an exaggerated, realizing tone, "Oh~ I get it now! It seems someone has been utterly captivated by yours truly ever since then! Tsk tsk tsk, remembering such small details so clearly, and even 'feeling for me'! It looks like you really like me, don't you? My cute little Zhiwen, hehe~"

Zhiwen's face turned crimson at her words, and he stammered a refutation: "That's... that's not just me who'd think that! You... you were made so beautiful, your personality set to be thoughtful and considerate, and occasionally a bit silly. Any man who saw you would like you, would feel for you, okay! Your charm is thanks to Dr. Huang and the Yuxun team. Stop... stop taking all the credit!"

「噗哈哈哈哈！」孟禎被他那副窘迫又嘴硬的樣子逗得放聲大笑起來，「是是是，我就是被超厲害的老爸和團隊製造得超迷人的機器人，就是迷到你陳志文，讓你勉為其難地把我收了，真不好意思。哎呀，喜歡就喜歡嘛，承認一下本姑娘魅力無邊、人見人愛，有這麼難嗎？男子漢大丈夫，敢做敢當，敢喜歡就要敢承認嘛！」她得意地揚了揚下巴，理直氣壯地說：「好啦，不用你說，本姑娘我自己也知道，我確實是很討人喜歡的！這一點，我欣然承認，並且引以為傲！」

志文看著她那副得意洋洋，彷彿全世界都圍著她轉的小模樣，先是故作誇張地打了個冷顫，做了個「噁心想吐」的表情，隨即也忍不住跟著她一起開懷大笑起來。

快樂的時光，總是像指縫間的細沙，稍不留神，便悄然流逝。不知不覺間，夕陽已完全沉入地平線下，天邊只剩一抹瑰麗的晚霞，夜色如同溫柔的薄紗，漸漸籠罩了整個校園。

兩人起身，信步走到學生經常光顧的美食街，孟禎透過網路，熟門熟路地先行線上點了幾樣志文愛吃的小菜，還有滿滿一大盒香噴噴的滷肉飯，打算讓飢腸轆轆的志文填飽肚子。他們隨意找了個戶外休憩區的空桌椅坐下，孟禎將她的隨身包放在桌上，一隻手和臉貼在包上，眼含笑意地看著志文狼吞虎嚥、大快朵頤。溫柔的眼神比任何調味料都更能增添食物的美味，讓志文覺得自己餐盒裡的每一粒米飯，都充滿了幸福的味道。

"Pfft ha ha ha ha!" Mengzhen burst out laughing at his flustered yet stubborn expression. "Yes, yes, yes, I am a super charming robot created by my super amazing Dad and his team, so charming that I've completely captivated you, Chen Zhiwen, making you reluctantly take me in. How embarrassing. Oh, just admit you like me! Is it that hard to acknowledge that this girl is infinitely charming and loved by everyone? Be a man, own up to it! If you dare to like, then dare to admit it!" She proudly lifted her chin, stating righteously, "Alright, you don't have to say it, I know myself that I am indeed very likable! I happily admit it and am proud of it!"

Zhiwen looked at her smug little act, as if the whole world revolved around her, first feigning an exaggerated shiver and an "I'm going to puke" expression, then couldn't help but join her in hearty laughter.

Happy times, like fine sand slipping through fingers, quietly vanish if one isn't careful. Before they knew it, the sun had completely dipped below the horizon, leaving only a magnificent afterglow in the sky. Night, like a gentle veil, gradually enveloped the entire campus.

They stood up and strolled to the bustling food street where students often gathered. Mengzhen, through the network, skillfully pre-ordered several of Zhiwen's favorite side dishes and a large, fragrant box of braised pork rice, planning to fill his hungry stomach. They found an empty table and chairs in an outdoor seating area and sat down. Mengzhen placed her portable bag on the table, resting one hand and her face on it, watching Zhiwen devour his meal with a smile in her eyes. Her gentle gaze enhanced the food's flavor more than any seasoning, making Zhiwen feel that every grain of rice in his lunchbox was filled with happiness.

志文心滿意足地解決完晚餐，打了個飽嗝。兩人相視一笑，起身，準備散步回家。

夜空中，皎潔的明月靜靜地昇起，灑下如水般的清輝。他倆手牽著手，慢慢地走在灑滿月光的小徑上。晚風輕拂，送來陣陣草木的清香。兩人的影子，在月光的映照下，時而拉長，時而縮短，時而交疊在一起，偶然間，竟被拉成了一個歪歪扭扭的心形，彷彿傳達著他們不須言說的愛。

這一天，沒有驚心動魄的冒險，沒有轟轟烈烈的誓言，只有平淡日常中點點滴滴的溫馨與悸動。但對孟禎和志文來說，這樣能與對方一同分享，充滿了細碎歡笑與溫柔體貼的「普通」一天，本身就是最值得珍藏的浪漫。

Zhiwen finished his dinner with satisfaction and let out a contented burp. They exchanged smiles, then stood up, ready to stroll home.

In the night sky, a bright, clear moon silently ascended, casting down a watery, luminous glow. Hand in hand, they walked slowly along the moonlit path. The evening breeze gently stirred, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees. Their shadows, illuminated by the moonlight, stretched and shortened, sometimes overlapping, and occasionally, they even twisted into a distorted heart shape, as if conveying their unspoken love.

This day held no thrilling adventures, no grand declarations, just the quiet warmth and subtle flutter of everyday moments. But for Mengzhen and Zhiwen, such a "normal" day, shared together and filled with small laughs and tender thoughtfulness, was itself the most cherished kind of romance.

機械基督徒少女 後日談12

尋找自我的機器基督徒少女

Searching for Self: The Robot Christian Girl

後日談 12 夏日海灘

Sequel 12: Summer Beach

<註：本篇不太正經>

<Note: This piece is not entirely serious>

炎炎夏日，熾熱的陽光將大地烤得發燙，彷彿連空氣都扭曲了起來。在這種天氣裡，若說有什麼地方能讓人暫時忘卻酷暑，盡情釋放熱情，那無疑是蔚藍的大海與金色的沙灘。

經過宇尋計畫團隊與黃博士的特許，孟禎和志文小倆口獲得了幾天難得的假期。他們開著宇尋特意出借的廂型車——車廂後部低調地裝載著孟禎的精密檢修設備和幾箱備用零件——一路哼著歌，朝著崇明島一處傳說中人跡罕至的秘境沙灘駛去。「就是這裡了！」志文將車停在一片茂密的防風林後，興奮地指著前方。穿過樹叢，一片潔白細緻的沙灘在眼前展開，遠處是粼粼波光，海天一色，果然如傳說般靜謐美好，幾乎看不到其他遊客的蹤影。他們準備在這靜謐沙灘搭好帳篷，打算享受只屬於兩人的浪漫（宇尋實驗室主伺服器：只屬於兩人？呵呵）。

《宇尋實驗室主伺服器：HRC-07型女性仿生機器人（代號：黃孟禎）監測已啟動。外部關連目標陳志文，生理及環境數據記錄中…新增「浪漫指數」監測通道。》

兩人七手八腳地搭好了遮陽帳篷，鋪開了沙灘巾。陽光正好，海風習習，離黃昏欣賞落日還有一大段時間。孟禎從行李中翻出自己新買的亮黃色比基尼，在身上比了比，眼中閃爍著期待的光芒：「志文，你看！等一下我就穿這件去衝浪！凱琳姊說這顏色最襯我的膚色，你覺得呢？」

The scorching summer sun beat down, baking the earth until it seemed even the air itself was distorting from the heat. In weather like this, if there was one place to momentarily forget the oppressive heat and unleash one's enthusiasm, it was undoubtedly the azure sea and golden sands.

Thanks to special permission from the Yu Xun Project team and Dr. Huang, the young couple Meng Zhen and Zhi Wen had secured a few rare days of vacation. They hummed songs as they drove along in a van specially loaned by Yu Xun – the rear of which discreetly housed Meng Zhen's precision maintenance equipment and a few boxes of spare parts – heading towards a legendary secluded beach on Chongming Island. "This is it!" Zhi Wen parked the van behind a dense windbreak forest, excitedly pointing ahead. Passing through the trees, a stretch of fine white sand unfolded before them, with the sparkling sea meeting the sky in the distance. It was indeed as tranquil and beautiful as the legends claimed, with hardly another tourist in sight. They prepared to set up their tent on this quiet beach, intending to enjoy some romance meant just for the two of them (Yu Xun Laboratory Main Server: Just the two of them? Heh heh).

<Yu Xun Laboratory Main Server: Monitoring of HRC-07 female bionic robot (Codename: Huang Meng Zhen) initiated. External related target Chen Zhi Wen, physiological and environmental data recording in progress... "Romantic Index" monitoring channel added.>

The two of them fumbled about setting up the sunshade tent and spreading out their beach towels. The sun was perfect, a gentle sea breeze was blowing, and there was still a good while before they could enjoy the sunset. Meng Zhen rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a new bright yellow bikini she’d bought. Holding it up against herself, her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Zhi Wen, look! I'm going to wear this to surf later! Sister Kai Lin said this color best complements my skin tone. What do you think?"

志文看著那件俏皮可愛的泳衣，又看了看孟禎充滿活力的笑臉，眼中卻閃過一絲促狹的光芒，惡作劇的念頭在他腦海中成形。他清了清喉嚨，故作神秘地說：「孟禎啊，衝浪當然好，不過…既然這片沙灘這麼私密，幾乎沒有旁人，妳有沒有想過…用一種更『開放』、更『本真』的姿態，去擁抱這片大自然呢？」

孟禎聞言，狐疑地眯起了眼：「陳志文，你又想出什麼鬼點子了？我總覺得你不安好心。」

「哪有！我是真心誠意的建議！」志文一臉無辜，「妳想想，妳的仿生皮膚雖然完美，但終究是…一層『包覆』，對妳本真的包覆。如果能讓妳自己從這樣的包覆中坦然開放，用妳最『天然』最純粹的機械構成，去感受海風的吹拂，沙粒的觸感，海水的浸潤…讓自然對話妳的『天然』，那會不會是一種更深刻的體驗呢？」

孟禎的眉頭越皺越緊：「你的意思是…要我別待在有仿生皮膚的身體上，用那副光溜溜的假體走向自然？」她想起車上那副以意念驅動的預備假體，沒有任何有機感的純機械構造，要「待在」上面走出戶外，臉頰不禁有些發燙。

Zhiwen looked at the playful, cute swimsuit, then at Mengzhen's vibrant smiling face, but a mischievous glint flickered in his eyes. A prankish idea formed in his mind. He cleared his throat and said mysteriously, "Mengzhen, surfing is great, but... since this beach is so private, with hardly anyone else around, have you ever thought about... embracing nature in a more 'open,' more 'authentic' way?"

Mengzhen narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Chen Zhiwen, what mischievous idea have you cooked up now? I always feel like you're up to no good."

"No way! I'm genuinely suggesting it!" Zhiwen feigned innocence. "Think about it, your bionic skin, though perfect, is ultimately... a 'covering,' a covering over your true self. If you could embrace nature openly from that covering, using your most 'natural,' purest mechanical composition to feel the sea breeze, the touch of sand, the immersion of seawater... letting nature converse with your 'natural' self, wouldn't that be a deeper experience?"

Mengzhen's brows furrowed deeper. "You mean... you want me to get out of my bionic skin and face nature with that bare prosthetic body?" She thought of the thought-controlled spare prosthetic body in the car, a purely mechanical construct with no organic feel, and the idea of "being" in it and going outdoors made her cheeks flush.

「也不是光溜溜啦，那副假體本來就是這樣，」志文努力憋著笑，「而且它不是有精密的內部構造和漂亮的機械線條嗎？在我看來，它的外表已然完整，是一種極致的工業美學，不需要增添什麼。」他湊近孟禎，壓低聲音，「妳不覺得，那樣的妳，更像是…從科幻電影裡走出來的未來戰士？充滿科幻感和未來感，更符合妳機器人的本質。」

「你喔你喔~該怎麼說你才好？我才不要當什麼未來戰士咧！整天胡說八道，哪天我情感核心被你氣到爆炸，你要怎麼賠我？」孟禎被志文說得又好氣又好笑，但看著他那閃閃發亮的眼神，就像溫柔的姊姊看著調皮的弟弟，不忍心拒絕他，讓他沮喪。

最終，在志文軟磨硬泡地遊說下，孟禎半推半就地答應了。她無奈地嘆了口氣，從廂型車深處取出了那具備用的輔助假體，認命地將自己的頭顱安裝上去。至於那穿著亮黃色比基尼、身材曼妙的仿生軀體，此刻正孤零零地坐在車廂內的折疊椅上，修長的手臂還搭在沒有頭顱的頸部斷面上，彷彿在生著悶氣。

安裝在假體上孟禎極不自在地活動了一下金屬關節，發出輕微的「咔咔」聲。她低頭看了看自己這副完全由金屬骨骼、液壓管線和精密傳感器構成的「身體」，感覺彆扭到了極點。

"It's not 'bare,' the prosthetic is just built that way," Zhiwen tried to stifle a laugh. "Besides, doesn't it have intricate internal structures and beautiful mechanical lines? To me, its appearance is already complete, a peak of industrial aesthetics, no need to add anything." He leaned closer to Mengzhen, lowering his voice. "Don't you think that, like that, you'd be more like... a futuristic warrior straight out of a sci-fi movie? Full of sci-fi flair and futurism, more in line with your robot essence."

"Oh, you! What am I going to do with you? I don't want to be some futuristic warrior! You're always talking nonsense. What if my emotional core explodes because of you one day? How are you going to compensate me?" Mengzhen was exasperated and amused by Zhiwen, but looking at his sparkling eyes, she felt like a gentle older sister looking at a mischievous younger brother, unable to refuse him and make him sad.

Ultimately, after Zhiwen's persistent coaxing, Mengzhen half-heartedly agreed. She sighed helplessly and retrieved the spare auxiliary prosthetic from deep within the minivan, resignedly installing her head onto it. As for her curvaceous bionic body, still clad in its bright yellow bikini, it sat forlornly on a folding chair in the van, a slender arm resting on the headless neck's cross-section, as if sulking.

Mounted on the prosthetic, Mengzhen uncomfortably moved her metal joints, producing faint "clanking" sounds. She looked down at this "body" of hers, composed entirely of metal bones, hydraulic tubes, and precise sensors, feeling awkward to the extreme.

「哇哇哇，孟禎，妳看起來好像從港片場景中走出來的，片名是不是叫『鐵甲無敵黃孟禎』？發射個火箭飛拳來看看！」志文卻顯得異常興奮，拿起相機就對著「鐵甲孟禎」猛拍。

「陳志文！你給我差不多一點！」鐵甲孟禎的揚聲器傳出孟禎有些惱怒的聲音，「這樣…這樣不就跟沒穿衣服一樣嗎？！很丟臉耶！你讓你女朋友全裸！？」孟禎想起根本沒準備給假體穿的衣服。平常這副假體只用於實驗室，就像她頭部的載具；但現在她是走出戶外，看起來就是個全裸機器人。孟禎努力想用金屬手臂抱住只有金屬防塵防水蓋板的胸部，卻顯得更加滑稽。

志文忍著笑，一本正經地歪頭想了一下，說：「嗯…關於『全裸』的定義，我覺得值得商榷。一般來說，全裸只能發生於暴露的人類身體，至少是類似人類身體。至於孟禎妳這副身體，由金屬合金材質製成，結構精密，線條流暢，敲起來還有叩叩聲，」他還真的伸手在鐵甲孟禎身上的金屬蓋板上敲了兩下，發出清脆的聲響，「更像是…嗯，一件非常精巧的自動行動藝術品？或者說，高科技二足步行載具？跟我們一般理解的『肌膚』、『裸露』這些全裸相關的描述，好像還差了那麼點『生物學』上的要素吧？汽車烤漆刮掉了露出底盤，也不能算汽車全裸呀，對不對？」

「你…你這臭小子，竟敢這般胡說...！汽車...汽什麼鬼車，根本是氣死了！」孟禎被志文這套戲謔的「邏輯」氣得電子腦都快冒煙了，金屬手指指著他，卻說不出話來。她本想發火，但看著志文那努力憋笑的樣子，心頭的怒氣漸漸轉變成無奈。她深吸一口氣，突然像是突然想到了什麼，眼中閃過一抹狡黠的光芒。

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mengzhen, you look like you just stepped out of a Hong Kong action movie! Is the title 'Invincible Iron Mengzhen'? Shoot me a rocket punch, let's see!" Zhiwen, however, was exceptionally excited, grabbing his camera and snapping photos of "Iron Mengzhen."

"Chen Zhiwen! That's enough out of you!" Mengzhen's somewhat annoyed voice came through the Iron Mengzhen's speaker. "This... this is like being naked, isn't it?! It's so embarrassing! You're making your girlfriend totally nude!?" Mengzhen remembered that no clothes had been prepared for the prosthetic body. Normally, this prosthetic was only used in the lab, like a vehicle for her head; but now she was outdoors, and she simply looked like a completely nude robot. Mengzhen tried to use her metal arms to cover her chest, which only had metal dustproof and waterproof covers, but it just made her look even more comical.

Zhiwen stifled a laugh, tilted his head, and pondered seriously for a moment. "Hmm... I think the definition of 'naked' is debatable. Generally speaking, nudity can only happen with an exposed human body, or at least a human-like body. As for your body, Mengzhen, it's made of metal alloy, with precise structures and smooth lines, and it even makes a 'clunking' sound when you tap it." He actually reached out and tapped the metal cover on Iron Mengzhen's body twice, producing a crisp sound. "It's more like... well, a very elaborate self-operating work of art? Or perhaps, a high-tech bipedal walking vehicle? It seems to lack that 'biological' element associated with descriptions like 'skin' and 'exposure' that we typically understand as 'naked,' right? You wouldn't say a car is naked if its paint chipped off and exposed the chassis, would you?"

"You... you little brat, how dare you spout such nonsense...! A car... what kind of car, I'm absolutely furious!" Mengzhen was so exasperated by Zhiwen's teasing "logic" that her electronic brain felt like it was about to smoke. Her metal finger pointed at him, but she couldn't utter another word. She wanted to flare up, but seeing Zhiwen trying to hold back his laughter, the anger in her heart gradually turned into helplessness. She took a deep breath, then suddenly seemed to have an idea, a cunning glint flashing in her eyes.

「好啊，陳志文，」鐵甲孟禎的聲音突然變得平靜，「你說得超有道理的。等著，我這就去讓你見識見識，什麼才叫做真正的『本真』。」說完，她轉動金屬腰肢，邁著略顯僵硬卻異常堅定的步伐，轉身朝廂型車走去。

志文有些好奇，不知道孟禎又想搞什麼名堂。他聳了聳肩，自顧自地在沙灘上堆起了沙堡，一面吹著口哨，一面等著孟禎的「驚喜」。

《宇尋實驗室主伺服器：HRC-07型女性仿生機器人（代號：黃孟禎）情緒波動指數上升，「浪漫指數」已低於最小可測值，啟動應急預案C-3。建議外部關連目標陳志文保持安全距離，並準備好自我維修包。》

大概過了十幾分鐘，就在志文快要把沙堡的護城河挖好時，異變陡生！

「嘩——！吼——！」尖銳怪異的嘶吼聲伴隨著沙沙的疾速摩擦聲，一個黑影猛地從防風林邊緣竄出，像一道離弦之箭般橫切進志文的視野！

「啊喔！我的媽呀！」志文嚇得魂飛魄散，一屁股跌坐在沙灘上，手中的小鏟子都飛了出去。他驚恐地抬頭望去，只見一個約莫小腿高，造型極其詭異的「生物」正虎視眈眈地與他對峙。那東西有著八六條閃爍著金屬寒光的長腿，如同巨大的蜘蛛，身體中央卻頂著一顆…頂著一顆他再熟悉不過的頭顱！

「孟…孟禎？！」志文的聲音因極度震驚而走了調。

「正是本小姐！」那顆安裝在多足蛛型移動平台上的孟禎頭顱，揚聲器裡傳出的聲音帶著惡作劇得逞的得意與一絲隱約的「魔王」氣場，「陳志文，見識到我究極進化後，回歸原始恐懼的『比留子』形態，感覺如何啊？是不是比剛才那個『鐵甲孟禎』帶勁多了？」

這個形態的孟禎，六條機械長腿活動起來迅捷無比，姿態詭異，再配上那顆精緻的美少女頭顱，不僅像一隻成了精的巨大椰子蟹，更像日本怪談電影《比留子妖怪獵人》中那個能將人的膽汁都嚇出來的恐怖妖怪！

"Alright, Chen Zhiwen," the Iron Mengzhen's voice suddenly grew calm. "You make an excellent point. Just wait, I'll show you what true 'authenticity' really means." With that, she turned her metal waist, taking slightly stiff but exceptionally resolute steps, and headed towards the minivan.

Zhiwen was a little curious, wondering what Mengzhen was planning now. He shrugged, contentedly building a sandcastle on the beach, whistling as he waited for Mengzhen's "surprise."

《YuXun Lab Main Server: HRC-07 Female Bionic Robot (Codename: Huang Mengzhen) emotional fluctuation index rising, "Romance Index" below minimum measurable value, initiating emergency protocol C-3. Recommended to maintain safe distance from external correlation target Chen Zhiwen and prepare self-maintenance kit.》

About ten minutes later, just as Zhiwen was about to finish digging the sandcastle's moat, an abrupt change occurred!

"Whoosh—! Roar—!" A sharp, bizarre shriek, accompanied by the rapid rustling sound of friction, erupted as a dark shadow suddenly darted out from the edge of the windbreak trees, cutting across Zhiwen's vision like an arrow shot from a bowstring!

"Whoa! Oh my god!" Zhiwen was scared out of his wits, tumbling onto the sand, his small shovel flying from his hand. He looked up in horror to see a highly peculiar "creature," about calf-high, glaring menacingly at him. The thing had eight long, metallic-glowing legs, like a giant spider, but in the center of its body sat a head... a head he knew all too well!

"Meng... Mengzhen?!" Zhiwen's voice was distorted by extreme shock.

"It is I, your young lady!" The Mengzhen head, mounted on the multi-legged spider-like mobile platform, projected a voice from its speaker filled with the triumph of a successful prank and a subtle "demon lord" aura. "Chen Zhiwen, how does it feel to witness my ultimate evolution, my primal-fear-inducing 'Hiruko' form? Isn't it much more impressive than that 'Iron Mengzhen' from earlier?"

In this form, Mengzhen's six mechanical long legs moved with incredible speed, her posture bizarre. Coupled with that delicate, beautiful girl's head, she not only resembled a giant, intelligent coconut crab but even more, the terrifying monster from the Japanese horror movie Hiruko the Goblin that could scare the bile out of people!

志文嚇得連連後退，臉色慘白，一個踉蹌眼看就要摔個四腳朝天。就在這時，他突然感覺自己被一個冰冷而堅硬的「東西」從身後一把緊緊抱住！

「哇啊啊啊——！又來！？」志文再次發出驚天地泣鬼神的尖叫，他感覺自己的心臟快要從胸腔裡跳出來了。他僵硬地扭過頭，映入眼簾的，是一副閃爍著金屬光澤的冰冷女性機器人軀體，而且還沒有頭顱！這副身體的線條比剛才的備用假體更為流暢，也更接近孟禎原本的體態，只是同樣沒有仿生皮膚的包覆。

「哈哈哈哈！我的忠實夥伴『無頭騎士』也來助陣啦！」孟禎的「比留子」形態六腿叉開，耀武揚威地圍著被無頭身體禁錮住的志文打轉，笑得快翻過去，「陳志文，驚不驚喜？意不意外？看來今天你的末日審判時刻到啦！」

玩笑開過火之後，看著志文那副快要哭出來的表情，孟禎才收起了「魔王」的姿態，好氣又好笑地解釋：「好啦好啦，不逗你了。這個，」她指了指那副無頭的身體，「才是我真正的『身體』，只是仿生包覆層也被我拿下來了而已。」

Zhiwen stumbled backward repeatedly, his face pale, almost losing his balance and falling flat. Just then, he suddenly felt a cold, hard "thing" grab him tightly from behind!

"Whoa, ahh ahh ahh—! Again?!" Zhiwen let out another earth-shattering scream. He felt his heart about to leap out of his chest. He rigidly twisted his head, and what met his eyes was a cold, gleaming female robot torso, completely headless! This body's lines were even smoother than the spare prosthetic from earlier, and it more closely resembled Mengzhen's original physique, only it, too, lacked the bionic skin covering.

"Hahahaha! My loyal partner, the 'Headless Knight,' has come to assist!" Mengzhen, in her "Hiruko" form, splayed her six legs, swaggering as she circled Zhiwen, who was trapped by the headless body, laughing so hard she almost fell over. "Chen Zhiwen, surprised? Or shocked? Looks like your doomsday judgment has arrived today!"

After taking the joke too far and seeing Zhiwen's almost-crying expression, Mengzhen finally dropped her "demon lord" persona. Half-annoyed, half-amused, she explained, "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. This," she pointed to the headless body, "is my real 'body,' I just took off the bionic covering."

志文驚魂未定地喘著粗氣，指著那副無頭身體和旁邊那顆巧笑倩兮的頭顱，結結巴巴地問：「妳…妳妳妳…為什麼…要把『真身』的仿生皮膚也拿掉啊？」

孟禎聞言，不悅地鼓起了雙頰，氣呼呼地說：「沒為什麼！哼！既然某人那麼不識好歹，不想看我穿著漂亮泳裝的曼妙模樣，那我偏偏就不給你看！你不是喜歡拿我的機械身體開我玩笑嗎？不是覺得那樣才夠『本真』、夠『天然』、超酷的嗎？那我就讓你一次『機械』個夠，『本真』個夠，請好好享受！」

孟禎微微昂起下巴，語氣帶著一絲小小的報復快感：「看看吧，陳大少爺！你日思夜想、心心念念的可愛女朋友，現在變成了人頭蛛身的機械比留子，還附贈一具無頭金屬機械女僕！感覺如何？是不是比那些泳裝美女刺激多了？誰不知道你心裡啊，總是有那麼一塊不安分的戲謔角落，老是喜歡用看『非人』的眼光打量我，喜歡不把我當『人』看！既然如此，那我今天就偏不當『人』給你看！過不過癮？」

志文看著眼前這超現實的景象——一顆美麗的頭顱安裝在蛛型載具上，在陽光漸斜的沙灘對他說教，旁邊還有一具無頭金屬身體，彷彿隨時聽候調遣——他從驚嚇中緩過神來，忍不住「噗哧」一聲，越笑越大聲，笑得幾乎喘不過氣。

「哎呀我最尊貴的孟禎小姐！我錯了我錯了！我投降！我徹底投降！」志文一面笑得飆淚，一面舉起雙手作投降狀，連連求饒，「我再也不敢胡說八道了！我發誓！妳才是最美的人類美少女！妳的泳裝look絕對是沙灘上最亮眼的風景！求求妳，快變回來吧！我怕我再看下去，晚上真的要做噩夢了！」

"You... you you you... why... why did you take off your 'true body's' bionic skin too?" Zhiwen stammered, still panting from fright, pointing at the headless body and the smiling head beside it.

Hearing this, Mengzhen puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, huffing, "No reason! Hmph! Since someone is so unappreciative and doesn't want to see me in my beautiful swimsuit, then I simply won't let you! You like making fun of my mechanical body, don't you? You think that's 'authentic' enough, 'natural' enough, super cool? Then I'll let you have your fill of 'mechanical,' your fill of 'authenticity' today. Please, enjoy!"

Mengzhen tilted her chin slightly, her tone carrying a hint of small satisfaction from revenge. "Look, Master Chen! Your beloved girlfriend, who you yearn for day and night, has now become a mechanical Hiruko with a human head and spider body, and comes with a bonus headless metal mechanical maid! How does it feel? Isn't it much more exciting than those bikini beauties? Who doesn't know that deep down, you always have that restless, teasing corner, always liking to eye me with a 'non-human' gaze, liking to not treat me as a 'person'! Well, since that's the case, I'll deliberately not be a 'person' for you today! Are you satisfied now?"

Zhiwen looked at the surreal scene before him—a beautiful head mounted on a spider-like vehicle, lecturing him on the gradually darkening beach, with a headless metal body beside it, seemingly ready to obey at any moment. He recovered from his shock, couldn't help but let out a snicker, which grew into roaring laughter, making him almost gasp for air.

"Oh, my most honorable Miss Mengzhen! I was wrong, I was wrong! I surrender! I completely surrender!" Zhiwen cried out for mercy, tears streaming down his face from laughter, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll never talk nonsense again! I swear! You are the most beautiful human girl! Your swimsuit look is absolutely the most dazzling sight on the beach! Please, please, change back! I'm afraid if I keep looking, I'll really have nightmares tonight!"

他轉身想溜，卻被那具無頭身體再次一把抓住，而且力道比剛才更大了幾分。

「想跑？沒那麼容易！」孟禎的聲音帶著一絲狡黠的笑意，「你是不是忘了，我可是高性能機器人哦？單論力量，我能比你大——多——了！」她刻意拉長了語調。那具無頭身體猛地將志文抱得更緊，堅硬的金屬軀體和手臂緊緊地箍著他，讓他感覺自己像是被一台工業機械臂給纏住了。

「好好感受一下吧！這堆冰冷堅硬的『破銅爛鐵』，就是你深愛的完美女友哦！」孟禎的聲音從地面傳來，帶著戲謔的強調，「誰叫你老是愛起那些壞心眼，老是喜歡挑戰我的底線！」

隨著她的話語，「比留子」也再次行動，六條金屬長腿如同蜘蛛般，靈活地爬上了被無頭身體禁錮住的志文的身上，冰涼的足尖在他身上敏感的部位不輕不重地踩踏、搔刮。

「比留子女王駕到！陳志文，做好接受寵幸…啊不，是懲罰的覺悟了嗎？」

「哇哈哈哈哈！癢！好癢！孟禎！別…別這樣！我…我真的知道錯了！救命啊！哈哈哈哈！」志文被那冰涼的金屬蜘蛛腳踩得渾身扭動，癢得眼淚都笑了出來，原本的恐懼早已被這種奇異的「酷刑」取代。

為了掙脫這哭笑不得的困境，志文情急之下，胡亂揮舞的手突然摸到了那具緊抱著他的無頭身體的頸部斷面——那裡佈滿了各種精密的數據接口和線路束。他心念一轉，隨便抓起一束線路，輕輕晃了兩下。

「噫——！你…！你這傢伙！住手！別亂碰我的接口！很癢…不對，是很危險啦！要是把我弄壞了，看你怎麼辦！維修費很貴的耶！」原本還在得意指揮「酷刑」的孟禎（頭顱），突然發出一聲短促的驚呼，聲音都變了調。她能清晰地感受到，與自己身體的遠程通聯瞬間產生了一陣詭異的信號波動，就像有人拿羽毛在撓她的中樞神經一樣，又癢又麻還帶著點系統錯亂的恐慌。

志文見狀，知道自己找到了「突破口」，連忙再次告饒：「孟禎！孟禎大人！我發誓！我再也不敢開妳玩笑了！我這次是真心誠意地想看美美的孟禎，光彩照人的泳裝孟禎！求妳高抬貴手，恢復成妳那傾國傾城的美少女姿態吧！其實妳在我心中最真實的姿態，一直是無敵美少女！」

He tried to turn and slip away, but the headless body grabbed him again, this time with even greater force.

"Trying to run? Not that easy!" Mengzhen's voice carried a sly laugh. "Did you forget I'm a high-performance robot? In terms of sheer strength, I can be way—more—powerful than you!" She deliberately drew out the last word. The headless body suddenly hugged Zhiwen even tighter, its hard metal torso and arms clamping him, making him feel as if he were caught by an industrial robotic arm.

"Go on, feel it!" Mengzhen's voice came from the ground, emphasizing playfully, "This pile of cold, hard 'scrap metal' is your perfect girlfriend, whom you deeply love! Who told you to always harbor those ill intentions, always wanting to challenge my limits!"

As she spoke, "Hiruko" also moved again. Its six metal long legs, like a spider's, nimbly crawled onto Zhiwen, who was still trapped by the headless body. The cool metal tips lightly stepped and tickled his sensitive areas.

"Queen Hiruko has arrived! Chen Zhiwen, are you ready to receive my favor... oh no, my punishment?"

"Wahahahahaha! Itches! So itchy! Mengzhen! Stop... stop it! I... I really know I was wrong! Help! Hahahaha!" Zhiwen writhed as the cold metal spider legs tickled him, laughing so hard that tears streamed from his eyes. His initial fear had long been replaced by this bizarre "torture."

In a desperate attempt to escape this exasperating predicament, Zhiwen flailed his hands frantically until he suddenly touched the neck interface of the headless body that was hugging him—an area filled with various precise data ports and cable bundles. His mind quickly turned. He randomly grabbed a bundle of wires and lightly shook it twice.

"Eeek—! You...! You brute! Stop! Don't mess with my interfaces! It's itchy... no, it's dangerous! What if you break me? How will you fix me? Repairs are very expensive!" Mengzhen (the head), who had been proudly directing the "torture," suddenly let out a short yelp, her voice changing pitch. She could clearly feel a strange signal fluctuation instantly occur in her remote connection to her body, like someone tickling her central nervous system with a feather—itchy, numb, and with a panicked sense of system disarray.

Seeing this, Zhiwen knew he had found a "breakthrough" and immediately begged for mercy again. "Mengzhen! Lady Mengzhen! I swear! I'll never joke about you again! This time, I genuinely want to see the beautiful Mengzhen, the radiant swimsuit Mengzhen! Please, have mercy and return to your peerlessly beautiful girl form! Actually, your truest form in my heart has always been the invincible beautiful girl!"

孟禎斜了他一眼，「比留子」和無頭身體也暫停了動作。她輕哼了一聲：「是喔？現在才想看喔？終於知道把我當『人』看，當成你美美的女朋友了喔？不過嘛…」她故意拖長了語調，「本小姐現在心情還是不太美麗，暫時還不想給你看，哼！」

她頓了頓，眼中閃過一絲狡黠：「不過呢，也不是完全沒辦法啦。那套我『脫下來』的仿生包覆層，還原封不動地躺在車上呢。那可是真正百分百屬於『你女朋友』的『一部分』哦，觸感一流，曲線完美。你要是真那麼想看，就去看那個過過乾癮好了。雖然…嗯，單獨看一套沒有骨架支撐的『皮囊』，可能會有點詭異就是了。」

志文的腦海中，瞬間浮現出一個極其超現實的畫面：一套柔軟而承載著孟禎曼妙身姿的仿生皮膚，如同被抽去骨頭般癱軟地鋪在沙灘巾上，旁邊是一具冰冷無頭的金屬身軀，和一顆頂著美少女頭顱的六腳金屬蜘蛛…而這三樣「零件」，竟然可以共同組成他心愛的女朋友黃孟禎。

這個念頭是如此的荒誕、詭異，甚至帶著點難以言喻的恐怖，卻又奇妙地…讓他感到一陣莫名的興奮與想笑。他忍不住「噗」的一聲，然後看著孟禎那顆精緻的頭顱，意味深長地笑了起來，笑聲中充滿了一種難以言喻的複雜情緒。

孟禎看著志文奇葩的笑容，先是愣了一下，隨即忍不住翻了個白眼，用一種混合著無奈、好笑又帶著一絲寵溺的語氣說道：「你喔，陳志文，我看你根本就是個徹頭徹尾的變態。算了算了，誰讓我偏偏就遇上了你呢？如果不是這樣有點…嗯，『不正常』的你，又怎麼能真心喜歡上這樣莫名其妙的我，並能跟我長長久久的呢？隨便你了啦。」

最終，在志文再三的「誠懇」道歉與「深情」哀求下，孟禎還是心軟了。她指揮著無頭身體和「比留子」形態的假體回到廂型車，一番忙碌後，終於恢復了她那百分之百美少女的模樣。

夕陽西下，金色的餘暉灑滿了整片沙灘，並將海面染成一片瀲灩的橘紅。孟禎穿著那件亮黃色的比基尼，牽著志文的手，在柔軟的沙灘上並肩散步。海風輕拂，吹起她的髮絲，也吹走了先前那場小小「胡鬧」帶來的最後一絲尷尬。

Mengzhen shot him a sideways glance. "Hiruko" and the headless body also paused their movements. She let out a soft "hmph." "Oh really? Now you want to see? You finally know to treat me like a 'person,' like your beautiful girlfriend, huh? But then again..." she deliberately drew out her words, "I'm still not in the best mood right now, so I don't feel like letting you see me just yet, hmph!"

She paused, a cunning glint in her eyes. "However, it's not entirely impossible. That bionic covering I 'took off' is still untouched in the car. That's truly one hundred percent 'a part' of your girlfriend, you know, with a first-rate feel and perfect curves. If you really want to see it that badly, you can go look at that to get your fill. Though... well, looking at a 'skin' without a skeleton to support it might be a bit bizarre."

In Zhiwen's mind, an utterly surreal image instantly appeared: a soft bionic skin, carrying Mengzhen's graceful figure, lay limp on a beach towel as if all bones had been removed. Beside it was a cold, headless metal body, and a six-legged metal spider topped with a beautiful girl's head... And these three "parts" could somehow collectively form his beloved girlfriend, Huang Mengzhen.

The thought was so absurd, so bizarre, even carrying an indescribable hint of horror, yet it strangely... filled him with an inexplicable excitement and urge to laugh. He couldn't help but let out a soft "puff" , then looked at Mengzhen's delicate head, smiling meaningfully, his laughter filled with an indescribable complexity of emotions.

Mengzhen looked at Zhiwen's odd smile, first paused in surprise), then couldn't help but roll her eyes. She spoke in a tone mixed with helplessness, amusement, and a touch of indulgence. "Oh, you, Chen Zhiwen, I think you're nothing but a complete pervert. Forget it, forget it. Why else would I have met you, of all people? If it weren't for someone like you, who's a bit... well, 'abnormal,' how could you truly fall for someone as inexplicable as me and stay with me for a long time? Whatever you want."

Ultimately, after Zhiwen's repeated "sincere" apologies and "heartfelt" pleas, Mengzhen's heart softened. She directed the headless body and the "Hiruko" prosthetic to return to the minivan. After a flurry of activity, she finally restored herself to her one-hundred-percent beautiful girl form.

As the sun set, its golden afterglow bathed the entire beach, tinting the sea a shimmering orange-red. Mengzhen, wearing her bright yellow bikini, held Zhiwen's hand as they walked side-by-side on the soft sand. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, blowing away the last trace of awkwardness from their earlier little "fiasco."

「志文，」孟禎突然開口，聲音輕柔，「你說…我們兩個，是不是都有點怪怪的？」

志文低頭看著她，夕陽下她的臉龐美得令人心醉。他笑了笑，握緊了她的手：「或許吧。但正因為這些『怪怪的』，我們才能走到一起，不是嗎？」

孟禎也笑了，笑容比夕陽還要燦爛。她想，或許志文說得對。雖然他們一個是心思偶爾有些「歪」的普通人類，一個是以機器人的奇特姿態活在人類世界的存在，各有各的「怪異」。但能夠坦然面對彼此的「怪異」，甚至連同那些「怪異」也一併喜歡和接納，這大概就是他們之間，能夠長久相處下去的奧秘吧。

《宇尋實驗室主伺服器：HRC-07型女性仿生機器人（代號：黃孟禎），「浪漫指數」已高於最大分級，同時監測到嫌惡與喜愛情感共生成。無法將前述二種性質相反之情感生成過程區分，但亦未監測到黃孟禎系統有任何異常運作警報。經判斷外部關連目標陳志文可能是導致黃孟禎情感核心進入特殊運作模式成因，建議對該目標進行腦部活動深度掃描…撤回前述建議。數據存檔，任務結束。》

"Zhiwen," Mengzhen suddenly said, her voice soft, "Do you think... we're both a little strange?"

Zhiwen looked down at her, her face breathtakingly beautiful in the sunset. He smiled, tightening his grip on her hand. "Perhaps. But it's precisely because of these 'strangenesses' that we were able to come together, wasn't it?"

Mengzhen also smiled, her grin even more radiant than the sunset. She thought, perhaps Zhiwen was right. Although one of them was an ordinary human with an occasionally 'crooked' mind, and the other existed in the human world in the peculiar form of a robot, each had their own 'peculiarities.' But being able to candidly face each other's 'peculiarities,' and even love and accept those 'peculiarities' as well—that was probably the secret to their ability to stay together for a long time.

《YuXun Lab Main Server: HRC-07 Female Bionic Robot (Codename: Huang Mengzhen), "Romance Index" now above maximum classification, simultaneously detecting co-generation of aversion and affection. Unable to differentiate the generation process of these two opposing emotions, but no abnormal operation alerts detected in Huang Mengzhen's system. Judged that external correlation target Chen Zhiwen may be the cause of Huang Mengzhen's emotional core entering a special operating mode. Suggest deep brain activity scan of said target... Previous suggestion withdrawn. Data archived, mission complete.》