The next day, Estelle woke up to an empty bed; Crescent had already gotten up and left.
Through the window, she could hear faint voices in the courtyard. She got dressed and got out of bed. It was a warm spring morning, Sera and Calvin were preparing ingredients at a low table, Oscar was squatting on the ground feeding ducks, and Crescent was tending to the fire nearby.
The ducklings that had been fast asleep last night were now scattered around the courtyard, their pale yellow feathers fluffing as they fluttered their tiny wings chasing bugs everywhere.
Seeing her awake, Oscar nodded at her. Estelle returned the gesture and then walked over to Crescent's side. "You can also tend to the fire?"
Crescent pointed at Oscar. "He taught me."
"He learns quickly," Oscar said.
Since he claimed to be a chef, some things followed naturally; the cooking for the next meals would all be handled by Crescent.
Crescent didn't refuse – after all, robots don't get tired – he prepared a sumptuous and beautiful meal, Sera held her bowl in amazement, took a bite, and then started eating enthusiastically. "Wow, it's really delicious!"
The food smelled wonderful. The wind blew through the courtyard as the ducklings ran around in the green grass.
In the forefront of the heavy industry era driven by advanced technology, such tranquil scenes seemed rare. Estelle had always been busy with work and hadn't eaten Crescent's cooking for a long time. She chewed her food, feeling a sense of familiarity, and had the fleeting thought that it would be nice if time could stop here. But she knew that time wouldn't stand still.
Time wouldn't stop, just as aging couldn't be reversed and death couldn't be revived.
This was the cruel fact that even the most advanced technology couldn't change.
They bid farewell at dusk. Before leaving, Oscar gave Crescent two duck eggs.
"These are the last of this year's duck eggs. Keep them at an incubation temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius, and in four or five days, the ducklings will hatch."
The car drove slowly through the wheat fields turning yellow. Estelle laughed and said, "They won't break," and Crescent smiled too, looking at the paper box in her arms where the two duck eggs lay quietly in a warm nest of straw.
"Do you like ducks?" Estelle asked.
Crescent nodded. "They're interesting."
"Have you seen any other animals?"
"No."
"Then when you see cats, dogs, rabbits... you'll find them interesting too."
Crescent thought for a while. "Maybe," he said. "But the first time you see something, it's never quite the same."
The sunset spread across the road, and Estelle looked up at Crescent.
He was focused on driving, his hair outlined by the evening glow, still wearing the gray hooded sweater she had bought him.
"Summer is coming, this sweater is a bit thick." Estelle said, "Let's navigate to the nearest mall, I'll buy you some other clothes to wear."
During the holiday evening, Stella Technology was publicly recruiting volunteers to test their new robot models, and the mall was bustling with people and excitement.
Estelle entered the mall and saw Stella Technology's tall and attractive light exhibition hall, where it was officially announced that the PWL male service robot had been successfully developed, and was in the pre-listing stage. They planned to select 99 female users from across the country for internal testing.
During the half month that Estelle had spent preparing the pet ducks at Siren Technology, she had indeed heard rumors in the industry that Stella Technology's PWL had been completed.
At the time, she didn't believe it, dismissing it as fake news. "This is impossible. THG took seven years to develop before it was released. The PWL project started last autumn, and it hasn't even been seven months yet. Even if PWL directly copied THG's brain and heart system program, there are still many other bionic programs that require extensive iterative testing. There's absolutely no way it could be released for sale so soon."
But now, faced with the facts, she could only accept it, however unbelievable it seemed.
The exhibition hall was filled with soft blue light, resembling a giant charging pod. PWL male robots were on display, wearing custom-fitted bodysuits as they moved through the crowd, smiling and conversing, allowing people to touch them. Their muscles and organs were clearly outlined beneath the stretchy fabric.
These were very realistic male robots, not much different from Crescent, nor from ordinary humans.
Yet they possessed handsome faces and impressive organs, conditions rarely achieved by ordinary human males. As a result, a long queue formed in front of the registration area, many female customers filling out personal information forms to sign up for the PWL's internal testing experience. Amidst the chaos of the exhibition hall, Estelle suddenly spotted someone familiar. She immediately turned around, but unfortunately, that person also happened to look up and see her. It was too late for her to leave.
"Oh, Manager Grey!"
Estelle stood helplessly, putting on a smile. "It's been a while, Manager Mullen."
