There was a long silence in the ward.
Tang Ran blinked slowly, as if it took a long time to wake up to consciousness: "Broken...?"
"Yes," Tan Yunchang explained bluntly, "it's a new student in the lab this year, who is ignorant, thinking that the robot is the research material in the lab. When they were doing research privately, they accidentally destroyed it. "
"..." Tang Ran's face slowly turned pale.
Tan Yunchang hurriedly remedied: "Although I can't turn it on for the time being, it has been returned to the factory for repair! The laboratory also placed a new expedited order for its manufacturer. Sister Tang Ran, I promise, soon, very soon. I can send back a new one, don't worry!"
"Then," Tang Ran clenched his fingers tightly, "does it still have memory?" "Memory?" Tan Yunchang choked and looked at Luo Zhan subconsciously, but before his eyes fell, he had already recovered his senses. Reluctantly took it back.
He smiled embarrassingly at Tang Ran: "The humanoid bionic robot is just as close to human behavior as possible through various closed-loop controls in terms of appearance, senses, and responses. It is not a real human being. Where can there be such a thing as memory? At most, it is Some, ahem, recorded and stored data."
Tang Ran bit her lip and said nothing.
She lowered her eyes and lowered her head a little.
The silence in the room made Tan Yunchang more and more uneasy. When Tang Ran lowered his head and didn't pay attention to his work, Tan Yunchang hurriedly winked at Luo Zhan for help.
It's a pity that the person's full attention was on Tang Ran beside him. He didn't give out any extra, and naturally he couldn't receive his signal.
Seeing Tang Ran's head lower and lower, almost buried in front of him. Suddenly, a girl's soft voice came from the window.
"Luo Luo." The girl's voice trembled slightly, as if she was about to cry in the next second, "Is it really broken?"
"—!"
Tan Yunchang's heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head suddenly to look at Luo Zhan.
Luo Zhan frowned tightly, and clenched his hand hanging by his side into a fist. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth to speak.
Tan Yunchang was very sure that Luo Zhan could never insist on a lie for more than three seconds in front of Tang Ran who looked like this at the moment.
At this moment of lightning, Tan Yunchang opened his mouth and said, "He doesn't know either!"
Tang Ran looked up in astonishment, and there was already sparkling water in his eyes.
Tan Yunchang was heartbroken and decided to do the villain to the end: "Luo Zhan can't solve anything abroad, and we have never dared to tell him about it for fear of affecting their game."
"—"
Tang Ran was sitting there stiffly.
Tan Yunchang's conscience became more and more uneasy, especially even if the little girl turned her head down, the sight of those tearful eyes lingered in front of him.
Tan Yunchang was afraid that Tang Ran would cry in the next second.
In that case, he promised that the dog man who was sitting next to him and had already started to swish his air-conditioning would never let him go.
Fortunately, Tang Ran did not cry.
She just froze there for a long time, then got up slowly, no one looked at anyone, she walked silently to the bedside.
But it was the first time that Tan Yunchang saw a little girl like this. He panicked and chased after a step: "Sister Tang Ran, I'm sorry, we—"
"I'm tired."
The girl's voice gently interrupted Tan Yunchang's words.
She stopped by the hospital bed and didn't look back.
"I'm going to rest."
It was the first time that Tan Yunchang saw Tang Ran's calm and indifferent tone, and he was almost a little frightened: "Then, let's come again in the afternoon..."
"I also rest in the afternoon." The girl said softly, her tone calm, "Let's meet again after my first birthday has passed."
Tan Yunchang was dumbfounded.
Tang Ran didn't say another word.
She lifted the white quilt on the hospital bed and slowly climbed onto the bed. Then the girl lay down in the bed with her back to them and covered herself with the quilt.
She wrapped herself tightly, her whole body huddled under the quilt, as if she was cold all over.
A small, pitiful little one.
Not to mention Luo Zhan, Tan Yunchang felt like a knife twisted in his heart - his sister Tang Ran, who was so obedient as a little girl, was obviously angry and angry this time.
But the little girl is a stuffy volcano.
She was blown to pieces in her heart, and the hot magma gushed out, filling her heart with holes one by one, but she still tried her best to hold it back without bursting out.
Tan Yunchang was thinking about how to remedy it, when he heard footsteps beside him - Luo Zhan stood up from the wall, frowned tightly and was about to walk to Tang Ran's hospital bed.
Tan Yunchang saw the expression on Luo Zhan's side face clearly, and his heart skipped a beat.
He didn't even think about it, he grabbed Luo Zhan and dragged him out of the ward: "Then we won't disturb you, sister Tang Ran, you have a good rest!"
"boom."
The door to the ward was closed.
"..." On the top edge of the snow-white quilt on the bed, a few thin white fingers that were half exposed slowly clenched the quilt tightly.
outside the ward.
Tan Yunchang's hand was thrown away by Luo Zhan. Luo Zhan couldn't hold back his anger: "Why did you pull me out?"
"Hey Ancestor, if I don't pull you out, do I want me to watch you do stupid things?"
"I'm just going to tell her the truth."
"Isn't what I said true? The robot was originally torn down by those stinky boys in the laboratory!"
"But that was a year ago!"
"I-I didn't tell Sister Tang Ran the exact time, did I?" Tan Yunchang lowered his voice in a guilty conscience, and persuaded bitterly, "I ask you to wake up, ancestor, do you really intend to tell her the whole truth?"
Luo Zhan clenched his fists, clenched his teeth tightly, and moved his cheekbones slightly: "Otherwise, make me sad to see her?"
"Even if you tell her, she may not be happy! That's cheating, completely cheating from beginning to end! It's okay for a girl to be mad at others, but if she's mad at her boyfriend, it's the worst thing to do—you Aren't you afraid that she will ignore you?"
Luo Zhan said coldly, "That's better than making her sad by herself."
"..." Tan Yunchang choked for a long time and gritted his teeth, "We were all blind and misunderstood before - you are really an infatuation."
Luo Zhan ignored Tan Yunchang's words and turned around to go back to the ward.
Tan Yunchang's head was too big, so he rushed up and grabbed the person: "Did you forget the gambling appointment between you and your brother!"
"!"
Luo Zhan's footsteps froze in place.
Tan Yunchang gritted his teeth angrily: "How did you promise everyone in the int? You said that you would lead us to create our own history! - What, the young master is now ready to go back on his words?"
"… "
"Have you forgotten how tired everyone has been eating together for so many years? Just the year before last, in order to find a bug in the hundreds of thousands of lines of code, everyone only slept two or three hours a day for more than a week. , and finally found it out, a group of people laughed like a group of idiots - Qianhua, who is the most alcoholic in the laboratory, doesn't drink even a sip of drinks at ordinary dinner parties, opened a can of beer on the spot, and felt bored when he tilted his neck. Then he fell directly to the ground. Everyone was scared and rushed over to pinch him, only to find that the snoring sounded louder than anyone else - these, those, you have forgotten all? Int has come this far in recent years, Finally finally let the old antique who didn't even look at us in the past began to see our potential. At this juncture, as the captain of the int, you are going to throw us, the whole int, pat your butt and leave?"
"I didn't!" Luo Zhan said fiercely.
Tan Yunchang was so excited that his saliva splashed out:
"Then what are you doing now? Don't you just regret it, you don't want to suffer these crimes, you want to be your young master of the Luo family, and just took this opportunity to tell Tang Ran the truth, lose your bet, and then relax Go back comfortably to inherit your Luo family's billions of properties?!"
"I, later, regret?"
Luo Zhan raised his hand and grabbed Tan Yunchang's collar, the corners of his eyes were already faintly red.
"Since I joined the int team against my grandfather's wishes, all the wishes of the Luo family have been wrapped around me like vines over the years, pulling me back. Stop it - if I have ever been shaken for even a second, if I have ever wanted to give up everything about int, I just need to stop! And I have stopped even once over the years, and I can't hold on to today!"
"… "
The hallway was dead silent.
There were only two men with cold eyes confronting each other and their chests heaving with anger.
When none of them wanted to show weakness and their eyes were sore, the two little nurses whispered and slipped past them from the corner of the wall——
"Are these two people acting in a sitcom in the hospital?"
"Really? Like a lunatic."
"That one looks so good-looking, but his brain is broken at a young age. It's really pitiful."
"Oh, what a pity."
Luo Zhan: "… "
Tan Yunchang: "..."
The two awkwardly let go of their hands at the same time, each took a step back, and turned their heads.
Luo Zhan retreated to the window in the corridor, recalling his childish behavior.
After a few seconds, he lowered his head and leaned against the wall, holding his forehead and laughing angrily.
Tan Yunchang also laughed almost at the same time.
Tan Yunchang: "Ancestor, don't bring such a criminal. You are the face of K University. It's too shameful to spread it out."
Luo Zhan glanced at him coolly, with a smile that was not a smile: "Didn't you start first?"
"...It seems so." Tan Yunchang sighed, "What a shame."
"Okay, go back and reflect."
Luo Zhan straightened up from the wall against which he was leaning, put his hands in his trouser pockets lazily, turned around and walked towards the stairs with drooping eyes.
Tan Yunchang smiled and followed.
When approaching the parking lot, Tan Yunchang suddenly thought of something and asked, "Sister Tang won't let us celebrate her first birthday, what should I do?"
Luo Zhan paused: "I'll think about it again."
"Yeah. But," Tan Yunchang turned back suspiciously, "Why does Sister Tang have to be after her birthday?"
Luo Zhan frowned and remained silent.
It wasn't until the two got into the car that Luo Zhan started the car, but failed to ignite a few times. He suddenly clenched his fist and slammed the steering wheel hard.
Tan Yunchang was stunned for a moment, then looked up.
The young man sitting in the driver's seat had reddened eyes, and his thin lips moved: "Because the robot was her last birthday present."
Tan Yunchang didn't react.
"… "
Luo Zhanhong raised his eyes and raised his head, the convalescent building not far away stood in the bright noon sun.
His fingers on the steering wheel slowly tightened, and his voice became hoarse.
"If she lived her life with the robot as a family or friend, as a living companion, then it was 'born' on her old birthday."
Tan Yunchang's eyes were shocked when he thought of something.
Luo Zhan lowered his head: "And we 'killed' it. Her old birthday is now its death anniversary."
Tan Yunchang froze.
After a few seconds, he sighed slowly: "It's up to you to solve it, I'll cooperate... You just need to figure out the consequences."
Luo Zhan clenched the steering wheel tightly and closed his eyes: "Well."
Wednesday was Tang Ran's original birthday.
Tang Ran, who has been unhappy since last Saturday, finally reached the lowest point in his mood on Wednesday.
Wake up in the morning, have breakfast, be in a daze, eat lunch, continue in a daze, eat dinner…
Until it got dark outside the window, the little girl still didn't say a word except for the tone of voice. Even if Lan Jingqian went out in person, it was useless.
When it was close to eight o'clock in the evening, the window was full of ink.
Tang Ran issued an "expulsion order" to Lan Jingqian in the ward, and it was the only complete sentence he had uttered from today to this moment:
"Dad, I want to rest."
Even if Lan Jingqian was reluctant, he could only sigh. After all the details were instructed, he frowned and left the ward.
The small bell placed on the square table in the side house of the Tang family was brought to the sanatorium by Tang Ran.
At eight o'clock, its pendulum struck eight solitary bells in the quiet, empty room.
Thinking of the nights of the past year, when he was accompanied by a vivid purpose and in the dark, Tang Ran on the hospital bed finally couldn't help bending to go, and buried his wet face in front of his knees.
"Luo Luo," she couldn't help choking, "I'm sorry, I..."
The door was suddenly pulled.
The light of a long corridor shone into the dark ward.
Tang Ran was so frightened that she stopped choking, and turned her head to look at the door in astonishment—
Under the light of the promenade, a slender hand with white phalanx was supported on the door. The owner of the hand seemed to be in a hurry. He leaned over beside the door, and Tang Ran could hear the subtle and rapid breathing in the air.
There was something in that breath, an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Thinking of the source of this familiarity, Tang Ran's consciousness went blank.
Until the figure slowly straightened up and stepped into her line of sight. The long-lost, familiar, mechanical voice was hoarse—
"Happy birthday."
Luo Zhan stood on the dividing line of half-light and half-darkness, and he looked at the girl on the hospital bed hidden in the darkness and unable to see clearly.
Then, Young Master Luo, who finally calmed down his breath, lowered his eyes and showed a slightly embarrassed and relieved smile.
"and also."
"Good evening... my master."