Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Nevi, you... you're going to send them away?" Barlow, standing nearby, reluctantly clung to the two smart butlers, his eyes full of longing, gazing at Nevi with a hesitant, pleading look as Nevi typed out a reply.

Clearly, Barlow hoped and wanted the smart butlers to stay, but he knew Nevi's nature—he was probably turning down that golden-thighed friend of his right now.

"No, they're not going anywhere." Nevi's face no longer held the panic and inner turmoil from moments ago, replaced entirely by excitement and fierce determination.

"Oh, sending them away... wait, what?!" Barlow, distracted by the smart butlers, hadn't been paying close attention to Nevi's words until it slowly dawned on him. He whipped his head around to stare at Nevi, his voice dripping with disbelief. "For real, Nevi?! You're actually keeping them?!"

The more Barlow talked, the more hyped he got, his eyes sparkling like they were lit up from the inside.

"Really, Barlow. You know these smart butlers haven't hit the market yet, right? Kaisisen said his friend needs user experience feedback, so he sent them over hoping I could help out. So of course I said yes!" Nevi explained patiently.

"Ahhh, this is amazing! We've got smart butlers now! This is freaking awesome!" The ecstatic Barlow completely forgot to ask why Nevi was keeping them in the first place. He just latched onto Nevi's confirmation before scooping up the innocent, confused Bai Bai beside him, turning into a total kiss monster. He planted kiss after kiss on Bai Bai's plump, squishy cheeks, nuzzling him while making a bunch of weird noises.

"Hehe, Bai Bai, are you happy, huh?! We've got smart butlers now, la la la, haha, smart butlers!"

"Ahya! Ah!" Bai Bai was so overwhelmed by this weird uncle that he couldn't even hold onto the plush toy in his arms—it plopped right onto the floor. Bai Bai's little voice protested loudly as he leaned his head back, using both chubby paws to push and shove against the weird uncle's smooches, but it was no use.

After a little patch of Bai Bai's round, fair cheek had been sucked red, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into tears with a loud "Wah!"

Barlow, who had taken the teasing too far, silently cursed himself. The soft, chubby little bundle in his arms instantly felt like a scorching hot potato. Barlow kept groveling to soothe the kid while guiltily sneaking glances at Nevi. When his gaze met Nevi's dark, unreadable eyes, he shrank back and quickly averted his gaze, continuing to frantically soothe the chubby little one in his arms. "Bai Bai, be good, don't cry, don't cry, okay? Uncle was wrong, Uncle's sorry. Uncle shouldn't have kissed our adorable Bai Bai till he cried. Here, Uncle's giving you your toy back. My little sweetheart, please, please stop crying..."

Barlow soothed as he picked up the toy from the floor, dusted it off, and stuffed it into Bai Bai's arms.

Unfortunately, the little tyrant in his arms refused to be comforted this time around. At a loss, Barlow could only sheepishly hand the red-faced, teary-eyed chubby bundle back to Nevi.

The second chubby Bai Bai landed in Nevi's arms, he stopped crying instantly. He grabbed the front of his daddy's clothes with both hands, ditched the toy entirely, and buried his whole face into his daddy's chest, leaving only his plump little butt sticking out. Occasional muffled sniffles could be heard—he was clearly super upset.

Nevi helplessly supported Bai Bai's butt with one hand while gently patting his back with the other, soothing him for quite a while before he finally calmed down. But Bai Bai kept his face half-buried in Nevi's chest. No matter how Barlow poked Bai Bai's butt, Bai Bai refused to look at him again. When poked too much, he would angrily swing his chubby paws around, smacking Barlow's arm.

It definitely didn't hurt, but after getting swatted several times, Barlow finally pulled back his twitchy hand under Nevi's disapproving gaze.

The little ones were just too cute—this stage was so much fun. Even though he didn't have children of his own, seeing these two chubby babies constantly wobbling around in front of him, he simply couldn't resist.

Barlow rubbed his nose and scooped up Mei Mei, who was still munching happily on berries. He wiped his face clean with a handkerchief, and looking at that soft, white, steamed-bun-like face, Barlow couldn't help himself again. He planted a big kiss on Mei Mei's cheek and muttered quietly with satisfaction, "A big crybaby raised a little crybaby... Ouch!"

"Ahya! Ah!"

Mei Mei wasn't like Bai Bai. Caught off guard, his face nearly got squished sideways. He froze for a moment, then scratched his own cheeks with his chubby paws and let out a loud, spirited cry. Huffily, he swiped both paws at Barlow's face.

Barlow was holding Mei Mei up close and couldn't dodge in time. He got scratched several times in a row. Mei Mei's sticky berry juice smeared all over Barlow's face, leaving streaks here and there.

Barlow clumsily held Mei Mei while begging for mercy, "Oh my little sweetheart, Uncle's wrong, Uncle's wrong! Please stop scratching!"

Nevi, watching from not far away, burst out laughing at the sight. Bai Bai in his arms seemed to hear the commotion too. He first peeked sideways, then, seeing the flustered state of the bad uncle, turned his whole head around. After watching for a moment, he actually laughed—a clear, crisp, childish giggle.

This prompted Barlow to complain endlessly, "Hey, you two! You're not helping me at all—how terrible!"

Nevi suppressed his smile, though the amusement in his eyes remained. For the first time, he teased, "A big spotted cat holding a little spotted cat, haha."

Clearly, Barlow's earlier muttering had been overheard by Nevi, who was now firing back.

"Ahhhh, Nevi!!" Barlow shouted, flailing his arms and legs dramatically.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was playful and relaxed, comfortable and carefree.

*

After the laughter and horseplay, they finally remembered the main task—the smart butlers hadn't been activated yet.

Nevi and Barlow each held one little one, four heads huddled together as they read through the instruction manual for quite a while before finishing it entirely.

After reading, the two of them let out a simultaneous gasp of amazement, their eyes shining as they stared at the smart butlers.

Currently, smart robots on the market, due to technical limitations, could basically only be used for a single specific field.

For example, a guide robot in a shopping mall could only provide corresponding services to customers passing by. Even if the system was upgraded later or a smarter chip was installed, due to the limitations of its factory settings, it would still only be a guide robot—the difference being it might become a more user-friendly, smarter guide robot.

Similarly, household cleaning robots, kitchen cooking robots, civilian security robots, nanny childcare robots, and so on... were all basically limited to a single field.

But the two smart butlers before them were completely different. Aside from cooking and security—where each of the two butler robots possessed one of those skills respectively—they had everything else: cleaning, childcare, hosting guests, and more. They were like real butlers from traditional aristocratic households!

Not only that, the chips they carried were also the most advanced, the most intelligent of any robot currently available. When faced with unexpected situations or difficulties in daily life, they would use big data to autonomously choose the optimal solution to execute, rather than waiting for their master's commands like most robots.

"Nevi, you're their master—hurry up and activate them!" Barlow urged excitedly, his cheeks flushed with enthusiasm.

Nevi was equally eager. He didn't hesitate, nodding as he pressed the numbers on the backs of the two smart butlers' necks—the forced power button.

Under the expectant gazes of the two adults and two children, there was no special effect or prompt sound. The two smart butlers gently opened their eyes, and upon meeting Nevi's gaze, they spoke in unison respectfully: "Greetings, Master. I am smart butler number 2343/2342. Please bestow names upon us."

Nevi looked at the two smart butlers—one with black hair and black eyes, the other with brown hair and blue eyes—and pondered for a moment before hesitantly saying, "Then you shall be called Little Black, and it shall be called Little Blue. You can call me Nevi, and he's Barlow."

"Thank you, Master, for the names. Little Black/Little Blue are honored to serve you. Hello, Mr. Nevi. Hello, Mr. Barlow." The two smart butlers smiled warmly, their mannerisms showing not a trace of robotic stiffness—as natural as a real male insect.

"Wait, what? Little Black and Little Blue?" Barlow's expression stiffened, almost unable to look at these two seemingly dignified smart butlers.

He had seen how seriously Nevi was thinking and had expected... but this?

On the capital planet, such names were typically used for calling small pets. Even worse, many pets had far nicer names than these.

"Hmm, is something wrong?" Nevi asked, puzzled. Mei Mei in his arms also babbled lively, as if echoing his father's words.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think the names are a bit simple. But these two smart butlers are yours, so as long as you like them, that's what matters." Barlow, remembering that Nevi hadn't received a complete formal education, looked at Nevi's breathtakingly beautiful face, softened inside, and covered it up with a broad, easygoing smile.

"Master, the little ones should need their diapers changed. Let me handle it. Where are the little ones' supplies kept?" At that moment, the black-haired smart butler, Little Black, spoke up.

"Oh, over there." Trusting him, Nevi suppressed the urge to blurt out "Can you really do it?"

He carefully handed Mei Mei to Little Black, only to be astonished to find that Little Black's holding posture was textbook-perfect.

Nevi then followed Little Black, watching the entire process.

Even though he was mentally prepared, the manual had been dry and lifeless. Nevi, who had never even used a childcare robot, watched as Little Black smoothly changed Mei Mei's diaper while even having the spare capacity to use nearby toys to distract Mei Mei's attention, preventing him from instinctively resisting or squirming out of fear or mischief.

The whole process—clearly Little Black's first time—was even more efficient and quicker than Nevi, who had done it countless times.

While Little Black was busy, Little Blue quickly familiarized himself with the entire room and, with Nevi's permission, had already adjusted the water temperature and prepared bath supplies and a change of clothes for the two little ones.

The two smart butlers' initial performance was already impressive.

Clearly, Nevi's worries were unfounded.

At that moment, watching Little Black and Little Blue work methodically, Nevi found himself with nothing to do. A weight lifted off his heart, yet at the same time, an inexplicable feeling welled up inside him.

But before Nevi could dwell on it, Little Blue's gentle voice came through. "Mr. Nevi, bath time is one of the moments when the little ones are psychologically vulnerable. It's best if you take the lead, with us assisting. Once the little ones are truly accustomed to us, we can formally take over."

"Oh, okay." Nevi nodded quickly, inwardly marveling once again at the two smart butlers' attentiveness and intelligence.

He carefully noted this point, planning to write it down in a notebook later and periodically send feedback to Kaisisen.

With the two intelligent housekeepers around, Barlow, the room's idle bug, found himself with nothing to do. He scratched his head, feeling out of place watching Nevi and the two intelligent housekeepers.

Just as he was about to pull out his light computer to pass the time, something seemed to strike him, and he abruptly turned to look at Nevi, shooting him a look of annoyance and reproach.

"Wait a minute, I remember Nevi mentioning that his spouse had amnesia and that he had given him his name. Aesop—that name means salvation from the bug god, holy hope."

Barlow muttered under his breath, "What's this? He does know how to name things, doesn't he? He gave his own spouse such a beautiful name, but the two intelligent housekeepers are called Little Black and Little Blue, like he's naming a couple of strays... If I'd known, I'd have thrown in some suggestions—something like Willow or Piper would've sounded way better..."

*

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Author's note: The main story picks back up next chapter~

Bai Bai's a crybaby but he holds grudges (hey, who did he inherit that from?). Mei Mei's a bit simple but bold and mischievous (can't wait for Mei Mei's wings to develop soon and have him flying around chaotically—that'll be fun, haha)~

Nevi spent three days racking his brain over a dictionary, only to fall for Aesop at first sight.

The favoritism is crystal clear~

Thank you, dear readers, for your support and love. Love you all.

From now on, I'll update 3000+ words daily, with occasional extra-long chapters. Updates will be around 10 PM to midnight.

Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!