Studio Superstar: Chapter 54

The ‘secondary male lead’ Lu Ning in this play wasn’t a perfect screen image.

He was even full of flaws.

Paranoid, cowardly, prone to anger, and always immersed in the past.

It could be said that apart from his handsome face and deep love for his wife, he had almost no advantages.

However, for a piece of white paper like 3214, he just needed the other person to have a strong color. Then as long as the drop of color was splashed on him, that drop of color would become a profound imprint.

Shen Tingyan stared at the big screen with serious eyes.

This story wasn’t about the love between the secondary male lead and 3214 at all. It was about 3214’s own love.

His love made people doubt, did he really understand what love was? Or had he simply fallen into a vicious cycle of ‘learning’ and had been deceived by programs and data without realizing it?

However, what everyone saw—

The wind was blowing and the drunken Lu Ning climbed to the window. 3214 ran over uncontrollably, grabbed his waist, and dragged him back.

Lu Ning fell asleep. Once he woke up, he might even forget his drunken madness. However, 3214 sat beside him for a long time. Then he raised his hand and wiped his eyes.

He had no tears.

He stared blankly at his hands.

He was a robot and had no tears.

At this moment, an expression that had never appeared on Lu Ning finally appeared on 3214’s face.

The people in the studio saw 3214 in this scene and there was a dead silence.

It was pain, extreme pain.

His mind seemed to be occupied by the dense words ‘why why why why why.’

His hands were on the ground and his eyes were wide open. His face was frightening and heartbreaking.

This was no longer a learned emotion, but something that came naturally from the bottom of his heart.

—Just like a person.

The audience no longer doubted it when they saw this scene.

3214’s love wasn’t an illusion at all. It was a real emotion…

There was a flurry of movement in the studio.

Some viewers were overwhelmed by Xue Xiao’s performance. Some had already started to shed tears.

But once the story reached this point, Feng Wei didn’t stop. He kept pushing the audience’s emotions.

The style of the entire play changed from bright and warm at the beginning, to somber twilight. Finally, it changed to a thick night.

Late at night.

The light in the bedroom was very dark.

The camera focused on Lu Ning lying on his back on the bed.

He closed his eyes tightly and slept peacefully.

For a moment, his brow furrowed slightly and his eyelashes fluttered.

He woke up and slowly opened his eyes.

But his eyes were dazed.

He had been drinking for too long, and his brain had been numbed by alcohol. After waking up, he almost didn’t know what day it was. He was groggy.

Then he heard an extremely hoarse voice coming from the side of the bed.

“Master, did you sleep well?”

Lu Ning was startled, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

He quickly reacted. He exhaled and closed his eyes.

It was the voice of 3214.

Not Yeye… Yeye had long died. It was now 2050.

He closed his eyes, raised his hand, and rubbed his forehead. He was too tired to answer this meaningless question.

3214 asked again, “Would you like some water?”

Lu Ning rubbed his forehead and kept his eyes closed. This time, he said in a low voice, “Hmm.”

Soon, the sound of the cup moving was heard.

A pair of slender and beautiful hands appeared from the right side of the camera.

He held up Lu Ning’s head with one hand, carefully handing the water cup to Lu Ning’s mouth with his other hand.

Lu Ning sat up on his own and took the water. The moment he opened his eyes, he inadvertently glanced at the person next to him.

He screamed out in shock, knocked over the water, and suddenly retreated back to the other side of the bed!

He froze and exclaimed in disbelief, “…3214?”

“W-Why are you dressed like that?”

The camera slowly panned to 3214.

There was an uproar in the studio.

Everyone was shocked by Xue Xiao in this scene.

The young man had already put on the fiery red dress in the promotional photo, put on a wig and applied bright lipstick.

The dress was what Yeye had been wearing in the photo, and her clothes had been stored in another room.

The wig and lipstick might’ve been bought by 3214 himself.

He was dressed the same as Yeye, but he didn’t look like Yeye at first glance.

The body of an adult male couldn’t be concealed. At this moment 3214 looked extremely weird. At the same time, he was also extremely beautiful.

Black hair was scattered messily over his shoulders.

His body was very slender. The long dress made him look even more slender and flexible.

The fair complexion made the bright red dress and lips appear the color of blood.

3214’s beautiful apricot eyes were blocked behind his hair. He looked at Lu Ning innocently and doubtfully, as if not knowing what Lu Ning was afraid of.

“Master.” He climbed onto the bed.

Lu Ning desperately stepped back and shouted, “Don’t come over!”

3214 obediently stopped.

He obediently knelt down on the bed and called out gently and innocently, “Master.”

“3214, you…” Lu Ning trembled. “What is going on with you?”

“I can become your wife.” 3214 said slowly, his voice still hoarse. “As long as you refuse Chaoyun Company’s return visits, no one will know what is going on here.”

“I can never go out again, never go into open air again, and not let anyone see me. I will act as your wife in front of you.”

“You can do anything to me… as long as you don’t cry…” 3214 stared at Lu Ning, his eyes innocent yet crazy. “As long as you can live well…”

Lu Ning was dumbfounded.

He stared stupidly at 3214, this humanoid machine.

At this moment, his eyes turned red.

He was a cowardly man. He was so cowardly that when he was unwilling to face reality, he could only numb his nerves with alcohol.

Fortunately, among the numbed nerves, there was still one that remained awake.

He took a deep breath.

He shook his head and said hoarsely, “No, this is wrong 3214.”

3214 tilted his head. He frowned slightly and looked extremely confused.

“What’s wrong? Bionic robots are all tools. You just need to use me as a tool.”

Lu Ning cried for the first time because of 3214. “No, I can’t use you like this.”

“You can.”

“3214…” Lu Ning trembled all over.

He seemed to be completely awake. The 3214 at this moment was too dazzling. He felt heartbroken for the robot in front of him and huge regret poured into him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Things shouldn’t have turned out like this… I-I shouldn’t have bought you from the beginning. People like me shouldn’t have bought any robots at all…”

3214 stared at him. “Please don’t say that.”

Lu Ning cried and shook his head.

The fear of 3214 in his heart completely dissipated at this moment. He slowly crawled over and hugged 3214. “I shouldn’t have turned you into this. You could’ve been better.”

3214 said numbly, “But I think I am fine as I am now.”

Lu Ning felt grief, but 3214 raised his head slightly and repeated, “…Master, I feel that I am fine now.”

“3214, Yeye is Yeye, you are you.”

“You don’t need to… become anyone but you.”

……

The third return visit.

In front of the camera, on a chair in the corner of the bedroom, 3214 was placed there like an abandoned machine.

He was still wearing the red dress and had messy black hair. his dark eyes slowly swept over the three people in front of him.

His posture was no longer as upright as before. It was decadent and twisted. His upper body was slightly crooked, as if there was a problem with the function of his limbs and they were no longer under his control.

The interviewer’s voice sounded off-camera. “Why is he sitting like that? Is he broken?”

The repairman replied, “…I checked his physical functions. There are no problems.”

The interviewer wondered, “Then what is the problem?”

“I don’t know. It is the first time I encountered this situation.”

The interview clicked his tongue. “Tsk, old robots are troublesome.”

Lu Ning’s voice approached. “3214…”

A pair of strong arms appeared in front of the camera. The man knelt down on one knee in front of 3214.

3214 lowered his eyes and looked at the other party, allowing this person to slowly straighten him.

Lu Ning’s eyes were a lot clearer. He obviously wasn’t drunk any longer, but his eyes had become worried.

The interviewer’s legs appeared in a corner of the camera. He said coldly, “You shouldn’t touch him any longer, Mr Lu.”

Lu Ning froze, tilted his head and said, “…You are going to take him away anyway. It doesn’t matter if I talk to him again. I spent money on your company. What do you think of your customers?”

These words made the interviewer silent.

Then Lu Ning turned his head and looked at 3214 again.

The master and servant looked at each other silently. Lu Ning said, “3214, if you continue like this, you will be completely broken. The embedded program will get out of control. The mechanical parts will heat up. Once the temperature rises to a certain level, you will be burned. Therefore, I have to send you away.”

“You have to get it repaired. Once the repairs are over… don’t come back to me. I’ll only ruin you again.”

Lu Ning’s voice was complicated. “I can promise you that I will do my best to live well… I don’t know how long it will take for me to stop being such a waste, but I will work hard.”

Lu Ning fell silent.

After a moment, he said hoarsely, “I’m sorry. Thank you for taking care of me.”

He clasped 3214’s hands. “Thank you for coming to my side.”

Silence.

Lu Ning asked unwillingly, “…Is there anything you would like to say to me at the end?”

3214 stared at him intently and asked, “Are you taking pity on me?”

Lu Ning was stunned.

3214 smiled faintly. “Have pity on me… but you still want to send me away like a machine?”

Lu Ning trembled slightly.

…The emotion of pity wouldn’t arise for a machine.

It was an emotion that only happened between humans.

Nevertheless, Lu Ning didn’t deny it.

He lifted his hand and stroked the side of 3214’s face.

3214 rubbed against his palm like a kitten.

Lu Ning said with red eyes, “..I said that if I don’t send you away, you will be completely destroyed.”

3214 only said softly, “Everyone has to die.”

The interviewer sneered slightly while feeling it was extremely ridiculous. This thing actually thought of itself as a human being.

The repairman didn’t laugh, and neither did Lu Ning.

He looked deeply at 3214. “…But I don’t want you to die.”

3214 was stunned.

He stared at Lu Ning.

Lu Ning continued softly, “From now on, I hope that you will leave well and healthily, like any happy human being without being affected by me anymore.”

The wind blew in through the window, blowing 3214’s dress and hair.

He stared at Lu Ning, love and sadness intertwined on his face. At this moment, he was as beautiful as a rose that had just bloomed. However, he was so fragile that he was about to wither.

The lens went dark.

Then it lit up again.

Lu Ning had disappeared.

The repairman’s legs stood in front of 3214.

At some point, 3214 had returned to his usual sitting position.

He lowered his eyes, leaned back against the chair, and looked indifferent.

The repairman said, “…The flaw of old robots is that they have a bug in their program. Once this bug is found by them, they can control their own memory.”

“This is very dangerous… 3214,” the repairman spoke slowly like a human. “Humans won’t allow things that are out of their control to continue to exist.”

“This is the first time. We can give you another chance, but if you hide your memory again and are discovered by us… you will have to be destroyed.”

“Remember, don’t test the bottom line of humanity.”

“As long as you don’t tempt them… you can live for a long time.”

This sentence was like some type of subtle reminder.

3214 raised his eyes and looked at him.

The repairman also looked at him. “The human world isn’t limited to this small house. This world is very big. You will be interested in it.”

……

The story was finally coming to an end.

The subtitles appeared again.

“In the decades since then, countless companion robots have had problems. People finally realized that the emotional function, the most special module of bionic robots, must not be in a blank state when meeting customers with great emotional needs.”

“Companion robots must be shaped and learn emotions in advance before being placed next to customers who need companionship.”

“The year 2110—”

In the bright interior, people were coming and going in the corridor.

3214 was dressed in a nursing uniform and pushing an old man in a wheelchair to the French windows.

The old man smiled. “Yes, just leave me here. I’ll sit here for a while. You can pick me up in half an hour.”

3214 smiled slightly. “Okay.”

This was a nursing home. Many of the people who came and went were elderly.

60 years had passed. 3214 was still young and beautiful. Since he was a robot, he could live forever as long as his parts were repaired and maintained in time.

Suddenly, a voice not far away shouted, “3214!”

3214 turned around and saw a female colleague.

There was a wheelchair next to the female colleague. A gray-haired old man was sitting on it. His back was to them and he was looking up at a hanging painting at the end of the hallway.

3214 walked over. The female colleague pulled him closer and introduced him in a low voice, “This is an old man who was transferred to the hospital today. He is 90 years old and has Alzheimer’s disease. He only remembers what happened before the age of 27.”

3214 looked at the old man’s back.

The old man had short, silvery white hair and a slightly stooped body.

This back was so strange and yet so familiar.

The color of his eyes quickly changed. “…Before the age of 27?”

“Yes,” the female colleague said. “By the way, this grandfather’s name is Lu. His name is…”

At this moment, the old man seemed to hear their conversation and slowly turned the wheelchair around.

His eyes were cloudy. Then they lit up slightly when he saw 3214 and he shouted, “…Yeye.”

The female colleague sighed. “Yeye is his wife who passed away when he was young. He calls everyone he sees Yeye.”

3214 was silent for a moment. He stepped forward and half crouched down in front of the old man.

He carefully examined the old man’s face.

Seeing 3214’s face up close, the old man’s expression was confused for a moment.

He seemed to recognize that this wasn’t Yeye’ but another person. But who was this person?

He felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn’t remember it. He couldn’t help showing distress on his face.

The camera panned to 3214’s face.

The young man laughed softly.

This was a very long shot, a full five seconds.

In those five seconds, the young man’s eyes changed slowly and delicately.

There was a trace of nostalgia in his eyes. There was also the love that had always been hidden deep in his heart, but had become relieved after seeing the vast world in this long period of time.

He opened his mouth and said, “Hello, my name is 3214. I am your new friend.”

“From now on, I will take care of your daily life.”

“No matter how long life is… In the future, I will accompany you.”

—

The big screen rose. Xue Xiao, Cheng Yang, Wang Hai, and Jiang Xin walked to the host Jiang Quan’s side amidst the overwhelming applause.

The cheers from all directions made them a bit dazed for a moment.

This was especially true of Xue Xiao.

For a full 18 minutes, he was too involved in the act. He hadn’t completely emerged, so there was always a feeling that everything around him was blurry.

This was until in his field of view—

Shen Tingyan suddenly stood up from his seat.

Xue Xiao suddenly woke up.

Shen Tingyan’s standing up was like a signal. Soon, the other three mentors, the audience, and all the participants stood up and applauded.

This scene completely dragged Xue Xiao back to reality.

The applause in his ears suddenly became clear, so loud that it was even deafening.

In the midst of that enthusiastic sound, someone couldn’t help shouting, “Xue Xiao!”

“Xue Xiao!”

They wiped their eyes and shouted excitedly, “—Xue Xiao!”