Chapter 145: Awakening of Consciousness (2)

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Jia’er looked into his eyes. She found herself overwhelmed by the affection in the depth of his eyes. Suppose that he was telling the truth, then why was there no memory of him?

Lu Jia’er was bewildered. Even so, she stood by what she believed. “I do not know what you hear those things from but I have to tip my hat to you for your means. That being said, your goal is completely unrealistic.”

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiangdong, who had been prepared mentally, put on a smile instead of flying into anger. However, inevitably, there was a trace of imperceptible bitterness buried deep in that smile.

Telling her those things would not refresh her memory. The majority of people were living a normal life. Of course, there was no lack of people with painful memories which could not be erased and would accompany the said people throughout their lives. When some individual suffered memory loss due to certain accident, there was a chance that that memory could be recovered. On the contrary, when the memory of an AI were to be traced back after it had been replaced, the only way to achieve the goal was to reload the program because AI lacked the consciousness and memory found in human beings.

If AI were to recover memory on their own, then it would imply that AI must have consciousness as human beings, and that would be the ultimate stage in AI development. Per Jin Xiangdong’s understanding, BUA Technology had achieved great breakthrough with regard to Deep Neural Networks technology, which had enabled the AI developed by his company to possess perceptual skills like human beings, and the company had been progressing by leaps and bounds in speech recognition and image identification as well. This should be the most advanced technology at the current day. However, many experts and scholars had voiced their objection to AI development because they perceived that once AI possessed independent consciousness, that could be endangering to the human kind.

But Lu Jia’er here appeared to be no different from human beings. That was to say, the one that created her had achieved the ‘ultimate breakthrough ‘ in AI technology. While Jin Xiangdong admired such tech, he was filled with worry at the same time.

Looking at Jin Xiangdong’s smile, Lu Jia’er asked, “What are you smiling at?”

“The fact that you are so faithful in love,” Jin Xiangdong replied, grinning.

“Is there anything wrong with it?” Lu Jia’er retorted.

“I suppose you like ‘To a Faithless Husband’, the poem written by Zhuo Wenjun,” Jin Xiangdong said.

“Yes, I do. ‘And wonder if my grief will ever end.

No girl needs to cry when she’s married.

If her husband is a single-hearted man

Who will not leave her till her hair is white.” Lu Jia’er recited the stanza.

Jin Xiangdong sighed. “That must be many people’s long-cherished wish.”

Lu Jia’er picked up his lead. “Therefore, I suggest you quit bothering me.”

Jin Xiangdong gazed at her. He picked up his wine glass and shook it gently. “I will not bother you anymore from now on.”

“Are you being serious?” Lu Jia’er did not expect this answer.

“Yes, I am,” Jin Xiangdong nodded with a serious attitude.

“I hope you are a man of your words.” Lu Jia’er said.

Jin Xiangdong replied with a smile. “I will be true to my words.”

“If you are true to your words and now that we have had our drinks, can you tell me the answer now?” Once again, Lu Jia’er circled back to her curiosity about his body.

Jin Xiangdong did not keep Lu Jia’er guessing. “I am Superman,” that was his answer.

Lu Jia’er blinked when she heard this. “Superman?!”

Jin Xiangdong nodded. “Yes, Superman.”

“Can you be any more ridiculous?” Lu Jia’er rolled her eyes.

Jin Xiangdong chuckled. “I see that you are not a fan of Superman.”

“That is not it. It’s just I find your answer ridiculous!” Lu Jia’er said.

“Well, fine. Actually, I am Ironman.” Jin Xiangdong changed his answer.

Lu Jia’er felt that Jin Xiangdong was fooling her. She could not help but question him. “Do you think this is funny or something?”

Jin Xiangdong remained as cool as a cucumber. “You don’t believe me?”

“It turns out that coming here with you is a complete waste to time!” Lu Jia’er finished her words. Then, she put down her wine glass, picked up her bag and was ready to leave.

Jin Xiangdong did not stop her. Rather, he said, “For a person, for a relationship, memory is important. You can forget about me or regard me as a stranger. Nevertheless, I must be grateful to you because you have given me this wonderful memory.”

Lu Jia’er paused for a moment and kept her eyes on him.

“Just a reminder. Not everything you can see is real. Not everything you avoid is fake.” Jin Xiangdong added.

Lu Jia’er sneered. “Are you casting a mist before my eyes again?”

“As for my body, you have seen the clues with your own eyes. I did not make it more mysterious on purpose. As for the loss of your memory, I feel sorry about it. That being said, I am powerless to render any help.” Jin Xiangdong said.

Lu Jia’er could not help but ask, “What exactly do you mean?”

“I cannot answer that question. You can turn to Ian to seek answers.” Jin Xiangdong replied.

“Ian?” Lu Jia’er squinted as she heard the name.

Jin Xiangdong nodded. “He has the answer to the question why I am being so crazy about you!”

While Lu Jia’er still did not buy Jin Xiangdong’s words, he had successfully made her rethink things that happened recently.

Jin Xiangdong looked at her but she said nothing else before she took her bag and left.

The music was lingering around his ears and the red wine was tender to his tongue. But as he sat on his seat, drinking alone, Jin Xiangdong found himself filled with worry. Bitterness and concern had consumed him.

Lu Jia’er had gone back to her apartment. She put down her bag and threw herself into the couch. She gazed at the ceiling. Jin Xiangdong’s words had planted seeds of doubt in her heart and on her way back, the seeds sprouted.

Currently, she felt as though her memory was quite complete. Occasionally, she would find herself in a trance. Other than that, there were no more flaws. However, as she reflected back on her experience with Jin Xiangdong, there was something fishy. Maybe, just as Jin Xiangdong told her, Ian could answer her questions.

Amy gave her a cup of water. Seeing Lu Jia’er in this state, Amy asked, “Professor Lu, what is the matter?”

Lu Jia’er sat up straight slowly, took over the water and answered calmly, “Nothing.”

“Is there something on your mind?” Amy blinked.

Lu Jia’er looked at Amy and patted her forehead. “Yes, there is!”

“Can you tell me about it?” Amy questioned.

Lu Jia’er smiled upon hearing Amy. “No!”

“Why not?” Amy asked, blinking.

“It is not necessary for me to pour out this load on your mind!” Lu Jia’er stated.

“Maybe, but even so, when you are in the mood for talking, you can find me. I will be a caring listener!” Amy added.

Lu Jia’er was a bit touched that Amy could be so caring. Human beings were complicated and always changing. Robots could be much simpler than humans.

“Sure!” Lu Jia’er nodded.

Instantly, Amy’s eyes changed to the shape of crescent moon to indicate that she was smiling. Lu Jia’er said to her. “Amy, help me get my laptop!”

“Sure!” Amy said and rushed into Lu Jia’er’s bedroom.

Lu Jia’er searched information on Ian on the laptop but there was little that could be found about him online. She could only find some press release on him. It was suffice to say that Ian was a person with a low profile.

Lu Jia’er did another search on Jin Xiangdong. There was even less information about him. Most of the news was about Jason and other department heads. Someone proposed that there was not such a person named Jin Xiangdong. It was just a name.

Others believed that he must have some shady secrets to remain so mysterious in a world with such developed internet connection.

She saw for herself that secret but she had received no answer.

Lu Jia’er was staring at the screen when she heard the door open.

“It must be Su Han!” Amy said.

Lu Jia’er turned off the webpage as Su Han changed her shoes and stepped into the living room. The first thing she said was an apology to Lu Jia’er. “Jia’er, I am sorry. I paid a bit more attention to my boyfriend than you tonight!”

“Just a bit?” Lu Jia’er raised her eyebrows.

“Not just a little, too much!” Su Han changed her wording at once.

“It is good that you know!” Lu Jia’er said.

“Are you mad at me?” Su Han pushed her gently.

“What do you think?” Lu Jia’er threw her a glance.

“Like you said, Jason was dim-witted to make this arrangement tonight. But he stated that Ace has a huge crush on you. He cannot stop him or talk any sense into him!” Su Han explained.

“Do not let me see Jason again!” Lu Jia’er responded to her explanation.

“Don’t be like this, please. I think he was in a tough spot. After all, Ace is his boss!” Su Han talked in Jason’s favor.

Lu Jia’er cast a glance at Su Han who hurried to beg her. “I have already condemned Jason. It won’t happen again!”

Lu Jia’er kept a straight face. Su Han shook her arm. “Don’t be mad, okay? If you are so mad, I will tell Jason to apologize to you in person! Come on, stop sulking!”

Lu Jia’er loosened her straight face a bit. She turned around to Su Han. “Su Han, in your view, what is Ace like?”

Su Han was startled. “What do you mean?”

“The literal meaning!” Lu Jia’er said.

Su Han put on a meaningful look. “Are you interested in him?”

“I am not interested in him. I just want to know myself as well as the enemy!” Lu Jia’er made up an excuse.

“I only know Ace because of Jason. Jason said while Ace has a cold demeanor, he is a faithful friend. When I got to know him, I knew that Jason was telling the truth!” Su Han told Lu Jia’er what she thought of Jin Xiangdong.

Lu Jia’er frowned. “I worked at BUA, so, theoretically speaking, I must have crossed paths with him. But why don’t I remember him at all?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep