Chapter 1
1128 Words
"Moonlight Drinker?"
Inside the coffee shop, thick with the rich aroma of coffee, a dozen pairs of eyes all snapped to Howard.
Only the AI's flat, toneless electronic voice remained in the air, along with his suddenly heavy breathing.
Just a few seconds earlier, his face had been twisted with arrogance and disdain as he judged me; now, that expression was completely frozen.
A girl sitting by the window still had her phone screen lit up, showing the interface of a live-streaming app, and her view count was skyrocketing exponentially.
Beneath the screen, the live comments were going wild.
Netizen A: Holy s**t! This is the drama of the year!
Netizen B: Where can I buy this AI? I need one for my husband too!
Netizen C: I think Moonlight Drinker doesn't sound simple at all.
"Impossible!" Howard lunged wildly at the light projected by the AI, waving his arms frantically, trying to rub out the glaring red light and words.
The light and shadow passed straight through his body, casting onto the decorative brick wall of the coffee shop, not a single word missing.
He turned his head, bloodshot eyes glaring at me.
"The system has a bug! Tina, you tampered with it, didn't you?
"You used these dirty tricks to frame me just so you wouldn't have to sign this agreement?"
I braced myself against the bar counter, the cold touch of solid wood helping me barely stay on my feet, my stomach twisting like knives were carving through it.
I just stood there quietly, looking at the husband I had lived with day and night for three years, looking at the man who had just tried to ruin me completely and destroy my reputation in front of all these guests.
Right now, he looked exactly like a mad dog that had just had its tail stepped on.
I shot back, "Dirty tricks? Howard, you were the one who brought this Marriage Risk Control AI Agreement home.
"You were the one who told me this was cutting-edge technology from your company, that it's deeply integrated at the base level with all our bank accounts, real estate, and equity holdings, and that once a breach of contract is triggered, the system will automatically execute the asset transfer, and it's irreversible.
"You were the one who told me it represents absolute justice."
I walked toward him, step by step.
I stopped right in front of him, staring into his darting, evasive eyes. "What now? The paragon of absolute justice you built with your own hands can only investigate me, not you?"
"Bullshit!" He blew a gasket, his voice starting to shake.
His expression shifted from anger to fear.
He was the creator of this system. He knew better than anyone that it had no emotions; it only followed data.
It couldn't make a mistake.
"Who do you think I work myself to the bone for? It's all for this family and you!"
He started pulling out the same old moral blackmail he always uses, trying to pass the blame back onto me.
"And what about you? Running this lousy coffee shop and primping yourself all fancy. Can you deny you're hiding something shady?"
Yet his very breath trembled with guilt.
"So you had the gall to go crying to Moonlight Drinker about how unhappy your marriage is, looking for spiritual comfort, didn't you?" I retorted.
Howard's body froze stiff.
He fumbled frantically for his phone in his pocket, desperate to shut down this system that had utterly humiliated him.
A cold, flat electronic voice cut off his movement.
"Warning: The smart contract has been activated. Neither party may unilaterally terminate it."
"Any attempt to physically damage or digitally interfere with the system will be judged a breach of contract, and the pre-agreed terms will be executed immediately."
His hand froze in mid-motion. Cold sweat trickled down the side of his forehead.
He turned his head and forced a smile that looked worse than crying, his voice softening at once, thick with pleading.
"Tina, believe me, this really is just a misunderstanding. She... she's an elder I respect a great deal, I..."
"An elder?" I cut him off. "Emotionally cheat on me with an elder? Howard, isn't this disgusting?"
The customers in the shop let out a wave of barely suppressed chuckles and shocked intakes of breath. The live stream's chat box blew up once again.
Netizen A: Ugh, what kind of creepy middle-aged romance is this?
Netizen B: I'll bet a dollar that this elder is anything but a proper one!
I couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him. I simply walked over to an empty table, sat down, and crossed my legs.
I said, "Fine, Howard. You say she's an elder, I'll take your word for it.
"Then let the AI tell us exactly which elder this is. Let's hear what intimate, soul-baring stuff you've been saying to your respected elder!"
The moment I finished speaking, the glow of the AI once again filled the entire room.
"Per request of host Tina, initiating deep recovery program.
"Cross-verifying the true identity of Moonlight Drinker...
"Social network footprint... capital flow... voiceprint and facial dynamic capture comparison...
"Identity successfully locked.
"Moonlight Drinker, true identity: Clara Lynn.
"Relationship: Mother of host Tina.
"Note: This subject has long used AI voice-changing and deepfake technology to conceal their true identity."
My mind went completely blank.
My husband and my mother? They'd emotionally cheated together?!
The expression on Howard's face was terrified.
Right in front of my eyes, he fell apart bit by bit.
He whipped his head around sharply and glared at me, his eyes brimming with frantic questioning.
The very next second, he whipped back around to stare at the light screen.
His gaze was so intense that it looked like it could burn right through the words "Clara Lynn".
Suddenly, he dropped hard to the floor, clutching his mouth in obvious agony.
I knew this was not fear.
He was just disgusted with himself.
Behind me, there was a sharp c***k. A customer's coffee cup had shattered on the floor.
The bitter tang of coffee and the utter absurdity of this farce twisted together strangely in the air.
The girl who was live-streaming shoved her phone so close it was nearly in Howard's face, and the comments were flying on the screen.
Netizen A: Holy crap! This is the family drama of the year! Not even a director would dare shoot this!
Netizen B: Here's a question: Should Howard call his online lover Mommy or baby?
Netizen C: LOL! That's straight-up ruthless!
Netizen D: I declare this a milestone in the history of AI development: the first time AI has intervened and solved a complicated family relationship problem.
- Writer
