War of Intelligent Machines

Chapter 29: Mutual Affection

Chapter 29: Mutual Affection

To relieve his tension, after returning to the base, Jiang Yue Sheng had dinner with his grandmother and then dragged her to watch the Guozhuang dance. His grandmother, of course, knew he really wanted to see Weng Mu.

They arrived at the small square where they had coincidentally met Weng Mu before. As luck would have it, they saw her gracefully dancing again.

When Weng Mu saw Jiang Yue Sheng and his grandmother, she stopped and walked over to greet them warmly.

“Grandma, Yue Sheng, hello! Come dance with us?” She said, taking his grandmother by the hand and starting to dance.

“Do you dance here every day?” Jiang Hui asked, dancing while chatting with Weng Mu.

“I didn’t come often before, but these last few days, I’ve been here every day,” Weng Mu said with a smile, subtly hinting at her affection for Jiang Yue Sheng.

Jiang Hui understood immediately and said, “Yue Sheng brought me here today just to see you dance.”

Weng Mu’s face immediately turned red. “Why isn’t he dancing?”

“He can’t. He’s a bookworm,” Jiang Hui teased with a grin. “How about I treat both of you to some tea?”

“Sure!” Weng Mu agreed bashfully.

The three of them found a nearby teahouse to sit down.

While drinking tea, Jiang Hui took the opportunity to ask Weng Mu for her contact details. She also had Jiang Yue Sheng add Weng Mu’s WeChat, which Weng Mu happily accepted.

They chatted casually and learned that Weng Mu was from Lasa. After graduating from university, she worked at the government’s Confidential Bureau and was later transferred to the base’s archives.

When it was time to part ways, Jiang Hui invited Weng Mu to visit their home someday, and Weng Mu agreed.

Thus, with Jiang Hui’s matchmaking, Weng Mu and Jiang Yue Sheng began their relationship.

Since starting his relationship with Weng Mu, Jiang Yue Sheng’s enthusiasm for work doubled. He quickly submitted a plan to Section Chief Sun to improve the reconnaissance robot’s self-destruct system, focusing on modifying the logical relationship between the self-destruct preconditions, making the robot’s self-destruction more aligned with realistic conditions.

According to Jiang Yue Sheng’s optimization plan, the program code needed to be altered, but no hardware changes were required.

Section Chief Sun reviewed the plan and found it feasible. The new version of the robot was installed for testing, and, to everyone’s surprise, the reconnaissance robot no longer self-destructed as frequently.

As their relationship blossomed, Weng Mu proactively suggested that Jiang Yue Sheng visit her parents in Lasa. However, due to his special situation, Jiang Yue Sheng was reluctant to leave the base.

He explained to Weng Mu that, because of project confidentiality, he was under strict supervision and leaving the base would be troublesome. He suggested that perhaps her parents could visit the guest area at the base, where they could meet.

Weng Mu, also involved in confidentiality work, understood Jiang Yue Sheng’s predicament. She agreed to his suggestion and arranged for her parents to stay at the guest area so they could meet with him and Jiang Hui.

To apologize for not being able to visit Weng Mu’s parents in person, Jiang Hui bought a string of precious dzi beads and gave them to her future mother-in-law. Weng Mu’s parents were understanding people, knowing that those working at the base had special roles, and they supported Weng Mu’s relationship with Jiang Yue Sheng.

After meeting his future in-laws, Jiang Yue Sheng wondered if it was time for Weng Mu to meet his mother.

For the past few days, Jiang Yue Sheng had been thinking about this issue.

Over the past few months of their relationship, Weng Mu had learned about Jiang Yue Sheng’s background and knew that his mother, Jiang Yu, was a renowned super-scientist at the lunar base. However, due to health reasons, she would never return to Earth.

Jiang Yue Sheng knew that if he didn’t address this matter soon, Weng Mu might not mind, but her parents might not be pleased.

Jiang Hui also realized this issue and suggested that Jiang Yue Sheng arrange a video call with his mother first, and then find a way for a face-to-face meeting later.

As a former astronaut, Jiang Hui understood better than anyone how difficult it was to visit the moon. For ordinary people, only super-wealthy individuals could afford to go there. The Lunar Cold Palace was specifically designed for the ultra-rich to prolong their lives.

Following Jiang Hui’s advice, Jiang Yue Sheng arranged a video meeting between his mother and Weng Mu.

Jiang Yu took to Weng Mu immediately, greeting her warmly and joking about Jiang Yue Sheng’s many “flaws” and “bad habits,” assuring her that she could trust Weng Mu with her son.

Although the meeting went well, Jiang Yue Sheng still felt a deep sense of shame. He had never truly met his mother in person, and now, with his wedding approaching, his wife could only meet his mother via video. He felt guilty for not being able to make it happen in person for both his mother and Weng Mu.

Even though Weng Mu didn’t say anything, Jiang Yue Sheng felt a heavy sense of guilt.

Both Weng Mu and Jiang Hui noticed his distress and tried to comfort him, assuring him that it was okay not to meet his mother in person for now, and they would find a way eventually.

One day, troubled by his feelings, Jiang Yue Sheng looked through his childhood photo album. He came across a picture of his grandmother holding him in the space station. It was the first photo of his life, taken by an uncle at the space station.

As he gazed at the photo, tears welled up in his eyes. He realized how much his mother and grandmother had sacrificed for him. Although he could spend his entire life without visiting his mother on the moon, it would be cruel to her.

At that moment, he broke down in tears.

Weng Mu saw him crying and understood that he missed his mother. She gently approached him, trying to comfort him.

“Yue Sheng, we’ll figure something out. We can earn more money and go to the moon to see your mother. We’ll work hard together, okay?”

“Mm…” Jiang Yue Sheng nodded tearfully, determined to move forward.

Jiang Hui also heard him crying and came over to comfort him. When she saw the photo of her holding Jiang Yue Sheng on the space station, she couldn’t help but cry as well. Memories flooded her mind, and she felt responsible for everything: the loneliness Jiang Yu experienced on the lunar base, the repeated kidnappings of Jiang Yue Sheng — it was all her fault.

“Yue Sheng, I have an idea!” Jiang Hui suddenly stopped crying and wiped her tears. Looking at both Jiang Yue Sheng and Weng Mu, she said, “You can visit your mother on the space station!”

“Space station…?” Jiang Yue Sheng gaped at his grandmother.

“Space station…?” Weng Mu blinked, equally confused, looking at Jiang Hui.

“I can arrange for your mother to be in the space station’s zero-gravity area. We can meet in the zero-gravity zone!” Jiang Hui said, her voice filled with excitement.

“Zero-gravity zone?” Weng Mu still didn’t quite understand.

“Of course! Of course we can!” Jiang Yue Sheng jumped up, suddenly filled with energy. “We can do this!”

“I’ll use my savings. It should be enough, and if it’s not, I’ll borrow some,” Jiang Hui said seriously, her determination clear.

“I’ve saved some money too. I’ll give it all to you!” Weng Mu shook Jiang Yue Sheng’s arm excitedly, imagining the chance to meet her ‘godlike’ mother-in-law in the space station.

“Alright!” Jiang Yue Sheng gritted his teeth, resolved. “I’ll check what preparations we need to make for the space station visit!”