'PHEW!'
Alex, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief when Arvin left him in the room. He was not sure anymore how he would going to deal with the other party if ever he insisted on staying with him and watched him do the recharging process.
Because how was he supposed to do that for real, when he was not the robot that needed to be recharged, in the first place.
However, before Alex could even make his mind on what he was going to do next, he heard Shantal's voice speaking to him from the other side of the door.
"Alex, are you sure you will be alright on your own? I mean, I can go and help you if you want"
"Nah. I'm good. In fact, I am almost ready."
He replied and moved around the massive power bank and made them hear the noise that he was making.
"Are you sure that you are done charging? It has not been an hour since I left you inside."
Arvin asked Alex as soon as he stepped out of the room.
"Un!"
"Where are we going?"Alex asked Shantal as soon as they were out from earshot. But Shantal did not give him an answer and instead, she just continued to pull him with her.He knew that he was the reason why Shantal snapped out and when he was reminded of what Shantal did for him in front of Arvin, his lips could not help but broke into a smile because having someone on his side who was standing up for him warmed his heart.He was fully aware that Shantal's protectiveness was not personally directed to him, but rather to her robot. She probably did not like seeing her Android Partner being looked down on by others. But despite knowing that, Alex was still moved that the other party was sticking up for him."We are off for a rough start, but the day is still long. I guess it not too late for us yet to plan the thing we can do to spend the rest of it, right?"Shantal beamed at him and seeing the other party trying to act cheerful in front of hi
"How have you been, Mr. Hamon?"Shantal asked without wiping the smile off her face. She had been smiling for far too long that even to Alex, he found it unnatural. Because he never saw the other party smiled at anyone for that long.Shantal's smiling face could only last for a minute at most before it would return to her ice-cold expression.Yet in front of the old man, Shantal had been talking with all smiles that Alex almost ended up wondering whether the other party's cheeks were already starting to feel sore for grinning ear to ear in an extended period of time.Unbeknownst to him, Shantal was genuinely delighted to see the familiar face on the farm. As mentioned before, she used to visit the place and she has a lot of childhood memories of it."These old bones were often giving me troubles during winters and cold nights. But nonetheless, I am still strong as a bull."Mr. Hamon told Shantal as he tousled her hair. Alex, on
Shantal brought Alex to the nearby fence and asked him to kill time by feeding the alpacas in the meantime, as she was currently preoccupied with talking to her old acquaintance, Mr. Hamon.He figured that the two seemed to have a lot to catch up so he no longer disturbed them. Also, a stock of hay was beside him and that was what Shantal told him to feed the animals."Looks like you guys are the only ones willing to play with me."Alex said to the alpaca that was munching some dried grass in from of him."You must be so happy since you have so many friends to eat with. You guys have a way better situation than mine. Could you believe that I even have to go into the trouble of hiding whenever I eat? I am not allowed to eat with anyone in the house as I have to do it in secret."He added as he handed the other alpacas with more food."What? Does it taste that good? Alright, then, eat! Here!"Eventually, Alex started to enjoy what
"Wait, no!"Alex used his body to block the gate and stopped Shantal and upon seeing it, Shantal's eyes went heavenward."Come on, Alex, man up!"But then just right after Shantal said those words, she smirked."Or rather, robot up."She added and without waiting for Alex's response she started pulling the horse out of the stable."But I have never ridden a horse before!"Alex revealed with wide eyes. He thought that it would convince the other party to change her mind or at least make her think twice. But, Shantal only shrugged her shoulders when she heard that and gave her robot a once over."Obviously?! Besides, it was not like I expect you to have tried this before, and I honestly don't see the reason why Alpha Tech would have to spend time making their robots ride a horse before shipment. Don't worry, I got you."Somehow, Shantal found Alex's reaction quite silly."No, please spare me."Alex pleaded wi
Right after scaring the shit out of Alex, Shantal invited him to go for a walk.However, just as when they were walking and enjoying the breathtaking view of the sun setting down on the horizon, Shantal subconsciously reached out to her neck to feel something.Yet upon her touch, she realized that something was missing. Dread clouded her feature as soon as it dawned on her that she lost her necklace somewhere."What is wrong?"Alex inquired when he noticed the sudden change in Shantal's expression."My necklace. It's gone. We have to find it before it went dark here."She replied as she frantically looked around her, checking the pavement as well as each of every bush along their way; and making sure that all spot was checked and no stone was left unturned.They also ended up tracing back their steps."Is it really that important?"Alex asked Shantal as the other party was busy feeling in the grass, thinking that her nec
"Oh man, my necklace. Where is it?"Shantal thought out loud after she let out a deep sigh of exasperation. Because despite their combined effort, her necklace was still nowhere to be seen.While Shantal was wallowing over the loss of her necklace, something glistening within the grass caught Alex's attention.He hurriedly checked what was it and realized that it was actually the necklace. He finally found it but chose to remain silent."I'm pretty sure I lost it while we are doing horseback riding. If only I had not talked so much with you and get distracted."Shantal, on the other hand, added with an obvious tone of lamentation."I told you that I would find it for you, didn't I?""I suggest you start thinking what kind of wish you will be granting me.""Hmmm. How about if I buy you the longest-running battery available in the market?""Nah. I have no use for that. Every Android Partners comes with a built-in bat
"My first love."Shantal's answer came shortly and it was brief. At the same time, her set of orb-like eyes glistened with a nostalgic gleam as she rewound her life clock a tad."Zoren, Jodi, and I grew up together and the three of us used to play here. He was the son of a close family friend and both me and Jodi had a big fat crush on him back when we were a child."The corner of Shantal's lip quirked up a little when she recalled the past."When we went to middle school, Zoren confessed his love to me and since I also liked him, we became childhood sweethearts. But I told him that we have to keep our relationship in secret since I know how Jodi would feel about it."The smile on Shantals' face slowly turned into a bitter one the more she continued her story."But a year after that, my parents and I got into a car accident. They died and I was the only one to survive. Later on, we found out that the accident was orchestrated by a family fri
Meanwhile, inside the townhouse..."Arvin my dear, can you please go to Mr. Hamon and asked for more rice wine? I feel like it has been ages since I last had a taste of the wine he made himself. I kinda missed the taste of it in my tongue."Jodi ordered her robot and the other party followed without her instruction delay."Just follow the pavement and it will lead you to the end of the orchard; his farmhouse will be just right across it then.""Roger that!"Arvin replied and without wasting another second, he left.Shantal, on the other hand, entered the house just as when Arvin exited from the same door."Where do you send him? Nighttime is approaching.""I told him to fetch us a few more rice wines from Mr. Hamon's farm.""I came there, you could have just called me.""It's fine. Beside Arvin was already on his way."What if he got lost in the dark?""Ohh, don't worry. Arvin is good at finding his