Autistic Genius and His Childhood Friend (4): Both sons ran away from home.

Si Qi sat cross-legged on the floor, dismantling an old, antiquated laptop.

Amidst the scattered yet orderly array of parts, Si Qi turned to Chu Feng, who was sitting in the corner with his legs tucked up, trying not to disturb his work. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Chu Feng blinked, pleasantly surprised that Si Qi had suddenly spoken to him. “Me?”

He chuckled sheepishly. “I don’t know anything about this stuff.”

Si Qi’s expression softened. “It’s fine. Just say whatever comes to mind.”

Chu Feng racked his brain.

He wasn’t someone with many material desires and didn’t particularly care about most things. But since Si Qi had asked, he thought seriously for a moment and then smiled. “I want to get a pet.”

Si Qi: “…………”

Aren’t we talking about machines?

And besides, you already have me (your former pet). Are you seriously thinking about cheating on me with another animal?!

This is blatant infidelity right in front of me!!!

Seeing Si Qi’s expressionless stare, Chu Feng quickly explained, “You know, like those videos online where the owner gives the dog a command, and the dog fetches slippers, socks, or even spins in circles?”

Si Qi gave him a look that was hard to describe. “So you want a machine that can spin in circles and fetch your slippers and socks?”

His interests were… truly unique.

Thankfully, Chu Feng used to be the Lord God and didn’t need things like socks or slippers, otherwise…

Si Qi shuddered, unable to continue that train of thought.

Noticing Si Qi’s strange expression, Chu Feng quickly tried to salvage his image. “No, no, I mean, it would be great if there was a pet robot that could understand its owner’s commands and keep them company.”

Si Qi suddenly understood. “Oh, you mean an AI.”

Chu Feng nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

Si Qi asked seriously, “So, what functions would it need?”

Chu Feng, completely unaware of the global uproar his next words would cause, spoke without hesitation. “First, it should look like a little dog. With four legs and a wagging tail, it should be cute.”

Si Qi pondered this. “Hmm, that makes sense.”

So he had to research what dogs were like as a species, study their biology, habits, skeletal structure, organ functions, and so on…

Chu Feng continued to let his imagination run wild. “Also, its intelligence shouldn’t be too low. I’ve heard some dogs can reach the intelligence level of a human teenager!”

Si Qi nodded in understanding. “That’s true.”

An intelligent robot, after all, should have a vast database of knowledge, including but not limited to psychology, linguistics, sociology, art, and culture…

Chu Feng added, “And it should be able to help its owner with some tasks.” Like fetching slippers.

Si Qi “fully” understood Chu Feng’s meaning. “Of course.”

While he didn’t expect the robot pet to be able to share Chu Feng’s workload or solve his problems like he could, it should at least handle tasks like sweeping, mopping, cleaning, finding food, and fending off intruders.

Chu Feng smiled. “And it would be great if it had a long battery life. It would be really sad if the pet died before its owner.”

Si Qi thought that made sense and promised, “Don’t worry, that definitely won’t happen.”

Although the energy sources in this world were relatively primitive, making it difficult to create a robot with an ultra-long battery life, Si Qi could always use the energy devices stored in his World Tree leaves!

For example, micro-controlled nuclear fusion, super-structured magnetic induction track batteries, high-compression dark matter energy… Well, maybe not the last one. A slight mishap could blow up the entire planet.

Seeing Si Qi agree, Chu Feng was delighted.

He didn’t actually expect Si Qi to be able to create such a robot. He just thought it would be better for Si Qi to focus on something like this rather than working tirelessly in that smoke-filled environment. He smiled and said, “That’s about it. Maybe start with a simpler robot to practice first.”

Si Qi nodded, his expression innocent and obedient. “I’ll do my best.”

Chu Feng cheered him on. “Go for it!”

After saying that, Chu Feng got up and headed out, asking Si Qi, “What do you want for dinner?”

Si Qi looked at him eagerly. “Anything you give me is fine.”

Chu Feng’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but rub his nose and smile without saying a word, then turned and left.

Not long after, he returned with two bowls of rice topped with dishes and a box of pudding, placing them next to Si Qi.

Si Qi was busy working on the robot, but the smell of food made him look up. His gaze inadvertently fell on the pudding beside him, and the corners of his lips curled into a smile.

His dark, pearl-like eyes looked at Chu Feng, his smile so sweet it could melt anyone’s heart. He gazed at Chu Feng with complete dependence, making the young Lord God blush so hard he almost grabbed his bowl and fled in embarrassment.

“D-don’t look at me like that…” Chu Feng said shyly. “The pudding is for you. If you like it, I’ll buy it for you every day.”

“Of course, I want the pudding,” Si Qi said meaningfully, his eyes lingering on Chu Feng. “But you…”

I want you too.

“……” Although Chu Feng didn’t know what Si Qi was about to say, the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice were enough to leave him utterly defenseless.

His cheeks burning, Chu Feng buried his face in his bowl and ate hurriedly. After wolfing down his food, he grabbed the bowl and ran out the door. “I’ll go wash the dishes!”

Left alone, Si Qi sat there, propping his chin on his hand, smiling as he watched his beloved flee in a fluster. His mood couldn’t have been better.

After finishing his meal and savoring the pudding, Si Qi picked up the mechanical parts and continued working.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the sun had set, and it was already 10 p.m.

Chu Feng, the timid one, had spent several hours outside calming his racing heart before finally walking back into the room and saying to Si Qi, “It’s time to sleep.”

Si Qi hummed in acknowledgment, put down the mechanical parts that were starting to take shape, and went to wash up.

When he returned, he saw the narrow one-meter-wide bed in the small room and the pitifully cramped sleeping space on the floor in the corner, which barely counted as a place to sleep. He raised an eyebrow.

Chu Feng was tidying up the bedding on the floor. Seeing Si Qi return, he pointed to the small bed and said with a smile, “You can sleep on the bed.”

Si Qi replied directly, “Either you sleep with me, or I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Chu Feng was taken aback and stammered, “How can you sleep on the floor…”

Besides, the bed was so narrow. If they both slept on it, Si Qi would definitely have a hard time resting.

Si Qi crossed his arms, his expression unyielding. “Then sleep with me.”

“…………”

Chu Feng, who had just managed to calm down, found his emotions stirred up again by Si Qi’s straightforwardness. He had only ever observed Si Qi from a distance, seeing him as stiff and reserved when interacting with others, and had assumed that was just his easy going personality.

But now, after their first real conversation, he realized that Si Qi was nothing like what he had imagined.

It felt… even more nerve-wracking.

He didn’t know how to describe the way his heart raced and his face flushed every time Si Qi said something.

All he could do was nod with red ears. “O-okay then.”

Somewhat dazed, he moved the pillow and blanket back onto the small bed, which was immediately filled to the brim with two sets of bedding.

Si Qi simply said, “One blanket is enough. We’re both guys. We won’t get cold sleeping together.”

“Huh? Ah…” Just hearing Si Qi say that was enough to make Chu Feng’s imagination run wild. Afraid of saying too much and making things awkward, he decided to stay silent. With his face and neck burning red, he put the extra blanket back in the closet and stood awkwardly by the bed, too nervous to even climb in.

The more Si Qi watched, the more he found this version of Chu Feng utterly adorable. He simply walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled Chu Feng down beside him.

Chu Feng let out a short, surprised sound. “Ah…”

He nearly fell right on top of Si Qi.

Quickly rolling to the side, he couldn’t stop replaying the brief but soft and warm sensation of that almost-embrace in his mind. His heartbeat grew faster and faster.

And then…

Then he saw Si Qi smile at him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and scoot over to the side of the bed near the wall, leaving the other side for him.

Chu Feng: “…”

He swallowed hard.

He silently scolded himself for having such a dirty mind.

Obediently, and without daring to move too much, he climbed onto the empty half of the bed, leaving most of the blanket for Si Qi, afraid that he might catch a cold if he didn’t have enough cover at night.

Si Qi rolled onto his side, his bright eyes like stars, filled with joy as he smiled at Chu Feng.

Chu Feng’s heart pounded like a drum, thumping so loudly it felt like his ears might burst.

Si Qi was less than a few dozen centimeters away from him…

Looking right at him…

Why did it feel so different from before…

Today was really…

Si Qi’s soft pink lips parted slightly, revealing pearly white teeth and the occasional glimpse of his tongue as he spoke. “Can you tell me about yourself?”

“…”

Chu Feng slowly calmed down and, after a moment, said, “Do you really want to hear?”

Si Qi nodded. “Yes.”

Chu Feng carefully chose his words, trying to keep his tone neutral. “I ran away from home.”

Si Qi asked, “Why?”

Chu Feng tried to sound nonchalant. “It’s nothing, really. My mom passed away not long ago, and my dad quickly remarried. He brought home a stepmother and a child who’s actually older than me.”

Si Qi: “…………”

Chu Feng: “The woman was his mistress, and the child is their love child. Watching the three of them get along so happily every day made me feel like an outsider. I just couldn’t stay there anymore.”

Si Qi: “So you ran away?”

Chu Feng hesitated. “I wouldn’t say I ran away… Well, okay, I did.”

Seeing his beloved looking so dejected, Si Qi couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face. The young man’s face quickly grew hot, and he buried his head under the blanket, his voice muffled. “Am I pathetic?”

“Of course not,” Si Qi said, also slipping under the covers and wrapping his arms around Chu Feng, gently patting his head. “You can’t choose the family you’re born into, but you can choose the family you’ll have in the future.”

Chu Feng’s heart clenched, and he couldn’t help but lift his head to look at Si Qi’s expression. But with the two of them so close and hidden under the dark covers, he couldn’t see anything.

His nose tingled, and his heart felt impossibly soft. He couldn’t help but tightly hug Si Qi back and murmured, “Yeah.”

Si Qi patted his back. “You won’t be alone. I’ll always be by your side.”

Chu Feng almost burst into tears.

He was certain that if Si Qi asked him for anything at that moment, no matter what it was, he would agree without hesitation.

He felt that Si Qi was the best person in the world.

Early the next morning, Chu Feng got up to buy breakfast for Si Qi and then drove him to school on his electric scooter.

Standing at the school gate, Chu Feng handed Si Qi all the cash he had on him and said, “Take care of yourself at school. I know you don’t have much money, so take this and buy yourself some good food. Don’t go hungry. Remember to eat lunch, and I’ll come pick you up in the afternoon.”

Listening to Chu Feng’s motherly-like instructions, Si Qi didn’t feel there was anything wrong with taking the money. He casually stuffed it into his pocket and said, “You’re worried about me?”

Chu Feng nodded, a bit embarrassed. He probably felt that his inexplicable over-concern might seem strange, so he didn’t dare say too much, simply humming in agreement.

Si Qi: “Then come to school and take care of me.”

Chu Feng: “…”

“Is that not okay?” Si Qi said matter-of-factly. “What if I miss you at school? I don’t have a terminal.”

Chu Feng was both amused and exasperated. He could only say, “I’ll think of something.”

A faint smile appeared on Si Qi’s lips, and he nodded in satisfaction, waving at Chu Feng before turning to enter the school.

Chu Feng stood at the gate, watching Si Qi’s retreating figure until it disappeared from sight.

After a while, he took a deep breath and pulled out the terminal that had been turned off since he ran away from home.

When the terminal powered on, several missed calls popped up. Chu Feng clicked on one and dialed back.

The call was answered quickly, the voice on the other end showing a hint of concern but not much urgency. “Where are you?”

Chu Feng didn’t answer, his tone indifferent as he said, “I want to transfer schools. Arrange it for me.”

…

Si Qi entered the classroom, and soon the room filled with greetings.

“Good morning, Si Qi!” Seeing that Si Qi didn’t look exhausted, the classmates breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Looks like your parents didn’t mistreat you yesterday.”

Si Qi: “I didn’t go home last night.”

The classmates were surprised. “Then where did you go?”

“It’s better that you didn’t go back. At least you didn’t have to work all night again.” The students were indignant and couldn’t help but direct their anger at Si Songyi, who was sitting nearby. They said with disdain, “I thought that if you weren’t there to do the work, Si Songyi would have to do it instead. But turns out, that’s not the case! Guess the biological son really is treated differently! They always say it’s just kids helping out at home, but it’s clearly favoritism!”

The surrounding students joined in the criticism, their eyes filled with disgust as they looked at Si Songyi.

These were kids living in an ivory tower, protected by adults, so their sense of right and wrong was much clearer than that of more jaded grown-ups. They liked what they liked and hated what they hated, with no need for superficial niceties to save face.

Si Songyi had always been the apple of his parents’ eyes, and with his family’s wealth, he had always been popular at school and in social circles. He had never been publicly humiliated like this before.

He sat at his desk, his face burning with shame, listening to the surrounding chatter. Unable to endure it for long, he grabbed his bag from the side of the desk and stormed out of the classroom without looking back.

No one tried to stop him; instead, their laughter grew even more scornful.

The original host wasn’t one to talk much, and neither was Si Qi. He didn’t join in the criticism and didn’t care much about the Si family. Instead, he was more focused on the robot pet Chu Feng had mentioned wanting.

So he sat at his desk, seemingly meditating, while in his consciousness space, he worked on programming the AI. With Xiu Xiu’s help, he watched heartwarming videos of pets interacting with their owners in this world, feeling relaxed and happy.

Meanwhile, Si Songyi, fuming, returned to the restaurant. He threw his bag on the ground and vented his pent-up anger at his parents: “This is all your fault!”

The two adults were stunned to see their son suddenly return home during school hours. Before they could figure out what was going on, Si Songyi unleashed a torrent of angry words:

“Why did you have to make Si Qi work at the restaurant? And not only that, but you let everyone know about it! Now I’m being laughed at by everyone at school!”

“Great, now I can’t even go to school anymore. Are you happy now?”

With that, he stormed out of the restaurant in front of his parents.

The two parents, publicly scolded by their child in front of so many customers, were utterly humiliated.

Father Si was furious, his face dark as he cursed, “Ungrateful little brat!” Mother Si, feeling guilty, tried to comfort him but failed to stop Si Songyi, who disappeared into an alley in the blink of an eye. Her heart was in turmoil.

Yesterday, when she had been exposed for mistreating her stepson, she had felt embarrassed but not remorseful. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with how she treated Si Qi. If anything, it was the child’s fault for being too stupid and easy to manipulate. He deserved it.

Even if people looked at her differently, so what? It wasn’t as painful as losing over two thousand yuan in subsidies every month.

But today, seeing her son angrily pointing fingers at her, Mother Si finally felt panic. That was her precious baby! How could he suffer even a little bit of hardship? Realizing that her actions might cause her son distress and even make him drop out of school, she felt regret. She quickly grabbed her husband’s hand and said, “Go after him!”

Her husband’s reaction chilled her to the bone. The man frowned, his face cold, and said irritably, “Go where? Can’t you see how many customers are here? I have to work!”

His words were so matter-of-fact that Mother Si froze, unable to believe what she was hearing. She shrieked, “Our son just ran away from home, and all you care about is the store?!”

Father Si’s face flashed with guilt, but only for a moment. He quickly found a reasonable excuse: “Si Qi didn’t come home last night either, and I didn’t go looking for him, did I?”

Mother Si was so stunned she could barely speak. Trembling, she grabbed her husband’s arm and dragged him outside, saying, “Si Qi is Si Qi, but my son is my son! How can you compare the two?!”

The aunt next door, who had just seen Si Songyi storm home during school hours and yell at his parents, now watched as the couple argued outside, trying to find their runaway son. Hearing Mother Si’s words, she couldn’t hide her disgust and rolled her eyes, loudly exclaiming, “Well, isn’t this a fine stepmother! When the stepson runs away, she calmly sits in the store and keeps working, but the moment her biological son runs out the door, she’s desperate to find him! She usually puts on such a kind motherly act, but when it really matters, the mask slips, doesn’t it?”

Her voice carried far, and many passersby and neighbors overheard, gathering to watch the scene.

Mother Si, humiliated, would normally have defended herself with sharp words, but with her son running away in anger, she couldn’t care less about that now. She stubbornly dragged her husband, who wanted to go back to the store, away, her face red and head lowered, pretending not to notice the onlookers’ gleeful stares.

Her husband, unable to resist her determination, sighed, “Fine, let’s go look for him. Do you know where Xiao Yi usually goes?”

Father Si, who had always heard his wife talk about how obedient and well-behaved their son was, instinctively thought of places like bookstores or parks.

But to his surprise, after thinking carefully, his wife said, “Let’s check the mahjong parlor first, or maybe the arcade. Oh, and the bar too!”

Father Si, who had always believed he had a well-behaved son, was speechless. “…………”

He laughed bitterly, pointing at his wife’s head. “You’re telling me your ‘good son’ spends his time in places like that?!”

Mother Si, realizing what she had just said, turned pale.

She was a bit stunned herself. She hadn’t thought about it carefully before, but now that she did, it didn’t sit well with her.

“This… this…”

Yes, without realizing it, her precious son had been frequenting such places.

Father Si added, “Those places are expensive. I only give him two hundred yuan a month for pocket money. How does he afford it? Did you secretly take money from the store to give him?”

Mother Si, knowing how much her husband cared about money, quickly denied it. “Of course not! That was my own money!”

Father Si grew even angrier, pointing at her. “Your money? You’re at the store all day. Where did you get money? Who gave it to you?”

A faint green light seemed to glow above Father Si’s head as his expression darkened. Mother Si, unwilling to admit the truth, said reluctantly, “…It was from Si Qi.”