After night fell, beneath the vast starlit sky, the four of them sat gathered around a table.

Qin Fei tucked into the steak he’d been dreaming of, with black pepper sauce and a bowl of mushroom soup.

Ji Mingyu’s stomach was a little off after the afternoon’s long walk, so Ako made him a bowl of beef noodles.

Piping hot — one bite in and he felt revived.

Lu Beicheng’s dinner was a normal serving of rice with three dishes and a soup, and he brought Zhen Jiu’er along with him.

All of it was food Jiu’er liked.

When she’d been ordering with Ako, she had still been a little dazed, overwhelmed by the high technology.

So she’d just casually pointed at a few dishes.

Braised chicken with mushrooms, sweet-and-sour spare ribs, stir-fried loofah, and a fish-head tofu soup.

Ako hadn’t refused, but figuring she couldn’t finish it alone, had gone to ask Young Master Jiu whether he’d be willing to share the three dishes and soup.

To her surprise, Young Master Jiu had agreed outright — how gracious of him to lower himself so!

So now, Jiu’er and Lu Beicheng sat together, eating dinner.

Jiu’er’s whole being still felt somewhat detached from her body, her reactions a little slow.

She truly hadn’t expected Ako to turn out to be this kind of Ako.

That he could actually let her eat such a lavish home-cooked meal out in the wilderness.

“Not to your taste?” The man beside her lowered his eyes and glanced at her.

Ako grew a little anxious: “Jiu’er, which dish don’t you like? Too salty, or too bland? Ako will pay attention next time.”

“No, no, everything’s great — world-class chef standards, how could I not like it?”

It really was that good — not flattery.

The stir-fried dishes had come from the automatic wok inside Ako’s belly, but the skill level was absolutely top-notch.

Sigh… she felt the sense of disbelief wash over her again.

This Ako was clearly an alien!

Lu Beicheng said nothing more; he wasn’t in the habit of talking while eating.

Though there was no particular etiquette to the meal, the man was elegant enough to make you feel unworthy just watching.

Every casual movement of his was indescribably good to look at.

Jiu’er eventually accepted Ako’s wondrousness and quickly lowered her head to eat.

She’d thought the two of them wouldn’t be able to finish three dishes and a soup, but in the end she’d cleaned the plate herself.

Probably from walking half a day of mountain trail — with that much exertion, even her stomach had grown bigger.

As Ako packed the dishes away into the dishwasher in his belly, he didn’t forget to flash her a smile: “Jiu’er, what would you like for a late-night snack?”

Zhen Jiu’er nearly fainted from happiness on the spot.

She was here to survive in the wild, not on vacation, wasn’t she?

…Night fell, and the wind began to pick up.

The tent, however, looked completely sturdy, entirely unaffected.

“Jiu’er, you can bathe now.” Ako called from outside.

Zhen Jiu’er had finally come to accept Ako’s marvels. She took a change of clothes from her backpack, stepped out, and saw that Ako had set up a bathroom for her.

Not large, but it had everything inside.

“Ako, if I bathe here, can you see me?” Even though Ako was a robot, his voice was male.

To her surprise, Ako’s face flushed a little red: “Don’t worry, Jiu’er, Ako won’t peek at you.”

“…” She was utterly speechless.

What kind of computer genius had built this robot? Even blushing was a feature it had!

“You must absolutely not peek!” she warned again.

“Should we switch it to a female mindset?” A low, pleasant voice drifted over from not far away.

“This… can even be changed?” Jiu’er’s face was a picture of shock.

Ako, terrified, immediately swore an oath: “Sister Jiu’er, I will never peek at you, I swear! Please don’t turn me into a woman!”