As the conversation gradually died down, everyone took out their phones to check on their snails; it could have gone out to explore or was eating or reading a book at home.
There wasnât anything special about the game, but everyone just liked to play it.
The party went on till about 10.00PM. Sophia walked them out as she had had too much peanuts earlier, and she wanted to take a small walk to help digest the food before going back home.
After a spring rain, the air in Bayside City felt refreshing as she walked around the neighborhood. She enjoyed the cold breeze so much that she was reluctant to part with it, and she accidentally walked toward Villa No. 2.
It brought back a vivid memory of her first meeting with Linus. But now, they were worlds apart. Isnât it saddeningâ¦
Sophia couldnât help but walk toward Villa No. 2; it was as though something was calling out to her.
Ever since Linus left, Villa No. 2 had been empty. Although Linus still owned the property, he left the keys to Sophia and cut off all ties, so the house was considered Sophiaâs for the time being.
She walked back home to take the keys then headed back to Villa No. 2 and swiped the door open in the dark.
The key was actually a card that could be swiped to open the door of the villa.
When Sophia walked into the courtyard, the automatic light switch sensed that someone had walked in, and so the living room lights were automatically turned on and brightly lit up the whole villa.
As she walked into the quiet living room, she realized that Linus had left in such a hurry that he didnât manage to move out all his stuff; there were cat nests neatly placed together and even some cat hair left on the cat post.
Dazed, Sophia sat on the sofa and stared at the vacant living room, allowing her mind to go blank.
Suddenly, a voice came from a corner. âMommyââ
Startled, Sophia looked toward the source of the sound. There were a pair of round black eyes staring back at her from the dark.
Nicholas walked out from the dark and stared at Sophia with his bright, sparkling eyes.
âNicholas!â
Sophia cried out with surprise and glee as she bent down and hugged Nicholas.
It had been 2 months since Linus had left, and no one had come here. She couldnât believe that he would leave Nicholas behind.
Nicholas was still wearing Nathanâs tiger head cap with its two antennae poking out two holes; it made it look like a little tiger boy.
âWhy are you here? Didnât you leave with Linus?â Sophia asked.
âUncle Linus gave me a new mission; he told me to guard the house and keep it clean.â
Although Nicholas was not human, Sophia still felt heartbroken for it when she learned that it had been staying alone in the house for the last 2 months without anyone noticing.
Dust flew everywhere when she tapped his tiger-head hoodie. âCome on. Letâs go home.â
Nicholas reached out its mechanical hand and held Sophiaâs. âAlright,â it replied.
Sophia happily brought Nicholas back home.
Meanwhile, in the living room of Villa No. 8, Michael and Nathan were watching TV after the nanny had cleaned up the mess. They were boringly watching television and having boring conversations.
âCall me Daddy,â Michael said.
âYouâre not my Daddy,â Nathan retorted.
âThen call me Uncle.â Michael tried again.
âYou wish,â Nathan scoffed.
âIf you donât want to call me Daddy, someday, someone will!â Michael huffed.
Nathan shrugged him off.
Upon his cold shrug, a chirpy voice suddenly rang out from the door. âDaddy!â
The two people flinched when they heard the voice and turned around to see Sophia entering with Nicholas.
Nicholas was covered in dust, but it still greeted Nathan and Michael with enthusiasm when it saw them as the two wheels under its feet rolled fast. âDaddy! Nate!â
It was a robot, so it didnât possess any human emotions. In its memory, Michael had turned it off, and when it was turned on again, Linus had given it a new commandâto stay patiently at Villa No. 2 and wait for Sophia to pick it up one day.
Its mission hadnât changed; it was still the sameâto protect Sophiaâs family.
Now that Sophia had come and picked it up, it acted like nothing had happened.
Nathan was very happy to see Nicholas as he rushed over and hugged it.
Nicholas arrived in front of Michael and looked up at him. âDaddy, I want a head rub.â
Michaelâs eyes flickered for a moment, an unsettled look shadowing over his face. Ever since he found out that Linus was using Nicholas to steal Fletcher Familyâs secrets, he had been bearing a grudge against it.
Nicholas wasnât at fault here, butâ¦
After a while, when Nicholas saw that Michael wasnât responding to it, it repeated, âDaddy, I want a head rub.â
Michael remained motionless. Then, Nicholas reached out its mechanical hand, grabbed Michaelâs hand, and placed it on its head. Hence, Michael sighed and rubbed its dusty head.
Michael was speechless. I might as well keep it around.
Itâs just a robot, anyway.
Probably due the comfort of knowing Nicholas was back, Sophia didnât have nightmares at night anymore and slept soundly. Michael lay down next to her and looked at Nicholas, which was sitting at the bedside.
It had entered standby mode and was secreting a calming, antidepressant incense to help Sophia sleep.
Michael, however, couldnât sleep and got up abruptly. When Nicholas saw him get up, it chased after him hurriedly.
After Nicholas followed Michael into the study room, Michael closed the door and sat down at his desk.
He stared at Nicholas and said, âSay what you need to say.â
He could never put the blame on a tiny robot; it was, after all, just a robot. That was why it would betray Michael and Sophia but save them during dangerous times.
âDaddy, Uncle Linus left some things for you to see.â
Nicholas seemed to have been upgraded some time ago as its flat face was turned into a screen that could display images. Michael looked at its screen as it showed a scene that seemed to be in the basement of Linusâ house. A man was seen upgrading Nicholas through the surveillance camera.
He was carefully observing every detail of Nicholasâ system, testing and upgrading it over and over again. He put on Nicholas a kind of invincible material that would change color according to the environment before testing its performance system as well as its reaction to the surroundings. Nicholas was able to change colors at any timeâit would turn pink, then blue afterward; it was extremely magical.
The original intention of using this material was so that Nicholas could please more people with its color-
changing ability. After all, people would inevitably get bored with a plain, black robot. If the robot could change its color from time to time, Nathan would enjoy it very much.
This material was certainly not developed for a household robot; it was a strong and powerful military-
grade material!
But it was because of the use of overqualified material on Nicholas that unexpectedly saved Sophiaâs life.
The man was wearing protective goggles as he held a welding gun and personally welded all the internal parts for Nicholas with detailed perfection.