Chapter 19: The CEO's Self-Indulgent Fantasies

Shen Yanzhi looked at the pitiful, self-deprecating meme on his phone screen with an expressionless face. "Who exactly are you?"

"I don't know either."

"I found myself inside your phone the moment I gained consciousness."

[Weak, pitiful, and helpless.jpg]

Chi Yu hesitated for only two seconds before abandoning the idea of posing as an AI system. Having been inside the phone for so many days, she had gained a basic understanding of Shen Yanzhi’s character. If this were a one-time interaction, she could have easily lied. However, she needed Shen Yanzhi’s help to become human, and she could not leave his phone in the short term. If she started with a lie, she would eventually need countless more to sustain it. If Shen Yanzhi developed trust issues toward her, it would be detrimental to their future cooperation. Moreover, she wasn't entirely sure she could pull off the role of an AI.

Shen Yanzhi didn't say whether he believed her or not. Instead, he continued, "Did you appear on the morning of the sixth?"

Although phrased as a question, his tone was a definitive statement.

Chi Yu was genuinely surprised. It was one thing that he knew she played with the phone every night through surveillance, but to know the exact time she had arrived? She remembered being very careful when she first arrived, making sure to leave no traces.

Despite her internal alarm, Chi Yu admitted it directly: "Yes. It was a little after nine on the morning of the sixth, while you were working in your office."

"Why did you warn me today?" Shen Yanzhi asked again.

Chi Yu felt that Shen Yanzhi’s reaction was completely different from what she had anticipated. Subconsciously, she replied: "Is that even a question? You're the owner of the phone! I couldn't just stand by and watch the bad guys succeed, could I? If something happens to you, what would become of me? [Pointing fingers.jpg]"

The phone screen, untouched by any hand, automatically displayed the text. In front of anyone else, this scene would have been enough to make them jump up and shout in shock, but Shen Yanzhi remained calm. Upon reading Chi Yu’s reply, a flicker of understanding crossed his eyes.

Shen Yanzhi had been sensitive to his surroundings since he was a child. On the sixth, he had felt an inexplicable sensation of being watched. Initially, he suspected his office had been tampered with, which was why he had the technical department conduct a full sweep during his meeting. Later, he realized that even in the conference room, the feeling of being watched persisted, following him like a shadow. He hadn't initially suspected his phone until it overheated twice in a short period. Even though the technical team found nothing wrong, Shen Yanzhi’s suspicions remained.

Since his phone was the only thing he carried with him all day, the persistent sense of surveillance was likely coming from it. If one paid close attention, the battery level before sleep and the level upon waking were drastically mismatched. Two days ago, Shen Yanzhi deliberately left his phone on the sofa and went into his study alone to check the recent security footage on his computer. As he spent little time at home, it didn't take much effort for him to find his answer.

The phone, which was supposed to be just a device, was acting as if it had gained a spirit, deliberately waiting for him to leave so it could sneak out and play. To call it "playing" wasn't quite accurate; it appeared to be a very diligent, spirited phone. After zooming in on the footage, Shen Yanzhi could clearly see that the phone never did anything else—four-fifths of the time was spent self-studying programming, and the remaining fifth was spent browsing the homepage of a specific creator on Douyin to unwind. It did this every single day. Balancing study and entertainment, Shen Yanzhi even felt like praising its self-discipline.

The reason Shen Yanzhi hadn't confronted it after discovering its existence was simple: first, he hadn't detected any malice, and second, he couldn't eliminate it. Li Yi and Dang Ze were the best programmers in his company, and even they hadn't detected it; clearly, this entity was beyond conventional comprehension. Furthermore, he didn't believe it could be detected by technology. He knew from the footage that it was clever; it observed his daily routine, knew exactly when he brushed his teeth, and only emerged after he was sound asleep.

It would even cover its tracks after playing, clearing all its browsing history! Such human-like behavior was certainly not something a collection of cold data could do autonomously.

Shen Yanzhi had pretended not to know of its existence. Even this morning, when he woke up and saw the battery had dropped by 22% overnight, he had thought expressionlessly, *This little phone-spirit stayed up late again.* He had expected them to live in this state of mutual non-interference for a long time to come. He just hadn't expected it to expose itself so quickly, and for his sake, no less. It had hidden itself so well for days, proving its caution. Yet, this timid and cautious spirit had chosen to risk exposure the moment it detected a threat to him.

*As expected of my phone,* Shen Yanzhi thought blankly. *Even after becoming a spirit, it doesn't forget to put its owner first.* It was fortunate it had encountered him; if it had belonged to some immature or unreliable owner, who knew how they might have threatened or harmed it, or even sold it off.

At that moment, the cold communication tool that had previously only served to facilitate his life transformed in his mind into something vivid and alive—a nascent little spirit, newly born into the world and unversed in its ways.

After Chi Yu finished, she waited for Shen Yanzhi's response. She saw the man sitting on the sofa lost in thought, his gaze toward the screen gradually turning gentle and tolerant, much like a qualified elder looking at a younger relative with satisfaction.

Chi Yu: "..." Huh? Did something feel wrong?

Before she could figure it out, she saw Shen Yanzhi reach out and gently touch the phone screen. "Don't stay up late playing anymore. In the future, whenever you want to use the phone, as long as others aren't looking, feel free to come out and play."