Days went by very fast, and it was Kui Xian’s “birthday” before I knew it was. When my computer told me we were on February 3^rd, I couldn’t believe it. Had it been a year already? Kui Xian had made progress in understanding emotions, but he still wasn’t exactly able to tell the difference between sadness and anger sometimes. I brought him out often and made him guess what people were feeling right now, and most of the time he could guess, but sometimes he wasn’t sure.

Also, I had discovered that not only Kui Xian was addicted to video games, he also liked to sing and dance a lot. He preferred singing, but he could dance pretty well too. Of course, he was a robot. Once he had seen the dance, he could dance it back perfectly. Or, well, almost perfectly. There were moves he couldn’t do well because of the way I had built him. That’s why I was also working on his articulations while working on his future heart.

Often, I was wondering if this was really necessary. After all, Kui Xian had started to get more and more used to human reactions. Sometimes he was even doing something he had seen on the street. It was really cute seeing him trying to pout or imitate facial expressions.

“Zhou Mi.”

His voice made me get out of my thoughts, and I looked at him.

“Yes?”

“The calendar you included in me tells me it’s been a year now since I first got started.”

“That’s right. Happy birthday, Kui Xian.”

“Thank you.”

Yes, he had made progress. A lot of progress. But he still didn’t react too much. I wanted him to react. To get angry, to be happy, or shy. I wanted him to tell me what he liked, and what he didn’t like. I know I had programmed him myself, so I should know. But, the truth is, I didn’t really know my own creation. He sometimes reacted without me programming him to do so, and he often asked questions I didn’t think he would even ask.

“Zhou Mi.”

It had become usual for him to call my name as soon as he saw me getting lost in my own thoughts.

“Yes?”

“When is your birthday?”

“April 19^th. Why do you ask?”

He didn’t reply and went to play Starcraft. I sighed. Kui Xian was a bit evil to me sometimes. Maybe it was part of his personality. In which case I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give him a heart or not.

I smiled to myself. Of course I wanted to give him a heart. He was evil, but there always was a reason why. I had once asked him to wake me up from a nap at 6 PM so I could cook myself something to eat. He hadn’t even cared to wake me up and I woke up by myself at 8 PM, only to find him reading some cooking book and trying to cook something for me. The result had been - let’s be honest - horrible, but his intention was good and I had eaten everything anyways. It didn’t taste good, but it was edible and I didn’t feel sick after eating it. Though I made sure after that to keep my alarm clock with me, just in case he would try to cook something again.

“Hey, Kui Xian.”

He didn’t turn, but replied anyways. “Yes?”

“Want to do something special today? It’s your birthday, after all.”

This time, he turned.

“Something special?”

“Yeah, like going to watch a movie or something. Or buy you new clothes.”

He stayed silent for a minute, then tilted his head to the side.

“Zhou Mi. How do you make money?”

“By working, of course.”

“But, you don’t go outside to work. How do you make money?”

“I make programs and sell them, and I help scientists in the world to create their own robots. Of course I didn’t give them the secret of your creation. They know I succeeded in creating you, but I didn’t tell them how.”

“There isn’t much food in the fridge. Are you sure you have enough money to do something special today?”

I smiled. A bit of a sad smile. He had noticed, then.

“It’s your birthday, Kui Xian. It doesn’t matter if I have to eat a bit less for a week or two.”

He stayed silent again, before standing up.

“Alright. Then let’s do something special.”

We went shopping, because I liked shopping a lot and I wanted to buy him new clothes. Nobody seemed to notice that Kui Xian was a robot. Maybe because they didn’t expect to see a robot in a shopping center. When we came back, I had bought him a whole new set of clothes. I would have to eat less for a while, and work more for a while too, but I didn’t mind it if I could see Kui Xian in new clothes.

I only ate a fruit and some cheese that night before going to sleep. I should start getting used to it right away after all. During the night, I heard some footsteps and the sound of a door closing. But I thought it was all in my dreams.

When I woke up in the morning, it was because of the sound of a door closing again. I opened my eyes and went to the main room, only to find Kui Xian walking to his “bed”.

“Kui Xian?”

He didn’t reply and closed his eyes after lying on his “bed”.

“Kui Xian, I’m talking to you.”

He didn’t reply and I felt annoyed. Why wouldn’t he reply? I sighed and started preparing for the work of the day. Kui Xian “slept” until 3 in the afternoon and I looked at him when he woke up.

“Yah, Kui Xian. Where were you during the night?”

His dark eyes turned to stare at me.

“Somewhere.”

“That doesn’t tell me where you were and what you were doing. What would’ve happened if you got caught as a robot? Please, Kui Xian…”

“I don’t need to tell you. I won’t get caught.”

I sighed and continued working.

“Fine. Do as you wish.”

I was annoyed because he didn’t want to answer clearly. I should’ve added something into him that would make him always say the entire truth. But I didn’t want to add it now. It was my problem if I didn’t do it before.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to contain my anger.

“What do you want?”

“Want me to hug you?”

“No.”

Usually I would never refuse a hug. But he just angered me and I couldn’t simply accept a hug just like that. Not after what he had just said to me. He tilted his head to the side, and looked at me with as puzzled eyes as a robot’s eyes could be.

“Okay.”

He said that, but I was pretty sure I had felt incomprehension in his voice as he moved back and went to play Starcraft and I continued working. After a few hours of work, I calmed down - I wasn’t the kind to be angry for a long time, but I had been worried about Kui Xian and he didn’t seem like he understood that. His soft voice coming from behind me made me sigh.

“Zhou Mi.”

‘What do you want?’, I wanted to say. But I didn’t say it. He didn’t really deserve so much anger towards him. He was a robot after all. He couldn’t understand why I was angry…

“Yeah?” I finally replied after a moment.

“I won’t get caught outside. I do my best acting like humans act. So I won’t get caught. Okay?”

“Why do you tell me that? I was worried, Kui Xian. I don’t want anything to happen to you…”

“That’s why I’m telling you this. I don’t want you to be ‘worried’. Zhou Mi.”

“What?”

“Want me to hug you?”

I hesitated, and finally sighed.

“Yeah. Please.”

He walked to me, and hugged me, breathing softly against my skin, and singing in a low voice. A song in English I had never heard before.

“Cause I was born to tell you I love you… and I am torn to do what I have to… to make you mine, stay with me tonight…”

“Kui Xian” I said, interrupting him. “Kui Xian, what are you singing?”

“A song I heard where I went last night. That automatic translator you gave me was useful to understand what it means.”

“What does it mean?”

“It’s a song about love, someone told me. I acted as I could understand, but I am a robot after all.”

I stayed silent for a while before replying.

“Hey, Kui Xian. I’ll give you a heart. And you will understand.”

He nodded softly.

“Okay.”