I had dream after dream.

In the dream, ten-year-old Xiao Qin held my hand and said he wanted to take me somewhere.

I excitedly and cautiously held his hand back, stumbling along behind him.

Then, he stopped in front of an abandoned factory, pointing at a broken and tattered iron box on the ground, his face beaming with a bright smile, and innocently said:

"There's my treasure inside. Do you want to go in and take a look?"

I believed him and lifted my skirt as I tried to enter, attempting to find the treasure he mentioned.

Click—

The box was locked, and my vision plunged into darkness.

"Brother?"

"Brother!"

I endured the fear, calling Qin Shi's name again and again, desperately pounding on the iron box, creating loud noises, but no one came to save me.

I curled up in the darkness, numbly telling myself to close my eyes, not look, not think, and I wouldn't be afraid.

My brother abandoned me.

Afterward, Qin Shi's hatred towards me was no longer evident in public.

During lunch break, he would bring me the lunch made by Dr. Qin, but he wouldn't say a word to me. He would go to school with me, but in front of others, he treated me as if I were invisible, as if we were strangers.

When I experienced bullying at school, he walked past me as if nothing happened, without glancing sideways.

I couldn't help but tremble and call out to him:

"...Qin Shi."

I hoped, I wished that he was the one who came to save me.

The person who bullied me looked at Qin Shi with suspicion and asked tentatively,

"Senior, do you know her?"

All eyes focused on us in an instant.

Qin Shi looked me up and down, smiling or not smiling, and slowly said,

"I don't know her."

Don't leave me, don't abandon me.

Please, brother, don't go.

I struggled desperately, trying to make him stop, not to leave anymore.

But he walked faster and faster, gradually disappearing from my sight. Boundless darkness enveloped me, leading me into the abyss.

I woke up.

"You're quite lucky. Even in such a state, you didn't die."

A light and bright young voice came from beside me, and a pair of clear and deep eyes looked at me gently. In those calm eyes, there was no malice, making me feel a sense of bewilderment.

"But all the parts in your body are broken. Judging by the numbers, they should be the oldest X-shaped parts? I can only temporarily replace them with some substitutes. I can't do anything else. As a first-generation robot, you must be very sensitive to pain, right? Come on, endure it a bit, I'll change the parts for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly became compassionate,

"Little robot, why are you crying? You're not even afraid of death. Are you afraid of pain?"

In an instant, it was as if long-buried memories were unlocked.

The indescribable pain surged like a raging wave, about to occupy everything for miles around, completely extinguishing my fighting spirit. The searing agony burned like fire, deeply eroding my body.

I could hear it, my soul was wailing.

"...It hurts."

My nose tingled, and I almost choked back the bitter taste in my throat.

"I'm afraid of pain."