“Do you love animals that much?” Yinlin asked the Rover. She tried to be polite as much as she could, but he knew she couldn’t comprehend the situation.

“I’m just doing tasks from Xuanyin,” He answered. He understood why she’s looking at him with such a weird face. He was trying to talk with ducks for thirty minutes. Without additional information, his action must have seemed unusual. “She is a researcher for animal languages. She asked me to gather data for the module she invented.”

While Xuanyin was confident about the quality of her invention, the Rover couldn’t help but think about its credibility. It was still far from a reliable translator app since almost every information they gathered was too crude to begin a communication.

“It would be great if we can talk with animals, right?” said Rover. Yinlin smiled without saying anything. He expected an agreement, but she seemed indifferent.

“I thought you liked animals. Like cats,” he added a line. Yinlin answered with a giggle. “It’s true that I like them. It's a completely different matter. If I understand what my cat says in my house, I might feel like there’s a baby I should raise.”

She began to walk around him. “You don’t want to have a baby, right?”

That was the question that the Rover had never considered before. He began to think for a while, and just shrugged. “I don’t think I can choose to have a baby on my own. I can only suggest it to my partner,” then he continued on his research. It was an acceptable answer on every aspect, but Yinlin puffed out her cheeks smoothly. He was clearly misunderstanding.

After his terminal rang a few times, he stopped recording with the module. Xuanyin asked him to focus on their reactions. Respecting her career as an expert, he gave some stews to the ducks and watched how they moved after eating. “It’s still not working well. Should I ask Baizhi or Mortefi about it?”

That idea was great, but only if they have time to spare for the meeting. Baizhi was on her duty, and she would prefer Abby’s data than wild ducks’. Mortefi, on the other hand, was always a busy man. The Rover remembered he had an appointment in the city hall.

“No choice, then,” he slowly sighed. He began to doubt the entire result of translation so far. He tried the module with various species from dogs to fishes, but it rarely returned results with logic. He sometimes couldn’t believe it had already passed tests at the Department of Safety. The module still seemed to have a lot of room for improvement.

With the thoughts, he didn’t notice a finger approaching his left cheek. “Aren’t you ignoring someone important?” Yinlin, poking it, finally interrupted. It seemed she didn’t want to wait any longer. He realized that he wasn’t paying enough attention to her. The Zapstring behind her was charged with electricity; he felt the doll was expressing complaint instead of its owner.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean it,” he laughed bitterly. “My bad.”

“You’re not bad,” she giggled again. “ You were just paying no attention to me. Would you mind if I try that module?”

“Sure, go ahead. Why not?” he gave her his terminal. After receiving it, she began to change options. He watched her hands closely and carefully, in case of her mischievous behavior. He did trust her, but he knew it’s not wise to believe her to the core.

“I don’t think this module is incomplete. You need to build language models. Don’t expect you to understand everything from the beginning,” said Yinlin. She was certain with her theory. “You already have enough samples. Let’s start with the small ones, shall we?”

After adjusting the settings, she returned the terminal to the Rover. She suggested he activate the module. Doubting and expecting at the same time, he pushed the button.

“Good man!” one of the ducks squeaked with a low tone voice. That was the first result they got with new settings. “Nice food. Want more,” the duck asserted. The others followed with similar topics. The Rover remembered he gave them food for recording. He could agree with their taste; Jinzhou skewers never fail.

“It’s interesting,” Yinlin giggled again. As usual, her behavior was very suspicious. “They think you’ll bring food again if they give you praise.”

“Why do you think it’s interesting?” asked the Rover. “Any specific reason for that?”

“I was not going to tell you that, but I have no other way if you’re curious,” Yinlin smiled. “They think the exact same way as the pet owners. They treat you as their pet.”

“I’m not their pet,” he replied with an unsatisfied expression. “I think it might be wiser not to try to understand everything animals say.”

“Of course you are not their pet. You’re communicating with me now,” Yinlin grabbed the Rover’s hand, expressing her opinion quite clearly. He could feel how warm her hand was. She is not an easy person, always hiding what she feels and thinks, but there was no doubt at the warmth of her heart. “I recommend you to return home with me. You became a little impatient,” she added a line.

She was correct. He put too much effort on this task; he might expect the result with too much optimism. They are ducks, after all. “You’re right. I’ll follow your suggestion. Let’s take a break,” The Rover sighed. It was obvious that translating the languages ​​of different species would not be easy.

“Here’s the plum tea I made. I hope you like my performance,” she handed over a bottle to him. He blinked his eyes rapidly. He seemed to have difficulty discerning her intentions. He needed to use a few minutes to make his answer.

“Did you make it on your own?” He spoke with amazement.

“Sure. I’m a woman with skills,” she shrugged. “Come on, try it.”

He came up with a question. That was an important one; he should ask her about it. “How did you know I like to drink plum tea?”

“Do you remember the day I met you for a free product?”

“Of course. You were sitting at the table right next to me with a sports drink.”

“What did you order before I called you?”

“Well, plum tea,” he sighed again. His eyes grew wide as if he couldn't believe it. He stared at her, and she didn’t hide her face, enjoying his gaze. Her hands were not shaking, and her eyes remained calm. She was as relaxed as always. “Why did you memorize that trivial thing?”

“I don’t have to tell you every intention I have.” That’s the line she always used when she needed to hide her feelings. He had no other choice but to let her do that, since he couldn’t figure out how to break her defense. “Your preference is a favorite subject I dig into. The more I discover, the more I enjoy.”

“True,” he admitted. He held her right hand tight. “However, I hope someday you will tell me every part of your plan honestly. That would be very generous of you.”

She couldn’t take it out easily. She let him hold her hand, not because of his strength but also of his innocence. She looked into his eyes. He was determined, but she had much more things to do with him. She smiled, and put her left index finger on his lips. “Maybe the day will come. Until then, however, you must wait.”

He anticipated it. He was never disappointed about it. She could escape whenever she wanted; eventually she would return to him. They still had a negotiation to proceed.