Chapter 3

Back home, I tossed the AR glasses casually onto the living room coffee table.

Daniel, however, eagerly plugged them in, examining the device with a curious tone:

“This thing looks expensive.”

“Chloe said she spent all her savings to buy the ‘first embrace’ rights,” I repeated, feigning indifference, relaying Chloe’s previous boasts while observing his expression.

Daniel nodded, asked no more questions, and turned to the kitchen, saying he’d cut some fruit for me.

I stared at the blinking blue light, beginning to retrace my memories from the last life.

After reliving it, I was certain Chloe was absolutely involved.

Though I still didn’t know her specific motive for harming me.

What about Daniel? Was he her accomplice too?

When did those two conspire together?

Why did those AR glasses suddenly lose control?

Last time, when Chloe entrusted her AI boyfriend to me, she looked as if she was shedding a hot potato.

What was that look of relief about?

One mystery after another.

Until I uncovered the truth, I couldn’t tip them off.

“What are you thinking about?”

Daniel walked out with a fruit platter, interrupting my thoughts.

I shook my head, picking up a strawberry:

“Nothing, just wondering if Chloe is a little too obsessed with this AI boyfriend of hers.”

Daniel’s gaze became somewhat unnatural, and he let out a dry laugh:

“You just like to overthink things. It’s the magic of technology. I heard this AI can deeply learn and simulate emotions, so it really understands people.”

A cold sneer formed in my heart. *Yeah, it really understands how to kill people.*

That night, I made an excuse about needing to work overtime, took my laptop, and locked myself in the study.

I didn't touch the glasses.

But in the dead of night, I could hear a faint electrical hum, and a subtle rustling sound in the living room, like footsteps.

It wasn't Daniel.

I knew it was *it* moving around.

Even in a low-power standby state, the feeling of being watched by that data ghost lingered, a constant shadow.

In my last life, Chloe had pestered me into trying on those AR glasses.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I always felt that while the virtual boyfriend’s image was handsome, his eyes and demeanor held an unsettling, indescribable strangeness.

So, this time, even without turning them on or wearing them, I dared not let my guard down. The strong magnetic jammer in my pocket stayed clenched in my hand all night.