The return trip was smooth, and they arrived back at Sunset Manor without any trouble.
As soon as Cherry Miller came back, she was greeted enthusiastically by Yina Yin: "Oh wow, you’re finally back! My brother didn’t give you a hard time, did he?"
Cherry glanced at Ethan Yin, who showed no expression, and replied, "Nope, Ethan was actually pretty nice to me."
"Tsk." Yina Yin shot her brother a look, half amused, half skeptical.
"Alright, they've had a long trip. Let them rest for a bit." Miles Gu quickly stepped in to help his buddy out, dragging Yina Yin away.
Cherry Miller asked the housekeeper, "Was everything alright at the manor while I was gone?"
"Everything was normal," the housekeeper replied. "But Miss Yvonne Jiao kept asking why you didn’t come back last night."
Cherry Miller could only shake her head helplessly.
Yvonne Jiao really is something else...
Cherry Miller was about to head back to her room to rest when she heard Yvonne Jiao’s urgent voice behind her: "Ms. Miller, why didn’t you come back last night? Did something hold you up?"
Cherry Miller turned slowly and looked at Yvonne Jiao, her voice slightly cold: "Yeah, I had some things to deal with."
"So you were with Ethan Yin the whole time?" Yvonne Jiao asked instinctively.
"Is that any of your business, Miss Jiao?" Cherry Miller frowned, clearly not liking others prying into her affairs.
"Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, I was just asking," Yvonne Jiao quickly bit her lip and put on an innocent face. "I was just worried about you guys."
"Miss Jiao, you’d better worry about yourself." Cherry Miller said coolly. "The security at Sunset Manor is pretty good, but once you leave the grounds, it can get dangerous. I heard you ran out last night and the staff had to go fetch you? If you want to leave, just say so. Sunset Manor isn’t a prison—we’re not keeping you here against your will!"
"No, that’s not it!" Yvonne Jiao’s face went pale at Cherry’s words. "I was just worried about your safety, so I couldn’t help but go out, hoping to meet you guys."
"Well, thanks for your concern, Miss Jiao." Cherry nodded, not bothering to argue. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work."
With that, Cherry Miller turned and left.
She had plenty to do—no time to waste bickering with a lovesick heiress.
Today, everything she ordered at the expo would be delivered, and she needed to find a good place to store it all.
By afternoon, one item after another was delivered to Sunset Manor.
When the little smart robot arrived, everyone gathered around, curious.
Jing Shaohuai set up the program and turned on the robot.
"Hello, master! Please give me a name," the robot said in a cute, childlike voice.
Ethan Yin turned to Cherry Miller and said, "You’re the manager of Sunset Manor. You name it."
Cherry didn’t argue. She walked up to the little robot and entered a name: Lanbao.
Once named, a smiling face appeared on Lanbao’s screen. It winked at Cherry to confirm her identity and said, "Lanbao greets you, big sister!"
"Hello, Lanbao. From today on, you’re part of Sunset Manor. Are you happy?" Cherry asked, poking the robot’s round head.
"Lanbao is very happy. Oh wow, there are so many handsome guys and pretty girls here!" Lanbao was a high-level model, upgraded from the drink-serving robot at the expo.
"That’s right, they’re all part of Sunset Manor, just like you," Cherry explained with a smile. "Why don’t you scan the manor and update your map first?"
"Okay!" Lanbao blinked cutely. "Master’s orders are Lanbao’s mission!"
With that, Lanbao rolled away on its wheels to start scanning Sunset Manor.
"Wow! That’s so smart!" Mu Ziyue was fascinated. "Cherry, where did you buy this?"
"It’s from a pretty unknown manufacturer. The build’s a bit rough, but the core programming is really good," Cherry explained with a smile. "I saw it and thought it was interesting, so I bought it to keep everyone company."
"Miles! You and Ethan are programming experts—can you upgrade Lanbao?" Jing Shaohuai looked at Miles Gu and Ethan Yin with anticipation.
"Sure," Miles Gu nodded with a smile.
Ever since he inherited the family business, he hadn’t paid much attention to programming.
But if it made his younger siblings happy, he didn’t mind getting back into it for a bit.
"Technology changes so fast. I remember when we were kids there weren’t robots this smart. Now they’re almost like human assistants," Miles Gu said with emotion. "Ethan, are you planning to get into AI next?"
"I’ll consider it," Ethan Yin nodded. "AI really is the new frontier. I recall Jiang Zuo is planning to enter that market, right?"
"Jiang Zuo’s just playing around—he can’t compare to us," Miles Gu said. "Come on, let’s talk about this. Shaohuai, Xiaojin, you two come listen as well."
Jing Shaohuai: "Huh, me too?"
Shang Xiaojin: "Okay."
It was clear Miles Gu wanted to mentor his two younger brothers, so he pulled Jing Shaohuai and Shang Xiaojin along without giving them a choice.
Yuzhen Yin stood at the door, watching Lanbao leave with excitement. "I always wanted a smart robot, but my dad never let me! Cherry, you’re the best! Lanbao’s intelligence is way above the other robots I’ve seen!"
Cherry explained, "This is just the first-generation model. They didn’t have enough technical support, so this is all they could do. The manufacturer was hoping to get more investment at the expo. Honestly, this batch is way better than the old semi-smart robots. Once Lanbao scans the map of Sunset Manor, he can move around freely. He’s got some basic intelligence, but the technology’s still limited, so he’s not quite on par with humans yet. But his computing speed is faster than ours. Plus, he’s got lots of extra features—he can do chores, control kitchen appliances, water the flowers, and more."
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!)
"Wow!" Not just the young masters—even the housekeepers came over, amazed. "Technology’s advancing so fast! Soon robots will be able to replace people at work, right?"
"That’s still a long way off," Cherry said. "AI is still artificial—it can’t replace human imagination or wisdom. But for regular chores, it’s totally fine."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The delivery companies kept coming, and every time they unboxed something, it felt like a surprise.
No wonder women love opening packages.
By three in the afternoon, the custom-made 'Qu Shui Liu Shang' set arrived.
Cherry smiled and said, "Eating and playing every day gets boring. We need something classy! I ordered a custom Qu Shui Liu Shang set so we can try a refined activity together."
Yun Shuang’s eyes lit up as she looked at Cherry. "This is great," she said.
It was clear Yun Shuang really liked it.
"Too bad we didn’t think of this during the banquet. Otherwise, everyone could have played together," Jiang Yunchen said.
"Yeah, it’s more fun with more people," Yuzhen Yin agreed.
"No problem, we’ll just throw another party!" Mo Yumou chimed in, both of them running their hands over the Qu Shui Liu Shang’s case, admiring the fine chicken-wing wood it was made from, their eyes curving in delight.
Everyone here really has great taste!
Thanks to the things Cherry Miller brought back, everyone got in the mood to play and had a blast.
Sunset Manor was lively all day long.
It wasn’t until late at night that things finally quieted down.
The next morning.
Cherry had just woken up when the phone by her bed rang.
Cherry quickly answered. The head of security was on the line: "Ms. Miller, someone brought you an invitation and said you have to receive it in person."
"An invitation?" Cherry was surprised, then said, "Okay, I’ll be right there."
Cherry didn’t bother washing up, just threw on her clothes and hurried to the security booth.
Sure enough, a uniformed young man was waiting at the gate, smiling at her. "Are you Ms. Miller?" he asked.
"I am," Cherry nodded. "And you are?"
"I’m from the Li Residence. I’m here to deliver an invitation from our young lady," the young man said. "Her birthday banquet is next Monday, and she’d like you to attend."
Cherry replied, "Miss Li? I don’t think I know her."
"That’s why I was asked to deliver the invitation personally," the young man said with a smile.
"Who is it?" Yina Yin’s voice came from behind.
Cherry turned to see Yina Yin had just finished her run.
The mountain air was fresh, and morning jogs felt great.
So unless the weather was bad, Yina Yin ran two laps around the mountain every day.
"It’s an invitation from Li Residence, asking me to join Miss Li’s birthday banquet," Cherry said, handing the invitation to Yina Yin.
"Oh! Interesting! Isn’t Miss Li Derek Tang’s new flame?" Yina Yin never worried about offending anyone and went straight to the point. "Why’s she inviting you? Wants to see what her boyfriend’s unattainable goddess looks like?"
The young man delivering the invitation looked a little embarrassed.
Yina Yin tossed the invitation aside and said disdainfully, "If you don’t want to go, then don’t! What’s Li Residence anyway? Who gave them the nerve to act like they can boss you around?"
With the Yin family backing her up, no one dared mess with Cherry Miller.
Some people probably thought since Cherry lost her Chief Assistant position and became just a housekeeper, they could bully her.
In the past, no one would’ve dared.