That afternoon, after a mobile verification, a staff member gave me the necessary details.

I responded, "I'll get the whole set. What service packages do you have?"

"We have two packages, ordinary and VIP. The VIP package includes a metallic silver version, also the virtual friend version."

"Yes, the friend version," I said.

"We'll deduct the deposit first and have our designer visit you tomorrow. No refund of money allowed."

I hung up.

A few minutes later, over 900,000 was taken away from my account.

Inflation wasn't bad that year but house prices did rise quite a bit.

My apartment was only 60 square meters but it cost three million.

In comparison, 900,000 was a big sum as well for just the deposit - a nonrefundable deposit.

To be honest, I felt as though I'd been scammed. Fortunately, I was well off enough not to care too much about it.

The next morning at about 10 AM, my doorbell rang.

I opened the door muddleheadedly and was surprised by what greeted me.

A team of seven, led by a woman, was at my door. "Hi, we're the champion team from the 2047 Red Dot Design Compet.i.tion. Can we go in? We'll see how we can remodel your place."

The man behind her exclaimed in astonishment, "He's really Chalk! That king gamer!"

Everyone looked at me wide-eyed, whispering among themselves.

"That's not me, you got it wrong," I said automatically.

"I know you've not been streaming videos recently. Everyone's saying that you've retired," the man continued.

"Please just leave if you're going to continue this," I stated, regret starting to pile up within me.

The man shut his mouth upon sensing the tension, and the others stopped their private discussions as well.

The woman in front spoke up again, "I'm so sorry about that. We will deal with them later. We respect our clients' privacy so you have nothing to worry about. Can we go in?"

I kept quiet for a while and the man at the back lowered his head.

"Alright," I agreed before opening the door and inviting them in.

The seven of them toured my place for some time.

The woman told me, "Xiaomi has 17 installations and the installation fee would be 630,000. 300,000 of the deposit you've given is for renovation."

I nodded.

"We would like to ask if you want us to install all 17 of them?" the woman asked, handing me a form.

I took a look at the form. The housekeeper could buy groceries, boil water, warm the bed, clean and wash all by itself.

I read the form and all the way at the bottom were two letters: AR.

"What's this?" I asked.

"The virtual reality technology available in the WIP version. Choose a character and it will appear in your home. It's virtual, of course, but it will be your housekeeper and friend at the same time," she explained.

I nodded, satisfied. "I want everything in this form."

She nodded and took out a card. "This is a room card for the hotel near your apartment. Come take a look anytime you wish, but we need a week to modify your place. Of course, you'll have some time now to pack whatever you need."

I accepted the card and asked, "You need a week for installation?"

She nodded.

I looked at the card.

"I don't need anything. You can change the place up however you wish."

I set my keys down and left the apartment.

I stayed in the hotel for a week and during that period, I did regard them with suspicion.

After doing some investigations on the Internet, however, I discovered that purchasing Xiaomi smart housekeeper did come with this customization service.

And the price that I had paid was for the most luxurious package. There wasn't much information available on this but I was sure that it wasn't a scam.

A week pa.s.sed excruciatingly slow but I made no trips back home.

I did not even change the clothes that I had worn to the hotel. I simply bought enough underwear from the supermarket for a week.

I avoided returning home in fear that they would continue discussing me and my fall from success.

The hotel card expired a week later and I received a knock on the door.

The man who recognized me appeared at the door and returned my house keys to me.

"All done?" I asked.

He smiled, "Yeah, you'll be satisfied, I promise. I would also like to apologize to you, Mr. Chalk. I should've respected your privacy. I hope you'll accept my sincere apology."

I took my keys and waved away his apology. "It's fine. It's a small matter."

He walked off happily and I went to check out before heading home.

The moment I opened my door, a crisp machine activation sound rang.

My chair floated toward me and I sat on it out of habit.

A female voice started, "Hi, Master. Please customize my appearance."

A half-transparent image appeared mid-air.

I started selecting the looks, personality, and hobbies of my housekeeper.

I picked everything out based on my ideal companion before pressing confirm.

Half a minute later, a projected virtual character appeared before me. "Good afternoon, Master."

I was more than pleased with her voice and appearance.

She reminded me of my first love.

I extended my hand, wanting to touch her, but it went through her instead. 

The image s.h.i.+fted a few steps after a few seconds of response time. "You almost banged into me, Master."

I looked around and stepped on the chair to observe the projector overhead.

The projector was suspended from the ceiling and it spiraled as it projected the image of my housekeeper.

I pointed at the projector. "What's this?"

After a few seconds, she answered, "This is the Xiaomi 63rd generation smart housekeeper. It can control everything in this house through Bluetooth.

"Then you are..."

Few seconds.

"I don't have a name yet, Master," the virtual image opened her mouth and smiled.

I recognized some smart functions although those weren't enough to me.

It needed a longer response time. After some thought, I decided, "Let's call you Xiaoai."

Another few seconds later, Xiaoai smiled. "Alright, Master. What else can I help you with?"

"You can cook?" I asked.

"Yes, Master. Please order from the menu on that tablet. We will purchase the necessary ingredients from the nearby market and start working the pans," Xiaoai pointed at a tablet on the faraway table.

"Delivery? Or do I have to do it myself? Aren't you virtual? How do you cook without hands and feet?" I asked, shocked.

"Watch this and you'll know. The tablet on the table has already been switched to menu mode," Xiaoai answered.

"Why don't you show me a virtual menu where I can select the dishes from?" I questioned.

Seconds pa.s.sed.

"I will feedback this to the higher-ups for future optimization."

I ordered a rice omelet from the menu.

I received a message shortly after.

60 dollars had been deducted from my account.

I waited curiously, wondering what was going to happen next.

I heard a noise outside my apartment and went to open the door.

An uncle was standing outside with my order. He smiled and put a bag of things into the black box on the wall. He scanned the receipt and a green tick appeared on his scanner.

"What's in there?" I asked in doubt.

He looked and me and smiled. "You bought it, right? Eggs and rice. I'm a deliveryman and I was told to put it in there."

He left and another man came over to deliver a bag of meat into the box as well. He then scanned the receipt and left, but not before giving me a friendly smile.

I closed my door and went into the kitchen. The ingredients had been transported inside.

The ingredients were being washed and prepared by a machine as I looked on in confusion.

The machine opened 10 minutes later, revealing a steaming egg omelet. The cleaning machine robot came over and extended its mechanical arm to bring the dish out to the dining table.

Projected toward another corner, Xiaoai smiled, "Your food is ready, Master."

The projector seemed to have locked its focus on me once more.

I processed the fact that I had spent over 900,000 on a housekeeper that wasn't really the friend I imagined having.

"Will you be my friend?" I asked with a bitter smile.