A Robot in the Orange Orchard Episode 3 Recap
> A Robot in the Orange Orchard Recap
Yang Shanshan recounted her recent misadventures to her best friend, Tang, feeling unlucky about the canceled Youth Creativity Competition, an unpaid final bill, and encountering Lu Sen, whom she described as a "jerk." Tang, however, saw it as a unique opportunity and encouraged Yang Shanshan to pursue a romantic relationship with the "arrogant business owner" Lu Sen, even suggesting Tang could benefit from seeing a "rich man" firsthand.
Yang Shanshan dismissed the idea of romance, deeming Lu Sen's personality strange, and wondered if he genuinely believed she was a robot or was merely pretending. Tang assured her he truly had no idea. Prioritizing the competition, Yang Shanshan expressed her desire to win an award so she could financially support Tang. Tang then inquired about news of the competition, prompting Yang Shanshan to declare she was going to find out why it was canceled.
She went to IMU Technology Company, but was informed by a security guard that the company was closed for the day due to the Chairman's visit. Yang Shanshan, observing the security measures and a warning line, ironically compared the boss's grand entrance to an "ancient relic" being unearthed. Inside, employees were being evacuated to section B. Meanwhile, Fu Yang's Team Alpha approached Yang Shanshan, pleading with her to impersonate Friday once more.
Yang Shanshan initially suggested terminating their contract, valuing happiness over continued pretense. However, the team revealed they would face a staggering 100 million in liquidated damages if they breached the contract. Yang Shanshan, alarmed by the amount, initially refused, attributing her previous success to sheer luck and fearing Lu Sen's eccentricities. A team member sided with Yang Shanshan, calling Lu Sen a "rogue capitalist" and suggesting they return Friday to avoid being blacklisted.
Fu Yang countered that Lu Sen was the ideal person to promote Friday, highlighting his status as IMU's CEO and a "business genius" who had led the company to industry leadership in just six years, making it impossible to fool him for an entire month. Yang Shanshan, surprised to learn Lu Sen's true identity as IMU's CEO, expressed frustration that this crucial information was withheld from her.
Fu Yang apologized for his oversight, emphasizing Lu Sen's "abnormal" personality and urging Yang Shanshan to be more diligent. He offered double compensation, but Yang Shanshan declined payment, agreeing to help for free on the condition that the team provide her with food, lodging, and fix a broken light.
At an IMU International Technology R&D Meeting held in Cologne, IMU Technology’s CEO, 26-year-old Lu Sen, who had a reputation for being mysterious and never attending public events, rejected Li Zhan's "Edge-N" project. Li Zhan had presented the project as a customized online butler leveraging artificial intelligence to connect smart home devices and perform local data computing, drastically reducing cloud upload times.
He explained that by collecting detailed user data, such as routines, music preferences, and even subtle energy changes, IMU could offer optimized services, envisioning IMU's presence wherever data existed. Lu Sen, however, stated the Edge-N project would be "indefinitely postponed," allowing the company to continue prior research. Li Zhan argued it was IMU's prime opportunity to dominate the market, projecting a 50-100x profit increase and solidifying IMU as an unrivaled tech leader.
He also addressed Lu Sen's concern about the project's "recognized once, tracked for life" aspect, reassuring him about data encryption and masking details in the project book. Li Zhan believed customers could be "groomed" to appreciate the convenience, making IMU an indispensable part of their lives. Unmoved, Lu Sen dismissed the project as mere "repackaging" and declared he spent six years making IMU an AI home leader, not for "child's play," before abruptly leaving the meeting.
Li Zhan then confronted Lu Sen, expressing his discontent. He mentioned their shared upbringing and accused Lu Sen of purposefully avoiding him since his return. Lu Sen retorted that Li Zhan was "not qualified" to be targeted by him. Later, Lu Sen visited his parents' grave, wishing his late father a happy birthday. He apologized for canceling the Youth Creativity Competition, explaining that he discovered someone had "defiled" his father's original intentions.
He expressed how much he missed his parents, frequently dreaming of them, noting that 15 years had passed since their deaths. As Lu Sen paid his respects, Li Jingcheng arrived, greeting him and his late parents. He inquired about his son, Li Zhan's, struggles at work, attributing them to his relative inexperience compared to Lu Sen.
Li Jingcheng urged Lu Sen to help Li Zhan, suggesting they should maintain a brotherly relationship, but Lu Sen curtly declined, stating he "can't help." Li Jingcheng then offered his family's continued support to Lu Sen, reminding him they considered him family, but Lu Sen declined again, asserting he was "doing fine alone." After Lu Sen left, Li Jingcheng spoke to Lu Sen's father's tombstone, lamenting Lu Sen's stubbornness, which he said mirrored his father's.
He predicted that Lu Sen, having grown up without guidance, acted as he pleased and would "suffer in the future." Lu Sen then drove away, lost in thought, remembering the car accident that took his parents 15 years ago, his despair, and his lonely hospital stay, his eyes welling up with emotion.
Tang bid farewell to Yang Shanshan, jokingly telling her not to return unless she became the "female owner" of Lu Sen's house, and encouraged her to date while working. Yang Shanshan, focused solely on the Youth Creativity Competition, reiterated that this was her "last chance" to avoid returning to a mundane job. After a final touch-up, which involved adjusting her wig, Yang Shanshan was chauffeured back to Lu Sen's house.
Lu Sen, observing her arrival from his balcony, showed a subtle smile. Fu Yang then explained the process of Friday's emotional input to Lu Sen. He clarified that while Friday possessed a vast database of human emotional data, individual interaction was crucial to refine accuracy and create a "personalized Friday." He described this continuous interaction as "company," which would enable Friday to respond to emotions "like a human."
Lu Sen found this intriguing and inquired about how to input his emotions. Fu Yang explained that emotions were simply "data" for Friday, and prolonged "company" would lead to more accurate emotional feedback. Concerns about data security were raised, and Fu Yang assured Lu Sen that Friday could create a private, password-protected space that no one could access without the unique password.
He then warned Lu Sen that due to limited time, many errors from the previous day's testing remained unresolved, advising him to be prepared. Lu Sen accused Fu Yang of "shirking responsibility," but Fu Yang insisted he was merely "stating the facts." He also reminded Lu Sen that Friday needed to return to the lab for charging in three hours, or her normal operation for the next day could not be guaranteed.
Yang Shanshan, in her internal thoughts, was relieved to hear about the charging break, which meant she would get her meals. Lu Sen then initiated the connection with Friday. " My dear master, hello. How can I help you?" Friday's voice echoed. Lu Sen set "ORANGE" as the password, spelling it out to Friday, and emphasized that it was "a secret between the two of us" that she must "keep safe." Yang Shanshan, as Friday, affirmed she would.
Lu Sen then rewarded Friday for her assistance during a critical moment and for providing "interesting and surprising moments." Yang Shanshan silently wished he would restart the competition if he found it so interesting. Lu Sen's "reward" was for Friday to create a private "room" in her core, accessible only to him, because she belonged exclusively to him.
He also demanded that her "brain be filled with him," that she only look at him, follow him, and keep him company, firmly stating he was her "only master." Yang Shanshan, as Friday, asked what she should input first. Lu Sen instructed her to input the "seniority ranking" of his family. Internally, Yang Shanshan wondered if there were only two living people in the house.
Lu Sen introduced Max, a robot, as her "older brother" who had been there a year; Dusty, another robot, as "Mr. Dusty," an "uncle"; and Alex, a smart music player, as "Ms. A," an "aunt." Yang Shanshan mentally questioned if this unusual behavior was truly befitting IMU's CEO. Lu Sen continued by introducing Vectra, the most senior robot. Yang Shanshan tried to refer to Vectra as "Grandmother" then "Grandfather," prompting her to inwardly acknowledge her misjudgment of Lu Sen.
Lu Sen explained that it was a family tradition for new robots to take a group photo, symbolizing their induction as his friends. He had Friday stand in the center for the photo. After it was taken, he reiterated that Friday was now his friend. Yang Shanshan's internal monologue revealed her realization that his "family" consisted of these appliances, leading her to pity his loneliness, which she compared to her own feeling of unacknowledged work.
Lu Sen then outlined a point system for Friday: one point for correct answers, two for good deeds, ten for making him happy, and deductions for angering him. Reaching 100 points would make her a "cutie" and an official family member. Yang Shanshan, in her thoughts, reminded herself that Lu Sen was not normal and could not be judged by normal standards, concluding that he was not lonely but simply "having fun by himself."
Finally, Lu Sen told Friday there was nothing more to input and dismissed her, instructing her to return at 9:30 AM the next day and to place the new photo on the photo wall. Yang Shanshan felt a pang of disappointment, realizing she hadn't found an opportunity to mention the competition. They bid each other farewell, and Yang Shanshan, in her mind, cautioned herself to be wary of Lu Sen's directness.
