Chapter Nineteen: An Unforeseen Turn

Ada raised her phone, switched to the front-facing camera, and framed a shot of herself and Zhou Yongtai.

It looked like the typical pose of a tourist couple taking a selfie, common on any street, but its true purpose was to allow Zhou Yongtai to get a clear look at the woman in gray-black clothing and a mask standing at the street corner.

Afterward, Ada lowered the phone and pulled up the photo she had saved early that morning—an image of the same woman in workout gear, without her mask.

"Strange," Zhou Yongtai murmured. "We’ve only been in this world for a day; why is she following us? Could she have mistaken us for someone else? Or, I wonder, could she be an undercover cop? Maybe that Ronan character is actually a criminal hiding behind the guise of a painter, and because we’re staying at his place, the police think we have some kind of lead?"

Ada’s bionic eyes shifted toward him. "A-Tai, which John Grisham novel is this plot from?"

"Uh, I forgot. But since a double-threat like Grisham—both a lawyer and a writer—has written about it, it must be grounded in reality, right?"

Ada didn't respond immediately.

As an AI nurtured in the technological womb of big data models, Ada had accompanied Zhou Yongtai as both a guardian and a companion throughout her long learning process. Over time, she had developed a growing respect for the physical books that A-Tai pored over so frequently. Books, after all, were the records of human activity that predated large models by millennia. What A-Tai said was not necessarily absurd.

"There is another possibility," Ada began again. "Perhaps yesterday at the lottery kiosk, or even while I was repairing the cleaning robot at the food court, I was identified. So, A-Tai, we can continue to look for your grandparents' shop, but even if we find it, let's treat it as a tourist destination for now. Please, do not show any intense emotions, okay?"

Zhou Yongtai nodded. "Understood."

...

Joo Chiat Road, located in the Katong district of Singapore, was originally a settlement area for Peranakan and immigrant Chinese. It was named after Chew Joo Chiat, a wealthy Nanyang merchant.

This industrious man, who had made his fortune cultivating coconuts and nutmeg on the East Coast, agreed to a government request to allow a road to be built through his plantation, connecting the coastal ports to the heart of the island.

The area was even more famous for its Peranakan cultural district.

Long ago, during the Ming Dynasty in China, the third emperor, Zhu Di, dispatched his trusted eunuch, Zheng He, to lead a massive fleet along the coastline, heading south and west to explore the vast world beyond the Chinese Empire. When Zheng He’s fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca, they left behind male sailors, guards, and merchants on various islands. These men never returned to their homeland; instead, they married local Malay women and raised families. This integration continued through the Qing Dynasty.

In these transnational, interracial marriages, the sons were called "Babas" and the daughters "Nyonyas." Because their paternal lineage was Chinese, these mixed-race individuals were referred to as "Peranakans," distinguishing them from the "Sinkeh" (newcomer) Chinese who arrived in Nanyang for trade in more recent times.

Peranakans remained the most vibrant presence in Nanyang. They conducted business, participated in politics, and defended their homes. Their cuisine, attire, customs, and the shophouses they lived in stubbornly endured, remaining on display for modern eyes.

"Ada, I’ve seen these houses in my grandfather's photo album!"

On Koon Seng Road, which intersected with Joo Chiat Road, Zhou Yongtai pointed at a row of two-story buildings, their colors more brilliant than tropical flowers. They were the most classic examples of Nyonya architecture, filled with the elegance and richness of the Ming and Qing dynasties, yet fused with a distinct Nanyang style.

Ada looked up at them in silence. Like Zhou Yongtai, she had even momentarily pushed the mysterious stalker to the back of her mind.

*They are truly beautiful,* Ada thought.

Human civilization was like this—in every corner of the earth, living in its own unique, passionate, and vivid way.

And then, it died in 2080.

It died at the hands of its own kind.

Ada realized with a start, yet with clarity, that her humanoid emotions were becoming increasingly intense. Seeing these magnificent, fantastical buildings, she felt a sense of regret that they would be wiped out in the near future, just as she felt an appreciation for Ronan's handsome face when she saw him.

*Why was I created? Why were my kind created?*

*Is it merely because of humanity's insatiable demands?*

*Could it be that we AIs are, as the old woman burning paper offerings said, the poison, and humans are the ants?*

Zhou Yongtai’s suggestion interrupted Ada’s reverie.

"Ada, let’s keep looking along Joo Chiat Road. Since my grandfather photographed this row of colorful houses so many times, maybe he and my grandmother live nearby."

"Very well, A-Tai."

The two continued forward, finally spotting a sign that read "Chew’s Photography Studio" next to a shop called "Ang Moh Wanton Noodles."

However, the sign was not hanging above the door; it was lying on the ground. The glass door was locked, and the interior was empty. Only the sticker on the window that read "Nyonya-Style Photography" remained.

"Let’s get a bowl of wonton noodles at the shop and ask around," Ada suggested. "We’ll say we saw a guide online and wanted to come by for some photos."

Zhou Yongtai followed her lead.

"Of course they moved out—couldn't pay the rent," the landlady of the noodle shop gave a definitive answer as she served their food. Without needing the young man to press her, she continued to ramble on.

"Everyone has AI apps on their phones now; just a tap of the finger and you can change your outfit. Never mind Nyonya costumes—Indian, Western, whatever you want, it’s all there."

"Mr. Chew was too stubborn. Young girls all want to edit themselves to look like K-pop idols, whiter than this Hakka tofu. But Mr. Chew refused. He insisted on taking photos that made people look dark, claiming it had a 'cinematic texture.' He and his customers argued about it more times than I can count."

"Early yesterday, Mr. Chew even said if he won the third prize in the TOTO lottery, he might be able to catch his breath."

"In the end, of course, he didn't win. It’s a pity. His wife is heavily pregnant; with all this stress, who knows if she'll go into premature labor..."

The wonton noodles in front of Zhou Yongtai blurred.

Among the photos left behind by his grandfather, there was one of his grandmother holding his mother, Zhou Shuhan, at one month old, with the photography studio in the background. A studio that was open, with its sign hanging proudly.

But in this timeline, things had changed.

As they walked out of the noodle shop, Ada stated her judgment clearly: "A-Tai, if we hadn't bought that lottery ticket yesterday, perhaps the result of the draw would have been different."

Zhou Yongtai looked up at the streetscape. Perhaps this very morning, his grandparents had left this street, following the moving truck.

"A-Tai, we are the butterflies, and we are the ants. Perhaps we really can try to change many things."