J1 finished half of the bowl of noodles and pushed the bowl aside. He then opened the juice bottle for Rosalie and attached the straw for her. After that, the two of them walked back toward the shopping center together. J1 walked carefully beside Rosalie, maintaining the calm and composed manner of Julian as he followed Julian's familiar movements. Just then, a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Rosie… sweetheart."
When Rosalie turned around, she saw her friend Mia approaching them with a bright, delighted smile, almost half-running toward them. Rosalie's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her mind became tangled with thoughts about how she was going to deal with Mia, who believed that J1 was Julian.
"Oh… Mia… you… you're here too?"
Although Rosalie tried to keep her composure, her words came out slightly stammered. Mia immediately grabbed Rosalie's hand and pulled her into a hug.
"Me? I'm out shopping with Mom. And look at you two… I bet you're having a great time, aren't you? Going out together with your sweetheart and all. Rosalie… didn't we make plans to meet sometime this week? Are we still going? I've already prepared my clothes. We should definitely go before school starts again, okay?"
Mia teased her while holding onto Rosalie's arm. Her eyes sparkled with youthful excitement and genuine happiness for her friend, completely oblivious to the extraordinary scientific deception unfolding right before her eyes.
J1 hesitated for a moment before glancing at Rosalie. When Rosalie gave him a subtle signal with her eyes, J1 immediately stood calmly, maintaining Julian's usual manner. He quietly searched through the information stored in his programs, retrieving everything he knew about Mia. Then Mia turned toward J1 and asked,
"Big brother Julian, you're going away for training, right? Please make sure you take good care of our little friend here, okay? She doesn't know how to express what she feels inside. You came to buy things for your trip, didn't you? See? Our friend here is worried about you. Come back soon, okay? You'll let us know, right? She's always like this…"
Rosalie gave an embarrassed smile, nudged Mia with her elbow, and quickly covered Mia's mouth with her palm.
"Okay, Mia. Everything has already been prepared. Rosie arranged everything herself."
J1 answered Mia's question with a calm smile. His gentle smile radiated a warm, reassuring aura that completely disarmed any lingering doubts, making it utterly impossible for anyone to suspect his artificial nature.
Mia burst into laughter and began teasing him.
"Oh, big brother Julian… you two are always so romantic, aren't you? Even though there's a twelve-year age gap between you, the way you take care of Rosalie is such a gentlemanly thing to do. That's the patience of a great doctor toward his future wife, isn't it?"
Mia laughed as she teased J1, completely believing that he was Julian. J1's eyes brightened slightly as he glanced at Rosalie.
"She's always liked a little girl to me. Even though I'm a doctor, at home, I'm the one who has to listen to her advice."
J1's response made Mia laugh with even more delight. Hearing such playful and natural romantic banter flow so effortlessly from a creation she built with her own hands left Rosalie in an absolute state of awe.
Rosalie, meanwhile, stood beside them with beads of nervous sweat forming on her forehead. J1's way of speaking, his mannerisms, and the calm composure of a doctor were exactly like Julian's, so Mia did not become suspicious in the slightest. Seeing that J1 himself could use Julian's memories to respond naturally to Mia's teasing left Rosalie both amazed and delighted.
"You… seriously, that's enough. He already knows everything now. Come on, come on… you wanted to try that new rainbow ice cream, didn't you? I'll buy it for you. Come on… please…"
Rosalie interrupted Mia and hurriedly pulled her toward the ice cream section. Before leaving, Rosalie turned around and gave J1 a thumbs-up.
J1 followed behind Rosalie and Mia at a steady pace, looking as composed as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Rosalie… I'm going to have this one. You're buying it for me, right?"
Mia asked mischievously while holding three different flavors of the newly released rainbow ice cream in her arms from the long freezer section filled with various kinds of ice cream. Her cheerful laughter echoed through the brightly lit aisle as she playfully winked at Rosalie, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
"Fine… take them. Honestly… Julian is right here, isn't he? He'll pay for it."
Rosalie turned toward J1 and winked at him.
As soon as Mia got the ice cream she wanted, she said goodbye to Rosalie and returned to where her mother was waiting.
Only after Mia had left did Rosalie let out a long sigh and turn her gaze toward J1. A profound sense of relief washed over her entire being, as if a massive weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.
"J1… you're really something. I'm amazing, aren't I? I'm really amazing for creating you this well. Right? You're amazing too. You handled Mia so well. You were really cool."
Rosalie placed both palms against her cheeks, pouted her lips, and blew out a small breath as she spoke. Her face radiated unmistakable pride and playful self-admiration, completely enchanted by her own engineering genius.
J1 watched Rosalie's behavior and let out an amused laugh. He then placed both hands gently on her shoulders and looked directly into her face. Rosalie's eyes widened at J1's unexpected action, and she suddenly fell silent. With a completely expressionless face, J1 asked,
"Shall we go, Rosalie? You must be tired after all that shopping today."
J1 asked casually as he took the bags from Rosalie's hands and walked ahead, leading the way.
Rosalie remained frozen in a loop of surprise, following him silently with a stunned expression on her face.