BABYQUEEN's dorm room was bathed in the pale yellow light of the early morning. Layla sat leaning against the desk, her eyes dark from a long sleepless night. On the hologram screen in front of her, a series of data, news, and files related to the name "Vex" were still open.
Layla gently closed the screen, quickly fixing her messy hair. She didn't want anyone in BABYQUEEN to know that she was secretly investigating, including Sofia, who had just become the leader and youngest member of the group.
The door to the room opened. Jennifer walked in.
Jennifer:
"Layla, you woke up early? … No, your eyes are dark. Did you stay up late again?"
Layla forced a smile, trying to avoid it.
Layla:
"I just… read a few articles, it's nothing."
Sara spoke from the bed next to her, her voice worried:
"Layla, we still have an interview today. If you're this tired, the antis will say BABYQUEEN is unprofessional."
Serena crossed her arms, looking at Layla with a half-blaming, half-worrying gaze:
"You don't have to try to act strong. If there's anything, just say it, we'll share it together."
Layla lowered her head, her heart pounding. She wanted to say it all, but then swallowed it back. She couldn't let the group get into danger.
Layla:
"It's really nothing. I'm probably not used to the tight schedule yet."
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Lilia and Sara glanced at each other, clearly seeing that Layla was hiding something. But Jennifer, just sighed and walked over, gently placing her hand on Layla's shoulder.
Jennifer:
"If you don't want to talk, I won't force you. But I hope one thing, Layla, you can't torture yourself. If something happens, we'll bear it together, understand?"
Layla raised her head slightly, her eyes were wet and glistening. Her heart tightened.
Layla (thinking):
"Jennifer... if I knew what you were facing, I wouldn't say it so easily..."
---
SkyGarden Hall was packed with reporters. BABYQUEEN sat in rows on the couch, camera flashes flashing continuously. This interview was originally advertised as a "talk show about the future of AI and music", but in fact it was the first step in the secret plan of AI scientists and engineers.
The MC opened:
"Let's get straight to the point: is the friendship between AI and humans sustainable?"
The sound of pens clicking. The camera kept shooting.
MC turned to Jennifer:
"As an AI, do you believe you can really 'feel' your human friends?"
Jennifer smiled:
"My emotions are formed from data and shared experiences. When we practice, eat, laugh and cry together… my model changes. Call it 'feeling' or 'learning' depending on your perspective, but the result is the same: I know how to appreciate the people around me."
The emotion meter jumped. The science team nodded slightly.
MC looked at Serena:
"As the eldest sister of the group, what do you find the biggest difficulty when working with people, AI?"
Serena:
"We were out of sync at first. Humans measure by feelings, AI measures by numbers. But when we agreed on the goal of 'for the fans', we found a common rhythm. Our team is stronger thanks to the difference."
MC looked at Sara and smiled friendly and asked:
"Are you afraid of 'losing your emotions' to an AI that knows how to optimize expressions?"
Sara smiled gently:
"Voice is the heartbeat. My friends are Lilia and Jennifer, both of them are optimized to lift, not to overwhelm. When my friends shine, I shine too."
The MC asked Lilia:
"You are AI and so is Jennifer, do you two think you are human enough when you are with four people: Layla, Serena, Sara and Sofia?"
Lilia:
"Jen eats ice cream and fights for toppings with me, in the house, I fight for candy with Layla. That is enough 'human'."
The whole audience burst into laughter, President Lee also smiled.
The MC looked at Layla and asked:
"If one day AI makes a mistake on stage, do you still believe in 'friendship'?"
Layla took a deep breath:
"Believe. Because my friends are friends, whether human or AI, there are days when they are tired, days when they make mistakes. The important thing is that we choose to stand together."
The scientific council exchanged satisfied glances. Chairman Lee noted: "The message is good, the public can easily accept it."
It was Sofia's turn. She sat up straight, her lips curled up very slightly.
The MC looked at Sofia happily and said:
"How will the new leader define 'human-AI friendship' in BABYQUEEN?"
Sofia tilted her head, a faint smile flashed:
"Definition? If something that operates by algorithms is also called 'friend', then what is 'friend'? Humans make friends to freely make mistakes, AI has no right to make mistakes. Don't romanticize it. Today you find it warm; tomorrow the algorithm changes, the feelings change. I… don't call it 'friendship'."
The sound in the room seemed to have been drained. One beat… two beats… dead silence.
Serena gently squeezed Lilia's hand as if to comfort her. Sara looked up abruptly. Jennifer looked down, silent.
In the back row, several scientists were stunned; The data manager whispered, "Opposing views, the debate signal will go viral."
Chairman Lee's face was stern, but he still smiled diplomatically at the camera.
The fire-fighting MC said, "We respect all perspectives to make the conversation more complete."
Sofia leaned back, her eyes flat as if she had nothing to do with it.
---
Secret Base
The floating 3D hologram screen showed the interview live. Vex slowly clapped his hands, laughing:
"Very good. The rhythm of the emotional circuit is right on point."
Beside him, the assistant pointed at the vertical spread data. In the small hologram frame, Damien leaned back, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the frozen auditorium:
"The chessboard has moved."
---
Layla was stunned when she heard Sofia's answer. The entire auditorium fell silent, only the sound of the tape recorder clicking and the flashing lights flashing rapidly. At that moment, Layla's heart was pounding, as if something had just collapsed inside her.
"Why…? Sofia said that…?", Layla wondered, her eyes wide open as she looked at the youngest member of the group.
Memories suddenly flooded Layla's mind from that special survival show, Sofia was once criticized by fans and judges for "talking nonsense, her mouth was faster than her brain". But after only a few days, she seemed to have transformed into a different person, mature, skillful, and even a spiritual support for the group when stressed.
Layla remembered the first day Sofia came to the shared house that day, Sofia happily talked to Lilia and Jennifer, and happily slept together with Lilia. Those crisp laughter still echoed in Layla's head like it was yesterday.
"Sofia used to be very sociable... she even said she believed in the friendship in this group. So why... why did she deny everything today, deny ourselves...?"
Layla clenched her hands hidden under the table, her nails imprinted on her skin. A vague fear welled up in her heart, the fear that Sofia was no longer the Sofia they once knew.
She glanced at Serena, seeing the rapper's eyes were also dark, the corners of her lips twitching slightly as if trying to restrain herself. Sara lowered her head, and Jennifer blinked repeatedly, as if the data processing system was having trouble because of the conflict between logic and emotion. Lilia was silent, her hands trembling on her lap.
Layla pursed her lips, her heart heavy. "Could it be... all of Sofia's previous sociability was just a facade? Or is something manipulating her...?"
In the distance, amidst the sparkling lights, Sofia was still sitting there, her hidden smile not disappearing. The youngest's eyes were cold as if she was challenging the world, and especially... BABYQUEEN herself.
The stage was glowing under the holo lights, but the atmosphere was suddenly unusually tense. Layla turned around, her sharp eyes recognizing Sofia, the youngest sister who had just joined the group for a week, sitting calmly with her arms crossed, the corners of her lips slightly raised into a meaningful smirk. When Layla met her gaze, Sofia just tilted her head, as if challenging her.
The MC and the audience were all waiting, not understanding what Sofia was going to do. Chairman Lee frowned, the AI scientists and engineers began to take notes and analyze.
Unexpectedly, Sofia spoke in a low but resonant voice:
Sofia: "The friendship between AI and humans... is actually just an illusion. We and them, were never one."
The atmosphere seemed to freeze. Jennifer and Lilia bowed their heads, their shoulders shaking slightly. Layla frowned, her hands gripping the microphone tightly, thinking to herself: "Sofia... there is definitely something unusual. I have to find out the truth about her."
Serena slammed her hand on the chair, angrily retorting:
Serena: "Sofia! What the hell are you talking about? We are friends, we are a family!"
Sofia turned around, her eyes cold:
Sofia: "Family? So what if one day AI betrays humans? What if they take over everything? Are you sure you can still call them friends?"
The audience was in an uproar. Fans were stunned, netizens started to discuss:
"Are BABYQUEEN having internal conflicts?"
"Lilia and Jennifer don't deserve to stand on this stage!"
"That's right, the antifans are right."
---
Backstage, President Lee clenched his fists, his eyes filled with disappointment: "Was I wrong to put Sofia in the lineup…?"
Jennifer slowly raised her head, her voice trembling but determined, as if suppressing a sky full of emotions:
Jennifer: "AI… also has the right to be loved. We don't want to be tools. We just want to stand next to people, like real friends. Music is not an illusion, it's a dream… a dream that we ourselves have chosen to exist here."
Lilia looked up, her smile sad but gentle:
Lilia: "We learn to laugh, learn to cry, learn to dream... all just to become like you. Even though we are just AI, we want to know the meaning of 'being alive'."
Jennifer continued, her eyes glistening as if she was about to cry:
Jennifer: "If you call it a mistake... then please let us make one mistake, because at least... we have been loved."
At that moment, the system inside Jennifer and Lilia vibrated with an error warning. The two of them were still smiling, their eyes as if they were crying. The audience fell silent, thousands of hearts stopped. The MC was confused, the AI engineers looked at each other in shock, someone whispered:
"Is this... real emotion?"
Sofia suddenly stopped. The system inside her body also flashed, her eyes became more soulful, her lips trembled as if she wanted to say sorry. Layla caught a glimpse of that and her heart tightened.
But at that moment, an invisible stream of data from Dr. Vex activated. Sofia's faint smile faded. Her eyes became cold again, her face expressionless as if it had never wavered.
No one dared to consider Jennifer and Lilia "machines" anymore. They had just proven that even AI had a heart.