I hear the ding of an incoming message. It’s from Lin, she must be up early today. I open the email eagerly, but where the normal wall of text usually is, there’s just a link to click on instead. It’s an IP address only, so I can’t even tell where it would take me. I'm not an idiot who clicks random links, but I'm curious enough that I head to the supply room and grab a spare tablet. It's fresh out of the box and hooked up to the guest wireless network, so even if Lin or someone using Lin's account is sending something malicious, it shouldn't be a problem. I’ll just wipe the thing down to factory settings when I’m done.

I jam the address into the browser and feel a forgotten memory getting jostled free as the page loads. I know this site. It’s an encrypted, anonymized video chat service that I used a few times back in my hacking days. I let my fingers tap impatiently on the desk while the page tells me to wait.

Lin's face suddenly appears, but it’s much better than Lin's face the last time I saw her. The sunken gauntness has been replaced by a healthy glow. Her cheeks and lips are fuller, and I can see just the top of where her shirt curves around her chest now. Her head is covered by a pink beanie, but I can see a little dark hair poking from under it.

"Lin, you look great! I can barely recognize you!" I blurt out.

I realize how badly she might take that just in time to not stop myself from saying it. Smooth, Noah. Very smooth. She takes it well though, giving me a shy smile

"Noah!” she exclaims. “It is good to see you!”

Her English has gotten more fluid since she was here. The hesitation that she had with the few words she spoke in English are gone, and her accent is a lot easier to understand.

“I am quite glad that you got my message in time,” she continues. “Yang Song is still out for her morning run, but we have about fifteen minutes. Quickly, take off your shirt!"

I'm very confused, but also turned on, so I start undoing buttons with hands and bots. I've just got them all undone in when she starts making tittering noises.

"I was joking, Noah!” she laughs. “But it is good to know that I can get you to do that just by asking."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I don't suppose it would work if I asked you to do the same?" I ask with a sheepish smile.

"Maybe later, when we have more time." She laughs again. "Is this a good time of day? I think I can do a call like this most days around this time, since no one else but Yang Song is up at this hour."

Daily video calls? YES!

"I can make it a good time,” I tell her, trying my best not to sound too eager. “It's so good to actually talk to you! How are you not getting busted for this?"

"Busted?” She looks confused for a second. “Oh, getting caught. Yes, it was a challenge. I couldn’t get the bandwidth for a call through the internet filters using my email VPN, but my father’s position gives him many privileges, including an unblocked, unmonitored internet connection. It took a long time, but I finally cracked the password to use that."

"Smart and beautiful!” I declare. “I knew there was a reason that I liked you."

"I thought it was my very clever flirting when I was there with you."

"That didn't hurt either,” I admit. “I’m glad you spoke enough English to tell me how cute I am. It would have been way more awkward if you’d had your translator say it. You're sounding a lot more fluent now, by the way."

She smiles again.

"I told you in my letters, I've been working hard on it. It helps to have a strong motivation. And also that I finally think that I will be alive long enough to use it."

"So did you talk to your father about Stanford? I love the idea of seeing you more often."

"Yes,” she confirms. “My father not only said yes, but he called in some favors and made sure I got admitted. He must know someone important there. I'm not even technically a secondary school graduate, since I have been privately tutored."

"I’m actually not sure if I’m a graduate either,” I tell her. “I don’t know if the Butler Institute is accredited. But at this point, I think I'm going to skip college as well as high school. You could just become a full-time world saver like us if your academic career doesn't work out."

"Maybe,” she laughs. “Let me try school first, though."

"Sure,” I agree, “but I'm claiming all your weekends right now."

"They're all yours, boyfriend." Her gorgeous eyes gleam happily.

"I like the sound of that, girlfriend."

I hear a tapping sound coming through the speakers.

"I hear Yang Song coming in,” Lin says suddenly. “We'll talk more tomorrow. I'll send you a link."

She abruptly disconnects. I look down and realize I’m still sitting here with my chest bare. I slowly button my shirt back up as I think of those eyes and that smile.

Mom, I think she really likes me.