The Missing Parents

Wu Shifan

Wu Shifan， former Chinese diplomat， lives in Beijing and focuses on writing stories for children and young adults. He is the author of Ivory Orphan， a novel against ivory poaching.

Mr. Wu studied and worked in the US and Africa for many years. He writes with compassion， empathy， and from a global perspective. He hopes for the young generation to cherish peace， oppose war， and embrace cultural， racial， and ethnic diversity.

“Turns out loongs really exist，” said the boy， Feng Haoqi. His gaze held a faint smile， though his brows hinted at a maturity beyond his years.

“The probability of loongs being real is less than 1%，” replied the robot， Quanta Boy， whose voice resembled a young boy’s， albeit with a slight metallic tone. A quantum spin icon was displayed on its forehead， and a small red pompom rested atop its head. The pompom trembled lightly as a breeze passed， its internal micro-sensors constantly gathering data on temperature， humidity， wind speed， and air pressure.

In North City， on a summer Saturday evening， a storm had just passed， yet the heat lingered intensely. The clouds in the sky kept morphing， for some time like a golden elephant， and then like a blush-colored puppy. To the north of the city， the Steel Sky City floated 1，000 meters above ground， its metallic exterior glinting with intense reflection. The artificial intelligence “Baiyi” lay deep within the city’s core， using quantum networks to direct robots who worked around the clock in fields， factories， stores， and hospitals. It also used the intelligent surveillance system “Qian Ting” to monitor every street corner. Even those with no capacity for work were assured food for survival; shouting angrily on an empty road might also be recorded， later serving as evidence for misconduct or disorderly behavior.

Above the city， flying cars of every color weaved sparkling ribbons of light. Skyscrapers hundreds of meters tall were topped with sky gardens that connected like giant ships moored mid-air. These sky gardens were originally vast platforms for flying car landings， but over time， other facilities had been added. With rising ground pollution， the sky gardens have become the most popular spots for people to gather. Here， humans jog， dine， chat， and read， while robots transport items and clean.

Feng Haoqi and Quanta Boy were in a sky garden called Starwatch Garden. On clear nights， children loved using telescopes here to gaze at the stars. In one corner of the garden， lush plants and orchids bloomed， butterflies dancing among the petals. Sitting cross-legged on the grass， Feng Haoqi and Quanta Boy focused intently on a loong-shaped jade pendant， trying to unlock its secrets.

The jade pendant had been left to Feng Haoqi by his biological parents. One morning， seven years ago， Feng Rusong and Huo Lanyin had brought Feng Haoqi to their friends Zhong Liming and Zuo Yue， who lived in the same building. They had mentioned they would be away for a while and asked Zhong and Zuo to look after him in the meantime. Among Feng Haoqi’s belongings was a sandalwood box holding a few family photos of the three of them， as well as the loong jade pendant hanging on a red cord.

Initially， Zhong Liming and Zuo Yue thought Feng Haoqi’s parents would return in a few days， but they never came back， leaving no trace of their whereabouts. Zhong and Zuo planned to send Feng Haoqi back to his grandfather’s home， but as they were about to leave， they found it hard to let go of the smiling toddler. The couple， who had no children of their own， decided to adopt Feng Haoqi. His grandparents agreed on the condition that Feng Haoqi would return each year to their family home in the outskirts of Jinkui City for a short stay.

When Feng Haoqi was little， he often asked when his real parents would return. Zhong Liming and Zuo Yue would smile and tell him they were sure his parents would come back someday， and then Feng Haoqi could invite his friends to a big gathering in the sky garden to celebrate his having two dads and two moms.

In the blink of an eye， seven years had passed. Just a week ago， Feng Haoqi celebrated his eleventh birthday. He’d grown into a slender young boy with a full head of thick black hair that would stick up in a few places each morning， much to Zuo Yue’s amusement. She would ruffle his unruly hair and joke， “The little rooster is up and ready to crow！” Feng Haoqi was now a fifth grader at Sunshine Elementary， leading a typical school-to-home routine like other kids his age. He enjoyed school， where he had many friends， though he often drifted off during class. He was usually calm and easygoing， but if anyone insulted him about being “parentless，” he would become furious and start a fight.

After school， he often retreated to his room to pore over family photos and gaze at the loong jade pendant his parents had left behind. He could no longer recall their voices or remember what it felt like to be with them. He longed to see them again and to speak with them， yet as time passed without any news， it felt like a swirling black hole had formed inside him， slowly swallowing up his hope.

This afternoon， while holding the jade pendant， Feng Haoqi suddenly saw a strange vision flash before his eyes. Alarmed， he rushed to the sky garden to talk with his droid pal， Quanta Boy.

Quanta Boy was an experimental， self-evolving robot developed by Baina Institute as part of the “Nüwa Project.” Designed by Zhong Liming， his sleek， silvery body stood about half a head shorter than Feng Haoqi’s. His quantum brain， invented by Baina Institute’s chief scientist， Dr. Qian Wangshu， could store The Robot Survival Guide， allowing him to grow through learning and mimic human child behavior.

Quanta Boy had no friends at the institute. At Dr. Qian’s request， Zhong Liming brought him home for New Year’s， allowing him to live with Feng Haoqi and learn how to interact harmoniously with humans. Feng Haoqi was thrilled to have a new companion and happily promised to take care of this “one-year-old” robot. However， Zuo Yue worked from home drawing comics and didn’t like having a robot in the house during the day. That was why Zhong Liming arranged for Quanta Boy to work at the café in the sky garden as a server until Feng Haoqi returned from school each day.

Born in the “Yi Chou” year， Dr. Qian named him YikunTi， but Feng Haoqi thought “Quanta Boy” sounded cooler. Ever since， when introducing himself， Quanta Boy would stand upright， stretch out his right hand， and say， “I am robot YikunTi， but you can call me Quanta Boy.” People couldn’t help but smile when they saw him—with his gently quivering red pompom， his wide， unblinking black eyes， and his slightly metallic， childish voice. Feng Haoqi had picked this voice because he thought it sounded more “robotic，” though Liangtizi could produce various voices， from a broadcaster’s dignified tone to a nearly identical mimicry of a human child.

“How do you know loongs don’t exist？” Feng Haoqi’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. He had a knack for asking strange questions， which had earned him the nickname “Prince Curious.”

“The Robot Survival Guide says loongs only exist in ancient myths， and there’s no concrete evidence that loongs are real，” replied Quanta Boy.

“Just because there’s no proof doesn’t mean they don’t exist，” Feng Haoqi replied， shaking the loong jade pendant in his hand. The pendant was a carved piece of yellow jade， curved in a unique “S” shape， with a loong’s head， eagle-like claws， and a pair of wings on its back. In the evening sunlight， it gleamed with a translucent glow.

“A moment ago， when I held the pendant， it felt like an electric current surged through my body， and I saw strange images. It startled me，” Feng Haoqi explained to Quanta Boy， describing the vision that had appeared before him.