The Secret of Eyebrows

Three days after the Spring Festival Gala ended, Lao Liu was still muttering about the show on the subway. "What the heck, these days, even robots are on stage." The middle-aged man next to him pushed up his glasses, didn't respond, and just quietly browsed the news on his phone.

"Look at this robot, what's it even doing there? Just standing there like a wooden stake," Lao Liu continued to complain, habitually gesturing in the air with his finger. "The strangest thing is, what's up with its eyebrows? Two bare patches, kind of creepy."

The middle-aged man finally looked up, putting down his phone, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Lao Liu, you really haven't noticed, that's the whole point."

Lao Liu was taken aback. "What? What's the point?"

"Haven't you seen the news? The whole internet is discussing the robot's eyebrows!" The middle-aged man smiled even more broadly. "Some say it's technological progress, others say it's artistic innovation. Some have even started an online poll to design eyebrows for the robot."

"What on earth is going on?" Lao Liu was completely baffled. He felt like the world was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

The middle-aged man pointed at his phone. "Look, someone put photos of the robot and Sa Beining side by side, saying that the robot was deliberately made without eyebrows to highlight Sa Beining."

Lao Liu's eyes widened, finding it all utterly absurd. He suddenly remembered that on the night of the Gala, he had clearly seen Sa Beining's eyebrows drawn extra thick and black. Could it be... could it be to match the robot's lack of eyebrows?

"And there's even more ridiculous stuff," the middle-aged man continued. "Reportedly, the robot's designer, to make it more 'human,' even specifically removed its emotional chip, to make it look more like... a tool."

Lao Liu's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a long time. He felt like his brain was about to short-circuit. These days, even robots have more complex lives than people.

In the following days, the discussion about the robot's eyebrows showed no sign of slowing down. Some said it represented technological advancement, some said it hinted at humanity's future. Some even started crowdfunding to "draw eyebrows" for the robot.

Lao Liu heard these discussions every day on his commute, and he started to feel a little annoyed, feeling like something was stuck in his chest. He couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with a robot's eyebrows.

Until one day, he got home from work, turned on the TV, and saw a special program about artificial intelligence. In the program, an expert spoke eloquently to the camera.

"The robot we designed, on the surface, appears to be for public entertainment. But in reality, it's our bold exploration of the ethics of artificial intelligence." The expert pushed up his glasses, his tone serious. "We deliberately removed the robot's eyebrows to make it closer to the essence of a tool, thereby prompting people to reflect on technological development."

Lao Liu stared at the TV screen and suddenly burst out laughing, bending over with laughter. He finally understood that this was not some technological innovation, nor some artistic breakthrough. This was just a carefully designed trap, a tool to divert people's attention.

He watched the expert on TV looking so serious, and suddenly felt like he was the white rat trapped in a cage, used to all the absurdity within it.

He opened his phone, seeing that the online discussion about the robot had turned into a carnival. Some said the robot's eyebrows looked like willow leaves, others said they looked like sword eyebrows. Some had even started cosplaying the robot without eyebrows.

Lao Liu felt like an outsider. He tried to find a rational voice in the crowd, but he discovered that everyone was immersed in this absurd game, and no one was willing to think about the truth behind it.

He turned off his phone, walked onto the balcony, and looked at the city's twinkling lights. Suddenly, he realized that the robots without eyebrows might not just appear on the Spring Festival Gala; they already existed in our lives. We are playing our roles every day, just like those robots without eyebrows, mechanically executing pre-set programs.

The next morning, Lao Liu squeezed onto the subway as usual. He suddenly noticed that the people around him seemed a little different. Their eyes were hollow, their expressions numb, like robots without eyebrows.

Lao Liu suddenly had an impulse to pick up a pen and draw eyebrows on each of them. But in the end, he gave up on the idea. He knew that even with eyebrows drawn on, they would still be, controlled robots.

The subway reached its stop, and Lao Liu squeezed off. He looked up at the huge electronic screen at the top of the subway station, which was scrolling with a news report:

"The designer of the Spring Festival Gala robot announced that, to thank the enthusiastic participation of the vast number of netizens, they will add a personalized eyebrow design feature to the robot. At the same time, they will be releasing an 'Eyebrow Generator' app, allowing everyone to design unique eyebrows for themselves or others..."

Lao Liu smiled. He smiled as he walked into his company's door, starting his day of work. His smile looked calm and gentle, but only he knew that somewhere in his heart, something had completely collapsed.