beta
To groom or 'grooming' a person, you have to dress someone to your liking/taste, not just the physical aspect but also mentally, their attitude, their taste, hobbies etc.. Just like a dress-up game, or an AI Chat between you and an AI, you mold them to your liking, to your type of guy/woman.
I think what the ML did was manipulate the MC into liking him or just to let him be aware of his (ML) feelings. There's no 'grooming' here.
Sometimes we have to broaden/learn/understand more the meaning of some words because we carry it in our real lives, we are inputting it in our brains, adding it tour knowledge. Especially in today's world where we get misunderstood/judge by saying and doing something slightly weird or uncommon.