Let Me Go to Your Side

Before his eyes, a few small fishing boats were moored in the shallows, gently swaying with the waves.

Fang Qi's fingers... gripped the edge of the doorframe tightly.

Coarse wooden splinters pierced the skin between his fingers.

It hurt.

But... where was Liguang?

The one who was drenched to the bone, who used her silver hair to shield him from the rain...

The little yandere who shrank into his arms and said, "Liguang has to be in your dreams too"... where was she?

Where... did she go?!

Fang Qi's mind was still in complete chaos!

He tried to think... but couldn't grasp a single thought.

He had never imagined... a situation like this.

Ever since he transmigrated...

How many times had he experienced a reset?

Being shocked into an idiot, having his legs broken, being locked in a dog cage, having his tendons severed...

And... watching helplessly as she crushed her own core with her own hands.

But no matter how tragic the ending...

She was always by his side. Right up until the final moment before the reset.

When the white light flashed and he opened his eyes...

She would always be kneeling on the opposite side of the coffee table.

Holding that cup of 52-degree tea, her silver hair smooth, her heterochromatic eyes docile.

She would smile at him cautiously.

"Master, your tea."

Always there, never disappearing.

So, Fang Qi had always felt...

No matter what happened, no matter how many times he sought death—

Liguang would be there.

Even in the absolute worst ending...

She would... always stay with him.

Or, they would reset together and start over.

Therefore, nothing could separate them.

But now...

He slowly lowered his head, looking at his hand gripping the doorframe.

Wrapped around his palm was a strip of cloth.

It was the fabric from the skirt of her beige swimsuit. She had torn it off with her own hands and bandaged him herself.

The bow was a bit crooked, the edges stained with dried salt from the seawater, and his blood still seeped through it.

He stared at that crooked bow.

His thoughts briefly halted.

She... was gone?

...No!

He abruptly raised his head.

No!

No, no, no—!

If... if something really happened to Liguang...

If she was truly destroyed, her core shattered, or taken back by the company to be reset—

Then knowing the nature of this broken game...

His vision should have gone white long ago, sending him straight back to the morning of the sixth day!

He would open his eyes to see her kneeling opposite him once again, handing him a cup of fifty-two-degree tea!

But...

He hadn't reset.

He was still standing here!

The sunlight burned the back of his neck! The sea breeze made his throat dry! The wooden splinters made his fingertips ache!

And the cloth bandaged around his hand...

Was still so soft and gentle.

He was still in this playthrough!

So...

So... Liguang...!

She was still alive!

She was still out there somewhere, waiting for him!

This thought was like a basin of cold water, instantly snapping him awake from the edge of chaos!

...She was still alive!

She was just... separated from him?

The wind and waves were too strong, the raft broke apart, so... she was washed up on a different shore?

Or maybe to save him, she pushed him onto the reef, while she herself... was carried away by the waves?

Anyway, no matter what...

This crazy woman who eloped with him, who cried out that he was the most amazing person in the world...

She was still here!

It was just...

Fang Qi looked at his bandaged hand, which was trembling slightly.

She had said... she would definitely bring her Master to the shore.

She did it.

But...

What about herself?

Her battery could only last for five more days!

No... maybe even less...!

His breathing began to quicken.

If she woke up and found herself no longer by his side...

What would she think?

She would... kneel on an unfamiliar beach, looking around blankly with her sole remaining amber left eye.

She wouldn't be able to find her master.

Would she think...

That her master didn't want her anymore?

Would she think that her master despised her because she had lost her red eye, lost her functions, and was running out of power...

And so... he had thrown her away?

She was so terrified of being abandoned...

Just to give him peace of mind, she had even traded her own eye for a chance at their escape!

She had knelt on the raft, her voice trembling as she asked him, "Master won't despise Liguang, right?"

After receiving his reassurance...

She had smiled so happily, yet so cautiously!

Fang Qi squeezed his eyes shut.

Stop thinking about it!

Stop fucking thinking about it!

But...

Where was she now?

How much power did she have left?

Had anyone found her?

Without her red eye, how much of her abilities remained?

Would she be scared?

Fang Qi's breathing grew ragged.

...He had to find her!

Immediately!

Right this second!

He had to go find her!

Fang Qi lifted his foot—

And then... it was as if the bones had been ripped right out of his knees.

His legs gave way, and he pitched forward!

"Ah!"

The fisherwoman's gasp and the muffled thud of his knees slamming into the threshold rang out almost simultaneously.

He sprawled on the ground, bracing his hands against the rough dirt floor.

His newly formed blisters burst open again, blood seeping through the cloth bandages.

It hurt like hell.

But he couldn't care less!

He pushed up with his arms to climb to his feet, but his legs completely refused to listen, feeling as heavy as lead.

"Oh, child! Child!"

The fisherwoman stomped her feet in anxiety, spilling nearly half a bowl of fish soup.

She bent down to help him up.

"You've been out cold for a whole day and night! You haven't had a drop of water! Where do you think you're getting the strength to run off!"

Fang Qi lay on the ground, panting heavily.

He stared at a half-dried stalk of grass in the dirt, his vision swimming with dark spots.

...A day and a night.

He had slept... for a whole day and night!

Then what about Liguang?

This past day and night...

How had she gotten through it...?

"Young man."

A pair of large, calloused hands slipped under his armpits and hoisted him entirely off the ground.

It was a deeply tanned old man.

He was incredibly strong, hauling Fang Qi up as easily as a sack of fishing nets and pressing him back down onto the threshold.

"You just sit steady for me first."

The old man bent over, his cloudy old eyes, weathered by the sea breeze, staring intently at Fang Qi.

"I know what you're looking for."

"But in this state, you can't even make it out the door. How are you gonna find anything?"

Fang Qi opened his mouth.

He wanted to say, "You don't understand, she's terrified, she's waiting for me, I have to go right now."

But his throat felt as though it were blocked by something; he couldn't speak.

The old man straightened up, took the half-empty bowl of fish soup from the fisherwoman, and shoved it back into Fang Qi's hands.

"Drink."

"Once you finish it, I'll take you to that rocky beach."

Fang Qi looked down at the milky-white soup.

Steam was still curling upward from it.

He realized in a daze that this seemed to be the first time since his transmigration...

That he was being fed by someone other than Liguang.

Trembling, he lifted the bowl.

He blew away the hot steam and finished it in small, careful sips.

Without spilling a single drop.

He handed the empty bowl back to the fisherwoman. His voice was still hoarse, but a little steadier.

"Thank you, ma'am."

The fisherwoman paused for a moment, her eyes turning slightly red.

"Oh, alright, good boy..."

She took the bowl and immediately turned to hurry back to the stove.

"There's still more in the pot! I'll get you another bowl!"

Fang Qi didn't wait.

He leaned against the doorframe and slowly stood up.

His legs were still weak and his knees were trembling, but at least he could stand.

He looked at the old man.

"Uncle, that rocky reef..."

"I know, I know."

The old man waved his hand and turned to walk into the yard.

After taking two steps, he turned back.

"Put on some shoes."

Fang Qi looked down.

By the threshold lay a pair of straw sandals.

They were roughly woven but sturdy, with several thick layers of cloth padding the soles.

He bent down and slipped his feet into them.

They were a bit big, but he could walk in them.

"Let's go."

The old man had already picked up a worn bamboo basket and slung it over his back.

He pushed open the wooden gate of the yard and walked out without looking back.

Fang Qi followed him.

Leaving the yard, they passed a small patch of sandy ground where fishing nets were drying, and stepped onto a well-trodden dirt path.

The sun was fierce, and the sea breeze was salty.

Fang Qi stumbled along, his steps uneven, his knees trembling with every movement.

But he didn't stop.

The old man walked ahead. He didn't look back, but his pace slowed down a bit.

"Are you..."

The old man suddenly spoke. His voice was a bit muffled.

"...looking for someone?"

Fang Qi was silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah... someone."

The old man grunted in acknowledgment.

After a few more steps, he asked again:

"It's a girl, right?"

Fang Qi froze for a moment.

The old man still didn't look back, his back resembling a weathered reef.

"When I fished you out, your hand was clenched tight."

"I couldn't even pry it open."

"You were clutching a strand of silver hair in your palm."

He paused.

"With that length, it definitely wasn't a man's."

Fang Qi's footsteps faltered, and he subconsciously looked down at his hand.

He opened his bandaged palm, but it was empty.

"I put it in your shirt pocket,"

The old man said without turning his head.

Fang Qi was stunned.

He almost immediately reached for his chest—

The inner pocket right over his heart.

His fingertips slipped inside.

They touched a small, soft clump.

It was very light and fine, like velvet woven from a handful of moonlight.

He pinched it, slowly pulled it out, and spread it on his palm.

Under the sunlight, that tuft of silver hair gave off a soft shimmer. Like melting snow. Like flowing moonlight.

Fang Qi stared at it.

On the raft, Liguang had draped her soaking wet silver hair over his shoulders to shield him from the rain.

Before he fell asleep, her hair had brushed against his chin, tickling him.

What did she... say back then?

"Make sure Liguang is in your dreams too."

He was groggy at the time and hadn't managed to reply.

But when he woke up...

She was gone.

Fang Qi carefully placed the tuft of silver hair back into his chest pocket.

He pressed his fingertips against it, ensuring it rested securely over his heart.

Then...

He took a deep breath and caught up with the old man's pace.

...

At the end of the dirt path was a grayish-brown rocky reef.

Waves crashed against the rocks, splashing white foam.

"This is it."

The old man pointed.

"I fished you out from the crevice of that biggest rock over there."

Fang Qi didn't speak.

He stepped onto the reef and stumbled over to it.

The rock was massive, its surface washed smooth by the seawater, and a small, shallow puddle of water had pooled in its crevice.

He squatted down and stared at the puddle.

The sunlight made the water's surface sparkle.

Reaching out, his fingertips touched the rough surface of the reef.

There was... nothing here.

No trace of her.

Nor any fragments of the raft.

The raft...

—"This is the very first home that Master and Liguang built together!"

She had been so happy then.

But now...

Where was she?

Where is the raft?

He stood up straight.

The sea breeze blew over, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead.

Fang Qi stood on the reef, facing the ocean.

The sunlight was so harsh it made him squint.

He stared at the boundless, azure, and silent sea.

Then he opened his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs!

Liguang—

Where are you—

I have come looking for you—

But after waiting for a long time, there was no response from anyone.

Wait for me—

I will find you—!!!

The sound of the waves swallowed the second half of his sentence.

Fang Qi stood on the reef, panting heavily.

His legs were so weak he could barely stand, and his temples were throbbing.

The old man stood by the beach, silent.

After a long time, Fang Qi finally turned around.

He walked back to the old man, his voice hoarse but steady.

Uncle, around here...

Are there any other coastlines besides this bay?

The old man thought for a moment.

Heading north, over that mountain, there is a small fishing village.

Heading south, there is a wild beach that very few people visit.

Fang Qi nodded.

He turned and was about to head north.

The old man grabbed him.

Where are you going now?

To find her.

Can your legs still walk?

Yes.

The old man stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed.

You wait here.

He turned around, facing the direction they came from, and yelled at the top of his voice:

Old woman—!

From afar, the fisherwoman's response echoed back:

Aye—!

Bring that basket of dry rations over, and fill a jug with water!

A response came from the distance.

The old man turned back and looked at Fang Qi.

I will go with you to the north.

As for the wild beach to the south, I will take you there when we get back.

Fang Qi looked at him.

In those old eyes, clouded by the sea breeze, there was no particular emotion.

Perhaps he simply could not bear to watch him struggle alone.

Fang Qi's Adam's apple bobbed:

...Thank you.

The old man waved his hand.

Do not mention it.

He paused, looking out at the sea.

When I was young, I lost something too.

I know how it feels.

Fang Qi did not say anything more.

He stood by the rocky beach.

The sea breeze was still blowing. The sunlight was still just as fierce.

He reached out and, through his clothes, pressed against the soft clump of silver hair over his chest.

Then he took a deep breath.

Crazy woman, just wait a little longer.

This time...

It is my turn to come to your side!