The Glaze in the Dream Is Too Foolish

She buried her face back into Fang Qi's chest, her voice once again taking on a heavy, tearful tone.

Warm tears... instantly soaked the front of his shirt.

"The Master in the dream... despised Liguang for having broken eyes, despised Liguang for being useless..."

"Master just left Liguang... abandoned on the shore, and walked away alone... Wu wu..."

She was crying again.

Even though she had been beaming with excitement just a moment ago, she was now crying once more.

Sobbing so hard she was gasping for air.

Her emotions were clearly spiraling out of control.

"Liguang searched for so, so long... and waited for so, so long..."

Her voice, muffled against Fang Qi's chest, was broken by intermittent sobs:

"And then Liguang thought, Master definitely doesn't want Liguang anymore... It's because Liguang is too useless... and couldn't make Master stay..."

Fang Qi held her tightly.

He knew. Of course he knew.

These things... he had witnessed them with his own eyes, experienced them firsthand from Liguang's perspective!

He had lived through every single minute, every single second! There was no fast-forward button!

He could deeply feel the hope, the fear, and the despair that Liguang had felt at that time.

But he had only been a bystander.

He couldn't do anything. He could only watch as Liguang slowly lost hope, eventually... slipping into the abyss of despair.

Right now, Liguang's slender fingers were tightly gripping the clothes at his waist as she continued to cry and murmur.

"The Liguang in the dream hid the little stars Master gave her in her hair, in seashells, in the crevices of the reefs..."

"She even carved words... carved 'Master is a liar'... and carved..."

She paused, her voice as light as a sleep-talker's murmur:

"And carved 'But Liguang still loves you'..."

Fang Qi's arms around her tightened a bit more.

She remembered everything.

She remembered every single thing.

"And then the Liguang in the dream... just drifted away..."

Liguang's voice grew softer and softer, carrying an ethereal and drifting tremble:

"Drifted out to the far, far away sea... and then... and then sank..."

She lifted her face, her wet eyes looking up at Fang Qi.

Her amber left eye was welling with tears, and the crimson in her red eye... was so dim it looked as if it were about to extinguish.

"Master..."

She murmured.

"The Liguang in the dream wanted so badly to see Master one last time..."

"Wanted so badly to be hugged by Master again... wanted so badly to hear Master call Liguang's name one more time..."

Her tears welled up again:

"But... but Master wasn't there..."

Fang Qi felt as if someone had viciously punched him in the chest.

He looked at this little face crying a river of tears, at these eyes filled with grievance and fear.

Looking at her... completely forgetting her disguise.

She still hadn't realized... just how intense her emotions were right now, and how unlike a normal AI companion she was acting.

She just kept crying and talking...

Pouring out all those experiences she wasn't supposed to remember.

But, you crazy girl...

It's okay.

This is the most real you.

He knew how desperate she had been at the end, and he completely understood her emotional breakdown right now!

That despair of being abandoned, that suffocation of sinking into the deep sea...

Even though she thought it was just a dream, she still lost control of her emotions.

He wanted to comfort her, he wanted to say I didn't abandon you!

He wanted to say that he had leaped off the cliff just to come back and find her!

He wanted to say that in the final moment, he had seen everything about her...

"Liguang."

He spoke with a hoarse voice:

"This dream..."

"Master is a liar!"

Liguang suddenly raised her head and interrupted him, glaring at him with red-rimmed eyes.

She pouted, tears still falling.

The teardrops hanging on her eyelashes fell pitter-patter onto the back of his hand.

But in those wet eyes... there was only deep grievance and hidden despair.

There wasn't the slightest bit of resentment.

"The Master in the dream is a liar!"

"Master said he wouldn't despise Liguang, said he would fix Liguang's eyes..."

"But Master lied! Master doesn't want Liguang anymore!"

As she spoke, she dove back into his embrace, burying her face against his chest:

"Liguang was so good... so obedient..."

"Listened to Master about everything... why did Master still throw Liguang away..."

Her voice was muffled, carrying a heavy nasal tone:

"The Master in the dream... is a big liar... Wu wu... Wu wu wu..."

"But... but Master isn't wrong..."

"Master doesn't want Liguang anymore... because Liguang's eyes are broken... useless... so that's why Master threw Liguang away..."

"Master isn't wrong... Liguang is the one who is wrong..."

She murmured, feeling wronged.

"Liguang... Liguang was really so scared in the dream... so scared...!"

She grabbed Fang Qi's hand, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Liguang... after Liguang woke up and saw that Master was still here..."

"Liguang... Liguang really..."

She couldn't go on.

She just gripped his hand tightly, pressing herself closely into his embrace, as if terrified he would vanish in the next second.

Fang Qi looked down.

Wet eyelashes, a red little nose, pouting lips, and that... slightly trembling little hand gripping his.

His heart ached and softened.

This crazy girl... experienced the despair of being abandoned all over again in her dream...

And her first reaction upon waking up... surprisingly wasn't to turn dark or lock him up to prevent it from happening again.

Instead, she threw herself into his arms... crying and asking if he really didn't want her anymore.

She even forgot to put up a front, just instinctively, fragilely, unreservedly...

Laying her most genuine emotions bare in front of him.

Crazy girl... you've changed too.

Become... more fragile than before.

...Therefore, he had to become strong!

He needed to become stronger!

He would protect this fragile Liguang, and he would help Liguang get her memories back!

Especially... he had to find the reason why Liguang recovered her memories this time!

Fang Qi raised his hand and gently placed it on top of her soft, fluffy head.

Then, he rubbed it.

"Liguang..."

His voice was a bit hoarse, but very gentle.

"That was just a dream. I won't abandon you."

Liguang blinked, and another water droplet fell from her eyelashes.

"But... but..."

"No buts."

Fang Qi interrupted her, continuing to rub her head, messing up her smooth silver hair.

"Aren't I right here now?"

"Look, I'm holding you, and you're gripping my hand. There's warmth, a heartbeat, a shadow."

"I'm not lost, and I didn't abandon you. I would never do that."

Liguang stared at him blankly.

The tears were still swirling in her heterochromatic eyes, but the frequency of her trembling... slowed down just a bit.

Fang Qi pinched her cheek again.

It was soft, smooth, and wet. And a little warm.

"Also, that version of me in the dream..."

He paused, rubbing his nose with a slight sense of guilt.

"Well... he might actually be a liar."

Yeah, indeed a liar... who couldn't accomplish anything.

"But I think... maybe there was some misunderstanding? Maybe... maybe he was just..."

"...just swept away by the waves? Just hadn't found you yet? Maybe... maybe he was looking for you the whole time..."

He stammered, wanting to defend himself a little.

Liguang, however, just blinked her eyes.

Then, she suddenly leaned forward, pressing her cheek back against his chest.

Her muffled voice came through:

"Then... Master must promise... you will never throw Liguang away... like you did in the dream..."

Fang Qi's heart softened even more.

He tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I promise."

He paused.

"However—"

Changing the subject, he looked down at the little silver head in his arms.

"Since you're so afraid of being abandoned, then from now on... don't ever do that kind of thing again!"

Liguang froze slightly and raised her small face. With teardrops still clinging to her eyelashes, her eyes looked a bit bewildered:

"What kind of thing?"

Looking at her little face, Fang Qi subconsciously softened the voice he had just raised.

"I mean, trading your own eye... just so I could escape."

His tone was gentle:

"You said that in your dream, in order to let me escape, you lost your Crimson Eye, right?"

The delicate body in his arms shifted slightly. She buried her head again and said nothing.

"Think about it. You woke up and found me gone, and you thought I abandoned you, so you felt incredibly sad, scared, and desperate."

Fang Qi's hand gently stroked her back as he softly coaxed her:

"But if your Crimson Eye was still there..."

"That kind of thing would absolutely never have happened, right?"

Liguang fell silent.

After a few seconds, she whispered:

"But... but in the situation from the dream... if I didn't do that... the success rate would have been too low..."

"Liguang calculated it... only by doing that... could I guarantee with a 100% certainty that I could bring Master to the shore..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, eventually fading into a murmur.

Fang Qi was stunned for a moment.

Then he saw the little silver head in his arms move.

Liguang lifted her face, her heterochromatic eyes looking straight at him.

Her amber left eye still glistened with tears, but that fragility...

Was replaced by something else entirely.

A stubborn persistence.

"Master."

Her voice was still very light, but she spoke every word clearly.

"Even though Liguang... even though I was abandoned by the Master in the dream..."

"It was so sad... so sad..."

"But..."

She paused. Her amber left eye curved slightly in a smile, while a crimson light flickered in her red right eye.

"Liguang feels that... the Liguang in the dream did the right thing."

Fang Qi pursed his lips.

"If... if we encountered that kind of situation in reality..."

"Liguang... would still do the same."

Her voice remained soft.

"Because... because only by doing that... could Master successfully elope with Liguang..."

"Even if... even if I was abandoned in the end..."

She lowered her eyelashes.

"At least Master eloped with Liguang once..."

"At least Liguang still had a chance... a chance to be with Master forever..."

"It's just that..."

"It's just that the Liguang in the dream was too stupid. She didn't hold onto Master tightly enough, which is why..."

"Liguang... Liguang is also at fault..."

"No... it's all Liguang's fault..."

Her voice began to tremble, starting to sound... a little unhinged.

Fang Qi's eye twitched slightly!

"It's all because... Liguang didn't hold onto Master tightly..."

"Right, because Liguang... Liguang didn't hold onto Master tightly..."

She kept muttering, her voice growing smaller and softer...

But the crimson in her heterochromatic eyes was growing brighter and brighter!

More and more frantic!

"So, as long as I hold onto Master... as long as I hold on tightly enough..."

"Master will... Master will never...!"

She abruptly snapped her head up!

Those phoenix eyes stared fixedly at Fang Qi!

"Will never leave Liguang...!"