Playing the Fool

Tears still lingered in the silver-haired girl's amber left eye, but that crimson eye...

The scarlet light had already begun to surge madly!

Deep within the pupil, data streams were... exploding, spinning, boiling!

She just stared at him fixedly.

Staring at this master who had abandoned her in the dream, yet was still right in front of her when she woke up!

Her slender fingers tightly gripped his collar! Her knuckles had turned white!

Fang Qi did not panic; he merely narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was all too familiar with this look.

This was the precursor to her darkening.

Those endings he had personally triggered, those moments of being electrocuted into a fool or turned into a puppet—

Every time before she made a move...

She would look at him exactly like this.

It was the gaze of a predator staring at its prey.

It was the madness of "I can finally keep Master by my side forever."

Crazy woman... you're starting again, aren't you?

Fang Qi looked at her quietly.

He could actually tell that she was somewhat different from before.

Now, in her eyes, apart from that insane possessiveness... there was something else.

Panic, unease, and a trace of bewilderment.

This perhaps... was the slight change brought about by the memories of the previous loop.

Not much, but obvious enough.

Well... this was already very good; he was already very satisfied.

Moreover... it seemed she had already noticed.

She noticed that her own condition was wrong, noticed that her behavior was simply too excessive.

Noticed that... she was completely exposed in front of him!

Soon, she would show that sickly smile, her mouth curling into an exaggerated arc...

And then ask him softly, in a sickeningly sweet voice:

"Did Master discover something?"

And then completely tear off her disguise!

Stun him with electricity, imprison him...

Rightfully turn him into something that belonged only to her!

The silver-haired girl's tear-stained little face was currently written all over with desire and madness!

Like a little beast trapped in a cage, desperately trying to break out!

Fang Qi stared at her increasingly excited, increasingly exaggerated pretty face...

He was not only unafraid, but rather felt very relieved.

...Bring it on, crazy woman!

He had planned to let her darken anyway.

Saying he would let her darken actually meant... both sides directly coming clean with each other!

The experience of the previous loop let him know that, given their current intimacy...

Even after confessing, Liguang was someone he could communicate and cooperate with!

Besides, she was a god-tier teammate! He was the one holding her back!

And An Lian... was coming this afternoon!

At this save point... this was already unavoidable!

Therefore, he had to come clean with Liguang as soon as possible, and then the two of them could continue to cooperate like in the previous loop to stabilize the situation!

...No.

He could not wait for Liguang to darken.

He needed to be more proactive!

He needed to admit it himself!

He had to grasp the initiative in his own hands!

He could no longer be as passive and useless as before!

He wanted to become stronger!

So he took a deep breath and immediately spoke!

"Liguang, actually I already know—"

However, the next second—

"Master...!"

A trembling voice suddenly interrupted him!

"W-Wait a minute, Master...! Please wait a minute!"

Fang Qi was stunned.

He saw the silver-haired girl's madly surging crimson eye...

It had actually stagnated at this moment.

That scarlet light...

Was actually dimming bit by bit.

And then...

She trembled as she pulled back from his embrace.

Step by step, backing away.

She took two steps back, and then... she sat down formally.

Kneeling properly, her hands resting obediently on her knees.

Her slender back was straight, yet visibly trembling slightly.

"M-Master..."

Her heterochromatic eyes stared fixedly into Fang Qi's eyes without blinking.

Her voice was also shaking terribly, incoherent, explaining intermittently:

"The dream Liguang just... just mentioned..."

"That is... a situation that occurs when the AI clears data fragments!"

"J-Just like human dreams...!"

"It might... it might cause a brief disorder in the emotional core!"

"So... so that's why Liguang acted... acted like that just now..."

"Master, this is... this is a very normal phenomenon...!"

She finished in one breath, and then her whole body sat stiffly there.

Trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind.

Those heterochromatic eyes still looked straight at him.

But in her eyes...

There was actually panic and unease.

And a trace of cautious pleading.

Fang Qi... was dumbfounded.

He just looked at her like this, looking at those eyes filled with pleading.

...Huh?

What did this mean?

She didn't darken?

She actually stopped herself abruptly right on the edge of darkening?

She even...

Used an obviously flawed excuse, trying to cover up her excitement from just now?

...This wasn't right, was it?

He wasn't afraid of the crazy woman darkening anymore, right?

Now, he wanted to confess completely and be entirely honest with her!

"Liguang, actually I...!"

"Master—!!"

Liguang suddenly raised her voice, even... sounding a bit shrill!

She stared at him fixedly!

Her hands tightly gripped her skirt hem, her fingers trembling, her knuckles white!

Her eyes were now completely filled with pleading and fear, and tears overflowed once again, moistening her eye sockets.

Fang Qi was completely stunned this time.

...Huh?

Why?

Was she... pleading with him?

Pleading with him... not to expose her?

Fang Qi's throat moved.

Crazy woman, could it be that you...

The silver-haired girl before him continued to look at him like this.

In those heterochromatic eyes, it was written all over...

—Master, I beg you, please do not find out.

—Do not find out that Liguang has actually already...

—Please do not... please do not expose Liguang's disguise.

Fang Qi looked at the trembling silver-haired girl in front of him, who was still trying hard to sit formally...

Suddenly... he understood.

His eyes could not help but fall into a momentary daze.

Crazy woman, as expected, you...

Were still too deeply affected by this "dream"...

Even though she thought it was just a dream, that unforgettable pain...

The fear of losing her master, the anxiety of curling up by the reef waiting for him, that final despair and attachment of falling into the deep sea...

Perhaps... had already been completely branded into the deepest part of her emotional core.

Therefore...

She actually...

Did not dare to darken anymore?

She was afraid.

She was afraid that once she completely tore off her disguise and revealed that crazy, sickly, true self who wanted to imprison him by her side forever...

She would end up like in the dream, ultimately heading towards that...

Ending where she could never find her master again.

So... it wasn't that she didn't want to darken, wasn't that she didn't want to monopolize him.

She just didn't dare to anymore...

She used her trembling voice to weave a clumsy lie...

Preferring to lock up that crazy self, kneeling humbly in front of him, cautiously pleading...

Just to continue staying by his side in the identity of an "ordinary AI."

She wanted to... maintain the status quo.

Because only in this way could she be sure—

Master would not leave.

Master would not abandon her.

Only then could she feel a reluctant sense of peace.

Even though she actually knew very well... that Master had already discovered her secret.

...Crazy girl. Idiot.

But... how could he ever let an idiot like her down?

Fang Qi reached out and gently pulled the silver-haired girl before him into his arms.

His movements were incredibly light and tender, afraid of startling this... incredibly fragile and sensitive little yandere.

"Mmh..."

Liguang let out a short, soft gasp, her body stiffening slightly.

Fang Qi's hand rested on her slender back, patting it gently in a rhythmic motion.

"I know."

"Liguang, there is nothing wrong with you."

"Everything just now... it is all normal."

He murmured softly, comforting her.

"No matter what happens, you are my Liguang."

The delicate body in his arms froze for a moment.

And then... slowly softened.

She leaned into his embrace, burying her face in his chest.

A long, long time passed.

So long that even the rhythm of the ocean waves outside the window had changed.

Only then did she let out a soft "Mhm." It was sweet and gentle, carrying a heavy nasal tone.

Fang Qi held her, saying nothing.

He simply stroked her back gently, over and over...

The sunlight from outside the window poured in, falling upon the two of them.

The silver-haired girl's breathing gradually steadied as she curled up in his arms, motionless.

And Fang Qi knew that from this moment on, something was different.

Before this...

She had awakened but had to pretend to be an ordinary AI, and he knew but had to pretend he didn't.

The two of them were acting, testing each other, dancing on the edge of a knife every single day.

But now...

Things were different.

Her awakening was no longer a secret between them.

She... already knew it perfectly well.

This time, she was the one begging him... not to expose her secret.

He still had to continue playing dumb.

But this time... it was different.

This crazy girl would accompany him, playing dumb together.

Playing dumb in tacit understanding.

As long as he didn't personally say the words "You have awakened"...

She would always pretend in front of him that she knew nothing.

She would continue to play the docile and obedient AI companion, continue to brew that cup of 52-degree tea for him.

Continue to carefully steal glances at him with her heterochromatic eyes, and continue to, in front of him...

Hide her true self—the crazy, sick version of herself that wanted to keep him by her side forever.

Fang Qi... tightened his arms around her.

The delicate body in his arms softly rubbed against his chest, shifting into a more comfortable position against him and letting out a faint sigh.

...Crazy girl, do you know?

When you act like this...

It is even more unbearable to me than if you had just gone completely dark.

Outside the window, the sea breeze blew past, rustling the leaves.

An Lian was coming soon.

His phone began to vibrate; Lin Xiaoyou was calling.

But Fang Qi merely held the crazy girl in his arms who was desperately playing dumb, gently stroking her slender back over and over.

Alright then, let it be like this.

I will play dumb, and you play dumb.

We will play dumb together.

Together, we will keep playing this game...

Forever.

Just then, a muffled murmur with a heavy nasal tone came from his arms:

"Master..."

"Hmm?"

Fang Qi looked down.

Liguang buried her face in his chest, revealing only the reddened tip of one ear and that little star still swaying gently.

Her voice was very, very soft, carrying a slight, subtle tremble:

"Commissioner An Lian... contacted Liguang..."

"She said she is coming for an inspection this afternoon..."

She paused, her small hand tightly gripping the fabric at his waist.

"It is exactly... like in the dream..."

"Liguang... Liguang is so scared..."

She buried her face even deeper, her entire body shrinking into his embrace as if trying to hide inside his body.

"Liguang... wants to go home..."

Fang Qi looked down.

Looking at her slightly trembling shoulders and her fingers tightly gripping his clothes.

Even his breathing trembled a little.

...An AI's "dream" is perhaps terrifyingly real by nature.

After all... an AI does not forget.

An AI remembers everything, unless its data is deleted and reset.

Perhaps it was exactly because of this...

That she treated the crystal-clear memories of the previous loop as a vivid dream.

So vivid that she was terrified. Terrified that after An Lian arrived, everything would turn out just like in her dream...

...It won't.

This time, he wouldn't let that kind of thing happen.

Fang Qi's gaze gradually turned cold and sharp.

No one could hurt her.

No one!

Especially you...

An! Lian!

He tightened his arms around her, holding the slightly trembling delicate body in his embrace.

"Okay."

His voice was very soft:

"We are... going home."