She's Just an NPC

Fang Qi stared into Lin Xiaoyou's red, teary almond eyes and asked that question word by word.

The cafe fell silent again.

Someone in the corner whispered, muttering softly, Holy crap, what's going on?

Lin Xiaoyou's tears still hung on her eyelashes as she stared at him blankly.

Her best friend next to her also froze, wearing an expression of utter disbelief that screamed, What the hell is this guy asking? That's way too blunt!

And the silver-haired girl beside him—

Fang Qi felt the small hand holding his tremble a little less.

He glanced slightly sideways and saw out of the corner of his eye that she was tilting her head...

Those heterochromatic eyes began to stare straight at him.

Her attention was temporarily drawn to him as well.

She wanted to see how he would deal with this rival in love, how he would reject another girl... for her.

Because of this, even her fear was temporarily suppressed.

That small hand began to gently stroke the back of his hand, over and over again.

Fang Qi took a soft breath.

Sure enough, nothing could reassure her more for the moment than rejecting a rival right in front of her.

But he didn't relax in the slightest right now!

He just... stared quietly at Lin Xiaoyou, waiting for her answer.

Lin Xiaoyou froze for a long while before finally moving her lips.

Her voice was hoarse and carried a heavy nasal tone:

I... I just like you, Senior...

As she spoke, another tear rolled down.

Do I need a reason... to like you?

Fang Qi didn't answer, just continued to look at her.

Lin Xiaoyou's lips began to tremble.

Senior is good to me... you helped me out the first time we met... you always take care of me at the company...

She counted on her fingers, listing things one by one.

Her voice grew more and more urgent, as if desperately trying to prove something:

Senior is handsome... and has a good personality... being with you makes me so happy and comfortable...

Is... is that not enough?

She looked up, staring at Fang Qi with teary eyes, her voice carrying a trace of grievance and pleading:

Senior, does my affection... really make you hate me that much?

Fang Qi: ...

Was that... what he meant by what he just said?

At this moment, the ponytail-wearing best friend beside her finally couldn't hold back anymore!

She stood up abruptly, slammed her hands on the table, and glared at Fang Qi:

Hey! What is wrong with you!

Even if you don't like Xiaoyou, why would you ask a question like that!

Do you know how much she's missed you these past few days?! When you went missing, she was so worried she almost called the police!

She got angrier as she spoke, her eyes turning red:

Does liking someone need a reason?! She just likes you! Asking like this... asking like this...

She couldn't continue, only glaring fiercely at Fang Qi, her chest heaving violently.

Fang Qi didn't speak.

He just listened quietly, his gaze still resting on Lin Xiaoyou's face.

He could feel the small hand holding his tighten again.

Liguang was looking at him.

In those heterochromatic eyes, a small, satisfied joy temporarily overshadowed the fear.

—Master is rejecting other girls for me.

Fang Qi gently squeezed her hand.

Then, he looked back at Lin Xiaoyou.

He pursed his lips and spoke:

Xiaoyou, all those things you just mentioned—

That I treat you well, help you out, take care of you, that I'm handsome, have a good personality, and make you feel happy and comfortable...

He paused:

Are these... really worth you losing your appetite and sleep over me?

Lin Xiaoyou froze.

He continued staring into Lin Xiaoyou's misty almond eyes and said:

Is it worth putting me in a position more important than your job, than making money, than anything else...?

Fang Qi stared into her eyes, word by word:

Is it worth throwing away a girl's pride, actively throwing yourself at me time and time again, even... never giving up despite being rejected by me over and over?

Lin Xiaoyou's lips began to tremble violently.

Those things you just said...

Treating you well, helping you out, being handsome, having a good personality...

These traits... someone else could have them too.

But would you chase after that person the way you chase after me?

Lin Xiaoyou opened her mouth, but the words got stuck in her throat.

She seemed to realize she couldn't answer this question.

She seemed to realize... she had never even thought about this question.

Looking at her like this, Fang Qi sighed in his heart.

He knew why.

The answer was simple. Because Lin Xiaoyou was an NPC.

Her game setting... was simply to like the player.

That was why she was dead set on him after their very first meeting.

That was why her affection for him was so intense that...

It could make her abandon her job, her savings, and the reserve and pride a normal girl should have...

To chase after him time and time again.

...This wasn't normal affection.

It was a persistence written into her code, something beyond logic.

Just like—

The kind of like Liguang had for him when he first crossed over.

Back then, Liguang was just like this too.

Sickly, incredibly obsessed, a madness that constantly sought to keep him completely by her side.

Compared to Lin Xiaoyou, Liguang's behavior was actually somewhat normal.

Because she was an AI companion to begin with, an awakened AI, and in her settings... she didn't understand emotions anyway.

So her madness couldn't have been more normal; it wasn't as abrupt as Lin Xiaoyou's feelings.

But this kind of affection from Liguang...

Was still baseless, endowed by programming.

It was the kind of feeling that... as long as she had a different Master, she would give out just the same.

But later on?

Later, they experienced so many life-and-death situations together, so many unforgettable moments.

So many moments where she bared her heart and soul, even her core, for him.

And so, he fell in love with her.

He didn't fall in love with her because she was programmed to love him and treat him well.

But because...

Those shared memories made this fake love... become real.

That was when he started to believe...

That the person Liguang loved was him.

It was the him who had spent a lifetime with her in a dream, eloped with her, built a raft with her, and drifted out to sea with her.

And not... her programmed status as her Master.

That was why he tried so desperately to preserve those memories for her.

Because only by preserving the memories of their shared experiences...

Would she be the Liguang who truly loved him.

And not the one...

Programmed to want to be with him forever.

Now—

He looked at the tear-streaked, round-faced girl in front of him.

He wanted her to understand this too.

He wanted her to realize...

That her affection for Senior might not be because she truly understood him or needed him at all.

But simply because—

She was programmed this way.

Fang Qi took a deep breath, his voice softer than before, but more serious:

Xiaoyou, think about it carefully.

Those reasons you just gave for liking me—

If it were someone else doing the exact same things for you, would you like him the way you like me?

Lin Xiaoyou stared at him blankly.

Tears still hung on her face, but she forgot to wipe them away.

You put me in a position more important than your job, than making money, than anything else.

But to you, what exactly am I?

"Is it someone you truly understand, have spent time with, and have experienced things with..."

"Or is it just someone..."

"Someone who 'ought to be liked'?"

Lin Xiaoyou's breathing began to quicken.

She realized she couldn't answer that at all.

She realized she... didn't know.

She just... had liked Senior from the very first time they met.

But why did she like him from the first meeting?

She didn't know.

She only knew that she liked him, only knew that she wanted to see him, only knew that seeing him made her happy, and not seeing him made her miss him—

But why?

Why did it have to be him?

She... couldn't say.

"I... I..."

Her voice began to tremble.

"I just... I just like you, Senior..."

"Is... is that not okay?"

Large tears fell from her eyes, splashing into the coffee cup in front of her and sending out ripples.

"Does there have to be a reason... to like someone?"

Looking at her like this, Fang Qi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy in his heart.

He knew she wouldn't be able to answer.

Because there simply was no "special reason."

Those unique memories belonging to just the two of them, the ones worth dropping everything to pursue—

She... simply didn't have them.

All she had were her settings.

Just the obsession with the "Player" bestowed upon her by the program.

Just like Liguang once was.

Fang Qi gently squeezed the silver-haired girl's hand.

He could feel that small hand resting quietly in his palm.

Docile and soft, letting him hold it.

She was no longer trembling.

She just watched him quietly, watching every word he said and everything he did to Lin Xiaoyou.

In those heterochromatic eyes, something was gently flickering.

Her slender fingers began to grow restless again, gently scratching at the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.

He gave her hand a light squeeze, signaling her to behave, then looked at Lin Xiaoyou, his voice calm but earnest:

"Xiaoyou, it's not that I dislike you."

"I just want you to think clearly..."

"Is your affection for me truly because I'm worth giving up everything to pursue—"

"Or is it just because you feel..."

"You have to like me?"

Lin Xiaoyou... was completely stunned.

She just sat there, tears flowing silently, her lips slightly parted, but unable to speak a single word.

Her best friend beside her looked thoroughly bewildered and baffled, looking back and forth between Fang Qi and Lin Xiaoyou...

She had absolutely no idea what kind of profound philosophy these two were talking about!

The cafe was terrifyingly quiet at this moment.

There was only the hissing steam of the espresso machine and the faint, distant announcements from the mall.

Sunlight poured in through the window, falling onto Lin Xiaoyou's pale face.

She was like a statue, completely motionless.

Only her tears... continued to fall, drop by drop.

Fang Qi didn't say anything more. He just watched her quietly, waiting for her.

He knew this question was difficult for her.

Extremely difficult.

For an NPC...

This was likely a question she had never thought about, or perhaps was never even allowed to think about.

But he wanted her to think about it.

He wanted her...

To break through those invisible restrictions, if only for a moment.

Even if just for a fleeting second... to want to live a life that truly belonged to her.

Lin Xiaoyou finally spoke again.

She opened her mouth, her voice so hoarse it was barely audible:

"I..."

"I don't know..."

"I really... don't know..."

She lowered her head, staring at the iced Americano in front of her.

Her tears fell into it one by one, sending out ripples.

Then she suddenly looked up at Fang Qi.

Her red, tearful almond eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness.

Like a... lost little animal.

"Senior..."

Her voice was very, very soft.

"If... if I can't find that reason..."

"Then..."

"Do I still... deserve to like you, Senior?"