Would You Like to Listen

Right at this moment—

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang abruptly.

Fang Qi's body stiffened slightly, and the expression on his face froze as well.

He shifted his gaze away from those crescent-shaped amber eyes and looked sideways toward the front door.

An Lian was here.

That aloof female agent who also retained the memories of the previous loop...

Had arrived.

He straightened up and looked down at the silver-haired girl in the charging pod.

Liguang was also slightly narrowing her eyes toward the door...

It was hard to tell what she was thinking.

Fang Qi's heart... was beating with anxiety.

He didn't know how much her current state had recovered.

That combination punch of the "skeleton theory" and "no one wants me anymore" just now...

Should have pulled her out of the abyss of self-loathing, right...?

To be honest, when it came to coaxing his wife... he was actually quite confident!

His wife... should be fine now, right?

What was her mood right now?

Was she still afraid?

Did she still care about that... covered right eye?

But An Lian was already here...

"Liguang,"

He looked at the silver-haired girl in the charging pod and spoke tentatively:

"An Lian is here. Shall we... go meet our guest?"

The silver-haired girl looked at him and gently raised her hand.

The next second—

Hiss—

The transparent wall of the charging pod opened, and Liguang stepped out from inside.

She came out!

His wife finally came out!

At this moment, she looked a bit disheveled.

Her light blue skirt was tattered, with a large piece missing from the left hem.

That strip of cloth was still wrapped around her head, completely covering her crimson eye.

She stood in front of him, tilting her pretty face up to look at him.

That amber left eye stared at him faintly!

Did this mean she was successfully coaxed?

Fang Qi felt a slight wave of relief in his heart!

After experiencing that kind of thing in the last loop, she was still coaxed so quickly...

Wifey, I love you so much...!

"Master, wait a moment."

Her voice was soft and sweet, without any hint of abnormality.

"Liguang... will change clothes and then go out."

Ah...

He looked down at her torn skirt.

Yeah, that definitely needed changing!

How could he let his wife meet someone in tattered clothes?

"Okay!"

He reached out and gave her head a firm but gentle rub!

Liguang didn't dodge; she just tilted her face up and let him rub it.

But this time... she didn't take the initiative to rub her little head against his hand.

It made Fang Qi feel like something was missing...

But that made sense. His crazy girl had just been coaxed, and her emotions hadn't completely settled yet, so why would she nuzzle him!

Fang Qi, you are really insatiable!

He... he also needed to gather his spirits.

He was about to see An Lian, and he might soon learn some secrets...

For the sake of his and Liguang's future... he had to pull himself together!

"Then you change first, I'll go open the door. It's okay if you don't come out!"

As Fang Qi spoke, he turned around to head to the living room—

Then his wrist tightened, grabbed from behind by a small hand.

Huh?

Before he could turn his head, a breath with a faint sweet strawberry scent pressed up against him.

Warm breath sprayed on his earlobe!

"Master."

Liguang's voice was soft, but very, very close, making Fang Qi's back tense up for a moment!

"Later, when you're done entertaining Miss An Lian..."

Her lips gently touched his earlobe!

"Master must..."

"Give Liguang a proper explanation..."

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

Yes.

Explain.

Of course he had to explain.

Explain what her dreams were all about, explain the resets, explain everything!

It was time for his crazy girl to know everything!

Liguang continued to whisper softly:

"Properly explain why, in Liguang's first nightmare, Master..."

"Why did you abandon Liguang?"

...?

Fang Qi blinked.

What?

Explain what?

Wasn't he supposed to explain all of this?

Explain the first nightmare...?

Ah...

His pupils shrank slightly.

She was talking about the loop before the last one!

The loop where they eloped to the island, drifted on the raft, and finally she sank to the bottom of the sea alone!

In that dream...

He did "abandon" her.

From her perspective, she woke up to find her master gone, then frantically searched along the coast alone, and finally ran out of power and sank into the deep sea.

Speaking of which...

He had already made his crazy girl experience despair twice in a row!

Both dreams were nightmares!

Fuck...

Fang Qi, what the hell are you doing!!

He had to explain!

He wanted to turn around immediately to explain, but that hand gently held his head in place.

"Master, don't look back at Liguang right now."

Liguang's voice was very light.

"Liguang doesn't want Master to see how she looks right now."

She paused, gently wrapping her other hand around his waist, and then whispered softly in his ear:

"Master must think carefully before explaining~"

"Right now... only Liguang will want Master, you know?"

"So, if Master's explanation fails to satisfy Liguang..."

That hand gripping his wrist...

Its fingertips pressed against the tendons on the inside of his wrist... and gave a slightly forceful scratch!

A faint sting!

"Hehehe..."

Fang Qi: "..."

...Ah?

In this instant, that long-lost feeling that made his heart race and his scalp tingle...

Came back.

That oppressive feeling of potentially being turned into a "human body pillow" at any moment... came back?

No way...?

Crazy girl, you don't want to "return to your old trade", do you!

Don't! Crazy girl, don't!

It will trigger a reset!

He spoke up on the spot, hastily trying to explain: "Liguang, you can't...!"

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang again.

Then came a gentle push from behind.

"Master shouldn't let Miss An Lian wait too long."

Liguang's voice was still so soft and sweet as she pushed him toward the living room.

"Liguang will come out after changing clothes."

He was pushed out of the room, and then...

"You're not allowed to touch Miss An Lian."

Bang.

The room's door closed again.

Fang Qi stood outside the door, somewhat dumbfounded.

Then...

"Heh..."

"Hehe..."

Crazy girl, you are truly outrageous.

To not ask him what those "dreams" were all about...

To not ask him why he had those "dreams" with her...

She was actually... more concerned about the fact that he "abandoned" her in the first dream?

What kind of... crazy girl logic is this?

Good logic...

Great logic...!

She's back!

His crazy girl is back!

This should count as... him having thoroughly coaxed her, right!

And maybe even... coaxed her a bit too much?

...Whatever, it doesn't matter.

As long as wifey is happy!

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang once again!

He... took a deep breath.

For the sake of his and Liguang's future...

Right now, he had to focus on solving the problem at hand!

Suppressing the throbbing in his heart, he strode to the front door.

He opened the door!

...

Outside the door stood that familiar, long-legged, gray-eyed, mature female agent.

On that aloof face, her features were as exquisite as a magazine cover.

Her thin lips were slightly pursed, her nose bridge was high, and a pair of gray eyes was staring right at him.

Wearing a black suit skirt, her jet-black long hair wasn't pinned up this time; instead, it draped loosely over her shoulders, swaying gently in the night breeze.

She looked like... she had rushed over in a hurry without even having time to put her hair up.

She didn't carry that gray suitcase either, arriving empty-handed.

Fang Qi's trepidation was suppressed... the moment he saw her.

...Miss An Lian, we meet again.

Uncontrollably, images from the previous loop flashed through his mind.

She was slumped in the corner, her long black hair messily plastered across her face, a dark hole in her temple, those gray eyes looking at him as her lips still moved...

"Mr. Fang."

The cold, clear voice pulled him back to reality.

An Lian looked at him calmly:

"Sorry to intrude."

"...Ah, come in!"

Fang Qi immediately snapped back to his senses, stepping aside to make way and trying his best to make his voice sound natural.

An Lian nodded slightly, taking a step with her long legs, her high heels letting out a crisp "clack" on the entryway floor.

She wasn't in the wretched state of the previous loop.

Right now, she was that professional, aloof, and meticulous senior agent!

To be honest... seeing her like this was actually quite reassuring!

The moment she entered, her gaze quickly swept across the entire living room, and then those gray eyes... paused slightly.

Fang Qi followed her line of sight—

The shattered teacup on the floor, along with a puddle of half-dried tea, was meandering next to the coffee table.

Ah...

He had been so focused on coaxing his wife just now that he hadn't had time to clean it up at all...

Fang Qi's mouth twitched slightly.

"...Sorry, there was a little accident just now."

He rubbed his nose awkwardly and explained further:

"Liguang is changing her clothes inside, she'll be right out."

An Lian's gaze lingered on the tea stain for a moment before looking at the tightly closed bedroom door.

A trace of complex emotion flashed through those gray eyes, but she didn't say anything, merely giving a slight nod.

"It's fine."

Her voice was as cold and clear as ever, betraying no emotion.

Fang Qi pointed to the sofa in the living room:

"Have a seat first."

An Lian nodded slightly and sat down with an elegant posture.

Her legs were kept together and slanted slightly to the side, her hands resting naturally on her knees.

It was a sitting posture as standard as it could possibly be!

Only, thinking about how she still remembered what had happened in the previous loop... made Fang Qi feel a bit uncomfortable.

He felt a bit like he was sitting on pins and needles.

What exactly... was this older sister here to do this time?

He had let her witness that living hell, and even told her that she was the cause of it. His original intention was to make her stay away from him... but she had still come looking for him.

And she had come looking for him immediately.

She shouldn't... be here to interrogate him, right? One wouldn't come alone to interrogate someone...

Holding his breath, Fang Qi sat down opposite her.

The mess on the floor lay glaringly between them, making the atmosphere somewhat delicate for a moment.

Then—

"Creak."

The bedroom door opened, and the silver-haired girl walked out.

She had changed her clothes.

She wore a milky white knitted cardigan on her upper body and a beige ankle-length skirt below, her silver hair cascading down.

That pale blue strip of cloth... was still wrapped around her head, covering her right eye completely and leaving only her amber left eye exposed.

First, she smiled and nodded at An Lian sitting on the sofa. Then, she fetched some cleaning tools, crouched down, and cleaned up the broken porcelain and tea on the floor.

After that, she turned and entered the kitchen...

Soon, she walked over carrying a tray holding two cups of tea, curling steam wafting upward.

Throughout the entire process, An Lian didn't say a word.

She just quietly watched the busy Liguang, not knowing what she was thinking.

This made Fang Qi even more uncomfortable, and he rubbed his brow.

The silver-haired girl finally walked up to the two of them. She bent down and gently placed one of the cups in front of An Lian.

"Miss An Lian, I am sorry."

An Lian's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Liguang accidentally knocked over the teacup just now, making a fool of myself in front of you."

Liguang continued, her voice soft and sweet, carrying a hint of apology.

An Lian's gray eyes fell on the silver-haired girl's face, then on the cloth covering her right eye... before finally looking away.

In the end, she didn't say anything, merely giving a slight nod.

Liguang's eyes curved in a smile as she carried the other cup of tea around the coffee table.

She placed the tea gently in front of Fang Qi... and then knelt down by his feet.

With her hands folded on her lap and her head slightly bowed, she once again assumed a perfectly submissive posture.

Fang Qi could feel it—

Her calf was deliberately pressing against the side of his leg, like a lazy kitten rubbing against its master.

This crazy woman...

Just a moment ago, her emotions had been wildly fluctuating, and now she could pretend to be so well-behaved!

An Lian's gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment, those gray eyes trembling slightly.

But only for a moment, before she withdrew her gaze and looked back at Fang Qi.

"Mr. Fang."

Her voice still had that cold, professional feel to it.

But Fang Qi could hear a faint tremor in it.

"I came this time because I want to tell you a story."

She paused, her gray eyes staring straight at him.

"Are you... willing to listen?"

Fang Qi's heart tightened slightly.

Here it comes.

He pursed his lips.

"I am willing."

He said.

An Lian's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She lowered her eyes, staring at the steaming cup of tea on the coffee table.

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke.

"This story..."

"Has to start from seventeen years ago."

Her voice remained as calm and cold as ever.

"My parents and my older brother..."

"Died in that disaster seventeen years ago."