Creepy

There was a note... pressed under Miss An Lian's teacup.

The silver-haired girl waved the note in her hand.

Fang Qi couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

A note?

Left by An Lian?

When did she put it there?

He hadn't noticed it at all...

He forced himself to perk up and waved at Liguang. Bring it here, let me see.

Liguang obediently walked over, handed him the note, and then sat down beside him, leaning against him and tilting her head to look at it together.

Fang Qi unfolded the note.

The content was very concise, just one line of text:

[I'm not the only one from the Company watching you. Be careful. Destroy after reading.]

The handwriting was neat and elegant, typical of An Lian's style.

Fang Qi, however, narrowed his eyes.

Not the only one... be careful...

He stared at these words, and a scene... suddenly flashed through his mind.

Just now, when he asked An Lian who his parents were, An Lian had said "ordinary merchants," and then...

She glanced outside.

Just that one glance, very natural, very casual... as if she were looking at the scenery outside the window.

At the time, he thought there might be another sniper targeting An Lian, just like in the previous loop.

After all, in the last loop, just as she was about to say something she shouldn't have, she got a bullet to the head.

But seeing this note now...

He suddenly realized something.

What she was looking out for back then might not have been whether she was being watched, but...

Whether he was being watched.

A chill instantly shot up Fang Qi's spine!

...Right.

That made sense!

With a massive secret like Liguang by his side, how could the Company... not send people to watch him?!

Liguang was a super custom AI, one of only nine in the world, an awakened AI that the world deemed "must be destroyed," and as her master...

How could he not be under surveillance?

Even in the previous loop, that sniper who silenced An Lian...

Probably wasn't targeting An Lian at all.

Instead, it was someone who had been watching him all along!

It was just that An Lian was about to say something she shouldn't have, so... they silenced her!

In other words, the sniper's rifle had always been aimed at...

Him.

Or rather... anyone who tried to get close to him.

Fang Qi's Adam's apple bobbed.

It was terrifying.

Right now, he felt... as if he were being watched by countless pairs of eyes.

From all directions, from every unseen corner.

Liguang.

His voice was a bit hoarse.

Hmm?

The silver-haired girl tilted her head to look at him.

Go close all the curtains.

Liguang's eyes flashed slightly, and she nodded gently.

Okay.

She stood up, walked to the window, pinched the edge of the curtain with her slender fingers, and gave it a gentle pull—

The heavy fabric slid across the track with a "swish—".

The sunlight was blocked out, and the living room grew dim.

She walked to another window and repeated the action.

Her long silver hair swayed gently with her movements, and the hem of her off-white dress fluttered around her calves.

Every movement carried a machine-like precision, yet exuded a gentle, domestic warmth.

Fang Qi burned the note with a lighter, leaned back on the sofa, and watched her close the curtains one by one.

The last window was finally covered, and the living room went completely dark. Only a few thin rays of light seeping through the gaps in the curtains painted faint streaks of light on the floor.

Liguang walked back to his side, knelt down in front of him, and tilted her pretty face up to look at him.

In the dim light, her heterochromatic eyes were startlingly bright.

Her amber left eye was as gentle as a pool of spring water, while the crimson in her red right eye seemed to flow faintly... like a flickering candle in the dark.

Master.

Her voice was soft but exceptionally serious.

Liguang will protect Master.

No matter who is watching Master, Liguang will protect you.

Fang Qi looked at her, and the chill in his heart was significantly diluted by a surge of warmth.

He reached out and rubbed her head.

Yeah, I know.

Liguang narrowed her eyes and nuzzled into his palm like a little kitten.

After nuzzling, she asked softly, Is Master going to sleep now?

Fang Qi nodded.

...He was too exhausted.

He really couldn't hold on any longer!

Even though he knew someone was watching him, and even though it was indeed a bit creepy, but...

The Company didn't dare to kill him!

He had already verified this in the previous loop.

The person watching him, or... the group of people watching him, were merely surveilling him.

...Then let them watch.

What he needed right now was sleep, to recover his energy.

To gather his strength so he could deal with what was coming next.

Okay, Liguang will go make the bed for Master.

The silver-haired girl stood up and turned toward the bedroom.

The beige hem of her dress swept gently across the floor, and her slender back disappeared into the bedroom doorway.

Fang Qi yawned, stood up unsteadily, and followed her.

In the bedroom, the silver-haired girl was bending over, arranging the bedding.

She stood by the bed, her upper body leaning forward slightly. Her slender fingers pinched the corner of the quilt and gave it a firm shake, making the blanket billow out in the air before settling down.

Her beige dress pulled taut with the movement, outlining the breathtaking curve between her waist and hips.

Her long silver hair slipped from her shoulders, draping over the bedsheets and swaying gently with her movements.

Fang Qi leaned against the doorframe watching this scene, dead tired... but his eyes couldn't help following her figure.

So beautiful.

His crazy girl was so beautiful.

It was a pity he was just too exhausted, otherwise he felt...

Since he had confirmed he could loop back with his memories intact, maybe he could already... with her...

Liguang finally finished tidying up and turned around, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

Master, you can sleep now.

Fang Qi nodded, staggered to the bed...

And face-planted right onto it.

With his face buried in the soft pillow, a faint, sweet strawberry scent drifted into his nose.

It was Liguang's scent.

It smelled so good...

He took a deep breath, and his entire body relaxed.

So comfortable...

So sleepy...

He rolled over onto his back, his eyes already unable to stay open.

But in his hazy state, he could feel the edge of the bed dip slightly.

It was Liguang. She was leaning over the edge of his bed again.

This crazy girl was going to stare at him until he woke up, just like in the previous loop, wasn't she...

Fine.

It was actually pretty nice.

It really made her master feel safe...

Fang Qi struggled to lift his hand, fumbling until he found that small silver head, and gently rubbed it.

Master is going to sleep... you get some rest too...

He mumbled indistinctly.

Mhm.

Liguang replied softly, but clearly had no intention of leaving.

Fang Qi didn't care anymore. His hand slipped off her head and rested by the pillow...

His consciousness began to blur.

Sleep...

Ring—

His phone ringtone sounded abruptly, exceptionally piercing in the quiet bedroom.

Fang Qi furrowed his brows but didn't move.

Too tired to answer. Whoever wants to answer it can answer it.

But the next second, he felt an emptiness by his hand—the small hand he had been resting against slipped away.

Then he heard rustling sounds...

Was Liguang taking his phone?

Tsk, this crazy girl, actually taking his phone without permission...

Not even pretending anymore... really pushing her luck...!

But...

He was truly too exhausted, without even the strength to open his eyes, so he could only let her be.

"Master."

Liguang's voice sounded by his ear, soft, and carrying a trace of...

Faint jealousy!

"It's a message from Miss Lin Xiaoyou."

Lin Xiaoyou?

Fang Qi thought groggily.

Oh, his good teammate...

He remembered now. In the previous playthrough, he had rejected her in public at the cafe, and then...

She was pulled away crying by her best friend?

It seemed so...

She must have retained her memories of the previous playthrough as well, which was why she was messaging him now instead of coincidentally running into him at the mall in the afternoon...

She wasn't coming over to seek comfort, was she...

Tch... so troublesome...

So sleepy...

"She asked... 'Is Senior back? Can I come find Senior?'"

Liguang's voice grew even softer, so soft it was almost cloying, but Fang Qi could hear the little schemes hidden in her tone.

Tch, the crazy woman is at it again...

"Ignore her... sleep first..."

Fang Qi's voice was barely a murmur.

"Oh..." Liguang's voice was very obedient, even carrying a hint of secret joy.

Heh...

Truly a crazy woman.

His consciousness continued to sink, sinking into the warm, dark depths.

Lin Xiaoyou... island... cafe... rejection... crying...

These images floated messily in his mind, growing increasingly blurry and distant...

And then...

He suddenly snapped his eyes open!

His eyes... stared fixedly at the ceiling!

In the dim light, the patterns on the ceiling were indistinct.

But his pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks.

He suddenly... realized something.

Something that seemed... terrifying.

An Lian. Her "professionalism" toward him, her "persuasion", her "concern"... he had always thought those were just her character settings.

She was an agent, she was a professional, she was merely completing the task the company gave her.

But now he knew.

No.

It wasn't a setting.

It was because of his parents.

Because he was the child of her savior, because he was the "Little Qi" in her memories.

And that old man from the fishing village who helped him find Liguang, that fisherwoman who handed him hot tea...

They were just the most ordinary NPCs, ones who had never even appeared in the game.

But their realism made him momentarily forget that they were "game characters."

And in the previous playthrough... those armed personnel he had killed.

They had families too, people waiting for them to come home. They were all very real, like living, breathing human beings, rather than...

Being driven by so-called "game settings."

Then...

Did this world truly have such a thing as "character settings"?

If...

He meant if.

If... the company wanted to send someone to keep an eye on him, to monitor his every move...

Would they send a...

Professional who hid in the dark and never showed their face?

Or would they send someone...

...who could openly and legitimately walk into his life?

Someone...

Who could appear in front of him every day, talk to him, interact with him, and make him completely unsuspicious?

Fang Qi's breathing stopped.

For example...

Someone who sat right next to his desk when he was at work.

For example...

Someone who wanted nothing more than to come to his house every day, finding all sorts of excuses to get close to him.

For example...

Someone who would try to chase after him even when he ran off to a deserted island.

For example...

Someone who could coincidentally... bump into him in such a massive city, such a huge mall, with so many floors and so many stores.

Fang Qi... stared straight at the dim ceiling.

Beside him was still the silver-haired girl's fixed, love-filled gaze.

Goosebumps popped up one by one on his back.

From his arms, from the back of his neck, from every inch of his skin...

...Absolutely bloodcurdling.