What a coincidence, senior

"Senior—!!!!"

A familiar voice echoed in the empty ticket hall.

Fang Qi froze in place.

His mind was in total chaos!

...Lin Xiaoyou?!

He was still dragging Liguang along in a mad dash...

His head was still full of the eerie gazes of those bizarre audiences, their uniform expressions and postures...

And now... Lin Xiaoyou suddenly popped up?!

No...

What exactly was going on right now?!

Lin Xiaoyou, don't tell me you're just like those guys inside, a...!

No, no, no, impossible...

She couldn't be, otherwise how would Liguang make the [Last Supper]...

But his body remained stiff.

He didn't turn around immediately, but subconsciously glanced at the silver-haired girl beside him!

Liguang was currently having her wrist gripped by him.

Just a moment ago, this pretty face still bore a hint of grievance and reluctance at being forcibly dragged out of the screening room.

But now, the moment she heard that "Senior"... her gaze froze!

Those heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly, the watery light in her pupils shifting...

In an instant, she switched from a pitiful, aggrieved little thing to a docile, harmless, and elegant companion!

The little yandere had activated her "perfect disguise" once again!

She even blinked lightly at Fang Qi, her small mouth pouting slightly.

—Master, do you see how fast Liguang's reaction is?

The speed of it, the naturalness of her changing face... made Fang Qi's heart relax slightly.

His crazy woman was still that crazy woman.

No matter how others changed... as long as his crazy woman didn't change, it was fine!

As long as Liguang was here, he had nothing to fear!

He took a deep breath... and then turned to look behind him!

At the entrance of the ticket hall, that familiar petite figure was bouncing and rushing toward them!

Lin Xiaoyou!

She was wearing a light pink cardigan over a white camisole, with a denim miniskirt that revealed a pair of fair, delicate calves.

One of the shoelaces on her canvas shoes was loose, flapping around as she ran!

Her ponytail swung wildly behind her head, and the smile on her round little face was as bright as if she had found money!

She was like a pink cannonball, shooting over with a "whoosh"!

"Senior—!!"

"Senior, Senior, Senior—!!"

She waved as she ran, her voice crisp and bright!

When she ran up to the two of them, she slammed on the brakes—

"Screech—!"

The soles of her shoes scraped against the floor, making a harsh sound. She rested her hands on her knees, panting heavily:

"Huff... huff... ha..."

Her small chest heaved violently, and her light pink cardigan trembled along with it.

She lifted her head, her little face flushed red, a few stray hairs stuck to her cheeks, and her almond eyes were wide open!

"Se-Senior...!"

She panted, her voice still carrying a slight tremor from running:

"What... what a coincidence..."

"Really... really such a coincidence...!"

Then she straightened up, her gaze instantly darting to Liguang, her smile growing even brighter:

"Liguang is here too! It's really been a long time!"

She waved at Liguang, looking... as natural as if she had seen an old friend.

Liguang nodded slightly, a gentle curve forming at the corners of her mouth, her voice soft and sweet:

"Hello, Miss Lin."

Flawless etiquette, a docile and well-behaved posture, but that small hand being held by him...

Its fingertips gently scratched the palm of his hand.

Then, the five slender fingers smoothly slipped between his fingers, interlocking them...

Clasped tightly!

It seemed that Lin Xiaoyou's sudden appearance still made her a bit displeased.

—Why is this woman interrupting my date with Master again!

It was as if she was saying that.

Fang Qi, on the other hand, felt his head buzzing.

Wifey, don't be upset just yet...

There's a huge problem with this woman!

He squeezed that small hand back, but his gaze never left Lin Xiaoyou's face!

Lin! Xiao! You!

She really came!

This was the first time he had seen her since he started suspecting her identity!

Just as he had suspected before... this girl had "coincidentally" appeared in front of them again!

In this old mall with hardly anyone around... she had "bumped into" them with such precision!

Haha, I guess it was to be expected...

My ass!!!

You're popping up at this exact moment?!

He subconsciously and quickly turned his head again to glance behind him!

The empty ticket hall with no one in it...

And that pitch-black entrance to the movie theater.

It was quiet, very quiet. No one came out from inside.

...Hmm, thank goodness.

He had just experienced those bizarre things in the screening room, just been creeped out by those hollow gazes, just dragged Liguang and escaped...!

And as a result... Lin Xiaoyou suddenly popped up at this time?!

I say, good teammate... do you have to be so obvious!!

If this matter had nothing to do with her...

He would write the words Fang Qi backwards!

He turned his head back again, staring intently at Lin Xiaoyou!

...So it was you who almost scared me to death, right!

Lin Xiaoyou looked baffled by his stare, her almond eyes blinking, and her ponytail swaying along:

"Senior? Why aren't you speaking?"

She tilted her small head, her face full of innocence and joy:

"Senior, did you bring Liguang out to watch a movie today?"

As she spoke, her gaze circled between the two of them, and then her small mouth parted slightly, revealing an exaggerated expression of surprise:

"Wow—"

"Senior is so attentive to Liguang even though she's an AI, Senior, you're really so romantic!"

She even clasped her hands together and held them over her heart, her little face screaming "I'm so jealous, so jealous"!

Fang Qi: "..."

Hey... spouting nonsense the moment you arrive, starting to provoke Liguang right away, huh!

He gritted his teeth!

Sure enough, she was still that "good teammate"!

The silver-haired girl holding his hand squeezed it slightly.

Fang Qi quickly squeezed back to comfort her.

But he still didn't speak, just stared at Lin Xiaoyou, his gaze circling her face.

Perhaps because of a change in his subjective attitude, he couldn't help but feel that Lin Xiaoyou was a bit off today too...

Hmm...

Oh...!

Eh? Today's Lin Xiaoyou... why didn't she lunge over and hug him?

According to the experience of the previous two loops, the two of them hadn't seen each other for a long time now, and Lin Xiaoyou would usually lunge straight at him, wanting to hug him!

In the loop before last on the island, she threw herself at him the moment she arrived!

Even though she was obstructed by Liguang in various ways, and even grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown onto the beach, landing flat on her butt, she still persistently wanted to hug him!

In the last loop at the mall, after seeing him, she also rushed over with an excited face to hug him, even though her best friend was present at the time...

And then he dodged her with a nimble evasion, because Liguang was silently observing from behind the curtain of the fitting room at the time.

In short... in the previous two loops, she always looked like she couldn't wait to hang off him the moment they met!

But this time...

She remained standing two steps away.

Panting, waving, smiling brilliantly... but constantly maintaining a polite, safe distance.

...?

Fang Qi's gaze circled around her once more before settling on her face.

That small face was still flushed, and the smile was as radiant as ever.

He stared into her eyes, trying to read something from them.

Being stared at like that, Lin Xiaoyou blinked, and the smile on her round face couldn't help but stiffen slightly.

She cautiously took a step closer and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"Senior? Senior! What's wrong with you? Say something!"

That small hand waved back and forth in front of him. It was fair and tender, with light pink nail polish and a tiny strawberry sticker on one of the nails...

...It looked exactly like an ordinary young woman's hand, completely devoid of any abnormalities.

"Senior, you... don't scare me!"

Since Fang Qi remained silent, a trace of panic crept into Lin Xiaoyou's voice!

Her small brows furrowed slightly, and her almond eyes looked at him full of worry.

But...

She still didn't make any physical contact with him!

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes, watching the small hand waving in front of him.

This was definitely not right!

If it were the old her... she absolutely would have reached out to grab his arm by now!

She was now... definitely a bit more polite!

Just then, another fair little hand suddenly reached out from the side, accurately blocking the space between Fang Qi and Lin Xiaoyou.

It was Liguang's hand.

The silver-haired girl took a step forward, shielding half of Fang Qi's body behind hers!

Her pretty face still carried a gentle smile, but her heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the round-faced girl in front of her.

"Miss Lin."

Her voice was docile and soft, yet it carried a faint, almost imperceptible sense of distance.

"Master is a bit tired today, please excuse him."

As she spoke, she leaned back slightly, almost pressing into Fang Qi's embrace, as if silently declaring: Master belongs to Liguang.

Lin Xiaoyou's outstretched hand froze in midair, and then...

She subconsciously took half a step back.

Just half a step.

A very natural, casual movement to create distance.

The smile on her face remained as bright as ever, without the slightest change.

"Oh! Senior is tired?"

She clapped her hands, her ponytail bouncing along with the motion.

"Then you need to get a good rest! You can't overwork yourself!"

Then her eyes lit up, and she leaned in half a step closer—

But still maintained a one-step distance.

"Oh, right, Senior! Do you remember that dessert shop I told you about before?"

She gestured with her hands, her eyes sparkling.

"That one, it's super delicious! The one whose signature is the strawberry crepe cake! Senior, you like strawberries, right!"

"I even brought you one of their small cakes before!"

"It's open on the first floor of this old mall. I come here often! I'm really familiar with the manager!"

She was so excited that her small face flushed red.

"Do you want to go check it out now, Senior? My treat! Just consider it—"

She paused, rolled her eyes playfully, and then giggled.

"Just consider it a thank you for taking care of me at the company!"

Chatter, chatter.

Her small mouth opened and closed, her voice crisp and sweet.

But Fang Qi didn't take any of it in.

His attention... was entirely captivated by her subconscious half-step back just now!

Huh...

Was she afraid just now?

Holding Liguang's small hand, Fang Qi's fingers subconsciously tightened a bit.

That half-step just now, she was avoiding Liguang, wasn't she?

She was...

Afraid of Liguang?

Then he suddenly felt the two slender fingers holding his hand abruptly pinch a small piece of skin on the back of his hand...

The nails gave a light pinch.

It wasn't heavy, but enough for him to notice, like some kind of silent warning:

—Master?

—You don't really want to go eat, do you?

Fang Qi's eyelid twitched.

On the surface, the silver-haired girl was still smiling gently and charmingly.

Her pretty face showed just the right amount of distance and politeness, and she was even nodding slightly in greeting.

But the hand pinching the back of his hand... increased its force by a fraction!

The nails dug into his skin, causing a slight stinging pain!

Fang Qi's train of thought was slightly interrupted.

Hmm...

It seemed he was quite afraid of Liguang too.