No Understanding Allowed

Fang Qi was completely dumbfounded right now.

...She wasn't lying?

No, wait, wifey...

Are you kidding me?!

The questions he had just asked, like "Are you behind what happened today?" and "What is your relationship with Dawn Company?"...

Those were straight-up table-flipping level interrogations!

Even someone with the strongest psychological defenses would have a moment of panic when hit with such a sudden ambush, right?

He had been waiting for Lin Xiaoyou to reveal a flaw!

She should have at least some micro-expressions exposed, right? She couldn't possibly have no reaction at all?

And the result?

Liguang said... Lin Xiaoyou wasn't lying?

Huh??

No way...

Is this girl's acting really that good?

Good enough to... even deceive Liguang's monitoring?

Fang Qi stared wide-eyed at the round-faced girl in front of him, who had her hands on her hips and her ponytail swishing back and forth. His mind was a complete mess right now!

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyou, whose cheeks were just puffed up in anger, also froze for a moment upon hearing Liguang's words.

This hall was too quiet, so quiet that even the buzzing of the old lights could be heard clearly.

So even though Liguang spoke right next to Fang Qi's ear, that soft and sweet voice...

Still clearly reached Lin Xiaoyou's ears.

She blinked her almond-shaped eyes, and then...

The expression on her small face went from indignant to disbelief, then to aggrieved, and finally turned into a kind of—

"I've been bullied, but I'm super strong" little stubbornness!

"Hmph!"

She let out a heavy snort!

Crossing her arms over her chest, she raised her little face!

Her ponytail whipped forcefully behind her head!

Those almond eyes glared sideways at Fang Qi:

"Senior! I heard everything just now!"

"You actually had Liguang test me!"

Her voice rose, carrying an accusatory tone of "Senior, you've gone too far!"

"I, Lin Xiaoyou, walk straight and sit upright! It's one thing to be suspected! But you actually..."

"You even used AI to test me?!"

"I, I, I..."

Her chest heaved with anger, her small face flushed red, and finally she choked out:

"I don't want to live anymore!"

Fang Qi: "..."

No, the way you said that...

"But!"

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly raised a hand, pointing her index finger right at Fang Qi's nose, her almond eyes wide and round:

"I am the bigger person! I won't hold it against you for having Liguang test me!"

"After all, hmph, since Liguang has already detected that I wasn't lying..."

She proudly lifted her chin, her ponytail perking up.

"Then Senior—"

She withdrew her hand, crossed her arms again, tilted her small face up, and pointed her nostrils at Fang Qi:

"Isn't it time for you to apologize to me?"

Fang Qi: "..."

He looked at the round-faced girl in front of him, who was as proud as a little peacock, and his mouth twitched.

Wait...

What exactly is the situation right now?!

"Apologize quickly!"

Lin Xiaoyou added another sentence, her ponytail swaying:

"Otherwise... otherwise I won't treat you to dessert anymore! And I won't buy you milk tea either!"

"Your favorite strawberry mille-crepe, and the strawberry boba milk tea..."

"All! Gone!"

She even emphasized her tone, glaring at Fang Qi, speaking word by word.

Fang Qi: "..."

What a truly devastating threat...

He was genuinely at a loss right now.

...Why?

He actually knew that lie detection could sometimes fail against people with extremely strong psychological defenses, and he hadn't underestimated Lin Xiaoyou because of her appearance.

That was exactly why he had flipped the table and asked such explosive questions!

It was to catch her off guard! To make her show a flaw!

But not only did she not show any flaws, she even pulled off a combo... painting herself as an innocent victim?

He was starting to doubt himself.

Did he... really wrong her?

Was her running into him... really just fate?

Then... why was she afraid of Liguang?!

"Master."

A soft and sweet voice sounded by his ear.

Fang Qi turned his head.

The silver-haired girl was looking up at him slightly, her heterochromatic eyes sparkling in the dim light.

"Miss Lin's emotional fluctuations just now were indeed very intense."

Her voice was soft and gentle, but very steady, like she was reporting for work:

"But those emotions—anger, grievance, the unwillingness of being falsely accused—all perfectly match the reactions of someone who has been innocently suspected."

She paused, the crimson in her red eye flickering slightly:

"At least according to Liguang's detection, Miss Lin..."

"Has no possibility of lying."

Fang Qi: "..."

Even his wife said so?

He looked at the docile Liguang, then at Lin Xiaoyou beside them, who had her arms crossed, nostrils flared at him, waiting for his apology...

His gaze involuntarily drifted to his side again—

Towards the pitch-black entrance of the cinema.

It was completely dark, and still, no one had come out.

Those bizarre audience members...

Were they still inside?

A chill ran down his spine again.

...No!

No matter what, the most urgent priority right now was to get far away from this creepy place!

He didn't want a huge crowd of people to suddenly rush out and start staring at him fixedly again!

Since that was the case...!

He abruptly withdrew his gaze, crossed his arms as well, and looked at Lin Xiaoyou: "Fine!"

Lin Xiaoyou's eyes lit up, and her ponytail swished: "Senior is going to apologize?"

"But we still have to thoroughly verify it first!"

Fang Qi glared at her:

"Didn't you just say you came to hang out with your best friend? Didn't you say your best friend runs a milk tea shop downstairs?"

"Alright then! Right now, take me and Liguang to your best friend's milk tea shop!"

He took a step forward, staring into Lin Xiaoyou's eyes:

"If the cake shop and the milk tea shop are both real, and your best friend can corroborate your story—"

He paused and gritted his teeth:

"Then I'll believe you. I'll give you a sincere apology and compensate you! My treat, no matter how expensive the cakes are, or how many you want to eat, it's all on me!"

Lin Xiaoyou froze for a moment, and then her almond eyes instantly lit up!

"Really?!"

"Really!"

"Senior is treating?! I can eat as much as I want?!"

"Yes! Provided you didn't lie to me!"

"Deal!!"

Lin Xiaoyou clapped her hands, her ponytail flying up in excitement!

"Senior! You said it yourself!"

Her small face was flushed red, her eyes screaming "Just you wait, Senior!"

"Then I won't hold back! I want to eat ten strawberry mille-crepes! And drink five cups of strawberry boba! I even want to pack some to go!"

"Prepare to be eaten out of house and home, Senior!"

She turned around and went pattering toward the stairs, running two steps before turning back to wave at the two of them:

"Hurry up, hurry up! Don't even think about backing out!"

Fang Qi took a deep breath and tightened his grip on Liguang's small hand.

"Let's go."

...

First floor.

"This is it, this is it!"

Lin Xiaoyou's cheerful voice rang out from ahead.

Fang Qi stood at the entrance of a milk tea shop, looking at the scene before him...

With a completely dumbfounded expression.

The sign above the shop entrance had five large, pastel pink words written on it—Tasty Tasty Milk Tea.

Below the sign hung a small blackboard, with the daily recommendation written in colored chalk—Strawberry Boba Limited Time Discount.

And inside the shop, the girl who was wiping cups behind the counter looked up upon hearing the commotion—

...It was exactly the same best friend who had dragged Lin Xiaoyou away from the cafe in the previous loop!

Fang Qi's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

No way... She was actually here?!

He subconsciously turned his head and looked across the street—

An exquisitely decorated dessert shop. The display window was filled with all sorts of tempting cake models, and in the most prominent spot was a giant strawberry crepe cake.

Oh, it was that familiar internet-famous logo.

Fang Qi: "..."

...Huh?!

It really existed?!

He felt like his brain was short-circuiting a bit.

Wait a minute...

If the milk tea shop was real, the dessert shop was real, and the best friend was real...

Then was everything Lin Xiaoyou said true?

Was she really just here to hang out with her best friend, and it was really just a "coincidence"?

Those bizarre "audience members"... really had nothing to do with her?

Fang Qi turned his head to look at Liguang again.

The silver-haired girl was still standing quietly beside him, her small hand tightly clasping his with their fingers intertwined.

Her gaze swept over the milk tea shop, the dessert shop, and everything around them.

Her amber eyes were very calm, with a hint of scarlet faintly flickering within.

She was scanning. Observing. Confirming whether there was any danger nearby.

Fang Qi felt a little more at ease.

No matter what, as long as his wife was by his side, there was no need to panic.

He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.

And then—

"Waaahhh—!"

An exaggerated wail suddenly rang out.

Lin Xiaoyou had already rushed into the milk tea shop and buried her head straight into her best friend's embrace!

"Xiaoqing! Xiaoqing, you have to stand up for me!"

She kept rubbing her head against her best friend's chest, messing up her own ponytail in the process:

"Senior bullied me! He wronged me! He actually suspected..."

"Suspected me of stalking him!"

"I don't want to live anymore! I really don't want to live anymore! Waaah—!"

The best friend named Xiaoqing was pushed back several steps, nearly dropping the cup in her hand.

"Hey, Xiaoyou, stop messing around...!"

She held Lin Xiaoyou to steady herself, raised her head, and her gaze landed directly on Fang Qi.

That look...

How should he put it?

It was like she was looking at a massive scumbag.

Fang Qi: "..."

That look was quite similar to the one she gave him in the previous loop.

No, listen to my explanation...

"Xiaoqing, you don't understand!"

Lin Xiaoyou was still "crying and complaining," her voice muffled:

"Senior was just watching a movie upstairs. When he came out and saw me, he actually suspected I was stalking him on purpose!"

"He even asked me about some... some Dawn Company! Asked if I was playing tricks!"

"I'm innocent! I just came to hang out with you!"

Xiaoqing's gaze instantly became even sharper.

Fang Qi felt like two holes were being burned into his face.

"And there's more!"

Lin Xiaoyou lifted her head from her best friend's embrace, her small face looking miserable—even though there wasn't a single tear. She sniffled:

"Senior and Liguang were being all lovey-dovey, but as soon as they saw me, they actually..."

"...Wait a minute."

A thin voice suddenly sounded, interrupting Lin Xiaoyou.

It was the girl named Xiaoqing.

She had originally been glaring at Fang Qi like he was a scumbag, but now her eyes held confusion and a trace of... unbelievable panic?

She looked at Lin Xiaoyou, her voice a bit tight:

"Xiaoyou, you said... what were they doing just now? Watching a movie?"

Lin Xiaoyou blinked, looking bewildered:

"Yeah, watching a movie, right on the third floor, at that old movie theater. Didn't we go there to watch movies when we were kids—"

"Xiaoyou!"

Xiaoqing abruptly interrupted her, her voice dropping a few pitches, and her hand gripping Lin Xiaoyou's arm tightened!

Lin Xiaoyou was startled by her: "Wh-what's wrong, Xiaoqing?"

Xiaoqing's lips moved, her eyes darting toward Fang Qi and Liguang for a second before quickly darting back.

Her voice was kept very low, so low that it was as if... she was afraid of being heard by something.

"That movie theater... has been closed for years!"

The air instantly froze.

Fang Qi was also suddenly stunned.

...What?

The movie theater... had been closed for a long time?

"Closed for years?"

Lin Xiaoyou was also stunned, forgetting to even toss her ponytail:

"N-no way? I just saw Senior and Liguang coming out of..."

"It's true."

Xiaoqing's voice grew even quieter, and her body unconsciously shrank back behind Lin Xiaoyou.

"I've been here for two years, and that movie theater... has never been open."

She paused, pursed her lips, and her voice was almost squeezed out from between her teeth:

"Moreover, I heard from the elderly people nearby..."

"There have always been rumors that it's haunted."

"That's exactly why... the movie theater went out of business!"

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Occasionally, pedestrians passed by outside the door, their footsteps going patter-patter.

Fang Qi stood frozen in place...

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up one by one!

Haunted?

Closed for years?

Then the movie he and Liguang had just watched...

Those young couples filling the theater...

Those audience members who had turned their heads in unison, staring at them with hollow eyes...

Hey...

Hey, hey, hey...!

My wife... should be the female lead of a yandere game, right?!

Not the female lead of a horror game, right?!

Although those various bad endings might seem pretty terrifying to some people...

But...!

He subconsciously turned his head and looked at the silver-haired girl beside him.

Liguang was still standing quietly.

Her small hand, fingers intertwined with his, was still holding his hand tightly.

But those heterochromatic eyes... were slightly narrowed at this moment.

Her gaze fell outside the milk tea shop, towards a certain empty direction.

And then...

The corners of her mouth slowly curled up into a shallow arc.

She tilted her face slightly, gently stood on her tiptoes, and brought her soft red lips close to his ear...

Her warm breath brushed against his earlobe:

"Master, don't be afraid..."

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying an indescribable tremor.

It was like... a morbid excitement...!

"It seems like Liguang..."

"Has already... figured it out."

That breathtakingly beautiful face looked up, smiling sweetly at him.

Her little star earrings swayed gently, and her heterochromatic eyes still held the familiar light full of love that he knew best.

Slightly morbid.

Yet, Fang Qi felt his blood run cold.

He suddenly remembered the content of the movie they had just watched.

And that group of... audience members whom Liguang had considered somewhat "friendly."

Hey...

Wifey...

What did you figure out?

What did you figure out?!

...You are not allowed to figure it out!!