Keep an Eye on Your Owner

Fang Qi stood behind Liguang, completely flabbergasted.

No...

What exactly do you want to give my wife?!

The silver-haired girl didn't notice his internal breakdown at all. Her heterochromatic eyes were astonishingly bright, staring straight at the stun gun in Xiaoqing's hand!

Then she impatiently continued to ask:

"What about the power consumption of this stun gun?"

Her body even leaned forward a bit!

Xiaoqing raised an eyebrow, turned the stun gun over, and pointed to a small mark on the bottom.

"Very low. A full charge can be used dozens of times. And—"

She paused, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.

"This thing uses an external battery, so it won't consume our own energy."

The silver-haired girl's eyes instantly brightened even more!

She suddenly turned her head, looking at Fang Qi, her amber and crimson eyes sparkling!

"Master!"

Her voice was sweet and crisp, carrying an uncontrollable desire!

"Did you hear that! The power consumption is very low! And it doesn't consume Liguang's own energy!"

Fang Qi: "..."

"It's a good thing! A really good thing!"

She was practically jumping for joy, her small leather shoes tapping on the floor with a "da-da" sound!

"Master! Let's join Twilight! Liguang wants this stun gun!"

Fang Qi: "..."

How could his wife be baited by a mere stun gun!

Ah, he understood!

This crazy woman... she was triggered by Xiaoyue!

Before, she had been mocked by Xiaoyue, who said that her crimson eye and laser blade were "low-level gadgets that only consume her own energy"...

She clearly took that to heart.

Now, seeing this kind of external equipment that doesn't consume her own energy and runs on batteries... it hit the exact spot.

Starting to look for new weapons?

But...!

Fang Qi looked at the excited, flushed little face in front of him...

He really wanted to smack her little head again!

Crazy woman... is this thing really a "weapon"?!

Who do you want to use it on? You don't actually think I can't guess, do you?!

Not even pretending anymore?

You're rebelling!

"Liguang!"

He glared at her, lowering his voice.

"Sit down!"

The silver-haired girl's excited expression instantly stiffened.

She blinked, then her small mouth slightly pouted, and tears seemed to swirl in her amber eyes, full of reluctance.

"But Master—"

"Sit! Down!"

Fang Qi glared at her, his tone unquestionable.

The silver-haired girl looked at him eagerly.

Fang Qi glared right back at her!

"Oh..."

She finally turned around obediently and gracefully sat on the chair next to him.

She sat properly, but those heterochromatic eyes... still couldn't help but drift towards the stun gun on the table!

Fang Qi took a deep breath, sat down next to her, and looked at Xiaoqing opposite him.

His teeth were really itching to bite something!

It's you, instilling this kind of bad ideology into my wife, right!

Although you probably didn't even need to instill it...

Meanwhile, Xiaoqing was leaning back in the booth, one hand still gently wrapped around Lin Xiaoyou's shoulder.

She nestled into the seat, looking lazy and loose, as if... she didn't want to sit if she could lie down.

The slight smile hanging on the corner of her mouth looked like the remnants of a yawn that hadn't fully faded.

Fang Qi looked at this Xiaoqing, who seemed to have "I'm so tired, I don't want to do anything" written all over her...

He was a bit dazed.

This Xiaoqing... is this her original personality?

... By the way, what was he going to say?

Ah...

He originally... wanted to come down and question Lin Xiaoyou.

Ask her what exactly her relationship with Twilight was, ask her what she was hiding, ask her what that "only unmodified human" business was all about.

But now...

Fang Qi looked at Lin Xiaoyou, who had "fallen asleep" leaning on Xiaoqing's shoulder...

Hey...

Is this for real?

This girl was coincidentally stunned by her AI best friend!

... Wait.

Something's wrong.

He narrowed his eyes.

Are these two doing this on purpose?

Did they deliberately put on this act because they didn't want him to ask questions?

This girl Lin Xiaoyou...

Is she playing the sympathy card?

"... Xiaoqing, right?"

He looked at the seemingly exhausted girl opposite him, trying to keep his voice calm:

"Lin Xiaoyou, she..."

"She's fine."

Xiaoqing interrupted him, her voice a bit muffled, as if she was too lazy to even move her lips:

"She'll be fine after a nap. She'll wake up full of energy."

As she spoke, she pinched Lin Xiaoyou's cheek again, her movements quite gentle.

Fang Qi rubbed his temples, somewhat speechless:

"I'm not asking about her physical condition. I want to ask—"

He stared intently into Xiaoqing's eyes.

"Lin Xiaoyou, what exactly is her situation? And what is her relationship with Twilight?"

Xiaoqing didn't answer immediately.

She tilted her head, looked at Fang Qi for two seconds, and then sighed very lightly.

Her expression showed a hint of disgust, as if to say "how troublesome."

"You will naturally know these things when you join Twilight."

Her voice was still lazy, but her tone left absolutely no room for negotiation.

Fang Qi's brow furrowed.

Isn't this a bit too insincere?

Xiaoqing continued:

"If you don't join—"

Her gaze drifted over Lin Xiaoyou's face.

"Then Xiaoyou will still be that junior who likes you in the future."

"She won't remember anything, and she won't know anything."

"She will only think that she is your colleague, an ordinary girl who happens to like you."

After she finished speaking, she leaned back against the chair, slightly limp.

It was as if that short speech had used up all her energy for the day.

The opposite party was clearly using information as a bargaining chip...

But Xiaoqing suddenly moved again.

She raised her eyes and looked at Fang Qi. The lazy smile was still hanging on the corner of her mouth, but her tone had changed—

"However."

Her voice was still very light, but there was an edge to it.

"If you really dare to do something to Xiaoyou because of this..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

But those half-closed eyes widened slightly, and the arc of her mouth froze for a moment.

The meaning was already very clear.

She was threatening him not to make a move on Lin Xiaoyou.

And Liguang this time... actually didn't speak up for him!

The silver-haired girl's gaze drifted over quietly, the scarlet in her crimson eye flowing slightly, as if saying...

—Master, think carefully before you answer.

Fang Qi: "..."

His mouth twitched again.

Enough, you crazy woman!

Is this the time to be jealous?!

He suddenly felt a sense of being attacked from both sides!

These two women, one was more "kind" than the other!

But...

He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at Xiaoqing.

There was indeed something a bit off about this Xiaoqing.

He had felt it before...

After "lifting the restrictions," this best friend of Lin Xiaoyou's had adopted a somewhat strange attitude towards him.

It carried a faint hostility and displeasure!

And now... this hostility and displeasure were even more obvious!

Combined with her attitude towards Lin Xiaoyou...

He felt that his previous vague guess could now be confirmed.

The plot from the movie appeared in his mind scene by scene—

Xiaoqing—not the one in front of him, but the "Xiaoqing" in the movie—her master was a pervert who often beat her, scolded her, and took his anger out on her.

But because of Chenxi's underlying design, she still loved him to the bone.

But later... her master had a heart attack and died right in front of her.

So she went mad, screaming in the Dusk channel, "Why are humans so fragile?"... indirectly leading to the subsequent modification operations that group of AI companions performed on their masters.

That was Xiaoqing's story in the movie, or perhaps...

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the smiling face across from him.

It was the true experience of this very Xiaoqing right in front of him!

His gaze swept between Xiaoqing and Lin Xiaoyou.

The way Xiaoqing's arm rested around Lin Xiaoyou's shoulders was so natural, so gentle.

When she tucked a strand of hair behind Lin Xiaoyou's ear, her fingertips carried a kind of... careful cherishing.

She had stunned Lin Xiaoyou with a taser, but she didn't hurt her.

That posture, those movements, that behavior—he was far too familiar with them.

That look in her eyes... was exactly like how Liguang looked at him!

Exactly the same!

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Chenxi's AI companions required an emotional binding; this was an unalterable part of their underlying logic.

Xiaoqing's master was already dead, but she still needed a "master" to bind her emotions to!

So the object of Xiaoqing's emotional binding now...

Could it be Lin Xiaoyou?

Hiss...

If that was really the case, then it felt like... her behavior was already considered mild...

After all, if he dared to say "I hate you" to Liguang... haha.

"Heh."

A very light chuckle came from across the table.

Xiaoqing tilted her head at him, her eyes lazily half-closed.

"Figured it out?"

Fang Qi's mouth twitched.

Xiaoqing didn't say anything else. She just lowered her head, rubbed Lin Xiaoyou's head, and ran her fingers slowly through her hair a couple of times.

Then she spoke, her tone still just as lazy:

"Sorry about that. I shouldn't have threatened you just now."

She looked up, a hint of teasing in her eyes as she looked at him, before her gaze shifted to the silver-haired girl beside him.

"I forgot... you don't exactly have the ability to do anything to Xiaoyou."

Fang Qi: "..."

You sure know a lot.

But why did it feel so annoying!

What did she mean, he didn't have the ability!

Hearing this, the silver-haired girl's lips curled up slightly.

She didn't speak, but a small hand quietly reached over, five slender fingers slipping between his and gently interlocking with them.

The grip was neither too light nor too heavy, just enough to prevent him from pulling away.

Fang Qi: "..."

He raised his free hand and rubbed his temples.

No, wait...

What was he supposed to ask right now?

The girl across from him was definitely doing this on purpose, intentionally knocking Lin Xiaoyou out!

Without his "good teammate" Lin Xiaoyou to liven up the atmosphere, facing two yanderes all by himself...

The atmosphere was just too suffocating!

Xiaoyou, I was wrong...

You will always be my good teammate, please wake up!

My stress levels are going through the roof!

Watching their little interaction, the corners of Xiaoqing's mouth curled up slightly.

She moved her hand from Lin Xiaoyou's shoulder, reached into the inner side of the booth, and pulled something out.

A small, black, palm-sized gadget with two electrodes at the front.

A stun gun, exactly identical to the one on the table.

Brand new, with the plastic wrapping still intact.

...Huh?

Fang Qi glared at her.

What is the meaning of this?

Where did you get a new one?

Xiaoqing slid the stun gun across the table, pushing it right in front of Liguang.

"Whatever, no need to wait until you join Dusk."

Her voice was lazy.

"This is for you."

The silver-haired girl blinked, lowering her head to stare blankly at the stun gun on the table.

"Keep a close eye on your master."

Xiaoqing's voice still had that lazy drawl, but there was something extra in the curve of her smile.

"Don't let him... do anything he shouldn't to Xiaoyou."

Fang Qi: "...?"

I...!