Maybe I remembered it wrong

Fang Qi leaned back on the sofa and raised an eyebrow at her words.

"I saw it. Did that nightmare really drive you that crazy?"

"Of course it did!"

Lin Xiaoyou's expression instantly collapsed!

"In my dream... I worked the morning shift so many times in a row!"

Her small face scrunched up into a ball, and her eyes were filled with agony as she looked at Fang Qi!

"Senior, I have to tell you in detail. It was truly terrifying!"

With a bitter look on her face, she gestured with her hands and began to chatter away:

"Working the morning shift back-to-back, I lost count of how many times I did it!"

"Every time right after noon, when I was only halfway through my lunch, I would be sent back to seven in the morning! And then I had to go to work all over again!"

"Moreover, I couldn't control myself in the dream at all. I could only watch helplessly as I went to work time and time again!"

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, and her voice grew louder!

"I just worked the morning shift over and over again! I worked until I was about to throw up! Senior, do you know what that feels like?!"

"It's like... you know for sure you must be dreaming, because how could a normal person work that many morning shifts in a row!"

"But you just can't wake up! You can only keep working! Keep repeating what happened that whole morning!"

"The work was exactly the same! The jokes my colleagues told were exactly the same! Even the food in the cafeteria at noon was exactly the same!"

As she spoke, she grabbed her ponytail and tugged at it hard!

Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with a sense of breakdown!

"I was really in so much pain, Senior! This is scarier than any demons or ghosts!"

Looking at her devastated appearance, Fang Qi couldn't help but purse his lips... holding back a laugh!

Poor child!

Eighty-two consecutive morning shifts, not even able to finish lunch...

Who wouldn't break down from that!

The more he listened, the more pitiful he felt it was...

However...

Who asked you and Twilight to scheme against me!

This is the punishment Liguang gave you!

Just endure it!

"Hiss—"

He drew in a soft breath of cold air and, following Lin Xiaoyou's words, put on a curious expression to ask.

"That does sound really scary! What happened next?"

"Then I woke up!"

Lin Xiaoyou let go of her ponytail, slumped back against the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling...

Her small face was filled with a sense of having nothing left to live for, mixed with the relief of surviving a disaster!

"After waking up, I realized it was really just a dream...! Thank goodness... Thank goodness it was a dream...!"

"But now..."

She turned her head and looked at Fang Qi pitifully.

"Just thinking about going to work makes my whole body uncomfortable! So uncomfortable!"

Then she sat up straight, rubbed her cheeks, and regained her usual liveliness, saying with a grin:

"So, I took annual leave today, just like you, Senior!"

"I'm going to rest for a few more days! Even if you beat me to death, I'm not going to the company right now!"

Fang Qi raised an eyebrow.

...Oh?

Hearing this, did Lin Xiaoyou think... the reason he wasn't going to the company was that he took annual leave?

...Haha!

Sorry, Xiaoyou, but I don't have to work!

We are no longer the same kind of people!

There is already a pathetic layer of... between us.

"Click."

The door to Liguang's small room opened.

Fang Qi subconsciously turned his head to look, and the silver-haired girl walked out.

She had changed back into that light blue loungewear dress, her silver hair loose, and the smile on her face was still as docile and sweet as ever.

But...

Fang Qi's gaze froze.

This crazy woman... actually put on light makeup again!

Her eyebrows were drawn a bit finer, her eyelashes were brushed to curl up slightly, and her red lips were coated with lip balm, looking glossy and hydrated.

Seeing this made him want to take a bite out of them again!

Lin Xiaoyou was still complaining, "I'm really suffering too much, how can there be a dream like this!", but when she turned her head to look...

Her chattering voice abruptly stopped!

She instantly widened her almond eyes, staring at Liguang, her small mouth slightly open, unable to close for a long time!

"Wow...!"

After a few seconds, she let out a gasp of amazement.

"Liguang... you're so beautiful..."

Her voice carried a hint of a trance.

"Even prettier than last time!"

Liguang lowered her eyes slightly, her hands folded in front of her, the corners of her mouth curling into a docile arc.

"Thank you, Miss Lin."

Her voice was sweet and clear, and her tone was very humble:

"Liguang has learned some makeup skills recently. Being a bit prettier can also make Master's mood better."

After saying that, she even secretly winked at Fang Qi.

Fang Qi: "..."

...This little yandere, just saying whatever comes to mind!

What make Master's mood better...

When it was just the two of us, how come I never saw you wear makeup!

Not only did you not wear makeup, you were even too lazy to change clothes just now, coming to brew tea for me in your pajamas!

Putting on makeup now is clearly meant to be seen by a certain love rival!

You don't wear makeup for your husband to see, but instead for others to see, right!

I really need to discipline you!

Moreover...

He turned his head and looked at Lin Xiaoyou's small face, which was written all over with shock...

He pursed his lips.

Liguang, looking at it now...

She might not really be your love rival; she approached me with a purpose!

And... it's actually for you, Liguang.

...Huh?

Hiss.

Wait a minute?

Fang Qi frowned.

Lin Xiaoyou is one of Twilight's people, so although she seems to like him, she actually came for Liguang...

So...

She's here to snatch Liguang from him?

Huh?

Fang Qi slowly widened his eyes!

Staring straight at this round-faced girl in front of him... who was looking at Liguang in a daze!

...Hey!

What are you looking at!

And speaking of which...

Lin Xiaoyou and that Xiao Qing seem to have an unusual relationship, don't they?

And they are both girls...

...Could it be that Lin Xiaoyou actually likes women?!

So she isn't Liguang's love rival...

But HIS love rival?!

Holy crap?!

He glared at Lin Xiaoyou, instantly feeling that...

This former good teammate was now an eyesore no matter how he looked at her!

Everything about her felt completely off!

Lin Xiaoyou, you have a huge problem!

A very huge one!

Otherwise...

He might as well just use violent interrogation!

What's the point of testing the waters!

This is way too much of a waste of time!

Just directly...!

"Liguang is so amazing..."

Lin Xiaoyou looked at Liguang and muttered another sigh of admiration...

Then she immediately returned to normal. She waved at Liguang and said with a grin:

"Long time no see, Liguang!"

And then there was nothing else. Her gaze returned to Fang Qi...

And she very naturally continued the previous topic:

"Senior, Senior! Where was I just now?"

"Oh right! That nightmare!"

Her eyes shone as she looked at Fang Qi, her tone cheerful and casual, as if...

Such a beautiful Liguang was just a background board for her conversation with Fang Qi.

An AI companion, no need for too much communication, just a tool!

That kind of feeling.

It was so normal, as if she really thought Liguang was just an ordinary, unawakened AI companion.

So normal that she really seemed like just a cute junior from the company who liked him.

This incredibly natural attitude...

Made the displeasure that had just welled up in Fang Qi's heart stall for a moment.

Tsk.

What exactly is going on with this Lin Xiaoyou!

Liguang, meanwhile, walked docilely to Fang Qi's side, bent her legs, lightly touched her knees to the ground, and knelt by his feet.

Her hands were folded on her lap, and she was as quiet as a delicate porcelain doll, quietly watching the girl in front of her... the still-chirping Lin Xiaoyou.

Fang Qi: "..."

Fine.

Not even pouring tea anymore, huh.

It seemed his crazy woman...

Was very displeased with Lin Xiaoyou right now!

She was expressing her dissatisfaction!

Lin Xiaoyou, however, didn't care at all whether there was tea or not, and kept talking about her nightmare.

"And Senior, you know what! The scariest part wasn't the repeating work!"

She leaned in a bit closer—but only leaned forward in her single sofa, without standing up.

"The scariest part was—halfway through the dream, I realized it was a dream but couldn't wake up! I still had to keep working!"

As she spoke, she patted the armrest of the sofa hard, her small face wrinkling up again!

"I just watched helplessly as I walked into the company gates again, sat at my cubicle again, turned on the computer again..."

"I even knew exactly what the next colleague walking in would say! But I just couldn't do anything else!"

"I could only repeat that morning over and over again in that dream!"

Fang Qi listened, chiming in from time to time.

"That is indeed pretty miserable."

"Right, right?!"

Getting a response, Lin Xiaoyou became even more energetic. Her almond eyes sparkled as she looked at Fang Qi, complaining non-stop:

"And Senior, think about it—no matter how interesting a colleague's gossip is, hearing it repeat several times gets so boring! Not to mention... I repeated it who knows how many times!"

She counted on her fingers.

"The first time I heard Little Zhang got dumped by his girlfriend, I still thought, 'Wow, that's so sad!'"

"The second time I heard it, I thought, 'Yeah, I know.'"

"The tenth time I heard it... I didn't even want to lift an eyelid!"

Fang Qi kept nodding, smiling and agreeing...

Then, he quietly lowered his right hand, his fingertips gently touching Liguang's shoulder.

Liguang's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Fang Qi gently tapped her shoulder—one, two, three times.

The meaning was obvious: Did you scan her? Don't forget to scan!

Liguang didn't look up, still maintaining her submissive kneeling posture, her gaze resting on a corner of the coffee table.

Then, deep within her crimson eyes, a stream of data began to flash rapidly. The speed was fast, but the light was dim, almost invisible.

Lin Xiaoyou was still talking.

"The colleagues in the dream, everything they said and did was exactly the same every time! Even the number of times the cafeteria auntie's hand shook while serving food was the same!"

She covered her face with both hands.

"I'm really going crazy, Senior... I feel like if I don't vent this out, I won't ever want to go to work for the rest of my life...!"

Fang Qi was just about to say something—

"Ding."

A phone rang.

Lin Xiaoyou's chirping stopped. She blinked and pointed at the phone on the coffee table.

"Senior, you have a message!"

Fang Qi picked up the phone and looked down.

The sender on the screen was—

[Future Wife]

Fang Qi: "?"

Huh?

What the hell...!

A text from Liguang?

His eye twitched.

Liguang actually had this function?

He opened the text message, which contained only one line:

[Master, Lin Xiaoyou's physiological state is completely normal. Heartbeat, pupils, breathing... there are no signs of lying whatsoever.]

...Hmm.

That was to be expected.

After all, what Xiao Qing said earlier was basically laying the cards on the table to tell him...

There was definitely something wrong with Lin Xiaoyou's memory.

He didn't know how Lin Xiaoyou's memory had become like this, perhaps it was altered, but...

Memories weren't something that could be easily altered!

Even the rules of the world... would leave some loopholes!

So this time, he mostly just wanted to test the waters...

If Lin Xiaoyou really did know something in the past and had just been turned into a naive, sweet girl...

Then maybe he could actually coax something out of her mouth, or...

Interrogate something out of her!

However...

What the hell kind of contact name was [Future Wife]!

He gave Liguang a slight glare.

You're really not afraid of others seeing this!

Liguang didn't look at him.

She continued to sit submissively on her knees by his feet, looking calmly ahead with a docile curve on her lips.

But she blinked a little faster, and the tips of her ears flushed a faint red.

—Master, please don't glare at me...

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head. Seeing the look Fang Qi shot at Liguang, a trace of confusion flashed in her almond eyes.

"Senior?"

She blinked.

"Is this message... related to Liguang?"

Fang Qi snapped back to reality.

He quickly turned off the phone screen, put it back on the coffee table, and smiled naturally.

"Yeah, it's... from Liguang's maintenance specialist."

He quickly covered up.

"It's An Lian. She sent a message about the next maintenance."

Wait a minute.

...Speaking of which, did Lin Xiaoyou know An Lian?

It seemed she didn't?

The two of them had apparently only met on the island?

But... maybe that counted as knowing her?

After all...

That experience on the island had also turned into a dream for both Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian.

Fang Qi couldn't help but rub his temples again.

Right now, whether it was him, Liguang, or other key NPCs...

Their memories were a total mess!

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyou let out an "Oh" and nodded.

Then...

She suddenly froze.

"Who...?"

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes becoming somewhat dazed.

Her almond eyes widened slightly, and her lips moved.

"An Lian...? Liguang's... maintenance specialist...?"

Her voice became a bit airy.

"Isn't she..."

"Dead?"

...?

Huh?

Fang Qi was slightly stunned.

The living room instantly fell silent.

So quiet that the ticking of the second hand could be heard.

Fang Qi looked at Lin Xiaoyou's bewildered little face...

His brain broke through the confusion, and his pupils slowly contracted...!

What did she... just say?

An Lian...

Is dead?

By his feet, Liguang's crimson eyes also flashed sharply.

Her eyelashes, which had been meekly lowered, trembled slightly as she slowly raised her gaze.

Narrowing her eyes, she stared at Lin Xiaoyou!

Being stared at by two people at the same time, Lin Xiaoyou instantly snapped back to her senses!

She tilted her head and blinked, her face wearing a confusion as if she couldn't understand the situation.

"Eh...?"

She raised her hand and rubbed her temples, her brows furrowing slightly.

"What did I just say?"

"Ah, oops!"

She gave a dry laugh, her voice carrying a hint of embarrassment as she raised a hand to pat her cheek.

"Maybe I remembered it wrong!"

"I don't even know any An Lian... I just imagined her appearance... in a previous dream?"

Her voice trailed off again, and her eyes grew increasingly dazed.

"It was... just that dream about the island..."

She murmured.

"There seemed to be a person like this in the dream...?"

"But I can't really remember clearly..."

She raised her hand to rub her temples, her brows furrowing slightly as if trying hard to recall something, but failing to grasp it.

"I just suddenly felt..."

"That An Lian should already be dead...?"

She murmured, as if asking herself.

"She was..."

The focus in her almond eyes began to dissipate, her pupils trembling slightly:

"...killed by a sniper rifle?"