Ha

Fang Qi locked eyes with her...

His eyelids twitching wildly.

Well then, there was no need for any speculation now...

She had completely stopped pretending!

That look just now was absolutely not something the naive and sweet Lin Xiaoyou would ever give!

The Lin Xiaoyou in front of him...

Was definitely the Lin Xiaoyou who had recovered her memories!

...It made sense.

Liguang was right beside him!

Lin Xiaoyou must have realized that... with Liguang's detection abilities, she couldn't possibly hide the fact that she had regained her memories!

So, she simply decided not to hide it anymore?

But...

Fang Qi frowned slightly, looking at her expectant face.

She hadn't completely laid her cards on the table.

Was she... still pretending to be that naive and sweet Lin Xiaoyou?

Fang Qi stared intently at her.

Lin Xiaoyou quickly blinked at him again.

She was giving him a look again.

The meaning behind that look was already very obvious!

"I have recovered my memories, but I still need to keep acting. Please cooperate with me!"

She was telling him that she was no longer that naive girl from before, but she...

Couldn't show it?

Why?

She had already hinted to him and laid her cards out, so this disguise wasn't for him, nor was it for Liguang, and it certainly wasn't for Xiao Qing...

Then who was it for?

Fang Qi's breathing slowed.

His gaze quietly swept over their surroundings.

In the dim sum restaurant, the diners were still chattering away, steaming bamboo baskets were emitting white smoke, and waiters carrying trays shuttled through the aisles.

By now, everyone was basically used to Liguang's beauty and attire, only occasionally glancing over in their direction.

...Was it for the people around them?

Or perhaps...

His eyelids twitched even more violently.

Was it for some hidden entities lurking in the dark... existences he didn't know about?

...Who?

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

...This was truly baffling.

Fine.

In that case, he chose to...

Temporarily cooperate with Lin Xiaoyou!

In the previous loop, she had cried her heart out over his death, even wanting to lunge forward to attack Liguang to avenge him.

So no matter what her true identity was... she still cared whether he lived or died.

She might be a teammate!

Of course, it was also possible she wasn't.

After all, he had almost been poisoned just a moment ago!

However... it wasn't a big problem.

Since you want to take the initiative to bring me somewhere...

Then how could I refuse?

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and then smiled.

"Sure."

He leaned back in his chair, smiling casually.

"I don't have anything going on today anyway, so after we finish eating, I'll go with you to check out... your secret base!"

He was actually quite interested in this secret base!

Of course...

He was even more interested in the current Lin Xiaoyou, who seemed to have recovered her memories!

So what if it was a trap? At worst, he would just die and reload!

Lin Xiaoyou's eyes instantly lit up.

"Yay!"

She clapped her hands, her ponytail swaying along.

"We'll go right after we finish eating! Senior, you can't go back on your word!"

"I won't, I won't."

Fang Qi smiled and waved his hand, and then...

Crunch.

The sound of a bone breaking!

...?

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched as he looked to Lin Xiaoyou's side.

Xiao Qing was currently... clenching her jaw slightly.

She directly reached out, grabbed a piece of spare rib from the table, and stuffed it into her mouth!

Crunch!

With one bite, she chewed up the entire bone!

Crunch, crunch, crunch...!

Then the bone was chewed to pieces bite by bite!

She didn't spit it out; she swallowed it directly!

At the same time, she looked up and glared at him. That look...

Fierce!

Displeased!

Then she lowered her head and reached for another bamboo basket of dim sum.

She didn't say a word the entire time!

But her whole being exuded an aura of "I'm very annoyed, don't mess with me"!

Fang Qi: ...

Why is the hostility directed at me!

This was proposed by your best friend, go throw a tantrum at her!

Beside him, the silver-haired girl was still sitting upright, looking completely normal.

She even reached out to pick up a piece of shumai, taking a small bite first as usual, before offering it to Fang Qi's lips.

...My wife is still the most well-behaved one!

Fang Qi immediately opened his mouth and bit into it!

Chewing and thinking.

Since he had already decided on his next course of action, for now, he should first enjoy this meal...

Suddenly, a slender finger gently pressed against the side of his neck.

The fingertip was slightly cool, pressing neither lightly nor heavily... right on his carotid artery.

The touch of the fingernail felt like a razor blade, gently gliding across his skin!

From left to right, it slowly scraped past!

Fang Qi broke out in a slight layer of goosebumps, and his chewing paused.

He stiffly lowered his head and looked at Liguang.

The silver-haired girl blinked at him, her amber eye very gentle, while the crimson in her red eye faintly flickered.

But he understood the meaning behind her action:

Whatever Master does, Liguang will support you.

But Master, physical contact is not allowed.

If Master becomes unclean, Liguang will...

The fingernail lightly traced across his neck again.

Fang Qi: ...

A threat! A naked threat!

But you crazy woman...

He directly reached out, grabbed the last piece of shumai on the table, and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite!

As he chewed a couple of times, he audaciously raised an eyebrow at Liguang!

Confident and arrogant!

You think I'm scared of you!

The corners of the silver-haired girl's mouth curled up a little more. She withdrew her finger, reached for a tissue, and gently wiped the corner of his mouth.

This meal continued in this bizarre atmosphere.

The atmosphere was truly strange!

Lin Xiaoyou was still laughing and joking, chatting with Fang Qi about office gossip.

"Senior, did you know? Yesterday afternoon, Uncle Wang got scolded by the boss again. It was brutal. That bald donkey only knows how to bully honest people like Uncle Wang who have elderly parents and young children to take care of...!"

"Oh, and also, Xiao Li and Xiao Wu have been secretly dating for half a year, and I only just found out...!"

Her tone was natural, her expressions vivid, completely flawless!

But Fang Qi knew she was acting.

Every word she was saying now, every expression, every action, was all an act.

Because her eyes weren't right.

When those almond-shaped eyes looked at him, they would occasionally flash with a fleeting gleam that did not belong to a naive and sweet girl.

Then it would quickly be covered up by a silly smile.

Who was she acting for?

He didn't know.

But Fang Qi played along with her act.

He responded from time to time, saying things like, "Is that so?", "That's terrible," and "Indeed."

Liguang sat quietly beside him all along, constantly testing for poison for him. She would take a small bite of every dish first, then offer it to his lips with elegant movements.

As for Xiao Qing...

She completely stopped pretending!

Or rather, she couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore.

The introverted and shy Xiao Qing from before had completely vanished.

Sitting across from him now...

Was an expressionless girl who just kept eating!

She pulled bamboo basket after bamboo basket of dim sum in front of her, stuffing them into her mouth one by one in huge bites!

Chewing with loud crunching sounds!

Her table manners weren't exactly ugly, but she obviously carried a low-pressure aura of "I'm venting, don't mess with me"!

Her whole being was bristling with irritation!

Lin Xiaoyou would occasionally turn to look at her, even smiling and patting her back:

"Xiao Qing, eat slower, no one is fighting you for it!"

Xiao Qing would then slow down a bit.

But after a short while, she would start speeding up again!

Furthermore...

Every time she looked up to grab another pastry, she would shoot Fang Qi a fierce glare!

That look was absolutely vicious!

Like a cat whose dried fish had been snatched away, not daring to attack, so it could only...

Hiss at him non-stop!

"Ahem..."

Fang Qi pretended not to notice Xiao Qing "hissing" at him and continued chatting with Lin Xiaoyou.

"By the way, Xiaoyou, yesterday you..."

As a result, Xiao Qing ate even faster! And hissed even more frequently!

The silver-haired girl turned her faint gaze toward Xiao Qing, the crimson in her red eyes surging!

Xiao Qing's chopsticks paused.

The two of them just stared at each other across the table.

One smiling submissively, the other expressionless.

It was as if invisible electrical currents were crackling in the air!

...

And in this inexplicable atmosphere, the meal lasted for over an hour.

The steamer baskets were stacked high in a tall column, and the plates on the table had been cleared three or four times.

Lin Xiaoyou finally downed a cup of tea and let out a long breath...

Then she clapped her hands and called out crisply:

"Waiter, check please!"

The waiter immediately trotted over and handed over the bill.

Lin Xiaoyou took it, looked down...

And the smile froze on her round little face!

"H-how much?!"

Her almond eyes widened, and her voice pitched up!

Fang Qi glanced at the bill in her hand.

Hmm, the number wasn't small; they really had eaten quite a lot.

Although Liguang barely ate anything, only taking a tiny bite from each dish...

But Xiao Qing... she was revenge-eating basket after basket!

She alone had probably eaten enough for four or five people!

"...My treat?"

Fang Qi naturally pulled out his phone; he wasn't short on money anyway. Getting them to take him to the "secret base" quickly was the main priority!

"No need!"

Lin Xiaoyou immediately shook her head, hiding the bill against her chest with a resolute expression!

"We agreed, if I say it's my treat, it's my treat!"

She gritted her teeth, pulled her phone out of her bag, opened the payment code, and handed it to the waiter.

"S-scan it."

Her voice was even trembling a bit!

Fang Qi looked at her expression, which looked like she was parting with a pound of flesh, and his mouth twitched slightly.

Is this for real?

...She is pretending so well!

Would Lin Xiaoyou, who had recovered her memories, care about this little bit of money?

Would a member of the "Twilight" organization be short on cash?

However, she really was acting well.

Gritting her teeth, the heartache, the hesitation, and finally paying with a look of facing death...

The whole routine flowed perfectly! Without a trace of acting!

A true master of performance!

"Alright Senior, let's go!"

After paying, Lin Xiaoyou stuffed her phone into her bag and stood up!

"Xiao Qing, let's go! We're taking Senior and Liguang to our 'secret base'!"

She stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Fang Qi with a beaming smile, full of energy.

"I drove here! Senior can just ride in my car!"

Fang Qi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow:

"You actually have a car?"

"Of course!"

Lin Xiaoyou pulled a small, pink car key from her bag and waved it proudly.

"Although it's not a fancy car, it's enough to get around!"

"Oh, that's great. I'll ride in your car today then."

Fang Qi stood up.

Liguang also stood up obediently. She lowered her head slightly, reached out to smooth the wrinkles on her maid dress, and stood half a step behind Fang Qi.

A submissive, well-behaved, and dutiful "AI companion."

...

The sunlight outside was a bit brighter than when they had arrived, and the crowd on the commercial street had grown.

As soon as they stepped out, Lin Xiaoyou pressed her car key.

"Beep beep!"

A car parked on the side of the street chirped twice, its lights flashing.

Fang Qi looked in the direction of the sound.

Hmm...?

Hmm...

Pink, tiny, and boxy.

...It was a pastel pink microcar!

Fang Qi stared at the little pink electric car, his mouth falling open slightly.

"...This is your car?"

"Yep!"

Lin Xiaoyou proudly lifted her chin, her ponytail swishing along with the motion!

"How about it, isn't it cute? I saved up and bought it myself! Paid in full! No installments!"

Saying this, she skipped over to the car and pulled open the driver's side door.

"Xiao Qing, you take the passenger seat!"

Xiao Qing gave an expressionless "Mm," walked over, opened the passenger door, and got in.

Fang Qi looked at the pink microcar, then looked at the silver-haired girl in the maid outfit beside him.

...Speaking of which, shouldn't he buy a car too?

It would be convenient for taking Liguang out in the future...

"Senior, hurry up and get in!"

Lin Xiaoyou poked her head out the car window and waved at him.

"What are you spacing out for! The secret base isn't close!"