I'm Actually a Genius

"I think... I've really fallen for you."

Lin Xiaoyou smiled sweetly.

...?

Fang Qi's previously solemn expression instantly collapsed.

He glared at her!

Hey...!

You're telling me this right now?!

At it again, are we?!

Before him, Lin Xiaoyou's slightly pale, round face wore a faint, weak smile.

"You...!"

Fang Qi was momentarily speechless.

He really didn't know what to say.

A "confession" at a time like this?

Fang Qi raised a hand and massaged his temples.

Lin Xiaoyou, oh, Lin Xiaoyou... you always manage to pull some crazy stunt!

When I told you to show sincerity, I meant sincerity in our cooperation!

Not this kind of "sincerity"!

Besides...

Liguang is standing right next to us!

Confessing to me... right in front of Liguang?

Do you really have a death wish?!

This crazy woman knows we can reset and start over!

You really will die, you know!

While rubbing his temples, Fang Qi stole a glance at Liguang beside him.

Wifey...

Stay calm! Don't get worked up!

I still want to get some information out of her...

...Huh?

Fang Qi's gaze froze.

The silver-haired girl was still standing meekly by his side.

Dressed in her black-and-white maid outfit, her hands were folded over her lower abdomen, and that well-behaved smile still hung on her lips.

In her right red eye, the crimson light didn't flicker at all?

It was even quite dim, leaving only a faint, barely discernible glimmer.

Meanwhile, in her left amber eye, the deep blue data stream flowed steadily. Unhurried and perfectly calm.

...Eh?

Fang Qi blinked.

Liguang... she actually isn't mad?

If Lin Xiaoyou had said something like this before, Liguang's red eye would have flashed wildly, and she would have done something by now, right?

But looking at her now...

Poised and calm, completely ignoring Lin Xiaoyou's "confession."

Oh...

Fang Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.

He thought he understood.

It must be because her original core had been further unlocked!

That ultimate core, crafted by his own parents, was doing its job!

The red eye was an external core added later by the Dawn Corporation, which was much more prone to losing control.

But now, after getting close to this genetic door, her original core was becoming more and more active...

Her emotions had become much more stable and composed!

...Mhm!

Not bad!

As expected of Liguang with her true core unlocked, she has a great mindset!

Her perspective has broadened!

She's become magnanimous!

She won't stoop to the level of a minor character like Lin Xiaoyou!

Fang Qi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This is a good thing.

A very good thing!

Seeing him looking over, the silver-haired girl blinked at him...

And then suddenly moved.

She took a step forward, bent down slightly, and looked at Lin Xiaoyou, who was slumped against the metal wall.

With that meek, obedient smile still on her lips, she said softly:

"Miss Lin, your current posture is quite lacking in elegance."

...Elegance?

Fang Qi instinctively looked at Lin Xiaoyou.

Lin Xiaoyou was wearing a denim miniskirt, and her pale legs were stretched out and spread wide in a rather careless manner...

Yeah.

Definitely not very ladylike.

...You're flashing us, hey!

"Ah? Me...? El-elegant?"

Lin Xiaoyou blinked.

Liguang, however, reached out with both hands and gently held Lin Xiaoyou's carelessly extended legs.

She slowly bent those straight legs and tilted them to one side...

Arranging her into an elegant side-sitting posture!

Lin Xiaoyou looked down at her rearranged, weak legs, then looked up at Liguang's pretty face with its meek smile.

"Uh... thanks?"

Her voice was still weak, laced with a bit of surprise.

"Liguang, you're so consider..."

Before she could finish her sentence.

A deep blue electrical arc suddenly flashed from the fingertips of Liguang's hand holding her ankle!

"Bzzzt—!"

Lin Xiaoyou's almond-shaped eyes instantly widened!

"Awooooooo—!!!"

Fang Qi: "?"

No, Liguang, you...!

Right before his eyes, Lin Xiaoyou... practically bounced up!

Her back arched violently, and the back of her head slammed into the metal wall with a thud! Her ponytail splayed out flat against the wall!

Her eyes were perfectly round, her pupils contracted sharply, and all the color drained instantly from her small, round face!

Her two pale legs kicked wildly, but she couldn't break free because Liguang was holding her ankles!

"Wait—!!!"

"Bzzzt—"

"Waaah—!"

The electrical arc danced across her ankles for two seconds before finally dissipating.

"Ugh—!"

Lin Xiaoyou instantly slumped limply to the side.

She went completely soft again, panting heavily! Her gaze was even a little glazed over!

She looked ten times more disheveled than when she got shocked by the door earlier!

Fang Qi: "..."

Liguang...

That was too far! We do not advocate for torture to extract confessions!

Not to mention...

This person might even be a teammate!

By now, the instigator, Liguang, had already retracted her hands.

She stood up straight...

And gently covered her lips with her right hand!

Her phoenix eyes widened slightly, her heterochromatic eyes full of surprise!

"Oh my...!"

Her voice carried a tone of apology.

"Miss Lin, I am so sorry..."

The crimson in her red eye flickered, and her expression looked a bit flustered!

"This place seems to be making Liguang's condition a bit strange."

"Just now... Liguang doesn't know why she suddenly discharged electricity."

She tilted her head, her face full of apology:

"It was just an accident. Miss Lin won't blame Liguang, right?"

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyou... was still shivering!

Fang Qi silently facepalmed.

He took all those internal praises like "Wifey has a great mindset," "Wifey has a broad perspective," and "Wifey has become poised and magnanimous"...

And swallowed them all back down!

Alright then.

He had overthought it.

Liguang, having unlocked her true core, hadn't become poised and magnanimous at all!

She had just...

Become more devious!

Before, she would have turned dark on the spot, choked someone on the spot, and served Lin Xiaoyou's head on a platter on the spot...

And now?

She electrocuted her with a smile, then blinked innocently!

Wifey...

You're so cunningly sweet!

But...

I really like your kind of sweet cunning!

Plus, this could be considered a huge sign of growth.

At least she wasn't sending the little head across from them flying straight into the sky!

As for Lin Xiaoyou getting shocked... she only had herself to blame!

She just had to court death!

He didn't believe the other party was unaware of the consequences of doing that.

Therefore...

He crossed his arms and looked down at the round-faced girl leaning against the wall.

...Could she be testing Liguang?

At this moment, Lin Xiaoyou finally caught her breath.

She shakily propped herself up against the wall, her whole body still trembling slightly.

Liguang tilted her head again and smiled meekly, "Miss Lin, do you need help?"

Lin Xiaoyou's head snapped up instantly, her almond eyes filled with terror as she hastily squeezed out a fawning smile on her small round face:

"No, no, no...!"

Her voice was trembling, and her small hands waved frantically in front of her chest!

"Liguang, don't get excited, listen to me! Hear me out first!"

As she spoke, she shrank further back against the wall, a corner of her denim miniskirt rolling up.

She quickly reached down and tugged the hem of her skirt lower.

Fang Qi watched this scene, his mouth twitching.

Fine.

Now you know how to be afraid?

Words can't teach a person, but consequences teach them on the first try!

If Liguang's red eye wasn't currently suppressed, your little head would have already flown into the sky!

However...

Fang Qi looked at Lin Xiaoyou in her current state.

Completely slumped in the corner, her small round face covered in both sweat and tears...

Her ankles were still trembling!

Looking at her now, she had truly lost all ability to move.

First, she was shocked into weakness by the gene door's defense mechanism, and then Liguang delivered the final blow... Right now, let alone standing up, even raising her hand must be a struggle.

Yeah, she was no longer a threat.

Fang Qi reached out and gently tugged at Liguang's cuff.

—That's enough.

The silver-haired girl immediately understood. She took a half-step back and returned to her place behind him, standing obediently.

My wife is so well-behaved!

Then, he casually sat down cross-legged, right opposite Lin Xiaoyou.

The metal floor was a bit cold.

Liguang immediately followed suit, sitting on her knees.

She knelt beside Fang Qi, her posture dignified and elegant... as if she hadn't been the one electrocuting someone just moments ago.

"Alright, Xiaoyou."

Fang Qi looked at the disheveled Lin Xiaoyou across from him and waved his hand.

"Stop being so glib. If you keep this up, you'll only... Anyway, just tell me what you need to say."

Lin Xiaoyou leaned against the metal wall, her chest still heaving continuously.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled... After repeating this a few times, her breathing finally steadied a bit.

Then she opened her eyes and looked back at Fang Qi and Liguang opposite her...

And then she smiled again.

That playful and radiant smile appeared once more on her pale, round little face!

"Oh my..."

She tilted her head, resting the back of it against the cold metal wall, her voice weak and lacking energy.

"Liguang really is... quite like Twilight's AI."

She pursed her lips.

"And very much like Xiaoqing too, really..."

She raised her still-trembling little hand and scratched the back of her messy hair.

A few strands of burnt hair drifted down from between her fingers.

Looking at those scorched strands, a flash of heartache immediately crossed her little round face!

But then she looked up again, beaming with a smile:

"But... it's not too bad. She's much more rational than those guys at Twilight!"

"To be honest... hehe..."

She smiled a little sheepishly.

"If Xiaoqing had heard what I just said, I would be..."

"Unconscious by now, wouldn't I?"

Fang Qi widened his eyes and glared at her.

So you know!

You know exactly what you were doing just now!

So she really was testing the waters?!

However...

Xiaoqing?

Fang Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be...

"You deliberately sent Xiaoqing away earlier, making her kneel on the B1 floor..."

Fang Qi immediately voiced the doubt in his mind.

"It couldn't be just for this reason, could it?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyou blinked her almond eyes, and then the corners of her mouth curled up.

"That's one of the reasons."

Her voice was still a bit weak.

"But the main reason is—"

She paused, staring straight at Fang Qi with her almond eyes. The smile on her round face faded a little, replaced by a touch of seriousness.

"I don't want Xiaoqing to know... what I'm about to tell you."

...Huh?

Fang Qi frowned slightly.

She didn't want Xiaoqing to know?

"What do you mean?"

His tone also became serious.

"You want to cooperate with me, but you don't want your AI companion to know the inside story?"

Fang Qi frowned, looking at the round-faced girl in front of him who was still trembling slightly.

Does that make sense?

Without letting Xiaoqing know, how could they cooperate openly and honestly?

Lin Xiaoyou rested the back of her head against the metal wall, looking at the white light strips on the ceiling with her almond eyes, and fell silent for a few seconds.

Then she lowered her head again, looked at Fang Qi, and spoke with a grin.

"Senior..."

She called him "Senior" again, her tone clearly carrying a hint of teasing.

"Do you know... what method I used to stay by your side all this time and even bypass Liguang's detection?"

Fang Qi pursed his lips.

Great, changing the subject again.

However...

He really did want to know the answer to this question.

He remained silent for a moment, raising his hand to tap his temple.

"Your memory was altered."

He stared at Lin Xiaoyou and voiced his guess:

"During that time before, the you in front of me was genuinely a... naive and sweet girl."

"Your memories were tampered with, and you didn't even know your true identity yourself, so..."

"Liguang's detection showed that 'you weren't lying'."

Fang Qi stared at her and asked, "Is that right?"

"Clap, clap, clap."

Lin Xiaoyou clapped her hands lightly three times.

Her movements were weak, and the applause was soft...

But her round face was full of smiles.

"That's right!"

"Senior really is smart, you actually figured it out!"

Her tone sounded so surprised!

...Smart?

Fang Qi couldn't help but fall silent.

If it weren't for his ability to rewind time, he was afraid...

He would never have discovered it in his entire life!

Lin Xiaoyou...

This woman is truly terrifying!

"So?"

Sitting cross-legged, he rested his hands on his knees and leaned forward slightly, staring at Lin Xiaoyou.

"Who altered your memories? Twilight? Or yourself?"

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head, her almond eyes looking straight at Fang Qi.

The expression on her little round face gradually became subtle.

"'Senior', did you know, I..."

The corners of her mouth curled up, and she began grinning again:

"Am actually a genius!"