Lin Xiaoyou

She... did she just say...?

Fang Qi's mind instantly buzzed!

...Shut up.

Shut up, ahhhh!!!

Lin Xiaoyou, I am begging you!!!

Just shut up!!!!

Terrified and trembling, he glanced at Liguang from the corner of his eye.

It is over.

She is going to blow.

She is really going to blow—!!!

He watched helplessly as...

The silver-haired girl's originally soft and slender body... suddenly stiffened!

The satisfied, somewhat silly smile on her pretty face... instantly froze at the corners of her mouth!

The gentle, watery light in her amber eye stagnated, and the originally steady data flow in her crimson eye... also abruptly stopped!

It was as if time itself had stopped flowing.

Fang Qi's scalp tingled, his mind buzzing.

It is over... It is really over this time...

The thing this crazy woman hated hearing the most was the word "awaken"!

I have really messed up this time...!

His throat was dry, his lips trembling as he tried to quickly say something...!

Anything would do!

Interrupting, changing the subject, or even fainting and playing dead on the spot would work!

At the very least, he had to nip this topic in the bud!

Maybe there was still a chance to save this!

Hurry! Stupid brain! Move! Say something!

"Um..."

He forced the word out of his throat with great difficulty, only to suddenly realize...

...Huh?

The frozen silver-haired girl did not have her crimson eye flash wildly and suddenly turn yandere, as he had expected.

Instead, the static data in her crimson eye began to flow again in a steadier, more regular rhythm.

...What is going on?

Fang Qi was stunned, his hand holding the teacup freezing in mid-air.

Under his somewhat bewildered gaze, Liguang blinked gently.

Her long, thick silver eyelashes lowered, and when they lifted again, her heterochromatic eyes had actually returned to a dead-calm tranquility.

As calm as two bottomless pools of lake water.

The residual blush on her face faded rapidly at a visible rate, quickly returning to a flawless white!

Then she moved, taking light steps, and walked to the side of the coffee table.

She bent her knees slightly and steadily placed a cup of steaming herbal tea on the coffee table in front of Lin Xiaoyou.

"Miss Lin, please enjoy your tea."

Her voice was meek and soft, her tone steady and without fluctuation.

After speaking, she stepped back half a pace with an elegant posture, and then, on the soft carpet by Fang Qi's feet...

She knelt down gracefully and quietly.

Her hands were neatly folded on her lap, her back was perfectly straight, and the little star on her left earlobe hung there quietly, completely still.

Her eyelids were slightly lowered, and a perfectly measured, docile smile rested on her lips.

Her entire person... had completely transformed into the most impeccable standby posture of an AI companion.

It was as if the girl who had been blushing, steaming, and stumbling just moments ago had never existed!

The living room was dead silent, save for the tick-tock of the wall clock.

Fang Qi's heartbeat was still thumping in his ears.

Holding his teacup, he stared blankly at the silver-haired girl kneeling quietly by his feet.

...That is it?

It is fine now?

It passed just like that, so easily?

His heartbeat gradually slowed down.

Oh...

It seems... it is really fine?

Fang Qi took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his mind clearing up a bit.

Hiss...

That seemed right, he had overreacted.

Liguang would go dark because he discovered her "secret"...

That was because the person who discovered the secret was him, Fang Qi, her master, the only person she cared about and loved deeply.

Her fear, her darkening, all of her extreme reactions...

Stemmed from the root fear of "possibly being abandoned or destroyed by her master"!

As for what other people thought or said...

Whether it was Lin Xiaoyou or some random passersby... Liguang simply did not care!

In her eyes, these people were probably no different from stones by the roadside or potted plants on the windowsill.

The only difference was that some stones would covet her master, which fell into the category of needing to be "disposed of".

But did it matter if a stone suspected she had awakened? She did not care at all.

A stone's opinion did not matter, as long as it did not affect her master's attitude towards her.

Fang Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead.

If that sentence just now had been spoken by him... he would definitely be doomed!

She would go one hundred percent yandere, and he would instantly be turned into a doll, a body pillow, or something else!

Thank goodness it was said by this stone, Lin Xiaoyou...

Fang Qi's gaze swept over Liguang's flawless side profile.

She still had that deadly maintenance check tonight, and this crazy woman was very shrewd!

Under Lin Xiaoyou's unintentional "reminder," she immediately realized that she had let her emotions show a bit too much.

So she made a prompt decision, forcibly retracting all her leaked emotions and turning herself back into that perfect AI companion.

It was both to deal with Lin Xiaoyou's "probing" and, more importantly, to rehearse and prepare for the inspection tonight!

Having figured all this out, his hand holding the teacup completely steadied.

He took a gentle sip of the warm digestive tea, suppressing his pounding heart.

Could this be considered... a blessing in disguise?

By a stroke of luck, it actually helped Liguang enter a "combat-ready state" ahead of time!

It was just so damn...

This process was way too thrilling!

It shaved years off his life!

He was almost scared into a heart attack!

He looked down at the silver-haired girl kneeling quietly by his feet.

Liguang still maintained that posture, motionless.

Sunlight filtered through the window, plating a light golden halo on the top of her silver hair, her eyelashes casting dense shadows on her fair cheeks.

This picture... was just too beautiful!

Crazy woman, you are pretty good at pretending...

You hid it so thoroughly...

Fang Qi's heartbeat gradually calmed down.

It seemed that today's grand drama of dancing on the sea of jealousy... was ultimately a success!

The goal was achieved, and the crisis was resolved!

Good!

However, before he could fully breathe a sigh of relief—

"Huh... strange..."

From the side, a deeply confused muttering sound could be heard.

Lin Xiaoyou was blinking her almond eyes, tilting her head, and carefully looking Liguang up and down as she knelt on the floor.

Her thin eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her small mouth gently pouting, wearing a little expression that said, "I do not understand this."

Lin Xiaoyou studied Liguang for several seconds, her body unconsciously leaning toward Fang Qi, and said somewhat blankly:

"Senior... why did Liguang suddenly... go back to feeling like a standard AI?"

She pointed at the kneeling silver-haired girl, her tone full of incomprehension:

"Just now she was clearly blushing and acting shy, her reactions were so real, so vivid... How come it is suddenly like someone pressed the reset button, and she has no expression at all?"

Her gaze fell on Liguang's lowered eyelids, and she said in surprise:

"Even her eyes are so calm, completely different from just now. Isn't this switch way too fast? It is almost like two different people..."

...Good question! My good teammate!

This is the perfect chance for me to "prove" myself!

"Cough... this, this is the disadvantage of AI!"

Fang Qi tried hard to make his voice sound casual.

At the same time, he reached out and very naturally rubbed Liguang's soft silver hair.

Wifey, hold steady!

As he rubbed Liguang's head, he continued speaking in the tone of someone "complaining about a product":

"Although the emotion simulation in today's top-tier custom models is incredibly detailed and can simulate many real-time reactions, but..."

He paused and glanced at Liguang.

Liguang remained quietly kneeling on the floor.

She didn't affectionately rub against him like usual, nor did she look up at him with teary eyes.

She merely lowered her head submissively, allowing his palm to fully cover the top of her head.

Fang Qi felt slightly reassured and continued:

"...but ultimately, the underlying foundation is still programmed logic. Many emotional reactions are instantaneous and lack the continuity of a real person. It's like... well, the lingering aftertaste of an emotion."

He racked his brain, making up terms that sounded professional:

"For instance... one second, a certain interaction might trigger shyness, making her look very vivid. But once the module finishes running, the emotion immediately retracts."

He shrugged, putting on a can't help it, technical limitations expression:

"So it looks a bit... abrupt when switching."

"Just like just now, suddenly blushing, then suddenly returning to calm. This is completely normal!"

After saying this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This explanation was perfect!

It not only explained Liguang's abnormal reaction just now, but also indirectly told Liguang: Wifey, I didn't notice a thing! I'm even making excuses for you!

Seeing Lin Xiaoyou's sudden look of realization, he picked up his teacup and took a sip to calm his nerves.

Since the main objective this time had been achieved, the most important task next...

...was to quickly get rid of this ticking time bomb known as Lin Xiaoyou!

He couldn't let her stay here any longer!

It was too dangerous!

Too uncontrollable!

For every extra second she stayed, he felt like his lifespan would be shortened by ten years!

However, just as he brought the teacup to his lips again—

The crazy girl beside him suddenly broke into a bright and slightly smug smile!

She cheered playfully, "Look, Senior! I told you so!"

Fang Qi's hand trembled, almost spilling his tea again!

He saw Lin Xiaoyou puff out her youthful, energetic little chest and conclude like she was making an announcement:

"AI really is inferior to real humans!"

Her round almond eyes sparkled with confidence. "Senior, you should wake up to reality!"

Fang Qi: "..."

Was this crazy girl ever going to stop?!

Maintaining a stiff smile on his face, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward Liguang at his feet.

She was still quietly kneeling there, her back straight, her posture impeccable.

Her crimson eyes didn't waver, and the smile on her lips remained as docile as ever.

She even imperceptibly rubbed against Fang Qi's leg, kneeling a little closer.

It seemed... she was in a good mood?

Was it because he had made an intimate, possessive gesture toward her in front of a love rival?

So, she was actually secretly thrilled right now, having no desire to stoop to Lin Xiaoyou's level, and just wanted to... quietly savor the moment?

...Good, good, good!

Keep enjoying yourself!

Relieved, Fang Qi shakily brought the teacup to his lips once more.

Alright then...

Although the process was thrilling, as long as the result was good...

"Senior~!"

A sickly sweet call laced with obvious dissatisfaction!

Seeing that Fang Qi was ignoring her, Lin Xiaoyou immediately became unhappy!

She pouted, a hint of defiance flashing in her round eyes. Like an agile little kitten, she suddenly twisted her body—

Before Fang Qi could even react...

Two arms carrying a young girl's warm body heat wrapped around his neck once again, leaving no room for argument!

Holy crap!!!

His body instantly froze!

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her small face up and leaned in extremely close, so close that he could see the fine peach fuzz on her cheeks and the bold, provocative gaze in her round eyes!

"Look, Senior—"

She even deliberately turned her body slightly, letting her perky curves, wrapped in a pale yellow dress, bounce lightly right in front of Fang Qi's eyes!

Then, in an innocent and soft tone, she cooed:

"I'm a real person too, you know!"

"Mine..."

She paused, two faint blushes appearing on her cheeks, but her gaze grew even bolder as she stared straight at Fang Qi:

"...are also very soft and bouncy, you know!"

"Instead of slapping Liguang's..."

She blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering like tiny fans:

"...why don't you try slapping mine?"

"Pfft—!!!!!!!"

Fang Qi spat out a whole mouthful of tea!

Lin Xiaoyou!!!!!!