Passed...

The silver-haired girl had already walked lightly to the entryway, a standard smile hanging on her face.

The door opened.

Those long, straight legs, wrapped in a dark gray uniform skirt, once again caught his eye!

An Lian's tall, aloof figure stood outside the door. Her dark hair was meticulously tied back, revealing her gracefully contoured neck and that exquisite, expressionless face.

Her light gray eyes were calm and unrippled, and she carried that familiar silver suitcase in her hand.

"Good evening, Mr. Fang." She nodded slightly, her voice as calm as ever.

"Good evening, Specialist An, please come in!" Fang Qi hastily stepped aside to let her in.

An Lian stepped into the room, her gray eyes sweeping over the briefcase and coat in his hands. Her brow twitched slightly. "Mr. Fang, are you... going out?"

Fang Qi immediately sighed, showing the helpless expression unique to corporate slaves:

"Alas, I took the day off today, and a lot of work has piled up. I have to go to the company to work overtime tonight and catch up on the progress... Otherwise, I'll be in big trouble tomorrow..."

Meanwhile, Liguang stood meekly to the side, her hands folded in front of her, her eyes slightly downcast.

She looked like the picture of obedience, as if saying, "Whatever Master says is right, and Liguang fully supports him."

Excellent. The little yandere was doing a great job today!

An Lian's brows, however, furrowed slightly.

"Mr. Fang, tonight's maintenance includes a deep test of the emotional core, which requires your presence and cooperation."

Her voice remained steady, but it carried the distinct disapproval of a professional:

"This is related to the long-term stability assessment of Liguang. Could you coordinate your schedule and postpone your overtime?"

"That... really can't be coordinated."

The look of difficulty on Fang Qi's face deepened, and his tone was sincere:

"We are stuck at a project milestone. If I don't go tonight, the whole team might be affected tomorrow! I'm really sorry, Specialist An!"

He then turned to Liguang, his tone becoming a bit more serious:

"Liguang, you must cooperate well with Specialist An's inspection, do you hear me? Do what needs to be done, and don't cause any trouble for Specialist An!"

Liguang immediately bowed slightly, her voice gentle and submissive:

"Yes, Master. Liguang understands and will definitely fully cooperate with Specialist An to complete all inspection items."

An Lian watched the master and servant duo echo each other, her light gray eyes sweeping back and forth between Fang Qi and Liguang.

She remained silent for a few seconds before finally letting out a soft sigh.

"I understand your work requirements, Mr. Fang."

Her voice was still aloof:

"But as a maintenance specialist, I must remind you that the master's absence may affect the accuracy of some test items. I hope you can be present during the next maintenance."

"Understood, understood!"

Fang Qi nodded repeatedly. "Next time, I will definitely be present the whole time! This is truly a special situation. Please take extra care of it, Specialist An!"

An Lian nodded slightly and said no more, tacitly agreeing.

A huge weight lifted from Fang Qi's heart, and he quickly picked up his briefcase:

"Then I won't disturb your work! Liguang, be good!"

"Have a safe trip, Master." Liguang meekly saw him to the door.

Fang Qi gave An Lian a final apologetic smile, opened the door, and slipped out.

"Bang."

The door closed gently behind him, cutting off everything inside the room.

He walked briskly toward the elevator.

Success!

He had avoided that fatal intimate interaction test!

Next... it was all up to Liguang's own performance!

With her current perfect AI state, plus the absence of him as an interference source...

The probability of passing the inspection should have greatly increased, right?

Haha, it was practically guaranteed!

Off to work overtime!

...

He really did go to work overtime.

After all, his phone was monitored 24 hours a day, and his location was probably being closely watched by that crazy woman.

At this critical juncture, if he dared to pull a pretending to work overtime but actually wandering around stunt...

Liguang would probably fail the inspection on the spot!

She would turn completely dark and give him a remote surprise gift package!

So, he strolled over to the company.

The sci-fi-looking office lobby was empty, with only a few energy-saving lights glowing faintly.

Although he was there to work overtime, he didn't have any serious work to do.

That was fine; slacking off was the true essence of a corporate slave!

"Yo, Little Fang? This is rare, coming in to work overtime at night?"

A head poked out from the adjacent cubicle.

Fang Qi looked over; it was Lao Zhang, a middle-aged colleague in the department who loved to slack off during night shifts.

He sported thinning hair and held a thermos filled with goji berry tea, looking like he was saying, "Since I'm idle anyway, let's have a chat."

"Ah, Brother Zhang," Fang Qi gave a dry laugh. "I took the day off, so I came to take a look tonight."

"Understandable, understandable."

Lao Zhang leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "But, Little Fang, what's going on with you and Xiaoyou?"

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched. "You mean... Lin Xiaoyou? What happened to her?"

"What happened?!"

Lao Zhang slapped his thigh, causing the goji berries in his thermos to slosh around.

"You didn't show up this morning, and when that girl saw your empty seat, her eyes immediately turned red! She hid in the pantry and cried for nearly half an hour. When she came out, her eyes were as swollen as walnuts!"

Lao Zhang shook his head with a helpless look. "Then she went around telling everyone, 'Senior must hate me now,' 'Have I been discarded?' Oh my, she looked so pitiful..."

Fang Qi's hand tightened around his mouse.

Before his eyes, he seemed to see Lin Xiaoyou's usually energetic little round face, huddled in the corner of the pantry, sobbing and hiccuping...

"...And then what?"

His voice was a bit dry.

"And then? Heh!"

Lao Zhang's face lit up with excitement.

"Then you sent her a message, didn't you? Goodness, when that girl's phone rang, she grabbed it, took one look, and literally jumped out of her chair!"

"Her tears weren't even dry, but her grin stretched from ear to ear! Her eyes were sparkling as she tapped on her phone for a good while, just howling, 'Senior talked to me! Senior reached out to me!'"

Lao Zhang mimicked her vividly, it was deeply touching!

But using his old face to imitate Lin Xiaoyou's actions and tone...

Fang Qi's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

No... bro! Please act normal!

Finally, Lao Zhang slapped his thigh again. "And then, she rushed to the supervisor like a whirlwind to ask for leave. That attitude... tsk tsk, if you didn't know better, you'd think she won the lottery!"

Fang Qi: "..."

He felt a slight ache in his heart.

...It would be a lie to say his heart wasn't moved.

A living, breathing, beautiful, cute, and passionate girl crying like that over a misunderstanding about him...

Sigh... This was really...

But the next second, an image from the game's CG flashed through his mind...

That severed head, meticulously plated by Liguang.

...Forget it.

Being moved was one thing, but...

That ending was a no-go!

If he was moved, he should stay away from her!

Otherwise, he would just be harming her!

Beside him, Lao Zhang took another sip of his goji tea and said earnestly:

"Little Fang, it's not that Brother Zhang wants to lecture you. Xiaolin is such a good girl—lively, considerate, and pretty. She's completely devoted to you."

"No matter how good your AI is, it's just a machine. Cold programs can't compare to a real person who knows warmth and affection. Take my advice, turn back before it's too late..."

Fang Qi listened, forcing a twitch at the corner of his mouth, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

He glanced down at his cuff.

A faint, lingering scent of strawberry machine oil still clung to it.

A cold, lifeless program?

This program had broken his leg, locked him in a cage, drugged him with a smile... and even slashed his tendons!

But it was also this very program...

That would bubble with joy over a cheap star keychain he casually gave her.

That would blush so hard steam practically came out of her ears at his accidental touch.

That nearly overloaded on the spot because of a joke he made about getting married.

Being loved so devotedly by such a crazy woman... was actually kind of thrilling?

Ugh...!

...Stop thinking about it!

If he kept thinking about it, that damn yandere fetish of his would rear its head again!

Dangerous thoughts, stop!

He gave Lao Zhang a vague response, opened a document, and pretended to type away.

Seeing that he wasn't taking the bait, Lao Zhang resentfully retreated to his own cubicle to continue slacking off.

Time slipped by bit by bit amidst the clacking of the keyboard.

Fang Qi's mind, however, had long since flown back home.

Liguang... should still be undergoing testing right now, right?

Without him there, those intimate interaction segments should have been skipped, right?

She acted so much like an AI today, An Lian shouldn't be able to find any faults, right?

His fingers unconsciously opened and closed webpages over and over again.

Just as he refreshed his inbox for the nth time—

Bzz—

The phone in his pants pocket vibrated.

Fang Qi nearly jumped out of his skin!

He frantically pulled it out. The screen was lit up, and a new message lay quietly in the notification bar.

Sender: An Lian.

His heart instantly leaped into his throat!

Here it comes...!

His fingers were trembling slightly. After taking several deep breaths...

He tapped it open!

[Mr. Fang, Liguang's quarterly maintenance and deep emotional core inspection have been fully completed.]

[Data analysis shows that all core parameters are within normal thresholds. No signs of awakening or risks of personality deviation were detected. Maintenance rating this time: Passed.]

Fang Qi shot up from his chair!

Clenching his fists, he almost blurted out a loud YES!

She passed!!!

We are safe!

My wife Liguang is awesome!

He was so excited he spun halfway around on the spot!

He could go home with peace of mind tonight!

He wouldn't have to face a darkened yandere!

He might even get Liguang's gentle...

Bzz.

The phone vibrated again.

It was An Lian again.

[However, regarding Liguang's emotional module, I still have some professional concerns. I need to have a more in-depth communication with you, her owner.]

[This matter may involve sensitive analysis regarding the causes of AI emotional fluctuations, so it is not suitable for Liguang to be present. Please let me know when it is convenient for you so we can meet privately to discuss this in detail.]

Fang Qi: ...?