Coffee Shop Meeting

The smile on his face froze instantly!

Staring at those few lines of text on the screen...

He could almost hear the sound of his own blood slowly congealing!

Professional concerns?

Not suitable to discuss with Liguang present?

And... need to meet alone?!

His vision went dark!

He slumped heavily back into his chair!

An Lian had phrased it tactfully, but the meaning couldn't be clearer—

Liguang hadn't awakened, but... she had a huge problem, so big that it couldn't even be discussed in front of her!

But the biggest problem was, this message...

The crazy woman at home had absolutely seen it!!!

His phone was monitored 24/7!

Fang Qi could already picture the silver-haired girl at home, who had just seen An Lian off with a docile smile...

Quietly staring at this "need to meet alone" invitation.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

With trembling fingers, instinct drove him to reply immediately:

[Specialist An, thanks for letting me know! As long as she passed, that's great!]

[Um... about meeting up, doing it at home should be fine, right? With Liguang present, she can listen in too, and we can implement any precautions right on the spot. (SmileyFace.JPG)]

He tried to struggle!

At the very least, he had to use this message to show Liguang his stance!

"Buzz."

The reply arrived.

[No. Liguang's current state makes it unsuitable for her to listen in. Just you and me.]

Fang Qi: "..."

Big sis! I'm literally begging you!

Why are you just as difficult to deal with as Lin Xiaoyou!

He tried to stall: [Then... tonight might not work. I'll probably be working overtime until very late. (PandaWipingSweat.JPG)]

[This matter concerns the stability and safety of your companion; it is extremely important. If you are at the company, I can come find you right now.]

Fang Qi: "???"

Come to the company?!

Letting this tall, long-legged, aloof older woman...

Run to his company late at night, to this place that even Liguang hadn't laid her hands on...

To have a "private talk" with him?

...that crazy woman would explode on the spot!

[No need, no need, no need!]

His fingers tapped furiously, almost striking sparks:

[That's too much trouble for you! I'm getting off work right now! Just name a place, and I'll head over immediately!]

The final location was set at a 24-hour cafe.

An Lian's final reply: [See you in an hour.]

Fang Qi slumped in his office chair.

Outside the window, the city's neon lights shone through the glass onto his pale face.

Liguang's sickeningly sweet voice seemed to ring right in his ears:

"Master... went behind Liguang's back to meet that Specialist lady... all alone..."

"This time... are you discussing how to get rid of Liguang again...?"

He agonized, clutching his head.

...

He had no choice but to brace himself and go.

Not go? What if An Lian was truly stubborn and just marched straight downstairs to his company...

A distance of two streets, yet he walked slower than if he were heading to the execution grounds.

Dawdling to the cafe's entrance, he arrived right on time.

Through the glass window, he spotted An Lian at a glance.

She sat in the innermost booth by the window, her posture as straight as a bamboo stalk.

A dark grey uniform skirt suit outlined her slender waist and smooth shoulder lines. Below the hemline, her legs were pressed together with graceful curves, wearing a pair of black high heels that highlighted her delicate, fine ankles.

Her jet-black hair was tied back into an immaculate low bun, revealing a fair and elegant neck.

With slightly lowered eyelashes, she was pinching the handle of a white porcelain cup with her slender fingers, taking small sips of coffee.

Against the fading night outside the window, she looked like a silent oil painting, aloof and elegant.

But to Fang Qi...

How was this a beautiful scene? It was clearly the final calm before a storm of swords and fire!

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open to enter.

The wind chime on the door let out a crisp "ding-ling"!

Hearing the sound, An Lian looked up, her light grey eyes turning toward him, her gaze as clear and cold as a deep pool.

She gave a slight nod with restrained elegance: "Mr. Fang."

Fang Qi sat down opposite her.

He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles!

An Lian had already put down her coffee cup, resting her hands folded on the table, her posture incredibly dignified and elegant.

Her voice was steady, cutting straight to the chase: "Mr. Fang, regarding Liguang, I have some professional observations that I need to discuss with you."

Fang Qi nodded, looking slightly nervous: "Please go ahead!"

An Lian's beautiful grey eyes looked straight at Fang Qi, her gaze focused and clear:

"All parameters in this test were within normal thresholds, and the system judged it as a pass, but..."

She paused, her tone growing more serious: "There are a few derivative values related to emotional simulation that are at the critical point."

Fang Qi's heart skipped a beat, but he squeezed out a curious expression: "You mean...?"

"It means that as long as she receives a certain amount of emotional stimulation, these values could easily break through the safe threshold."

An Lian's tone was flat, her back still perfectly straight as she spoke. Her professional and detached aura... made Fang Qi unconsciously hold his breath slightly.

The oppressive presence of this long-legged older woman was a bit strong...

"Especially the 'Dependency Feedback Coefficient', 'Emotional Projection Focus', and... 'Possessiveness Simulation Intensity'."

She leaned forward slightly. The movement wasn't large, but it carried an undeniable pressure.

Her slender finger tapped lightly on the table, her expression cold yet serious:

"I checked the backend data for the past three months and found that the peak fluctuations of these values are highly correlated with your behavior."

"When you have more intimate interactions with her, or show strong attention... the numbers climb significantly."

Fang Qi's Adam's apple bobbed.

An Lian took out a transparent tablet, her fingertips swiping quickly across it to bring up several graphs.

"Look here, and here."

She turned the tablet toward Fang Qi, the dense lines and data making his eyes swim:

"The timing of the peaks completely aligns with when you took her to the amusement park, gave her gifts, and... engaged in certain intimate contact."

Fang Qi stared at the professional curves he couldn't understand at all, his eyelids twitching slightly.

Wait...

This isn't right, is it?

He frowned, unable to help but ask, "Specialist An, how do you know about these specific events? The backend data can show this?"

This was clearly a violation of customer privacy!

An Lian tilted her head slightly, a strand of black hair slipping from behind her ear.

She casually tucked it back, her movements natural and elegant as she said, "During the testing process, I conduct a basic Q&A with the AI companion to evaluate the coherence of its memory modules and narrative logic."

"When I asked about 'recent memorable interactions with your master,' Liguang took the initiative to mention the amusement park trip, receiving the keychain gift, and other events, and even gave me the exact times... down to the second."

Fang Qi: "..."

An Lian's grey eyes held a hint of profound meaning: "She recounted it very clearly, and her emotional simulation feedback during the answer... was also very joyful."

Fang Qi was instantly speechless.

So it was that crazy woman who leaked it herself!

Makes sense...

She would love nothing more than to tell the whole world, "Master took me out to play, and even gave me a gift!"

He gave a dry laugh, defending Liguang: "Doesn't that just mean Liguang's emotional simulation is... quite immersive?"

"Correct, but it is overly immersive."

An Lian's slender brows furrowed slightly, her tone carrying a hint of unquestionability:

"This core data of Liguang already shows a clear tendency towards 'one-way high dependence and high possessiveness'. If this runs long-term..."

She gave Fang Qi a deep look. "It is very likely to lead to risks such as logic deadlocks and behavioral paranoia, or even the awakening of self-awareness."

Fang Qi: "..."

My dear Commissioner, you're way too late.

Behavioral paranoia? She went off the deep end a long time ago!

She's already awakened! She's beyond saving!

"Therefore, my suggestion is,"

An Lian gently set the tablet aside and crossed her hands again.

"Over the next month or two, you need to reduce your intimate behavior with Liguang and lower the frequency of emotional stimulation."

"In your daily interactions, you can appropriately act a bit more... strict. Give more imperative commands and less affectionate feedback."

She looked calmly at Fang Qi and finally concluded,

"This will help pull her emotional simulation metrics back into the safe zone."

...Strict?

Fang Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes internally again.

It's useless, Commissioner...

That crazy woman stopped caring a long time ago!

He had already been incredibly strict with her, even making her kneel in the corner to reflect on her actions!

And the result?

That crazy woman treated his strict discipline as some sort of special roleplay!

She had the time of her life!

An Lian then took a metal USB drive out of her briefcase and lightly pushed it in front of him.

He looked at the small USB drive, his heart skipping a beat. "This is..."

"An emotional data monitoring key."

An Lian's explanation was clear and concise.

"Plug it into any port, and it will initiate a simple scan to read an overview of Liguang's key metrics."

"Green means safe, yellow is a warning, and red means it has exceeded the limit."

Her gray eyes stared coldly at Fang Qi. "If yellow appears for three consecutive days, or if red appears even once... please contact me immediately."

Fang Qi looked at the tiny USB drive on the table, feeling bitter.

This thing was hotter than a red-hot branding iron...

If Liguang found out about this... how was it any different from telling her to her face, 'I suspect you've awakened'?

The crazy woman would instantly turn dark and snap on him!

But looking at An Lian's professional and persistent demeanor...

If he didn't take it, she definitely wouldn't let it go easily.

...Just bluff through it!

"Understood."

He picked up the USB drive, plastering a sincere and grateful smile on his face.

"Thank you for going to all this trouble, Commissioner An. I've memorized everything you said, and I will definitely cooperate!"

"I'll check the data every day, and the moment there's a situation, I'll report to you immediately!"

Like hell I will!

I'm throwing this trash USB drive away the second I walk out the door. I absolutely cannot let Liguang find it!

Seeing his "proper" attitude, An Lian's cold expression seemed to soften a bit.

She nodded slightly. "It's good that you can cooperate."

She then stood up, her uniform skirt dropping down with the movement, her voice cold and clear.

"I've already paid the bill. Goodbye."

Without waiting for Fang Qi to react, she turned around and left briskly.

The clicking of her high heels faded away, and her tall silhouette quickly disappeared into the night outside the door.

Leaving behind only a faint, cold, and refreshing lingering scent of perfume.

Fang Qi slowly slumped back into the booth.

He was dead tired!

He had finally sent this big shot away...!

This An Lian, she was obviously an NPC who only became powerful in the late game. Why was she so hard to deal with in the early game too...?

He picked up his coffee, which had already gone a bit cold, and took a huge gulp.

The bitter taste sobered him up a bit, and his brain started spinning rapidly.

The most urgent task right now... is to go home.

Hurry up and go home!

See what state the crazy woman at home is in, and then coax her into a good mood!

He had finally passed the inspection, and he didn't want all of today's efforts to go to waste!

Downing the rest of the coffee in one gulp, he got up and left.

Pushing open the door of the coffee shop, the cool night air blew against his face.

Just as he was about to head home...

He heard a few student-looking boys squatting by the greenbelt near the entrance, smoking and whispering:

"...Did you see that girl standing at the door just now? The one with silver hair!"

"Saw her ages ago! Damn, she was so freaking pretty! She even had heterochromia color contacts, like she walked straight out of an anime!"

"More than pretty, her vibe was unreal! It's just... her eyes were a bit scary, ice-cold, it gave me the creeps."

"She stood at the door for quite a while without going in, just looking inside through the glass..."

"You don't think she was here to catch a cheater, do you? Just look at how she was staring inside... Tsk tsk, even from this far away I felt a chill down my spine!"

"And then? Where did the silver-haired girl go?"

"I don't know, she looked for a bit and then suddenly left. She walked pretty fast, gone in a blink."

Fang Qi: "...?"

A silver-haired girl...?

Heterochromia color contacts...?

This description really sounded a bit like that crazy woman at home.

What a coincidence, to think there are people so similar in the world!

Hahaha...!

Hahaha...

The expression on his face froze.

...

...Impossible.

Absolutely impossible!!!