I Will Try My Best to Survive

An Lian’s eyelashes trembled faintly, and a hint of surprise flickered across her face.

She probably hadn’t expected him to ask that all of a sudden.

“Xiao Qi, you know Gu Xi?”

Her voice carried a trace of astonishment.

…Huh?

Fang Qi blinked.

Sister An Lian didn’t know?

Oh, right.

It seemed she really didn’t know…

“…Yeah, I know her.”

He nodded gently.

“Sister An Lian, Gu Xi… she’s just like you.”

An Lian’s gray eyes widened slightly.

Fang Qi said softly,

“She… has ‘dreams’ too.”

The living room fell silent.

An Lian stared at him, dazed, her cool gray eyes flickering.

Fang Qi didn’t rush her; he just watched quietly by her side.

The silver-haired girl sat still beside him, her crimson eyes shifting steadily.

After a long silence, An Lian finally spoke.

“That was… a few years ago.”

She lowered her eyelids slightly, gazing at the gently rippling surface of the water in her cup, her eyes a little unfocused.

……

……

It was a few years ago.

Back then, Uncle Fang and Aunt Su had just passed away not long before.

So during that period, I was in a really bad state.

Every morning when I woke up, it took me several seconds just to remember where I was.

A… empty employee apartment.

I lived alone, ate alone, went to work alone.

Sometimes I’d sit in front of the maintenance station, my hands resting on the diagnostic tools, but I’d forget what I was supposed to do next.

The data on the screen kept dancing, and I just stared at them as they jumped.

I’d stare for a long, long time, with nothing going through my mind.

My coworkers said I worked hard, that I was the most dedicated employee at the care center.

But that wasn’t true.

I was just afraid to stop.

Because once I stopped…

some images would come flooding back.

So back then, I buried myself in work.

I scheduled myself from morning till night, leaving no gaps, no room to breathe.

My coworkers thought I was ambitious…

But really, I was running away.

Going through the motions.

Then one day, a client came in.

A middle-aged man, well-dressed.

His AI companion had been flagged during maintenance for abnormal emotional core fluctuations.

This kind of thing didn’t happen often, but according to company policy, if the core fluctuation exceeded the safety threshold, it had to be recalled and replaced.

We maintenance specialists didn’t have the authority to make exceptions.

I held up the inspection report to explain it to him.

To be honest, it was partly my fault.

Back then, I didn’t have much patience left for clients anymore.

I just wanted to get through the process, have him sign the papers, finish things up quickly, and move on to the next task.

No matter what he said, I repeated the same lines: This is the policy. There’s no way around it. I’m sorry.

And then he snapped.

He threw the report to the floor, knocked over the front desk’s document rack, grabbed a chair, and smashed the display screen.

The other clients scattered in fear.

My coworkers huddled behind the counters.

I was the one in charge of maintaining that AI, so per regulations, I was supposed to step forward to calm the client.

So I walked out.

He charged at me and grabbed me by the throat!

His strength was terrifying. My head hit the wall, and I saw stars.

As he choked me, he was shouting something…

I’ve forgotten what.

Anyway, he was yelling loudly.

I couldn’t breathe at all and couldn’t get out a single word.

Just when I was about to lose consciousness…

someone rushed in from the side.

Fast—she grabbed the client’s wrist in one fluid motion.

I don’t know exactly how she did it, but…

the man who had been choking me was pinned to the floor.

She saved me.

After subduing him, she flashed her police badge.

She said,

“Police. Please stay calm.”

That was my first time meeting Gu Xi.

She was a criminal police officer at the city bureau.

Later, I was taken to give a statement.

While they were fetching the surveillance footage at the station, she sat down next to me.

My neck was already bruising a faint purple.

She asked if I wanted to go to the hospital.

I said no.

She suggested I apply a warm towel to it, saying she had experience with that.

Without thinking, I blurted out, “Have you been choked before?”

She laughed and said it had been by a drunk suspect causing trouble, but that guy didn’t have as much strength as that client—she took him down in three seconds.

Her tone was light.

I don’t know why, but I smiled a little too at that moment.

Looking back now, it was probably the first time I’d smiled in a very long while.

We were about the same age, but our personalities were completely different.

She spoke bluntly, said whatever came to mind—sometimes so straightforward that she’d get a little embarrassed herself—but she never beat around the bush.

She was the type of person who’d glare at you if she didn’t like you, and buy you milk tea if she did.

I envied her a lot.

I’ve always been the kind of person who bottles everything up inside, never showing whether I’m happy or upset.

It’s just a habit.

After the statement was done, we exchanged contact info.

She said if anything ever came up, I could reach out to her directly.

I figured it was just one of those polite adult social niceties—said and forgotten, not to be taken seriously.

But later, she actually started messaging me.

She asked if my neck was better, said she had some bruise ointment, and that she could drop it off next time she passed by on duty.

Then, we coincidentally ran into each other more and more often during work hours.

When my shift ended and I walked out of the care center, I’d often see her buying something at the convenience store across the street.

She said she was just passing by after getting off work.

But the southern district and the city bureau… didn’t really seem to be “on the way” from each other.

Still, I didn’t ask.

She would invite me to go shopping or eat together.

Actually, neither of us was very good at shopping.

She always tried on only black or dark-colored clothes, saying they looked cleaner and were practical for police work.

I never had much of an opinion on anything—nothing really stood out to me.

Every trip, we’d wander around for hours without buying much, but…

I just felt relaxed.

She didn’t rush me, and she never got annoyed that I was quiet.

When I occasionally said something, she’d pick it up; when I was silent, she just kept talking on her own, chatting about anything.

How annoying her cases were, how stupid the last suspect she’d caught was, how the new intern at the station had mixed up the files…

I’d just listen, and sometimes I’d smile.

Then she’d look proud and say, “See how good I am at lightening the mood?”

That’s how our relationship gradually grew closer, bit by bit.

……

……

The story ended.

An Lian held her cup and took a sip of water, falling silent.

Fang Qi pressed his lips together slightly.

…Just as I thought.

It was Gu Xi who took the initiative to get close to An Lian!

It wasn’t just coincidence or chance!

And come to think of it…

He smiled a little helplessly.

This method had a certain familiar ring to it!

Gu Xi, do you always rely on the same approach?

Isn’t this exactly…

the way she normally met him on the fourth day?

He and Liguang had a conflict with two robbers, Gu Xi “happened” to pass by, subdued the criminals, and then took him in for a statement!

While they waited for the surveillance footage, she sat next to him and chatted.

He had lived through that more than once!

The one he remembered most clearly…

was when she took the initiative to suggest he participate in the police’s AI beta test!

She nearly made Liguang explode on the spot!

But that time, he was the one who couldn’t take it anymore—he exploded first!

And so the throat-slashing began, leading to those eighty-two years.

But it's a pity…

Fang Qi tilted his head slightly, glancing at the silver-haired girl beside him.

Liguang’s crimson eyes shimmered faintly.

She was analyzing and calculating the words An Lian had just spoken.

When she noticed Fang Qi looking at her, she dropped her pensive expression and gave him a subtle wink.

—Master, Liguang is listening.

Fang Qi gently squeezed her small hand.

But it’s a pity she doesn’t remember any of this.

Because that happened on the fourth day.

Back then, he still didn’t know how to use “Death Reload” to preserve Liguang’s memories.

Those memories now existed only in his own mind.

But that’s fine.

She didn’t need to remember any of that.

She only needed to remember the present!

Fang Qi turned his gaze back to An Lian.

“Sister An Lian, about Gu Xi…”

He carefully chose his words.

He wanted to tell her that Gu Xi’s approach to her might not have been entirely innocent…

“I know.”

An Lian’s soft voice cut him off.

Fang Qi froze for a moment.

An Lian still kept her head down, staring at the water glass in her hands.

Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, hiding most of her face, making her expression unreadable.

“I grew up in an orphanage,” she said.

Her voice was so faint it sounded like she was talking to herself.

“I got used to the darkness, used to the warmth and coldness of people, used to…”

“…being approached by people with ulterior motives.”

Her fingers traced the rim of the glass.

“But Gu Xi…”

Her eyelashes trembled slightly.

“After Uncle Fang and Aunt Su passed away, she was the only one who came to me on her own, the only one who treated me with kindness.”

Fang Qi’s breath caught.

“So I don’t care what Gu Xi’s real reason was for getting close to me,” An Lian whispered.

“Do you know, Xiao Qi…”

She lifted her head, her gray eyes quivering.

“Back then, when your parents… when Uncle Fang and Aunt Su had just passed away, the only thing that kept me going…”

“…was the need to protect you.”

Fang Qi tightened his grip on his water glass.

“But…” An Lian continued in a murmur.

“I was so exhausted back then.”

Her gaze went distant.

“Dad and Mom died. My brother died. Aunt Su and Uncle Fang died too.”

Her voice was eerily calm—calm enough to make one’s heart ache.

“When that client grabbed me by the throat, I didn’t even struggle.”

Fang Qi held his breath.

He felt Liguang’s small hand tighten around his ever so slightly.

“Back then, I thought…” An Lian’s lashes lowered.

“…maybe it was time to just let go.”

The living room fell into an oppressive silence.

Drip…

A faint sound of a leaking faucet came from the kitchen.

An Lian was still lost in her memories.

“And then Gu Xi…”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“She was like… a ray of light?”

The curve was barely there. She even looked a little embarrassed by her own words.

But it made Fang Qi’s heart ache.

“I’ve actually thought about it… why did she always get so close to me?”

She stared blankly at the surface of the water in her glass, her fingers tracing the sides.

“Was it because I hold Dawnlight’s ‘core secrets’?”

“Was it because I’m the maintenance specialist for Liguang and… the others?”

“Or…”

But she shook her head.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter.”

She said softly:

“Because without Gu Xi, I might not have made it at all.”

“Without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Fang Qi gripped Liguang’s hand. The cool, soft touch of her palm transmitted a silent response through his grip.

Sister An Lian, you really are…

He wanted to say something comforting, but found himself at a loss for words.

His emotional intelligence wasn’t that high. He didn’t know how to comfort her.

But he did know…

There was something he absolutely had to tell An Lian!

“Sister An Lian,” he said, his voice a little hoarse.

She looked up, her gray eyes meeting his.

“In the ‘dream’ you had when you first woke up…”

Fang Qi took a deep breath, forcing his voice steady.

“Gu Xi begged me to save you.”

An Lian’s pupils trembled.

He locked eyes with her.

“She’s always been that stubborn type who’d rather die than bend. But that time…”

“She begged me over and over.”

“She said I absolutely had to save you—no matter what.”

The living room was utterly silent.

An Lian stared at him, her lips trembling slightly.

“So,” Fang Qi said, looking at her squarely, “whatever Gu Xi’s original reason was for approaching you…”

“She really does care about you.”

His tone was dead serious.

“I can guarantee that.”

An Lian’s lashes fluttered.

Her typically cool gray eyes grew slightly moist.

“Master is telling the truth.”

The silver-haired girl beside Fang Qi suddenly chimed in.

Liguang’s voice was very serious!

“Liguang can vouch for it.”

The smile on her pretty face vanished, replaced by a rare solemnity.

“Liguang was there.”

An Lian looked up in surprise at Liguang.

The silver-haired girl’s crimson eyes sparkled.

“Miss Gu cried that day.”

Her amber-like eyes held nothing but honesty.

“She even tried to pretend she didn’t. She hung up the phone right after!”

An Lian froze.

Fang Qi: “…”

Honey, is that really appropriate!

That’s a bit embarrassing for Gu Xi, isn’t it!

But then…

He looked at An Lian.

An Lian and Liguang stared at each other for a few seconds…

Then she looked down.

Her black hair cascaded down, hiding her entire face.

Fang Qi could only see her trembling shoulders and the fingers clenched tightly around her glass.

“…Thank you, Xiao Qi, Liguang…”

Her voice carried a slight nasality.

She took a deep breath and quickly wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

Then she lifted her head—her gray eyes still red-rimmed, but her gaze had changed.

“I always thought there was nothing about me worth saving,” she murmured.

“Since you both care about me, since Gu Xi cares about me too…”

She took another deep breath, her expression hardening.

“Then I…”

“I’ll work hard to keep living!”

Fang Qi smiled.

Maybe he wasn’t so bad at comforting people after all.

“Good,” he said with a gentle nod.

“Let’s work hard together.”

A faint curve spread across An Lian’s lips.

Then…

She inhaled softly.

“Xiao Qi,” she said, her expression growing serious.

“Since you’re not afraid of being…”

—Not afraid of being killed.

“…then there’s something I should probably tell you now.”

“About…”

Her gaze shifted to Liguang, who was seated beside Fang Qi.

“…the secret your parents left with me.”

“And it’s also…”

She stared into Liguang’s flickering crimson eyes.

“…one of the reasons I’ve stayed at Dawnlight all this time.”