In the rearview mirror, the truck pulled over to the side of the road, its driver still sticking his head out and cursing loudly.
“……No problem at all,” Lin Xiaoyou muttered, her tone tinged with disappointment.
She gripped the steering wheel again with both hands and leaned back into her seat.
“How boring!”
Her round little face was filled with displeasure.
“What’s up with this ‘fate’? Last cycle it was so vicious, why’s it turned chicken this time?”
Mumbling to herself.
“Did my mad driving skills scare it off?”
Fang Qi hugged the silver-haired young woman in his arms, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
…Wait a second.
So that means…
This time, there really wasn’t any danger after all?
He glanced subconsciously out the car window.
The streets were calm, pedestrians moved about as usual, and traffic flowed orderly.
Everything was so safe it felt unreal.
The heart-pounding chase from the last cycle seemed to have been nothing but a dream.
A dream that would never happen in reality.
Fang Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had no idea why, but since there was no danger now…
That suppressed curiosity of his immediately surged back up.
He turned his head sharply, looking at Lin Xiaoyou in the rearview mirror as she grumbled.
“Lin Xiaoyou, in that ‘dream’…”
“Why did you go to that abandoned building in the middle of nowhere?”
He finally couldn’t help but ask.
Since there was no danger now, asking a few questions wouldn’t count as bothering the driver, right?
Lin Xiaoyou was still pouting. She glanced at him through the mirror.
“Don’t know!”
She gave a snort and flipped her ponytail.
“Not telling Senior!”
Fang Qi: “…”
So she was throwing a tantrum now.
Did she even know who he was holding in his arms?
Sure enough, the next moment—
“Hm?”
Liguang, nestled in his arms, suddenly lifted her head.
A trace of glistening still clung to her lips…
Her crimson eyes flashed.
Inside the chopped pepper fish head car, a surge of scarlet swallowed everything.
“……Miss Lin, what did you say?”
She tilted her head slightly, her smile amiable.
Lin Xiaoyou’s expression immediately turned serious.
She puffed out her chest, pulled in her stomach, and stared straight ahead.
“I said, the question Senior asked is truly hitting the bullseye!”
Fang Qi: “…”
Looks like Liguang was the right one to handle the Miss Genius.
Because Liguang? She would actually follow through.
The chopped pepper fish head glided smoothly along the street.
“Ahem!”
Miss Genius cleared her throat.
“As for why I went to that abandoned building in the suburbs…”
“It was totally an accident!”
She finally started explaining, pursing her lips.
“Simply because I wanted to pick a road with barely any traffic, so I wouldn’t get stuck in a jam,” she said, looking ahead, one hand on the wheel while the other gestured.
“Senior knows, right? In the dream, those big trucks chased us so badly.”
“If there were too many cars, it would really mess with my driving.”
“Besides, I could practice my skills more, so that when I woke up, I’d be even better at taking you both for a wild ride!”
She chuckled, stepping on the accelerator to overtake the car ahead.
“So I just looked for roads that were wide and empty, driving and driving…”
She shrugged slightly.
“And then, naturally, I ended up in that unfinished building area in the suburbs.”
“As for climbing that shabby building well…”
Her tone turned a bit more serious.
“I guess you could call it a sudden impulse.”
“I wanted to test if this so called ‘fate’…”
In the rearview mirror, her almond shaped eyes narrowed slightly.
“Would find some other way to make me die unexpectedly.”
“Since before, on the road, it only went for ram trucks, and I taunted it so much…”
“I figured, what if it got triggered again and decided to try something new?”
Fang Qi: “…”
Say what you will, but you really had to hand it to her.
Could it be that she actually taunted it so hard it cracked, forcing it to switch tactics?
Lin Xiaoyou, you’re a walking taunt magnet!
“And then… a little accident happened,” Lin Xiaoyou pouted, spinning the wheel with one hand.
The pink chopped pepper fish head smoothly rounded a curve.
“Xiaoqing suddenly showed up!”
Her tone remained light and breezy.
“She just appeared out of nowhere at the base of that decrepit building, screaming…”
“‘Master, what are you doing!’”
She mimicked Xiaoqing’s voice, pinching her throat to imitate her.
Then she laughed herself.
“Hehe, actually, I already guessed she’d come.”
“My position was changing so fast, racing all the way to the suburbs, with news of crashes and explosions everywhere…”
“It would’ve been weird if Xiaoqing hadn’t come looking for me!”
“But still…”
She looked at the road ahead, tilting her head.
“She got there way too fast.”
“I had only just climbed to the seventh or eighth floor, studying the broken staircase structure and thinking about going higher. Then I looked down…”
“And saw her standing below, panicking like crazy.”
“So I waved frantically at her and even took a couple steps forward to show her I was fine.”
Her tone suddenly paused.
She bit her lip.
The car fell silent for a moment.
“…and then the step under my foot suddenly cracked.”
Fang Qi watched her in the rearview mirror.
Her playful grin was still there, but her eyes were slightly unfocused.
He stayed quiet, holding the silver haired young woman tighter in his arms.
“With a ‘crack’…”
Lin Xiaoyou whispered softly.
“That chunk of cement just shattered.”
“I fell straight down from seven or eight stories.”
Then she let out a soft, light laugh.
“Hehe, Senior, that was my first time experiencing free fall!”
“Looking back now, it was really thrilling whoosh, straight down, the wind roaring past my ears…”
“But at that moment…”
Her voice weakened.
All traces of her earlier playfulness were gone.
“At that moment, my mind was full of…”
“I’m done for.”
In the rearview mirror, those scythe shaped eyes curved into crescents…
But the curve was stiff.
“I wasn’t scared of dying, I was just…”
She bit her lip.
Her fingers on the steering wheel tightened slightly.
“Scared that Xiaoqing would see me… fall to my death.”
” That Xiaoqing would watch her Master die right in front of her.”
Fang Qi remained silent.
In his arms, Liguang held him a little tighter.
Her head burrowed deeper.
“And…”
Lin Xiaoyou’s voice grew even softer.
“My ‘cause of death’ was even because…”
“Of her scream?”
She took a shaky breath.
“The time falling from the air was short, but I thought about a lot.”
“Xiaoqing will surely blame herself.”
She murmured…
“She’ll think her scream distracted me, that she caused my death.”
“She’ll…”
She stared blankly at the road ahead.
The speed of the chopped pepper fish head dropped significantly.
Her lips trembled slightly as she whispered:
“Even knowing that Senior would save me…”
“Even knowing this would all turn into a dream in the end, I still…”
She clenched the steering wheel, her arms trembling from the strain.
“In that instant…”
Her voice was barely audible.
“I really felt like the sky had gone dark.”
The car was quiet.
Fang Qi held Liguang, saying nothing.
This was a side of Lin Xiaoyou he rarely saw.
Then again, it made sense.
Xiaoqing's behavior after that...
Was truly heartbreaking.
She called him like crazy, her voice cracking.
Then, in the deepest corner of the crumbling building, she held her master and locked herself into that darkness only she could open.
Clutching that last sliver of almost-nonexistent hope...
She sank into complete slumber.
Fang Qi held the silver-haired girl tightly in his arms, her body slightly stiff.
Xiaoqing's method, it sure was full of déjà vu.
Wouldn't you say so, Wife?
He rubbed Liguang's cheek.
Soft.
Liguang squirmed gently in his arms.
"Master...!"
Fang Qi pursed his lips in a smile.
At least... everything could start over.
He looked up at Lin Xiaoyou, slightly dazed in the rearview mirror, and said softly:
"Xiaoyou, you don't have to–"
"BUT!"
Lin Xiaoyou abruptly cut off Fang Qi's attempt at a comforting word!
Her gaze sharpened!
She even burst out laughing again!
"But you know, Senior!"
"Human strength is really something powerful!"
Her carefree tone was back!
She raised an eyebrow playfully...
"I fell from the seventh or eighth floor!"
"Splat! My body was shattered!"
"Normally, I should have died instantly!"
"But..."
She held the steering wheel with one hand and swung the other forcefully!
"I... Didn't Die!"
"I could even talk! I didn't even feel any pain!"
She marveled!
"Adrenaline is truly amazing! I really didn't feel a thing!"
"I could hold Xiaoqing, talk to her..."
"I even smiled at her!"
She looked at Fang Qi through the rearview mirror, her almond-shaped eyes curved and sparkling!
"I told her, don't be afraid, I won't die!"
"I said Senior Fang Qi would save me! Don't worry, Sister Xiaoqing, I won't... I'm definitely..."
Her voice suddenly trembled again.
"I... I..."
The light in her almond eyes flickered slightly.
She couldn't go on.
That carefree mask cracked again.
She fell silent.
Her breathing turned a bit rapid.
The car kept driving.
The cabin fell quiet again.
Fang Qi tightened his grip on Liguang's hand; her palm was cool and soft.
Why bother.
Why keep pretending to be so carefree.
He understood Lin Xiaoyou.
Understood her very well.
Because he had been through something similar.
[Monster in the Mirror].
He shot himself, thinking he could rewind immediately...
But left Liguang, who knew nothing, behind.
Seeing her sink into complete madness, unable to do anything.
"...!"
A tiny, sharp sting hit his neck!
He looked down slightly.
The silver-haired girl's lips were pressed gently against the side of his neck, her teeth lightly sinking into his skin!
She bit him!
It tickled.
"Hmph...!"
She let out a snort.
Stubbornly.
Fang Qi gently squeezed her little hand.
...She remembered that "dream" too.
The braised fish head car continued to drive smoothly down the road, the sunlight outside the window a bit glaring.
"...Oh dear!"
Lin Xiaoyou suddenly shouted!
She raised her hand and slapped her cheeks hard!
"Slap! Slap!"
Two crisp sounds rang out.
"Why am I being so emotional all of a sudden!"
She giggled again.
"Anyway, Xiaoqing can have nightmares now! This won't happen again!"
Fang Qi bit his lip.
Miss Genius, you really are a master of changing faces...
"Speaking of which..."
Lin Xiaoyou scratched the back of her head and grinned sheepishly with embarrassment:
"That fall this time... might have had a bit of intentional recklessness mixed in!"
"So, I'm not really sure whether this fall..."
She pursed her lips helplessly.
"Was that 'fate' messing with me, or was it really just me losing my footing on my own?"
"After all, those broken stairs were practically falling apart, and I just happened to step on the weakest part..."
She tilted her head.
"Maybe it was just a coincidence?"
Fang Qi squinted.
Coincidence...?
"By the way, Senior!"
Lin Xiaoyou floored the accelerator, the little car speeding past the one ahead!
"I wanted to ask you!"
She looked at Fang Qi through the rearview mirror, her almond eyes blinking rapidly several times.
Forcing out anything that might have been wet.
"In the last loop, Miss An Lian—did anything happen to her?"
"Could it be..."
She twisted in the driver's seat, covering her face with one hand in mock shyness.
"Could it be that Miss An Lian was fine, and Senior only did all this just to save me...!"
"Oh, Senior, you're so kind!"
She squirmed around, face covered!
Fang Qi glared at her!
Hey!
Keep your eyes on the road!
"I'm so touched!"
Lin Xiaoyou kept squirming.
"Senior did so much for me...!"
"Hm?"
A soft yet gentle "Hm?" came from Fang Qi's arms.
Lin Xiaoyou's shy act froze on the spot.
The silver-haired girl lifted her head slightly from Fang Qi's neck.
Her phoenix eyes narrowed, staring at Lin Xiaoyou in the rearview mirror...
Crimson pupils flickered!
Lin Xiaoyou's hand instantly shot away from her face!
"Hey, hey, Liguang, don't look at me like that!"
Both hands gripped the steering wheel tightly; she sat up straight!
"I'm just thanking Senior for saving my life! Pure grati–"
"An Lian also died."
Fang Qi suddenly cut off her words.
His tone was very serious!
The playful grin and feigned sycophancy on Lin Xiaoyou's face froze for a moment.
"An accident."
His voice lowered.
"She slipped at home, hit the back of her head on a table corner, and died instantly."
"And..."
He stared at those slightly widened almond eyes in the rearview mirror.
"It happened at almost the exact same time as you."
The little car continued to cruise steadily.
The cabin fell into a brief silence.
Fang Qi didn't speak further. He lowered his gaze, gently stroking Liguang's back in his arms.
Lin Xiaoyou drove in silence.
On her round little face, all traces of lightness and playfulness... faded away bit by bit.
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"...I see."
She let out a soft laugh.
"So that's how it is. Looks like..."
Her almond eyes narrowed slightly.
"Climbing that crumbling building this time was still pretty meaningful, huh?"
Fang Qi took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil of emotions inside him.
Anyway...
It was now almost certain that Lin Xiaoyou's and An Lian's deaths last loop were "fate's doing"!
But there was another point...
He looked up and focused on the rearview mirror once more.
"What about Xiaoqing, then?"
His eyes narrowed, his tone even more earnest!
"Xiaoqing, how exactly...?"
Why could she have a dream now?
This question was really important.
Xiaoqing was not a key NPC; she had never had memories of a "dream" before!
If Xiaoqing could do it, did that mean...
Others who normally couldn't retain memories might also suddenly awaken at some point?
This question had huge implications!
The silver-haired girl in his arms tilted her head slightly, her heterochromatic eyes also fixed on that round little face in the rearview mirror.
Her crimson pupils flickered rapidly!
Lin Xiaoyou remained silent.
She stared at the road ahead, her usually playful round face uncharacteristically void of any expression.
"...Senior."
She finally spoke.
Her voice was very soft.
“Sister Xiaoqing, she...”
From the rearview mirror, she looked at Fang Qi, then at the silver-haired girl nestled in his arms, whose crimson eyes flickered faintly.
“...is Liguang’s prototype, after all.”
...Huh?
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
