Taking Riko to See the World

Lunch.

The An family's dining table wasn't large; six people sat in a circle, with plates stacked two layers high.

Uncle An sat at the head of the table, while Aunt Li kept piling food onto Fang Qi's plate.

An Ming sat across from him, raising his glass in a toast from time to time.

An Lian sat beside Fang Qi, occasionally flashing him a smile.

The little boy was strapped in his booster seat, gripping a chicken drumstick with both hands, his face smeared with grease, and every so often he'd tilt his head up and grin at Fang Qi.

His missing front tooth made him look both goofy and adorable.

...

Everything felt warm and cozy.

But Fang Qi couldn't shake the feeling...

That pair of amber-and-crimson mismatched eyes was hovering up on the ceiling.

Or maybe hiding in the thick shade of the trees outside the window.

...Staring straight at him!

Just thinking about his little taunt in the bathroom made his scalp crawl...

But then again, he'd probed so many times without getting any reaction...

Which meant, at least for now, he was safe!

As for when Liguang would regain her powers and come after him...

That was a problem for later!

Later problems—deal with them later!

So Fang Qi gritted his teeth and stood up, raising his glass!

"Uncle An, a toast to you! Congratulations on the promotion!"

Uncle An froze for a moment, then a big smile spread across his face.

He stood up with his glass and said, "Cheers!"

An Ming egged them on from the side, Aunt Li shook her head with a laugh, and An Lian watched him with a smile, holding her teacup.

The little boy, who'd finished his drumstick and moved on to corn on the cob, had no idea what all the adults were making a fuss about, but he giggled along anyway.

Fang Qi downed the drink in one gulp.

When he sat back down, he felt a slight burn in his throat.

He looked at the scene before him...

And felt his chest tighten.

Every bit of warmth he'd experienced at the An house today was real.

Uncle An truly treated him like one of the family. Aunt Li genuinely cared for him. An Lian had real concern in her eyes.

That sincerity was heavy, pressing on his chest until it ached.

But Fang Qi also knew very well... this warmth...

Was built on a world where Liguang didn't exist.

If he wanted to bring Liguang back, he'd have to return to the original timeline.

Lin Xiaoyou had to go back to the original timeline too, if she wanted to find Xiaoqing.

Fang Qi lowered his eyes and poured himself another glass.

So this time, he was going to savor every moment with them.

Once this meal was over...

He'd be going back.

...To find his Crazy Girl.

...

By the time lunch was over, it was almost two in the afternoon.

Fang Qi got up to leave, and the whole An family immediately crowded around him to persuade him to stay.

Aunt Li grabbed his hand and said, "Stay a while longer." Uncle An said there were leftovers and they could just reheat them for dinner. An Ming said, "Xiao Qi, you're not working today, what's the rush?"

Fang Qi smiled and waved them off, saying he still had work to deal with and really couldn't stay, and the whole "heartbreak" thing—he'd already gotten over it!

An Lian looked at him, opening her mouth as if to say something...

But in the end, she didn't ask.

She just said softly, "Then let me walk you out."

"No, no!"

Fang Qi quickly refused.

"It's not a short distance between our places. Driving there and back would be too much trouble for you! I'll just grab a cab."

An Lian was about to say something else, but An Ming had already stood up:

"Then we'll at least walk you to the entrance!"

In the end, An Lian and An Ming both went down with him to the ground floor.

The little boy tagged along, his short legs pumping as he dashed ahead of everyone else.

An Ming clapped Fang Qi on the shoulder, saying, "Come by whenever you're free," while An Lian stood by the building entrance, watching him.

She still wanted to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words.

The little boy looked up, his big eyes sparkling, and suddenly called out:

"Uncle, come back again!"

Fang Qi bent down and tousled his hair, smiling as he said, "Okay."

He straightened up and glanced at the window on the third floor above the entrance.

Aunt Li was leaning halfway out the window, waving at him. Uncle An stood beside her, and when he saw Fang Qi look up, he waved too, smiling.

Fang Qi raised his hand and waved back.

"Goodbye!"

Maybe... we'll meet again.

It wasn't until he turned a corner and looked back one last time that the figures of An Lian and An Ming standing at the entrance finally disappeared from view.

Fang Qi walked slowly along the path he'd come.

He didn't move fast.

The afternoon sun was warm, and the shadows of the treetops swayed gently with the wind.

Compared to the liveliness of the morning, the old neighborhood was much quieter in the afternoon.

Under the shade of the trees, only an elderly woman was walking her dog at a leisurely pace, the little dog sniffing around the base of a tree, its tail wagging happily.

Fang Qi walked through the shade, feeling the cool breeze against his face, the alcohol haze fading a little.

He looked at everything around him, and let out a quiet chuckle.

"Liguang, look..." he murmured softly.

"This place is so nice."

"Let's live in a place like this together someday, okay?"

"Find a street like this, plant a few trees like these."

He kept walking, talking softly to himself.

"Old men playing chess downstairs, old ladies walking their dogs, little kids running around with water guns..."

"We'll cook together, watch TV together, just sit on the couch and space out together."

"When we're old, you'll hold my arm like this..."

He let out a breath that still carried a hint of alcohol.

"And we'll take a slow walk in the shade."

No response.

Fang Qi wasn't expecting one.

He just...

Hoped those words would drift to some corner he couldn't touch.

Drift into those amber-and-crimson mismatched eyes.

When he reached the entrance to the neighborhood, Fang Qi finally noticed the worn stone plaque beside the gate.

He looked at the words carved into it and pressed his lips together.

Sure enough, this wasn't just any old neighborhood.

This had once been a police family compound.

Fang Qi stared at the plaque for a long time, then turned and walked out through the gate.

Outside was a narrow single-lane road.

The roadside trees were even more lush than the ones inside the neighborhood, their canopies covering the entire street in deep shade.

There wasn't much traffic—only a middle-aged man on a bicycle drifting lazily past, a few spring onions in his basket.

A few barks echoed in the distance.

Fang Qi stood by the side of the road.

The slight tipsiness he'd felt had mostly faded in the wind.

...He didn't call a taxi.

He didn't want to go home just yet.

Besides...

Was that apartment even his home anymore?

He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled forward along the shade.

Her room had been turned into a study. Her charging dock had vanished without a trace.

Every single piece of evidence that she'd ever existed had been wiped clean.

If he went back, he'd just be walking into an empty space, sitting alone on the sofa, staring at air that no longer smelled of tea.

That wasn't home.

But.

Fang Qi looked up at the sky, visible in fragments through the gaps in the leaves above, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

If Lin Xiaoyou's theory was right—if Liguang was really perceiving all of this through his eyes right now—then...

He wasn't alone at this moment.

He was walking this old street together with Liguang.

She was seeing this shade through his eyes, feeling the scent of braised meat in the wind through his breath.

She might not be able to speak. She might not be able to reach out and touch him. But...

They weren't apart.

Not bad!

"Liguang..." he said softly.

"Let your master show you this world, okay?"

Fang Qi didn't go straight home.

He went to the park instead, sat by the lake for a while, and watched a few kids flying kites on the lawn.

Liguang, it feels like we haven't been to a park together before.

We'll have to make up for that!

He passed by the snack street again, bought a stick of candied hawthorns, and took a bite—the sourness made him squint. Then he bought a bowl of stir-fried bean jelly and hissed as the spiciness hit him.

He tried a little bit of every snack.

Does Liguang think it tastes good?

Is it different from how you taste things?

In the evening, the setting sun bathed the entire street in a warm orange glow.

Fang Qi had a sudden idea—he decided to take the subway home.

It had been a long time since he'd ridden the subway.

Ever since he'd come to this world, when did he ever get the chance to ride a subway?

It was rush hour, and the car was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Fang Qi was squeezed in the middle of a sea of people.

To his left was a programmer with a backpack, to his right a female office worker wearing earphones and dozing with her eyes closed...

Behind him, people kept shoving and pushing.

He felt like a patty stuck in the middle of a burger!

Every time the train braked, he ended up in close contact with the people beside him!

But the corner of Fang Qi's mouth curled up.

He was a little tipsy right now, and his courage had grown.

So, Liguang?

Mad?

Mad or not, huh?

If you're mad, then come out!

Stop playing hide-and-seek with your master!

Inside the car, there was still only the broadcast announcing stops and the rumbling of the train.

He squeezed through six stops, and by the time he finally escaped from the subway, he felt like he'd been compressed into a thinner shape.

He stood at the subway exit, looking at the sky gradually darkening...

and let out a long sigh.

By the time he got home, it was completely dark.

Fang Qi sank into the sofa cushions, staring blankly at the empty coffee table.

"Liguang..."

He stared at that empty surface, murmuring softly:

"If I'd never met you, then I might..."

"have really become a member of Sister An Lian's family."

The alcohol hadn't fully worn off, and his head felt a little heavy.

"Uncle An and Aunt Li have been so good to me, and Brother An Ming treats me like his own little brother. They really do care about me."

"It's all your fault."

"So... come out, okay."

Silence.

...So quiet.

For the first time, he felt how quiet this apartment could be.

Then...

Fang Qi suddenly raised both hands!

"Slap!"

He slapped his own cheeks hard!

A crisp sound rang out!

Both sides of his face stung fiercely!

It hurt so much that his eyes welled up with involuntary tears!

Hiss—!

But the pain snapped his muddled mind wide awake in an instant!

Most of the drunkenness was smacked away, and the last bit of tipsy warmth faded too.

...Time to sober up.

Today had really been...

Fang Qi pressed his lips together.

He'd spent a day without Liguang, but...

she was everywhere in everything.

It was time to figure out how to end all of this!

Time to bring her back!

Fang Qi pulled out his phone and dialed Lin Xiaoyou's number directly!

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Senior...?"

The voice on the other end was very low, clearly a whisper.

"What's up? I'm out watching a movie with my family!"

Fang Qi could hear faint dialogue and background music from a movie on the other end.

Sounded like some romance film—was the female lead crying?

His mouth twitched, and he lowered his voice:

"Seriously, are you done or not? Don't you want your Xiaoqing sister anymore? You're watching a movie!"

"Of course I want her!"

Lin Xiaoyou kept her voice low, but her tone was perfectly confident.

"But that doesn't mean I can't spend time with my family! What's the rush, Senior?"

"The movie's got about ten minutes left... okay, how about this?"

"It's almost over anyway, so—do you want to come to me, or should I come to your place?"

She laughed smugly on the other end.

"Let's have a date—under the night sky!"

Fang Qi: "..."

This woman is out of her mind.