Let's Make a Total Mess of This World

"Wait... that's not right, is it?!"

Fang Qi whipped his head around, locking his eyes on Lin Xiaoyou, lowering his voice into a hushed growl.

His finger was still frozen on the phone screen.

On the screen, those dense disaster alerts were still scrolling and refreshing!

"This...? This is insane!"

He stared at the cheerful little round face in front of him...

And felt like his brain was going through a cataclysmic storm of its own!

Liguang had gotten jealous and angry, and now...

She'd triggered natural disasters all over the world?

His mind was reeling!

What the hell was this?!

And besides...

It didn't make any sense!

If she could really do something like that, then...

Fang Qi pointed at himself stiffly:

"Shouldn't I be the first one to get hit?"

He knew himself far too well!

"How would I know, Senior?"

Lin Xiaoyou shrugged, setting the empty milk tea cup down on the table with a casual tone:

"Liguang is your girl. If even you don't know, then of course I don't either."

She winked at Fang Qi:

"That's why I asked you out for a late-night date, isn't it?"

Fang Qi's expression stiffened slightly.

Damn it.

This Crazy Girl had been using him this whole time to test his Liguang!

But...

His brows furrowed deeply!

Even though the timing lined up, even though Liguang really had gained some kind of "highest authority"...

This was still too unreasonable!

So unreasonable!

Every single thing he'd said in that bathroom earlier was enough to make Liguang snap on the spot, and she hadn't reacted at all.

But now Lin Xiaoyou was telling him her response had been...

An earthquake in the desert?

A tsunami at the equator?

A typhoon in the Pacific?!

Yet toward him, she'd done nothing at all? Not even said a single word?

This...!

...Wait.

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes!

If this was really what happened, then that meant...

"Liguang... she can't control it...?" he murmured.

"Oh?"

Lin Xiaoyou's eyes lit up at once, and she leaned forward!

"Senior, what are you thinking?"

Fang Qi fell silent for a moment.

What was he thinking?

He was thinking that if Liguang could really control these disasters...

He'd probably have been buried alive by a mudslide by now!

Then swept away by a typhoon and tsunami, right into the ocean to feed the sharks!

He pressed his lips together.

...Honestly, he didn't really want to share what stupid things he'd done in that bathroom with Lin Xiaoyou.

But right now, he needed Miss Genius's brain to analyze this.

And besides...

She'd probably already guessed most of it, hadn't she?

"...Here's what happened."

He told Lin Xiaoyou about the whole thing—how he'd tested Liguang today.

How he'd tried every method, both soft and hard...

But his wife hadn't reacted at all!

Hadn't even said a single word!

"So..."

Fang Qi took a deep breath and looked at Lin Xiaoyou.

"If this really was her doing, then she definitely didn't do it on purpose! It must be that she..."

He pressed his lips together, hesitating:

"...can't control it?"

Before him, Miss Genius was chewing on the straw of her empty milk tea, her cheeks slightly puffed.

Rarely, she didn't respond right away.

Fang Qi fell silent too.

Liguang...

Wife...

What the hell did you do?!

Now he was almost certain—Liguang really was watching him!

And she could hear what he was thinking!

Right now, at this very moment...

Those amber-and-crimson heterochromatic eyes were still watching him!

This confirmation...

Made his body relax a little.

Liguang, my wife...

So you really have been here all along.

And those disasters...

Were her losing control of the "highest authority" she'd just obtained?

Because of his "suicidal provocations"...

She'd lost it?

He wasn't trying to make excuses for her...

Okay.

He was totally making excuses for her.

The thought that jealousy could cause disasters and bring suffering to countless people...

He didn't believe his Liguang could do something like that.

Although, yeah, he'd admit—his Liguang probably didn't really care much about anyone else in this world.

Yeah, he acknowledged that much.

She was a crazy woman whose eyes were only on him.

But...

Actively taking her anger out on innocent people all over the world? He didn't think she'd do that!

She didn't care whether others lived or died, but she also wouldn't go out of her way to torment them!

Right, Liguang?

Right, my wife?

You wouldn't actively do something like that, would you?

You...!

"Senior!"

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly spoke up.

"I think you might be right!"

She spat out the chewed-up, deformed straw and swiped a few times on her phone screen.

Fang Qi was momentarily startled.

Then he felt his heart lighten a little.

Getting approval from Miss Genius...

"But then again, Senior..."

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly shoved her phone right up into Fang Qi's face.

"Look!"

...Huh?

Fang Qi looked closer.

On the screen was a world map, covered in...

Densely packed red dots of varying sizes!

At a glance, the whole map looked like it had broken out in a rash!

His eyelid twitched.

"This is...?"

"These are today's disaster zones."

Lin Xiaoyou pushed the phone a little closer.

"Senior, can you see any pattern in how these places are distributed?"

Pattern...?

Fang Qi took her phone, pinching and zooming on the map...

His pupils contracted.

...Why were there this many red dots?

All these were disaster zones?

...Far more than he'd imagined!

The news and trending topics had only reported those few big ones, but on Lin Xiaoyou's map...

Almost every corner of the globe had red dots on it!

Big and small, densely packed!

"...Why are there so many?"

"The news only covers the major disasters!" Lin Xiaoyou said, resting her chin on her hands and smiling at him. "Actually, small-scale disasters are happening nonstop all over the world right now. I set up a script to crawl all the data automatically!"

She lightly tapped the phone in Fang Qi's hands.

"The size of the red dot indicates how severe the disaster is. Of course..."

She blinked:

"There might be some fake reports mixed in, but... overall it should be about right! Good enough for you to look at, Senior!"

Fang Qi was speechless.

So while she was spending time with her family today, she'd also...?

And then he thought about everything he'd done today...

A corner of Fang Qi's mouth twitched.

...No, no!

He shook his head hard!

He'd done a lot today too!

He'd tested his wife, and taken her shopping, damn it!

He...!

"Hey, Senior! Look at the map!"

Lin Xiaoyou glared at him!

...Oh.

Fang Qi snapped back to attention, then lowered his head and continued carefully zooming in and out of the map to examine it.

He roughly scanned those dense red dots.

From tornadoes across the ocean, to tsunamis in the sea.

From blizzards at the equator, to floods in the desert...

The types of disasters were all over the place, with no discernible pattern at all!

But...

His eyelid twitched.

Because he saw a small area with almost no red dots at all.

This is...!

Fang Qi gripped the phone tightly.

It was the city he was currently in!

With it at the center, within a radius of several hundred kilometers...

There were only a few scattered, faint little red dots!

Compared to the dense, massive red dots everywhere else...

This place looked like something was deliberately shielding it!

"Only our area is safe...?" he murmured.

"Exactly!"

Lin Xiaoyou snatched the phone back from his hand and scrolled through the screen a couple more times.

"Senpai, it looks like..."

She lifted her head to look at Fang Qi, a sharp glint flashing in her almond-shaped eyes.

"Your Liguang isn't completely uncontrollable, is she?"

"At least..."

She blinked.

"She can control which areas don't receive the brunt of her 'jealous wrath'!"

Fang Qi: "..."

...Jealous wrath?

If things were really the way Lin Xiaoyou described them...

Then that was actually pretty accurate!

But...!

"Slap!"

Lin Xiaoyou set the phone down on the table with a thud, leaned forward, and her round little face drew a few inches closer!

She stared at him, her voice dropping low:

"Senpai, your Liguang really seems to have gotten seriously riled up by you!"

"She can't control her jealousy anymore!"

"Her jealousy is going to destroy the whole world!"

Fang Qi: "..."

"B-u-t..."

She stared at him.

"She's also scared. She's afraid that if the disaster gets too severe, it'll hurt you, Senpai. It'll cause your death..."

"But she can't control it~"

"So what does she do?"

She tapped a finger lightly on the table.

"She can only find a way to protect you."

"Right now, the only thing she can do, maybe, is..."

Her almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents.

"Make sure the disaster at least doesn't happen right next to you, Senpai?"

"At least..."

She glanced at the phone.

"The current signs are telling me exactly that, aren't they?"

Then she suddenly looked up again, locking her eyes onto Fang Qi's!

"Liguang, can you see me?"

Her almond eyes narrowed, and the corner of her mouth curled up.

"You're looking at me through your master's eyes, aren't you?"

"Did I guess right?"

Of course, Liguang didn't respond to her.

But Fang Qi's brows furrowed even deeper.

"...No way!"

He immediately shook his head.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Liguang 'protecting' me right now? Not a chance!"

It was the same refrain: Liguang would be lucky not to destroy him, let alone protect him!

Today, he had provoked her to the absolute max!

The things he'd done today...

If she were right there beside him, she'd have bitten him to death and reset the timeline long ago!

And then she'd stuff him in the basement, tie him up, and go at him mercilessly every single day...!

Ahem.

...Anyway, how could she possibly still want to protect him?

The fact that he hadn't been fed to the sharks yet was already divine mercy from the Machine God!

Wait...

Actually, it seemed to be Goddess Li Guang now...?

But Lin Xiaoyou just blinked.

"Senpai, is there a possibility that..."

She said softly:

"Senpai can no longer just 'die' whenever he wants now?"

...Huh?

Fang Qi was taken aback.

...Can't just die.

He stared at Lin Xiaoyou's faintly smiling round face, his gaze sharpening.

What Lin Xiaoyou meant was...

He couldn't reset anymore?

The round-faced girl in front of him was idly crushing her empty milk tea cup in her hand, making it crackle.

"If Senpai can't 'die' anymore now, then..."

She smiled at Fang Qi.

"Doesn't all the logic just fall into place?"

"Even though Liguang is jealous, she..."

She winked at Fang Qi again.

"She'd never truly hurt Senpai, right?"

Fang Qi stared straight at her.

...What was she even talking about?

But she had a point...? The logic seemed sound...?

...She was right.

If he couldn't reset now, if his death in this world was a real, permanent death...

Then Liguang would definitely protect him, no matter what.

Even if every tectonic plate on the planet shattered...

She wouldn't let a single hair on his head be harmed.

If it was really like Lin Xiaoyou said—Liguang being torn between her spinning-out-of-control jealousy and her deepest instinct to protect him, ultimately...

This was all she could do.

Let the whole world bear the brunt of her jealousy, while keeping every inch of ground beneath his feet as still as a mirror.

...The logic held up.

But...

"...!"

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

Then raised his hand and rubbed his tired, dry eyes hard!

This was all nonsense!

Everything was just guesses made by Miss Genius!

Wild, fanciful guesses!

Absolutely ridiculous!

"...This whole thing is just your speculation!"

He rubbed his brow even harder!

His head was pounding!

"Your theory is way too far-fetched...!"

"What do you mean 'speculation'!"

Lin Xiaoyou planted her hands on her hips, her round face full of indignation!

"This is science!"

She glared at Fang Qi.

"Based on current evidence, you make inferences, form a hypothesis, and then go test it!"

"It's perfectly scientific!"

"Right now, I'm at the 'forming a hypothesis' stage!"

"Just tell me, Senpai: does the logic check out or not?"

"Next step, we 'test the hypothesis'!"

Test the hypothesis...?

Fang Qi looked down at the news on his phone screen.

The trending list kept refreshing, new disaster reports popping up one after another.

He stared at those alarming headlines, unable to articulate exactly what he was feeling at the moment.

A hypothesis?

The hypothesis was that Liguang gets jealous, and the whole world pays the price?

...What kind of nonsense was this!

This was way too "scientific"!

He slumped back heavily into the booth seat, staring up at the ceiling...

Zoning out.

Honey, you're really still here, aren't you?

This thing—was it you?

Liguang, what...

Exactly what are you trying to do?

And how do I get you to come back to my side again?

I want Liguang to stand before me, real and tangible.

I want to hold Liguang's warm, soft body.

I want to pinch your puffed-out cheeks when you get jealous.

...I want to go back to the original world.

So...

What do I do next?

Win Liguang over?

Apologize?

Fang Qi stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Liguang, honey, I'm sorry!

I won't dare do it again!

Please stop all this, okay?

Can we just go back to the original timeline, please?

We...!

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, a small hand reached for his wrist!

Fang Qi: "?!"

His reflexes were faster than his thoughts—he yanked his hand back instantly!

Then glared at the owner of that hand!

"What are you doing?!"

Lin Xiaoyou blinked, casually withdrawing her hand.

"Wow, Senpai, fast reflexes..."

She muttered something under her breath.

Then she placed her hands on her knees, sat up straight, and raised her eyes to him again...

B linking innocently:

"Senpai, the thing is, that's all I know. Beyond that, I can't think of anything else..."

"But..."

She looked at Fang Qi, a slow smile spreading across her lips!

"I know one thing: if you want to make discoveries, you can't just stay where you are!"

"We need to make changes to uncover more!"

"So... Senpai!!"

She suddenly shot up from her seat!

"SLAM!"

Both hands slammed onto the table!

Her body lunged forward, her almond eyes blazing with unnatural intensity!

Fang Qi: "?!"

He jolted backward, startled by her sudden move!

And then—

"Let's go book a hotel room!!"

The crisp declaration rang out through the entire milk tea shop!

Every sound in the shop came to a halt, leaving only the soft background music playing.

The young people at the next table, who'd been discussing the trending topics, all turned their heads in unison, forgetting to drink their milk teas.

The barista who'd been whipping up the cheese foam twitched his wrist, smearing foam all over his hand!

A customer who had just pushed open the glass door froze halfway through the entrance, his face a perfect picture of "did I walk into the wrong place"!

Fang Qi tilted his head, looking a bit dazed.

What?

What did she just say?

She...

Huh...?

Huh?!?!

His eyes flew wide open instantly, staring at the... perfectly serious round-faced girl in front of him!

No way, girl!

You're looking that serious, what are you trying to say?!

You're actually serious about...?!

You... you... you...!

You know exactly what happens when you make Liguang jealous, and you still...?

His lips trembled, one finger shaking as he pointed at Lin Xiaoyou!

"You...!"

"BOOM!!!"

Outside the window, a muffled thunderclap exploded deep in the clouds!

A violet-white bolt of lightning tore through the night sky!

The neon signs outside the mall flickered violently from the shock!

Even the glass windows of the milk tea shop were rattling!

But...

Lin Xiaoyou wasn't affected by the thunder outside at all.

She just stood there under the harsh fluorescent light of the milk tea shop, both hands planted on the table...

Staring straight at Fang Qi!

"Senior, this world... is truly wonderful, isn't it?"

Her voice had softened considerably.

"Except there's no Sister Xiaoqing, everything else... is just perfect."

"Dad is amazing, Mom is amazing, my little brother is amazing..."

The corners of her mouth curled up bit by bit, her eyes crinkling into crescents, carrying a hint of happiness.

"Everyone, absolutely everyone is amazing!"

"So, Senior...!"

Suddenly, she took a fierce step forward!

Fang Qi: "?!"

He too jerked backward, retreating half a step.

Staring at this crazy girl in front of him!

Stay away from me!

But before his eyes, those almond-shaped eyes were burning painfully bright!

Something insane was blazing relentlessly within them!

She stared at him, the corners of her mouth lifting higher and higher!

"What I can't have..."

She murmured softly.

"I just have to destroy it completely."

"Otherwise..."

Her gaze began to drift slightly out of focus!

"I won't be able to let go."

"So, Senior..."

She smiled again.

A brilliant smile aimed at Fang Qi, her eyes still curved in crescents!

"Let's make a change together, shall we?"

"Let's uncover the truth together, shall we?"

"Together, with your Liguang, let's take this world...!"

Her gaze was out of focus yet filled with madness, her lips trembling slightly!

"TURN IT ALL UPSIDE DOWN!!!"

"BOOM—!!!"

Another pale lightning bolt exploded outside the window!

Illuminating her manic, ecstatic expression!

But...

The rims of her eyes were clearly red.

Fang Qi stared at her!

...Yet he couldn't say a single word.

This global catastrophe... perhaps it really was Liguang's doing.

Whether Liguang did it on purpose or lost control, he didn't know.

But one thing was very clear to him.

The crazy girl before him—she really, truly, absolutely meant to—!

"BOOM—!!!"

Another thunderclap!

Fang Qi's gaze flickered violently, but the round-faced girl's expression only grew more excited, more deranged!

...God damn it!!!

This woman...!

She'd been the same reckless maniac from start to finish!!