That Faint Touch of Blue

The taxi drove out of the city.

Fang Qi leaned against the back seat, watching the buildings outside gradually grow sparser.

…Now, he was on his way to “Morningstar.”

When he had gotten into the cab, he’d given the driver the address and casually asked whether it was far away.

The driver, a man in his fifties, glanced at the navigation and said, “Not exactly close. Nearly thirty kilometers, out in the suburbs.”

Fang Qi felt slightly relieved.

That made sense.

In this world line, “Morningstar” was just a small workshop.

It didn’t even have an official website. The number of employees was unknown, and the only contact information was a company email address.

A little workshop like that couldn’t possibly afford to rent an office in a commercial district.

It was only natural for it to be somewhere remote.

The taxi cruised steadily along the elevated highway.

Outside the window, the scenery changed from dense clusters of residential buildings to scattered factories, and then to vast stretches of wasteland.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling warmly across the back of Fang Qi’s hand.

His mood had been fairly good at first. After all, he had finally found a direction to pursue.

But gradually, as they traveled farther and farther from home…

A sense of unease began to well up inside him.

He couldn’t say exactly when it had begun. He was watching the rows of roadside trees rushing backward outside the window when…

The little figurine suddenly flashed through his mind.

At that very moment, the silver-haired, heterochromic-eyed figurine was probably kneeling all alone on his gaming desk.

…Were her crimson eyes still glowing?

He had been in such a hurry when he left that he seemed to have…

forgotten to turn off the red glow in her eyes.

So was she now sitting in that empty room, emitting an eerie red light?

Fang Qi slowly clenched his fist.

He didn’t know why he was feeling this way.

He knew that the figurine wasn’t Liguang.

She couldn’t speak or move. She was merely an exquisite little plastic figure, a collection of resin and electronic components.

But he still couldn’t suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

Perhaps it was because he had mistaken her for Liguang before.

And then…

Without realizing it, he had placed his feelings in her.

…He had left that immobile “Liguang” alone at home.

Fang Qi: “…”

He stared out the window and swallowed slightly.

For a moment, he felt an urge to ask the driver to turn around.

To go back, take the figurine with him, and at least keep it close in his pocket…!

But the next second, he shook his head.

Liguang was gone, and he had actually begun placing his feelings in a little figurine?

Although the figurine had star-shaped earrings, making it obviously special…

It still wasn’t Liguang.

Besides, those little figurines weren’t exactly sturdy. He couldn’t bring it outside—one careless bump and it could break.

It wasn’t Liguang, but…

It did have Liguang’s appearance, after all. If it broke, he would still feel heartbroken.

Fang Qi pursed his lips as he watched the streets slide backward outside the window.

Come to think of it, if Liguang found out about this, he had a feeling that…

She would even get jealous of the figurine.

His crazy wife had truly lost her “reason” in the most literal sense. She was even jealous of things she herself had permitted.

…Adorable.

The corners of Fang Qi’s lips lifted slightly.

Then he shook his head.

…Forget it. No point thinking about it.

He pushed those jumbled thoughts aside.

He was beginning to get used to this calmness.

Liguang, if you don’t come back and reclaim your authority soon…

Your master is going to turn into a cold, expressionless statue.

…

The taxi continued onward.

They had already left the city proper.

The asphalt road was not particularly wide, and sparse factories and stretches of wasteland lay on either side.

…Hmm?

Fang Qi suddenly froze slightly as he looked out the window.

Why did this place…

feel familiar?

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the scenery outside.

He was certain he had traveled along this road before.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have felt so familiar.

But…

As he looked at the several unfinished buildings in the distance, he frowned slightly.

When had that been?

He thought for a moment.

The only road he was familiar with now should have been…

the road leading to the mountain where the underground research facility was located.

He had traveled that road far too many times.

But…

No.

This road was going in the wrong direction altogether. It wasn’t the road to that mountain.

…What was going on?

Fang Qi furrowed his brow slightly.

His senses were now far sharper than an ordinary person’s.

His wife’s “authority” could be trusted, so this feeling of familiarity wasn’t an illusion.

He had definitely been here before.

Could it be…

His eyes widened slightly.

Was it a fragment of this world line’s “Fang Qi’s” hazy memories?

Had “Fang Qi” in this world line visited Morningstar before?

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Come to think of it, that was entirely possible.

The figurines were custom-made, and he was an “important client.”

There was a real chance he had visited the company in the past.

Unfortunately…

Unlike Sister An Lian before and Lin Xiaoyou now, he had no memories related to this world line.

He knew nothing about “Fang Qi’s” daily life in this world line.

Perhaps this was the disadvantage of being The Eyes of the World?

Although he would not lose his own memories, he was also unable to access memories that did not belong to him.

Fang Qi shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

They would be there soon.

Once he met the people from Morningstar, he would naturally learn the truth.

Liguang, in the previous world line, you were a little waitress at a steamed-bun shop…

And in this one…

You couldn’t possibly be a beautiful employee at Morningstar, could you?

The corners of Fang Qi’s lips curled up slightly.

It really was possible.

The driver sure was taking his time.

…

The driver wasn’t much of a talker. He simply drove in silence the entire way.

Fang Qi was quiet as well, leaning back in his seat and watching the scenery continue to recede outside the window.

Then…

The corners of his raised lips gradually fell.

Because…

That feeling of familiarity was growing stronger and stronger.

His brows drew together more tightly.

No.

Could this place be…?

“We’re here.”

The taxi came to a stop, and the driver reminded him.

Fang Qi got out and stood by the side of the road, staring at the desolate, abandoned buildings in this suburban wasteland.

He froze.

Several derelict buildings stood alone amid the overgrown weeds.

Their walls were mottled, their windows completely gone, leaving behind nothing but dark, empty holes.

Exposed rebar jutted out from the rooftops, rust-covered beneath the sunlight.

The place had clearly been abandoned for a very long time.

Fang Qi: “…?”

His first reaction was to take out his phone and check the address.

…There was no mistake.

This was the address.

He raised his head and looked at the abandoned buildings before him again.

The buildings were completely deserted. There was no sign bearing the name “Morningstar,” nor even a decent company sign of any kind.

But most importantly…

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.

He had seen these abandoned buildings before.

He really had.

Fang Qi slowly lowered his phone as he stared at the familiar outlines of the structures, his pupils contracting slightly.

He had guessed wrong.

The reason the place had seemed familiar wasn’t some memory belonging to “Fang Qi” in this world line.

The truth was, he had genuinely been here before, several loops ago!

This was…

This was the abandoned complex where Lin Xiaoyou had verified the existence of “fate”!

The nearest building was the very one from which she had lost her footing and fallen after hearing Xiaoqing’s cries.

It was also…

Fang Qi pursed his lips lightly, and the corners of his mouth curved up once more.

It was also the place where he and Liguang had “died together.”

They had embraced and leaped from the rooftop of that building.

This place was filled with memories.

But…

Fang Qi stared at the buildings, feeling faintly bewildered.

On this worldline, the abandoned complex looked almost exactly as it had before.

The crumbling buildings, the rubble scattered across the ground, the rusted rebar…

No wonder the road here had seemed so familiar.

But why?

Why would the address Morningstar Corporation had given him…

be here?

Or was it somewhere nearby…?

“Driver.”

Fang Qi suddenly turned around.

“Is there an office building around here?”

The driver had already been preparing to turn the car around.

But when he heard the question, he took another look at Fang Qi, his brows immediately drawing together.

“Kid, you weren’t scammed, were you?”

…Scammed?

“This whole area has been abandoned for more than ten years. Where would a company office come from?”

The driver explained:

“A few years back, there was even a human-trafficking case here. The police came and sealed the place off.”

Fang Qi’s eyelid twitched.

Abandoned for more than ten years…

Just like in the previous worldline?

“Kid…”

The driver’s tone grew sympathetic, and he put on the air of someone who had seen it all.

“Did you find a job online, and then someone sent you a fake address?”

Fang Qi was silent for two seconds.

The driver had clearly misunderstood.

But he had no mind to explain, so he merely shook his head.

“It’s nothing, sir. I just came to take a look.”

The driver sighed and shook his head as well.

He probably thought Fang Qi had been scammed but was still clinging to a sliver of hope.

“Kid, don’t go wandering around in a place like this.”

“There could still be danger inside. Why don’t you come back with me?”

He tried to dissuade Fang Qi.

“I won’t charge you for the ride back. It’s a long way, and getting scammed like that is bad enough.”

He really was a good man.

But…

“Thank you, sir, but there’s no need.”

Fang Qi waved his hand.

He wasn’t afraid of danger.

His senses were far sharper than an ordinary person’s now.

Even if human traffickers really were hiding inside, he could find them with ease. There was no chance of someone sneaking up behind him and knocking him unconscious.

More importantly…

He turned back toward the ruins.

There didn’t seem to be anyone here.

Just like in the previous run, the abandoned buildings were completely empty.

But perhaps…

A little goddess was waiting for him here.

Of course he couldn’t leave.

“Thank you. I’ll just have a look around.”

Fang Qi nodded at the driver.

“I’ll be fine.”

Seeing that Fang Qi was determined to stay, the driver didn’t try to persuade him any further. He only reminded him several times to be careful before starting the car and turning around.

The taxi’s taillights quickly disappeared behind the trees.

The surroundings fell completely silent. The only sound was the wind blowing through the wild grass.

Fang Qi stood where he was, then turned back once more to look at the abandoned complex.

He had come here again.

Last time, he had arrived holding Liguang’s hand.

But this time…

he was alone.

He had come to find the person who had once held his hand.

Fang Qi took a deep breath and stepped into the ruins.

…

He lowered his head and looked at the ground in front of the first building.

This was where Lin Xiaoyou had once fallen, and where he and Liguang had landed. In the previous worldline, there had been a pool of blood here.

But naturally, there was no blood now.

Only broken stones and dust covered the ground, with weeds growing from the cracks. It looked no different from anywhere else.

Liguang wasn’t here.

He entered the building and skirted around the crumbling staircase, looking toward the corner behind it.

There was nothing there, save for a few cobwebs hanging in the corner.

This was the place where Lin Xiaoyou and Xiaoqing had once embraced each other and “fallen asleep.”

Liguang wasn’t here either.

He searched several more buildings.

The “authority” Liguang had given him allowed him to sense the entire area with ease.

That was why he could even detect the traces left behind in the corners.

A few yellowed cigarette butts, a shattered syringe, some indistinct graffiti on the wall…

Human trafficking had indeed taken place here.

Fang Qi emerged from the final building, frowning slightly.

He hadn’t sensed any trace of Liguang.

Not even a single fragment of pale blue light.

Nor that faint pull, or the familiar sweet scent of strawberries.

But there was still one place he hadn’t searched.

He was now standing beneath the building where he and Liguang had once leaped from. He raised his head…

and looked toward the roof.

The exposed rebar along the rooftop’s edge looked grotesque.

That was where he and Liguang had leaped to their “place of martyrdom.”

Perhaps there would be a trace up there?

But the building had been left to decay for years, and climbing to the roof would be anything but easy.

Last time, Liguang had pulled him up again and again. Without her, he probably would have fallen to his death before making it halfway.

He couldn’t afford to die right now.

He was afraid that he would fall straight into the rift in the world and never be able to find Liguang again.

But…

Fang Qi looked at the rooftop and smiled faintly.

It wouldn’t be a problem.

With his authority, climbing this building should be manageable.

After all, he could now predict the future two seconds in advance!

And since that rooftop was the “place of martyrdom” he shared with Liguang, perhaps there really was…

Huh?!

Fang Qi’s pupils suddenly contracted!

Something had moved!

On the rooftop!

It looked like…

a flash of pale blue?!

Wait…!

Fang Qi froze in place, his gaze locked onto the spot along the roof’s edge.

But when he focused on it again, there was nothing but dazzling sunlight, filling his vision with blinding spots.

But he had seen it just now!

He was absolutely certain!

That pale blue shape looked like…

the hem of a skirt?!

“Who’s there?!”

He shouted without thinking.

“Liguang! Is that you?!”

There was no answer.

The surroundings were utterly silent, with only the echo of his voice resounding through the ruins.

But Fang Qi could feel his heart pounding wildly!

That pale blue color…!

It was her, wasn’t it?!

It had to be, right?!

It absolutely was!!

Without another moment’s hesitation, he dashed into the building and charged toward the broken staircase.

Liguang!

I found you!