Li Guang Smells So Good

Fang Qi sprawled across the sofa, his head resting against the soft cushion, his eyes fixed on the frosted-glass door to the kitchen.

Behind the frosted glass, a slender figure was bustling about.

Firelight shone through the glass, flickering on and off as it cast her shadow across the door. The high ponytail she had hastily tied up behind her head swayed back and forth.

“Hmm-hmm~ Hmm-hmm-hmm~”

The sounds of cooking were mixed with her tuneless humming.

Fang Qi simply leaned there on the sofa, quietly watching her shadow through the door.

…How long had it been?

How long had it been since he had last seen Liguang like this?

Fang Qi was slightly dazed.

To be honest, he couldn’t remember.

How long had the previous round lasted?

Two months? Three months?

Or six months?

He didn’t know.

During the days he had lost Liguang, he had been drifting through life in a daze.

Every day had been vague and indistinct, with neither a beginning nor an end.

The only things he could remember were that hollow feeling in his chest and…

The faint red glow emitted by the figurine beside his pillow every night.

He shook his head, casting those thoughts aside.

He didn’t want to think about those things anymore.

…Crazy Girl, you really outdid yourself.

Although, from a certain perspective, the previous round…

Could be considered a trap he had set after recovering his memories?

He had deliberately shut off his memory switch and completely broken down in front of Liguang, using it to numb the world and strip away its authority.

It looked like he had won.

But in reality?

Fang Qi watched the busy figure in the kitchen and pressed his lips together slightly.

As for the plan he had made after recovering his memories, he didn’t have any real sense of it. All he knew was that…

His Crazy Girl had completely achieved her goal.

Leaning against the back of the sofa, he smiled helplessly.

“What a Crazy Girl…”

he murmured.

He really had to hand it to her.

That Crazy Girl had ultimately made him personally experience what “a world without Liguang” was like.

She had made him struggle in the depths of despair…

Then, when she finally reached out her hand, she had made him understand completely:

See? Without Liguang, you can’t survive.

At least, for the current him—who had lost his memories…

She had won absolutely.

He’d been emotionally manipulated, so what could he do about it?

This was an open plot!

He simply couldn’t live without his wife. What else could he do?

He’d starve to death without his wife!

Fang Qi’s gaze fell on the frosted glass of the kitchen door.

The firelight was still flickering. The clatter of the spatula and her humming drifted out from the kitchen together.

He had already drunk most of the tea on the table.

Things that had once felt perfectly natural now gave him such a…

Deep sense of happiness.

Was this what they meant by “absence makes the heart grow fonder”?

Fang Qi blinked.

But weren’t they newlyweds to begin with?

Tsk, tsk.

They had been through so much in between that it felt as though several years had passed!

Listening to the sounds of cooking from the kitchen, he slumped into the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.

So relaxing.

If this had been the old him, he probably would have already dragged Liguang outside on a date.

An amusement park, a movie theater, an aquarium…

He had even thought that now that his wife had finally returned, he absolutely had to drag Liguang out for some fun.

He wanted to make up for all the things they had missed, lost, and suffered through in the previous round…

By drowning them all in happiness!

But now, he didn’t feel that way anymore.

He didn’t want to go out.

He didn’t want to create so many more variables.

Those unknown and uncontrollable things that might take Liguang away from him once again…

Right now, he didn’t want to touch them at all!

He didn’t want to think about so many things anymore!

He only wanted to stay home with Liguang and rest for a day.

To cling to each other!

To be sweet and affectionate!

To keep things simple.

She would cook for him, and he would get in her way.

She would make tea for him, and he would pinch her cheeks.

They could curl up together on the sofa and watch some boring TV show, or…

Do nothing at all?

Just lean against each other and stare into space.

Yeah.

That would be nice too.

“Ding!”

The sudden sound of a message interrupted his thoughts.

Fang Qi lazily reached over and picked up the phone from the coffee table. When he looked down, he saw a message from Lin Xiaoyou.

[Lin Xiaoyou: Senior, Senior! I see you’re already “done being busy.” Can I come over to see you now?!]

Fang Qi: “…”

No! You! Cannot!

And how did she know he was “done being busy”…?

…Ah.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly!

He instinctively turned his head toward the floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony.

The window that had always reflected the light and made it impossible to see anything clearly was no longer reflective.

Because it had been opened wide, with the curtains drawn to either side. And behind the window…

Two familiar people were standing there.

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes as he looked over.

His eyesight really was much better than before.

Even from this distance, he could see the expressions on their faces clearly!

Lin Xiaoyou was waving at him energetically!

She wore a pale-yellow hoodie, and her round face was filled with excitement!

She looked as though she could hardly wait to fly over from the opposite building right then and there!

And behind her…

Xiaoqing was gripping Lin Xiaoyou’s arm tightly.

She was still dressed in gray, her hair hanging loose around her shoulders. Her brows were furrowed, and her face was full of displeasure and wariness!

She seemed unwilling to let Lin Xiaoyou come over.

Fang Qi shook his head.

Miss Genius, honestly…

He picked up his phone and sent Lin Xiaoyou a message:

[Fang Qi: Let’s forget it for today. It took so much effort for Liguang to finally come back, so I want to spend a quiet, relaxing day with her. You should spend some quality time with your Sister Xiaoqing too.]

You finally got to see Sister Xiaoqing again. Couldn’t you spend some time with her instead?

Stop causing trouble for just one day!

After sending the message, he looked toward the balcony window again.

Inside the opposite apartment, Lin Xiaoyou looked down at her phone and pursed her lips, her expression gradually turning unhappy.

Behind her, Xiaoqing leaned over to look at the screen as well…

Then her eyes lit up. She grabbed Lin Xiaoyou’s arm and began saying something!

They were too far away, and the window of his balcony was still closed, so Fang Qi couldn’t hear what Xiaoqing was saying.

But judging from the way she was acting…

Xiaoqing was nodding vigorously as she spoke, pointing toward him with an urgent expression…

She was probably saying something like, “He’s right,” “Listen to him,” or “Don’t go bother them.”

The corners of Fang Qi’s lips lifted slightly.

Xiaoqing, you’re doing the right thing.

If your master came over, my Liguang would definitely “educate” her!

Your master…

She really had worn Liguang’s clothes!

Across the way, Lin Xiaoyou kept her lips pursed for a long while before finally lowering her head and tapping away at her screen a few times.

“Ding!”

[Lin Xiaoyou: All right, then, Senior. I was too impatient. Besides… you and Liguang aren’t going anywhere!]

[Lin Xiaoyou: I’ll spend some quality time with Xiaoqing first, then! After all… during those hundred days when I wasn’t around, she spent a long time looking for me too.]

[Lin Xiaoyou: She still remembers those hundred days, you know! Hehe!]

Fang Qi stared at the message, narrowing his eyes slightly.

She was talking about…

The hundred days they had spent in that space where the rules had been thrown into chaos.

He and Liguang had explored the maze, watched the stars, and drifted across the mosaic ocean.

Time had continued to flow in the outside world as well.

Liguang had told him that Gu Xi had come looking for them several times back then, only to be blocked outside by Liguang.

So…

Fang Qi pressed his lips together.

During that time, Xiaoqing must have been searching nonstop for her missing master, too.

I can’t even imagine what those days must have been like…

How did Xiaoqing get through them?

Her master had disappeared.

Fang Qi looked toward the window across the way.

Xiaoqing’s expression was anxious. Her grip on Lin Xiaoyou’s arm was incredibly tight.

…It must have been unbearable.

Fang Qi withdrew his gaze.

He could understand that feeling now.

Losing the most important person in the world, not knowing where they were or how they were doing…

All he could do was search again and again, only to come up empty-handed each time.

He had just gotten a taste of that anxiety and fear himself.

Still…

Fang Qi glanced once more at Lin Xiaoyou’s message on his phone.

Lin Xiaoyou had been rather pitiful back then, too.

The time she had actually spent in that chaotic space hadn’t been just a hundred days!

She had said so herself. In that darkness…

She had stayed there for at least five years!

They were all such poor souls…

Fang Qi pursed his lips and tapped out a few words on the screen.

[Fang Qi: You haven’t seen Xiaoqing for at least five years either. You should take some time to relax, too.]

He pressed Send.

He looked up toward the window across the way.

The window had already been closed, and the glare had returned. He could no longer make out anything inside.

However, her reply came immediately:

[Lin Xiaoyou: Senior, what do you mean by five years? I don’t understand~ And please, whatever you do, don’t tell Xiaoqing that! Whatever! You! Do! Don’t! Tell! Her!]

Fang Qi blinked at the message.

Oh?

He pursed his lips and shook his head.

Miss Genius, you’re pretty good at caring about people, too.

You don’t want Xiaoqing to know that you were trapped in the darkness for five years because you’re afraid she’ll feel heartbroken, guilty, and sad, right?

That was a surprisingly thoughtful side of her.

Come to think of it…

He thought back for a moment.

The Lin Xiaoyou who had lost her memories in the previous loop had actually been quite good at caring for people, too.

She had even disguised herself as Liguang to cheer him up, though the disguise had been a complete disaster…

Ahem!

Fang Qi hurriedly shook his head with all his might!

No, no, no!

He couldn’t think about that!

If Liguang found out, he’d be done for!

His Crazy Girl was incredibly petty!

He glanced at the figure behind the kitchen door again and couldn’t help smiling.

Then he left Lin Xiaoyou’s chat and opened An Lian’s messages.

That text was still quietly sitting in the conversation.

[An Lian: Little Qi, thank you for letting me have a dream I had never dared to hope for.]

Fang Qi stared at the line for a while in silence.

Sister An Lian still remembers…

After thinking it over, Fang Qi sent her a reply.

[Fang Qi: Sister An Lian, perhaps one day in the future, it won’t be a dream anymore. I’m not joking.]

He pressed Send.

Fang Qi stared at the phone screen.

He hadn’t said it casually.

Although he couldn’t guarantee it…

At the very least, Miss Genius—who had already changed the course of the world—could vouch for him!

And Liguang herself had personally confirmed it!

An Lian didn’t reply for a long time.

He didn’t know whether she hadn’t seen the message or was deep in thought.

So he turned his attention to Gu Xi’s message.

“Fang Qi, what exactly did you do during that time?”

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes at the message.

Oh, it was the big-sister rival-in-love!

Ahem.

Just kidding!

His Liguang was straight!

Fang Qi thought for a moment, then sent Gu Xi a message.

[Fang Qi: It’s a long story. Let’s discuss it in detail when we meet.]

[Fang Qi: But I’m planning to stay home and spend the day with my wife. Officer Gu won’t object, will you?]

He pressed Send.

Her reply arrived in less than a few seconds.

[Gu Xi: Staying home is best. Don’t go outside. Dawn and Dusk may be planning something major soon. Wait for my instructions.]

…Dawn and Dusk?

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Dawn…

Come to think of it, the company’s super AI running in the background was one of the Nine Super Cores.

It was of the same origin as Liguang.

It had always remained hidden in the deepest layers of Dawn’s systems, monitoring everything without ever revealing itself directly.

Gu Xi had once said that “authority” had been divided into nine portions.

In the previous loop, Liguang had demonstrated “goddess-level” authority.

…Then what about that super AI running in the background?

Did it possess a similar ability?

What would it do?

Fang Qi had no idea.

As for Dusk…

Their attitude toward Liguang, one of the cores, had always been rather ambiguous.

But…

Fang Qi’s brows relaxed slightly.

It seemed that Dusk probably wasn’t something he needed to worry about too much.

Before his “Crimson Wedding” with Liguang, he had run into his second uncle, Fang Yi, on the street.

At the time, Fang Yi had comforted him by saying that the dead could not be brought back to life and urged him to look toward the future.

That was when Fang Qi confirmed one thing…

Fang Yi, despite being a high-ranking member of Dusk, knew nothing about the “rollback”!

In any case, Dusk probably wasn’t a major problem…!

“Ding!”

Another message arrived.

Fang Qi lowered his head to look.

This time, it was An Lian’s reply.

[An Lian: Thank you, Little Qi. I’m perfectly safe now. If Liguang needs maintenance, just call me anytime. I’ll always be here.]

Fang Qi lightly pursed his lips.

She was reassuring him that she was safe. After all, in this timeline, she had been hunted by “fate” the entire time.

But now, she was safe.

Still, that “maintenance” she mentioned probably meant more than simple maintenance.

Sister An Lian…

Fang Qi slowly drew a breath.

She was the one who possessed the bottom-level command capable of destroying all nine Super Cores at will!

Her very existence was a nuclear bomb!

By saying “I’ll always be here,” she was probably telling him…

If necessary, she could press that button at any time!

Fang Qi’s breathing slowed.

Sister An Lian was seriously badass!

But…

Fang Qi raised a hand and rubbed his temples.

What a headache!

What a mess…

Lin Xiaoyou’s Perfect World Project, Gu Xi’s warning, An Lian’s bottom-level command…

Dawn, Dusk, the background AI…

A whole mountain of problems was pressing down on his mind. Any one of them would have been enough to give him a headache for a long time!

And now, they had all come at once!

He shook his head vigorously!

Forget it, forget it!

He wasn’t going to think about it anymore!

He suddenly sprang up from the sofa and tossed his phone onto the coffee table…

Then he turned and charged straight toward the kitchen!

Those matters…

He’d deal with them tomorrow!

Or the day after!

Or the day after that!

Today, he had finally gotten his wife back after all. There was no way he was going to waste his time…

thinking about all that nonsense!

He shoved open the kitchen’s frosted-glass door and rushed inside!

“Liguang, your master is here to help you cook!!”

“Ah! Master, don’t come in here and cause trouble!”

“Wow, that smells amazing!”

“Hmph, of course it does! Liguang hasn’t cooked for Master in so long, so naturally I have to make a sumptuous meal! Consider it… an apology to Master!”

“I mean Liguang smells amazing. Let me smell you again!”

“Wha—! Ehehe!”