I'm Going to Lay My Cards on the Table—

Fang Qi held the soft and warm body in his arms!

His arms wrapped tightly around her, refusing to let go!

The familiar sweet scent of strawberries filled his nose.

He could feel Liguang's slender body trembling slightly in his embrace.

Her silver hair brushed against his cheek, tickling him.

That little plastic star earring was still dangling at the edge of his vision, gleaming with a cheap luster.

And... it was completely intact!

The final scenes he had just experienced instantly flooded his mind!

—A wooden cabin deep in the mountains, sunlight filtering through the leaves.

—The silver-haired girl kneeling opposite him, her crimson eye shattered like a spiderweb, blue electrical sparks crackling wildly.

—She pulled that deep blue core from the back of her neck with her own hands and offered it to him.

—A heartbreakingly affectionate smile still lingering on her lips.

—"Master... please don't... forget Liguang."

Just thinking about it for a moment... made his heart clench fiercely!

But now...

He looked at the silver-haired girl in his arms.

This Liguang... was alive! Whole! Warm!

Her chest was still rising and falling. Her body would stiffen and the tips of her ears would turn red because of his sudden embrace...

This was...

Liguang on the morning of the fourth day!

The little yandere who was cautious, docile, and obedient because she felt guilty for hugging him so tightly last night that she almost broke his ribs!

Fang Qi's heart felt as if something had... squeezed it hard!

It was sour and swollen, filled with the wild joy of surviving a disaster!

In the previous loop... he had truly lost her.

Lost this little yandere... who would smile at him, blush for him, and bubble with happiness over the slightest bit of intimacy from him.

Even though she was a crazy woman who constantly wanted to turn him into a piece of art...

Even though her love was so heavy it was suffocating...

But...!

She was also the Liguang who almost overloaded with joy at the amusement park just because of a broken plastic keychain he gave her!

The Liguang who carefully turned that little plastic star into an earring and wore it every day!

The Liguang who, even when her own eyes were almost broken, still thought about picking wild vegetables to make soup for him!

...The crazy woman who, in the end, would rather destroy herself with her own hands to save his life.

In the last loop, at the very final moment, she chose to destroy herself, and then...

Handed the future back to him.

In that instant... she even gave up her sick obsession with "eternity."

Just so he could live.

She even... told him to hand over her core in exchange for his future life...

And her only extravagant hope was for him...

Not to forget her?

Fang Qi tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on her soft silver hair.

His heart ached and tingled.

A scalding hot current rushed from his chest straight to his head!

It burned so much that his eye sockets grew hot!

A thought... suddenly sprang up in his mind!

—Let's lay all the cards on the table.

...Why pretend anymore?

He wanted to tell her right now...

Stop pretending!

I know you've awakened!

But...

I don't fucking care!

I just like you!

I like this crazy woman who gets jealous, goes mad...

Who wants to break my legs just because I have another woman's scent on me!

In the last loop, you gave up your life for me...

Then in this loop...

I want to walk toward you sooner!

No more taking those winding, convoluted capture routes!

No more playing those guessing games!

Right now!

Hold her and tell her: Liguang, you win!

I'm stuck with you for the rest of my life!

Let's work hard together and reach that Eternal True Love ending early!

This impulse throbbed wildly in his chest!

He could feel his blood rushing to his eardrums, clamoring for him to speak!

Meanwhile, Liguang in his arms... seemed a bit overwhelmed by the strength of his embrace.

Her delicate body stiffened for a moment, but then she leaned in even more softly!

She even carefully and tentatively raised her slender arms... and gently hugged his waist back!

"Master...?"

Her voice was muffled against his chest, soft and sweet, with a faint buzz of static electricity, and a touch of confusion.

But more than that, it held an uncontainable, sweet joy!

She even rubbed against him gently, finding a more comfortable position in his arms, and let out a soft whine.

Fang Qi: "......"

Hiss...

For some reason, that urge to lay his cards on the table...

Instantly reached its peak!

Screw it!

I'm not pretending anymore!

I'm coming clean!

He immediately held her shoulders with both hands and pushed her slightly away!

Then he looked at her face with burning eyes—

The silver-haired girl tilted her face up slightly, a moving blush spreading across her breathtakingly beautiful face.

Her amber left eye was watery, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, looking exactly like a... shy and happy little wife.

"Master..." she murmured softly.

I can't take it anymore!!

Fang Qi took a deep breath and gritted his teeth!

"Liguang, I...!"

I'm going to confess—!

And then...

He noticed that in her intact, ruby-like beautiful crimson right eye...

A turbulent current was surging rapidly!

The data stream deep within her pupil... was flashing at an extremely high frequency!

The words he was about to blurt out... suddenly froze in his mouth.

His soaring emotions stalled.

Wait...?

This flashing, urgent and full of scrutiny, was frantically scanning like a scrolling screen!

Those dense points of data light swept across his face like radar waves, again and again! Over his eyes! Over every subtle muscle of his expression!

Fang Qi's open mouth froze right there.

"Li...?"

He stared blankly at that intact, beautiful crimson eye...

The red glow inside it was almost overflowing!

"......"

Goosebumps slowly crept up Fang Qi's skin.

"?!"

Absolutely terrifying!

This crazy woman...

She was actually analyzing, suspecting?!

She was... frantically calculating the hidden meaning behind his abnormal behavior right now!

This realization was like a basin of cold water, dousing the fire in his heart with a loud hiss until not even a wisp of smoke remained!

He sobered up in an instant!

No... wait...

She... looking like this...

Is she about to go dark?!

Hold on a second...

He...

What was he just about to do?!!

Confess?!

Holy crap!!!

Confess my ass!!

It's only the fourth day right now!!

It's the early stage of the game!!

The trust and shared memories between him and Liguang... were far from being built up enough!

Confess right now? Tell her "I know you've awakened, but I love you"?

...Yes, the Liguang in the forest during the last loop, who had completely broken down and died for him, was indeed moved by those words!

She even held him and kissed him so hard for ages that his lips swelled up!

But... that was Liguang after she had gone dark!

And the Liguang right in front of him?

This little yandere who was still in the "pretending to be docile - secretly observing - might go dark at the slightest suspicion" phase?

She would only think...

Master has discovered my secret, and he's using sweet words to paralyze me!

And then...

And then there would be no "then"!

She would immediately serve him up any one of her deluxe torture packages on the spot!

This crazy woman... really didn't want him to die.

She would even trade her own life for his!

But... as long as he was alive and could still be with her...

She wouldn't hesitate to torment him in whatever way she pleased!!

Breaking his limbs, locking him in a dog cage, embedding him into a wall, cybernetic symbiosis...

Her methods were endless!

If he hadn't been able to hold back just now and had actually said those words...

The docile smile on Liguang's face would absolutely tear apart in an instant!

Eternal True Love? Keep dreaming!

Eternal True Love wasn't that easy to achieve!

Looking at Liguang with her flickering crimson eyes right in front of him... his forehead was covered in cold sweat!

Steady, Fang Qi!

You have to hold steady! Showing your hand is an absolute dead end!

After this split-second, frantic brainstorming session, he had an epiphany!

He immediately took the words that had rushed to his throat—

"Liguang I love you I know you've awakened but I don't care let's be together forever!!!!"

—and forcefully swallowed them back down!

His tongue twisted in his mouth, and he squeezed out a somewhat dry, barely natural smile!

"Liguang, you look... really beautiful today!"

His voice was a bit shaky, so he quickly tried to cover it up:

"I slept pretty well last night, and when I woke up this morning... I was in a good mood!"

Phew...!

...Clutch save!

However...

His clutch save didn't seem to be very effective.

The silver-haired girl in his arms still slightly tilted up her delicate, pretty face.

Her heterochromatic eyes stared at him unblinking. Her amber left eye remained as clear as ever, carrying just the right amount of shyness and dependence.

But that crimson right eye... hadn't stopped!

The flickering frequency of the data streams was still just as fast!

That scrutinizing gaze hadn't disappeared either; in fact... it was growing even stronger!

She tilted her head slightly. Her silver hair cascaded with the movement, and her little star earring dangled.

Then... the corners of her mouth began to curl up, little by little!

A... subtly amused curve, like a cat that had just discovered an interesting toy!

"Master—"

Her voice was still soft, perhaps even a few degrees sweeter than before!

Her red lips parted slightly, and her breath, carrying the sweet scent of strawberries, brushed against Fang Qi's frozen face.

"You hugged Liguang so tightly just now..."

"Could it be..."

In her crimson eye, a deeper, darker red light slowly began to spread!

The curve of her red lips also grew wider and wider!

This crazy woman... the excitement in her eyes was about to spark out just like those electrical showers from before!

"...that you've discovered something... extraordinary?"

And as Fang Qi looked at this stunningly beautiful face whose smile was gradually twisting...

The corners of his eyes twitched incessantly!

Hey, hey, hey, crazy woman...!

My heart was just fluttering for you!

Don't start piling on the pressure right off the bat!!

Give me back...

...my fluttering heart!!