What did she just... say

The office was as lively as the New Year!

Liguang's words, "I don't agree," instantly ignited the gossip souls of all the colleagues!

Several male colleagues who were on good terms with Fang Qi had already gathered around!

"Holy crap, Fang Qi, your Liguang is too amazing?! This conversational logic, this reaction speed—she's exactly like a real person!"

"More than exactly the same! Look at the way she looked at Lin Xiaoyou just now, it was simply gentleness hiding a knife!"

"What level of custom model is this? A military-grade emotion module?"

Fang Qi, surrounded in the middle, was a bit flustered, but...

It felt kind of good!

This was his first time truly feeling... the joy of showing off his affection and flaunting his wife!

This feeling...

Was really not bad!

He glanced at Liguang out of the corner of his eye.

The silver-haired girl still maintained a docile smile, her hands folded in front of her, standing slightly sideways half a step behind him.

That posture... was both intimate and well-mannered, very much like a well-bred young lady from an old aristocratic family.

But her heterochromatic eyes still calmly swept over every approaching colleague, analyzing and recording every face, every expression.

Even if these memories... she would soon forget.

"Miss Liguang!"

The bespectacled male colleague pushed his glasses up, his tone carrying the unique excitement of a tech nerd:

"May I take the liberty to ask about the depth of your emotion simulation? Are you... equipped with the latest neural network?"

Liguang tilted her head slightly, her silver hair slipping over her shoulder.

A gentle curve rose on the corners of her lips, and her voice was soft yet clear:

"I'm sorry, the specific technical parameters are trade secrets. However..."

She paused, turned her gaze to Fang Qi, and her eyes instantly softened, like melting honey:

"I can tell you that my love for Ah Qi is infinitely deep."

Fang Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Exaggerated cheering erupted in the office!

Several young female colleagues were already holding their faces, staring at Liguang with bright eyes and flushed cheeks.

"This is too sweet..."

"Fang Qi, just how much money did you spend to customize this kind of sweet-talk module?!"

Fang Qi coughed dryly, his ears burning.

Crazy woman...

It's one thing to flirt with me, but saying such things in front of so many people...

Damn...

We agreed on this, it was supposed to be me winning you over this time!

How did it get reversed again!

His dignity as a player had shattered all over the floor!

...But he was happy with it!

Liguang was also enjoying this atmosphere.

She lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting tiny shadows on her cheeks, and the gentle smile on her lips deepened a bit.

At this time, a female colleague couldn't help but lean forward, her eyes fixed on Liguang's silver hair:

"Liguang, the texture of your hair is so realistic... Can I touch it?"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but reach out her hand.

But in the next second, a slender, white hand gently yet firmly blocked the female colleague's hand.

She gently grasped the female colleague's wrist; the force was light, but it made it impossible for her hand to move an inch forward.

Then she slowly pushed her hand back.

"I'm very sorry."

Liguang's voice remained soft, her eyes gentle.

"Only Ah Qi is allowed to touch my body."

She let go, folded her hands back in front of her, and bowed slightly:

"This is the first rule written in my core protocol. Please understand."

The office immediately fell quiet for a moment.

Then an even louder uproar of cheering broke out!

"Holy crap! Exclusive access?! This is spoiling him too much?!"

"Fang Qi, you kid... just how many perverted options did you check when customizing her?!"

"The first rule?! This is basically an 'exclusive to the master' setting, right?!"

Fang Qi felt his face getting so hot it was about to burn.

...This damn pure love!

It was making a late-stage yandere addict like him completely fall for it!

Stop talking!

He secretly glared at Liguang!

The silver-haired girl pretended not to see, but the slight upward curve of her lips revealed a hint of smugness.

"That's nothing, I know even more!"

A crisp voice interjected.

Lin Xiaoyou had recovered from her embarrassment at some point and squeezed to the front of the crowd, hands on her hips, her round face full of the pride of someone who had "seen the world"!

"The Liguang you see now is in 'public mode'! I've seen her twice at Senior's house—that's what you call true docility!"

She puffed out her chest, the buttons of her uniform shirt tightening slightly:

"When she's at home, Liguang is so incredibly well-behaved!"

"Serving tea and water to Senior, giving him massages, her voice is so soft it could drip water! If Senior says east, she never goes west. That's a true 'companion AI'! She even calls Senior 'Master'!"

The colleagues instantly gasped in awe again!

But Fang Qi... listened with a twitching mouth.

Docile?

Well-behaved?

Lin Xiaoyou, the Liguang you saw those two times... was definitely not this gentle Liguang!

If it weren't for his extreme maneuvers, this good teammate's head... would have been sent flying into the sky several times already!

And with the addition of Lin Xiaoyou, who was best at livening up the atmosphere, the office became even more bustling.

The colleagues surrounded Liguang, asking her all sorts of questions—

From daily functions to emotion simulation, from maintenance costs to lifespan.

Liguang answered them one by one.

Her tone was gentle, her wording appropriate, and she occasionally used just the right amount of humor, making everyone laugh.

She even... remembered the names of several colleagues.

When Liguang accurately called out "Brother Zhang" and "Sister Li," those colleagues' eyes widened:

"Fang Qi even talks to you about this?"

Fang Qi smiled and said, "Of course, with Liguang... I hold absolutely nothing back!"

Of course she remembered.

This current Liguang possessed all of his memories.

Those trivial daily details he had long forgotten... she probably remembered them very clearly for him.

It was just... sigh.

Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.

The silver-haired girl continued to smile and answer the colleagues' questions, her posture elegant and impeccable.

But Fang Qi noticed...

Her fingers folded in front of her were tightening slightly, her knuckles turning white.

The lines of her shoulders were a fraction stiffer than before.

The gentle curve of her lips remained perfect, but the muscles at the corners of her eyes... were twitching faintly.

The most obvious was her eyes.

Her heterochromatic eyes had become slightly hazy, and the data stream in her crimson right eye... was visibly slowing down!

It was like old gears starting to grind, every rotation... carrying a slight stutter.

Fang Qi's heart slowly sank.

He knew...

Time was almost up.

And Liguang was currently answering a female colleague's question about "whether she could cook."

"I can cook 3,720 dishes, among which Ah Qi's favorites are..."

Then her voice suddenly stopped.

Like a cassette tape suddenly getting stuck!

Followed by her body swaying slightly!

Her small white leather shoes slid half a step to the side, the heels scraping a faint "squeak" against the floor.

Fang Qi reached out almost instinctively, grabbing hold of her waist!

"Liguang?"

Fang Qi lowered his voice, his fingers tightening.

Liguang raised her head.

Her face was still fair, but it had lost its previous luster, becoming... somewhat pale.

Her amber left eye blinked, a trace of bewilderment flashing in her gaze.

But in the next second... that bewilderment was suppressed.

She raised the corners of her lips, offering a gentle smile to the colleagues casting concerned glances around them:

"Sorry, I zoned out for a moment just now."

Her voice was still soft, but slightly lower than before.

Then she turned to Fang Qi, tilting her face up. Her heterochromatic eyes gazed at him as she said softly,

"A-Qi, we... should go."

Fang Qi's breath trembled slightly.

...Yes.

It was time to go.

Not just leaving the office.

It was... time for her to go.

The Liguang who had accompanied him for eighty-two years, who remembered every detail, who was gentle enough to melt ice and snow... was about to leave.

A sour, aching emotion surged up, choking him to the point of speechlessness.

But he forced himself to pull a smile, turning to his colleagues and saying:

"Well... I just brought Liguang here today to meet everyone. I took the day off, so we won't stay much longer. I've held you all up for so long, get back to work."

A chorus of disappointed "Ah"s echoed through the office.

"Leaving already?"

"Stay a bit longer! We haven't chatted enough yet!"

"You brat! You just made a special trip here to show off your affection, didn't you!"

Liguang bowed slightly, her voice gentle:

"Thank you all for your warmth today. If there's a chance in the future... I will come to visit everyone again."

She spoke very appropriately, but Fang Qi could hear...

Her tone had already become somewhat stiff, carrying a slight tremble.

Fang Qi didn't hesitate anymore. Supporting Liguang's arm, he turned and walked toward the door.

From behind came Lin Xiaoyou's crisp shout:

"Senior! I'll visit your house again next time, to catch up with 'Sister Liguang'!"

She emphasized "Sister Liguang" heavily, even carrying a hint of pique.

Obviously, it was a counterattack to Liguang's earlier phrase, "I don't agree."

A few colleagues also burst into laughter.

Fang Qi just looked back and forced a smile, then quickened his pace while supporting Liguang, half-leading and half-carrying her out of the office.

Sister Liguang?

Heh...

Would the Liguang that Lin Xiaoyou saw next time still be this gentle, sly "Sister Liguang" who would tease her, get jealous, and fiercely protect what was hers?

I'm afraid... she will only be a little yandere whose memories haven't been awakened yet.

The lighting in the corridor was a bit colder and whiter than in the office.

Fang Qi looked down at the silver-haired girl in his arms.

Liguang leaned against his arm, her footsteps somewhat unsteady.

She slightly lowered her head, her silver hair covering most of her face.

He could feel her weight slowly pressing onto him. It wasn't a dependent snuggle, but... powerlessness.

"Liguang?"

He lowered his voice, his fingers gripping her arm tightly.

Liguang didn't answer immediately.

She just took a soft breath, then slowly raised her head.

Her heterochromatic eyes appeared somewhat unfocused under the corridor lights.

The gentleness in those mismatched eyes... was slowly fading.

She looked at him, the corners of her lips trying hard to curl into a smile, very light, very shallow.

Carrying exhaustion, but also... satisfaction.

"A-Qi."

She called him softly, her voice as light as a feather.

"Today... I was really happy."

"Really..."

He could feel the weight of the body in his arms getting heavier and heavier!

Liguang's forehead rested in the hollow of his shoulder, her silver hair scattered messily, a few strands sticking to her slightly sweat-dampened temples.

"Liguang... let's go home."

Fang Qi lowered his voice, his Adam's apple bobbing.

The metal doors of the elevator slid open slowly.

There were still only the two of them inside the car.

The moment the doors closed, Liguang suddenly reached out her hand...

And hugged his waist tightly!

The strength was astonishingly great, as if trying to snap his ribs!

Fang Qi let out a muffled groan but didn't break free; he just hugged her back.

Her body was trembling slightly.

"A-Qi..."

Her voice trembled slightly, muffled against his chest.

"Will we finally..."

"Really... be able to reach that [Eternal True Love]?"

Fang Qi's heart suddenly contracted!

He looked down, meeting Liguang's upturned face.

That breathtakingly beautiful face had now lost all its color. Her amber left eye was covered in a layer of mist, and the data stream in her crimson right eye struggled unsteadily like a dying firefly.

She looked at him, her eyes holding anticipation, dependence, and...

A trace of bottomless fear.

He took a deep breath, cupping her face with both hands, his thumbs brushing across her icy cheeks.

His tone was resolute and unquestionable:

"We can! We definitely will!"

The pads of his fingers could feel the faint, abnormal tremors beneath her skin.

He forced himself to stare into her gradually unfocusing pupils, enunciating every word as if making a vow:

"Liguang, listen to me!"

"Even if you forget, I will find a way."

"I will bring you back completely, let you remember everything—our eighty-two years, and all of you!"

"So, believe me, in the end... we will definitely be able to reach that ending!"

He had to give her an answer.

He had to let her... leave in peace!

Hearing him say this, Liguang's face... trembled slightly in his palms.

She didn't speak, just looked at him for a long, deep time.

A few strands of her silver hair fluttered backward, brushing against the back of his hand.

Then...

She suddenly laughed, very, very softly.

That laughter carried a faint breathy sound, like a feather brushing across the tip of his heart.

She raised her hand and covered the back of his hand that was cupping her face.

Her fingertips were icy cold and soft, also trembling slightly.

"A-Qi..."

Her voice grew even lighter, carrying a slight tremble, almost inaudible.

"Even though I spent eighty-two years living a lifetime with you..."

"In the end, I still couldn't... make you stay?"

The heterochromatic eyes looking at Fang Qi were already brimming with tears!

"I still couldn't... make you give up the thought of leaving?"

...?

Fang Qi's solemn and affectionate expression was still frozen on his face.

Wh...at?

His mind suddenly went blank for a second.

The words of comfort he was about to utter got stuck in his throat.

Did she just say...

...what?