Chapter 629

“Sister An Lian, please help me!”

“Help me see if there’s any way to restore her memories!”

He pressed down on Liguang’s head and bowed deeply!

Liguang trembled faintly beneath his hand.

Fang Qi’s heart was filled with unease.

He actually knew very well that the chances of Sister An Lian being able to restore her memories were slim.

But…

Even if she could help Liguang recall a few scattered fragments, that would still be useful!

At least his Little Yandere wouldn’t have to remain so lost and helpless as she was now!

Liguang did not resist.

She simply let Fang Qi hold her head down as she bent deeply at the waist.

Her tiny hands clenched tightly around the hem of her pale-blue house dress. She did not say a word.

An Lian was silent for several seconds.

Then she nodded and immediately stood up, picking up her toolbox.

“All right.”

Her voice had regained its usual coolness.

“As it happens, I originally came here under the pretext of performing maintenance. I was supposed to give her a maintenance check anyway.”

“Otherwise…”

She gave the window a meaningful glance.

Fang Qi understood what she meant.

Otherwise, she would have no way to explain why she had returned!

His heart leaped.

Great! Sister An Lian had agreed, so…!

He immediately straightened up, turned around, and cupped Liguang’s face in his hands!

He stared seriously into Liguang’s watery heterochromatic eyes.

“Liguang.”

He tried to keep his voice as calm and gentle as possible.

“Listen to Sister An Lian… Listen to Specialist An Lian!”

“Don’t worry, I…”

He drew a deep breath, then rubbed her cheeks firmly. His eyes sharpened!

“I’ll definitely help you recover your memories!”

Liguang’s lips trembled faintly.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only forced out a single murmured word:

“But… the examination… Liguang doesn’t want it…”

Her voice trembled slightly as she whispered.

Fang Qi froze, then immediately understood!

The current Liguang was afraid of examinations!

She was afraid that one might discover she had already “awakened.”

This was the deepest fear engraved into the very core of her original self!

“Liguang, you don’t have to—!”

“Liguang, there’s no need to worry.”

An Lian suddenly spoke from the side.

Her voice had once again returned to its usual coolness.

“I already know that you’ve awakened.”

Fang Qi: “…”

Huh?

She just said it outright?

Sure enough, Liguang suddenly raised her head and looked at An Lian. A flash of red burst from her eyes!

“You…!”

“But I don’t care about that.”

An Lian calmly looked at Liguang, who had suddenly tensed up.

“So you won’t be destroyed because of it, nor will you be taken away from your master.”

“Rest assured.”

Liguang stared blankly at An Lian.

“…Eh?”

Swirls began spinning in her heterochromatic eyes again.

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

That was right. Wasn’t Liguang afraid of being examined because she feared being destroyed, and feared being taken away from his side?

But now, that wouldn’t happen.

If he said something like that, Liguang might not believe him. But if it came from An Lian, it was perfect!

Thus, he held the silver-haired girl’s small hand tightly, his voice softening as well.

“Liguang, go ahead and get examined.”

“Your master will stay with you the whole time.”

Liguang slowly turned her head again and stared blankly at Fang Qi for quite some time.

Fang Qi held both of her hands, giving her all the reassurance she needed.

Finally…

She slowly lowered her head.

“…Yes, Master.”

Fang Qi took a deep breath, then turned to look at An Lian, who had picked up her silver toolbox.

“…Sister An Lian, I’m counting on you.”

“Mm.”

…

…

Half an hour later.

An Lian closed her toolbox.

Fang Qi led Liguang out of her small room by the hand.

An Lian, meanwhile, turned around to face Fang Qi, her expression complicated.

She gently shook her head.

“Xiao Qi, I couldn’t find anything.”

“I didn’t see any memories related to the other parts within her core.”

She sighed softly.

“I can’t help her recover them on a hardware level.”

Fang Qi fell silent.

That quickly?

His hope had been extinguished just like that?

All right, he admitted that he hadn’t really expected much in the first place.

After all, Liguang from the previous cycle had told him herself—

Her memories were stored in her “soul.” They were kept in that “underlying code.”

They weren’t in her core.

The Liguang from the previous cycle hadn’t even had a core!

He turned his head and looked at the silver-haired girl beside him, who was still silent, her eyes fixed on the floor.

Her silver hair hid her expression, and Fang Qi couldn’t see her face.

Suddenly, his heart ached for her.

He reached out gently and pulled her into his arms, stroking her head again and again.

“Don’t worry, Liguang.”

He comforted her softly, feeling the smoothness of her hair beneath his fingertips.

“Your master will definitely help you get your memories back.”

Liguang still did not speak.

She simply nestled quietly in his arms, not moving at all.

She must be very lost right now.

So lost that she didn’t even have the strength to respond to him.

Fang Qi hugged her tighter.

…

In the end, An Lian still left.

Before departing, she stood at the door and looked back at Liguang, her gaze somewhat complicated.

“Since Liguang has lost her memories, there’s nothing more for me to say.”

“As for the matter between the two of you…”

She looked at Fang Qi as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only shook her head.

“I won’t interfere. You two will have to resolve it yourselves.”

“Bang.”

The door closed.

Fang Qi stared blankly at the tightly shut security door for a long time.

He didn’t move. He remained standing in the living room, holding Liguang in his arms.

Liguang didn’t move either.

The two of them simply stood there in silence.

Feeling the warmth and softness in his arms, Fang Qi only felt…

His mind was an utter mess.

They were all gone.

Everyone was gone.

Lin Xiaoyou was gone. Gu Xi was gone. Sister An Lian was gone too.

So what was he supposed to do now?

Should he comfort Liguang? Explain everything to her?

But… how was he supposed to explain it?

Should he tell her everything?

And then…

Would she forget all over again?

Or perhaps…

Should he take Liguang to find Gu Xi right now?

But in Liguang’s current state, could she really…

Fang Qi lowered his head and looked at the girl buried in his arms.

All he could see was the back of her silver-haired head.

Liguang was lost, but he himself… was just as lost.

He sighed and pulled the girl in his arms a little closer to his heart.

Forget it. He would comfort Liguang first!

He needed to stay by Liguang’s side—

“Bzzzt!”

…Huh?

Fang Qi’s pupils contracted slightly.

…What?

A sudden pain shot through his chest.

It wasn’t severe, just like being pricked by a needle.

But accompanying it…

Was a familiar buzzing sound and a wave of heat.

…?

He slowly lowered his head and looked at Liguang in his arms.

Then he saw it…

That smear of crimson at Liguang’s fingertip—

It had already pierced completely through his left chest!

…Huh?

He froze.

At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he could see…

Another crimson glow lighting up behind him!

A scarlet laser blade had pierced through his body and emerged from his back—

“Bzzzt—bzzzt—”

It hummed softly.

“You… aren’t… Master…”

The silver-haired girl in his arms slowly raised her head.

Her pretty face was still spattered with thin trails of blood sprayed from him.

Her heterochromatic eyes were opened extremely wide!!

At the corners of those amber eyes hung a single tear… suspended just before falling!

And that crimson eye—

The scarlet light was spinning wildly, chaotically, round and round!!

It had become a completely out-of-control stream of data!!

“Bring back… the master of Liguang…”

Her voice trembled.

“Bring… him… back…”

Fang Qi’s lips were trembling violently.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

As he stared shakily at the chaotic mass of scarlet before him, he finally realized—

The Little Yandere who regarded her master as her entire world… had gone mad.

She had seen a master who had changed too much, a master so unfamiliar that he frightened her.

She endured it.

She had been enduring it all along.

But after a third person—after An Lian—had come and gone again…

She had reached her limit.

Because he… was her entire world.

Yet her entire world… had become so unfamiliar.

Crazy Girl, you…!

Only then did that heart-wrenching pain he had forced down suddenly sweep through his entire body!

Ah…

His heart had been pierced through.

“Urgh…!”

At last, he managed to make a sound, but he still stared blankly at Liguang before him, at those crimson eyes spinning madly as they locked onto him!

She was going to—

“Give Liguang’s master—back!”

Liguang’s crimson eye suddenly burst with scarlet light!

“Give him back—!!!!!!!!”

Her shriek rang out, instantly leaving Fang Qi’s ears buzzing!!

“Bzzzt!!”

A violent pain erupted in his chest!

It was Liguang… She had abruptly pulled out the laser blade!

Her crimson eyes were impossibly scarlet, impossibly savage, as she glared fixedly at him!

And Fang Qi…

His vision had already begun to blur. His body was losing its strength, and he was…

Toppling backward against his will.

For a moment, the world spun around him.

It hurt so much…

But…

As he gazed hazily at the spinning world, he smiled.

…This was fine, too.

It was fine.

If he died, Liguang would be able to return to the past with her memories intact.

Liguang would…

Be able to experience another “dream” once more.

Then she would at least have a general understanding of what she had forgotten before.

…Yeah. That was pretty good.

After all… his life wasn’t worth much.

Exchanging his life for Liguang’s peace of mind…

That was… fine…

“Bang!!”

When he hit the ground, the pain in his back was nothing compared to the pain in his chest.

But his vision instantly went completely black.

His body was growing cold.

Yet…

“Give Liguang’s master back to Liguang!!”

“Give him back to Liguang!!!”

His chest continued to ache, over and over, without stopping!

“Give him back! Give him back! Give him back!!!”

“Liguang wants her master!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

It was Liguang…

She was repeatedly driving the laser blade into his chest!

It hurt so much…!

…But he didn’t blame her.

Instead, he suddenly remembered the look in Sister An Lian’s eyes before she left—a look that seemed to say she wanted to speak, but couldn’t.

Ah… So that must have been…

Because Sister An Lian had detected that Liguang’s emotions… had already reached their limit, right?

But… he hadn’t noticed at all…

Crazy Girl… this was my fault…

I shouldn’t have… told you so much all at once…

I shouldn’t have let you see how much I had changed…

I should have realized it sooner…

The current you… simply couldn’t accept… such a massive change…

I’m sorry, Liguang…

Next time…

I’ll help you accept it… little by little…

His vision finally faded into complete darkness.

His consciousness sank entirely into the void.

…

…

He had no idea how much time passed…

When his consciousness returned, Fang Qi finally… opened his eyes again.

…No.

He hadn’t opened his eyes.

His eyes had never been closed. His vision was simply, slowly coming back into focus.

He discovered that he hadn’t returned to the sofa. Instead, his field of vision was filled with…

A chaotic flicker of scarlet! Streams of data flashed wildly before his eyes!

And “he”… was straddling a man.

Breathing heavily, trembling violently!

“Give my master…”

A trembling voice was forced out through his own throat.

“Give him back to Liguang…!”

He saw clearly now.

The man beneath him…

Was himself.

Those eyes were open, but they had already lost all signs of life, staring blankly back at him.

And at the corners of his lips… there even seemed to be a gentle smile?

Ah…!

Fang Qi understood.

He should have realized it sooner.

After dying, he had once again entered Liguang’s perspective… hadn’t he?

Through the scarlet vision, through the streams of data pouring wildly and chaotically past his eyes…

He stared blankly at himself—the unmoving body before him.

Then his vision suddenly trembled.

“…Huh?”

The data streams that had been surging frantically through his sight suddenly froze.

At last, he could see that face clearly—that face which had already lost all signs of life.

…He really did look so peaceful and relieved.

Yeah, at least he hadn’t died in an undignified way.

But then he felt…

His body suddenly begin to tremble violently!

A shattered, disbelieving voice, nearly on the verge of collapse, drifted from his throat:

“Mas…”

“Ter…?”

Mm.

Crazy Girl, it’s your turn now.

Right now, immediately—

Go and join me in death!