Chapter 649

Hiss…

Fang Qi blinked.

Well, he had to admit it—Liguang’s theory really did make a surprising amount of sense…?

The logic was so clear. Everything fit together perfectly!

When had his Crazy Girl secretly come up with all this?

Ah…

She’d been spacing out all day. She must have been working through this in that little head of hers the entire time.

The conclusion she’d reached was: reset, memory loss, and her Master secretly retaining his memories…

Logically speaking, there really weren’t any obvious flaws.

It made sense!

Except…

“...!”

Fang Qi yawned sleepily, then smiled helplessly.

…If only it were really that simple.

My dear wife, your “core” wasn’t reset. It’s your “soul” that’s having problems!

And the first thing he had to consider now…

Was how to return Liguang’s authority to her!

If he couldn’t accomplish that first step, then all the other messy steps—changing the world line, recovering her memories, and so on—would be meaningless.

But even that first step had him completely stumped. He was utterly at a loss!

…Sigh.

He pressed his lips together and sighed.

If it really were only a matter of her core being reset, then things would be much easier. Maybe Sister An Lian alone could restore her memories without any trouble…

Ah!

His eyes suddenly sharpened.

That’s right! Sister An Lian!

He hurriedly reached into his pocket, and then…

His fingertips touched that small, hard object. The USB drive An Lian had given to Gu Xi to pass on to him!

…That’s right. He still had the USB drive! It was the only thing he could do at the moment!

The information Sister An Lian had left behind might prove to be extremely useful!

So he immediately focused his gaze on Liguang, reached out, and expertly pinched her soft little cheeks.

“Liguang.”

Looking at her, he spoke seriously:

“Your theory makes a lot of sense, but…”

His fingers suddenly tightened, and he glared at her.

“You’re underestimating your Master a little too much!”

“You haven’t been reset! No matter what happens, your Master will never let you be reset!”

Liguang stared at him blankly.

Fang Qi took a deep breath and said softly:

“This matter is complicated. Your Master can’t explain it very well.”

“But you have to trust me, Liguang. Your Master will definitely help you recover your memories!”

With that, he pulled the USB drive from his pocket and waved it in front of Liguang.

“For example, this USB drive! It might be the key to breaking through!”

…Sister An Lian, I’m counting on you!

Liguang gazed at him blankly. Her crimson eyes flickered faintly, and her brows slowly relaxed…

At last, she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents and the corners of her lips lifting.

“Mm!”

She nodded firmly.

“Liguang believes in Master!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly raised a hand. Something seemed to glimmer at her fingertips.

Fang Qi assumed she wanted the USB drive and was just about to place it in her hand…

But that little hand suddenly darted into his mouth, stuffing something inside.

Fang Qi: “...?”

His mouth suddenly filled with a sweet strawberry-mint flavor. It melted the instant it touched his tongue.

Huh?

He froze, then instinctively smacked his lips.

The sweetness of strawberry and the coolness of mint spread across his tongue. The minty sweetness was incredibly refreshing!

In an instant, the fog clouding his sleepy mind cleared considerably, and most of his drowsiness vanished!

…Whoa?!

His eyes widened as he looked at the silver-haired girl smiling brightly before him.

“Liguang, what is this?”

A must-have energy boost for overworked wage slaves? Liguang had something like this too?

Liguang continued smiling at him.

“It’s candy Liguang made for Master.”

As she spoke, she even winked at him.

“Is it tasty, Master?”

The flavor still lingered in Fang Qi’s mouth. He nodded instinctively.

“It’s delicious! And… the effect is incredible!”

He gave Liguang a thumbs-up. His Liguang really was a little inventor!

This was great. The sweetness lingered in his mouth for a long time.

He picked up his teacup and was just about to take another sip to wash it down when—

A small hand suddenly caught his wrist and gently took the teacup from him.

Fang Qi: “...?”

“Master, this tea may be a little too strong.”

The silver-haired girl kneeling beside his leg lowered her head obediently.

“The ‘calming’ effect is a little too potent, and Liguang doesn’t have enough ‘candy’ to relieve Master’s fatigue.”

“So…”

She rose gracefully and smiled.

“Let Liguang make Master a fresh cup instead.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the kitchen, her steps light and delicate…

Then they gradually became tiny, hurried steps!

She quickened her pace, scurried into the kitchen like she was fleeing, and slid the door shut with a bang, hiding herself behind it!

…Huh?

Fang Qi stared wide-eyed at Liguang’s silhouette on the other side of the sliding door.

…The tea’s “calming” effect was a little too potent?

I say, Crazy Girl, do you want to listen to what you’re saying?

…Do you have something against caffeine, or are you underestimating tea polyphenols?

…Using “candy” to relieve fatigue?

Well, that candy’s effect really was impressive…

Fang Qi: “...”

Heh. Heheh…

His gaze slowly grew vacant.

Come to think of it…

After drinking that cup of tea, he really had started feeling more and more tired.

He’d been increasingly tempted to fall asleep.

He’d assumed it was because he’d been exhausted today, but the moment he put Liguang’s mysterious “candy” in his mouth…

He suddenly wasn’t tired anymore!

The effect was astonishing!

It was just like… taking an antidote?

…Huh?

Fang Qi stared at the graceful silhouette behind the kitchen door as it began brewing another cup of tea.

Slender, quiet, and upright before the stove—no matter how he looked at her, she seemed like the very picture of a virtuous wife.

Fang Qi’s eyelid began twitching. It kept twitching.

Then…

“Hahaha…!”

What the hell…!

He was laughing from anger now! He glared murderously at the kitchen door!

Well, well, you Crazy Girl!

I really… fell for your trick again, didn’t I?!

You pulled this kind of stunt on me again? How many times has it been?!

I trusted your tea so much, and then you turned around… and drugged me again?!

…At least you showed a little conscience this time.

The drug didn’t take effect immediately, and you even prepared the “antidote” in advance…

But…

Fang Qi gritted his teeth.

If even one of the things he’d just said hadn’t been to her liking…

…Would he already be “sleeping” in her arms, transformed into a Fang Qi-brand body pillow?!

Fang Qi felt his palms itching!

You really are something else, Crazy Girl…!

He tore his gaze away, gnashing his teeth as he leaned heavily back against the sofa, the corners of his mouth twitching.

…Fine!

This was his fault for overlooking things!

He had finally remembered what Gu Xi had said at the police station.

That’s right! The police beauty had…

also told them the secret of that “door”!

She had told Liguang that if he opened that door, he would “leave her forever”!

Although Liguang had already forgotten about the genetic door, she had nevertheless learned one thing because of it—

“Master has a way to leave her completely.”

Under these circumstances… how could this Little Yandere possibly refrain from doing something?!

She must have been terrified! Terrified that, if she took her eyes off him, he would sneak off and open that door that would carry him away!

And then…!

“Hahaha…!”

Fang Qi was so irritated by his own foolishness that he actually laughed.

He was done for!

What a familiar trick—an old favorite making a limited-time comeback!

He had been through this countless times before. Soothing tea, incense, slipping something into his food…

The methods changed, but the essence never did!

And yet, every single time, they managed to knock him out completely!

This time, he hadn’t been on guard in the slightest…

He really hadn’t made any progress at all!

Tsk!

“Crazy Girl, you just wait!”

He ground his teeth.

Once everything was settled, once Crazy Girl had calmed down… he absolutely had to find an opportunity to give her little butt another thorough spanking!

He’d spank her until she cried out!

But for now…

“Liguang!”

He crossed one leg over the other and shouted at the silhouette behind the kitchen door.

“Get over here. Now!”

The silhouette trembled slightly, and a guilty, timid voice came weakly from the kitchen.

“Master… The tea isn’t ready yet…”

“Get. Over. Here. Right. Now!”

Fang Qi glared at her, his tone immediately turning much harsher.

“Wuu…!”

The silver-haired girl’s silhouette trembled again, and she instantly wilted.

With a “clatter,” she quickly opened the kitchen door.

Then, with her little head lowered, she shuffled toward him one tiny step at a time, moving at a torturously slow pace.

Her mismatched eyes kept sneaking glances at him, only to dart away again moments later…

Fang Qi simply glared at her until she finally reached his side and stopped in front of him. Her little hands twisted together restlessly as she lowered her head, not daring to say a word.

Fang Qi opened his mouth, intending to scold her, but when he saw how meek she looked, with her head lowered and an expression that seemed terrified of being reprimanded…

In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.

…Forget it. He was already used to this.

He even felt that he ought to praise her.

After all, the fact that Crazy Girl had prepared an “antidote” in advance could be considered a sign of progress…

Whatever. That didn’t matter right now. The important thing was dealing with the matter at hand!

He shot Liguang another glare, then tossed the USB drive to her.

“Ah!”

Liguang hurriedly reached out and caught it.

Fang Qi stared at her.

“Now, check the contents of this USB drive!”

“It might help restore your memories!”

Just you wait. Once you get your memories back, I’ll show you—

“Yes, Master…”

Liguang shrank her little head, then immediately turned slightly and swept aside a lock of silver hair at the side of her neck.

This revealed the port on her neck.

It wasn’t the core port at the back of her neck, but the one at the side that Sister An Lian used whenever she came over for maintenance.

Liguang held the USB drive between her slender fingers and gently inserted it into the port.

Then…

“Bzzzt—!”

Liguang’s scarlet eyes suddenly lit up, making Fang Qi’s breathing catch.

Red streams of data began racing through her eyes!

Lines of characters continued to scroll across the depths of her irises, the data moving faster and faster. She was clearly parsing everything at full speed!

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes as he watched, quietly waiting for her results.

The living room fell silent. The only sound was the steady tick-tock of the second hand.

About two minutes later…

Liguang’s expression began to change.

Her eyes slowly widened, and a look of surprise emerged on her face.

Fang Qi’s heart immediately leaped. He quickly asked, “What is it, Liguang? Did you find something?”

Liguang narrowed her phoenix eyes and spoke softly.

“Master, this is…”

“Ding-dong.”

The doorbell rang at that very moment.

Fang Qi: “?!”

…Who was that?!

Who would interrupt him at a critical moment like this?

And it was already nine o’clock! Could it be Lin Xiaoyou’s—

“Mr. Fang, hello. I’m sorry to disturb you so late.”

A strange woman’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.

“I’m a senior maintenance specialist from Chenxi Corporation, employee number S-02.”

…Huh?

Fang Qi froze.

Who?

“We received a system alert indicating abnormal fluctuations in the core data of your AI companion.”

The woman outside continued speaking.

“According to regulations, we need to come by and perform an inspection.”

Fang Qi: “…What?”

He stared blankly at the door.

Just now… what had the woman outside said?

A senior maintenance specialist?

Wasn’t that… wasn’t that Sister An Lian’s job?

But the voice outside was clearly not Sister An Lian’s cool, detached voice.

Although Sister An Lian’s voice was aloof, it still carried emotion and a trace of gentleness.

But the voice of this woman outside… seemed completely devoid of feeling.

It was the standard voice of a customer-service representative.

He slowly turned his head toward Liguang.

The silver-haired girl’s scarlet eyes were still flickering rapidly. She was clearly still going through the information on the USB drive—and now she was doing so even faster and more urgently than before!

Honey, take your time and keep browsing!

Fang Qi took a deep breath and stood up.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he lightened his steps and moved toward the door, peering outside through the peephole…

A woman was standing in the hallway.

The dim motion-sensor light shone down on her.

She wore a dark-gray uniform and held a silver toolbox in one hand. She stood perfectly straight, not moving an inch.

The toolbox was exactly like Sister An Lian’s.

The same familiar outfit. The same exquisite beauty…

But she wasn’t An Lian.

There wasn’t the slightest flaw to be found in that face, nor the slightest emotion to be read from it.

A work ID hung from her chest. It read:

Chenxi After-Sales Service Center, Senior Maintenance Specialist S-02.

Huh?

Fang Qi blinked.

His memory was a little fuzzy, but Sister An Lian’s number seemed to be… S-07?

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was another knock at the door.

“Mr. Fang, are you home?”

Fang Qi didn’t respond. He simply stared at the door as his pupils slowly contracted.

The knocking from outside was neither hurried nor slow.

She seemed certain that he was home.

Just what was going on…?!

“Master.”

Liguang suddenly spoke softly behind him.

Fang Qi turned around and saw that Liguang was still standing where she had been.

But she had already pulled the USB drive from the side of her neck. Her scarlet eyes continued to glow in brief flashes.

She glanced at the door, then walked over and gently took Fang Qi’s hand…

Pulling him away from the entrance.

Then she raised the USB drive in her hand and leaned close to his ear…

“Master, don’t worry. Specialist An Lian…”

She breathed softly beside his ear.

“She already predicted that this would happen.”

Fang Qi: “…Huh?”