Chapter 8 |
"Hmm... then let's go ride the roller coaster!"
Fang Qi casually pointed at the tracks winding like a giant dragon in the distance. "That one looks pretty thrilling."
"Understood. Please follow me, Master. The fast pass lane is over here." Liguang immediately led the way with dutiful dedication.
With seemingly casual steps, she shielded him from the crowded flow of people. She did it so naturally that it appeared to be nothing more than ordinary maneuvering through the crowd.
But Fang Qi noticed that a few pedestrians who tried to squeeze past were "coincidentally" blocked right before they could brush against his arm or shoulder.
It was obvious that she wouldn't allow anyone to make any physical contact with him.
"Heh..." Fang Qi's mouth twitched slightly. Talk about being "dutiful"!
Arriving at the roller coaster queue, they saw that the line had already stretched out like a long dragon due to the sheer number of people waiting to ride.
Fang Qi stood at the end of the line, while Liguang stood quietly and submissively by his side.
"Yes."
Liguang took it naturally, draping it over her seemingly slender arm, and even gently folded it together.
Fang Qi crossed his arms over his chest, then raised a hand to point at a dessert cart not too far away.
"I want to eat that ice cream. Get me the chocolate flavor."
"Understood. Please wait a moment, Master."
Without any hesitation, Liguang immediately walked briskly toward the dessert cart, a trace of a smile still lingering on her lips.
Her obedient demeanor caused the people around them to start whispering.
"That beautiful girl is way too good to her boyfriend, isn't she? Holding his jacket when told to, running errands to buy ice cream when told to..."
"Looking like that and being so obedient, did that guy save the galaxy in his past life?"
"Damn, I'm so jealous..."
"Silver hair, heterochromia, and so obedient... Could she be an AI companion?"
"How is that possible? Where would you find such a realistic AI companion nowadays? Look at her little expressions, they're so vivid. She's definitely a real person!"
Fang Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Jealous?
Jealous that I'll get my legs broken?
Jealous that I'll be locked in a cage?
Damn it, talk is cheap when you're not the one in the hot seat!
Just then, his leg was suddenly bumped by something soft.
"Ouch!"
Looking down, he saw a little munchkin with twin pigtails, holding up a giant pink cotton candy, having bumped solidly into his leg.
The little girl herself stumbled backward a bit, and the cotton candy tilted to the side.
"Sob, I'm sorry, big brother..."
The little girl looked up, her eyes watery and appearing somewhat timid.
Fang Qi was amused. "It's fine, it's fine. Did you hurt yourself?"
He casually ruffled the little girl's fluffy hair. "Your cotton candy is almost bigger than you are. Hold it steady, okay?"
The little girl was a bit dazed by his petting, but then she broke into a wide grin.
"Mhm, thank you, big brother!" She nodded vigorously.
But at that very moment, Fang Qi felt the light beside him dim.
The faint scent of strawberry and chocolate wafted over.
He turned his head instinctively, coming face-to-face with the chocolate ice cream in Liguang's hand, and... her pretty face bearing a gentle smile.
Her gaze fell upon Fang Qi's hand, which had not yet been retracted from the little girl's head.
Then, it shifted to the little girl's bright, smiling face.
Following that, the corners of her mouth drooped down ever so slightly.
Fang Qi: "...?"
Are you kidding me?!
You're even getting jealous over a little kid?!
"Master, your ice cream."
Liguang looked at Fang Qi with a smile, deliberately handing the ice cream toward the hand that was ruffling the little girl's hair.
"Oh, right..." Fang Qi quickly withdrew his hand and took the ice cream.
Then Liguang made her move.
She took a small step forward with extreme naturalness, and her hand hanging by her side holding her bag... gently flicked its pinky finger upward.
Plop.
In the little girl's hand, the fluffy and cute pink cotton candy instantly detached from its small wooden stick and fell straight to the ground.
It rolled in the dirt, becoming covered in dust.
Fang Qi was dumbfounded.
Wifey Liguang, are you bullying a little kid?
Meanwhile, the smile on the little girl's face froze.
She looked at her empty hand, then looked at the instantly ruined cotton candy on the ground...
Her mouth puckered, and her eyes reddened at a visible speed.
Then...
"Wu..."
"Waaah!!"
"My candy! My cotton candy!!"
The little girl burst into a flood of tears right then and there.
As if just noticing what had happened, Liguang's face rapidly switched to an expression of slightly apologetic surprise:
"Oh my, how could you be so careless, little one? Did you not hold it tightly?"
But when her crimson eye looked at the dirty lump of cotton candy on the ground, a flash of almost smug triumph quickly darted through it!
Aside from Fang Qi, who had been staring intently at her, probably no one else could have caught it.
Fang Qi: "..."
He looked at the little girl crying her heart out, then looked at the innocent Liguang...
A feeling of extreme speechlessness rose in his heart!
No, isn't this going a bit too far?
Why hold a grudge against a child? And even intentionally knocking her candy away...
People around them were already looking over, drawn by the crying, their eyes filled with inquiry.
The silver-haired girl was putting on a show of comforting the little girl, while he stood blankly to the side, making it look as if he were the main culprit!
Damn it...
Fang Qi's mind raced.
What should he do now? Reprimand Liguang?
Would she instantly snap and go dark on the spot?
Or, should he just comfort the little girl?
Then wouldn't this little yandere get even more intensely jealous!
Besides, Liguang's blatant bullying of a child was infuriating not just to the bystanders, but even to him watching it!
Tsk, yanderes are such a hassle!!
Watching the little girl crying her eyes out, in a flash of lightning, he suddenly remembered a key point from the game.
In the game, as long as he didn't cross the two bottom lines of discovering her secrets and escaping, within the scope of daily life, Liguang cared extremely about his commands and attitude!
Even... a reprimand from her Master was, to her, an expression of being cared about.
Even... it could be considered a type of memory.
Fang Qi took a deep breath and decided... to go big!
...He would gamble on it!
He was going to angrily reprimand the yandere in front of everyone!
Thus, his face instantly darkened, and he deliberately lowered his voice:
"Liguang!!"
Liguang was still concerned and comforting the bawling little girl. Upon hearing this, her body instantly gave a slight tremble!
She turned her head somewhat stiffly to look at Fang Qi, the feigned apologetic expression on her face not yet fully faded.
"Ma... Master?"
Her voice was still soft, the trailing end carrying a barely perceptible tightness.
Fang Qi frowned and scolded, "What is wrong with you!"
His heart was racing madly, but his tone was unprecedentedly stern. "The little kid was just being careless, and look at you, standing so close that you knocked her candy away! What kind of behavior is this!"
He deliberately emphasized the words knocked her candy away heavily, his brows furrowed tightly.
Liguang's submissive and apologetic expression rapidly shifted toward panic!
Her heterochromatic pupils dilated slightly, and her red lips began to tremble gently.
"I... I didn't..." She opened her mouth, her voice clearly becoming flustered, carrying a faint trace of electrical static!
She looked at Fang Qi's still displeased expression, and a panic of "I've made Master angry!" quickly flooded her eyes!
It seemed she hadn't expected at all that her Master would reprimand her so severely over such a trivial matter!
"M-Master... I..." Her voice began to tremble.
"Hmm?" Fang Qi grunted, immediately causing Liguang's body to give another slight shudder. "You what?"
Liguang was completely thrown into a panic.
Under Fang Qi's stern gaze, she actually...
Bent her knees!
She was about to drop to her knees right there in public!
"I'm sorry, Master! Liguang was too careless! Liguang was wrong! Please don't be angry!"
Holy crap!
Fang Qi was utterly shocked!
I took it too far!
He hurriedly grabbed Liguang's arm and hoisted her up with a firm tug, stopping her from actually kneeling on the ground.
If she had actually kneeled, the two of them would have been stared at like giant pandas in a zoo!
Today's plans would be completely ruined!
But still, is kneeling really the standard apology pose for a yandere...?
"Ahem..." Fang Qi quickly let out a light cough, barely able to maintain his serious expression.
Liguang looked up. Her amber eyes were glistening with moisture, and the rims of her eyes were slightly red, looking like she had almost been scared to tears.
Fang Qi: "..."
Good heavens, did I actually scare the little yandere into crying?
Hiss... it actually feels kind of satisfying...
He softened his tone slightly. "Well, as long as you know you were wrong. Now, go buy the little kid a new ice cream—get the biggest one they have—and apologize properly!"
As if grasping a lifeline, Liguang nodded vigorously. "Yes, Master! Liguang will go right away!"
She immediately stood up straight and bowed deeply to the still-sobbing little girl!
Her tone was absolutely, one hundred percent sincere. "I'm so sorry, little sister. It was my fault. I'll take you to buy a new ice cream, okay? We'll get the biggest one!"
The little girl was instantly a bit bewildered by the scene unfolding before her.
With teary eyes, she stared blankly at the unbelievably pretty older girl bowing in front of her.
Liguang then half-coaxed, half-led the little girl, walking briskly toward the dessert cart.
The surrounding onlookers finally averted their gazes and began murmuring among themselves:
"Wow, that handsome guy runs a tight ship. One word and he nearly scared his girlfriend to tears."
"What girlfriend? Didn't you hear her call him 'Master'? Tsk, tsk... young couples these days are into some kinky stuff... and right out in public, too..."
"That silver-haired girl is so obedient. She's so pretty, and yet so well-behaved..."
"Sigh, if only my wife were half as obedient..."
"Keep dreaming, buddy..."
Listening to their chatter, Fang Qi held his slightly melted ice cream and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
He was actually feeling a lingering sense of dread.
Although it felt good, reprimanding a yandere required serious courage...
Fortunately, his gamble had paid off.
It seemed his experience from the game was useful after all.
As long as he didn't cross Liguang's bottom line, never mind reprimanding her—even if he beat and scolded her in public... Liguang would still see it as an expression of his love!
Tsk, tsk, such is the twisted view of romance of a top-tier yandere...
A short while later, Liguang returned, holding the little girl by the hand.
The little girl was holding up a rainbow ice cream cone that was taller than her face. The tear tracks on her cheeks hadn't even dried yet, but she was beaming with joy.
"Thank you, big brother! Thank you, big sister!"
Liguang handed the little girl over to her frantically searching parents. She proceeded to bow and apologize profusely, her voice still trembling with a hint of a sob, leaving the parents utterly bewildered.
Her posture was so impeccably humble!
Only after the parents left with their child did Liguang slowly and cautiously make her way back to Fang Qi's side.
She kept her head down, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her skirt.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she stole a cautious glance at Fang Qi's expression. Looking exactly like a kitten that had done something wrong and was waiting for its punishment, she exuded nothing but apprehension and a desperate desire to please.
Fang Qi felt a rush of satisfaction.
Hmph, crazy woman.
Even if you could break my legs, don't you still have to listen to what I say?
However, seeing her looking so frightened yet unable to resist wanting to be near him, he couldn't help but reach out. Just as he had ruffled the little girl's hair earlier, he gently rubbed Liguang's soft, silver hair.
"Alright, alright, as long as you know you were wrong. Just be more careful next time."
The moment his hand touched her hair, Liguang's entire body stiffened, but then her tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
"Master..."
She called out softly, her voice sweet and tender. A lovely blush crept back onto her cheeks, and like a cat being petted, she gently nuzzled the top of her head against Fang Qi's palm.
As Fang Qi ruffled Liguang's hair, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Taking a little yandere to an amusement park... what a thrill!
They hadn't even gotten on a real roller coaster yet, but his heart rate had already gone on one!
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