Chapter 49 |
Morning light streamed into the bedroom through the gap in the curtains.
Fang Qi groggily opened his eyes and subconsciously reached out to hug...
Empty.
He froze for half a second before abruptly sitting up.
The bed beside him only held a faint lingering warmth and that sweet strawberry scent.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
The blanket was messy, the sunlight was bright, the air was fresh...
Everything was as usual.
No, not as usual.
"...It worked!"
Fang Qi was instantly wide awake!
He threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed, and stepped barefoot onto the floor. In a few strides, he rushed to the bedroom door and pulled it open—
The living room was bathed in bright morning light.
The silver-haired girl was already neatly dressed, kneeling properly beside the coffee table.
Her light blue loungewear dress was immaculate, the hem spread out neatly beneath her, and she held a white porcelain teacup in her hands.
Hearing the door open, she looked up. Her amber eye was clear, and the data stream in her crimson eye flowed steadily.
...But her gaze was somewhat evasive.
Liguang's lips tried hard to curve into a meek and gentle arc, but the smile lacked its usual confidence.
It even... carried a hint of caution!
She gently pushed the teacup to the spot where he usually sat, her soft voice laced with a trace of unease:
"Good morning, Master."
Pausing for a moment, she lowered her head and whispered an addition:
"Your tea."
"The temperature has been adjusted to your favorite, 52 degrees Celsius."
Fang Qi stood there, looking at this familiar and peaceful scene, and took a deep breath.
The new save point had been updated!
He suppressed the wild joy in his heart, took a few steps to sit by the coffee table, picked up the cup of floral tea, and immediately took a sip!
The delicate fragrance spread in his mouth.
Ding!
Day Four Save Successful!
He voiced it out in his own mind!
Awesome!
Saving is just awesome!
A new starting point!
Taking another comfortable sip of tea, he looked at Liguang in front of him.
The silver-haired girl still had her eyes slightly lowered, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her fingers unconsciously twisting a corner of her skirt.
That little plastic star was worn on her earlobe again, swaying slightly, making her look inexplicably... pitiful.
Seeing this made Fang Qi's heart itch, and he decided to tease her a bit.
"Ahem..." He coughed lightly twice and deliberately dragged out his words, "Last night..."
Liguang's shoulders immediately gave a slight jolt!
She quickly raised her head, her heterochromatic eyes filled with panic and guilt:
"I-I'm sorry, Master!"
"Liguang lost her composure last night... to actually hug Master so roughly, and, and say such strange things..."
Her voice grew smaller as she spoke, her cheeks flushing slightly, her fingers twisting her skirt even tighter:
"Liguang knows she was wrong... Master is clearly so gentle, but Liguang... Liguang couldn't control herself..."
She lowered her head, her silver hair slipping off her shoulders to cover half of her face:
"Please punish me, Master... Liguang will definitely be more careful and restrained from now on..."
Fang Qi looked at this submissive little figure in front of him, who was so guilty she was practically shrinking into a ball, and his dark sense of humor was thoroughly satisfied.
Very good, very well-behaved, very obedient!
Still feeling guilty!
What a perfect save point!
He immediately put on a magnanimous look: "Alright, as long as you know you were wrong."
Then he reached out and rubbed the top of Liguang's head:
"Remember to control your strength next time. I don't want to have my ribs crushed by you one day."
Liguang trembled slightly under his touch, then gently rubbed the top of her head against his palm.
Her cheeks grew redder, and the unease in her eyes finally dissipated a bit, replaced by a surge of gratitude for being forgiven.
"Mhm... Liguang will remember!"
She replied softly, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
Fang Qi withdrew his hand in satisfaction, leaned back against the sofa, and took another sip of tea. The fragrance of the floral tea was reassuring.
Day Four... had successfully been saved.
All his wild maneuvers from yesterday—bullying her, coaxing her, sleeping beside her—had been completely written into the new save file!
He was in such a great mood that he almost wanted to break into song right then and there!
But soon... he calmed down.
He couldn't get cocky. He had to stay steady.
Because...
"Day Four... is finally here after all." He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Even his breathing grew a bit heavy.
Holding the teacup, his brain began to work at top speed.
He had played the game My Yandere Robotic Wife for so long, mostly pulling off crazy stunts in the late game, that for the most part, his memory of the early plot... had become a bit blurry.
But this fourth day in particular...
He remembered it crystal clear!
Because this fourth day was the hardest hurdle to overcome in the early game!
It was the point in the game... where Liguang had her first massive emotional breakdown!
Fang Qi closed his eyes, leaning against the back of the sofa, and recalled the plot of Day Four in the game.
It was a mandatory, unskippable plot event.
The player would go to work as usual on the morning of the fourth day.
At a remote intersection, they would be cornered by two blind robbers.
One holding a knife, the other wielding an iron pipe.
Then there would be a scuffle, a struggle... and then somehow, the knife would end up in the player's hands.
The player would even force the robbers to retreat again and again for a moment!
But right at this critical moment... police sirens would wail!
Then, the key character who ran through the entire storyline would make her entrance!
In his mind, the figure stepping out of the police car surfaced—
A dark blue police uniform stretched tightly over a tall and slender figure, and beneath the police cap was a fair, heroic face.
With arching willow eyebrows, eyes as sharp as knives, and those long, straight legs wrapped in police trousers, just standing there...
She carried an aura of don't mess with me!
Gu Xi, the debut of another crucial female supporting character in the game.
Her movements were terrifyingly decisive. While the player was still holding the knife and trying to explain, she would pounce like a cheetah!
The wrist would be clamped by a vise-like hand, the knife dropped... and then the world would spin!
The player would be slammed hard onto the ground with a clean and swift grappling move!
Face pressed against the rough concrete, a knee shoved into the lower back, and then cold handcuffs... locking the wrists with a click!
And so, in a complete daze, the player and the two real robbers would be shoved into the police car together.
Taking the statement was even more agonizing; communication devices were confiscated, and the person was handcuffed to a chair.
Gu Xi would sit opposite, having taken off her cap, her ponytail tied immaculately, and those beautiful, sharp eyes never leaving the player from start to finish!
And the most critical part was that this whole ordeal... dragged on until midnight.
By the time the player was finally proven to be acting in self-defense and falsely accused and released...
It would already be past eleven o'clock late at night.
Dragging an exhausted body, carrying the smell of disinfectant from the station, and the scent of a strange woman acquired when pinned down by Gu Xi...
The player would wander home in a daze.
While at home... a crazy woman with a nose sharper than a dog's and a twisted, possessive nature was waiting!
This plot segment was forced by the game; there were absolutely no options to skip it.
As for the subsequent developments...
Just thinking about it made Fang Qi's temples throb!
That was definitely his super dark history from his newbie days!
Back then, he was still a rookie, and he was hit squarely on the head by the high difficulty of Day Four!
He clearly remembered the character art and options in the game—
The player pushes the door open, and Liguang, who was originally going crazy with worry, upon smelling the unfamiliar scent on him...
Her heterochromatic eyes would instantly go hollow.
After that, game options popped up like crazy, as many as a dozen!
If you chose even one wrong option halfway through... you were completely doomed that night, entering a bad ending!
Fang Qi never looked up walkthroughs; he had forcefully carved out a bloody path of trial and error!
He entered bad endings over a dozen times, watching Liguang turn yandere over a dozen times... before finally barely surviving this fourth day!
But... even if he passed safely, Liguang's attitude would completely change after the fourth day.
Her emotional index and possessiveness would absolutely skyrocket!
It could be said that Liguang's state in the game would enter the "second phase" after the fourth day.
This fourth day was the turning point between the early and early-mid stages of the game!
Fang Qi rubbed his temples and picked up the slightly cooled floral tea, taking a large gulp.
Judging from the game's progression, as long as he left for work on time today, he would definitely trigger this "encounter with the beautiful policewoman."
Want to avoid it? Very simple.
This was no longer some mandatory plotline; he could easily avoid it by just taking a day off or taking a different route.
But... he couldn't do that!
Because the problem lay precisely with that beautiful policewoman!
Fang Qi's head began to ache!
The reason the game forcefully arranged this plotline was because...
This beautiful policewoman was a key character you absolutely had to meet in the game!
She... was An Lian's good friend and bestie!
In the later stages, she was also an important pawn to keep An Lian in check!
If he didn't get on her good side, An Lian, who would control higher detection technology in the later stages...
Would be absolutely unstoppable!
If he wanted to hold the initiative in An Lian's route... Gu Xi's route absolutely could not be severed!
Regarding today's matter, not only could he not avoid it... he had to actively face it head-on!
This was the true value of a mandatory plotline!
He could avoid Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian, but when it came to this Gu Xi...
He needed to carefully capture her route.
At the very least... he had to become good friends with her, the kind where she could help him out in the future!
Oh right... he also had to do it behind Liguang's back, otherwise the little yandere would get jealous.
Thinking of this, he immediately felt a sense of urgency!
...Fuck.
He didn't think much of it in the game before, but now he felt...
This was practically courting death!
Wasn't this just pure suicide?!
But then, he glanced at the silver-haired girl sitting properly on her knees across from him, her eyes lowered as she gently sipped her own cup of tea.
Suddenly...
A bold idea popped into his mind!
...With Liguang's skills, dealing with two petty thieves would be a piece of cake, right?
What if... he took Liguang with him today?
To be a bit bolder, why not just let these two women...
Meet on the spot!
Then wouldn't there be no misunderstandings at all?
As for the subsequent route capture...
He just wanted to be friends with Gu Xi, he didn't want to actually romance her!
No big deal!
...Exactly. This was so right!
A "just as planned" smile curled at the corners of his mouth!
He would do just that!
So, he cleared his throat, put down his teacup, and deliberately spoke in a casual tone:
"Um... Liguang, today... do you want to go to the company with me and take a look?"
The hand Liguang was using to hold her teacup paused slightly.
She raised her eyes, a clear flash of astonishment passing through her amber pupils.
"M... Master?"
Her voice drifted slightly, as if she didn't understand the meaning of the sentence: "Liguang... going to Master's company?"
"Yeah."
Fang Qi leaned back, crossed his legs, and put on a chatting posture:
"Haven't you... always wanted to know what I do at work during the day? Today is perfect, I'll take you over for a stroll, and by the way..."
His words carried a hint of temptation: "Introduce you... to my colleagues!"
He deliberately said the words "introduce you to my colleagues" slowly and clearly!
"Clatter!"
The white porcelain teacup in Liguang's hand slipped and fell onto the coffee table!
The tea spread out into a small dark puddle on the smooth surface of the table.
But she completely ignored this.
The silver-haired girl seemed to have been pressed with a pause button.
Those heterochromatic eyes that were always submissively lowered were now wide open, staring straight at Fang Qi.
They were filled with unbelievable shock, as well as a trace of... ecstatic bewilderment.
"In... introduce... to colleagues...?"
She repeated these words, her voice tiny and even a little stuttering.
Her delicate little nose twitched slightly, and her cheeks began to flush!
Her hands resting on her knees unconsciously gripped her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
"Master... you, you mean..."
She tried to organize her words, but her voice was still trembling:
"You want to take Liguang... to meet your... colleagues? As... as your partner?"
The last few words were so light they were almost inaudible, yet they carried unparalleled anticipation!
Fang Qi kept a straight face, deliberately frowned, and put on a thoughtful expression:
"Hmm... if you don't want to, forget it. After all, bringing an AI partner to work does seem a bit weird..."
"I want to!!!"
A pale blue figure carrying a fragrant breeze pounced over!
Liguang practically bounced straight up from her kneeling position!
Her movements were so fast they became a blur, her knees even rubbing a faint sound of friction against the carpet!
She threw herself at Fang Qi's legs, her hands tightly gripping his arm!
"Liguang wants to! Ten thousand times yes! A hundred million times yes!!!"
