Chapter 397 |
Fang Qi stared at Lin Xiaoyou, who was still holding a kneeling slide pose.
This genius young lady had both hands raised high, holding a white access card, her knees scraping against the floor, her sparkling apricot eyes fixed on him!
Her round little face was blooming with an incredibly bright smile!
“…What are you doing?”
He couldn’t help but ask!
Her movements and posture were way too bizarre!
Lin Xiaoyou blinked rapidly at him, her eyelashes fluttering, and she raised the access card even higher.
“Offering tribute, can’t you see that!”
She said it with complete confidence!
You…
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Alright.
At least her attitude was better than in the previous loops…
But she’d overcorrected a bit!
He looked at the card in her hand.
The middle-aged man on the card made his eyes flicker slightly.
He reached out to take the access card…
Then a small, fair hand reached in from beside him, gently pinched the card, and pulled it away.
“Huh?”
Lin Xiaoyou blinked. Her hand was empty.
Fang Qi turned his head.
The silver-haired girl had already stood up and was now beside him, her fluffy white pajamas brushing against his arm.
She looked down at the white access card in her hand, a faint crimson flickering in her scarlet eyes.
Very naturally, she tucked the card into her own pocket.
“Thank you, Miss Lin, for delivering the card.”
Liguang gave a slight bow to Lin Xiaoyou, who was still kneeling on the floor. A gentle, natural smile curved on her lips.
Then she stepped around Lin Xiaoyou and walked lightly toward the door to close it—the one Lin Xiaoyou had forgotten to shut.
Lin Xiaoyou didn’t seem annoyed.
She got up from the floor and patted the dust off her knees.
That “cool” sliding kneel had left its mark!
On her knees, two red patches stood out starkly against her fair skin.
But now, she didn’t even frown, as if she felt no pain at all.
Lin Xiaoyou looked up, her round face breaking into another giggling grin!
“Senior~”
Her voice suddenly turned sweet and syrupy.
Fang Qi immediately leaned back in alert!
“What do you want?”
He squinted at her.
Lin Xiaoyou took half a step closer, grinning again!
“Senior, look, since I’ve been so good…”
She pointed behind her, toward the steel security door that Liguang had just closed.
Then she turned back, gazing at Fang Qi with pleading eyes.
“Could you tell me… why that ‘spy’ lady…”
“Is still so ‘normal’?”
“Why is that?”
Her eyes were all pitiful!
…Of course.
Fang Qi pressed his lips together.
She asked.
This question…
“Slap!!”
Lin Xiaoyou suddenly clasped her hands together above her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight!
“Please, Senior! Please, Senior!”
Her tone was utterly imploring!
“Tell me!”
Looking at this round-faced girl with her hands clasped and eyes shut, Fang Qi didn’t answer right away.
He understood perfectly why Lin Xiaoyou was so agitated.
In the last loop, Lin Xiaoyou had stood in the hallway, facing a face identical to her father’s, saying…
—“So everything was already beyond saving.”
But then, Gu Xi, who should have ended up the same way as her father, was standing completely fine before her!
A moment ago, Gu Xi had brushed past her and even let out a cold snort!
Someone who should have become an expressionless “ghost,” just like her father, was now alive and kicking in front of her…
…So what about her father?
That’s why she was so worked up! Why she dropped to her knees and slid forward! She presented the card with that almost frantic, exaggerated gesture!
Fang Qi pressed his lips together, watching him.
This guy…
He knew far more than Fang Qi had imagined!
But what surprised him most…
How did she know about “Gu Xi turning into a puppet”?
Lin Xiaoyou was still holding her hands together, peeking one eye open…
And she met his scrutinizing gaze.
She quickly shut her eyes again, shrinking her head down, squeezing her eyelids even tighter, her thick lashes trembling faintly.
“Senior! Please!!”
Soft footsteps drew near.
Liguang had returned, gliding gracefully over and stopping behind Lin Xiaoyou.
Those heterochromatic eyes were now calmly fixed on Lin Xiaoyou’s clasped hands. Her fluffy white pajamas made her look soft and peaceful.
She simply stood there, gazing at Lin Xiaoyou’s back. The curve of her smile was unusually serene, her expression…
There was no wariness in her amber left eye, and the crimson in her right eye no longer flickered… It had even softened!
Fang Qi raised an eyebrow.
His crazy girl had actually connected with Lin Xiaoyou?
The silver-haired girl glanced at him again, gave a faint smile, and lowered her gaze.
Clearly, she didn’t oppose him revealing something to Lin Xiaoyou.
— Master, you can help Miss Lin. I won’t be upset.
That’s what she seemed to be saying!
But…
Fang Qi turned back to Lin Xiaoyou.
He had been silent too long. Lin Xiaoyou had already opened her eyes, staring straight at him.
Fang Qi met her trembling gaze.
— Senior, can you save my father too?
That was what her eyes were asking him.
But…
Could he do it?
Fang Qi sighed inwardly.
No, he couldn’t.
Gu Xi had been “saved” because her “soul” had been right beside him.
Those azure codes had been swirling in the void, so when he shouted, “Get back in!” they all rushed back into Gu Xi’s body.
He had saved her by sheer luck.
But Lin Zhouyuan was different.
If Fang Qi’s earlier guess about “souls” was right — that the soul is a person’s underlying source code…
Then the young man who looked exactly like Lin Xiaoyou’s father had long been an empty shell!
His “soul,” his source code, had vanished no one knew where!
It might have been swallowed up, annihilated long ago!
Erased and deleted, never to be found again!
…Tch.
He should have asked Gu Xi earlier.
Asked her about those “informants”!
…Forget it.
He’d have to go to the police station for a detailed talk later anyway.
He could ask then!
Though she might not tell him…
Right now, Lin Xiaoyou was still staring at him with eager eyes.
He took a deep breath, speaking in a low voice:
“Xiaoyou, I…”
“Oops!”
Lin Xiaoyou suddenly let out a yelp, cutting him off.
She broke into a grin once more, her smile dazzlingly bright!
With a wave of her hand, her tone was light and casual:
“Senior~ Why so serious! If you don’t want to talk about it, then forget it!”
Fang Qi looked at her.
She was smiling. The corners of her mouth were upturned, her almond-shaped eyes curved.
But those eyes were trembling.
Her pupils quivered faintly, something in them struggling desperately.
The rims of her eyes were also slightly red, and her nostrils fluttered just a little…
Then, she instantly stretched her smile even wider!
Fang Qi pressed his lips together.
He had seen Lin Xiaoyou at her most infuriating.
This wasn’t it.
Right now, she was laughing too hard.
“…Xiaoyou.”
Fang Qi spoke.
He looked at her seriously.
He decided… to give her a proper “explanation!”
After all, this matter involved her family, her father!
Even though the “eyes of the world” were watching and he couldn’t say it outright, he could do what he did with Gu Xi…
Make up another story.
“Let me tell you a story—”
“No!”
But Lin Xiaoyou suddenly clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head wildly!
Her ponytail swung frantically!
“Not listening, not listening—blah blah blah!”
Fang Qi: “…?”
He was slightly stunned.
…What do you mean?
I’ve gotten serious, and now you don’t want to hear it?
“Wait…?”
Fang Qi stared at her:
“Weren’t you the one who wanted to hear it…!”
“Not listening, not listening, just not listening!”
She shook her head again, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.
Fang Qi frowned.
Hey!
This temper of mine!
You don’t want to listen?
Well, I’m going to tell you anyway!
“The story begins with—”
“Stop!”
Lin Xiaoyou abruptly dropped her hands, opened her eyes, and fixed her gaze on him!
On her round face, that forced, overly bright smile twisted awkwardly.
“Senior…”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Just leave me a little hope, okay?”
Fang Qi’s eyes flickered.
He stared at her forced smile for a few seconds, then finally…
Stopped talking.
His gaze unconsciously drifted away from her smiling face.
His breathing softened.
…Hah.
Yeah.
Lin Xiaoyou was this smart.
She must have… already guessed something from his attitude earlier.
She had seen the hesitation in his eyes, his faltering words.
So she didn’t dare listen anymore.
She didn’t want him to say that “I can’t.”
She would rather cling to that faint hope—that maybe her father could still be saved—than have Fang Qi tell her outright…
“Those who have turned into puppets can never come back.”
Or maybe she already knew it full well?
Last loop, when Liguang carried her up the mountain, she had even said—
“There are things I can’t explain now. Once you’ve seen everything you need to see, once you know what you need to know, I’ll ask you then.”
Now she had asked.
But before hearing the answer, she covered her ears.
Fang Qi looked at the round-faced girl before him, the corners of her smile barely holding up.
It was really…
The first time he’d seen her so spineless.
Not even daring to hear an answer.
His gaze dropped, and finally…
“…If there’s a chance, I’ll do my best.”
That was all he said.
It was all he could say.
Lin Xiaoyou gave a little shudder.
She stared blankly at Fang Qi.
Her eyes grew redder!
Her almond eyes brimmed with tears, and her lips quivered slightly.
Then she blinked hard, forcing back what was about to spill over, and—
“Wah!!!”
She let out a loud wail.
Then she spread her arms and lunged at him!
“Senior, you’re the best!!!”
Fang Qi: “?!”
Lin Xiaoyou, you damn…!
“I love you so much—ugh!”
One hand hooked precisely around the back of Lin Xiaoyou’s neck, yanking her to a halt and lifting her up slightly…
Lin Xiaoyou was like a kitten being scruffed by the nape, her entire body instantly lifted off the ground!
She still kept her arms spread wide, her two pale little legs kicking in the air a couple of times.
The silver-haired girl just smiled, turned her wrist, and gave a gentle toss...
"Wait... ow!!"
She threw Lin Xiaoyou onto the floor!
Her butt hit the ground hard!
The genius girl's eyes practically popped out of her head on the spot.
She shot up immediately, both hands covering her bottom, teary almond eyes glaring at Liguang as she wailed.
"Liguang, you demon! My butt's totally ruined, and you still... huh?"
She blinked, rubbed her butt, cautiously twisted her waist...
Then...
"Hehe..."
A sheepish grin spread across her little round face.
"I guess it's not ruined..."
"It was ruined in the 'dream,' but now it's perfectly fine!"
She scratched the back of her head, grinning cheekily at Liguang and winking.
Fang Qi: "..."
The genius girl was goofing off again.
Liguang stood beside her, still smiling, the crimson in her red eyes calming down, a hint of... helplessness at the corner of her mouth.
Fang Qi rubbed his forehead.
Then...
"Knock, knock."
He tapped the coffee table with his hand.
Lin Xiaoyou turned to look at him, then giggled again.
"What's up, senior? Are you going to treat me to a meal? I helped you out, you know! If you do, you have to bring Xiaoqing along, she's right now—"
"Lin Xiaoyou."
Fang Qi cut her off.
"Since you don't want to hear a story, then..."
He leaned back into the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at her.
"How about you tell me a story instead?"
Lin Xiaoyou blinked, tilted her head to one side, and put on an innocent, "I don't understand" expression.
"What story?"
She giggled again.
"I'm just an ordinary little employee!"
"My brain is kinda slow~"
"I don't know how to tell stories at all~"
