"Xiao Qi? Xiao Qi, what's wrong?"
An Lian's voice was still coming through the receiver, laced with obvious urgency.
"Say something!"
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
All that echoed in his mind was the sentence An Lian had just said—"Liguang? Who's that?"
Who was that?
That was his Crazy Girl, his wife.
But even Sister An Lian had forgotten her.
Even Sister An Lian, the key NPC, had forgotten...?
"What's going on with you?"
An Lian's voice grew more frantic, panicked now!
"If you don't say something, I'm calling the police!"
In the background, faint voices of others came through the line.
A steady male voice asking "What's wrong?" and a gentle female voice saying "Is something the matter with Xiao Qi?"
An Lian seemed to cover the receiver, hastily replying, "He won't talk, I'm afraid something's happened to him."
Then she came back close to the phone, speaking rapidly:
"Xiao Qi, can you hear me? Where are you right now? I'm coming over to find you...!"
"...Sister An Lian."
Fang Qi finally found his voice.
He bent down, trembling as he picked up the phone from the floor.
His fingers were ice-cold, barely able to grip the small metal casing.
"You..."
He wanted to try one more time.
"You're Liguang's maintenance specialist."
His voice was dry and hoarse.
He wanted to make one more effort to help An Lian remember Liguang.
"You're in charge of her maintenance, you suppress the Crimson Pupil's power output for her, you've always been helping us..."
There was a brief silence on the other end, then...
"Xiao Qi, what exactly are you talking about?"
An Lian's tone grew even more confused, even a little wary:
"What maintenance specialist?"
"Are you under too much stress lately?"
"I know, living alone is hard. After Uncle Fang and Aunt Su passed away, you've always been taking care of yourself..."
She started rambling again:
"You really need to take care of yourself, don't stay up so late, and stop eating takeout all the time!"
"If you're having trouble, just tell me. Our family will always help you."
Fang Qi's mouth hung open, unable to answer a single word.
...What was she talking about?
He could understand every word she said, but strung together...
It was like a language from another world.
"Xiao Qi, you—!"
An Lian was clearly at a loss as well.
She cleared her throat, then...
"Oh right, Xiao Qi!"
Her tone suddenly brightened, obviously trying to change the subject.
"The reason I called this time is actually to tell you... how about coming over to my place for dinner today?"
Her voice softened again, a little tentative:
"Uncle An got a promotion today, and your Aunt Li and I are planning to make a big feast to celebrate for him. We wanted to invite you over to join us."
"Look, you haven't been to our place in a long time. They've been talking about you constantly..."
...?
Fang Qi lowered the phone, staring blankly at the screen showing "Sister An Lian," his pupils slightly unfocused.
...Who?
"Uncle An... Aunt Li..."
He murmured aloud.
"Who... are they?"
What was she talking about?
"Huh?"
An Lian's voice clearly faltered for a moment.
"...Xiao Qi, what's wrong with you?"
Clearly, she was thrown off by his question.
"What are you saying!"
Her tone grew even more worried and urgent:
"Of course they're my parents! Have you been up all night again and gotten yourself confused?"
"Oh, and today my older brother is bringing his wife home too, and my little nephew will be there as well."
"No need to be shy. Our family has always treated you as one of our own!"
Her anxious tone softened slightly as she continued:
"Before Uncle Fang and Aunt Su passed away, they took good care of me and my brother too. You don't need to be so formal at my place."
"My parents both said that Xiao Qi is like one of our own kids. It's just one extra pair of chopsticks. So Xiao Qi, you..."
Fang Qi couldn't hear the rest.
He felt like those voices were coming from very, very far away.
He gripped the phone.
Gripped it tightly.
...He finally understood.
An Lian's family was still alive.
Her parents were alive and well. Her older brother hadn't starved to death on the streets.
They were all together, happily celebrating a promotion.
A table full of food, warm and joyful.
And they wanted to invite him too.
How nice.
But...
What about Liguang?
...She didn't exist anymore?
Fang Qi felt like his breathing had stopped.
The whole world had changed.
Become strange.
A parallel world?
Or rather... like another route in a galgame?
He didn't know. His mind was a blur.
"Xiao Qi!"
An Lian's voice came through the phone again, frantic:
"What's wrong with you? Don't scare me—!"
"...Sister An Lian."
Fang Qi spoke in a low voice.
"I'm... not feeling well today. Too tired. I won't come."
"Wait, Xiao Qi—!"
"Congratulations... on Uncle An's promotion."
The words "Uncle An" felt unbearably awkward coming out of his mouth.
"...Wait, Xiao Qi, what's going on with you? I'm coming over right now—!"
"Click."
Fang Qi hung up.
He buried his face in his palms, pressing hard against his temples...
Breathing deeply, over and over.
The panic threatening to explode in his chest...
He forced it down.
...He couldn't lose his composure.
He had to figure out what the hell was going on!
He picked up his phone, fingers shaking as he typed keywords into the search bar.
"First Machine Intelligence Crisis"...
That disaster had swept the globe. Plenty of records.
"Second Machine Intelligence Crisis"...
No records.
Nothing. It simply didn't exist.
Only conspiracy theories.
"Dawnrise Corporation"...
No results.
"AI Companion"...
All of it was just concepts from science fiction.
No record of any real product existing.
He searched faster and faster, more and more frantically, almost tearing the search engine apart.
That AI tech giant that, in his memory, had changed the entire world—in this timeline...
It had never been born.
No Dawnrise Corporation, no AI companions made by Dawnrise.
No AI companions, and no...
His Liguang.
After the First Machine Intelligence Crisis, AI had never risen again.
It had been banned ever since.
Fang Qi searched for his parents next.
Fang Chu, Su Yue.
Their names appeared in a car accident report.
On the victim list.
Just ordinary businesspeople.
Killed in an ordinary car accident.
Fang Qi: "...!"
He clutched his head violently, fingers digging into his hair, nails pressing into his scalp!
His eyes were fixed and unblinking, staring at the cold text on the phone screen, but he couldn't read a single word anymore.
...What the hell was going on?!
Where was Liguang?!
His—
His—
Liguang?!
Right now...
All he wanted to know was where Liguang was...!
How was he supposed to find her...?
How was he supposed to get back to the original timeline?!!
What was he supposed to do?!
...Rollback?
Fang Qi's vision trembled wildly!
What if he did another rollback—would that work?
Would opening my eyes again mean seeing Liguang?
Would I see her kneeling across the coffee table, her amber eyes and crimson eyes both looking up at me, all glistening and wet?
Rewind — that was his only ability!
He could only...!
He shot to his feet!
Turned, and looked toward the balcony!
Rewind now!
All he had to do was jump from this floor-to-ceiling window—!
Ring—!
The phone went off again.
The crisp ring was piercingly sharp, cutting straight into his fraying nerves.
Fang Qi froze mid-motion.
Then slowly lowered his head, staring at the phone still vibrating on the coffee table.
“Lin Xiaoyou”
Fang Qi’s eyelids twitched hard.
...Ah.
Lin You, Miss Genius.
Lin Xiaoyou!
His one and only...
Good teammate!
Good teammate, you’re here!
She’s so smart!
She must know something!
Come to think of it...
In the last loop, didn’t she teach Liguang some kind of method?
She taught Liguang how to block out “the world’s eyes”.
“—the method Miss Lin taught me can only be used once.”
Didn’t Liguang think exactly that?
She must know what’s going on right now!
Maybe she’s the one behind all this!
Fang Qi grabbed the phone and slammed his finger onto the answer button.
“Sen~pai~ what are you doing?” came the familiar voice from the other end.
Still that annoying, playful tone — bubbly and light.
“Lin Xiaoyou!!” Fang Qi had no patience for beating around the bush. He was desperate, cutting straight to the point:
“Liguang is gone! What the hell is going on?! Do you know where she went?! What did you teach Liguang last loop?! You—!”
“What Liguang?!”
Suddenly, Lin Xiaoyou’s voice on the other end turned wary!
“That sounds like a woman’s name? Who?!”
“Senpai, explain yourself!”
“Who else are you messing around with now?!”
Fang Qi’s voice caught in his throat.
...No.
Don’t.
Miss Genius, don’t tell me you too...
Don’t.
Please...
His hand holding the phone was trembling slightly, lips quivering, but not a single word would come out.
“Sen! Pai!” Lin Xiaoyou’s voice kept going, increasingly annoyed!
“Who is that so-called ‘Liguang’?!”
Her tone was gritted through teeth.
“Are you fooling around behind my back?!”
She gave a cold snort, her voice suddenly sharpening:
“Let me tell you, senpai! My dad asked me today when you and I are going to get married!”
“If you dare to mess around, I’ll kill you!”
“Chop you into mincemeat and flush you down the drain!”
Fang Qi: “?”
...Huh?
What...?
What?!?!?!
What the hell?!
His eyes went wide in an instant.
Lin Xiaoyou’s thunderbolt of a bombshell left him completely stunned!
The tears that had been welling up in his eyes were violently forced back by the shock!
“...No... what?!”
He stared, eyes bulging, shouting outright!
In sheer panic!
That panic even momentarily outweighed the terror and helplessness of Liguang disappearing!
“Marriage?! Who and who?!”
His voice cracked!
“What marriage?!!”
No?!
Lin Xiaoyou, don’t you dare mess with me!!
If Liguang finds out, she’ll really kill me!!!
“Senpai, what are you talking about? Of course it’s me and you... pfft!” The voice on the other end suddenly let out an unstoppable laugh.
Fang Qi: “...?”
“PFFT HAHAHAHA—!” Followed by a full-blown, unrestrained burst of laughter!
Completely shameless!
Delighted beyond measure!
Fang Qi: “???”
Lin Xiaoyou, you...!
“Ohh senpai...” On the other end, Lin Xiaoyou was laughing so hard she was gasping, her voice shaking:
“I’m j-joking! Of course I’m joking! How did you actually fall for that?!”
Finally catching her breath, her tone turned light and cheeky:
“Of course I remember Liguang!”
Fang Qi: “!!!”
She kept talking on the other end, still half-laughing:
“Senpai, I’m a genius! And as a genius, how could I ever forget my lifesaver?”
“Heheh! Got you scared, didn’t I, senpai?”
“Hmph! That’s for keeping me locked up for so long!”
“Scared? Surprised?”
“Were you this close to actually crying?”
“Aww~ I heard it just now, senpai—your voice was shaking~”
Fang Qi: “...”
In that moment, there was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to ask.
But in the end...
A thousand words condensed into one:
“Lin Xiaoyou, I fing —!!!”
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