Chapter 660

“Senior, having the two of them sit together feels so awkward…”

Lin Xiaoyou quietly leaned over from the side and whispered her complaint.

Fang Qi: “…”

He turned his head and glanced behind him.

On the other side of the sofa, Liguang and Ling’er were sitting face-to-face—one silver-haired, the other black-haired. Both were sitting perfectly straight.

They each wore a polite, standard smile.

“Hello, Miss Liguang. The weather is lovely today.”

Ling’er was the first to speak, her voice soft and gentle.

“Yes. Liguang agrees.”

Liguang gave a slight nod, her voice warm and tender.

“Miss Liguang, did you come here as your master’s companion?”

“Indeed. Liguang naturally must remain at her master’s side every step of the way.”

“Then, Miss Liguang, have you and your master been together for many years?”

“The bond between Liguang and her master is not something outsiders could ever measure.”

“I’ve been too nosy.”

“Miss Ling’er, you’re too kind.”

Fang Qi: “…”

Why do you two sound so much like machines? You’re talking as if you’re reading from a script.

Then Liguang suddenly tilted her head and shot him a glance.

And what a “kind” glance it was!

The corners of her lips and eyes were curved into a smile, but the depths of her left amber eye were icy cold.

She said nothing. She merely sent that sidelong, gentle gaze drifting toward him.

Fang Qi felt inexplicably guilty under her stare. He blinked at her, then quickly turned around!

In any case…

He would just let Liguang have a nice chat with Miss Ling’er.

They were right behind him, after all. Even if he couldn’t see what they were talking about, he could hear everything if he pricked up his ears.

As for him…

Fang Qi took a deep breath, straightened his expression, and looked at Lin Xiaoyou, who was sitting across from him and blinking at him.

For now, he would be in charge of dealing with this ditzy sweetheart!

Perhaps he could coax some useful information out of her!

He and Liguang would each handle one side. It was a perfectly reasonable division of labor!

And so…

“Xiaoyou…”

Fang Qi put on a surprised expression, blinked at her, and asked with feigned curiosity:

“I really didn’t expect you to have an AI companion too.”

He glanced at “Ling’er,” who was awkwardly chatting with Liguang, then cautiously continued:

“But for you, she should be more of a friend, right?”

Lin Xiaoyou immediately nodded and giggled.

“That’s right! She’s my friend! Or, rather…”

She tilted her head and looked at Ling’er, who was still awkwardly chatting with Liguang. After thinking for a moment, she said:

“Or maybe she’s like a big sister? Sister Ling’er!”

That “Sister Ling’er” came out sweet and soft!

Fang Qi: “…”

Sister Xiaoqing, get over here! Come see what your Lin Xiaoyou is doing—she’s really going to rebel!

Ling’er seemed to notice the commotion and looked over.

She lowered her eyes docilely and dipped her head slightly toward Lin Xiaoyou, then turned back and continued her awkward conversation with Liguang.

Liguang, meanwhile, gave Fang Qi another light, reproachful glance, her eyes drifting softly toward him…

Fang Qi hurriedly looked away and pretended he hadn’t noticed.

Then he lowered his eyes and began to think.

From what he could tell, this ditzy sweetheart, Lin Xiaoyou, really didn’t know anything.

As far as the original Xiaoqing was concerned, she had merely been a close friend.

And this “Ling’er” seemed to have…

Taken the place of “Sister Xiaoqing,” who had originally been at Lin Xiaoyou’s side?

Come to think of it, she really was quite similar to Xiaoqing.

They had both accompanied Lin Xiaoyou since childhood, and both had been “left behind by her father.” Everything lined up.

Fang Qi was stunned.

…Could “Ling’er” be Xiaoqing in a new guise?

…That was basically impossible. Besides, what would be the point?

Then…

How had she managed to erase “Sister Xiaoqing” from Lin Xiaoyou’s mind and take her place?

Fang Qi pressed his lips together.

Lin Xiaoyou’s memories were truly a complete mess!

“Senior?”

The round-faced girl was staring at him with her wide, almond-shaped eyes, her head tilted to one side.

Fang Qi came back to himself. Seeing her puzzled expression, he let out an “Ah” and said:

“Oh, so that’s how it is…!”

Then an idea struck him. He deliberately looked at her with displeasure and said:

“So you had an AI companion all along? And your father even worked for Dawnlight Corporation?”

In a joking tone, he probed:

“You put on quite an act before!”

Lin Xiaoyou looked slightly bewildered.

“Huh? What did I put on? I never pretended to be anything.”

She tilted her little head, looking completely innocent. It seemed she genuinely had no idea what Fang Qi was talking about.

Fang Qi’s heart stirred. He glared at her and said irritably:

“Don’t say you didn’t!”

“When you heard that I had Liguang, you were so shocked!”

“The first time you met Liguang, you kept exclaiming, ‘Amazing, amazing!’ You acted exactly like someone who had never seen an AI companion before!”

He put on an expression that was both exasperated and amused.

“You never once told me that your family had an AI companion too! And you still claim you weren’t pretending?”

Lin Xiaoyou stared blankly at him.

“…Huh?”

After hearing those words, she froze completely. Her almond-shaped eyes lost focus slightly, as though she had suddenly become stuck.

“…That’s right…?”

She stared blankly at Fang Qi and murmured:

“…Why was I…?”

Fang Qi pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at her.

As expected.

It really was this issue.

When Lin Xiaoyou had just asked Ling’er when she had been purchased, Fang Qi had already sensed something was wrong!

This ditzy sweetheart didn’t have any fixed or coherent memories at all!

It seemed that whatever Ling’er told her, she would simply believe. She was like a blank sheet of paper, with anyone free to write whatever they wanted on it!

This… was probably the price she had paid for losing her soul, wasn’t it?

Without a soul, her memories had become a lump of dough in someone else’s hands.

Without that layer of “base code,” even what she ought to remember was no longer up to her. Anyone else could decide for her!

That was why…

He had deliberately said all that!

He wanted to muddle Lin Xiaoyou’s memories!

He wanted her to realize for herself that the accounts in her head didn’t add up—and, in doing so, become aware that something was wrong!

“Who would’ve thought, Xiaoyou!”

He continued piling it on, teasing her with a smile:

“I never knew you had such a devious little side.”

“I mean, you kept it hidden for so long… Don’t tell me you were just waiting to surprise me this time?”

The ditzy sweetheart blinked at him, a moment of confusion passing through her eyes…

Then she giggled.

“Y-yes, Senior! That’s exactly it!”

“Ah, it was so hard keeping it a secret all this time!”

Fang Qi: “?”

She lifted her chin, a smug look spreading across her round little face.

“So when I heard Senior was coming to my house, I was incredibly excited!”

As she spoke, she suddenly stood up, nimbly walked around the coffee table, and dropped herself down beside Fang Qi!

The sofa sank beneath her weight. She smiled at Fang Qi with sparkling delight.

“But it all worked out in the end! I finally managed to shock Senior!”

Her little legs swung lightly as she spoke, her expression utterly innocent.

“The look on Senior’s face when you walked through the door was so funny!”

No, wait, you…!

Fang Qi stared at her, opening and closing his mouth.

…He genuinely had no idea where to begin complaining.

I was just saying that offhandedly. How did you immediately run with it?

Your memory is really like modeling clay—anyone can come along and knead it into whatever shape they want!

And…

He instinctively scooted a little farther to the side.

Hey, could you not sit so close?!

He had almost forgotten that the ditzy sweetheart Xiaoyou was always as clingy as a sticky rice cake!

Behind him, the conversation between Liguang and Ling'er had stopped at some point.

The silence was a little frightening.

Fang Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

It was as if something cold and slippery were crawling inch by inch up the back of his neck!

He could feel that eerie gaze again!

If Lin Xiaoyou moved any closer, the room would probably light up with another flash of red!

“Ahaha, listen to you…!”

Fang Qi hurriedly picked up the conversation.

“Indeed, you gave me quite a fright. I just didn’t expect my junior to have so many ‘little tricks’ up her sleeve!”

“Huh?”

Lin Xiaoyou looked confused for a moment.

“Little tricks?”

Her brows drew together slightly, her pupils shifting between losing focus and contracting.

Fang Qi silently observed her.

Miss Genius, just use that little brain of yours a bit, and you…

“…That’s not it!”

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly looked up, glaring at him with her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

“I just… Oh, come on!”

She looked annoyed, then abruptly planted her hands on her hips.

“What’s wrong with having little tricks? I just wanted to scare Senior!”

She looked utterly justified!

Fang Qi watched her helplessly.

Would this ditzy sweetheart believe anything he said now?

It really was a bit like hypnosis. Her memories could be kneaded into all sorts of shapes at will…

He blinked.

Wait… this is a strange setup.

If Liguang had become like this, then… he would absolutely have to toy mercilessly with his own wife!

But Miss Genius… it was a headache when you became like this!

“Is Miss Liguang usually this attentive when taking care of her master?”

Behind him, the two women’s conversation continued to drift over in snatches.

“Serving my master is Liguang’s duty. That said, Miss Ling’er is even more thorough than Liguang when it comes to these chores.”

“Miss Ling’er wouldn’t dare. It’s merely a habit I’ve developed over many years.”

“Many years? Hmm… Then Miss Ling’er must have had a difficult time.”

“Not at all. Being able to do my part for Master and Master’s guests is my good fortune.”

“Miss Ling’er certainly knows how to flatter people.”

“The masters seem to have a good relationship as well.”

“Yes, they’re sitting so close… Their relationship is more than merely good. Liguang still has a long way to go.”

Fang Qi: “…”

He hurriedly scooted a little farther away from Lin Xiaoyou!

At the same time, he frowned slightly and stared at her somewhat unfocused almond-shaped eyes, racking his brain for something else to say so he could probe a little deeper into her…

“Oh, right, Senior!”

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly blinked and pulled out her phone!

The yellow phone case was unmistakably Lin Xiaoyou’s style, covered in all kinds of glittering little decorations.

She stared at the screen, her fingers tapping away rapidly as she spoke.

“Senior, the news about you and Liguang yesterday is still pretty hot today!”

“Everyone’s talking about Liguang!”

As she spoke, she glanced up at Fang Qi and giggled before lowering her head to keep typing.

“Some netizens are even joking about making Liguang the cyber goddess of the new age and founding some kind of Silver-Haired Big Sister Cult!”

Behind them, Liguang’s idle chatter paused for a moment.

The corner of Fang Qi’s eye twitched, and his train of thought—already struggling along—was immediately derailed.

What the heck? People online really had nothing better to do…

“Found it! Look, Senior!”

Lin Xiaoyou held up the screen and leaned toward him.

“Yesterday’s news is still on the front page!”

Fang Qi wanted to roll his eyes.

He really didn’t want to look at this nonsense, but he couldn’t bring himself to brush her off. All he could do was force a smile and reluctantly glance up…

Then he froze.

Huh?

The screen wasn’t showing a news headline at all.

Instead, it displayed…

【Ta-da-da-daaa!】

【It’s me, Lin You—back for a limited time!!】

【Tremble, Senior!!!】

Three lines typed into the notes app!

Fang Qi: “…?!”

His pupils contracted sharply!

Wh…!

Who?!

Lin You?!

Who was Lin You… huh?!

He abruptly raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him…

The round-faced girl who was still grinning cheerfully!

Lin Xiaoyou even winked at him.

“You…!”

He instinctively began in shock, but only managed to get one word out—

“Huh? Senior, what’s with that expression?”

Lin Xiaoyou “confusedly” pulled her phone back and looked at the screen. Then…

“Ah!!”

With a startled cry, her little round face flushed red, and her fingers began tapping frantically at the screen.

She spoke in a flustered rush.

“Sorry, sorry, Senior! I showed you the wrong thing!”

“Oh no, how did I end up showing you my private photos…!”

She put on an utterly bashful expression.

Fang Qi: “…?”

Huh?

What was that supposed to mean?!

You…!

Suddenly, he felt another eerie gaze shoot toward him from behind.

In the corner of his eye, he even caught a flash of red!

Then Ling’er’s voice came from behind him.

“Miss Liguang, there’s something special about your right eye. It even glows red. It’s beautiful.”

Fang Qi: “…”

It really was quite beautiful.