Chapter 601

“Master, your tea.”

Night had descended once more.

In the middle of the wooden house, the silver-haired girl knelt with perfect posture.

A white porcelain teacup sat before her, steam curling gently from its rim.

“The temperature has been adjusted to your preferred fifty-two degrees Celsius.”

She spoke softly as she lifted the porcelain cup in both hands, raising it high.

Just as she did every morning in front of the tea table.

She still couldn’t see Master.

From afternoon until nightfall, she had tried countless times.

She had tried to catch even the slightest trace of his presence, his warmth… even the faintest rustle of fabric.

But apart from the replies Master carved out stroke by stroke, there was no other trace of him left in this world.

Yet she knew he was here.

Right in front of her, sitting quietly and watching her.

So she raised the teacup a little higher.

The window was half open, and the night breeze gently stirred the silver hair across her forehead.

Maintaining her pose, she lowered her head and looked at the floor in front of her…

Several carved lines slowly began to emerge:

【Can’t drink it… sigh…】

The handwriting was crooked, the strokes faint and broken.

As Liguang stared at the words, she blinked…

Her little mouth drew into a slight pout.

…She actually knew.

She knew Master probably couldn’t drink this tea.

He couldn’t even touch her, so how could he touch the tea she had brewed?

But she had brewed it anyway.

She had to.

Because this cup of tea was the link between her and Master.

It was a “save point” written into the rules!

She had finally waited for night to arrive, finally waited for “save time”!

She wanted to use this method to reestablish contact with Master!

She had thought…

Maybe this cup of tea would let her see him.

Maybe it would restore everything to the way it had been, letting Master pick up the teacup once more, smile as he pinched her cheek, and say…

“Tea brewed by Liguang is the best!”

But…

The silver-haired girl’s eyes grew faintly red around the rims.

As expected, it wasn’t that simple.

For the time being… Liguang still couldn’t see Master.

She hurriedly sniffed and forced a smile, then blinked hard at the empty space before her.

“It’s okay if Master can’t drink it. Liguang will drink it for you!”

With that, she immediately lowered her head, using the hair over her forehead to hide her reddened eyes. Then she brought the teacup to her lips and took a small sip.

…Mm!

She frowned slightly.

It was a little cool. It didn’t feel like the standard fifty-two degrees at all.

Tea at this temperature definitely couldn’t be served to Master!

It seemed that a human body could no longer provide Master with a precisely controlled temperature…

Still…

She set down the teacup, pursed her lips, and looked up, blinking at the empty space before her.

“This tea smells so wonderful. What a shame you can’t drink it, Master!”

She couldn’t let Master know!

Since he couldn’t drink it anyway, she would just pretend she was still as professional as ever!

Then…

New marks slowly appeared on the floor:

【That’s just mean!】

Liguang stared at the characters as they appeared one stroke at a time and blinked…

“Pfft!”

She couldn’t help laughing.

Oh, even like this, Master still wanted to drink tea brewed by Liguang!

Hehe!

That was wonderful!

But…

Her gaze trembled faintly.

Why were her eyes still burning?

…She didn’t want to cry.

She had already cried so many times today. Her eyes were swollen and ugly!

She had deliberately acted so happy in front of Master because she didn’t want him to worry!

But…

She sniffed softly.

Hmph… Human bodies were so troublesome.

She used to cry too, but she hadn’t been this sensitive!

Now, whenever she felt even a little sad, her eyes began to burn and her vision blurred.

It was as though all the water in her entire body rushed toward her eyes.

…Master must have noticed.

He would worry!

Sure enough, more carved words slowly appeared on the floor. This time, there were quite a few:

【I can’t drink it, but I can smell the tea!】

【Even if I can’t drink it, you still have to brew it for me from now on!】

Liguang stared at the words and finally broke into a smile!

Hehe!

“All right!”

Her eyes curved into crescents.

“Then from now on, Liguang will brew Master an extra-super-strong tea, so you can smell it to your heart’s content!”

As she spoke, she lifted the teacup again and finished the last sip.

Then…

She set down the cup and suddenly stood up!

“Master!”

She stared straight at the empty space in front of her.

There was nothing there, but she knew Master was there.

“Liguang can’t touch Master, and Master can’t touch Liguang, but…”

She truly could no longer attend to Master at close range.

She couldn’t brew tea for him, cook for him, massage his shoulders and legs, or curl up in his arms and act spoiled… It left her at a complete loss.

But when she thought about how Master could still see her and hear her voice…

She could serve him in a different way!

She drew in a soft breath, and her eyes gradually lit up.

“But Liguang can dance for Master!”

That was right!

Dance!

She would sing and dance for Master!

He would definitely love watching her!

She stared at the floor without blinking.

Sure enough, more carved words slowly appeared:

【Yes, yes, yes!】

The three yeses appeared one after another, and Liguang’s face immediately lit up with a smile.

“Then…”

She looked up, tilted her head toward the empty space, and blinked.

“Master, let Liguang practice for a little while first, okay?”

“Don’t watch yet. Wait until Liguang has practiced, and then she’ll perform for Master, all right?”

As she spoke, she even pouted.

“Liguang isn’t very good at it yet!”

The floor immediately began to fill with another set of slowly appearing marks:

【I. Am. Watching!】

…Hehe!

The corners of Liguang’s lips rose uncontrollably.

Of course, she hadn’t really meant to stop Master from watching!

If Master had actually agreed and said he would look away or leave for a while…

Then she would have gotten angry.

She absolutely wouldn’t let Master leave her!

Even if she couldn’t see him, Master still had to remain by her side at all times!

She was merely using this method to warn him that Liguang’s dancing might not be very good~

She wanted to prepare him for it, that was all!

After all… she had a human body now.

Her limbs were soft and floppy, completely different from her former mechanical body, which had allowed her to control every joint with perfect precision.

And for some inexplicable reason, her permissions had been restricted…

“…Then wait a moment, Master!”

She immediately turned around and pattered upstairs. She pushed open the second-floor balcony door, reached up…

And took down the string of seashell wind chimes that rang whenever the sea breeze blew through them. Then she turned and ran back downstairs.

“Master, let’s go to the deck!”

She lifted her little face toward the spot where Master had just carved his words, then turned and pushed open the wooden door, stepping barefoot onto the deck.

The night breeze brushed against her face beneath a dazzling starry sky.

The calm surface of the sea reflected the entire Milky Way, while gentle waves lapped against the edge of the platform.

Liguang walked to the center of the deck, turned around, and faced the wooden house.

Mm…

She couldn’t see where Master was.

“Master, are you watching?”

She spoke softly, her voice trembling with anxiety.

She really needed reassurance.

She constantly wanted to confirm where Master was, to know whether he was still watching her.

She was so afraid—so afraid that Master would suddenly disappear again…

She couldn’t endure that kind of shock a second time.

She really would go mad.

Words slowly surfaced as carved marks on the cabin’s outer wall:

[Watching!]

Liguang immediately broke into a huge smile!

Wonderful!

All her nervousness and unease vanished in an instant!

Her master was watching her!

She raised her little hand at once and gave the seashell wind chime a gentle shake…

“Jingle…”

The crisp chime scattered into the sea breeze, keeping time with the rhythm of the waves.

“Master, this is…”

She took a deep breath, stood barefoot on the wooden planks, and gazed at the words emerging on the wooden wall.

“Liguang’s first dance for you!”

“Master, you have to watch Liguang carefully!”

And then she began to move.

Under the night sky, her silver hair fanned out!

…

…

Fang Qi sat cross-legged on the wooden deck, leaning against the wall covered in carved words, one hand covering his fingers, which had already begun to go numb…

He stared blankly at the silver-haired girl dancing before him.

He watched as she rose onto her toes and spun lightly in circles, the skirt of her cream-colored swimsuit swirling with her movements.

Her silver hair flew around her!

Starlight fell across her smooth shoulders and slender legs.

He could tell that her movements were a little clumsy.

The breadth of her spins and the force of her arm movements all carried the awkwardness and unsteadiness of a human body.

But she was very serious!

Tiny beads of sweat had already formed on her fair forehead, and her bare feet tapped against the rough wooden planks with soft slapping sounds…

She was dancing with all her heart!

The seashell wind chime in her hand continued to ring out crisply.

Fang Qi was spellbound.

His wife really was… so beautiful!

He lightly licked his lips.

Well, on the one hand, it was because his wife was too beautiful. On the other hand…

He was getting a little thirsty.

His stomach growled, too.

And his fingers hurt!

He had scraped several more raw just now while carving the words into the wall, and his fingernail beds were full of wood splinters…

Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off Liguang!

He couldn’t even bring himself to spare the time to reset his physical condition!

What was resetting his body compared to watching his wife dance?

How could this crazy woman be so beautiful?

His eyes were wide open. He didn’t want to miss a single moment!

The silver-haired girl completed one final graceful spin and came to a stop. Her chest rose and fell slightly. She lifted the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then…

She walked lightly and precisely to Fang Qi and knelt gracefully before him!

With both hands resting on her knees, she gazed in his direction with an expectant look on her face.

“Master, did Liguang dance well?”

Fang Qi blinked as he looked at those heterochromatic eyes—eyes that were clearly turned toward him, yet failed to focus on his face.

Was there any need to ask?

How could his wife’s dancing possibly be anything but beautiful?

He shook his numb hand and picked out one finger that was still reasonably intact. Then, with all his strength, he pressed it against the wall beside him—

Hiss…!!

He bared his teeth!

[Beautiful! Dance it one more time!]

The moment he finished carving the words, he shoved his finger into his mouth and sucked on it!

This wood was seriously hard!

When he turned back, he saw that Liguang had noticed the line of text. Her face was filled with surprise and delight.

“Really, Master?”

She sprang to her feet on the spot, her little face blooming with a smile more radiant than the starlight itself!

“Then Liguang will keep dancing!”

“Jingle…”

She immediately swung the seashell wind chime in her hand and began to dance again!

Her silver hair completely unfurled in the night breeze!

She spun faster, her toes touching lightly against the wooden planks before she leaped into the air!

This time, her dance was even more uninhibited!

And Fang Qi…

He sat cross-legged, watching with a broad smile.

Wonderful!

Although he couldn’t touch his wife, being able to watch her dance for him was pretty great too!

How many people could enjoy treatment like this?

Still…

As he watched the charming silver-haired girl dance with even greater enthusiasm, he covered his already numb fingers…

And quietly swallowed.

…He was thirsty.

That cup of tea from earlier had smelled so good. He really could smell its fragrance, and he really wanted to drink it!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

The moment he reached out and touched it, his hand passed straight through the side of the cup. He couldn’t grasp a thing.

He could see it but couldn’t drink it. It was driving him crazy…

The more he thought about it, the thirstier he became!

…But it wasn’t a serious problem.

After all…

As he watched the silver-haired girl move gracefully, his eyes never left her, while his hand had already quietly pressed against the wooden wall behind him.

And at the exact moment Liguang touched down on her toes and leaped into the air—

He drew in a deep breath!

“Bang!”

…

The silver-haired girl’s toes had barely touched the ground before she began spinning gracefully once more.

Her silver hair fluttered through the air, and the wind chime rang out crisply.

And Fang Qi…

He rubbed his head, which was still throbbing with phantom pain, and licked his lips again.

Well, he wasn’t thirsty anymore! His stomach had stopped growling, too!

As for his fingers…

He lowered his head slightly.

The wounds had all healed as well!

His fingernails were whole again, as if they had never been scraped against the wood.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

He felt completely refreshed!

With one roll, he sprang up from the floor, brushed off his clothes, and walked toward the silver-haired girl, who was dancing with complete abandon.

Wife, here I come!

He reached out, trying to take hold of her moving hand and dance with her.

His fingertips brushed across her palm and passed through a patch of flowing light.

As expected, he couldn’t touch her…

The silver-haired girl suddenly spun around, and her silver hair abruptly blocked his view!

Her lovely face swept past his eyes. He instantly widened them as he watched her lips flash past the edge of his own!

There was no sense of touch, but…

The breeze she left behind smelled like strawberries!

Then her entire body passed straight through him!

Fang Qi froze where he stood. Slowly, he turned around and watched the silver-haired girl continue dancing…

He smiled helplessly.

Hey, hey, wife, slow down!

Your husband wants to dance with you too!