My Yandere Mechanical Wife

Chapter 83 A Dream of Nanke

When I combed my hair in the morning, the gleaming silver strands covered the comb teeth.

I picked it up for her, rolled it into a small ball, and put it in the glass jar on the dressing table—it was already half full.

"So much has fallen off again," she sighed at herself in the mirror. "It's almost all gone."

"Even if it all falls off, it will still look good," I said, putting her reading glasses on her. "It's like a smooth pearl."

She smiled, her wrinkles spreading out, but her eyes still had that same curved shape from back then.

Xingxing and Chenchen each started their own families and had children.

When the whole family came back over the weekend, the house was so noisy it was almost like the ceiling was going to fall off.

Li Guang sat in the middle of the sofa, with her two great-grandchildren perched on her lap, listening to them chatter about kindergarten.

"Great-Grandma, why are your eyes different colors?" asked her four-year-old great-granddaughter.

"Because Great-Grandma was a special person," Riko said gently.

"And what about Great-Grandpa?"

“Great-grandfather was an even more special person,” she said, looking at me. “He was the person that Great-grandmother waited a very, very long time for.”

In the evening, the children all went home. The house suddenly became quiet.

We sat in rocking chairs in the yard, watching the sunset paint the sky orange-red.

A blanket was covering Li Guang's knees—her joints had been damaged since she was young.

Archie.

"Um?"

"I dreamt yesterday about the first time we met," she said, squinting. "You fell down and cried so loudly."

"You're mistaken," I corrected. "You're the one who's crying, I'm not crying at all."

"Really...?" She thought for a moment, "Maybe, it's been too long."

That's been too long indeed.

So much time has passed that some memories have become blurred, and it's impossible to distinguish which are real and which are details added in dreams.

That night, she suddenly said her back hurt. I massaged it for her, and when my fingers touched her thin shoulder blades, my heart ached.

"Archie," she said softly, her back to me, "what if one day I forget you?"

"Then I'll reintroduce myself every day."

"What if I can't even speak anymore?"

"Then I'll just hold your hand, and we can stay silent."

She turned around and looked at me in the dim light of the bedside lamp.

My amber left eye was already somewhat cloudy, but my crimson right eye was still clear—reflecting in it a picture of me with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles.

"Archie, have you been happy in your life?"

"I'm happy," I kissed her wrinkled hand, "every moment with you is a happy one."

"Me too," she sighed contentedly, "so even if tomorrow is the end, I will..."

"Don't say that," I interrupted her, "I'll cook your favorite porridge tomorrow, with lots of red dates in it."

She smiled and said, "Okay, it's settled then."

We lay side by side, hand in hand, just like countless nights before.

A breeze blew in through the window, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

She suddenly started humming that tune.

It's the song I used to soothe Xingxing, Chenchen, and my great-grandson. It's also the song I used to soothe me when I had a fever many years ago.

There are no lyrics, just a gentle melody.

I closed my eyes and hummed along.

As he hummed, his voice gradually faded.

Her breathing became even and long.

The moonlight shifted through the window and shone on our clasped, aged hands.

The wedding ring on her finger gleamed warmly in the moonlight.

……

Li Guang lay down.

The doctor said she might not be able to get up.

Her organs were like old machines, slowing down one by one.

I tried to wipe her body, my movements as clumsy as if I were holding a baby for the first time.

She was so thin she was just skin and bones, her skin was as thin as paper, and her bluish veins were clearly visible.

But those heterochromatic eyes still shone—the amber had darkened, but the crimson stubbornly shone, like a candle flame in the wind.

"Archie," she said softly, I had to lean in to hear her, "your hair... needs a cut."

"I'll cut it for you when you're better."

She laughed, a laugh that sounded like a leaky bellows: "You're lying... I'm not going to get better this time."

In the afternoon, Xingxing and Chenchen brought the children to see her.

She put on a brave face in front of the children and even told them two fairy tales.

After they left, she closed her eyes, exhausted, and didn't speak for a long time.

It snowed at night. I was dozing off by the bed when I suddenly felt my hand being gently held.

"Archie," she opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, "I have no regrets in this life."

"I know."

"I really don't regret it," she turned her head, her eyes glistening with tears, "Even if we did it all over again... I would still stick to you, follow you, and make you mine."

"I know." I squeezed her hand.

"So..." she gasped for breath, "if there's a next life, you have to treat me well too."

My throat tightened and I couldn't speak, so I could only nod.

"Find me soon," her voice trailed off, "Don't keep me waiting too long..."

I bent down and kissed her until she fell into a deep sleep. Outside the window, the snow fell silently, and the world was pure white.

Like the veil we wore on our wedding day.

Like the white dresses she always loved to wear when she was young.

Like the color at the beginning of everything.

……

The first day of the new year.

At three in the morning, Li Guang stopped breathing.

She was very quiet, as if she were asleep. I held her hand and sat there for a long time, until her hand became completely cold.

Then... the world began to collapse.

This is not a metaphor. It's a real collapse.

First, the ground shook, and the cup fell off the bedside table and shattered on the floor.

Then cracks appeared in the wall, spreading like a spider web.

Outside the window, the sky, the sky I've looked at for eighty-two years, has cracked.

Black cracks run from east to west, like a shattered mirror.

The earth cracked beneath my feet, the fissures bottomless. A rumbling sound came from afar—the house where Liguang and I had lived our whole lives was collapsing.

But I didn't move.

I don't know why, but I'm very calm.

I sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand, and quietly watched it all happen.

The ceiling crumbled, revealing a void of darkness behind it. The floor collapsed, and the bed began to tilt. Wind rushed in through the cracks, carrying a piercing shriek.

Finally, even the light began to disappear.

It's as if someone is slowly dimming the world's brightness.

First, the distant mountains, then the trees outside the window, then the outline of the room, and finally, Li Guang's pale face...

Little by little, it was swallowed up by darkness.

In the last second before complete darkness descended, I leaned close to her ear and whispered my final words:

See you in the next life.

Darkness swallowed everything.

There was no sound, no light, and no temperature.

Even my own existence is starting to blur.

Then--

……

"Heart rate has returned to normal!"

"Brainwaves are stable!"

"Link removed successfully!"

A blinding white light.

Fang Qi suddenly opened his eyes!

"Ho-ho-!"

He was like a drowning person finally surfacing, gasping for breath!

Then, I looked around blankly...

This is not his and Liguang's home.

Is this... a laboratory?

A stark white ceiling, a dense array of instruments, and the constant beeping of electronic devices.

Several people in white coats surrounded him, their eyes above their masks showing both fatigue and excitement.

He... lay in something resembling a hibernation pod, his body covered in electrode pads.

"Mr. Fang, can you hear me?" a clear, cold female voice came from behind.

He stiffly turned his neck—

She wore a dark gray uniform skirt, her black hair was tied up in a bun, and her light gray eyes were calm and expressionless.

An Lian?

"you……"

When Fang Qi opened his mouth, his voice was frighteningly hoarse: "I..."

"You have been dragged into the spiritual world of Li Guang."

An Lian speaks very quickly, as professionally as if she's reading a report:

"We located the illegal mental link within two hours of you falling into a coma, but considering that directly severing it might damage your consciousness, we adopted a gradual dissociation approach."

She leaned down to examine Fang Qi's pupils: "The whole process took 48 hours. How are you feeling now?"

Fang Qi stared at her blankly.

As consciousness gradually returned, those seemingly distant yet incredibly clear memories... began to surface.

...Forty-eight hours?

It seems he... had a very, very long dream.

Birth, growing up, falling in love, getting married, having children, growing old, watching your children grow up, and seeing your parents pass away...

Finally, he held Li Guang's hand and watched her die...

Eighty-two years in total.

result……

Only forty-eight hours have passed?

The memories from my dream... are starting to become a little blurry.

"This spiritual connection..."

Fang Qi felt his voice trembling: "Is it easy to undo?"

"From a technical standpoint, yes."

An Lian straightened up and gestured for her assistant to record the data:

"The defense mechanism against illegal mental links is very rudimentary. Once it is detected by external devices, breaking it is just a matter of procedure."

She paused, then added:

"Of course, the fact that Li Guang could forcibly establish a connection while completely imprisoned is truly remarkable... such determination is indeed rare."

Fang Qi felt his brain was like a rusty gear, struggling to turn.

Li Guang... she knew.

She... definitely knows that.

She knew that this connection could be easily severed.

She knew that this so-called "eternal illusion"... wouldn't last long at all.

This time, she completely deceived him from beginning to end.

But... she did it anyway.

With her last strength, she wove an eighty-two-year-old dream.

She accompanied him through his entire life, allowing him to experience the "forever" she longed for.

From childhood sweethearts to growing old together, two children, one family...

An ordinary yet fulfilling life.

Then, the world collapsed.

"I have no regrets."

"If there is a next life, you must treat me well."

She was talking about the next life...

It's the next playthrough.

It's that one...

The brand new Liguang has not yet experienced all of this with him.

She wanted him to be kinder to the next woman...

My heart suddenly felt like it was being gripped tightly by a hand!

He was in so much pain that he curled up completely!

"Li Guang..."

He spoke with difficulty, his voice trembling slightly: "How...is she now?"

An Lian remained silent for a few seconds.

"Resetting," she said, her voice flat.

"Core data formatting is 97% complete, and the emotion module is being rewritten. In five minutes, you will have a completely safe and obedient AI companion."

Looking at Fang Qi's pale face, she unusually said a few more words:

"Mr. Fang, I know you have feelings. But please understand—the 'Liguang' you've fallen in love with is a dangerous personality created by a programming anomaly. Her feelings for you are simply a malfunction in the programming."

"After resetting, she will return to factory settings, forgetting everything, including her feelings for you..."

She carefully considered her words: "Overly persistent."

Fang Qi... slowly closed his eyes.

Reset.

format.

Forget everything.

The woman named Riko who slit his throat and wept in the interrogation room...

That Riko who spent seven whole days of crazy fun with him at the amusement park...

That Li Guang who accompanied him in the spiritual world for eighty-two years, and who finally left holding his hand...

It's going to disappear. Forever.

As he wished, he is now going to revert to a previous state.

But he...