"Oh, so this is what 'personally' means."
Whether disappointed or not, Chen Huaian reached out and pressed on the screen.
"Mmm…" A soft, muffled groan came from the game.
Chen Huaian: "..."
Well, gotta hand it to the small studio.
He liked the small studio.
It seemed that the spiritual energy entering her body was quite painful. Li Qingran kept letting out suppressed groans, beads of sweat rolling down her cheeks and neck, while tiny droplets of water seeped out from her skin. Chen Huaian could clearly see that as the healing progress bar slowly advanced, the droplets began to contain small black impurities.
"The visuals here are truly breathtaking."
What could he say?
When spending money on a game, it's not just about whether it's fun, but also whether it's worth it.
Some games have limited content. While the gameplay might be decent, they only release one or two chapters, with the total playtime not even reaching two hours, yet they charge hundreds. Isn't that just scamming players?
"My Electronic Girlfriend" was different.
He had a feeling that this game could be played until his dying day.
As the healing progressed halfway, some welcome prompts finally appeared.
[Li Qingran, meridians repaired, 'Damaged Foundation' removed.]
[Li Qingran, internal injuries healed, 'Moderate Internal Injuries' removed.]
[Detoxification begins. Please press 'Yaoyangguan' and circle-press 'Shenshu' to continue the healing process.]
Chen Huaian followed the instructions and switched to the two new acupoints.
But as soon as he started, Li Qingran let out a soft "Ah."
"Tsk, it must hurt a lot, huh?" he thought silently.
At this moment, Li Qingran's skin began to turn red—not the kind of red from soaking in hot water, but like a boiled shrimp. The poor girl was clearly in pain, gritting her teeth to suppress any sounds.
But in reality?
Li Qingran only felt that the two large hands on her back were incredibly warm. The process of expelling the fire poison felt like countless insects crawling through her limbs, both itchy and numb. She bit her lip, afraid of making any improper sounds that might offend the senior.
To distract herself, she looked at the bronze mirror hanging by the bed.
From here, she could see a small part of her back.
She had expected to see a white-haired elder, but there was nothing—only two spiritual energy-formed hands on her back, one pressing with bent fingers, the other circling with a gentle, firm force.
Not seeing the senior's appearance left Li Qingran a little disappointed.
She felt both reassured and ashamed.
The senior truly wasn't the type to take advantage of others. Even while helping her with cultivation, he didn't touch her skin directly, a true gentleman. Yet she had harbored such disrespectful thoughts earlier. She really shouldn't have.
[Li Qingran, fire poison expelled, 'Fire Poison Devouring Body' removed.]
As the healing progress bar reached the end, Li Qingran's skin returned to normal.
From Chen Huaian's perspective, although the girl's skin was still covered in some impurities, it had clearly become more radiant, like a boiled egg polished with wax.
"Thank you, senior, for healing me. I already feel much better."
Li Qingran whispered her gratitude, her hands nervously clutching the towel at her sides.
Chen Huaian could see her blushing ears, the redness even spreading to the back of her neck.
"May I ask the senior a question?"
Li Qingran's voice trembled, as if she had mustered up the courage to speak.
This time, Chen Huaian didn't hesitate and chose the first option.
With permission granted, Li Qingran felt a surge of joy, her tone becoming much lighter.
"The senior has helped Qingran so much. Could Qingran know the senior's name? Of course, if the senior doesn't wish to say, Qingran won't ask."
Wow, Chen Huaian thought to himself.
He had already spent thousands, played the game for half a day.
And only now was he at the stage of creating a character name?
So, if he hadn't spent money up to this point, he wouldn't even be worthy of naming his character?
The game's entry barrier was really high.
Chen Huaian thought for a moment but didn't come up with anything fancy.
'Chen Huaian'—he simply entered these three characters.
If he died someday, at least this game data on his phone would still record his name.
Perhaps this would be the only trace of him left.
"With a sword's courage, I drive away the long night; with a zither's heart, I warm the cold dawn. Huaian, Huaian… Senior's name, this junior Qingran will remember it forever."
Li Qingran turned her head slightly, offering a soft smile, her eyebrows lifting gently, her black hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders.
Outside the window, the long night was as dark as ink, with a torrential downpour, but she didn't feel the slightest chill. Instead, a soft warmth blossomed in her heart.
Chen Huaian stared at Li Qingran's smiling face, momentarily stunned. For a moment, it felt as if the phone screen had disappeared.
It was as if there really was a girl smiling at him.
"The small studio's details are overwhelming."
He quickly shook his head, dispelling those unrealistic fantasies.
"Senior, Qingran has gotten quite dirty again. I'll need to clean up once more."
This time, no dialogue options appeared.
Li Qingran wrapped herself in the towel, turned to the ceiling, and gave a graceful bow before taking the new clothes from the bedside and heading to the bathroom.
Chen Huaian stared blankly at the empty room for a while.
He felt like he was truly losing his mind.
To think that one day he'd feel a flutter in his heart for a game character.
"By the way, the girl's injuries are healed, but her shattered spiritual root and dantian haven't been fixed yet, right?"
He rummaged through the game interface again.
Then he found a help center where it seemed he could ask questions.
[First question of the day is free. The second question requires a 100¥ recharge to purchase a question ticket. The third ticket's price increases fivefold, and so on.]
"What the hell? Why not just rob a bank instead of making games!"
Chen Huaian laughed in frustration.
But since the first question was free, he'd milk it every day until he died!
"How can Li Qingran's dantian and spiritual root issues be resolved?"
[You can only ask about one of them.]
Chen Huaian: "..."
Between the dantian and the spiritual root, the former seemed more important—it was the container, after all.
"Then, how can the dantian issue be resolved?"
[Divining the secrets of heaven…]
"Divining the secrets of heaven? How mystical," Chen Huaian scoffed.
Little did he know, in the Cangyun Realm where Li Qingran resided, the heavens suddenly shifted. The stars moved, tides surged, and the earth trembled, catching the attention of countless ancient sect elders.
"Ah, a great cultivator is divining the secrets of heaven!"
"With the spiritual energy in Cangyun Realm growing thinner, such celestial disturbances—could it be a mighty being predicting the future of our realm?"
"Stay out of it! Such a powerful figure is not to be trifled with. Let's just focus on our seclusion, sigh…"
…
[Heavenly secrets divination complete!]
[To repair Li Qingran's dantian, an ancient divine medicine can be used—the Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill. This pill has been lost to time. Not only can it repair severely damaged dantians, but it can also enhance the dantian's quality and its capacity to hold spiritual energy.]
[The 'Fortune Koi Pool' has captured a thread of heavenly secrets for you. Drawing a 'Fortune Koi' will allow you to exchange for the immortal-grade Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill.]
Chen Huaian: "..."
Divining a thread of heavenly secrets, my foot.
This is just stuffing game items into a gacha pool!
Drawing a thousand times would cost 100,000 yuan!
Sure, there's a chance to get it directly, but what's the difference between 0.001% and 0?!
If he had that kind of luck, he wouldn't have gotten cancer in the first place.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll register the account, get the hospital documents, and then head straight to Mount Tai to start streaming."
Chen Huaian scratched his head.
He had originally planned to go to Mount Tai in a few days.
But now, he was in a bit of a hurry.
Li Qingran's dantian had to be repaired.
That was Chen Huaian's decree!