Night—
The rain was gradually stopping.
Li Qingran nervously held the charm in her hand, preparing for the final three steps.
Step One: Recharge it with spiritual energy.
She had no idea how much spiritual energy was needed to activate a charm made with leftover materials from a divine-grade formation flag. All she knew was that it took all 50 low-grade spirit stones and completely drained her own spiritual energy—just barely enough to fill the charm.
She rubbed her pale cheeks and took a deep breath.
"Next… is step two!"
Engrave the name.
The charm's creator must write the name of the protected person on it, using their own blood as ink.
It should've been the easiest step, yet Li Qingran felt even more nervous than before.
"Write it well… you have to write it well…"
She mumbled under her breath, then finally wrote three characters on the charm: Chen Huai'an.
Her expression contorted into something worse than a crying face.
"…That's it. Now I look like a total joke."
The characters twisted and turned like a drunken chicken had scratched them out.
Li Qingran had a natural weakness: her handwriting was awful.
Not because she was uncultured—far from it. Before joining the Qingyun Sect, she was the daughter of a military general. Though her parents had tried to teach her the elegant arts of a lady, she had zero interest.
Her heart was entirely in horse riding, spear techniques, archery, and battlefield combat.
Whenever her parents forced her to practice writing, she cried.
What use was pretty handwriting when you were charging into battle?
Now, she regretted it deeply.
If she could do it all over again, she would've obediently practiced her calligraphy.
"Father said… what matters is the sincerity behind a gift."
She pumped her fists, psyching herself up, then moved on to the final step:
Step Three: Transfer fortune.
As the name implied, it meant gifting part of your luck to someone else.
In this world, fortune exists as a tangible force. When transferred, it decreases from one and increases in another.
Luckily, the charm acted as a medium—meaning the transfer would only be temporary.
Still, the one giving their luck would suffer a deficit for a while, often resulting in misfortune.
But Li Qingran didn't care.
Whether the senior needed it or not, she only hoped he would stay safe and sound.
As the fortune-sealing technique completed, her complexion visibly worsened—but she smiled, satisfied.
"I'll just leave this charm on the table."
Li Qingran knelt down and bowed toward the ceiling—not knowing whether the senior could hear her.
But she believed he could.
"Junior Qingran is deeply grateful for your care, Senior. My injuries have been healed, and I have nothing to offer in return but this handmade charm. It's a small gift—but it holds all of my sincerity. I hope you won't find it unworthy."
She bowed her head, then peeked up—sneaking a glance at the charm.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Whoosh—
The charm vanished.
He accepted it.
Joy bloomed in Li Qingran's heart, and an involuntary smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you, Senior, for not laughing at how clumsy I am. Hehe…"
After a long night of work, her body still weak from recovery, she was utterly exhausted.
She turned and crawled into bed.
It was the first time in half a month she'd slept on something this soft.
Drowsiness hit her like a wave.
Even then, she looked up at the ceiling, and murmured softly, half-asleep:
"Goodnight… Senior…"
---
…Meanwhile…
"Song Jiaojiao, I see your cultivation's improved. Ninth layer of Qi Refining already?"
"What do you want?"
"I have a task for you."
"Say it."
"Kill Li Qingran."
"What?! Kill her?! Are you still hung up on that incident?"
"Hmph. So what if I am? Her name is already dirt in the sect. No one cares if she dies. She deserves it. Just make it look clean—blame it on the beasts in Mount Wanqing."
"Be a good girl. Do this right, and I'll give you a Foundation Establishment Pill."
"F-Foundation Pill…?! Alright! You'll have my answer soon!"
---
Next morning—before dawn.
First thing Chen Huai'an did: Open 'Virtual Girlfriend'.
[Your remaining lifespan: 131 days.]
"…WTF?!"
Seriously, what kind of game opens with that kind of line?
Sure, he had terminal cancer, but did this game really have to remind him?
Still, Chen Huai'an calmed himself.
That timer was likely referring to his in-game persona—the mysterious "senior." He figured there'd be a way to reverse or extend that countdown later in the storyline.
"Let me guess... the more I bond with Li Qingran, the closer to death I get—so they'll make me pay real money to buy more lifespan, huh? I see through your little cash-grab tactic!"
He sneered.
Then—another notification popped up:
[Due to your Divination of Fate, you've suffered Heavenly backlash. Fortune decreased.]
[Today's Fortune: Li Hexagram – Minor Blessing – Auspicious for matchmaking; avoid mountain climbing.]
[Tomorrow's Fortune: Zhen Hexagram – Ominous – Favorable for cleaning; avoid mountain climbing.]
"Tch. So now they're giving me fortune readings too?" Chen Huai'an rolled his eyes.
"I'm basically halfway to the grave already. What's there to be afraid of?"
Honestly, with terminal cancer, every day should be marked "Extreme Misfortune."
So clearly, the game's fortune-telling system was full of crap.
Still, he had a weird fondness for mystical things like this.
So, curious, he Googled the Zhen Hexagram.
It symbolized thunder, connected to the feet, and—when paired with an ill omen—meant one should avoid travel. "Ominous" generally suggested injury; "Great Ominous" meant death.
So… what, if he went hiking, lightning would strike him dead?
He checked the weather forecast.
Mount Tai was sunny and hot for the next two days—over 30°C. Not a single raincloud in sight.
He closed both pop-ups—they were blocking his view of Li Qingran's sleeping face.
She was, as expected, still asleep. Her sleeping posture was neat and peaceful, and she hadn't moved all night.
Strangely though, she looked paler than before.
Last night, after checking Mount Tai travel guides, he had gone to bed and hadn't checked on her.
To be fair, she had been meditating before sleep—this girl really worked hard. Always training. Like a perpetual motion machine.
He tapped her face and checked her status window.
A new debuff appeared: Luck Depleted.
"Huh? Could the Heavenly backlash affect Li Qingran too?"
Thinking it through, that seemed to be the only explanation.
[Status: Sleeping]
[Affinity: 25 (Admiration)]
[Affinity reached 25: Gift Unlocked]
[Your virtual girlfriend 'Li Qingran' has crafted a special gift for you. Now delivered.]
"Ah, gift systems. That's common in games."
Chen Huai'an stroked his chin and nodded, but after searching his in-game inventory for a while—he couldn't find the gift.
No mailbox either.
This game really was greedy—not even a welcome bundle of free draws.
"Maybe it hasn't refreshed yet," Chen Huai'an muttered.
Some indie games were like that—their system sync was slow.
Maybe around 8 or 9 AM it would show up.
Then—
Suddenly, there was a knock at his real-world door.
Confused, Chen Huai'an went to open it.
No one was there.
Just as he was about to close the door, he looked down—and saw a palm-sized package on the floor.
"Huh? I didn't order anything… And who delivers parcels at 5 AM?"
He picked it up.
No shipping label, no courier logo, no tracking number.
Just one neat line of calligraphy:
[Li Qingran's Little Gift — For Senior Chen]