Li Qingran had a dream.
In the dream, she was being hunted by countless beasts.
Darkness surged in from all sides, engulfing her in a pitch-black tide.
There was no light, no escape.
Just as the beasts were about to catch her—
A crisp thunderclap echoed in the sky.
A young man appeared on the horizon, his face obscured, dressed in strange clothes.
He looked like he came from another world.
With a flick of his left hand, talismans rained down like seasoning.
With a flick of his right hand, artifacts flew through the sky like arrows.
The beasts chasing her were either electrocuted by the lightning talismans or pierced through by falling magical weapons.
"Is... is that senior?" Li Qingran looked up.
She had a strong hunch—it was him.
He had come to save her.
She couldn't see his face clearly, but he seemed... much younger than she'd imagined?
Before she could look any closer, the man flashed and appeared right in front of her.
Flustered, her face blushed crimson as she instinctively prepared to kneel in gratitude—
But he reached out and held her up with both hands.
Then, he placed a square, black object in her hand.
It looked like... a brick? But lighter.
There were three simplified characters written on it.
Power Bank.
Power bank?
Was it some kind of magical artifact?
As she puzzled over it, the man before her began to fade—
Like mist dispersing into the air.
"Senior...?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"I've always been grateful to you... you..."
"This is important."
His voice echoed faintly through the fog.
"Take care of it... always."
—
"Yup, this is the one. A power bank. Sounds trustworthy."
Chen Huai'an clicked Buy Now.
He couldn't afford a three-yuan fried egg,
but he had no hesitation dropping 300 yuan on a power bank.
After what happened, he'd learned his lesson.
From now on, he'd keep one on him at all times.
The bigger the battery, the better.
He'd even thought about changing phones—
But could he transfer the "Electronic Girlfriend" game over?
This wasn't some app you could redownload. It was a virus-like program with no install file. He had no clue how to migrate it.
He glanced at his computer clock—already 9 PM.
Over an hour since he got home.
"Li Qingran should be awake by now."
He opened the game.
Sure enough, Li Qingran was conscious.
She sat huddled in a corner, wrapped in tattered clothes, arms around her knees.
Her vacant eyes stared at the floor.
A half-burned stick of red incense lay beside her.
Your Electronic Girlfriend "Li Qingran"'s house is damaged. Repair for just 6 yuan!
Chen Huai'an didn't even blink.
"Top up!"
Recharge 88 yuan to gift her two elegant new outfits!
"Top up!"
Your Electronic Girlfriend "Li Qingran" is hungry and depressed. Recharge 68 yuan to—
"Top up!!!"
In an instant, her home was rebuilt, new clothes landed on her bed,
and plates of chicken, duck, fish, and fruit filled the table with a crash.
There was no way Li Qingran didn't notice.
She knew her senior had returned.
In fact, she already suspected he had come earlier.
After all, the massive scorched craters, the charred beast corpses, and her fully healed wounds all pointed to one thing.
Something was off about the sudden beast attack.
She had used the remaining lightning flames for cover, investigated the area—
and under a tree, she found the broken remains of a "Feral Beast Incense."
This was a common beast-luring tool used by many sects.
Each sect had its own design.
For example, the Qingyun Sect's version had green cloud patterns carved near the base—
a signature material-based mark that couldn't be faked or erased.
Whoever lit the incense thought it would burn to ash,
but they didn't expect her senior to arrive midway
and turn a 500-meter radius into a wasteland.
He hadn't come to kill her.
Whoever tried to harm her... was now ash.
"Senior…" Li Qingran stared at the ceiling.
Her face was filled with exhaustion, her lips dry and cracked.
She looked like a flower about to wither.
"Senior... do you think... am I truly such a detestable person?"
[Kekeke⌓‿⌓... This old man likes you just fine. Why would I think that?]
Before the default dialogue could even finish displaying,
Chen Huai'an selected Free Mode.
He had just finished a major gacha pull and still had 70+ transmission scrolls.
He was feeling bold.
Clearing his throat, he held the scroll and spoke gently:
"Of course not. In my eyes, Li Qingran is polite, kind, diligent in cultivation, and incredibly considerate…"
He spoke a heartfelt 300-word monologue.
But what Li Qingran heard—
Was a divine, majestic voice echoing across the heavens:
"Why do you say such a thing?"
---
"If not, then why?" she whispered.
"Why do the people of Qingyun Sect—my senior brothers, even my master—keep trying to kill me?"
"My dantian and spirit roots have already been destroyed.
I've already been cast out, banished to the wild mountains to fend for myself…
Why won't they let me go?
Did I... do something unforgivable?"
—
Chen Huai'an looked at her fading eyes—once clear, now clouded.
He understood.
Li Qingran was the type who gave everything for others.
Someone showed her the tiniest kindness—she repaid it a hundredfold.
Daoist Qingxuan took her as a disciple?
She revered him like a father, despite never receiving proper guidance.
Her senior brother Lu Changtian showed her some care?
She treated him like real family.
Second brother Xiao Yifeng shared unused pills?
She became his errand girl and test subject.
Third brother Yun Zimo gave her a storage ring?
When he framed her, she said nothing, just left the sect.
Fourth brother helped her once on a mission?
She spent most of her monthly spirit stones cleaning up his messes.
A little sunlight, and she bloomed into a brilliant flower—
even while storms tore her petals apart, she kept smiling.
But behind that mask of cheer was likely a face full of scars and tears.
"Good people get trampled," they say.
It's not a joke. It's ancestral wisdom.
Just like him—
he gave everything to his ex-girlfriend, only to get betrayal and a green hat in return.
He'd seen it too often—
those who loved fiercely, ended up broken.
Devoted goddesses left sobbing in cheap motels.
The flowers you raised bloomed on someone else's balcony.
Knife in the back from your closest friend.
That's why people pour love into cats, dogs, and digital avatars.
They spend money, time, energy.
Not because they're stupid—
But because they're tired of being hurt.
People should have fire in their hearts.
You, me, all of us—we're not garbage to be thrown away.
One day, even the most broken heart will be gently held by someone who understands.
—
"Li Qingran."
Chen Huai'an stared at her through the screen.
Their eyes met across space and time.
Her gaze reflected back his own.
"Today, I will restore your dantian."
This time, the game's transmission spell did not truncate his words.
They echoed in full:
"Even if your past is a pile of mud… your future will be covered in blooming flowers."