Ch 29: My Disabled Virtual Lover’s Healing Diary

Qian Yuan was a little dumbfounded.

She had just teleported back from the school to Cub’s small house when a prompt popped up before her eyes—

【Ding~! Congratulations, player, you’ve unlocked a side quest. Go check the task list!】

The quest asked her to retrieve Cub’s lost items, rewarding 20 EXP and 10 Star coins. As if worried she might fail, the system even temporarily lifted the restriction on leaving Cub’s house and marked the ground with the thief’s footprints.

She followed them for ages, scaring people by pretending to be a ghost, and finally gathered all the items. But when she returned, Cub’s eyes were wide, his face nearly horrified, staring at her.

Qian Yuan: “…Cub, what’s wrong?”

She looked herself up and down, saw nothing odd. Just as she was about to ask, Cub swallowed dryly, forcing his expression back into blankness. “N-nothing.”

Qian Yuan: Cub, you’re stuttering again, do you know that?

But she didn’t have time to dwell on what that moment of shock meant. She tiptoed, lifting the boxes off his wheelchair one by one, setting the lamp back on the desk, clapping her hands with satisfaction. Then she proudly patted the new wheelchair.

“Cub, come try it! This is the little gift I mentioned!”

The little ghost glowed with joy, so happily showing him the new chair.

His inner struggle slipped away for a moment. Cen Han pressed his lips, braced on the cushion, and transferred himself over.

His first wheelchair had also been electric, expensive and full of functions—his mother had starved and scraped to give him convenience. But not long after moving to the slums, someone had stolen it outright.

He had been shoved down, sprawled on the ground, watching a hunched man push it away.

Back then, his mother’s spirit had not yet been destroyed. She’d wanted to tighten the belt again and buy another good one, but he refused. The shopkeeper eventually dug up an obsolete hand-cranked wheelchair, practically abandoned by the market, and sold it cheap.

High-end wheelchairs were leagues more comfortable. Cen Han’s fingertips brushed the front-mounted controller on this one. Reason just barely held back the surge in his chest.

He exhaled a trembling breath.

“…Thank you.” He lifted his head, and a faint little sun appeared above it.

“I like it very much.”

Qian Yuan smiled, resting her cheek in her hands.

The iron door still lay ruined in the dirt, winter wind pouring mercilessly into the room. Having delivered her gift, she finally turned to the bigger problem.

The broken door reminded her of what she’d overheard earlier: “Cub, people said the black market got reported by a concerned citizen. The Capital’s already cracking down. Several residents around here have been questioned.”

The black market and the slums were inseparable shadows of a prosperous planet, impossible to root out. The Capital usually looked the other way, so long as they caused no planetary harm.

Reporting it was easy—but nobody ever wanted that thankless job.

Cen Han gazed at the broken door. A flicker of unease crossed him.

On the way home, only his house had signs of forced entry.

The ghost’s voice carried worry. After a pause, Cen Han said, “We’ll move in a few days.”

Qian Yuan blinked slowly.

She’d seen his pitiful little coin pouch—no way it could rent a decent place. She had about a hundred starcoins saved, but that was nothing either.

…How did Cub plan to earn money? Where would they move?

Confused, she watched him maneuver to the table, haul the heavy toolbox up with difficulty.

—Was he hoping to finish those orders quickly, earn his first payment?

Qian Yuan stood by him, eyeing the overwhelming pile of parts. She’d rather pick trash than repair robots herself.

But if Cub worked through the night alone, his malnourished body would collapse. Skinny arms, pale skin—if dark circles appeared too, he’d look too pitiful.

As a proper “owner,” she couldn’t let him end up like that!

Resolute, Qian Yuan opened her quest panel.

【Main Quest: Help Cub attend the Winter Break Ceremony~!

Goal: Clear obstacles so Cub successfully participates.

Reward: Surrealist Artstyle unlock, 100 Starcoins, 200 EXP.

Note: When in trouble, you may hire robots to help!】

This quest came with a rare note, and beside it was a [Hire] button. She’d never clicked it—being a broke player.

But now, to save Cub from nights of exhaustion? That was cruelty. Her finger trembled over the button, praying.

…Please, system, don’t overcharge. Be kind.

The [Hire] icon blinked. A message appeared:

【Robot A09 at your service.

Hire price: 1 energy stone per task.

Purchase? [Yes] [No]】

One stone—ten yuan.

Qian Yuan blinked. Remembering the 1888-yuan bundle, then this? She nearly cried with gratitude.

She bought it. A small, rusted robot materialized at the doorway. She recognized it—the one that had once recycled her trash finds.

Puzzled, she thought: so few NPCs? In other games, guildmasters were elegant immortals, blacksmiths fiery red-haired girls, matchmakers cheeky toddlers—each unique. Here, just one robot NPC? How lazy!

But the robot only displayed a slow smiley face on its cracked screen. Then another arc. Then a third—forming a little smiling face.

【Ding dong, Master. Please command me.】

The text auto-translated into Chinese. Qian Yuan squatted to read it clearly, then tugged Cub’s sleeve.

The boy turned, his eyes landing on the robot. His face froze. Above his head popped an ellipsis and a question mark.

Qian Yuan asked, “Cub, what’s wrong?”

“…” Cen Han stayed silent.

A09. He’d recognized it instantly. Once marketed as the “all-purpose butler,” but quickly branded a failure—jack of all trades, master of none. They’d meant to scrap them, but that man had chosen one instead.

That memory should have been destroyed long ago.

He glanced at it, then turned away. “Nothing.” The bubble vanished. “What is this robot?”

“This is the helper I found for you!”

Qian Yuan tapped its head. Thinking a moment, she tested: “Help Cub with his orders.”

The robot didn’t move. Its “Please command me” still glowed.

She frowned, tried again: “Help Cen Han with his orders.”

The robot blinked innocently.

Qian Yuan: “…”

Was its chip as broken as its body?

After a pause, inspiration struck. She tried: “Ding dong~ Congratulations, new quest unlocked: Help Cub with his orders!”

The robot tilted its head. Words scrolled up:

【Ding dong, Master. Quest accepted.】

Qian Yuan: “!!!”

What—was she the system now?!

The robot finally began to work. Amused, Qian Yuan straightened, watching with interest. “Cub, it’s pretty useful! If you want to give it new tasks, just do what I did—”

She paused, noticing Cub again. “Cub, what’s wrong now?”

“…”

Cen Han was floored. Her lilting tone to a robot echoed in his mind.

How could she… act so coy to a machine?