When children are frightened they cry as the most immediate reaction, but while Bian Bian was scared to tears she thought of her grandfather upstairs and didn’t want him to hear her cry.

So even though she was crying from fear, Bian Bian did so silently. She stood in the doorway clutching a tattered little teddy bear, tears the size of beans streaming down in strings, desperately forcing herself not to make a sound.

Xiu Jin watched, his heart wrenching.

The next second, he relaxed again.

The little one was probably frightened and didn’t dare go upstairs anymore. He brought the apple peel back into the room and locked the door tightly.

Then he ran into the bedroom, buried himself under the covers, hugged his teddy bear, and closed his eyes.

At that moment, a small trumpet-shaped icon popped up next to the child’s head. Xiu Jin tapped it casually, and a choking, frightened baby voice rang in his ear: “Bianbian is very brave, Bianbian is not afraid…”

Xiu Jin paused before realizing it was Bian Bian’s voice.

He listened with a pang in his heart, and at the same time marveled at the game’s realism—didn’t that only make him immerse himself more?

“Making it this realistic, why don’t you open up the function option area? Everything’s greyed out, what’s the point of playing this?” Thinking that his earlier movement of his daughter had frightened Bian Bian, Xiu Jin now didn’t even dare tuck the child in… Already scared, if he moved again, wouldn’t that make it worse?

Xiu Jin could only force his hand to stay still.

Besides the food tab, the store also had options for clothes, accessories, shoes, weapons, and so on. Xiu Jin clicked into each one to look—everything was greyed out; not a single option could be activated.

“What am I supposed to feed the little guy?!” No sooner had he spoken than, perhaps sensing his anger, a system prompt suddenly popped up—

[Because your intimacy level with Bianbian has not reached the passing threshold, the store’s “Food” option only offers “Red Apple” to you, limited to one per day. To provide Bianbian with more adequate food supplies, please increase your intimacy with Bianbian.]

[Current intimacy: -10]

Xiu Jin: “…”

Are you sick?!

“I didn’t abuse my daughter, how could it be negative.” Xiu Jin began to feel displeased, thinking the game was picking on him, and instantly had the urge to uninstall it.

The system popped up again: [Please note, daughters are meant to be cared for, not bullied. Bian Bian was frightened, so intimacy -10]

Bullying my ass.

Which eye of yours saw me bullying the little one?!

Xiu Jin was furious and about to retort, then suddenly realized something was off—

First, he recalled the little guy crying in fright; it did seem to be because of him.

Second, he was talking to the game screen—could this game actually hear him and respond?

Xiu Jin became suspicious, exited the game to check the icon, and had no memory whatsoever of downloading this game.

Not right.

A moment from earlier that day—his meeting with Kelf—flashed through Xiu Jin’s mind.

Kelf was a lower-class blood clan. In the Galactic Empire, besides humans being the largest race, there were four noble races: the Dragon, Shark, Feather, and Blood clans.

By rank, the Bloodline stood the lowest among the four great aristocracies; the low-tier blood cliques were even beneath common human civilians.

But Xiu Jin didn’t judge friendships by race—he was casual: if someone appealed to him, they stayed; if not, they were gone.

He and Kolf were college classmates. Kolf’s family was poor and couldn’t even afford an inhibitor—the bloodfolk feed on blood, fear sunlight, prowl at night and rest by day. Later humans developed a drug that, when taken by the bloodfolk, allowed them to live in daylight.

Because of the drug, humans and the bloodfolk formed a treaty, and the bloodline became nobles dependent on humans.

Not every member of the bloodline could afford the potion. It was made from precious ingredients and came with a steep price, and since one had to take a dose every three months, an ordinary bloodline member might manage to buy a single vial, but over time the cost became unbearable.

Seeing Korf looking so pitiful, Xiu Jin kindly gifted him a few bottles so he could get through those initial hard days.

From then on, Korf became Xiu Jin’s companion.

After Xiu Jin went into business, Korf naturally became his subordinate and helped him a great deal.

Lately Xiu Jin had been irritable because of some business matters. Today Korf told him he’d found something fun that could help him vent; Xiu Jin paid it no mind and didn’t take it seriously.

Looking back now, could it have been that very game?

Xiu Jin immediately called Korf to ask what was going on.

Soon, Korf’s holographic image appeared in the living room.

He was an exceptionally handsome man, dressed in a sharp suit without a single wrinkle. His eye sockets were deep, his irises a dark, eerie icy green; his skin was deathly pale, his hair slightly long and slicked back with hair gel.

Typical vampire traits.

“Your Highness.” He bowed respectfully toward Xiu Jin.

Xiu Jin asked directly, “Are you the one who made this game on the Light Brain?”

Kolf wore a mysterious, ambiguous smile on his face. “Your Highness, are you satisfied with it? This is one I selected after great care. Based on your preferences, you can mix and match as you like.”

Xiu Jin rolled his eyes in a rude manner. “What are you talking about? Mix and match what?”

Kolf paused, then explained, “The game I found for you lets you piece together a woman’s appearance freely according to whatever you imagine in your mind. You can enter the game and go on sweet dates with her.”

You can do whatever you want.

Xiu Jin: “???”

“Your Highness, is something going wrong during the game?” Korf noticed the change in Xiu Jin’s facial expression and then asked, “Shall I check it for you? Maybe there’s an issue with one of the steps.”

“No need.” Xiu Jin refused decisively. “No problem, bye!”

He abruptly ended the call and stared at the cute little face on the icon.

Kolfe gave him this game so he could fantasize about women to pass the time, but what appeared was a little girl. If Kolfe found out, he’d probably brand him a pervert in his heart.

Xiu Jin absolutely would not allow his image to be distorted in his subordinates’ eyes.

So… Bian Bian was automatically generated by the game from his imagination?

But he hadn’t imagined it involved a child.

Could it be that deep down he wanted a daughter, which is why Bianbian was created?

The more Xiu Jin thought about it, the more convinced he became. He quickly entered the game. On the screen, the little one was still burrowed under the quilt, a tiny bundle. The system prompt read: [Bianbian is fast asleep].

At this moment Xiu Jin felt even more like a doting father—this was a daughter he had “imagined” into being, and he needed to make sure she had a good life as soon as possible.

If the game could sense his thoughts, Xiu Jin asked directly, “How can I increase the intimacy value between me and my precious daughter?”

System: [The decision-making power belongs to Bianbian.]

Xiu Jin: “…”

“Can I talk to the kid directly?”

[No.]

“Can she see me?”

[No.]

“…What can I do right now.”

[You can purchase a red apple again in twenty-four hours.]

So that means he can’t do anything at all?

Damn it! Garbage game!

Unable to spend money to buy things for his darling daughter, the Seventh Prince was furious.

The intelligent attendant reverted to humanoid form, pushed the serving cart over, and arranged on the table the vegetarian weight-loss meals that Xiujin had ordered to taste like meat.

“Your Highness, please have dinner.”

Six dishes and a soup in total, plated exquisitely, pleasing to the eye, aroma, and taste—practically works of art; anyone who saw them would give a thumbs-up.

The smart butler wore a faint expression of pride and satisfaction: “Your Highness, these are all vegetarian. Please taste and see if there’s any meaty flavor. If not, I’ll update the system memory and remake them for you.”

After speaking, it noticed the owner staring at the dishes on the table with a “…” look. The smart butler ran a quick analysis and concluded that one idiom best described the expression on the owner’s face—deep hatred and great enmity.

The smart butler was baffled.

Why would the diet vegetarian meal he made make Her Highness harbor such hatred?

“My poor baby daughter can only eat apples while I gorge on delicacies—what kind of father am I!” The Seventh Prince said, heartbroken and sorrowful. “Take the food away. From now on, I won’t buy Bianbian any treats for a day; I’ll stay with her for the whole day.”

Smart Butler: “???”

He wanted to ask, Your Highness, did your brains just what?, but his inner programming stopped him from saying such blasphemous words.

Xiu Jin had already decided to share hardships with his beloved daughter. Ignoring the Smart Butler’s frozen expression, he returned to his spacious, luxurious bedroom and went to inspect his daughter’s room to see if there was anything he could do to help.

After searching for a long time, he finally found that his precious daughter had been burrowed under the covers the whole time—no wonder she was so stuffy.

Earlier he hadn’t dared to move, afraid of frightening her again; now that she was asleep, it was time for a father to come into play.

Xiu Jin hurriedly used his fingers to carefully pull at the blanket. After a while, the little girl’s soft face emerged, and on closer look he could still make out tear marks on her cheeks.

She was clutching a little teddy bear tightly in her hands.

Noticing that the bear’s arm was nearly torn off, Xiu Jin’s mind stirred. He remembered the little one earlier pulling open a drawer when she took a bandage, and it seemed he had seen a sewing kit inside.

Unsure, Xiu Jin prepared to pull the drawer, but the drawer shown on the light brain screen was far too small for his fingers to grasp — he couldn’t move it.

Unless the screen is enlarged.

Xiu Jin immediately called for the smart butler: “Go to Third Brother’s place next door and bring over his virtual projection device.”

Smart Butler: “Your Highness, I can’t do that.”

Xiu Jin: “Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve already been cozying up to Third Brother’s steward. Hurry up, or I’ll have Third Brother replace her.”

Who says robots can’t love?

The smart butler silently obeyed.

As for the Third Prince coming back and finding his beloved projection device gone, then they can expose the Seventh Prince.

Robots don’t take the fall!

The smart housekeeper was very efficient; before long it returned with a projector. Xiu Jin fiddled with it, projected the game screen, and sent the curious smart housekeeper away.

Through the virtual projection, Bian Bian’s room appeared in Xiu Jin’s bedroom at almost the same scale.

Xiu Jin felt as if he were standing inside the room, except that relative to the room he was a giant and had to bend over to avoid hitting the ceiling.

Xiu Jin crouched by the bed to observe his precious daughter up close.

So cute.

He poked his precious daughter’s soft little face with his finger, but there was no real sensation—he couldn’t truly feel it, which left him especially regretful.

Xiu Jin then opened the nearby drawer, took out a thin needle and thread. Having never threaded a needle before, the Seventh Prince fumbled for quite a while before managing to push the thread through.

Then he took the little bear from Bianbian’s hands. To make himself more comfortable, Xiu Jin simply sat down on the floor and, clumsy and awkward, stitched the bear’s arm.

…

She woke up, rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed; outside it was already getting dark.

Just as she was about to get down, the little bear rolled off her body and she lifted her small hand to catch it.

But her hand froze halfway and slowly withdrew.

The bear’s split arm had been sewn back on with red thread, the stitches crooked, cotton spilling out, looking like a big red centipede—extraordinarily ugly, utterly ruining the little bear’s already modest appearance.

Meanwhile, watching his precious daughter in secret, Xiu Jin saw a cold system prompt pop up on the screen:

[Intimacy -50.]

The smile on Daddy Xiu’s face snapped and fell apart.