Chapter 16: Spending: Give the Adorable NPC a Surprise

When Tang Danqing returned to the game the next day, it was four in the afternoon.

She usually got home around six or seven in the evening, or around noon. Since she’d returned early today, Shang You heard Tang Danqing call, “Jelly!” She paused the treadmill and walked out of the gym.

“You’re back.” Her eyes curved into a sweet smile.

The NPC had come to greet her. Maybe it was because she’d just exercised, but her oval face was flushed, and a bead of sweat glistened on her forehead.

Tang Danqing worked out regularly and knew the signs. She hurried over and asked, “What kind of exercise were you doing?”

A hint of concern crossed her face. She pulled out a tissue and wiped the sweat from the NPC’s forehead.

“Just walking on the treadmill to get back into exercising. I listened to you and didn’t do anything strenuous.”

Tang Danqing let out a relieved breath. “Good. You’re still recovering your strength, so stick to gentle exercise to get your limbs moving again. Don’t push yourself yet.”

“Getting your strength back takes time.” Tang Danqing stroked her hair reassuringly.

She’d logged in today to keep working on the quests.

[Main Quest: Your shelter is also a place where you can relax and recharge. Try doing something here that makes you happy. Take a little time to unwind.]

As it happened, Tang Danqing had noticed that the NPC hadn’t really played with any of the entertainment items she’d bought her.

People who’d struggled for a long time often found it hard to relax and enjoy themselves. Tang Danqing didn’t want her Little Jelly to be like that. Life had gotten better. She had to learn to be kind to herself too.

Tang Danqing naturally reached for Jelly’s hand. Their hands stuck together like little tangyuan simmering in a pot. It was adorable. Tang Danqing smiled and led her to the TV cabinet, where she took out the game console.

“Want to play with me for a while?”

Shang You had never understood why Shan Qing always took her hand with their fingers interlaced.

It was more intimate than the way ordinary female friends held hands, and Shang You was not used to it.

But she kept a gentle smile on her face. “Sure.”

Tang Danqing connected the console to the television. They sat down on the sofa. From there, the massive screen was plenty big enough, and the picture was crisp and clear.

She offered the NPC a few games to choose from. To her surprise, the NPC liked classic games just as much as she did—especially Contra.

“What a coincidence,” Tang Danqing said.

“I’ve been practicing shooting at home these past few days, so I wanted to try a similar game,” the NPC said softly. “But I’m slow to react, Shan Qing. I might not be very good. Please don’t be mad if I mess up.”

“I won’t, I won’t.” Tang Danqing raised her eyebrows. “I’ll carry you.”

…

Half an hour passed, and Tang Danqing spoke less and less.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa, her thumbs moving more and more sluggishly over the controller. Every now and then, her attention wandered.

No matter how realistic a full-immersion game felt…

Tang Danqing couldn’t help thinking that playing a game inside a game was strange. After that, it became harder to get immersed in the console game in front of her.

Shang You noticed her distraction. When they finished a level, she set down her controller.

“Am I too bad at this?” the NPC asked apologetically. “Maybe I should play something else with you.”

“No, no.” Tang Danqing scratched her head and laughed.

Playing video games nonstop wasn’t good for you anyway.

The NPC suggested they do something crafty instead, and Tang Danqing readily agreed.

They went to the study and picked a jungle diorama kit from the cabinet packed with craft supplies. Sitting at the table, they followed the booklet and started putting it together.

They laid out ocher soil, dark brown marshland, gray tidal flats, and a blue lake. After building the foundation, they added green palm trees and shrubs one by one.

The diorama was endlessly customizable and relaxing. The NPC searched through the box of materials for little animals.

A while later, she glued a tiny bird to the branch of a tree.

Tang Danqing sat quietly beside the table, a faint smile on her face.

But once she tried to focus, she still couldn’t get into the fun of the project.

Her smile was only skin-deep, and Shang You noticed right away.

The NPC looked up at her with a timid, pleading gaze. “Shan Qing, does mine look bad?”

Her little hands, round as two tangyuan, drew back and clasped in her lap. She looked down at the diorama and murmured, “I’ll stop touching it. You can make it however you like, all right?”

“Or just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll help.”

Tang Danqing started. When she looked up and saw the NPC’s pitiful expression, guilt rushed over her and swept away her thoughts.

What am I doing? I’m sitting here with a sour face and scaring Little Jelly!

“No, no,” she said quickly.

“Jelly, you did a beautiful job. I didn’t mean to zone out.”

The NPC’s voice rang softly like a clear bell. “You don’t seem happy. Should I wash some fruit for you? There are grapes and lychees…”

“No, thanks. I don’t feel like eating.” Tang Danqing shook her head and answered honestly.

She let out a long breath. She really wasn’t in the mood.

The training at the film set hadn’t gone well that afternoon.

Tang Danqing had been rehearsing a fight with a stunt performer from Rong Yu’s Crew. They’d run through the moves several times, but he kept forgetting them or losing his place. That would have been one thing. When they tried the whole sequence, he used “forgetting the choreography” as an excuse to throw her off and attack her for real.

Tang Danqing knew the difference between delicate, flashy moves meant to look good on screen and the kind meant to hurt someone in a real fight.

Once they got physical, neither of them pulled back. They started fighting for real. About twenty seconds later, the stunt performer was on the floor, beaten. He clutched his arm and cursed at her.

Rong Yu heard what had happened and rushed in from another room. He was furious. First he scolded the director, then the fight choreographer, then Tang Danqing, accusing her of disrespecting people and treating stunt performers like they weren’t human. Tang Danqing thought he was doing it on purpose. He seemed especially eager to chew her out.

Luckily, she’d been prepared. She’d brought her assistant along, and her assistant had stood in the corner of the training room filming on her phone the whole time.

When Tang Danqing took the phone and played the video, Rong Yu’s voice dropped. He gave the stunt performer a few quiet words of reprimand, then left with him.

Later, Tang Danqing passed the break room and heard the stunt performer’s voice through the door.

“I didn’t know that little bitch had so much strength… Brother Rong, didn’t you tell me to watch out for her grappling? I was going to use a Tongbei move on her, but she caught it and came right through! I really didn’t think she’d dare to take it head-on!”

Tang Danqing’s eyelids drooped with irritation. She gripped her thermos and kept walking.

That kind of stunt performer had seen plenty of fights and was tough as nails. He hadn’t taken the female star seriously. He never imagined a woman could put him on the floor once they started fighting.

Maybe he also didn’t know that Tang Danqing had trained her finger and grip strength until it was second to none. She could pry the cap off a beer bottle with her bare hands.

She hadn’t actually crushed his joints. That wouldn’t have been a real fight.

After the incident at the hotel, Tang Danqing went home early. Before she left, she sent the stunt performer a video of the fight sequence and told him that if he couldn’t remember the moves, he should watch it more and practice.

Tang Danqing hadn’t lost the fight, but she still didn’t feel good about it.

Now that she’d settled down, the images of the stunt performer and the people around him kept coming back to her.

It looked like she wouldn’t be able to finish the cheerful-entertainment quest today.

She put down the diorama and asked the NPC if she wanted to practice shooting. Then she took her over to the targets.

Tang Danqing had learned to shoot for a film before, so she had some experience and a decent aim. Now that she was in the game, she could teach the NPC herself.

“Your wrist should be an extension of your arm. Keep it straight and use your strength. This gun’s front-heavy, so the recoil will kick it upward. Ease your fingertip back steadily…”

Tang Danqing stood behind the NPC, supporting her arm and wrist.

Little Jelly was still too thin. Tang Danqing felt the recoil of the barrel jolt her shoulder and back each time she fired.

“Jelly, you’re too skinny.” Tang Danqing looked at her with concern. “Let’s stop for today. If you hold the gun up too long, your arm will hurt.”

She glanced at the target. Little Jelly could hit the fourth or fifth ring now. Not bad. At least she wasn’t missing the target, which meant she had some talent.

“Let me pick you up.” Looking at the NPC’s thin frame, Tang Danqing couldn’t help herself. She lifted her with one arm to test her weight.

A soft gasp escaped Shang You before she could stop it.

Her body suddenly felt light. Her feet left the ground.

Tang Danqing carried her a step, turned around as easily as if she were on level ground, then set her down.

“You’re too light. You need to eat more nutritious food. A healthy weight matters.”

Shang You’s heartbeat slowly settled. “I’ve been studying the nutrition guide you gave me.”

“Good girl.”

Tang Danqing’s enthusiasm had finally run out. She didn’t want to let her mood darken and scare the NPC, so she logged out before long.

…

After Tang Danqing had fought the stunt performer from Rong Yu’s Crew the day before, the atmosphere around her on set had grown even colder.

The assistant director pulled her aside for a private talk. She asked if she could stop looking like everyone on set owed her money. Couldn’t she go to Rong Yu with a gift, raise a glass, and apologize? One drink, and they could bury the hatchet.

Tang Danqing said, “No.”

The assistant director sighed and lowered her head. “You’re hopeless.”

Tang Danqing’s assistant, Mengmeng, could tell she was unhappy on set. After training, she suggested they go shopping. Buying things was the best way to relieve stress. If you were unhappy, you could shop. Tang Danqing had money, after all.

The shopping mall was sumptuous and glittering. The luxury boutiques on the first floor were steeped in an air of indulgence.

The floor gleamed. The ceiling lights sparkled like diamonds. Walking in, Mengmeng felt a rush of pleasure and longing.

It’s so good to have money. It’s so good to have money, she thought, following Tang Danqing. The thought left her envious and wistful.

Tang Danqing went into a brand she liked and picked out two outfits and some jewelry for public appearances. After the sales associate rang up the last traditional mamian skirt, she glanced at the register and said there was a promotion.

Spend 150,000 yuan in the store and you could choose a perfume as a gift. Tang Danqing was only 3,000 yuan short. Why not choose one more small item to make up the difference?

Tang Danqing thought that made sense. She glanced back at her assistant, who was waiting in an armchair with her black hair twisted up in a hair tie. Then she went to the accessories counter and picked out a satin scrunchie.

“Mengmeng.”

After paying, Tang Danqing called her assistant over. As they left the store, she handed Mengmeng a box with the scrunchie inside. “This is for you.”

Mengmeng exclaimed in delight, “Wow!”

But she didn’t reach for the box. Instead, she looked at Tang Danqing expectantly.

“Sis, is this really 3,000 yuan? I don’t need a scrunchie. Could you just add the money to my salary instead?”

Tang Danqing didn’t bat an eye. She calmly put the box back in the shopping bag and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there an emergency at home? Do you need money?”

“No,” Mengmeng said. “It’s just that the economy’s bad right now. I want to save more.”

Tang Danqing smiled.

“We’ll talk about a raise at the end of the year. I have to report it to the company. If you don’t want this gift, that’s fine. I’ll get you something suitable next time.”

Next time! Oh my God, when would that be? A chance to get a 3,000-yuan gift didn’t come along often. Would the next one even be worth that much?

Mengmeng hurried after Tang Danqing. “Sis, I think I do want the scrunchie. How about—”

Tang Danqing cut her off with a gentle smile. “You missed your chance. Maybe next time. Let’s go eat.”

As for the other brand-name stores they’d planned to visit, she decided to skip them. Once her mood had been spoiled, it was hard to get it back in a hurry.

Her assistant had no choice but to follow, breathing out in frustration.

How stingy!

…

After all that shopping, Tang Danqing got home with four bags, but she didn’t feel much less stressed.

Mengmeng had made her think of Jelly. Jelly might be an artificial intelligence, but no matter what Tang Danqing gave her, she was always happy, careful, grateful, and content.

And whenever Tang Danqing wanted her to make a request, she had to encourage her again and again before she would timidly ask for anything.

Tang Danqing thought of Jelly’s watery eyes widening in surprise and gratitude. She was cute, soft, and always worried that Tang Danqing had spent too much…

Tang Danqing sat down beside the game pod and plugged her phone’s charging cable into its port. The screen switched to the online top-up page.

The smile returned to her lips.

Only when she saw the screen that converted her top-up into Survival Coins did she feel better. Spending money in Extreme Cold Apocalypse was even more satisfying. It felt good when the money she spent made a difference.

Since that was the case, she’d give her adorable NPC a surprise tomorrow.