Su Xi had suffered from this problem since childhood. Her constitution was a bit cold; once her menstrual pain struck, it was unbearable—so painful she could die, rolling about on the bed if she could.
She frowned in discomfort, struggling to sit up, and pulled open the bedside drawer—only to find that the painkillers inside had long been finished.
So she could only lie back down weakly, curling up into a ball.
Her hands and feet were icy as she lay there for a while. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead, and she drifted in and out of consciousness.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but all of a sudden, she felt something warm at her feet—like a heat pack.
Su Xi’s sluggish mind flickered with confusion… Hadn’t the heat pack she charged last night already gone cold? Why did it suddenly heat up again?
Outside the curtain, Lu Huan was also facing—for the very first time—the matter of a woman’s monthly abdominal pain, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
He’d learned from pharmacology texts how to decoct pain-relieving soups using xuan hu and wu ling zhi, but those were methods of his own dynasty, impossible to apply in hers.
In her world, there should be more effective medicine. However, the area Lu Huan had unlocked at this stage only covered her home and its surroundings. Within half a li radius, there wasn’t a single pharmacy. Even if there were, he couldn’t buy anything with silver taels.
Lu Huan paced back and forth inside the tent, his brow deeply furrowed.
Cold-type menstrual pain symptoms should require the replenishment of heat, he thought. So, carefully, he lifted the edge of the blanket at her feet through the curtain, took out the round object, carried it to the main hall, found a long black cord, and connected it to that thing in the corner called an “outlet.”
Once the glowing red light on the round object dimmed, it should have been warm enough.
Then, with light and quiet steps, Lu Huan brought it back, and while Su Xi’s eyes remained tightly shut, he tucked the round object back beneath her blanket at her feet.
These past few nights, Lu Huan had seen Su Xi do the same thing before getting into bed. Though he didn’t know exactly what the round object was, he could roughly guess—it must be something similar to a charcoal heater one could hold for warmth.
He had an excellent memory, never forgetting what he’d seen, and he learned quickly; now he could handle this object with ease.
Watching as he placed it back, the pained expression on Su Xi’s face finally eased, and she turned less frequently in discomfort. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Lu Huan then switched the curtain’s view to the kitchen and found a packet of brown sugar in the cabinet.
A dynasty a thousand years later—everything in it was novel beyond imagination for Lu Huan.
He didn’t particularly like the long rectangular black screen hanging on the living room wall, because whenever Su Mother turned it on, a noisy crowd would appear inside, either dancing in strange ways or singing songs that grated on the ears.
However, when Su Xi turned it on, there would often be unfamiliar little cartoon people performing love and hate dramas. Su Xi would hug a bag of chips, laughing aloud as she watched. Outside the screen, Lu Huan, dealing with military affairs in his tent, would occasionally glance up as well.
He regarded it as a kind of “live shadow play.”
Quite entertaining, actually.
He had already accompanied Su Xi through several episodes, doing his best to understand the relationships between the characters—and, along the way, to learn some of the curious new vocabulary of a dynasty a millennium ahead.
But what Lu Huan liked most was the kitchen. He found that it held far more things beyond his comprehension. That tall box standing against the wall could actually store fresh vegetables, and when opened, a chill would drift out.
He tried to find a piece of ginger inside but discovered that the last one had been used up by Su Mother the night before.
Lu Huan frowned slightly. If there was only brown sugar but no ginger, the brewed drink might not have much effect.
However, in recent days, Lu Huan had discovered that on this screen, there was a button labeled “game mall.” When opened, it allowed him to purchase some basic items using silver taels.
So he opened it deftly and quickly found a piece of ginger. As a bit of the silver in his arms vanished into thin air, a yellow piece of ginger appeared on the cutting board in the kitchen shown on the screen.
He swiped across the screen swiftly, controlling the kitchen knife to chop the ginger into small pieces. Then he boiled some water, found a clean glass container, and poured both in, letting the hot water steep them. Finally, imitating the gestures he had learned while watching Su Mother cook the previous day, he took out a chopstick and stirred the brown sugar ginger tea.
Su Xi slept again for a while. When she heard a faint noise, she groggily opened her eyes—only to find, beside her pillow on the bedside table, a steaming cup of brown sugar ginger tea?!
She started in surprise, wondering if she was dreaming. Hadn’t her parents already left? Or was her memory failing her?
Weakly, she asked, “Dad, you’re back? Or… Mom?”
No one answered.
Her mind was muddled from the menstrual pain, so she didn’t think much of it. Forcing herself to sit up, she sipped the tea little by little.
After drinking it, she immediately felt a gentle warmth spreading from her stomach to her lower abdomen, and finally felt some relief.
Letting out a soft sigh, she pulled the blanket over her head and went back to sleep. She’d have to take the morning off today.
Half asleep, she seemed to feel someone touch her forehead—a touch so gentle that Su Xi rubbed her face against the pillow in response.
───♡───
On Lu Huan’s side, night had already deepened, but the candlelight in his tent still burned.
He raised his eyes toward the curtain, gazing at the sleeping face of the young woman upon it, and his heart was filled with quiet satisfaction. To be able to accompany her like this was already an immense blessing.
Lu Huan had already learned that completing the main and side missions shown on the screen could increase his points. In addition, by diligently attending to his military duties, he could also gain points gradually. Though he did not understand why the screen compelled him to be so industrious through this system, for the sake of seeing Su Xi sooner, he worked several times harder than before—cutting his sleep to the bare minimum.
Other than the little time he allowed himself at night, he spent every waking moment occupied—reviewing documents for General Zhenyuan, managing grain supplies along the marching route, listening to front-line reports in his tent, and discussing military affairs with other officers. He poured his heart and soul into every task.
Those in the army who didn’t know his true purpose watched him work tirelessly for half a month, day and night, without rest. Such dedication was not something an ordinary man could feign. Gradually, they came to admire him more and more, believing that though young, he possessed the pure heart of a loyal servant of the nation—someone truly worth befriending.
General Zhenyuan, watching from afar as Lu Huan naturally integrated with the soldiers and even bonded with several of his own subordinates, stroked his beard and smiled with satisfaction.
Naturally, he was more than pleased to see this.
At this moment, Lu Huan discovered a side mission on the screen—one that had not automatically appeared, but could still be completed to earn additional points.
His heart leapt with joy, and he opened the mission immediately—
There were no prompts on the screen this time. It jumped straight to a new sequence of images, with the words: “Some past events available for strategy.”
Past events? Could it be that, just as a carriage could move across space, this screen could move across time as well?
Before Lu Huan could even think further, the scene began to play.
The scene opened at the foot of Su Xi’s apartment building. Her parents were hurrying off somewhere, each carrying food containers filled with home-cooked dishes. Perhaps they were moving too quickly—Su Xi’s mother didn’t notice a banana peel underfoot and nearly slipped on it.
Outside the screen, Lu Huan instinctively reached out a hand to steady her and to his surprise, it worked.
Su Xi’s mother glanced behind her in confusion, managed to regain her balance, but since she was in a rush to get somewhere, she didn’t think too much of it.
Then, dialogue popped up between the two:
“I wonder how Xixi is doing at the hospital. We need to hurry—the insulation on this container isn’t great. The chicken soup won’t taste good once it gets cold.”
Hospital?
Having observed Su Xi’s era for several days now, Lu Huan naturally understood what a “hospital” was. His heart clenched with anxiety.
He noticed that after helping Su Xi’s mother just now, the points in the upper right corner had increased by two. So he immediately unlocked the “hospital.”
Once he did, the screen shifted to a hospital scene. There, Su Xi was putting down a brick she’d been holding, her expression tinged with sadness.
—What happened?
She was dressed in blue-and-white plaid clothes, and there was something wrapped around her leg—it looked like she was injured.
Lu Huan immediately tried to examine her leg, but he couldn’t help her through the screen.
A hint of frustration flashed through him. Still, he reminded himself that medical skill in her world was advanced. Since she was already in a hospital, she must have had the best physicians tend to her. And since this was a past event, and her leg was fine now, it meant she had recovered.
Then he saw Su Xi pick up the brick-like device again, press it a few times, and start talking to someone.
From the dialogue that popped up, it seemed she was… borrowing money?
Lu Huan immediately took out a stack of silver notes, but this screen did not allow physical objects to be transmitted.
If he wanted to help her, he could only do it another way.
So when he saw her asking someone to buy a lottery ticket, he spent dozens of silver notes in the game mall to exchange for something called a “Winning Ticket,” allowing her to hit the jackpot just as she wished.
When he saw the little shop on the screen—Su Xi and two of her friends jumping up and down with excitement—Lu Huan’s brows relaxed into a faint smile.
Only, the little male cartoon figure beside her kept trying to support her arm, and Lu Huan couldn’t help himself—he slapped the boy’s hand away with a single strike.
After completing this second task, two more points appeared in the upper-right corner.
Following Su Xi’s mention of going to the mall, he unlocked the third location—the mall.
This time, when he saw a steaming pot of fish soup about to spill toward her, his pupils contracted sharply, and he flipped it away before it could touch her.
That was the third task.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Huan used his newly gained points to unlock Su Xi’s most frequently visited place—her school.
By this point, Lu Huan had begun to realize that Su Xi’s luck seemed rather poor.
That day, she was desperately running to catch a large carriage, and just as she was about to reach it, the vehicle suddenly prepared to drive off. She looked utterly stricken, chasing after it in panic.
The person ahead of her had just boarded. Lu Huan frowned, and when that person swiped a small rectangular card, he took hold of the person’s hand—making him move slower.
Just as the driver was about to urge the carriage forward, Su Xi, drenched in sweat, came rushing up, bent over, panting heavily as she clutched her knees.
She patted her chest. “So close, I almost missed the bus.”
Outside the screen, Lu Huan let out a small laugh and finally released the hand of the person in front of her. That person looked around in astonishment, thinking it was his imagination. He twisted his wrist, then proceeded toward the back of the carriage.
This was the fourth task.
For the fifth, Lu Huan had just unlocked Su Xi’s school. Before he could take a proper look, he saw her coming out of one of the rooms. The corridor was filled with cartoon figures everywhere.
So her era’s school actually housed this many students?
Lu Huan felt mildly shocked. He gently nudged aside the people around her, not wanting them to bump into her.
The girl standing on Su Xi’s right felt an inexplicable force push her. She instinctively thought the person on her left had done it, so she glared at Su Xi.
Su Xi, who was glared at for no reason: “……”
Outside the curtain, Lu Huan: “……”
Feeling guilty, he touched the tip of his nose and stopped trying to part the crowd.
But while she was going down the stairs, he saw Su Xi nearly get shoved and almost fall.
With sharp reflexes, he steadied her.
Only after watching her safely leave the tall building did he let out a breath.
After completing these five side missions, the screen returned to the present—Su Xi lying on the bed with her hands over her stomach. The points in the upper-right corner had finally reached one hundred and twelve.
Lu Huan suddenly remembered that when Su Xi chatted with him the past two days, she mentioned that ever since being able to interact with him, her luck had improved. At the time, he thought she was merely saying it to make him happy, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Now, a flash of realization struck him.
So, back then, had he intervened in Xiao Xi’s past?
Lu Huan faintly felt that the appearance of this screen between them was no coincidence. But for the moment, he couldn’t figure out why. He could only set the thought aside.
He continued searching the screen for more tasks to complete, hoping to raise his points to two hundred as quickly as possible—so he could see her sooner. But for now, no new missions appeared.
Lu Huan thought for a moment, then gently tucked the blanket around the sleeping girl. After that, he dragged the view over to the desk by her window.
There, he found a book whose cover was filled with tiny, twisting fly-head characters. He opened to the last few pages and, matching those tiny characters to the corresponding Chinese, began memorizing their meanings.
The candle burned all the way until dawn.
───♡───
After drinking the brown sugar ginger tea, Su Xi’s menstrual cramps eased a lot.
She had taken the morning off, but she still needed to attend school that afternoon.
Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, she got up to pack her bag—only to discover that last night she had forgotten to put her English textbook inside.
She didn’t think too much about it and simply slipped it into her bag, then headed out the door.
Had she checked the game at that moment, she would have been struck speechless as if thunder had exploded right over her head.
At dawn inside the game, the boy in the tent had copied out five full pages of English vocabulary using a brush.
His brows were furrowed as he paced in the tent with the papers in hand, trying his best to understand this system of fly-head characters and its grammar, completely different from the Yan-country language.
Perhaps it was because he hadn’t slept all night—he seemed a little tired. He rubbed his brow, then poured himself a cup of bitter tea to stay awake.
