Chapter 9

The point was—under Wen Xi’s “hand-holding,” the sprite had actually learned to write his name properly. That gave Wen Xi a huge hit of satisfaction.
Look—the kid nobody could teach, he’d taught.
After learning to write his name, the sprite unlocked his own achievement: 【Erudite I】.
His rank rose from Novice II to Novice III.
The rank-up added five points to Intelligence and granted the player one chance to expand the house.
Wen Xi checked the time—5:53. No time to explore the new feature; he had to log off and prep for work.
As he left, the sprite still sat at the desk writing diligently, not slacking.
When Wen Xi logged in again, he found the pajama-clad sprite collapsed bonelessly on the desk; his bubble showed a black skull icon with the note: 【No strength left…】
Fullness was almost empty—Wen Xi quickly fed a star candy. The listless sprite shot upright; the skull turned into musical notes.
He hummed a tuneless song; his thoughts turned to text in front of Wen Xi: 【I could write ten more pages.】
Heaven—first time seeing a grind this hard and this ineffective.
Wen Xi remembered him dozing in class—wanted to tell him to sleep early, but voice chat wasn’t an option—so he long-pressed the sprite, lifted him, and carried him toward bed.
Short limbs flailed in the air; he shouted, “Study, study… stuff.”
This time Wen Xi got it—he still wanted to study.
But study what? Grinding yourself into useless work—better to sleep more and listen in class tomorrow.
Wen Xi didn’t let go—he stuffed him under the covers.
The patched quilt looked thin and ugly—time to hit the mall.
The sprite wouldn’t stay put—sat up the moment he laid down; Wen Xi pushed him flat; he sat up again; Wen Xi pushed again; he sat up again…
Before Wen Xi’s finger touched him, he said shyly but urgently, “blvet!”
【Letter!】
What letter?
The sprite jumped off the bed, ran to the round table, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it over shyly.
System: 【Wen Siran offers you a love letter—accept?】
【Accept】【Decline】
A love letter?
The kid could barely read—what kind of letter?
Written in their language?
Another hidden quest?
Would the letter become a key item and unlock a new stage?
Had to be.
Wen Xi accepted.
The paper “flew” from the sprite’s hands and unfolded.
Scribbles and drawings—only “Wen Siran” was in proper characters, plus a heart and a stick figure.
Wen Xi: ?
After reading, the “love letter” auto-sorted into the player’s inventory.
The sprite was back in bed, rolled into a big spring roll, pink bubbles popping over his head nonstop.
Wen Xi couldn’t read his mind.
Why always bubbles?
Was there lore?
He was a succubus, not a fish—and no one was here to explain to the “esteemed player.”
After waiting with no system announcement that the letter was a key item, Wen Xi decided to do the expansion quest first.
A small hammer appeared on the white wall; he tapped—a small box popped.
System: 【Spend 1000 gold to add a bathroom?】
With the gold mailbox, base currency wasn’t a worry.
He tapped yes.
After ten seconds of hammering, a glass door appeared on the blank wall; he tapped the handle—it opened.
He tapped Enter—the camera pulled into the new bathroom.
Besides a rickety sink, the new space was empty.
Wen Xi went to the mall, bath section.
Tubs, showers, full-length mirrors, vanities—everything.
Dazzling.
Wen Xi had a hundred renovation ideas—until his eyes landed on gold and Heart Coin balances. Silence.
He felt like a useless husband—all want, no power.
Anything decent in the mall needed Heart Coins—not cheap.
Whether a janky mobile game deserved hundreds of yuan in top-ups was the real question.
After thinking, Wen Xi left the mall—he’d move the tub in temporarily.
“Ding～”
System: 【Congratulations—home feature: Bathroom unlocked.】
As soon as the message played, a familiar purple mega-bundle appeared.
【Limited super-value bundle】
【Was 128 yuan—now 6 yuan】
Contains:
【Classic marble vanity × 1 (black or white)】
【Classic milk bath OR curved glass shower—pick one】
【Oversized floor mirror × 1】
【Built-in shelves × 2】
【Basic toilet × 1】
【Wave-pattern wet/dry partition × 1】
【Points × 128】
System: 【Purchase?】
Six yuan—not six hundred, not six thousand. Steal.
Wen Xi barely hesitated—bought.
After payment, he returned to the sprite’s room.
The sprite wasn’t asleep—lying sideways to the wall, finger doodling on the plaster, giggling now and then.
Just adding a bathroom made him this happy?
Fully furnishing it would launch him.
Wen Xi got to work.
Decorate—tub against the wall.
For the pick-one, he chose tub over shower—the sprite liked baths.
Shelves built into the wall beside the tub; towels and bath products stocked for easy reach.
Wave partition on the other side of the tub; toilet and new vanity beyond it.
Finally the huge mirror.
He dropped it on a blank spot.
Perfect.
Hearing noise, the sprite had crept to the bathroom door—peeked in, muttering, “Polin?”
Still wired, huh?
Then bathe.
Feel the new vibe.
Wen Xi grabbed the sprite and dragged him into the bathroom.
Strip all—into the tub.
Paid furniture hit different.
The tub didn’t fill with water—milky milk, red petals floating.
The sprite went from stunned to ecstatic.
He sang happily, soaking, head swaying.
Satisfied, Wen Xi returned to the map, listed the old tub and dismantled sink on the flea market.
Starter furniture—other players might not buy, but the system would buy back.
Sure enough—listed briefly, sold for 135 gold.
Room cleared, coins gained—worth it.
He left the flea market, hit the mall again, bought two metal towel bars.
Back in the bathroom, the sprite was almost done.
Wen Xi mounted the bars, hung the bath towel.
The sprite snatched the towel, wrapped up, walked to the mirror.
Before Wen Xi figured his plan, the sprite opened the towel, stared at the mirror a moment, nodded.
His bubble sold him out: 【Mhm—clean and pretty! Siran is the prettiest succubus!】
Wen Xi: .
Past two a.m.—Wen Xi grabbed the little succubus and stopped the self-admiration session.
Out of the bathroom—pajamas auto-equipped.
He stuffed him into bed; those big eyes still darted—so Wen Xi found an unworn sock and laid it over his eyes to force sleep.
No idea if it worked—if the sprite could read the “good intentions.”
Wen Xi waited quietly and turned off all room lights.
Two minutes later he lifted the sock—the sprite’s eyes were closed, muttering “Zai jian” before drifting off.
Goodbye.
Yeah—see you tomorrow.
Author’s note:
Tomorrow always comes—so you meet again soon.
Once a game hooks you, you clock in daily.
Early on, curiosity about locked content is huge—you want to pour all your energy in.
Wen Xi was no different.
He used to live on competitive games—this was his first raising sim.
From forced blind-box succubus to voluntary spending—credit went to the character writing and plot that actually made you feel things.
Today was day three of clocking into “City of Succubi.”
On “never skip a freebie” principles, first thing online was claiming gold.
After claiming, he scanned the sprite’s room for furniture to replace.
Yesterday he’d meant to swap the blanket—after finishing the bathroom, he’d forgotten completely.