What It's Like Being a Vampire

It’s past six in the evening.

Star City.

At Liu Shiling’s house.

The mother and daughter had just finished dinner. After tidying up and washing the dishes, Shiling’s mom sat down in the living room. Liu Shiling came up to her, holding a thick, glossy, colored hardcover encyclopedia, asking her mom to read it to her.

This encyclopedia, thick as a brick, was Xiang Kun’s New Year’s gift to the little girl.

Honestly, when they first received this book, Shiling’s mom was slightly surprised. She hadn’t expected the book to be this thick, this many volumes, and she certainly hadn’t expected the wealth of content within.

Based on previous experience, Liu Shiling was not interested in books with a lot of words — she couldn’t understand them anyway.

Basically, the books that Xiang Kun sent were meant to be part of the decor. In time, when Liu Shiling started elementary school and could read these books, she might perhaps look through them.

However, to her surprise, on the day they received the books, Liu Shiling picked up a volume and asked her to read it.

At first, Shiling’s mom was thrilled. Her child liked reading and had an interest in “science” — what parent wouldn’t be happy?

Although she herself didn’t have a high level of education and hadn’t attended university, she thought that since Xiang Kun said this was an “encyclopedia for preschoolers,” she should have no problem explaining its content.

But soon afterward, problems arose.

Reading the book aloud was not difficult for Shiling’s mom, nor was it hard to provide simple explanations to some of the questions or to define some of the terms. She was okay with that.

However, Liu Shiling had questions, one after another.

For example, she read: “Space includes the entire universe — planets, satellites, stars, and galaxies….”

Then, Liu Shiling would ask, “What is a planet?”

Shiling’s mom flipped through the book for an explanation and read it out.

Then Liu Shiling asked again, “What is a satellite?”

Shiling’s mom looked through the book but couldn’t find an answer, so she picked up her phone, googled it, and explained it to her daughter.

Liu Shiling asked again, “What is a star?”

Shiling’s mom couldn’t help but say: “You will find out later…”

Then she read, “The universe originated from a big bang 13.7 billion years ago.”

Liu Shiling asked, “How much is 13.7 billion?”

Shiling’s mom had to use her age as a base number and enlighten her about the concept of numbers. She spent half an hour just explaining what a billion was.

So now, every time she saw Liu Shiling come running over with the encyclopedia, Shiling’s mom felt a bit overwhelmed.

However, despite feeling overwhelmed, she still had to muster up the energy to face the task.

Today, Liu Shiling had opened the page that contained information on electricity and magnetism.

Shiling’s mom suggested flipping back to the earlier pages, “We haven’t finished the previous sections yet. Let’s study geography today, let’s talk about Asia…”

However, Liu Shiling’s chubby little hand firmly flipped the pages back again to the sections regarding electricity and magnetism. She looked up at her mom and said, “Mom, I want to learn this.”

“You’ll learn about this when you go to school, and it won’t be useful to learn it now…” Shiling’s mom tried to flip back to the previous pages.

“But I want to learn it now.” Liu Shiling flipped the pages back again.

With no choice left, Shiling’s mom began to read from the page, “Everything in the universe is made up of invisible atoms, and each atom has particles that can transport charge…

“… the nucleus of an atom contains positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons, with electrons orbiting around the nucleus…

“… when static electricity builds up in a cloud to a certain extent, it will produce lightning. Negative charges aggregate at the bottom of the cloud, while positive charges accumulate at the top. In the end, the negative charges land on the Earth in the form of lightning…

“… there is always magnetism where there is electricity. This invisible mysterious force can attract certain metals together, and it can also make some metals repel each other…

With each word she read, Shiling’s mom grew more confused. Was this really written for preschool-age children? But it did indeed say 3 to 6 years old on the cover.

When she was in school, she hated physics and mathematics the most. Simple reading was not a problem, but if she started to delve deep into explanations, there would be no end.

Just reading these passages was making her drowsy, but her daughter was listening attentively, her eyes shining.

Why was Shiling suddenly interested in these things? Isn’t it more interesting for a child to read about history and geography? It would be so much better if Mr. Xiang had sent books like Grimms’ Fairy Tales, One Thousand and One Nights, or a Zheng Yuanjie collection.

As expected, Liu Shiling’s endless questions came rolling in:

“Mom, what is a nucleus?”

“Mom, what is an electron?”

“Mom, what is electric charge?”

“Mom, is magnetism the same as magic?”

“Mom, what’s the difference between lightning and the electricity in our house?”

Shiling’s mom didn’t bother googling anymore. Facing her big-eyed, knowledge-craving daughter, she helplessly replied, “It’s not mentioned in the book, darling. You’ll learn about these things when you grow up and go to school. After kindergarten reopens, you can ask your teacher about it.”

After thinking for a bit, Liu Shiling no longer “bothered” her mom with these difficult questions, and said: “Mom, can you apply for a QQ account for me? I want to add Uncle Bald and my teachers on QQ and ask them.”

Shiling’s mom didn’t hesitate and nodded in agreement. Actually, many of the children in kindergarten already had QQ accounts. However, most of them registered mainly for playing games that required logging into an account. Liu Shiling’s reason for applying for a QQ account, namely, to ask others about “study” issues, was certainly unique.

Watching her daughter walk away, clutching the encyclopedia, Shiling’s mom felt a bit dazzled.

The kindergarten had been on holiday for a while. A few days ago, she wanted to enroll Liu Shiling in an interest class. According to her past preferences, the things that the little fatty was most interested in were definitely dance, badminton, rollerblading, and rope-jumping. Though not particularly good at them, these activities were lively and fun for her, which she loved.

But this time, Little Fatty Girl insisted on signing up for a literacy class. During the class, she was always very focused. Every time Shiling’s mom picked her up, she would hear the teacher praising her daughter. And like in kindergarten, within just a few days, the other kids in the interest class had started to gather around her.

How did their daughter, who used to enjoy watching cartoons, join in the hustle and bustle, make friends, dislike studying, ignore chopsticks, fond of eating and sleeping, a bit silly and cute, suddenly undergo such a significant transformation?

Just a few months ago, Shiling’s mom was concerned that her daughter’s personality might lead to others bullying her when she started primary or secondary school. Never did she expect that the little chubby girl, who used to always trail behind other kids, had already become someone that other children look up to and seek to please.

When she used to come home, she was all about cartoons and delicious food. Now, she is always quietly playing with coins, doing origami, and taking the initiative to do her homework. She has lost her previous noise, gained an interest in studying, and become much more sensible. Perhaps her love for tasty food is the only thing that hasn’t changed.

Upon realizing that her daughter, who used to always toddle along behind her like a tiny chubby quail, would one day spread her wings and fly, Shiling’s mom inevitably felt a sense of loss… and confusion—Isn’t this sort of feeling not supposed to start until at least secondary school? This little girl is still in kindergarten!

Unexpectedly, Shiling’s mom found that the young handsome actors on the historical TV drama she was watching didn’t seem as attractive anymore.

For the first time, she regretted that she didn’t take studies seriously back in her school days.

Liu Shiling, who had returned to her room, put her ear to the door to confirm that her mom was watching her usual TV drama. She then walked over to the desk, placed the encyclopedia down, and displayed the two coins, a piece of A4 paper, and a pair of chopsticks that Uncle Bald had given her.

First, she used the index finger of her left hand to touch the edge of one coin and said, “‘Chocolate’, let’s fight side by side today!”

Then, as if hearing a summons, the coin followed her finger with a slip and “climbed” onto the back of her hand.

She used her right-hand finger to touch the other coin, “Ice cream, are you ready?”

That coin also “climbed” onto the back of her hand, sticking tightly to it.

She then looked at the A4 paper full of creases, chanting, “Magic Carpet, what kind of enemy are we against today?” She then puffed up her cheeks and blew a breath of air.

The A4 paper was blown, lifted on one side and moved forward, then it tremble slightly against the direction of its motion and suddenly stopped mid-air.

Liu Shiling stared at the A4 paper, seemingly holding her breath. A few seconds later, her face was flushed red, the paper fell back onto the table, she exhaled a long breath, her forehead was covered with fine sweat, and then she said thoughtfully, “I see, today we are against the Dark Demon King.”

With a serious look on her little face, she said to the coin stuck to the back of her left hand, “Chocolate, our enemy today is powerful, which wand should we use?”

It’s as if she heard something, turning to look at the coin on the back of her right hand, “Ice Cream, you suggest ‘Thunder Magic Wand’ would be a better counter? Okay, let’s go with your idea, your recommendation last time was good too.”

After that, she picked up a chopstick and walked over to the window, pulled the curtain aside, crawled in, wrapped herself with the curtain, carefully looked outside, and locked her gaze on a tree outside the community that was shaking its withered branches in the winter night wind. Then she pointed her chopstick at the tree through the window glass, murmuring.

In Liu Shiling’s “Magic Fantasy System”, the two coins that Xiang Kun gave her have been defined as “Little Spirit Guardians”, and are named “Chocolate” and “Ice Cream”. The A4 paper is called the “Magic Carpet”, a magical treasure similar to the “Magic Mirror” in the Snow White fairy tale. As for the pair of chopsticks, one is the “Thunder Magic Wand” and the other is the “Flame Magic Wand”, representing corresponding magic powers. However, for the time being, she has not completely unlocked the magic spells.

This “Magic World” is the “game”, or rather, the “training” that Liu Shiling is currently most passionate about. Every evening, she has to play for a while. If conditions permit, she can play for a whole day by herself without getting tired.

She can clearly feel her progress, now her ability to control the coins through the air is becoming stronger and more proficient, and as long as her attention is concentrated enough when controlling the coins, the interference with surrounding electronic devices will also decrease a lot. She vaguely felt that her abilities were improving significantly every week.

She also found that as long as she holds the chopsticks Uncle Bald gave her, she can focus more easily, whether she is studying or playing with coins, she can concentrate more.

Another gust of wind blew outside, in Liu Shiling’s imagination, the tree she had been treating as the ‘Dark Demon King’ had already been annihilated by her. Just when she was satisfied and ready to crawl out from under the curtain, she was distracted by the faint sound of a dog barking in the wind.

She then saw an orange stray cat being chased and mauled by four stray dogs, running across the non-motorized lane outside their community.

Liu Shiling was taken aback. Before she became a “Magical Girl”, she was a very timid kid, afraid of not only dogs, but also cats — because she had been scratched by a cat in her neighborhood, had to get vaccinated, and had cried terribly. She was even scared to touch the pet hamsters that belonged to the two kids who lived in Xiang Kun’s house before her.

But now, as a “Magical Girl” determined to “save the world” and “fight monsters with Uncle Bald”, Liu Shiling naturally has a strong sense of justice.

The greater the magic power, the greater the responsibility.

It seems that some great magician had once said this?

She glanced at the coin on the back of her left hand: “Chocolate, we need to help it.”

With that, she opened the window. The chill winter wind rushed in, sneaking into her sweater collar, making her neck shrink. It was like a devil’s blade scraping her will, unconsciously making her want to shut the window again.

However, thinking about her identity and the burden on her shoulders, Liu Shiling finally gritted her teeth and persevered. She picked up the “Thunder Magic Wand” and directed it at the four wild dogs chasing the orange cat.

Her eyebrows were tightly furrowed and there seemed to be thunder brewing in her eyes. The small hand gripping the chopsticks…the hand gripping the “Thunder Magic Barrier,” was trembling slightly. She was obviously exerting a lot of effort.

The “Chocolate” and “Ice Cream” coins, originally pressed tightly against her hand, also slowly floated up into the air.

But apart from the wind howling and the dogs barking, whether within the house or outside, nothing changed.

Seeing this, the orange cat had already fallen into the siege of the wild dogs, there was no way out, and disaster seemed inevitable.

Suddenly, all the lights in the neighborhood, including the street lamps outside, went out.

The next moment, the lights returned as if the whole area had blinked.

By then, Liu Shiling had already lost consciousness and collapsed backward.

However, because she was previously wrapped in the curtain, it supported her, acting like a semi-reclining hammock preventing her from falling to the ground.

Hundreds of kilometers away, Xiang Kun, who was currently on a train heading home, suddenly felt something and reflexively looked out at the night sky through the train window.

In an instant, he realized where this peculiar sensation was coming from.

It was feedback from the two coins and pair of chopsticks he had given to the little fat girl. Based on the emotional feedback obtained from the chopsticks, Liu Shiling was very focused, excited, and even a little… passionate?

He often received this kind of feedback through the chopsticks, knowing that the little fatty was indulging in her “Magic World” fantasy again.

But today seemed different. According to the sensed information from those items connected by “Super sensory contact,” Xiang Kun suddenly realized-

The little fatty girl had “developed” a new application ability for him again!

Even though he had had similar experiences before, Xiang Kun couldn’t help but sigh with admiration at the realization. This little fatty really was his blessing! She really does have a unique talent in this respect.

It was like creating a language. While Xiang Kun was still figuring out the grammar structure, pronunciation of single words, composition of words, classifying nouns, verbs, and prepositions, thinking about how to build a system, trying to make sentences and write articles, Liu Shiling had already managed to combine the words he provided, according to her own understanding and context, into a rather catchy poem! Even though she didn’t actually know 99% of the words.

Next, all Xiang Kun had to do was make some modifications and adjustments to this “poem,” perfect it based on this foundation, or establish rules in line with the program that could be repeatedly applied. This would allow him to incorporate the creative mode used in this poem into his own language system, enabling him to produce various “works.”

Through previous interactions and understanding, Xiang Kun knew that Liu Shiling had a rich imagination and creativity. She was the kind of person who could imagine Star Wars just by staring at a group of ants. Combined with her unwavering belief in Xiang Kun’s “magic theory” that has been concretely affirmed, it should be the reason why she could keep “developing” new abilities.

Xiang Kun was just about to carefully verify Liu Shiling’s newly “developed” ability when a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.