Truth be told, Gu Chengming didn't have so much as half a storybook to his name at the moment.
But storybooks, as it happened, were not exactly a tall order for him.
His previous life had come from a world where the cultural industry was nothing short of spectacular — novels, manga, games, films, all blooming in wild abundance, brimming with imagination that knew no ceiling.
Compared to the relatively formulaic, single-track storybooks of this world, the stories rattling around in his head were practically an act of civilizational conquest.
He had always been someone who paid his debts.
She had extended a hand when he was at his lowest — offhandedly, perhaps, without a second thought — but a kindness was a kindness, and he wasn't the type to let one go unacknowledged.
And besides…
Gu Chengming rubbed his chin, a rather amusing idea surfacing in his mind.
She clearly loved her storybooks. So who was to say she wouldn't love a galge?
When he thought about it, a traditional storybook was really just a stripped-down galge — no choices, no interactivity, a single fixed storyline you could only watch unfold from the sidelines.
But if he could produce an "interactive storybook" — one with branching choices and multiple endings — he might just find himself a kindred spirit in the process.
The idea lit a spark in him.
Crafting a story suited to this world's tastes while weaving in galge mechanics wasn't difficult for someone like him. He'd been marinating in that genre for years.
With that settled in his mind, Gu Chengming went straight back to his room, spread out paper and brush, and got to work.
He decided to open with something solid and accessible — a story that would showcase the "interactive" concept without overwhelming a first-time reader.
The protagonist: a lowly errand disciple of humble origins who stumbles upon a mysterious ancient ring — and the remnant soul of a once-great cultivator, bodiless and bound within it.
As the plot unfolds, the protagonist faces a series of choices. When bullied by powerful sect members, does he endure in silence, or call upon the remnant soul's power to fight back? When exploring a secret realm, does he stop to rescue a wounded fellow disciple, or pocket the treasure and leave her to her fate?
Every choice branches the story down a different path — and shapes the ending that waits at the end of the road.
Gu Chengming set brush to paper and let it fly. Vivid characters took shape beneath his hand; plots twisted and surged and caught him by surprise even as he wrote them.
But then — just as he reached the protagonist's first great turning point:
"Whether to accept the remnant soul's bargain: ten years of lifespan in exchange for a single eruption of overwhelming power" —
The Qingxin Formula, which had been lying dormant inside him, stirred.
[The Qingxin Formula watches quietly from the sidelines as you outline your storybook.]
[It had only glanced over at first, out of boredom — but the story unfolding beneath your brush caught it off guard.]
[It finds the concept of the haughty remnant soul unexpectedly compelling. There is, it feels, a certain... kinship in that character.]
[A sudden clarity sweeps through your mind, as though a cool, sweet stream has passed through your heart. The scattered threads of your thoughts knit themselves into clean, orderly lines. A stillness settles over your spirit, deeper and cleaner than anything you have felt before.]
[The Qingxin Formula completes one full autonomous cycle.]
[Qingxin Formula Favorability +2]
"Hm?"
Gu Chengming set down his brush, mildly startled, and took stock of the shift inside him.
So there were perks like this too?
He genuinely hadn't expected it — this book he was writing purely out of obligation to repay a debt had, as a side effect, apparently begun to chip away at the perpetually aloof Qingxin Formula.
With the Formula's autonomous cycle complete, the fog over his thoughts lifted entirely. The places where his plotting had been stuck — seized up like a rusted hinge — suddenly unlocked, inspiration surging up like a spring that had finally found its outlet.
It felt like someone had switched on an "Inspiration Buff" right beside him. His brush moved with startling ease, as if guided by something beyond himself. He simply could not stop.
The days that followed were, for Gu Chengming, extraordinarily full.
By day, he went to the training grounds as usual to practice the Huiyuan Sword Art. By night, he came home and burned the lamp oil writing.
His schedule was packed to the brim — and yet he felt not a trace of exhaustion. If anything, his energy was sharper than ever.
All credit to the Qingxin Formula.
Whenever Gu Chengming hit a particularly gripping passage, or landed a clever twist he was especially pleased with, the Qingxin Formula would react like an eager fan who'd just gotten a new chapter drop — it would hum to life with a little burst of excitement, circulating on its own.
Those cool, flowing currents moving through him didn't just banish fatigue in an instant — they kept him in a state of peak alertness, sharp and clear-headed at all times.
The brain-numbing fog, the hollow exhaustion, the creative drought that came from pulling all-nighters at a desk — he felt none of it.
As a result, the first installment came together with remarkable polish.
In just a matter of days, Gu Chengming finished the initial draft of the first volume.
It covered the protagonist's acquisition of his golden finger, his first glimpse of real power, and his inaugural brush with a life-or-death crisis.
And, naturally, to capture the true essence of a galge, he had built three distinct choice branches at each critical turning point.
Limited as he was by a paper medium, he had no choice but to write each branch as a separate booklet — a kind of "single-line GAL" anthology, in effect. But even so, by the standards of this world, it was a breathtakingly novel concept.
He wrote the final word, exhaled slowly, and set down his brush.
At that moment, a notification surfaced in his mind:
[The Qingxin Formula has finished reading all of the first volume.]
[It finds your story genuinely, thoroughly captivating — and in particular, the design that lets the reader choose their own fate strikes it as nothing short of inspired genius.]
[It is hungry for more. It cannot wait to find out what fate awaits the protagonist after that choice is made.]
[The Qingxin Formula urges you to write the continuation without delay. Do not leave it on a cliffhanger.]
[Qingxin Formula Favorability +5]
Gu Chengming glanced at his panel.
With the first installment complete, the Qingxin Formula's favorability had crept up to twenty points without him even noticing.
Still ten points short of "Friendly" status.
But before he started on the second installment, there was something he needed to do first — deliver this completed first part to its true intended audience: Elder Yu Wenqiu, the real client who had commissioned this whole endeavor, however unofficially.
After all, that had been the whole point.
As for the Qingxin Formula…
It raised no objection to this arrangement.
It had, after all, been the first to read the draft in its entirety — it had enjoyed the privilege of the exclusive first look. Now it simply wanted the second installment as fast as possible. The small matter of Gu Chengming showing the book to someone else was entirely beneath its notice.
Gu Chengming gathered the finished manuscript, bound it neatly with a length of thin cord, and gave it a satisfied nod.
..............
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