Little Pink Starfish

Zhang Qiu was the first to scare himself with his own thoughts. Trembling, he followed closely behind Li Shu. The wooden stairs creaked beneath their feet. As they neared the doorway, Zhang Qiu stared at Li Shu’s back, unable to suppress the wild thoughts running through his mind.

“Li Shu!” His voice was hoarse. Seeing the figure ahead pause, a strange atmosphere loomed overhead. Zhang Qiu swallowed hard. “You’re really Li Shu, right?”

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Zhang Qiu swore he saw Li Shu’s back twitch slightly at his question.

Shit—was he actually right?!

Li Shu suddenly turned around, his expression calm and unreadable. Zhang Qiu shuddered unconsciously. The man took a step toward him, then another, the wooden floorboards groaning under each footfall. With every sound, Zhang Qiu’s heartbeat quickened.

“You—you—you—”

Zhang Qiu was so scared he stuttered, his face turning pale. The “Li Shu” in front of him slowly leaned closer, stopping at the side of his neck. A cold breath brushed against his skin, making him shiver. Goosebumps prickled across his nape.

“I’m not Li Shu.”

!!!!

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!!

Zhang Qiu held his breath in terror. The Prince of Xiapi was in the next room—could he make it if he screamed and ran now?

“If I’m not Li Shu, then who do you think I am? Hmm?”

A deep voice rumbled beside his ear, sending a chill down his spine. Zhang Qiu was paralyzed, feeling like a wooden stake planted into the ground. Then, the voice by his ear continued, “Or do you want me to help you shoot it out again tonight?”

As if remembering something, a hand suddenly smacked his ass. Zhang Qiu’s reflexes kicked in—his butt clenched instantly.

“Nice feel, Xiao Qiu.” The voice carried an unmistakable smile.

Zhang Qiu immediately snapped out of it.

Li Shu, this bastard, was messing with him!

That twitch in his back earlier—it must have been from laughing at him for being such a coward!

Fuming, Zhang Qiu lifted his head, fully prepared to retaliate. But as soon as he locked eyes with Li Shu’s deep gaze, all his bluster deflated. In an instant, he went from an enraged Zhang Qiu to a meek and pitiful one.

Pathetic.

Li Shu raised an eyebrow and straightened his posture, looking down at Zhang Qiu. “If you’re scared, I can sleep with you tonight.”

“I’m not scared!” Even if he was, he absolutely couldn’t admit it now! Zhang Qiu stiffened his expression and huffed. To turn the tables, he countered, “I stopped you just now to tell you that if you get scared tonight, you can wake me up.”

After saying this, he calmly walked past Li Shu, giving himself a mental score of nine out of ten for his performance—deducting one point to keep himself humble. Damn, I’m awesome. Didn’t back down at all!

Li Shu watched Zhang Qiu’s slightly hurried retreat, the corners of his lips curling up in amusement. Interesting.

The village slept early, with no nighttime activities, especially in the elder’s household. After dinner, the doors were locked, and they went to bed. Having spent an entire day and night in the tomb, Zhang Qiu was exhausted. His earlier paranoia had been completely neutralized by Li Shu’s teasing, so the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out cold.

When Li Shu entered the room, he saw Zhang Qiu sprawled out on the bed, shoes still on. Because it was warm, his T-shirt had ridden up, exposing a small patch of soft, fair skin on his belly—round and smooth.

Li Shu’s gaze softened.

Without thinking, he reached out and gently placed his hand on Zhang Qiu’s stomach. The sensation was pleasant, so much so that he was reluctant to move his hand away.

On the bed, Zhang Qiu furrowed his brows slightly, as if lost in a dream. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

“Behave and let him rest,” Li Shu murmured softly.

Under his palm, Zhang Qiu’s belly suddenly twitched, as if responding to him.

Li Shu’s expression cooled. “You’ll come out when it’s time. Don’t be impatient, or you’ll hurt him.”

The little belly gave another two playful wiggles before settling down.

Zhang Qiu was dreaming.

In his dream, a small black misty figure was calling him “Mom” in a crisp, sweet voice. The mist giggled and swirled around him, nearly making his legs give out from fright.

But the mist didn’t do anything harmful—it simply called out to him again and again, softly and sweetly.

Do I look like someone who should be called ‘Mom’?!

Call me Dad, at least!

As if it could hear his thoughts, the black mist happily chirped, “Dad!”

Zhang Qiu thought for a moment. Fine. I’ll call you Dad instead, just stay away from me.

The black mist suddenly started crying, sobbing and wrapping around his hand, then his belly, making sad little whimpering noises. Zhang Qiu felt like a terrible person.

The thing seemed so pitiful, but it was also so damn creepy! He didn’t know what to do.

Just as he hesitated, the mist suddenly rolled itself into a ball and nuzzled his face. It was cool and soft.

It let out one last, soft “Dad…” before vanishing like a wisp of smoke.

Zhang Qiu let out a sigh of relief.

That dream was weird as hell.

But he was too sleepy to dwell on it. Mumbling to himself, he turned over and quickly fell back into deep sleep, snoring lightly.

---

In the middle of the night, Zhang Qiu woke up with a full bladder.

The room was pitch dark. His night vision seemed to have disappeared, and only the faint moonlight from the window allowed him to make out Li Shu’s silhouette on the opposite bed.

He squirmed uncomfortably before turning on the small bedside lamp and clamping his legs together as he got up.

Just as he reached the door, a cool breeze slipped through the cracks. Shadows of tree branches danced outside the window. Zhang Qiu’s imagination started running wild again.

He had always considered himself fairly brave. While he had been scared in the tomb, he could grit his teeth and push through. But his own mind? His brain was his worst enemy. The more he thought about it, the scarier everything became.

Now, his face was turning blue from holding it in.

He hesitated for ages, but his feet wouldn’t move forward.

Turning around, he took a few steps toward Li Shu’s bed, trying to figure out a way to ask for company without sounding like a coward.

Just then, Li Shu suddenly flipped over.

Zhang Qiu nearly jumped out of his skin.

Li Shu sat up, amused by Zhang Qiu’s reaction. Watching him puff up like a frightened little rabbit pretending to be a fierce tiger was truly entertaining.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhang Qiu clenched his legs, feigning casualness. “Do you need to go to the bathroom? I happened to wake up, so I can go with you.”

Li Shu just stared at him, his gaze full of understanding.

If he teases me again, I swear I’ll just run out and go alone. Who cares if I’m scared—I’m a man!

“Hmm.” Li Shu stretched lazily, slipping on his slippers. He glanced outside and said indifferently, “It’s so dark. The tree shadows look like ghosts. I’d be scared going alone—thank you for coming with me.”

Zhang Qiu: …

That was obviously aimed at me.

But at least he could finally go to the bathroom.

As they walked, Li Shu shone a flashlight behind him. When they passed the Prince of Xiapi’s room, Zhang Qiu glanced inside.

Through the slightly open window, he saw the Prince of Xiapi staring at the golden bead in his palm, his eyes red as if he had been crying.

Sensing their presence, the prince turned, his gaze sharp as a blade, then silently closed his hand around the bead and extinguished the light.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Zhang Qiu let out a silent sigh.

His mood instantly became heavy, and his steps felt heavier too.

He went to the bathroom, relieved himself, and washed his hands all in one go without saying a word.

Li Shu walked behind him. Seeing Zhang Qiu’s gloomy expression, he said casually, “It’s not like there’s no way.”

“?”

Zhang Qiu was still thinking about Zhang Yushui, wondering if he should ask the Prince of Xiapi for the bead and take it back to his uncle. His uncle was incredibly skilled—maybe he would have a solution. Caught up in his thoughts, Zhang Qiu barely registered Li Shu’s words.

Li Shu didn’t mind that Zhang Qiu had zoned out. He patiently repeated, “Whoever orchestrated this must know more than we do. If we can find the right way to counter it, there might still be a solution.”

“You have a point.” Zhang Qiu’s spirits lifted a little. But soon, he frowned again. “But we have no leads. Boss Jin is dead—”

Li Shu chuckled. His features were already strikingly handsome, but when he smiled genuinely, it was even more captivating. Even his usual mocking smirks were charming, let alone this relaxed smile.

Zhang Qiu knew this was inappropriate timing, but he still found himself momentarily dazed.

“The Prince of Xiapi has a map,” Li Shu added.

Zhang Qiu was still staring at Li Shu’s face. Li Shu had never liked when people stared at him like that before, but now, he found it amusing. On a whim, he smirked and asked, “Do I look good?”

“Yeah, you do,” Zhang Qiu answered naturally.

Li Shu reached out and pinched Zhang Qiu’s cheek—it was soft and smooth. “Wipe your drool.”

!!!

Zhang Qiu instantly snapped back to reality, his face burning with embarrassment.

How could he get so distracted while discussing something important?!

Hurriedly, he wiped his mouth—only to realize there was no drool at all.

When he looked up and saw the teasing glint in Li Shu’s eyes, he immediately knew—he had been tricked again!

“Can you be serious for once? Stop flirting for no reason!” Zhang Qiu huffed, trying to turn the tables.

Li Shu, in a rare good mood, saw that Zhang Qiu was already bristling with frustration and decided to let him off. He nodded seriously and continued, “I believe the Prince of Xiapi will be willing to show us the map.”

Thinking of the Prince of Xiapi’s red eyes, Zhang Qiu was certain—he didn’t truly want Zhang Yushui to die.

So, Zhang Qiu nodded in agreement.

The two returned to their room. Li Shu leaned against the headboard, his long legs stretched out over the side of the bed. His tied-up hair had come loose, falling over his face. Under the dim bedside light, he looked almost hypnotically beautiful.

Not feminine—just stunning.

Zhang Qiu almost drooled again.

Li Shu clearly enjoyed Zhang Qiu’s awestruck expression. He patted the spot next to him and said in a low voice, “Come sleep.”

Zhang Qiu, as if under a spell, eagerly climbed into bed.

When he woke up the next morning, he found himself clinging tightly to Li Shu.

The bed was narrow—barely 1.5 meters wide. With two grown men squeezed together, they had no choice but to sleep close.

Zhang Qiu’s head was nestled against Li Shu’s chest. He had been asleep for a while, but he still couldn’t figure out how he had ended up in Li Shu’s bed.

Li Shu’s body temperature was low, but as Zhang Qiu shifted slightly, he suddenly felt something pressing against his thigh—something hard.

Zhang Qiu instantly sucked in a sharp breath.

Every man knew exactly what that was.

He froze, stiff as a board, afraid to move an inch.

Then, from above his head, Li Shu’s deep voice came, laced with amusement—

“If you move again, don’t blame me.”