Little Pink Starfish

Not a dream!

Hahaha, it wasn’t a dream!!!

Zhang Qiu sat on the edge of the bed, spreading his pale legs apart, poking at the red marks on his inner thigh, and giggling foolishly.

Zhang Qiu never expected Li Shu to be such a reserved yet secretly passionate person. If he loved him to death, why not just say it outright? Sneakily messing with him in the middle of the night—how embarrassing! As he thought about it, his face still carried an air of smug satisfaction.

He carefully examined his own thighs, confirming the marks before happily heading to the bathroom. After washing up, he deliberately chose a pair of shorts to wear.

“Breakfast is ready.”

It was Li Shu’s voice. Zhang Qiu walked out of the bathroom, suppressing the giddy smile on his face. Seeing Li Shu, he cleared his throat and hummed in a serious tone, “Don’t think I don’t know what you did last night!”

“What did I do? Tell me,” Li Shu asked.

You sneaky bastard! Attacking me in the middle of the night! Going all out and making me feel amazing! Zhang Qiu swallowed down his inner thoughts and demanded, “Do I really need to remind you what you did?”

“Let me think.” Li Shu pretended to ponder seriously. Seeing Zhang Qiu eagerly staring at him, he said flatly, “You were grinding your teeth and snoring, so I pinched you twice.”

Wait… these marks are from pinching? But who the hell pinches someone’s upper thighs just to stop snoring? And that spot is so close to… Zhang Qiu fumed, glaring at Li Shu’s calm expression. He demanded angrily, “Did you kiss me last night?!” If he dares to deny it, I’ll bite him to death and never like him again!

Scumbag!

“Yes.”

Li Shu admitted it openly. Zhang Qiu, who had been ready to launch a dramatic counterattack, suddenly had nothing to say. He stammered, “You—you’re too much!”

“Do you like it, though?” Li Shu stepped closer, lowering his head to look into Zhang Qiu’s eyes.

Under Li Shu’s gaze, Zhang Qiu’s face heated up. Then, he grinned and blurted out boldly, “Li Shu, do you like me?”

Li Shu leaned down and kissed him on the lips. As if infected by Zhang Qiu’s barely contained joy, the corners of his mouth curved up. “I do.”

Zhang Qiu’s mind exploded like fireworks, and he was so excited he nearly ran downstairs for a victory lap.

Li Shu pinched his cheek. “Come eat breakfast.”

“Hooooo!” Zhang Qiu cheered.

At the breakfast table, the Prince of Xiapi glanced at Zhang Qiu, who was practically glowing with happiness. Zhang Qiu, realizing he might be showing off too much, toned it down, worried that he’d remind the Prince of Xiapi of his second brother. He tried to suppress his excitement while eating.

Li Shu went into the kitchen to grab some jam. The Prince of Xiapi stared at his back, then turned his gaze to Zhang Qiu, who was struggling not to laugh but still radiating joy.

“Do you really understand Li Shu?”

“Huh?” Zhang Qiu was caught off guard by the sudden question. Without thinking, he replied, “I didn’t before, but I’ll learn over time.”

Seeing Li Shu returning, the Prince of Xiapi lowered his voice and said, “Be careful.”

Be careful? Be careful of what? Zhang Qiu was about to ask, but the Prince of Xiapi had already stood up, saying lightly, “I’m done eating. I’ll go for a walk.”

“Here’s your jam.” Li Shu handed the jar to Zhang Qiu, his gaze turning cold as he watched the Prince of Xiapi leave.

Zhang Qiu, distracted, forgot about the question and happily finished breakfast with Li Shu before heading back to his room to check Tianya on his iPad.

[Hahahaha! The man I like likes me back! Thank you all for your advice—we’re officially together! Sending love! <3]

He posted a watermelon-sized heart emoji, flaunting his happiness as much as possible.

Within minutes, replies flooded in. Most were congratulatory messages or jokes about the “stinky smell of love.” Zhang Qiu scrolled down, grinning.

[OP, did you forget that you’re still pregnant with a Jiangshi’s child? Haha!]
[Are you seriously still being horny? Drama queen.]

Zhang Qiu’s fingers froze on the screen. He tossed the iPad onto the bed, lowered his head, and pressed a hand against his stomach. It still felt soft—no signs of pregnancy.

Ever since he had started wearing the Yin Soul Pearl, all his pregnancy symptoms had vanished. He ate well, slept soundly, and had avoided thinking about it—he had completely forgotten that he was still carrying a Jiangshi baby.

Zhang Qiu hesitated, then looked at Li Shu, who had just entered the room. “What if—” He stopped himself.

Li Shu didn’t press him, but after a moment, Zhang Qiu couldn’t hold it in. “Aren’t you curious about what I was going to say?”

Li Shu gave him a look that said go ahead. Zhang Qiu hesitated again.

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to say it,” Li Shu said.

Zhang Qiu’s courage deflated instantly. He figured he could put it off for now—no need to bring it up just yet.

His phone was lost somewhere, so he planned to buy a new one and get a replacement SIM card. On his way out, he saw the Prince of Xiapi sitting under a tree, absentmindedly playing with his beads.

“Want to come with me?” Zhang Qiu asked.

The Prince of Xiapi glanced behind Zhang Qiu, then shook his head. “No need.”

“Here’s the key, then.” Zhang Qiu handed over the house key before heading out with Li Shu, excited to finally have a proper date.

He practically floated as he walked, unable to hide his happiness. Seeing people on the street glancing at Li Shu, he felt a strange sense of pride. This ridiculously handsome man is mine! Hahaha!

After getting a new SIM card, Zhang Qiu suddenly realized he’d never seen Li Shu use a phone. “Wait, do you not have a phone?”

“I’m not used to using one.”

Zhang Qiu perked up like a rich boss. “Give me another one—black this time.” He turned to Li Shu. “Seriously, where did you come from? You don’t even use a phone! Once you have it, we can play games together. Oh, do you have your ID?”

“ID?” Li Shu frowned slightly.

Zhang Qiu tensed. “Don’t tell me you lost it? Did Jin Laoda give it back to you after buying your plane ticket?”

Li Shu shook his head.

“No worries, replacing it is easy nowadays. But you’ll have to go back to your registered residence. Where’s your hometown?”

“Xi’an.”

“What a coincidence! I study in Xi’an,” Zhang Qiu said, then realized he knew almost nothing about Li Shu. But he trusted him—Li Shu had saved him multiple times, and he was drop-dead gorgeous. Hehehe, my taste is amazing!

After setting up his new phone, Zhang Qiu logged into his apps and immediately got a notification. He clapped excitedly. “Today is my lucky day! My senior found the address!”

The Prince of Xiapi had been anxious, so Zhang Qiu didn’t delay their trip any longer. They took a taxi home.

“The location is in Shandong.”

For the first time in days, the Prince of Xiapi smiled, his tone urgent. “Let’s leave immediately.”

“I’ll book the tickets.” Zhang Qiu suddenly remembered—Li Shu’s ID was missing, and the Prince of Xiapi’s situation was even more complicated. He hesitated and asked, “You need an ID to buy a ticket…”

“I have one.”

Zhang Qiu: …Damn, even ancient Jiangshi have IDs these days?!

Since Li Shu didn’t have one, and replacing it would take too long, they decided to rent a car instead.

On the way, Zhang Qiu texted his parents, making up an excuse about an urgent research project. As expected, his dad called him immediately.

[Son, you’re grown up now and have your secrets. I won’t pry, but be careful. I’ll keep your mom calm.]

Zhang Qiu wanted to tell his dad the truth but chickened out. “I know, Dad.”

The driver, a sturdy young man with a friendly smile, introduced himself as Xiao Liu. He was reliable, drove fast yet steadily, and didn’t talk much—Zhang Qiu was satisfied.

That night, after checking into a small-town hotel, Zhang Qiu sprawled on the bed, exhausted. Li Shu offered, “Want me to give you a massage?”

“Yes, yes!” Zhang Qiu didn’t hesitate, happily lying down.

But the moment Li Shu’s cold body pressed against him, and his ear was suddenly licked—Zhang Qiu shuddered. Damn it! This isn’t a massage—he’s up to no good!

Just as things were heating up—

BANG!

A loud noise came from the next room. Zhang Qiu, face flushed, snapped back to reality. “It’s the Prince of Xiapi!”

Li Shu was already moving, rushing over. Zhang Qiu jumped out of bed and followed. The room was in chaos—furniture overturned, their driver unconscious on the floor, a gun nearby, and the window wide open.

The Prince of Xiapi and Li Shu were both inside.

“What happened?”

The Prince of Xiapi stared coldly at Xiao Liu lying on the ground, his eyes carrying a trace of killing intent. “He sneaked in to steal the bead.”

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Li Shu glanced at the Prince of Xiapi. “If I hadn’t arrived in time, he’d be dead.”

Zhang Qiu didn’t know what to say. They all knew how much the Prince of Xiapi treasured that bead. If Xiao Liu tried to steal it, it wasn’t surprising that he had been dealt with so harshly.

“Let’s wake him up and ask what’s going on,” Zhang Qiu suggested. “And this gun—Xiao Liu isn’t just an ordinary person. But if he’s been waiting all day, logically, he shouldn’t have acted so rashly.”

“Someone else came in through the window first,” the Prince of Xiapi sneered. “When they saw me fighting that person, they tried to take advantage of the situation.”

Unexpectedly, the first intruder escaped, leaving Xiao Liu to take the fall. But the fact that the other person could exchange blows with the Prince of Xiapi and still get away proved they had some skill.

Once Xiao Liu was revived, before Zhang Qiu could even threaten him, he took one look at the Prince of Xiapi’s face and shuddered, immediately spilling everything like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.

“Someone put out a bounty—three million for the Phoenix Bead in your possession. They say eating it grants immortality and cures all diseases.”