Little Pink Starfish

Zhang Qiu’s rented apartment was a one-bedroom unit, and the furniture had been passed down through multiple student tenants. As expected, it wasn’t in great condition. He usually did just enough cleaning to make sure it was livable, and meals were mostly settled at the campus cafeteria or small eateries.

Now, with Li Shu and the little jiangshi, the place suddenly felt too old, messy, and cramped.

Even though Li Shu had tidied up before, his version of cleaning was only surface-level.

As the self-proclaimed head of the household, Zhang Qiu decided they needed a better place. While eating his breakfast of soy milk and steamed buns, he did some calculations. He had just enough money to rent a two-bedroom apartment. That way, the little jiangshi could have his own room, and he and Li Shu…

Well, they could cuddle under the covers and chat properly.

“Is the soy milk too hot?”

Zhang Qiu snapped out of his daydream and took a sip absentmindedly. “No, it’s just right.”

“Then why is your face red?” Li Shu’s gaze carried a hint of amusement.

Just thinking about pure and innocent things! Zhang Qiu thought, but he kept a straight face and changed the topic. “After breakfast, we need to buy a baby bottle for Xiao Jiang.”

The little jiangshi, tired from lapping up milk, sat cross-legged on the table, stretching his neck to lick the remaining soy milk from the bowl. His bare body was covered in splashes of soy milk, but he seemed very happy about it.

“Hmm, we should also buy some clothes for him,” Zhang Qiu said, eyeing his son’s tiny figure with concern.

Li Shu had no objections.

After breakfast, Zhang Qiu wrapped the little one in a towel like a makeshift dress, tucked him into his backpack, and they headed to the supermarket from last night.

This time, there was a salesgirl at the baby section—a college student working part-time. The moment she saw Li Shu, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Zhang Qiu coughed twice, then stiffly said, “We’re here for his son.” He pointed at Li Shu, whose face remained indifferent.

“Oh! So this gentleman is married?”

“Yes, yes! My buddy here absolutely adores his wife,” Zhang Qiu shamelessly added, grinning as the girl’s expression fell. Then, he continued, “We need a baby bottle—preferably shatterproof, not glass, and if it has a built-in thermometer, that’d be even better…”

Li Shu suddenly spoke, “Yes, very much in love.”

He glanced at Zhang Qiu as he said it.

Zhang Qiu froze, his face turning slightly pink.

After buying the bottle, Li Shu pushed the shopping cart and casually remarked, “Wife? Hmm?”

The heat on Zhang Qiu’s face had just started to fade, but with Li Shu’s deep, sultry voice questioning him, it flared up again.

He had never been the shy type—his mom could yank his ear and scold him in public, and he wouldn’t even flinch. But now, just one sentence from Li Shu and he was blushing? Li Shu must have done something to him!

“Who’s your wife? You’re my wife, if anything!” Zhang Qiu huffed.

Li Shu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Husband, then.” His tone carried a teasing edge.

Zhang Qiu’s legs nearly gave out. His ears burned, but he still wanted to have the last word, so he boldly responded, “Aye!”

Then, he caught Li Shu’s gaze—his heart pounded, and his face reddened even more. But deep down, he was incredibly pleased.

So easy to tease.

Li Shu’s eyes also held a faint smile, but beneath it, he was thinking about how best to “devour” this lively, adorable little coward.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiu was lost in his own fantasy. Hahaha, I’ve secured my position as the husband! I’m amazing!

Since they had Xiao Jiang with them, eating out wasn’t an option. But Zhang Qiu was in an excellent mood, so he declared, “I’ll show you my cooking skills!”

Then, he happily rolled into the kitchen.

Xiao Jiang sat on the coffee table, watching cartoons, while Li Shu followed Zhang Qiu into the kitchen.

“You shouldn’t be in here… Ugh, you’re too close—I can’t stir-fry properly—No, stop—Ah!”

The little jiangshi perked up, ears twitching, and curiously turned toward the kitchen.

Li Shu’s hand slowly slipped inside Zhang Qiu’s clothes. Zhang Qiu went weak all over, especially when Li Shu gave a firm squeeze. His spatula nearly flew out of his hand.

Forget cooking!

Li Shu leaned in, voice low against his neck. “Shh, our son is outside.”

Yet, his hands didn’t stop—instead, they became even bolder.

Zhang Qiu was caught in a torturous limbo, pressed between desire and the fear of making a sound. His suppressed moans turned into nothing but shaky breaths.

Xiao Jiang’s eyes lit up. He slid down from the coffee table and toddled toward the kitchen. Just as he reached the door—

BANG!

The door slammed shut.

The little jiangshi pouted but then heard something and grinned, showing his tiny tiger teeth. Quietly, he returned to watching cartoons.

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In the end, Zhang Qiu was too exhausted to cook. They had to order takeout.

Lying limply on the bed, Zhang Qiu felt completely drained. Xiao Jiang sat beside him, obediently drinking milk from his bottle.

“Ba-ba.”

At that moment, Zhang Qiu almost shed tears of joy.

A sore waist and a swollen backside were worth it! His son was adorable, and his wife had excellent skills. Life was perfect!

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That afternoon, Xiapi Prince arrived. Seeing Zhang Qiu sprawled on the bed like a postpartum mother, he clicked his tongue. “Got eaten clean, huh?”

Zhang Qiu retorted, “Xiao Jiang, call him ‘Second Mom’!”

Xiao Jiang bared his tiger teeth and chirped, “Second Mom!”

Xiapi Prince’s face darkened. He knew arguing with Zhang Qiu was pointless, so he let it slide and got straight to the point.

“There’s word on the streets. A Beijing antiques dealer is hosting an auction, and among the items is a fragment of an ancient map.”

Zhang Qiu sat up in shock—only to wince as pain shot through him.

Xiapi Prince smirked. “Not feeling well?” He clearly wasn’t concerned.

Zhang Qiu gritted his teeth, determined to act unfazed. “Is it related to our map?”

Xiapi Prince showed him a photo from his phone. The auction’s promotional image featured an old wooden box, slightly open, revealing a yellowed corner of a map.

Just then, the front door opened.

Zhang Qiu suddenly panicked—if Li Shu had really bought hemorrhoid cream, he was doomed! Forget his sore butt—his dignity was on the line!

He sprinted barefoot to the door, leaving Xiapi Prince and Xiao Jiang stunned.

Li Shu caught him mid-dash and held him close. His voice was gentle. “Want more?”

“Want your ass—!” Zhang Qiu nearly exploded. But he had no time for arguments—he grabbed the medicine from Li Shu’s hand.

One glance at the label confirmed his worst fears.

Hemorrhoid cream.

Horrified, he shoved it into a drawer and forced a laugh. “Oh, you didn’t get fruit? Haha, that’s fine! Saves money!”

The pain flared again. Zhang Qiu winced.

Xiapi Prince stood at the bedroom door, smiling oh-so-gently. “No need to hide it. So, Xiao Qiu, got hemorrhoids, huh?”

“Second Sister-in-law, have mercy!”

“Relax. I’ll stop laughing once I’ve had my fill.”

Zhang Qiu suffered a crushing defeat against his Second Sister-in-law. Pitifully, he was scooped up into Li Shu’s arms and carried back to the bed.

As they passed by Xiapi Prince, Li Shu asked coldly, “Is there something you need?”

Xiapi Prince recounted the details about the auction. Without hesitation, Li Shu decided, “We’re going to Beijing.”

Zhang Qiu had no objections. He still had over a month before school started, and besides, he’d never been to an auction before—it was a good chance to see the world.

After some discussion, they decided to fly.

“Do you have an ID?” Zhang Qiu asked Li Shu. “And what about Xiao Jiang?”

Li Shu simply replied, “I’ll take care of it.”

The next morning, Li Shu was nowhere to be seen. He returned in the afternoon with a freshly made ID. Zhang Qiu had no idea how he managed to do it, but he didn’t ask too many questions. Instead, he packed their essentials—underwear, milk bottles, formula—slung the backpack over his shoulder, and they set off.

They took a taxi to Xianyang Airport.

Going through security, Zhang Qiu suddenly froze.

“What about Xiao Jiang?”

Li Shu calmly pulled the little jiangshi out of the backpack and tucked him into Zhang Qiu’s coat pocket.

Zhang Qiu was extremely nervous while going through security, constantly on edge, terrified that Xiao Jiang would be discovered. He was so jittery that even the security officers found his behavior suspicious and double-checked him several times before finally letting him through.

Once on the plane, they were seated in a row—Zhang Qiu in the middle, Xiapi Prince by the window, and Li Shu in the aisle seat.

As soon as they sat down, Xiao Jiang popped out of Li Shu’s pocket and climbed into Zhang Qiu’s hand.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Zhang Qiu stroked the little jiangshi’s fluffy head. Xiao Jiang yawned, revealing his tiny tiger teeth.

Zhang Qiu took out a T-shirt and fashioned it into a makeshift dress for him. The sewing was clumsy, but at least it covered him. However, the “dress” didn’t fit well and kept slipping down. By the time Xiao Jiang wiggled around a bit, it had turned into a half-skirt, exposing his smooth little chest while the lower half was wrapped up like a tiny mermaid.

Zhang Qiu poked his chest.

Xiao Jiang immediately puffed it up, making it easier for Zhang Qiu to poke. He yawned again, looking indulgent. “Ba-ba, poke poke!”

Damn, my son is too well-behaved!

Zhang Qiu felt guilty about teasing him and quickly wrapped him up properly. He decided that once they landed, he’d take Xiao Jiang to a toy store and buy him some real clothes.

Two hours later, they arrived in Beijing.

Lu Feng, a close associate, personally came to pick them up. After greeting everyone, they got into his car.

“Hua Ting is waiting at home. We’ll go over everything there.”

They drove into an upscale villa district. As soon as Lu Feng parked, a delicate-looking little boy ran up and hugged his leg.

Lu Feng picked the boy up and smiled. “This is my and Hua Ting’s son, Hua Hua. Hua Hua, say hello to my friends.”

The child had soft, delicate features, resembling Hua Ting but with hints of Lu Feng as well. He really looked like their biological child.

Zhang Qiu was curious but didn’t ask.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jiang peeked out from his coat pocket.

Aside from the boy at the supermarket who cried after being bitten, this was the first child Xiao Jiang had ever seen. His big eyes were filled with interest.

Lu Feng noticed and chuckled. “Let’s go inside first.”

Inside the villa, Xiao Jiang tugged on Zhang Qiu’s pocket, clearly wanting to come out and play.

Despite his son’s excitement, Zhang Qiu hesitated. He’s a special case… what if he scares Hua Hua?

But his worries were unnecessary. From the moment they arrived, Hua Hua had been curiously watching Xiao Jiang, fascinated by the “living toy.”

Lu Feng reassured him, “It’s fine. He looks delicate, but he’s got a bold streak like Hua Ting.”

Since Lu Feng wasn’t worried, Zhang Qiu was happy to let his son have a playmate. But he reminded him, “You can play, but you can’t hurt Hua Hua, okay?”

Xiao Jiang shook his head like a rattle, firmly promising.

Even before Zhang Qiu could properly set him down, Xiao Jiang scurried down his leg and excitedly stood in front of Hua Hua.

However, compared to Hua Hua, Xiao Jiang was tiny—Hua Hua towered over him like a mountain.

Still, Hua Hua was utterly fascinated by Xiao Jiang. He gently picked him up and ran off to show him all his toys.

As Hua Hua pulled out one toy after another, Xiao Jiang’s mouth gaped open in amazement. Every time Hua Hua presented a new toy, Xiao Jiang would gasp in awe, eyes sparkling.

Sitting in the living room, Zhang Qiu listened to his son’s repeated cries of amazement.

I’m such a bad dad…

Just then, Hua Ting emerged from his room. His complexion was still pale, but he greeted them briefly before getting straight to the point.

“The map fragment doesn’t give us much information. I’ve searched through multiple records but haven’t found any clear leads.”

“Senior Brother, your health is more important,” Zhang Qiu said.

Even Xiapi Prince, despite his eagerness to obtain the Divine Vein, urged, “Take care of yourself first.” Then, he shifted the topic. “You’ve probably heard about the auction. If we get another piece of the map, will it help?”

“The more pieces we have, the easier it will be to cross-reference them. It should speed up finding the location,” Hua Ting replied, taking a sip of water that Lu Feng handed him. “The auction was first reported in Beijing. Since we returned, Lu Feng has been keeping an eye on such news. He has a friend in Panjiayuan who deals in antiques—that’s where he got the information.”

Lu Feng added, “According to Pei Qing, the antique dealer hosting this auction is from the south. He hasn’t been in Beijing for long and is trying to establish himself, so he organized this private auction, which is invitation-only. Pei Qing has an invitation, and I managed to get one as well. But each invite only allows one guest.”

Pei Qing was Lu Feng’s friend in Panjiayuan.

That meant they were short on invitations.

“When’s the auction?” Li Shu asked.

“The day after tomorrow.”

As they discussed the details, the doorbell rang.

Lu Feng’s housekeeper answered and soon returned with an envelope.

“Mr. Lu, a courier just delivered this for Mr. Li Shu.”

Li Shu took the envelope and opened it.

A gilded invitation card slipped out, written in elegant calligraphy.

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Pinky says: A perfect opportunity to auction off the child.