Little Pink Starfish

“Where’s the courier?”

“Sir, he left right after delivering the package,” the housekeeper replied.

Lu Feng dismissed the housekeeper, then pointed to the envelope on the table. “This is the auction invitation I mentioned.”

Zhang Qiu picked up the package, flipping it over a few times. There was no sender’s name. He glanced at Li Shu. “Are we going?” Though he asked, his face clearly showed excitement.

Li Shu smiled. “Why wouldn’t we?”

They had been worrying about getting an invitation, and now one had conveniently arrived. No matter who sent it or for what reason, as long as they could attend the auction, it was a win for them.

With two days left before the auction, they stayed at Hua Ting’s house.

Hua Hua and Xiao Jiang played happily together. That afternoon, another little boy came over—he had thick eyebrows and bright eyes, a little handsome guy. Hua Ting introduced him as Yang Bao, the son of their former neighbors. When Hua Ting moved to the mountains due to his health, Yang Bao’s parents moved with him.

Rich people sure are different…

Zhang Qiu thought about the high-end villa district they were in. No way could someone afford a place here without tens of millions.

Watching the three kids play, Zhang Qiu noticed something interesting—Yang Bao was very protective of Hua Hua.

Whenever Hua Hua kissed Xiao Jiang’s cheek, Yang Bao would frown and immediately kiss Hua Hua back, as if reclaiming his territory.

Something’s off…

Just as his brain started making wild assumptions, Zhang Qiu quickly stopped himself. They’re just kids, don’t be so dirty-minded!

It was Xiao Jiang’s first time playing with other children, and the three got along well. Other than preventing Hua Hua from kissing Xiao Jiang too much, Yang Bao was quite generous—he let Xiao Jiang climb all over him and even helped build a castle for him with Hua Hua using toy blocks.

When playtime ended, Hua Ting knelt down and spoke seriously to Yang Bao. “Xiao Jiang is sick, so he’s small. This is a secret, okay? You have to keep it for Uncle.”

Yang Bao patted his chest and nodded solemnly. With that, Lu Feng took him home.

Xiao Jiang’s skin was still porcelain-white, but he was clearly happy. He hopped into Zhang Qiu’s palm, bouncing excitedly, his big eyes sparkling.

“Ba-ba! Big brother is fun!”

“Yes, you were very good. You can play with him again tomorrow.” Zhang Qiu pulled down Xiao Jiang’s dress—it had jumped up to his waist. “Tomorrow, Daddy will take you to buy clothes, my good son.”

Xiao Jiang wasn’t interested in shopping, but hearing that he could play again tomorrow made him so happy that he climbed onto Zhang Qiu’s head, sitting cross-legged and resting his face in his hands.

“Ba-ba, is it tomorrow yet?”

“Go to sleep, and it will be.”

Zhang Qiu, with Xiao Jiang perched on his head, returned to the bedroom and handed him to Li Shu. “You bathe him.” Then, he collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. His whole body still ached.

Li Shu’s gaze darkened slightly as he watched Zhang Qiu wiggle around in bed, his rear end shifting enticingly under the covers.

On the bed, Zhang Qiu shivered. Why does it feel like someone’s staring at me?

Before he could turn, Li Shu had already carried Xiao Jiang into the bathroom.

I must be imagining things. I’m just too tired.

Li Shu filled a basin with water. Meanwhile, Xiao Jiang appeared with a rubber duck—Hua Hua had given it to him. His eyes shone with anticipation.

“Duck duck!”

Li Shu placed the rubber duck into the water. Xiao Jiang, being so small, immediately sat on top of it and happily splashed around.

Li Shu chuckled, then picked up the basin and placed it in a corner. “Have fun.”

Xiao Jiang cheered.

Meanwhile, Li Shu walked toward the bed. With a slightly damp hand, he brushed Zhang Qiu’s neck.

Zhang Qiu shivered. “Is Xiao Jiang done with his bath?”

“He’s still bathing. Your turn.”

“You go first. Let me sleep for five more minutes.” Zhang Qiu mumbled, too lazy to move.

Li Shu gave him no chance to refuse—he simply scooped Zhang Qiu up. “You can sleep. I’ll wash you.”

Zhang Qiu lazily thought, Not bad, Li Shu’s getting more and more like a proper wife—taking care of the kid, cleaning the house, and now even bathing me.

The bathroom door closed tightly.

Outside, Xiao Jiang glanced over, curious, but he quickly became absorbed in his rubber duck adventures again.

Inside, the sound of running water filled the air.

“Stand up properly,” Li Shu murmured.

“I can’t…”

Li Shu’s voice turned lower, more seductive. “Then wrap your legs around my waist. I’ll hold you while I wash you.”

“Okay…”

A moment later—

“LI SHU, YOU BASTARD!!!”

By the time Zhang Qiu finished bathing, he was so exhausted he couldn’t even lift his arms. He ended up with his legs wrapped around Li Shu’s waist again as they returned to bed.

Each step Li Shu took sent a reminder of what had just happened. Zhang Qiu’s face burned, but then he felt something hard pressing against his backside.

“Li Shu, are you even human?!”

Li Shu smirked. “I never said I was.”

Seeing Zhang Qiu’s pitiful, crumpled expression, Li Shu finally relented. “Sleep. I won’t do anything.”

At last, Zhang Qiu sighed in relief. Wrapped in his blanket, he quickly dozed off.

The unreliable father finally noticed Xiao Jiang, now wrinkly from soaking too long. He casually wrapped him in a towel and tossed him onto the bed. Xiao Jiang, equally tired from playing, snuggled beside Zhang Qiu’s head and soon fell asleep.

—

The next morning, Zhang Qiu tucked Xiao Jiang into his pocket and went shopping with Li Shu.

He never realized he had a hidden passion for picking out outfits. He bought and bought, even sneaking Xiao Jiang into camera blind spots to try clothes on him. No surprise—his son looked handsome in everything!

Mini suits, casual outfits, tiny cowboy boots.

Li Shu, in a good mood, actually gave his input, saying things like, “This one’s nice,” or “That color is a bit dull.”

Then, Zhang Qiu spotted a mini mansion. His eyes nearly popped out at the price.

They make so much money off little girls!

The tiny outfits weren’t any cheaper than adult clothes. Zhang Qiu could buy two T-shirts for himself for 100 yuan, but one set for Xiao Jiang cost just as much—especially the ones claiming to be “genuine leather shoes.”

Li Shu, thinking Zhang Qiu wanted it, simply said, “Buy it.”

“Sorry, sir, this dollhouse is already reserved. If you’d like, we can order another, but it will take a few days,” the salesgirl said apologetically.

Zhang Qiu wasn’t interested in such an expensive fake house and quickly waved his hand. “No need—”

“If Mr. Li Shu wants it, I can give it to you.”

A clear female voice spoke from behind them.

The salesgirl greeted her with a smile. “Miss Su, you’re here.” Then, she turned to Li Shu and Zhang Qiu. “This is Miss Su Wanting, the dollhouse owner.”

Zhang Qiu turned around.

Su Wanting looked young, about eighteen or nineteen, with fair skin, a delicate face, and naturally upturned lips that made her seem like she was always smiling. She had a sweet look, but her demeanor carried a cool edge.

“Hello, Mr. Li Shu. I’ve heard your name for a long time and have always wanted to meet you,” she said, extending her hand with an adorable smile.

Zhang Qiu pouted. Li Shu’s charm is so annoying!

Li Shu remained indifferent, ignoring her outstretched hand. He simply turned to Zhang Qiu. “Are we done?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Zhang Qiu slammed their items onto the counter. “Checkout!”

Su Wanting’s expression stiffened slightly.

The rivalry had begun.

Su Wanting withdrew her hand, her expression barely changing as she smiled sweetly. She didn’t even glance at Zhang Qiu, instead saying, “I have a store membership, so I can get a discount. Consider it my treat today.”

“No need,” Li Shu replied flatly, handing over his card.

After being rejected multiple times, Su Wanting, as a young lady, couldn’t keep up her act forever. She forced a smile and said nothing more.

Zhang Qiu felt a little guilty about treating a soft-spoken girl like this, but if Li Shu had actually responded warmly, he would have been even more pissed. Given the choice between being mad himself or letting the girl be embarrassed, he chose the latter.

Li Shu was already taken—she was pretty and rich, she’d have no problem finding someone else!

After paying, Li Shu carried the shopping bags, and Zhang Qiu, feeling slightly awkward, smiled politely at Su Wanting. To his surprise, she completely ignored him.

Li Shu saw this and coldly remarked, “Coward, your waist is healed?”

“Of cou—” Zhang Qiu met Li Shu’s dangerous gaze and instantly caught on. He quickly shook his head. “No, no! Still sore! Very sore!”

Li Shu smirked. “Then I’ll give you a massage when we get back.”

Zhang Qiu suddenly had a flashback. Li Shu had said the exact same thing before, and afterward, his waist had hurt even more.

Thinking about how he had been tormented until he was on the verge of death last night, Zhang Qiu instantly stopped complaining about his waist.

Now, it wasn’t his waist that hurt—it was his kidneys!

That night, Li Shu seemed to be in a weirdly playful mood again. Zhang Qiu, who had planned to go sightseeing in Beijing, ended up spending the entire night stuck in bed.

The next morning, he was limping as he walked out, and of course, Xiapi Prince took the opportunity to mock him.

“Xiao Qiu, do you need more hemorrhoid cream?”

Zhang Qiu: …Too tired to argue.

---

The auction was held in the evening at a hotel near Panjiayuan. None of them had formal attire, so they went shopping in the afternoon before heading to the hotel to meet up with Lu Feng and Pei Qing.

Each invitation allowed only two people, so Zhang Qiu and Li Shu used one, while Lu Feng brought Hua Ting, and Pei Qing used his for Xiapi Prince.

The hotel was designed in a traditional Chinese style. At the entrance, they had to present their invitations before being escorted inside.

Inside, it resembled an old-fashioned opera house, with a stage in the center and two levels of open-view private booths surrounding it. The booths weren’t completely enclosed; they had bamboo curtains that could be lowered for privacy.

The stage was already set up, and a row of chairs had been placed in front for additional seating.

The attendant led them to separate booths, but Xiapi Prince waved him off. “We’re together. Give us a large booth.”

Their group settled into a spacious booth on the first floor, positioned with a direct view of the stage and the seating area.

Soon, servers arrived with tea and pastries.

Zhang Qiu picked up a pastry and took a bite—it was surprisingly good. He broke off a piece and placed it near his pocket. Xiao Jiang peeked out, nibbling on it like a little chick pecking at rice. After he finished, Zhang Qiu also made sure he had some tea.

They made small talk while waiting. It was Zhang Qiu’s first time meeting Pei Qing properly, so they finally had a chance to chat.

“I served in the military for a few years,” Pei Qing explained, “but an old leg injury acted up, so I had to retire.”

No wonder he seems so disciplined.

Pei Qing had the kind of tough, no-nonsense presence that only soldiers had. His looks weren’t particularly eye-catching at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he had a strong, masculine charm—broad shoulders, sharp features, and a serious demeanor.

Zhang Qiu admired military men, so he took a few extra glances at him.

Then, suddenly—

A cold hand rested on his thigh.

He didn’t need to look to know it was Li Shu.

Here we go again—my jealous wife.

Zhang Qiu quickly looked away from Pei Qing, silently reassuring Li Shu that he wasn’t interested.

Pei Qing, unaware of the silent battle happening beside him, shifted the conversation.

“The auction is being hosted by a businessman named Su Zhichai. He’s over sixty and originally from Hangzhou.”

Just as Pei Qing was speaking, there was a commotion outside. He pulled back the curtain slightly and glanced out. “The host has arrived.”

Lu Feng raised the curtain for a better view. Zhang Qiu, curious, looked out as well—and met a familiar gaze.

“That girl looks familiar…” Zhang Qiu frowned, trying to remember where he’d seen her before.

Li Shu answered flatly, “The shopping mall. Su Wanting.”

“Oh! No wonder she looked familiar. But her outfit is completely different today.”

Yesterday, she had been dressed like a sweet, youthful girl. Today, she wore a golden fringed evening gown, with her hair curled up and deep red lipstick, exuding a mix of innocence and allure.

Zhang Qiu glanced around—not surprisingly, a lot of the men in the audience were staring at her.

“Su Wanting is Su Zhichai’s only daughter,” Pei Qing explained.

Zhang Qiu was a bit surprised. Su Zhichai looked old and frail—standing next to Su Wanting, they looked more like grandfather and granddaughter rather than father and daughter.

Hua Ting also found it odd. “He only has a daughter?”

“Apparently, he had two sons, but they both passed away. Now, she’s his only child,” Pei Qing said.

Moments later, Su Wanting escorted Su Zhichai into the venue. She glanced toward their booth and smiled at Li Shu.

“Mr. Li, we meet again,” she said sweetly before turning to her father and whining playfully, “Dad, this is the Mr. Li Shu I told you about!”

“Oh! So this is the famous Mr. Li Shu!” Su Zhichai’s eyesight wasn’t great—he took a moment to locate Li Shu before offering polite words. He encouraged them to enjoy the event and mentioned that his daughter had long wanted to make Li Shu’s acquaintance.

Soon, the auction began, and Su Zhichai and Su Wanting took their seats in the front row.

Antiques were placed one by one on the stage. At one point, Lu Feng even bid on an item to send to Hua Ting’s parents.

However, as the auction neared its end, the map fragment they were after had yet to appear.

“Did we get tricked?” Xiapi Prince’s expression darkened.

Pei Qing, as an experienced dealer, considered it carefully. “This business follows certain rules. If an item was listed in the catalog but isn’t appearing, there might be something else going on.”

“Su Zhichai lured us here with the map,” Li Shu said calmly.

Just as he spoke, their booth door opened.

A group of bodyguards entered first, followed by Su Wanting. She held a small wooden box in her hands, her gaze fixed on Li Shu.

Without hesitation, she got straight to the point.

“I want to make a deal with you.”

As she spoke, she lifted the wooden box slightly.

There was no doubt—this auction had all been a setup.