Little Pink Starfish

It must have been that my way of breaking through the void was wrong.

#FatefulEncounter#

Gu Bai immediately took a step back and stood directly behind Zhu Ning.
Clearly, this guy was the official gong, and was about to trigger the “first encounter” moment and earn loyal dog points with the protagonist shou—it had absolutely nothing to do with him! At this moment, the protagonist shou had to step up. He was retreating, okay!

Zhu Ning was also caught off guard and ended up making eye contact with the tall beastman in front of him.
Then he frowned slightly.
This beastman was very reckless. What was he trying to do by blocking him like this? Was he up to no good?

Nois, who had made up his mind to actively approach Zhu Ning but then started to hesitate at the critical moment, was pushed forward by Cecil and almost embarrassed himself.
But, at least it helped him. Nois, after a moment of nervousness, stiffened his honest-looking face—which to outsiders always looked a bit cold—and nodded to Zhu Ning: “Your stone-gambling skills are very good.”
He finally said it! He praised Zhu Ning!
Cecil said, when it came to someone you liked, don’t be stingy with sweet words…

---

Over on Gu Bai’s side, after he stepped back, he suddenly felt someone appear beside him.
He didn’t need to turn his head to know—it was the man he secretly liked, the man he secretly liked!

—Don’t think he didn’t know. The original story described it very clearly. Because Zhu Ning stole the spotlight after the stone-gambling contest, a lot of people surrounded him, which he didn’t like, so he immediately fled. At that point, he was blocked by the official gong Nois and the affectionate second male lead Cecil. And because Nois fell in love at first sight, while Cecil only had slight feelings for Zhu Ning at the time, as Nois’s good buddy, Cecil pushed him out!

This scene now—it was exactly the same.

Gu Bai felt Cecil’s presence and laughed coldly in his heart.
This foolish second male lead—if he hadn’t naively tried to help his friend in the beginning, that wooden-headed Nois would still be clueless about making contact with the protagonist shou! But he did help, and ended up screwing himself over. No matter how affectionate he acted later, he couldn’t beat that doglike Nois with his one-track devotion, okay!
But still!
Gu Bai was not going to remind Cecil.
Ge was not some saint who went around saying “as long as you’re happy”!

As for Cecil.
He’d been annoyed to death by Nois dragging things out. He didn’t know why, but lately he had less and less patience. Seeing Nois act like this made him even more frustrated. So, after following those two youths for a while, he pushed Nois forward as a human shield.
And then Nois really did go talk to Zhu Ning, while he himself quickly walked over to stand next to the one he admired. Hmm… now how should he start a conversation?
Maybe say something like, “I’m here with a friend,” “What a coincidence to run into you—it must be fate,” or “Why don’t we be friends”… How’s that? Shouldn’t be too obvious and wouldn’t scare him, right?

And once Cecil really stood beside him, his heart started pounding like crazy.
In this moment, a thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, but none seemed perfect… And why did it feel like his beloved little Carlo’s aura had become a bit stiff too?
Could it be… even such an “accidental” appearance like this, little Carlo still didn’t welcome?

So, Cecil got nervous.
He started thinking about how to phrase things so that his little Carlo would have a better impression of him.

Gu Bai kept a blank face, staring straight ahead.
As expected, this guy was getting more and more interested in Zhu Ning, huh. Not saying a word next to him—was he just too absorbed in looking at Zhu Ning?
Wake up, hey! The protagonist shou is not yours!
Should ge think of a way to help the protagonist shou and the official gong get together quickly and be done with it?

Both of them were feeling complicated.
In the end, because they were too caught up in their own thoughts, neither spoke to the person next to them. Instead, all their attention was focused on the two people in front of them—locked in a stare: the main gong and shou.

---

Zhu Ning looked at the tall beastman across from him and calmly nodded. “Thank you.”
Nois kept a straight face.
What should he do next? He got thanked—what now? What should he say next!
He had zero experience…

Nois: “I watched all your stone-gambling performances. You’re amazing.”
Zhu Ning thought to himself: This beastman is saying all this—could he be trying to recruit me? Is this beating around the bush meant to make me bring it up myself? I wouldn’t mind doing that, but I need to know this person’s background. If he’s powerful enough, then being a bit proactive would be worth it.

Nois was still racking his brain.
He was really not good at sweet talk. Now that the atmosphere felt like it was going cold, the more nervous he got, the more serious his expression became.
And the colder the atmosphere, the stronger his presence.

Zhu Ning was silent for three seconds: “May I ask… your name and background?”
“Nois Iman. First heir.”
It was said that when approaching the one you liked, showing your status was also a kind of romantic capital. He had to prove he had ability, status, and a stable life.

After thinking about it, Nois said, “If I gather enough energy, I’ll soon become an eighth-level warrior.”
Zhu Ning’s eyes lit up slightly.
A peak seventh-level warrior—Tryan was just a seventh-level. The Iman family was a renowned top noble house in the Imperial Capital. In terms of power and resources, they were overwhelming.
If he could gain this person’s support, then he’d get a lot of help for his revenge in the future.
And besides, this person was about to break through to level eight. His own mental power potential was exactly level 8. For this person, wouldn’t that be a perfect match too?

Well, after all, he was the first heir of a noble family. Being a little proud was normal. That kind of praise earlier was already quite respectful.

A fiery ambition burned in Zhu Ning’s heart.
No problem. Since the other party was a good choice, he wouldn’t be stingy with a few proactive words!

Zhu Ning quickly asked, “If I follow you, what kind of treatment will you give me?”
A faint blush flashed across Nois’s face: “!!!”
Follow me! He said he’d follow me!

For a moment, Nois was overwhelmed with excitement. And because he was too excited, he actually couldn’t speak.
He blurted out, “Whatever you want, I’ll give it.”
As long as Zhu Ning was willing to join him, he was willing to give everything he could.

Zhu Ning: “……”
Was this guy being too generous? Or was this just a method of winning people over?
Still, even if the other party said this, he couldn’t push it too far.

After thinking, Zhu Ning said, “I will do my best to serve you. I hope you can be my backing and support me… If necessary, I might need you to help me with a few small favors.”

Eh?
Nois, hearing this, finally realized.
Serve… So what they were talking about just now wasn’t about being partners?

---

Gu Bai turned his face away silently, having seen it all.
This official gong was really this dumb, always on a different mental channel than the protagonist shou.
Originally he just thought the plot was awkward, but now seeing it live—it was hilarious okay—even if he didn’t know when he caught a terminal case of poker-face syndrome and couldn’t laugh out loud.

The corners of Cecil’s mouth also twitched.
Where did his friend’s brain go when he listened? He could guess with his toes all the weird stuff Nois just imagined… but seriously, do normal people talk about being partners the first time they meet? The guy clearly just wanted to work for you, okay.

Originally, Cecil wasn’t planning to rescue the embarrassed Nois, but when he secretly glanced at the person beside him, he found his little Carlo actually looked somewhat interested. Suddenly, he thought of a way to strike up—no, talk to him!

Cecil silently said “sorry” to his friend in his heart, then casually started a conversation: “Carlo, you know that young man, right?”
Perfect! That was a great opening! My friend and your friend—a great excuse!

Gu Bai: “I know him, not well.”
What, looked at the protagonist shou for a bit and got interested? Heh.
Don’t ask ge—ge is a cold, silent type.

Cecil’s voice was very gentle, like a spring breeze brushing past. “My friend… Nois, he actually really likes that young man. He’s just a bit awkward, right?”

Great, after bringing up this shared topic, little Carlo wasn’t ignoring him anymore. If they kept chatting like this, maybe he could regain some impression points?
But… little Carlo seemed to care too much about Zhu Ning, which made him a bit unhappy inside… Was it because Zhu Ning’s stone-gambling talent was too amazing, so little Carlo looked at him differently? Sub-beastman and sub-beastman, forming a pair wasn’t rare… No, can’t think like this.
Otherwise, should he find a chance to just toss Zhu Ning onto Nois’s bed?
That way, little Carlo wouldn’t have any more thoughts about Zhu Ning, right?

Gu Bai rolled his eyes internally.
That official gong is dumb enough to make people cry, but the protagonist shou just likes dumb guys, okay!
Coming to ge for intel is useless! Even if ge knew, ge wouldn’t tell you!
Give up already, he’s not into your type!
Affectionate second male lead? You’re dumb as rocks too, okay!

At this point, homebody Gu Bai… was still pitifully stuck in his secret crush.