Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan considered herself to have pretty decent stress tolerance. Otherwise, with her life falling apart the way it had, she wouldn’t still be trying her best to live as comfortably as she could.

Though she’d thrown her phone earlier, it wasn’t like she could leave it there forever. After having dinner, taking a bath, and napping for a bit, she eventually got up in the evening, sighed, and went to retrieve her phone, determined to properly finish the comic.

She opened the comic from the beginning again, wanting to go through all the scenes and straighten out her thoughts.

The story was told from the protagonist’s perspective. Unsurprisingly, it was just as Yuan Yuanyuan had guessed—the protagonist disguised himself as a girl in order to infiltrate a bar. An absolutely wild idea, but effective.

Previously, it was mentioned that this protagonist had a life-saving skill: he could perfectly hide his exorcist (taoist) aura, blending in with the scent of an ordinary human—or even that of a demon. And apparently, in addition to those two, he was also great at disguise. Otherwise, how could he have stayed hidden in Chaos City for so long?

Thinking about this gave Yuan Yuanyuan a cold sweat. Turns out a lot of smart people had realized that switching gender made it harder to be detected—not just her.

The protagonist transformed into a big-busted, soft, adorable girl and laid low for a whole week before finally being served up on the dinner table. At that moment, he looked up and saw the demon about to eat him… and it was the rich heir demon. His face appeared once again in the comic.

Yuan Yuanyuan, looking at the comic’s illustration of the room, realized it really had looked just like what she remembered. The atmosphere, the setup—exactly what she’d envisioned.

And she had to admit, that white-robed demon really did live up to the reputation of a prestigious family member. Even under those circumstances, he still looked refined and elegant. If Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t seen what that demon was about to do, she never would’ve guessed he was that kind of demon.

The eating scene wasn’t drawn too graphically. Instead, Ji Qiu used a sort of impressionistic style—everything was painted beautifully in reds, purples, and pale blues. Concentric circles rippled across the panels like a pristine lake, yet somehow carried the suggestion of something filthy beneath.

Grotesque faces loomed around the room like rakshasa masks, hiding what lay beneath. Only the white-robed man sat calmly at the center, strikingly prominent.

The scene was drawn from the protagonist’s perspective, looking upward. From this angle, only half the white-robed demon’s face was visible—yet even just that carried an eerie edge.

It was all so stylized, so dreamlike… until the room’s door was suddenly flung open.

…And a very messy-looking face burst into the frame. It was covered in all sorts of strange markings—so “artistic” that even the surrounding room couldn’t compare.

Yuan Yuanyuan covered her face in shame.

That ridiculous-looking face? Yeah, it was hers.

It had already been cringey enough in the real world, but now in two-dimensional form? The scribbles she’d drawn to disguise herself looked even more absurd—like she was deliberately playing the fool, a literal clown’s mask.

But despite the “art,” anyone could tell it was her. That’s the thing with comics versus reality. The bodyguards couldn’t recognize her before, but in 2D, things were more obvious.

Back in the comic, the protagonist turned his head at the sudden sound—stunned to see her.

He thought: Why is this person here? Was she invited too?

But the next second, he figured it out.

The black-clothed figure—her—rushed forward and yanked him off the table.

He blinked, too confused to say anything, not even able to beg for mercy. The demon across from him suddenly extended long, red tendrils from beneath his clothes, binding him up like a roast.

The protagonist was utterly dazed. Is this demon hungry? Why bind me up so suddenly?

But then, the black-clothed person smiled.

That slight upward curve of her lips made the protagonist freeze.

Aside from her lips, the rest of her face was drawn comically hideous… but that mouth—delicate, elegant—was almost too beautiful for a man.

That moment of hesitation cost him. By the time he tried to speak again, it was too late—the chaos had begun.

The black-clothed “man” rolled up her sleeves, hoisted the oversized “baggage” (the protagonist), and coolly wrecked the entire bar.

Yeah…

That scene had been chaotic, with everyone confused and acting on impulse.

Yuan Yuanyuan finished reading and scrolled down to the comments section. As expected, beneath the top comment about “the protagonist’s adorable crossdressing,” the other top comments were just as awkward.

【Uh… so the protagonist’s infiltration mission ended like this? Hahahaha. You guys really don’t follow any rules. That black-clothed guy is pure chaos. Seems like he has a soft spot for young girls and makes it his mission to save them…】

【Come on, black-clothed boss, you can’t just keep showing up to save girls. And those ugly face markings! If it weren’t for that mouth and waist, I wouldn’t even recognize you.】

【The protagonist is so confused, but our black-clothed boss means well… Still, protagonist, go cling to his thigh! He took down all those enemies by himself—definitely a powerhouse!】

【…Cling how?】

【…You know. Since the black-clothed boss likes little sisters, maybe the protagonist should keep up the disguise. Cough.】

【By the way, does anyone actually know the black-clothed boss’s name? We’ve been calling him “black-clothed boss” this whole time.】

Yuan Yuanyuan thought: You can call him “black-clothed boss” for the rest of your lives for all I care—he’s not even real.

She scrolled through the rest of the comments. Most were just readers enjoying the show. Some fujoshi (BL fangirls) were wildly fantasizing after seeing the male protagonist in loli drag. A few comments criticized her—saying, “Why is a demon helping humans? What a bleeding-heart idiot.”

Hey! You guys are human! I’m helping you! Be grateful!

Yuan Yuanyuan shook her head. People these days were too rational. They could even put themselves in the enemies’ shoes. “Human nature is kind at birth,” huh?

Just jokes, of course. In the world of 2D characters, you’d attract all kinds of comments. One person’s god could be another person’s trash.

Yuan Yuanyuan read through the comic again, carefully this time. On one page, she suddenly paused. Then went back and reread it.

The more she looked, the weirder her expression became, until she fell into a long, thoughtful silence…

…

“Hey sis… did you know you’re in the comic?”

“Huh? Since when?” Li Zi Jie was in the middle of scolding her brother as she replied.

“Last week, remember when the bar got trashed? That big-shot demon drew our bar into the comic. You were serving drinks in one of the rooms, and bam—you made your debut… well, got drawn, I mean.”

“What the hell! That whole embarrassing mess got published? The boss is gonna lose it… Whatever, it’s not my bar. Hey, Yuanyuan, come meet my little brother. He’s shy, so help him out a bit. Fourth Group—come say hi to your senior… hey, where the hell did you go again?!”

Yuanyuan turned to see the white-clothed boy turn around and run off mid-introduction.

“Don’t run! Where do you think you’re going!” Li Zi Jie groaned, then chased after him.

Yuanyuan peeked into the hallway just in time to see Li Zi Jie dragging her brother back by the collar and hair.

“Fourth Group! Look up!” she scolded while kicking him back into place. The boy said nothing, taking the abuse silently.

Yuanyuan stared at the boy’s face—her first clear look.

…Her first thought: Whoa, total uke. Second thought: Super uke.

Not only did he speak like a shy little girl, but he even looked like one.

*What kind of guy looks this much like a girl? Are you sure you’re not a crossdresser? Does *everyone* enjoy gender-bending these days?*

Next to this guy, even she—black-clothed boss herself—could play the dominant role.

My god… I’m the teacher now? What kind of master gets stuck with a disciple like this? I’m doomed.

As they washed glasses together, her mind drifted to one ominous phrase: “When two ukes meet, one must become seme.”

She shook her head to get rid of the nonsense, just as someone outside called her.

She dried her hands and told the boy, “Stay here, don’t wander off.”

“Mm.” He nodded quietly.

Yuanyuan rubbed her forehead. She hadn’t expected to take on such a big responsibility her first day back—washing dishes and babysitting this socially anxious man-child…

She headed outside. From the voice, it sounded like one of the trickier demons calling her, so she warned the boy not to leave.

After all, he was technically her responsibility now. If something happened, she’d be on the hook.

The boy remained silent, as always.

Honestly, Yuanyuan thought, if he’d just keep quiet like this all the time, they could wash dishes peacefully forever… not a bad setup, really.