Little Pink Starfish

Honestly, when you think about it, this kind of thing is pretty normal. If you’re reading a manga and there’s a character with a mysterious background and amazing skills, you’ll naturally form a fixed impression of them. You’d never consider they might actually be a weakling all bark and no bite.

Most experienced readers won’t be wondering if the character is secretly lame. They’re more likely to speculate about their true identity, how strong they really are, whether they’re connected to the protagonist, and—of course—who they might get shipped with.

Yuan Yuanyuan, though, was well aware she was a weakling. That’s why her mindset when reading Demon Notes (Yao Ji) was different from reading other manga. She came into it already convinced: the Black-Clad Man was a weakling who got exposed easily, and the protagonist was definitely an exorcist or a Taoist.

But for those innocent bystanders—the clueless crowd munching their popcorn—what made Demon Notes different from any other manga? Nothing. To them, it was just entertainment.

Right now, the series was still too new—it had only been out for two months—so its influence wasn’t that huge yet. But what would happen if the series continued? Would it become like one of those famous manga, where every new chapter sparked waves of “theorycrafters” and “evidence hunters,” analyzing every panel, predicting future plots, even dissecting minor art errors?

It hadn’t gotten to that point yet. But judging from recent chapters, the comments section was starting to show signs. People were already analyzing the territories of major factions and guessing at their leaders.

If Yuan Yuanyuan had stumbled across one particular, not-even-very-popular comment, she might’ve had a heart attack… because what that commenter wrote was frighteningly close to the truth. They had deduced near-real-world information from a simple manga—stuff that truly existed in the actual world.

If that person ever found out that their wild guesses were… actually real?

…

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know any of this. She had no idea how big a mess she’d made last night when she ran downstairs and saved those girls.

She just went about her life as usual—working, going home—and even checked out the photos Li Xin had taken at the anime convention earlier.

“Wow… your cosplay looks amazing,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, flipping through the pictures. Li Xin had posed with tons of people—some regular fans, some cosplayers, and even a few Demon Notes cosplayers. It was… kinda surreal.

“Demon Notes is really that popular?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked, frowning at how many people were cosplaying characters from the series. It reminded her of that time Onmyoji had taken over the conventions.

“It’s super popular right now,” Xiao Ying said, scribbling away at homework. She’d been out goofing off all day with Li Xin and was now cramming to finish her assignments. “Tons of people are into it. Li Xin was getting swarmed with photo requests—people even asked where she got her costume.”

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced at the clothes Li Xin was wearing in the pictures. She knew those weren’t from Taobao. They were actually borrowed from Li Xin’s dad.

Just like Yuan Yuanyuan had done before. Dads always had that same aesthetic, huh?

She saved a few of the photos to her phone, then got up and slung her bag over her shoulder, heading out for work.

“Going to work again, Round Sister?” Xiao Ying called from behind.

“Yup. If you wanna stay here and finish homework, go ahead. Just don’t go through my stuff.” Yuan Yuanyuan called back, taking out the trash as she left.

Her place was a dump. She had no idea why Xiao Ying and Li Xin liked hanging out there.

Maybe they just liked cozy corners. She remembered how, when she was little, she used to love squeezing herself into tiny spaces.

Her apartment didn’t have much. The only things she could really call her own were the tiny single bed, a dim bedside lamp, and the beat-up furniture the landlord left behind—an old table, chairs, a fridge.

Yuan Yuanyuan looked up at the stars above, took in a deep breath of crisp air, and headed toward the bar.

The bar was brightly lit, as always. This was prime time for monsters—their world came alive after dark. Shadows and dark energy leaked out of every alley, spiraling up toward the sky.

Meanwhile, in the city hospital, a few new patients had just been admitted. They lay in bed with IV drips, surrounded by concerned family members who’d rushed in after hearing the news. The place had been a whirlwind all afternoon, only just now settling down.

Something awful had happened that day—something that still felt like a nightmare. Ever since arriving at the hospital, the girls hadn’t spoken much, only vaguely saying they’d been mugged and needed treatment.

Only after their parents arrived did one of the girls quietly tell them what really happened. The mood in the room turned heavy. No one said much. Everyone pretended nothing had happened.

“Hey… want an apple? I’ll peel one for you.” One girl—who had the lightest injuries—picked up an apple and asked the girl in the next bed.

That girl had gotten it the worst. She hadn’t said a word since she arrived. She lay on her side, an arm draped over her eyes.

“…Have you ever read a certain manga?” the injured girl finally said instead of answering the apple question.

The other girl paused, lowering the apple. “What manga?”

But the girl in bed just shook her head. “Never mind. Just forget it. Freak accident…”

“Hey, don’t do that. If something’s bothering you, just tell me,” the apple girl said, scooting closer, even more worried now.

The girl in bed didn’t answer directly. “What are your parents saying? What are they going to do?”

“What else can they do? My mom wants me to go home and rest, take a few days off work. And… she wants to take me to a temple afterward. In case we picked up any bad vibes.”

“She doesn’t even believe in that stuff.”

“Yeah, but after what happened today…”

“Well, if you’re gonna believe, you should believe all the way, or not at all. Half-believing is the worst,” the injured girl said, finally pulling her arm off her face and kicking the other girl’s leg lightly. “Hey, I wanna show you something—will you believe me?”

“Depends. What is it?” the other girl replied, raising an eyebrow and biting into the apple.

“Where’s your phone?”

“On my bed.”

“Give it here. I want to show you something.”

…

Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea what was happening at the hospital. She was still pouring drinks behind the bar, trying her best. Li Zi-jie stood nearby, poking her arm with a stick.

“Can you put some muscle into it? I thought you were supposed to be educated. Is this how educated people work?”

“These days everyone’s educated, Sister Li Zi. All you need is an ID card. It’s not like your time when only rich folks got to go to school,” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered, clenching her numb hand. “Though… you probably don’t know what an ID card is anyway.”

“Keep practicing. The day after tomorrow, we’ve got a big event. If there’s no one else, you’re going in.” Li Zi took a sip of tea.

“What big event?” Yuan Yuanyuan was sweating through her back. Her makeup was so thick, you couldn’t even tell it was smudged.

“The boss is leading a parade. Hundred Demon Night Walk. Happens every year. They usually come here to drink afterward. Not sure if they’ll show this time, but we better be prepared.”

“WTF?!” Yuan Yuanyuan’s hand slipped—the tea spilled. Li Zi smacked her butt with the stick, and she ran off, clutching her head.

…

Back in the hospital room, two girls were huddled together, silent for a long moment.

“Don’t tell the other two. They don’t believe in this stuff. If they try to go looking, they might get hurt,” one girl whispered.

“Okay.” The other nodded. A beat later, she couldn’t help it—she pulled up the manga on her phone.

“Stop reading that. It’s definitely him. I stared for ages. Same face, same mole placement.”

“…Then we got really lucky today. Ran into a human-friendly demon… and a strong one. God, just saying that sounds so cringe. Like I never outgrew my edgy phase,” the second girl muttered, rubbing her face.

“Who knows… anyway, forget the temple thing. Just don’t take that alley anymore—we know what’s up now,” the first girl said. Then she added, “But… I saw him this morning… he’s freaking hot.”

“What?”

“His eyes, his figure, his face… damn.” She looked dreamy. “I thought he was girly at first, but he’s all man. I swear I wanna post on my Moments right now.”

“…Please. Shut up. Do you even know what he really is? A toad? A dung beetle?”

“That guy has to be an important supporting character, I swear. Some badass monster with a sick backstory. Maybe a dragon or a phoenix? Or a lion or tiger at least. That’s how it always goes in novels…”

“Shut. Up.”

Meanwhile, the almighty “badass” monster was currently getting her butt smacked with a stick at the bar, using that super-shy junior of hers as a human shield.

Yup. Real boss material. Super impressive.