Little Pink Starfish

“Yuanyuan-jie, have you eaten yet?” Xiao Ying lit up with a bright smile as soon as she saw Yuan Yuanyuan walk in. She and Li Xin both instinctively stood up from the couch and walked toward her at the entrance.

Yuan Yuanyuan was changing her shoes by the door, with two people practically hovering over her.

Her current posture: one hand against the wall for balance, the other tugging off her shoe, revealing her little flower-patterned socks before sliding her foot into an almost-worn-through pair of slippers.

She didn’t dare lift her head—she could feel the two sets of eyes focused on her… and her socks. It was the first time in her life she’d felt this scrutinized.

This… this was weird.

Stop staring, what’s there to see? They’re just flower socks!

“Have you eaten yet?” she asked as she pulled out the scallion pancakes, pickled vegetables, and soy milk she’d bought. She hadn’t expected the two of them to be at her place so early. She had given Xiao Ying’s mom a spare key for emergencies—like if she forgot to turn off the stove or water. There wasn’t much in this tiny apartment worth stealing anyway.

But when did these two kids even get here? Had they stayed the night?

“Yuanyuan-jie, you eat first,” Xiao Ying and Li Xin didn’t touch the plastic bag she set on the table. Yuan Yuanyuan felt more and more that the atmosphere was off, so she grabbed the bag and slipped into the kitchen.

She didn’t want to eat in front of them—made her stomach hurt from the awkwardness.

The two of them were pulling weird faces at each other, like they were scheming something evil.

She finished eating and turned around—only to find both of them had quietly crept into the kitchen at some point. Now they were crouched behind the door, eyes wide, watching her like stalkers. It made her skin crawl.

“What the hell… you two scared the crap out of me! If you’ve got something to say, say it. If not, get your butts back home and go to bed!” Yuan Yuanyuan snapped.

“Uh…” The two were caught off guard by her sudden outburst and were speechless for a few seconds. Yuan Yuanyuan felt like she’d just swallowed something vile. She tossed the plastic bag in the trash, then walked up to Xiao Ying.

Being someone who eats well and isn’t picky, Yuan Yuanyuan was quite a bit taller than Xiao Ying. When she stood close, it gave her an intimidating, looming presence.

She looked at Xiao Ying and asked, “What is it? Your mom gonna beat you and you’re hiding out here?”

“No,” Xiao Ying shook her head. Li Xin added, “It’s nothing really, Yuanyuan-jie. You finish your food and get some rest. We’ll head home.”

They’d been eyeing her sneakily for ages, so Yuan Yuanyuan had mentally prepared herself to be interrogated by these two nosy kids all day. But then they just… left. Without saying a thing.

Now she was the one left confused.

What the heck… A classic reverse play—leaving the opponent baffled. Genius.

After putting down her bowl and chopsticks, Yuan Yuanyuan looked around her apartment. It didn’t look like the kids had slept here. Her bedding was all neatly arranged. So she still had no idea why they’d come over so early.

She looked outside. The fog was thick. Cars and pedestrians on the street moved slowly. Even though the sun had come out, the fog still hadn’t lifted—everything was misty and blurry.

It was cold, and since the heating hadn’t started yet, her apartment had that lingering damp chill.

This kind of weather was perfect for curling up in bed with a mountain of blankets, half-drawn curtains, and falling into a deep, cozy sleep.

Yuan Yuanyuan was starting to feel sleepy. She’d originally wanted to check out what Jiuqiu had drawn last night, but at this point… meh. Whether she looked now or later didn’t really matter.

You know how it is when you’re waiting for an update… you’re antsy like you’re addicted. But once something delays you, by the time you get back to it, all the hype is gone.

She dragged out every blanket she had and piled them onto her bed. One to cover herself, one as a body pillow, one to hug, one between her legs… The whole bed looked like a fluffy disaster.

She dove into it, flailing around until just her head was sticking out of the pile.

Sleep.

And sleep she did—all the way till midday.

She was eventually woken up by hunger. Poking her head out of the chaos of blankets, she stared blankly at the mess she’d made.

After a full minute of zoning out, she rubbed her face, let out a long yawn, and got up with pillow lines still imprinted on her cheeks. She opened the fridge, grabbed two eggs, searched for instant noodles, found none, and decided to go downstairs to the convenience store.

Throwing on a coat, she looked out—still overcast, but at least it wasn’t raining.

There were a lot of elderly in her neighborhood, and on weekends the younger generation would come visit. So every weekend, her area was filled with noisy kids running around.

Just on her way downstairs, she passed several grandparents holding babies. The tiny ones couldn’t even walk yet, nestled in warm arms, their little heads peeking out. When Yuan Yuanyuan looked at them, their round black eyes would stare back solemnly.

Cute.

The neighborhood wasn’t just full of babies. There were elementary schoolers, middle schoolers—you name it. As she walked down, she passed a bunch of older kids skating near the stairwell.

One of them didn’t brake in time and slammed into her.

“I—” Yuan Yuanyuan’s face twisted in pain, the word “fuck” almost slipping out. She barely managed to swallow it, afraid she’d scare the kid. Her ribs ached like hell. Looking down, she saw a kid who barely reached her waist staring up at her with wide, dumb eyes.

Then suddenly—out of nowhere—the kid exploded.

“WAAAAAAAH!” he bawled at the top of his lungs.

Yuan Yuanyuan had no clue why. She looked around and spotted his mom walking over.

Shit—is he about to accuse me of something? Should I run for it?

Just as she was thinking this, the bawling kid pointed straight at her and wailed between hiccups:

“Y-y-youkai! hic Youkai!!!”

…

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t even get the chance to buy noodles.

She turned around and sprinted back upstairs, slammed the door shut, and stood inside panting like a broken bellows.

After a while, she cautiously cracked the door open and peeked. The kid had been taken home by his mom. Hat pulled low over her face, she tiptoed downstairs, finally bought some instant noodles, and bolted back up.

What the hell was that?! Could that kid have the legendary “yin-yang eyes”?

No… That can’t be right. I didn’t reveal anything. Even if he does have spiritual vision, what could he possibly see that’s different about me? I mean, I don’t even look weird when I’m naked!

Inside her tiny apartment, Yuan Yuanyuan was still deep in confused thought, completely unaware…

…that in today’s physical issue of Mengman, her face had been printed clearly on the cover.

Mengman’s print run was in the hundreds of thousands nationwide. Which meant today, hundreds of thousands of people had seen her face.

Today’s cover was that iconic scene—her sitting sideways on a chair, holding a wine jug, pouring a drink. Mengman covers were always random images from the current issue, and this time was no exception.

By sheer coincidence, the editor chose that one.

Half her face clearly visible, the other half obscured. Dressed in red, surrounded by dreamy ambiance, and rendered in Jiuqiu’s signature style—it looked just like a traditional beauty from a classical Chinese painting.

If Yuan Yuanyuan had walked ten meters further and glanced at the newspaper stand, she’d probably be questioning the meaning of life by now.

But because she had no clue, she was just upstairs cooking noodles with two eggs…

She didn’t discover this horrifying truth until around 7 p.m., just before her shift. When she opened the latest comic and saw it, her face twisted into pure horror.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

“DID I FORGET TO CLOSE THE DOOR OR SOMETHING?! WHY DOES THIS OUTFIT LOOK SO BOTTOM-Y?!”

Yuan Yuanyuan was shell-shocked.

The latest comic included a ton of stuff from the night before—like the protagonist’s assassination attempt, her pouring drinks, the Hundred Demon Parade outside…

Oh, and by the way—she didn’t even see the parade in real life. She only got to experience it in the comic. And yeah, it was pretty grand.

The story ran up to the point where the “Black-Clad Man” secretly “left the door open”—and then it cut off. Everything that happened afterward didn’t make it in.

Which made sense, because all that happened after midnight, and the comic had already been updated by then.

Oh god… oh god…

What’s gonna happen in the next chapter?

When does the next issue come out?

Oh right. Monday.

Two days later.

OH GOD…