Little Pink Starfish

It must have been that the way I shattered the void was incorrect.
Zhu Ning, Zhu Ning, Zhu Ning.
That person was Zhu Ning, the one Noyce had his eye on.
But why did gege also look at him like that?
Gege looked at him and forgot Xiaoshan…
Xiaoshan was unhappy.

Behind Qiguan Rui, thick black aura began to rise.
Kill Zhu Ning!
Kill the one who attracted gege’s attention!

Meanwhile, Gu Bai, after reviewing the plot in his head and sorting out what would happen next, realized that the second male lead who had been walking beside him hadn’t followed?
What the—did he really get so distracted by the protagonist shou’s charm that he forgot how to walk?!

Thinking that, Gu Bai frowned and turned around to look.
He saw that the second male lead’s expression looked… odd.
The spring-breeze smile was gone, the glimmering peach blossom eyes were gone, the gentle aura… still there, but why did it feel so awkward now?

Gu Bai: “Cecil.”
Qiguan Rui didn’t respond.
Gu Bai got annoyed. He simply walked back a few steps and tapped Qiguan Rui’s arm: “Hey.”
The moment he touched him, his hand was grabbed and tightly squeezed. Only after he struggled did the other person let go.

Gu Bai: Is the second male lead having a psychotic break?
Wait, why did gege just say the second male lead was having a psychotic break?!
That kind of slanderous thought, coming out without any setup—what’s going on!
Gege can’t be turning dark just because he can’t get his crush, right?!

As for Qiguan Rui, he snapped out of it.
Gege held my hand~ Gege’s attention is finally back on me… If only gege hadn’t said “Cecil” but “Xiaoshan” instead… wouldn’t that be better?
But never mind, this world’s “Cecil” was also him.
Gege is mine.

Gu Bai suddenly realized—the second male lead didn’t seem as weird as before.
He wasn’t someone who liked digging too deep. Once he saw the second male lead wasn’t looking at the protagonist shou anymore, he didn’t press further.

The beast inside Qiguan Rui’s heart was once again restrained, and he calmly resumed walking side by side with Gu Bai.

This little interruption didn’t slow them down much.
Soon, they reached the group of people—or more precisely, Noyce’s side.
That big dumb guy was standing a bit apart from the crowd, just far enough to protect Zhu Ning without interfering with his performance. Smart positioning.

When they approached, a hint of joy flashed in Noyce’s eyes: “Cecil, Carlo, you’re here.”
Gu Bai politely gave a small nod.
Qiguan Rui raised an eyebrow: “Noyce, what’s going on? Zhu Ning?”

Noyce had been watching Zhu Ning’s side the whole time. Hearing the question, a hint of solemn helplessness flashed in his eyes: “Zhu Ning’s been gambling stones here, and now he’s cutting another one.”
Qiguan Rui: “Oh?”

He was about to say more when he noticed Gu Bai’s attention had returned to Zhu Ning. He instantly took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.

After the near-slip just now, Qiguan Rui was much more composed.
Although he absolutely hated gege giving attention to anyone else, gege’s behavior was indeed a bit strange. Maybe he didn’t have any emotional thoughts toward Zhu Ning, just curiosity.
He recalled past events and even found some amusement in the misunderstandings back then.
Gege was watching Zhu Ning, yes, but had no romantic interest.

In another situation, even if someone just drew gege’s gaze, Qiguan Rui would’ve privately taken care of them, making sure they could never appear around gege again.
But in this world, with only his own strength, he couldn’t yet conquer the sky. He didn’t want to anger gege openly, either.

At that moment, Qiguan Rui finally started digging through his own memory.
And then it hit him—the world they were in… seemed to be from a book?

Funny enough, Qiguan Rui had long known he was a character gege created when he wrote his very first book—he was gege’s first time. Even if not as a lover, he held a very special place in gege’s heart.
Later, he had lived in gege’s world for decades, and for a long time, he had accompanied gege in reading many books.
This one—was among them.

What was strange was that gege clearly lost his memories, yet seemed to still remember the content of this book?
Looking back on gege’s recent actions, he could pick up clues suggesting just that…

Of course—this person gege was paying attention to right now, wasn’t he the protagonist of that book?

As someone who shoved anything and anyone not related to his gege into the farthest corners of his memory, Qiguan Rui hadn’t paid any attention to this body’s original identity even after regaining his memories.
Until now—thanks to jealousy—he finally dug out that part of his memory.

…Can this be eaten?

Of course, Qiguan Rui swept through it mentally.
After that, he understood even more clearly why gege was behaving like this.
…Gege really still remembered.

After reviewing the novel’s plotline, Qiguan Rui downgraded Zhu Ning’s threat level by two notches.
His rationality returned immediately.
It’s just a protagonist, that’s all.
No matter how many protagonists existed outside, could they ever compare to him, the “first”?
He was gege’s only protagonist.

Thinking that, Qiguan Rui showed a gentle smile.
Gege’s protagonist is only me. No one else.
If one day I could see the worlds gege creates afterward… I wouldn’t let them off either.

Meanwhile, Noyce—clueless as ever, or rather, completely absorbed in his feelings for Zhu Ning—hadn’t noticed anything strange about Qiguan Rui, and directly started recounting recent events.

Just like in the original, Zhu Ning, upon seeing Trean, had a burst of suppressed hatred and impulsively forgot his original plan to level up in secret before getting revenge.
Instead, he developed a strong desire for immediate payback.
But no matter how fiercely that desire burned, Zhu Ning still knew he was alone and powerless. He forced himself to stay calm and gather information on Trean.

—During this period, Noyce got jealous, felt a crisis, and following Qiguan Rui’s suggestion, investigated Trean’s background.
And sure enough, he dug up plenty!

But Noyce was genuinely low on emotional intelligence—or just too straightforward.
After digging up dirt on Trean, he completely forgot about Qiguan Rui’s suggestion to discredit him subtly or let Zhu Ning discover the truth himself.
The first thing Noyce thought was: Trean is such a piece of trash, I must make sure Zhu Ning doesn’t fall for him!
Otherwise, Zhu Ning would be hurt!

Just think—someone who poured out their heart, helped and raised Trean, and was eventually betrayed and killed—how could others be trusted?!
Noyce was so worried, okay?!

So, in his usual dumb way, Noyce just grabbed the file and showed it to Zhu Ning directly.

At this point, Gu Bai was full of black lines.
This official gong, that straight-ball pitch…
Didn’t he realize that not secretly helping Zhu Ning, not sharing hardship, not going through misunderstandings and resolving them… might end with no beauty in his arms?

But maybe this was destiny’s special blessing!
After seeing the documents, even though Zhu Ning didn’t realize Noyce was in love with him, he did—miraculously—realize that this cold-faced, strict boss actually cared about him!

Gu Bai: “……”
They really are a match made in heaven.
A wounded protagonist shou needs someone this single-minded.
Can’t they just pair up already and speed up the main plot, please!

Unfortunately, things weren’t that simple.
Zhu Ning, moved by the information, let down part of his guard toward Noyce.
Seeing Noyce’s concern for him, he suddenly tested him.
He said that a scum like Trean was disgusting, and he wanted to do something to make him uncomfortable.

So, yes—Zhu Ning came today specifically to cause trouble.
Noyce, still worried Zhu Ning would get into trouble, had come to back him up.

And just how was Zhu Ning going to cause trouble?

That was one of the novel’s “爽点”—power-fantasy moments.
Specially designed to show off the protagonist shou’s charm and slap the villain’s face.

Zhu Ning was gambling stones in public, cutting them in public, and one by one taking the rare stones from this mining zone back home…
Familiar, right?
Gu Bai had done the same.
But Gu Bai was low-key—he bought tons of raw stones and cut them at home.

Zhu Ning, on the other hand, was extremely high-profile.
He’d buy three or five raw stones, cut them on the spot, and every single one turned out to be a hit—not a single one under Level 6.

When he cut the first batch, a few people thought it odd.
By the second batch, people were already clicking their tongues in amazement.
By the third, a crowd had gathered!
By now he was on the fourth batch, the stone levels were rising, and the crowd was buzzing with excitement!

A pile of rare stones nearby already had a Level 8 in it!

The manager of the mining zone had an extremely ugly expression.
But this was happening in public—could he even stop Zhu Ning from buying raw stones?
Every stone bought meant they lost a precious rare one…
The frustration was beyond words.

Noyce could see that Zhu Ning was enjoying himself, but also noticed the subtle hatred in his eyes.
The more it went on, the more he worried about Zhu Ning’s safety, his emotional state, and that’s why, upon seeing his brother and his brother’s “companion”, he was genuinely happy to share and seek advice.

Qiguan Rui, after listening, just felt Noyce was being a worrywart.
What was there to be so anxious about?

Qiguan Rui sighed: “Noyce.”
Noyce’s expression was serious: “Mm.”
Qiguan Rui: “What’s your identity?”
Noyce: “First heir to the duke’s house.”
Qiguan Rui: “What’s the identity of this mine’s owner?”
Noyce: “Marquis household.”
Qiguan Rui: “What’s my identity?”
Noyce: “First heir to the duke’s house.”

Qiguan Rui curved his lips: “Then Noyce, what exactly are you worried about?”
As for emotional well-being…
What even is that.