Little Pink Starfish

[“What do you think he was drinking…?”]
[“I’m telling you, it was wine… I totally believe it.”]
[“That’s obviously blood! Why else would they draw it that red? What kind of wine is that color?”]
[“Maybe blood-wine? Anyway, Yuan’er-niang hasn’t shown up much in these last two chapters. I really want to know his backstory.”]
[“AAAAHHH my poor Yuan! He’s such a good boy—he even rescues stray ghosts! Please don’t torture him…”]
[“You wish. No way they’re not gonna torture him. I’ve read enough manga to know—when a character is mysteriously powerful and charismatic, they’re always slowly built up, then BAM! Big tragic reveal, cue the tears, and boom—more fans, more money. Don’t tell me you don’t see it coming?”]

Honestly, it did make sense. Yuan Yuanyuan, reading the comment section, had several classic “tragic bishounen” characters flash through her mind—some had already died, others were on the way. All manipulated by the hands of their authors, pulling strings behind the scenes.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t quite connect herself to the “Yuan” everyone was talking about in the comments. From her perspective, she saw things differently than an ordinary reader. Trying to see the character with an unbiased eye was basically impossible now.

Because, let’s face it…
Whatever she did, the comic “Yuan” would do.
If she sneezed, he’d probably sneeze.
If she killed someone, he’d probably kill someone too.

There was this strange connection between her and the comic, and yet, at the same time, there was something that made them undeniably different. Yuan Yuanyuan actually found that… kind of interesting.

Everyone was speculating about “Yuan’s” identity. Blood had always been a favorite trope in 2D fantasy characters—power, mystery, seduction, curse—it worked for everything.

Yuan Yuanyuan used to be into that kind of thing. She’d totally swoon over blood-themed characters back in the day. “So cool! So mysterious! So sexy!” she used to think.

Now that it was her, though?

She was thinking about storage logistics. What to do if she ran out. How much it hurt to extract blood once a week.
Honestly? It sucked.

This was the difference perspective made. Where others saw cool, she saw work.

She looked again at the panel—Ji Qiu had drawn it beautifully. It barely looked like her at all. If anything, “Yuan” felt more like a character she was playing.

On that note, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly transformed into her illusion form and struck a few dramatic, anime-style poses. Then she dropped the illusion and hugged herself smugly.

I wonder if these poses will show up in the next chapter… Hah. Got you guys. Your beloved husbando is in my palm!

When you’ve lived a tough life, you learn to find joy in weird places. Yuan Yuanyuan felt she’d mastered the art of suffering with a smile.

---

Elsewhere…

“Holy crap, what level is that demon who saved us that day?” A girl stared at her phone, eyes wide.

She was looking at the panel where Yuan held the tiny cup of red liquid, pausing in thought. “Ling’er, what do you think that is? Human blood?”

“With my experience?” said Gao Ling, twirling a pen. “Definitely. If I were writing a super badass character, that’s exactly how I’d draw it—on the surface, he’s kind and saves humans, but secretly? He drinks human blood. That’s depth.”

“…So the fact that we made it out alive that day—was that a miracle?” her friend asked.

“Maybe. But honestly, he didn’t seem like the type to kill randomly. He had a good vibe,” Gao Ling said. “Or maybe I just think that because he saved us.”

“Still, going off the current storyline, this guy probably comes from ancient times. I actually agree with the theory that he might’ve fallen in love with a human once—cross-species romance, doomed and tragic. Makes sense why he’d protect humans.”

She lowered her head and sketched a few more strokes. “It’s kinda romantic, but in real life? That’d be like winning the lottery.”

Her friend was quiet for a few seconds. Then she raised her head and said, “Well, I guess we hit the jackpot, then.”

“…Kinda makes the world feel unreal, doesn’t it?” Gao Ling said, laughing. “If only we’d dressed better that day, worn more makeup, maybe we’d be in the manga by now.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” her friend muttered. “What are you drawing, anyway?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m sketching out what happened when he saved us,” Gao Ling said, glancing at her tablet. “This one’s you. I even made you prettier.”

“Ugh, are you serious? You drew us so simple, but you spent so much time on him…”

“Well, look at him. When he first walked into that alley, I legit thought he was a model or something—like, straight out of a photoshoot. It wasn’t until he moved that I realized he was real.”

“I wouldn’t know. I passed out early.”

“Then you really missed out,” Gao Ling said, carefully painting his lips with a pure crimson, then filling in his hair and eyes with jet black.

---

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuanyuan was walking alone through a deserted mountain path, dressed in black.

She’d come out to test her progress. Since cultivating with the blood jade technique, she’d felt an overwhelming change in her power. The clumsy, stuck feeling she’d once had? Gone. It was like she’d opened all her meridians at once.

Dark arts really were easy. Just like in wuxia novels: steal a little yin energy, boom—power boost. Every shady technique was efficient as hell.

After seeing the fire dragon in the manga, Yuan Yuanyuan had been too afraid to practice high-level spells indoors. One wrong move and she might burn her apartment down.

She formed a basic fire spell and chanted softly.

Immediately, a small fire dragon materialized and shot forward across the open clearing.

Yuan Yuanyuan stood there stunned. The raw heat licked at her face. Seeing it in the comic had been impressive—but in real life? Absolutely terrifying.

She’d only chanted for three seconds.

In front of her was now a charred, blackened patch of ground.

Yup. She really had mastered it. What the comic showed wasn’t exaggerated. She hadn’t reverted back to being weak after the berserk episode—this was real.

She blew on her fingers, ready to head back, when—

Something moved.

A tree nearby rustled, and a figure dropped down in front of her. He wore a black mask with a laughing face painted on it, completely wrapped in black fabric, even his hair hidden.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s face stayed perfectly calm, but her heart skipped a beat. Who the hell is this guy?

Right. She hadn’t learned any detection spells yet, so she couldn’t sense hidden demons.

She didn’t recognize him. But she couldn’t show any weakness either. Before coming out, she’d transformed her appearance. After all, a random tavern girl couldn’t possibly cast spells like this.

The masked man walked slowly up to her and said, “So… you’re still alive?”

“…Yeah,” Yuan Yuanyuan nodded.

“I thought you were long gone.”

…What are we even talking about? she wondered, utterly confused.

The guy clearly wasn’t one for small talk. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, he spoke again.

“If you’re alive… do you still want to go back?”

“…No. I don’t,” Yuan Yuanyuan blurted out without thinking.

“Then be careful,” he said.

With that, the man suddenly vanished.

Yuan Yuanyuan stood frozen in place for ten whole minutes before she dared to move.

She ran back to her apartment and slammed the door shut. Her hands trembled as she dropped her illusion.

Her heart was still pounding in her chest.

Something about today… felt like I just dodged a bullet.