Little Pink Starfish

Three days later, Ji Xiangyu, still dressed in his iconic cow-print outfit, slung his backpack over his shoulder—inside were cartons of lactose-free milk and unsalted dried fish that Yuan Yuanyuan had bought for him—as he once again set off on the road home.

Yuan Yuanyuan looked at the gloomy handsome guy in front of her, took a few photos with him at the platform to post on her Moments later, and then saw him off onto the train.

She glanced at the red envelope he had transferred to her.

Damn, he’s rich.

Even though this guy had stirred up quite a bit of trouble while staying at her place, the lodging fee he handed over was way over the top. It could’ve paid for ten of him to stay.

With her hands stuffed into her pockets, Yuan Yuanyuan headed home. To this day, she still wasn’t sure whether that fat cat had actually died or not. All she remembered was that the cat moaned on and off for hours, cold then hot, hot then cold…

In the end, the damn thing actually stood up again on its own, gave its chubby body a shake, and turned back into human form.

A gloomy-looking handsome man in a black-and-white outfit with messy hair sat on her bed and silently glanced at Si Qun, who was still passed out beside him.

Hmm… kinda aesthetic.

Yuan Yuanyuan picked up the blood-soaked box from Si Qun’s face, woke the dazed guy up, and sent him home.

She had witnessed the whole process from start to finish and could only feel a mix of emotions. While the fat cat hadn’t reached a “normal person” level, he was no different from his usual half-dead self.

She had never figured out what this guy’s biological structure was like, not that she really cared all that much.

After seeing Ji Xiangyu off, and with the duel over, Yuan Yuanyuan could finally breathe easy. Her life was back to carefree mode.

No more cat-sitting! No more midnight brawls!

I’m free!

Yuan Yuanyuan had been on a serious lazy streak these past few days, lounging around like a student on winter break. Her daily sleep time hit double digits.

But not everything was smooth sailing—there was one thing that caught her off guard, though it wasn’t anything dangerous, so she hadn’t taken it seriously.

That one thing?

Her entire fight with Wu Jin had been drawn into Demon Chronicles.

One chapter came out on Saturday, and another on Monday. The second one made everything crystal clear.

Yuan Yuanyuan had read both together, so she wasn’t left on a cliffhanger like readers who followed chapter by chapter.

Recently the manga had been focusing on the main character’s arc—scheming and power plays in the exorcist faction, which were honestly pretty interesting. Faning, who was usually seen as a pitiful background character, had suddenly started rising up, showing some “silent beast” energy that delighted readers.

While the MC’s slow power-up was fun to watch, Ji Qiu suddenly pulled a switcheroo and turned the spotlight back onto the demon world with a god-tier move.

He didn’t draw much—just a few scenes, since the main plot was still focused on the exorcists. The shift felt a bit abrupt, so Ji Qiu only picked a few key moments.

One was the scene under the plum blossom tree on Saturday. When Yuan Yuanyuan saw it, she immediately facepalmed.

Thank god she didn’t voice her sarcastic inner thoughts out loud. Ji Qiu really drew whatever he wanted.

The next scene was from the Monday issue—her surprise attack on Wu Jin with the Demon Fire spell, Wu Jin dropping to his knees, and then that cryptic exchange of dialogue.

The words exchanged between the two were vague and mysterious, classic puzzle talk. No one except those involved would’ve understood it… and let’s be real, even they probably didn’t fully understand.

[“Which side are you really on?”]

A man in black stood under the plum tree, his face hidden behind the blossoms.

[“Which side do you want me to be on?”] he asked.

[“Senior, you know the answer.”] the man kneeling on the ground smiled.

[“Fine then. I stand with the demons.”] Yuan said from beneath the tree.

He glanced once more at the man kneeling before him, then said no more. With a gentle turn, a swirl of beautiful red mist dissolved into the air.

…Why the hell did that get published?

These days, whenever Yuan Yuanyuan did anything, she couldn’t help but think: “Is this going to get drawn too?” or “Will that scene be in the manga?”

She had somewhat figured out Ji Qiu’s tendencies—he loved cool moments. The cooler it was, the more likely it was to appear in the manga.

As for private stuff, Ji Qiu usually wouldn’t draw that. Take the blood scene, for example—he used Yuan’s alter ego to illustrate it, not her actual self.

When she considered whether that scene would be published, she had actually thought it wouldn’t.

Firstly, because the contents were part of a hidden storyline, possibly to be referenced later. Kinda like how Hunter x Hunter would randomly do a flashback on the Spiders killing people. But not just dropped mid-story like this, right?

Maybe as a dedicated flashback issue later to develop the character. But right now? It felt weird.

That was her logic, as a die-hard manga reader.

But Ji Qiu, of course, didn’t play by the rules. He didn’t draw a lot—but still managed to show all the key scenes without derailing the plot.

Honestly, Yuan Yuanyuan thought the whole duel had been super complicated and would be hard to draw. But for readers? They just saw a handful of highlights—it looked easy enough. So maybe she had been too caught up in her own POV.

Demon Chronicles gave nine pages to those events—four on Saturday, five on Monday. No lead-in, no follow-up. In Yuan’s eyes, it was just pretty art with little plot significance. A bit abstract.

And those lines of dialogue? She thought they were meaningless, not revealing anything.

…Maybe later, when the plot deepens, readers will look back and notice.

That was her thought as she calmly opened her phone and checked the group chat. Ji Xiangyu had left a message:

Group Leader: I’m on the train now. These high-speed rail lunch boxes are overpriced and disgusting.

Yuanyuan: Didn’t I give you dried fish? Just chew on that.

Black-Red: Group Leader, you’re back already? Damn, I didn’t hear anything. Where are you now?

Group Leader: No clue… oh right, I was just thinking—wasn’t that kid who fainted at the sight of blood the guy in white from the manga? Holy crap, it hit me three days later. He really works at the tavern with you?

Black-Red: What?! The guy in white? Are you serious? That’s my sister’s idol! If I knew, I’d have told you to get his autograph. Would’ve saved me from daily beatings!

Group Leader: Idol my ass. That kid’s… complicated. What’s his name again?

Yuanyuan coughed and typed,

Yuanyuan: His name’s Si Qun.

Si Qun’s girlish nature had slipped out again… but everyone at the tavern already knew what he was like, so it didn’t really matter if more people found out.

As a rare few internet-savvy demons who used forums and group chats, the three of them shared a kind of unspoken camaraderie. They’d gossip about big-name demons in the group chat. If anyone ever leaked those convos, they’d be hunted down, but they all kept things tight-lipped, so Yuanyuan wasn’t worried.

After sending the message, she waited for them to continue chatting.

But no replies came.

What’s going on? Yuanyuan was puzzled when the group leader finally sent:

Group Leader: Si Qun? You sure that’s the right name?

Yuanyuan: Yup.

Black-Red: …Holy crap. Real talk—I seriously regret not going with you now.

Yuanyuan: What? What’s going on?

She was totally confused. What were they talking about?

She went to take a sip of water. When she came back, the group was still quiet. Shrugging, she closed the chat and opened the manga.

On the very first page, she noticed something odd.

At first she’d glossed over it, but then she went back and looked closer—and found the part that made her uneasy.

A big close-up of Yuan’s face was plastered at the top of the manga site’s homepage in the featured section.

She was stunned at first, but then remembered—it was for the Character Popularity Poll. The one where the most popular characters got featured in the banner. Usually, it was filled with characters she didn’t even recognize. But now…

She had completely forgotten about the timing of the vote.

Seeing herself featured there made her eyes go wide.

What the hell… When did I end up here…?

When she clicked on it, she was absolutely blinded by Yuan’s vote count.

Holy crap… When did this even happen…?!

Such an absurd number of votes…

…

Actually, Yuan’s surge in popularity over such a short time was entirely thanks to what had happened recently.

More specifically—it was because of those few cryptic lines in the manga.

Readers had a knack for sniffing out the juicy stuff. Within just a few days, someone had already pieced together nearly the full truth behind the plot…