Little Pink Starfish

What a Good Girl

“Miss, where did you buy that pig head?” Just as Yuxiaoxiao was getting ready to fight off these two guys to protect her pig head, the younger of the two suddenly spoke up.

“Up ahead,” Yuxiaoxiao replied, hugging the pig head tightly with one arm while pointing toward Niu Da’s meat stall with the other.

“Thanks, miss!” the young man said, then took off running with the bearded guy toward Niu Da’s stall.

Watching them dash away, Yuxiaoxiao felt another wave of luck. What perfect timing! She had managed to buy such a big, delicious pig head all for herself! And judging by the passersby still sneaking glances at her, she must’ve scored something truly special. Hugging her prize, she moved to a quieter side alley and sat down.

The pig head was really fragrant. After taking a bite of the tender brain, Yuxiaoxiao squinted with bliss. The rich pork flavor mixed with spices like star anise and fennel—it was divine. Of course, Her Highness wasn’t the literary type, so she couldn’t describe it well. All she knew was: if anyone dared try to take this pig head from her now, she’d flatten that bastard.

Just as she made this firm resolution, the same two guys appeared in front of her again.

“Boss Niu sold out of pig heads,” the younger one informed her, eyeing the now slightly mangled pig brain in her arms.

Yuxiaoxiao clutched the pig head tighter. “Then go buy one from someone else.” It’s not like Niu Da was the only person in Feng Tian selling pig heads, right?

“But Niu Da’s pig head meat is the best in the entire capital,” the bearded man, who hadn’t spoken until now, finally said.

Yuxiaoxiao took another bite, cheeks bulging. “So what?”

The young man pressed on, “Look, there’s still a big chunk of that head you haven’t touched. Could you give us… half?”

Her eyes widened. Half?! Why not just ask me to die?!

The young man explained, “Our boss has always said that when he was a kid, his favorite thing was Niu Da’s pig head meat. The two of us—I’m his first lieutenant, he’s the second—came to the capital and searched everywhere for it. Then we smelled the meat in your arms and realized… it’s from Niu Da.”

Yuxiaoxiao swallowed her mouthful and said bluntly, “Get to the point.”

“…Could you give us half?”

She shook her head firmly. She had a big family to feed, okay? Well, mostly it was because she wanted to eat it all herself.

The bearded second-in-command finally said, “Aren’t you afraid of us?”

Yuxiaoxiao glanced at his scruffy face. “Why would I be afraid of humans?”

“You little—” The man’s temper flared. He reached for the knife at his waist.

“Second Chief! Second Chief!” The young man grabbed him around the waist, panic-stricken. “We’re in the capital! We can’t blow our cover! Please calm down! Don’t scare the girl!”

“Girl?!” Second Chief raised his hand and smacked the young man’s head. “You got your eye on her or something? You little punk, still wet behind the ears and already thinking about women?! I’ll beat the crap out of you!”

The young man didn’t dare let go—he was scared Second Chief would really hurt the girl. So he braced himself and took the blows.

Yuxiaoxiao couldn’t watch any longer. What kind of teammate beats their own guy like this?! So what if he was Second Chief? What kind of rank was that anyway? She marched over and scolded, “You bully your own companion? Don’t you have any shame?”

Second Chief froze at her words. He gave her a dark look, but didn’t hit her—not because he knew she was strong, but simply because he didn’t hit women.

“Our boss just wants to taste that meat again,” the younger man said, nursing his bruises and staring longingly at the pig head in her arms.

“Why doesn’t he come get it himself?” Yuxiaoxiao asked.

“Uh…” The two exchanged glances. “This place… it brings back bad memories for him.”

Bad memories? That sounded loaded. Yuxiaoxiao narrowed her eyes. “He was dumped here by a woman, wasn’t he?”

The young man rubbed his nose awkwardly. No way was he saying that out loud. If their boss heard, he’d kill him.

“Fine,” Yuxiaoxiao said. “I’ll give you a small portion.” A man heartbroken over love deserved some sympathy. It meant he still had affection in him. Otherwise, why suffer over a woman when he could just find another one?

“Really?!” The young man lit up. “Miss, you’re the best!”

“I know,” Yuxiaoxiao said proudly. “I think so too.”

So the three of them squatted by the alley. Second Chief used his own knife to slice off a portion of the pig head.

Yuxiaoxiao asked the younger man, “Where are you guys from?”

“We’re from the Yunyun Mountains outside the city,” he said.

Yuxiaoxiao hadn’t even finished exploring the capital yet—outside the city was a whole other world to her. “What do you do?” she asked, already forgetting about the mountains.

“We farm,” Second Chief answered curtly.

“Oh,” Yuxiaoxiao nodded. Farmers.

“Miss,” the young man asked, “do you know where the Gu Residence is? I mean, the old Zhen Guo Duke’s residence?”

“You’re looking for the Gu family? Of course I know it. I live there.”

Both men stared at her again. From her clothes, she didn’t look like a noble—probably just a maid. A slightly dumb one at that.

“What do you want with the Gu family? Selling grain?” Yuxiaoxiao asked. Farmers usually sold grain, right?

Second Chief put down the knife and said, “We have a letter. It’s for Old Marshal Gu.”

A letter? Yuxiaoxiao immediately lost interest. She was illiterate, after all—letters meant nothing to her.

The younger man tugged Second Chief aside and whispered, “You want to give her the letter?”

“There are guards at the Gu Residence. They’re a military family. If we go ourselves and get caught, we’re screwed.”

“But weren’t we just going to drop the letter and run?”

“That’s if things go wrong. Now we’ve got someone who can deliver it. Why not use her?”

The young man looked back at Yuxiaoxiao, still happily eating on the ground. What a great girl, he thought. She even shared pig head meat after seeing him get hit.

“We can’t drag her into this,” he muttered, turning back to Second Chief, face set with determination.