Little Pink Starfish

【Joyfully celebrate the festive season, light up lanterns to welcome the New Spring】
【Family Harmony】

…

In the middle of the night, Yuan Yuanyuan stood at her door, debating whether or not to tear down the couplets. After all, she hadn’t expected her exact set of Spring Festival couplets to show up in the comic—word for word.

She stood there thinking for nearly five minutes before she gave up and went back inside.

Forget it… They were freebies from the bank. Probably mass-produced. Nothing special. You could find the same couplets on half the doors in the neighborhood.

It was past midnight. Normally by now the streetlights would be turned off. But since it was New Year’s, they were probably left on all night. The world outside her window still shone brightly.

Yuan Yuanyuan lay back down on her bed and picked up her phone again.

She stared at the screen. Fine. If you’re going to draw me, then go ahead. In fact, she was a bit curious—how could such a mundane day be turned into something worth drawing?

In the comic, Yuan—her doppelgänger—quietly finished putting up the couplets and walked inside. He picked up a piece of candy from the table, unwrapped it, tucked it into a dumpling skin, and began wrapping dumplings in silence.

He made exactly ten. Not one more, not one less. Chive and egg. Then he boiled them, dropping them in when the water started to bubble.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the panels, feeling oddly conflicted. She had felt totally content being alone earlier—planning what to eat on New Year’s Day and the day after. But seeing it all drawn in a comic… suddenly it looked like the tragic life of a lonely elder.

She could almost imagine screenshotting the panel and slapping a big caption on it: “Close the Shell of the Empty-Nest Elder”. It would be too perfect.

Am I really that pitiful? she thought. No way… wait, is this how I come across?

In the next panel, Yuan sat alone at the table, eating. His face was blank.

…Just as Yuan Yuanyuan was seriously considering whether she should start smiling with all eight front teeth every time she ate dumplings alone on a holiday, the next panel showed Yuan lifting his head and scanning the table.

His gaze was calm. His pupils deep black, reflecting a glint of white light.

Then, suddenly, the scene blurred at the edges. Everything softened, as if lit with a hazy filter.

Out of nowhere, Qiu Qiu used the classic flashback technique—the scene shifted to another small house. Everything inside was different, but for some reason, it felt eerily familiar.

Sitting alone in her room, Yuan Yuanyuan’s gaze wavered. Though she was the only one in the room, she had the strange sensation that someone was silently watching her.

So… she mumbled instinctively into the air:

“…It’s not me. I don’t know anything. Not related to me.”

…

“Yuan’s past?” Gao Ling stared at the comic panels and muttered, “God, Qiu Qiu, please don’t make me eat my words. One AB* is enough—I don’t need a second one.”

She studied the hazy flashback scene. Two figures appeared, blurry but visible.

One was a woman, the other a young boy.

The boy… was likely Yuan. The woman, though, was someone never seen before.

Gao Ling saw the woman making dumplings, while the child-sized Yuan sat beside her in adorable chibi form.

Honestly? This was the first time she’d seen a chibi character that felt this cute. The contrast was irresistible. Like chibi Hozuki vs. the terrifying adult version—it was that kind of gap moe. Especially that downturned pout. Even baby Yuan had it.

He had the same long legs in his memories, but back then they hadn’t reached the floor yet—just little stumpy legs dangling from the chair, swinging back and forth.

[Yuan had eaten a few dumplings when he suddenly remembered something. He looked up and called, “A-jie? How many are left?”]

[“Almost done. You eat first, don’t worry about me,” the woman answered without turning around.]

[Her face wasn’t shown—only the lower part of her chin. She had a small, delicate jaw and bright cherry-red lips.]

[Her hands were slim and graceful, like jade. A few loose strands of hair fell softly around her ears as she worked.]

[The room grew quiet again, until Yuan’s voice rang out behind her, filled with excitement: “A-jie, I found the sugar!”]

[“Oh?” She turned and smiled, lips curving in a gentle arc. “Then you’ll have good luck all year, Yuan.”]

…

“Wait—Yuan has a sister?” Gao Ling was stunned. “Don’t just toss this in suddenly! I just said he didn’t!”

She rubbed her forehead, remembering her previous assertions about Yuan being an only child. She flipped a few more pages—then froze.

This Yuan…

Her scrolling slowed. Gao Ling had read too many comics not to catch what was happening. It took her less than a minute to realize the most likely truth.

Her heart sank. No way… it’s that sad?

But as she thought about the visual contrast—the soft glow, the warm tone—what other possibility was there?

On the other side of the city, Yuan Yuanyuan had the same realization. She froze, then flipped a few more pages—and saw her hunch confirmed.

[A small incense burner sat in the room, with three sticks of incense burning. No name plaque. No photo.]

[Yuan finished all the dumplings, then put down his chopsticks and walked over to the burner. He bowed three times.]

[He didn’t say a word. His face remained expressionless the whole time.]

[The incense smoke curled into the air, forming a faint mist—like a veil obscuring someone’s face.]

Yuan Yuanyuan slowly set down her phone and turned to look at the little incense burner behind her.

That was the same burner.

But clearly… she hadn’t lit incense for the same reason.

She had lit three sticks today because it was New Year’s—two for her parents, one for Yuan.

The incense burner had always been there. She’d often lit two or three sticks for Yuan in the past. But today… today, that very scene had appeared in the comic.

It was clear what Qiu Qiu was doing. By using that image, he was telling the readers one thing—Yuan had a sister. And she was gone.

Yuan Yuanyuan had just one question now:

How did she die?

She had a vague feeling she’d heard somewhere that Yuan had a sister… but thinking harder, she had no idea where she might’ve heard it.

Human memory plays tricks sometimes. Like remembering something that never happened. Probably just the brain messing around.

She didn’t really trust her memory—but she could reason things out. Up until now, 99.9% of what she knew about “Yuan” came from one source: Fat Cat.

The remaining sliver came from tavern gossip and various monster biographies.

She exited Monster Chronicle, switched over to her chat group, and found that Fat Cat and Black & Red had been talking for a while.

Their topic? Tonight’s comic.

As soon as she opened the chat, she saw Fat Cat freaking out.

[Group Leader: OMG! OMG! Did you guys read tonight’s update yet?!]

[Black & Red: Yeah. What about it?]

[Group Leader: Let’s bet—how pissed do you think Yuan is going to be? And where will he explode?]

No… he won’t get mad yet, Yuan Yuanyuan thought. Not until he understands what really happened.

[Black & Red: I have a sinister theory… what if Qiu Qiu drew this just to provoke Yuan into losing it at the Hundred Demon Festival? If you check the timing… the next update lines up exactly with that night.]

[Quan Quan: Wait—did you guys know Yuan had a sister?!]

[Group Leader: …Who could’ve known? Most of Yuan’s history was wiped clean. No one knows who his sister was—probably some obscure corner of the world. But it looks like we’re about to find out.]

[Black & Red: How do you think she died? The cause will definitely influence how Yuan reacts.]

[Group Leader: You’re asking me? Honestly, Qiu Qiu’s going bold here. But now I’m sure—Qiu Qiu and Yuan aren’t on the same side. From the records, Yuan was quiet and reserved off-duty. From his story, he seems like a straight-laced guy. If his sister was that important to him… he wouldn’t be okay with her being put in the story like this.]

Yuan Yuanyuan’s chest tightened as she read.

She had thought she’d learned about Yuan’s sister from Fat Cat. But apparently… she hadn’t. Neither Fat Cat nor Black & Red had ever known she existed.

So where had she heard it?

She felt like she was standing before a paper-thin barrier—so close to tearing through, but just not quite there. The feeling gnawed at her.

More than that, a strange, creeping emotion was crawling up inside her. She suddenly needed to know—how did Yuan’s sister die? The question clawed at her.

Some instinct told her she had to find someone—anyone—who knew. But she didn’t know who that could be. And that made it worse.

Was there… some way she could find out?

She stood up suddenly, pacing around her apartment. After a while, realization dawned:

This matter didn’t concern “Yuan Yuanyuan.”
It concerned “Yuan.”

If she wanted answers, she’d have to ask as Yuan.

There was no other way.

She shapeshifted instantly—didn’t even finish the rest of the comic. She opened the door and stepped out.

A strong feeling told her: If I transform into Yuan now, I’ll find the truth.

Because now that this had been drawn… it was out in the open. And if even Ji Xiangyu had said Yuan might “explode,” then anyone involved in this—wouldn’t they try to stop him?

She pulled her coat tight, walking through the deserted streets on New Year’s Eve.

Red lanterns lined both sides of the street. The world around her glowed red. She felt dizzy.

If Yuan had a public contact point… it was that little shop in the Youth Zone.

If you wanted to find Yuan, you had to go there. Not many knew—but definitely not few.

So now what?

“Bait the hook,” Yuan Yuanyuan thought.
“Let’s see who bites.”