Little Pink Starfish

For Yuan Yuanyuan, life had been pretty fulfilling lately. She was either holed up in the library or hanging out in the tavern—each day more comfortable than the last.

Of course, while Yuan Yuanyuan herself was feeling pretty good, from what she’d overheard in the tavern, things didn’t seem quite so peaceful in the demon world lately. Especially after that sudden appearance by Yuan (“Yuan”/渊)—it had stirred things up quite a bit.

Yuan Yuanyuan thought to herself, “What’s everyone freaking out about? You think Yuan’s really gonna go around like he does in those fan comics, killing this one and that one, all the way to some crazy mass-murderer ending? Come on, that’s just fanfic nonsense.”

She wasn’t too worried herself, but apparently, everyone else was. Some were even planning out where Yuan might show up next, when he’d act, and how.

“Boss lady, you’d better pack up soon, just in case something gets smashed when the fight breaks out.”

While Yuan Yuanyuan was serving wine, she overheard one slightly drunk customer saying that to the tavern owner. Another customer dragged the drunk one away.

She looked up at the boss lady, who was standing at the top of the stairs, watching the two leave without saying a word. Yuan Yuanyuan just carried her wine jug past her and walked into the kitchen.

The tavern employed a lot of part-time workers, most of them minor demons. Yuan Yuanyuan noticed that recently they’d been especially anxious, often asking if the tavern was still a safe place.

Taverns spread news quickly. Even if they didn’t understand the full context, just hearing words like “massacre” and “revenge” was enough to scare any small demon.

Yuan Yuanyuan retrieved a dish of untouched fish from a customer’s table and, grabbing a pair of chopsticks, sat down to eat. Meanwhile, she listened to a few of the minor demons chatting about the latest rumors.

“I think I’ll go live with my sister for a few days,” one said. “She lives in S City, closer to the capital. It’s safer.”

“Lucky you,” another replied. “Wish I could move to the capital.”

Yuan Yuanyuan calmly ate, digging out the fish eyes.

“My family told me to wait a few more days. They’re still preparing the house,” said another. “Do you think Yuan will come here? He already came once. I told my mom, and she freaked out, told me to run if anything happens again.”

Yuan Yuanyuan’s lips curled into a weird smile. She calmly scooped the roe out of the fish’s belly and added it to her rice bowl.

“Never seen a major demon before… I overheard someone at the tavern say Yuan did some terrifying stuff in the past. They called him something… Seven something? I didn’t hear it clearly.”

Yuan Yuanyuan kept picking apart the fish as they chatted.

Fish bones, fish bones, fish bones, fish bones…

“Enough with the nonsense,” Li Zi Jie suddenly walked in, shooing the small demons away. “Tavern’s the safest place around. If we’re not safe, then nowhere is.”

The minor demons quickly dispersed.

Li Zi Jie looked at Yuan Yuanyuan, who was still eating. “You’re staying pretty cool. Thought you’d be scared like the others.”

Yuan Yuanyuan swallowed her fish and gave an oily smile.

…Not like she had any reason to be scared. She was the one deciding how things played out.

That said, three days later, she started to panic a little. Though her reasons were quite different from everyone else’s.

She was thinking—why does everyone assume she’s going to go stir up trouble? Should she go or not? If she doesn’t, does that mean she’s defying Ji Qiu’s (the cartoonist’s) plan?

…So yeah, she was having a full-on internal conflict. Everyone else was afraid Yuan might attack the city, and here she was, stressing over whether she should proactively “start something.”

Fat Cat had finally healed by then. Yuan Yuanyuan’s standard for that was simple: he wasn’t bald anymore. His tail fur had grown back in, and the moment it did, he flipped onto the floor and transformed into human form—ready to head out.

She watched him go, thinking: if Fat Cat hadn’t gone to M City before, she never would’ve known there was even a “scene” about to happen there. But he did go, and Ji Qiu even painted it into the comic—while hiding his identity—so clearly, Fat Cat had guessed Ji Qiu’s intention right. Ji Qiu was hard to predict.

“Fat Cat.” Yuan Yuanyuan grabbed his arm. “Do you think Yuan will really go stir things up?”

“Huh?” Fat Cat turned around. “How would I know? Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.”

“Is he still pissed? Because someone took the whistle?”

“You’re overthinking it. He’s definitely not going to attack C City. If anything, his trip to M City last time was to stand up for C City.”

As they talked, he opened the door.

“Whoa!” Xiao Ying nearly tripped and fell at their doorstep. Fat Cat quickly caught her.

Still in his classic cow-print outfit, with bangs low over his face, he looked a bit gloomy but attractive.

Xiao Ying was visibly startled, just staring silently for a long time.

“You can’t be more careful?” Yuan Yuanyuan scolded from behind.

“I just got over my illness,” Fat Cat quipped.

“You’re still useless after recovering? Where’s that so-called noble family upbringing?”

“Nobles can get sick too, you know?”

“Uh, th-thank you,” Xiao Ying stammered after regaining her balance.

“No need,” Fat Cat said coolly, then disappeared down the stairs with his hands in his pockets.

Xiao Ying watched his retreating figure, entranced.

“Xiao Ying? Hello?” Yuan Yuanyuan called twice before she snapped out of it.

“Did you finish your homework? Did you memorize the vocab? Essay done?”

“Yes! Done!” Xiao Ying replied quickly.

“You two are impossible,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “That cat you were cuddling before? That was him. The fat, snarky cow-cat.”

She thought she saw Xiao Ying’s eyes sparkle…

“Don’t.” Yuan Yuanyuan warned, “Study hard. Get into a good college. Date someone normal. Don’t go chasing impossible odds.”

“Yuanyuan-jie, you’ve clearly never experienced a teenage crush,” Xiao Ying shook her head solemnly. “Poor you, a monster who’s never had a springtime of youth…”

Poor who?! I chased Inuyasha back when you were still watching Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, okay!?

“So he’s that cat, huh…” Xiao Ying sighed dreamily. “A cat that turns into a handsome guy… This could totally be a drama.”

“He’s older than your dad, probably over a hundred.”

“Ugh, stop ruining it!” Xiao Ying yelled, kicking her.

“Who says I don’t get teenage crushes? I was writing fanfics before you could spell your name!”

…

Sigh.

Yuan Yuanyuan stood under the sun, thinking, I really don’t understand this world anymore.

From a human perspective, it made sense. A hot guy who also doubles as a pet—what’s not to love?

But from a half-demon point of view, it was messy. Fat Cat was petty, reckless, and self-destructive. Who’d want to date someone like that?

She shook her head at her own thoughts. Too much overthinking, all pointless.

She went to the convenience store to buy instant noodles, planning to cook them at her clothing store.

Lately, Liu An had been coming in very late. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t care. She wasn’t paying him much anyway, so he could go find other work if he wanted. The store barely had any customers.

She thought to herself—maybe she shouldn’t act rashly. Whether Yuan makes a move probably depends on how angry he still is. He definitely has a temper, but that guy in the black robe came to talk him down…

If an old friend came to calm him down, maybe it’d help?

Yuan Yuanyuan felt like she was playing a role-playing game—where every choice affects the storyline.

She walked out with her noodles, brain half on autopilot. A sudden scream snapped her back to reality—someone was falling.

She instinctively grabbed them, catching the person mid-fall. Her arm wrapped around and helped them steady.

The girl was clearly startled and stammered, “Boss?”

Yuan Yuanyuan blinked, recognizing her now.

A girl in a puffer coat, light makeup, holding the newest issue of Dream Manga and a yogurt.

“H-hi,” the girl said awkwardly.

In that moment, under the bright sun reflecting off the glass doors, everything seemed overly warm and sparkly…

So sparkly… so sparkly… too sparkly…

“Um, what are you here for?” the girl asked nervously.

“Buying food.” Yuan Yuanyuan lifted her bag.

“Oh.” The girl nodded.

Yuan Yuanyuan mentally replayed the whole interaction.

Open door → bump → grab → catch → ask → stammer…

Was that sequence… a bit too smooth?

She suddenly shivered.

Wait… was that a “flag-raising” moment?!

“I gotta go!” she ran out, resisting the urge to yell, “Look! A butterfly of destiny!”

“Wait!” the girl called, but there was no reply.

Yuan Yuanyuan bolted back to her shop, slammed the door, and stood there silently.

Was that… an overreaction?

Next time, stay cool. Don’t scare people.

And if she misunderstood…

Then didn’t she just look like a crazy person?

She scratched her head, took a deep breath, and went to make her noodles.