Little Pink Starfish

When the first meeting ended, Yuan Yuanyuan downed the tea in front of her in one gulp and stood up from her seat.

On the human side, a few staff came over to clean the table; on the monster side, a flood of little demons rushed in to help the big demons tidy up their things.

Quite a few humans had never seen anything like it before. They stared in a daze—wanting to keep watching but also clearly too embarrassed to stare directly. Their reactions were amusing and, frankly, very conspicuous to the monsters.

Yuan Yuanyuan was far more casual. She folded up the thick stack of paper on the table without a care and shoved it into her pocket. Then she pulled up the hood of her coat and walked out the door.

When she reached the entrance, she found the path blocked with people. Yuan frowned, turned her body sideways, and squeezed her way through. Just as she was about to make it past the crowd, someone asked, “Are you… Yuan?”

She turned her head and saw a young man—looked quite young—who must’ve gotten a glimpse of her face just as they brushed past each other. Yuan glanced at him, then continued pushing her way forward without responding.

As soon as she made it out of the crowd, she took a deep breath and checked the time. It was already past four in the afternoon.

She went out for a meal, intending to go straight back to bed afterward. But then she suddenly remembered—it was Monday.

And Monday night meant Monster Journal was updating.

Yuan scratched her head irritably. She felt like she’d been run over—though she hadn’t really done anything, it was the kind of exhaustion only those who’d “been through it” would understand.

Back inside, Liu An and the reporter bro hadn’t caught much from the meeting either. The reporter was practically snoring when suddenly everyone stood up at once, startling him.

“Wha—what’s happening?” he looked around.

“Meeting’s over,” Liu An said. “Go sleep. You need it.”

“What are those monsters doing now?” the reporter asked.

Liu An glanced over. “Ah, just little monsters serving tea to the big ones. You think monsters are egalitarian like humans?”

“So extravagant?” The reporter rubbed his eyes. “In a socialist society, how are they still doing this kind of thing?”

“Then go talk to them about it.” Liu An grinned.

“Like hell I’d go stir up that mess…” The reporter brushed his hair back. “Dude, those big monsters all look like feudal landlords.”

“Shh. Don’t talk nonsense,” Liu An warned.

“Right, right, I forgot.” The guy shrank back nervously. “Hey, if I manage to interview one of those big monsters, think I’ll get a raise?”

They chatted while leaving the venue.

And just then, Liu An felt… something. A strange sense of awareness. He suddenly looked up—and locked eyes with someone.

Those eyes didn’t linger long. They gave him one glance, then turned and walked away.

It was Yuan.

Liu An and the reporter stood there, dumbfounded in the hallway, as people bustled around them in contrast.

After a long pause, the reporter slapped Liu An on the shoulder. “Bro, was that… was that Yuan?”

“Yeah,” Liu An nodded.

“Dude! You locked eyes with Yuan!”

Liu An was already regretting it.

“What does that even mean, ‘locked eyes’?” he muttered, but the reporter continued.

“Hey, you think locking eyes with Yuan means you’ll show up in Monster Journal?”

“…What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? You say it like you don’t want to be in it,” the guy said. “Come on, it’s not like it’ll cost you anything. Wouldn’t it be fun? Look, if you want to be in Monster Journal, just go talk to him. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see yourself in the next issue. Easiest way in, low effort, high reward.”

Liu An just shook his head, laughing.

But he couldn’t help turning around again, staring in the direction Yuan had disappeared into.

The crowd there was thickening. Soon, Yuan’s presence was swallowed up.

She ran into someone she didn’t know on the way and forgot about them in a blink.

After eating, she headed back upstairs like she owned the place, ducked around the sign at the stairwell, and entered her room.

The bed had already been made—by someone. She had no idea who. Alert, she scanned the room but didn’t find anything suspicious. Still, there was a faint trace of monster scent in the air—probably a little demon had cleaned for her out of pity.

Yuan flopped onto the bed and scrolled through her phone, only to fall asleep halfway through. She was eventually jolted awake by her alarm.

Bleary-eyed, she grabbed her phone and wiped her eyes as she glanced at the notification—a new announcement?

An official notice? About Monster Journal?

She blinked. Damn, was Monster Journal really that hot now? An official site-wide announcement for a guidebook? Yuan scoffed, then instinctively tapped it open.

It looked like one of those character encyclopedias—listing things like height, weight, blood type, maybe even random preferences and hidden traits.

A world-building supplement, essentially.

It would be published Thursday on DreamComics. The next few days were a poll: “Are you looking forward to the guidebook?” with options “Yes” and “No.”

Still half-asleep, Yuan laughed in a half-deranged way and tapped “Yes” before closing the page.

To be honest… she kinda wanted to know her own blood type. She’d lived twenty-some years and still had no clue.

She then went to check the latest Monster Journal update. Before even clicking, she felt an odd pressure in her chest.

She’d never experienced this before—this weird craving to see herself in the comic. It was a first.

Lying in bed in a cozy, warm room, half a glass of hot water on the side table, blackout curtains drawn—it was the perfect setup for reading comics.

If someone had walked in just then, they’d have seen her in full “lazy fish” mode, lying on the bed reading manga. Probably looked blissful.

But she felt none of that bliss. The bed that usually brought her comfort didn’t help.

Before even reading the comic, she felt fidgety, frustrated. This was bad—unhealthy, even.

She didn’t know why being here affected her mood so much. But within this hotel’s walls, she just couldn’t feel sunny.

She also didn’t understand why she’d been called here at all. After a conversation with that white-bearded old man, she’d learned she was the only monster from C City invited.

Was she supposed to feel honored? Or just annoyed?

Probably the latter. She had no idea what the higher-ups in C City were thinking. Or the higher-ups among the monsters in general. If they hadn’t signed off on it, she wouldn’t have been here.

She flipped open the new chapter of Monster Journal.

It felt like pulling a card in a gambling movie—the kind of suspense that made your muscles tense.

But when the cover revealed itself, she deflated instantly.

It was Fan Ning.

Damn it…

She ground her teeth and kept reading.

So Fan Ning really did come here…

Yuan wasn’t surprised. This place had too much going on. Knowing that guy—scheming as hell—he was bound to show up.

In the comic, Fan Ning was sitting on a hotel bed. Yuan recognized it immediately—it must’ve been a scene from a few days ago. Monster Journal often wasn’t perfectly synced with real-time. She knew that well.

It opened with Fan Ning pacing in a classically decorated hallway. A companion asked:

【“When are the monsters showing up? We’ve been waiting here for days.”】
【“It’s not so bad,” Fan Ning replied. “Free room and board. And the place is nice.”】
【“Well, once they get here, there won’t be enough rooms. We rogue cultivators will get kicked out,” the companion said with a laugh.】
【“What, we’re gonna have to camp?” Fan Ning asked.】
【“You wish,” the guy laughed. “Once they arrive, half the mountain will be frozen. You won’t even be able to survive outside.”】

Yuan glanced out the window.

Everything was buried in snow and ice, just like the comic had said.

Her room’s window looked right out over the hallway depicted in the panels. The same crystal chandelier sparkled even at night.

This feeling… like stepping into a 2D world… was bizarre.

She bit into a persimmon from her nightstand.

If you didn’t think too hard about the logistics, you could almost say she’d transmigrated into a story. From another angle, maybe she’d been “inserted” into the book.

Yuan nodded to herself like she was making peace with that.

In the comic, Fan Ning kept chatting with his companion as they walked. Every scene gave Yuan a strange sense of déjà vu—probably because she knew the real locations so well.

【They walked through more of the corridor and entered an indoor hallway lined with ancient paintings, emphasizing the building’s age and opulence.】
【“You know this hotel?” the companion asked. “It’s got deep history.”】
【“Yeah, studied it once,” Fan Ning replied, glancing at faint monster runes and Taoist symbols on the ceiling. “Built at the end of the 19th century by both humans and monsters… European influence from the cultural invasion back then.”】
【“See those paintings? Some are so old they’re fading. Each one has meaning,” the friend added.】
【“Like what?” Fan Ning asked.】
【“That one over there,” the friend pointed, “was painted during the best period of human-monster relations. The rest? All during wartime.”】
【“This place used to be a beacon of harmony,” the guy said. “Word of it spread far and wide… though now, just hearing the name makes both monsters and humans shiver.”】

Yuan stared at the dialogue with a pained expression.

You guys…

You didn’t not draw what I wanted…

But why… so vague?

Was it because she knew too much? Was this… a kind of spoiler-prevention?

What’s the rule again? Spoilers must die?
Then what the hell is she supposed to be?

Yuan dot. Yuan, now a character in her own comic, sat on her bed thinking: This is ridiculous.

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Note: Google translate said the last sentence was “Yuan felt pain in his balls”.