Little Pink Starfish

If that little hamster hadn’t reacted so dramatically, Yuan Yuanyuan figured she probably wouldn’t have even noticed him. But because he did react so strongly… her suspicion was immediately piqued.

Mr. Hamster was dressed almost exactly like Yuan Yuanyuan—so much so that they looked like they came from the same mold. She wore casual clothes with sneakers and a cap pulled low over her face. So did he. If he hadn’t just looked up and revealed those shiny, beady, hamster-like black eyes staring right at her, she might not have realized he’d been watching.

She hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but from memory, he seemed to have delicate, refined features and a pretty small face.

Why is he bundled up like that? she wondered. Generally, people who came into the main lounge all wrapped up like that… weren’t exactly innocent.

As she looked over at that hamster—no, that guy—he suddenly turned his head away and ducked down to focus on the food in front of him.

What the hell was he staring at me for just now? Yuan Yuanyuan thought, uneasy. She was sure her current disguise should’ve been untraceable. But apparently, she’d been watched for quite a while… Could it be that this guy had recognized her?

Her nerves were already on edge lately, so she instinctively glanced over at him again. Mr. Hamster was sitting with two others—one looked like a clean-cut guy with a reporter’s badge on his chest, the other wore Taoist robes, though clearly not from any official sect—just a freelance cultivator.

Yuan Yuanyuan kept her eyes on the hamster but had no idea how to strike up a conversation. Asking, “Excuse me, did you recognize me just now?” would’ve sounded completely insane and probably scared the hell out of them.

But now that she was suspicious, she wasn’t going to let it go.

She thought for a moment, touched her face, and suddenly had a strange idea.

The face she was currently wearing was completely different from “Yuan.” Ever since she’d been summoned by the humans yesterday, she hadn’t dared to use the “Boss” face anymore. So instead, she was using one she hadn’t worn in years.

It was… a girl’s face.

In fact, Yuan Yuanyuan had far more female disguises than male ones. Probably because she was a woman at heart. When she roamed the world years ago, her many disguises were almost all female. The only male face she’d ever consistently used… was Yuan.

This particular female face had never been used before. The first time she ever created it, she ended up creating Yuan’s face right after. Since male faces were generally more convenient for hiding, this one had been shelved almost immediately.

Yesterday, she’d wracked her brain trying to remember any safe disguises she still had, and this face came to mind.

It had never seen the light of day. And though it was a girl’s face… creating a new one from scratch took a long time. It relied heavily on luck—it wasn’t just something she could do on command.

Still, that was fine. She had another method.

She brought out that unused girl’s face and made some quick alterations. While forging a new face from zero was tough, tweaking an existing one was relatively easy. That’s how she had created the “Boss” and “Yuan” faces to begin with.

It took her about an hour of intense shapeshifting work, but she finally turned that girl’s face into a believable young man’s.

She studied her reflection in the mirror for a long time, comparing and adjusting until it was “just manly enough.” Finally satisfied, she walked out with the new face.

Over years of practice, Yuan Yuanyuan had developed several shapeshifting principles. One key rule: when using a particular face, you should instinctively adjust your personality to match. Sure, there were plenty of people whose faces didn’t match their demeanor, but those kinds of people drew attention. So it was safer to make everything match.

With this current face… she looked harmless. At least, a lot less threatening than “Yuan.”

She stood up, glancing over at the hamster and the two guys next to him—one stuffing his plate like a caretaker. She put on a gentle smile and began walking over.

The group noticed her approach and looked up. The hamster guy immediately scooped up a few copper coins from the table and glanced nervously at her.

“Excuse me,” she said softly as she reached them, “you were staring at me just now. Was there something wrong?”

The three turned to her.

One of them blinked and thought, Whoa, that’s a really androgynous guy…

“We weren’t doing anything,” said the guy with the reporter’s badge. “Don’t take it to heart, brother.”

“Oh… my apologies. I just saw you guys watching me and wondered if I was doing something odd.” Yuan Yuanyuan’s voice was very soft—this face made it feel wrong to speak loudly. But it had a strong aura of friendliness. The group’s attitude toward her instantly softened.

“Hey, which area are you staying in?” the man with the heavy northeastern accent asked. “We’ve been in the loose cultivators’ section but haven’t seen you around.”

“I…” Yuan Yuanyuan replied while lowering her cap a little more.

The man blurted out, “Whoa, dude, your face is… seriously pretty.”

Okay, is he calling me girly? Yuan Yuanyuan thought. She couldn’t argue—after all, it was a woman’s face at the core.

She glanced around the hall and remarked, “I don’t come down here often. I didn’t know this area looked like this.”

The northeastern guy chuckled and teased her for being too much of a shut-in. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t bother explaining—she just smiled calmly.

While the others chatted, she snuck a glance at the hamster’s face.

She paused.

He looked like a young man. Energetic face. Bright, starry eyes.

…

Sometimes, she thought, it was pretty relaxing to play the fool. Especially after pretending to be a big shot for so long.

The conversation flowed well—especially with the talkative reporter guy. He chattered endlessly, and Yuan Yuanyuan could barely keep up with his train of thought.

Still, chatting with him was fun. He had a knack for setting the vibe.

After a while, she gathered that they were all freelance cultivators. One was quiet and just drank silently. The other was the hyperactive reporter. And finally, there was the guy in the hat—who only chimed in occasionally.

After more chatting, she decided they didn’t seem to have any bad intentions. Most likely, the hamster had just gotten lost in thought while staring at her. He looked like the kind of guy who blanked out mid-stare. So she dropped the matter and prepared to leave.

“You’re not gonna stick around longer?” the reporter asked, clearly disappointed.

“No,” she said gently. “Sorry for disturbing you. Please, enjoy yourselves—I need to head back upstairs.”

“Have a few more drinks!” he said, raising his cup. “Everyone’s waiting for the formula sheet tonight. Why go up so early?”

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced around. The hall really was bustling. They were even serving alcohol this late. Clearly, the organizers expected everyone to stay up waiting for the official release.

She thought for a second, then shook her head. “No, I’m used to sleeping around this time. You guys carry on.”

She waved goodnight and turned to go. As she walked away, her pleasant expression slowly faded. Her face turned blank again as she walked into the corridor.

“That guy just now was seriously… pretty,” the reporter muttered after she left.

“I think you spooked him with that fortune-telling crap,” the other man said. “You were bragging so hard about how powerful ‘fate prediction’ is, and now look—you scared someone off!”

“Hey, fate prediction is powerful,” said Liu An, the guy in the hat. “Maybe I just picked the wrong person. That guy seemed pretty formidable. He probably came over just to warn us. I should’ve known—anyone showing up here wouldn’t be simple.”

“…Seriously?” the reporter sighed. “You’re usually pretty sharp. What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Liu An grumbled, a little frustrated.

He had been reckless. But heaven knows—he used that technique on the Boss herself and nothing happened. Who knew some random passerby would react like this?

Could it be… that guy is even scarier than the Boss?

Liu An shook his head. No way… No way. The Boss might be lazy, but she’s not weak.

Maybe that person just had strong defenses. Still, it was the first time something like this had happened. He’d have to be more careful next time.

He glanced at his companions, then looked at the time. “Is it almost time?”

“Yep,” the reporter replied, pulling out his phone. “Quick, quick, before the servers crash. There are too many people here.”

All three of them opened the update at the same time. And when the first page loaded… silence.

After a long pause, the reporter looked up and said to Liu An, dead serious:

“Dude… you’re cursed.”