Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan quickly turned her head in a moment of desperate wit. She didn’t turn back until after everyone had left.

“It’s okay now. Thank goodness you weren’t exposed,” the boss lady let out a long sigh of relief.

“…I wouldn’t be so sure,” Yuan Yuanyuan said.

She was still thinking about that strange gust of wind earlier. Deep down, she had a vague sense of unease, and she couldn’t figure out where it came from. But that wind—it was definitely suspicious.

Who had stirred it up?

Yuan Yuanyuan pondered for a long time, mentally going through suspects from Qiu Ying to the boss lady, even down to the tavern’s waitstaff. But in the end, she couldn’t confirm anyone.

No matter who it was, this person posed a significant threat to her. If it was Qiu Ying, then that meant he had intended to expose her.

If it was someone from the human side, then the motive behind this negotiation wasn’t pure—they had come with a specific agenda.

Yuan Yuanyuan made a mental note to be on high alert around the humans. Even though they’d thrown Fa Ning—basically their trump card—into the game, she absolutely couldn’t let her guard down.

As for the conversation they had, she had a feeling it would end up in the comic. But she didn’t really care. Why? Because Fa Ning, publicly speaking, was still considered a fictional character—someone who didn’t exist at all.

So for someone who “didn’t exist,” his appearance in the comic would always raise questions. Was this a real incident? Or was it fictionalized based on a real event?

Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t worried about being exposed herself. What concerned her more was Fa Ning being exposed. She, after all, didn’t show her face. Even if she did get unmasked, she could run off at any moment.

Some days later, Monster Chronicle updated. Yuan Yuanyuan opened it and saw that the plot had indeed caught up to their negotiation. The content of this issue was quite interesting—she felt like she might be able to glimpse some of Qiu Ying’s intentions.

First off, there was Fa Ning’s place in Qiu Ying’s heart.

When she saw that Qiu Ying had perfectly covered up Fa Ning’s identity in the comic, she realized—yup, he’s the real protagonist.

Qiu Ying didn’t include that potentially revealing line the boss lady had said, the one that could’ve tipped off outsiders that Fa Ning was a real person. Instead, he deliberately kept things vague, allowing readers to believe either possibility—that Fa Ning was real or fictional.

Just like every time before. If she didn’t already know the truth, she might’ve been fooled.

Then there was the matter of who had lifted the curtain? Qiu Ying was one of her suspects. If he did anything in the comic to hint at exposing Yuan’s identity, then she could be sure he was the one behind the wind.

But Qiu Ying didn’t do that.

He just faithfully recorded everything that had happened that day—no exaggerations, no downplaying.

And what’s more, the story was told entirely from Fa Ning’s perspective.

Yuan Yuanyuan watched as the monsters and humans chatted cheerfully, laying out many rules for their alliance and its future development. Toward the end of the meeting, she stared hard at the panels, trying to find any clues.

And then, in the very last panel, just as Fa Ning was preparing to leave, a sudden gust of wind swept through the room, lifting the curtain. The mysterious female leader of the anti-war faction, who had hidden behind that curtain the entire time, was abruptly unveiled.

Yuan Yuanyuan figured people were definitely going to criticize how awkwardly that gust of wind was written in. Even in third-rate webnovels, they wouldn’t dare write it that clumsily. But the truth was—that was exactly what happened. A sudden wind had really blown through and lifted the curtain, revealing her.

In the moment, she had turned her head on instinct, not caring how she looked—only thinking about covering her face. But somehow, the way it was drawn ended up looking… astonishing.

She hadn’t transformed her appearance then—just her usual Yuan physique, wearing the red dress the boss lady had picked out for her, which was probably a woman’s outfit. It didn’t have any extra decoration.

Yuan Yuanyuan loved that dress. Though she didn’t say anything—she didn’t want the boss lady to think she was a closet cross-dresser or anything—deep down she knew it was the best outfit she’d ever worn. Modest, but luxurious.

In the Monster Chronicle panel, that scene was a show-stopper. All eyes were drawn to it. The woman in the drawing looked both seductive and mysterious—and likely very powerful.

Her long hair cascaded down, hiding her face completely. The silky black strands looked so smooth, you could practically feel the texture just by looking.

But in the comic, Fa Ning didn’t immediately notice her hair or shoulders. What he saw first—was her hand.

Yuan Yuanyuan had extended a hand to support herself, leaning her weight on it. That hand was very close to the curtain—so close that Yuan Yuanyuan had briefly considered pulling the curtain back down herself, but decided against it for safety.

Though she didn’t act on the impulse, her hand remained—clean and delicate, with no makeup. The skin was smooth and slender.

Her nails were a soft pink, like tiny shells. Ten tiny, tidy shells quietly rested there—even Yuan Yuanyuan herself felt something was off when she saw it drawn like that.

This… this was definitely drawn a bit too suggestively.

Who stares at someone’s hand first thing? And it wasn’t like Fa Ning was some love-struck fool. His whole life goal was to go after woman after woman, speed above all else.

And the wildest part? That hand belonged to a man. Never mind that she was dressed as a woman—at that time, she was a man. And yet here was another man staring intently at her hand.

This wasn’t like Yuan Dao’s usual style. He normally never drew things this obviously. Not even the other women who’d had ambiguous interactions with the male lead had ever been portrayed this way.

…Truly insidious. Qiu Ying was terrifying. The fanboys would go absolutely nuts over this.

Yuan Yuanyuan vaguely felt… that she had just witnessed the rise of a new bombshell star in the comic world. This story might even surpass Fruits Basket and become every reader’s chaotic obsession.

She scrolled through the comments section to see what people were saying. Sure enough, every single comment oozed a dramatic, mournful energy that nearly blinded her.

【Is this… the main heroine finally making her debut? I’m so excited!】
【She’s amazing—strong, graceful, elegant. Her face must be stunning too. Best main girl I’ve seen in years!】
【I thought we weren’t allowed to add these kinds of elements anymore… What’s this “main heroine” talk?】
【Where there’s a will, there’s a loophole. Don’t be scared. With just a little teasing, fan artists can take over. I’ve never seen any woman have such a striking first encounter with Fa Ning.】
【That hand… Qiu Ying is a genius. He drew exactly what my heart was aching to see. Beautiful hand. Beautiful.】

The more Yuan Yuanyuan read, the more she sighed. Some were guessing she was the main heroine. Others assumed there’d be some romance between her and Fa Ning. Some were even secretly preparing to draw their own BL fan comics…

…Whatever. With fan culture this morally unhinged, she figured she’d keep quiet and let them fantasize. Maybe after a while, they’d get bored and move on. At least that’s what she hoped.

Poor, innocent Yuan Yuanyuan never once considered one possibility—that someone might already know the truth.

To her, the red-clothed woman and Yuan were two completely unrelated entities. Not just in clothing, but in aura, in presence—completely different.

In other words… who would ever guess a comic would pull something so ridiculous? The male and female supporting leads were the same person. The female role was beloved by all, the male was everyone’s punching bag.

But—there really was someone who knew the truth. Gao Ling had somehow brought this knowledge out through unexpected means, leaving everyone around her stunned and confused.

…

【That’s Yuan. That’s really Yuan.】 someone wrote in the group chat. 【Someone pinch me—what the hell is happening in this world?】
【I swear, every day I doubt whether the info the boss brought out is real, because each one is more shocking than the last,】 said a girl in the group.
【Hey, I went through a lot to bring this info out—it’s totally accurate!】 Gao Ling replied indignantly, though she added with a hint of guilt, 【…Though, yeah, the recent plot has been kinda unreal.】

【No no no, I didn’t mean it like that,】 said the girl. 【The crazier Qiu Ying draws, the more convinced I am that it’s real…】

Everyone: 【……】

【Let’s talk about those hands,】 a guy in the chat said. 【Are we… about to witness a really weird comic?】

【Nah, I doubt anything that extreme’s gonna happen. I don’t believe the two of them actually have something going on,】 said Gao Ling. 【Yuan’s not the kind of character you’d find in some cheap, pandering BL manga. I’m just worried—if the truth ever gets out, what will readers do? Will they accept it? Or will everything explode? I can’t figure out where this plot is going anymore.】

【I think people will accept it. I mean, I already have,】 another guy said.

【Actually, this twist…】 a girl chimed in, 【What was your first reaction when you heard it?】

…

Everyone in the group had the same thought running through their minds:

——“This is actually kind of freakin’ amazing.”