Little Pink Starfish

Ever since she realized just how deep Seventeen had gone with her spy work back in the day, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt like she was ridiculously underqualified. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d never be able to carry on the legacy of a boss like Seventeen.

Lately, she’d constantly been on edge, always suspecting that her identity had been discovered. Every few days, she’d suddenly get paranoid, wondering Have I been exposed? After half a day of spiraling, she’d calm herself down a bit—only to start the cycle again a few days later.

That… pretty much became her routine. Yuan Yuanyuan sometimes marveled that no one had caught on yet. It honestly felt like a miracle. Occasionally, she’d even think: Seriously? None of you think anything’s off here?

If there were a third party observing, they’d tell her she was completely overthinking it. As of now, no one had actually figured her out—it was just her own paranoia exhausting her to death. Honestly, her nerves were just too fragile.

On the flip side, because she was always so paranoid, her acting skills had improved dramatically. Yuan Yuanyuan was extra careful never to let “Yuan” and the “Red-Clothed Woman” appear doing the same thing at the same time. So Yuan was becoming more and more brooding, while the red-clothed woman was getting increasingly flamboyant…

“Are you leaving already?”

Yuan Yuanyuan was walking through a corridor when she suddenly heard a voice from behind. She turned and saw a demon approaching her.

Why is this guy coming over here? she thought, glancing around. It wasn’t all that unusual for people to come here, but it was rare for someone to approach her directly. She looked at the man, kept calm, and stopped to see what he wanted.

“May I ask why you always cover your face?” the man asked. “You’ve never shown yourself—might we have the honor of seeing your true appearance?”

“I’m afraid I must decline,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied softly. She stared at him—he didn’t seem like he was giving up. That unsettled her a bit, so she quickly found an excuse and slipped away.

As she walked off, something still felt off. She couldn’t shake the unease this man gave her. Later, when she was alone with the tavern owner, she asked casually who that guy was.

She’d half-expected to hear he was some kind of spy, but instead she got an unexpectedly bizarre answer.

The boss lady blinked. “Oh, him? He’s an incubus… A dream demon. Usually he’s decent at his job, just a bit of a perv. He’s caused some trouble in the past. What’s up? He bothering people again?”

“N-no… nothing…” Yuan Yuanyuan swallowed all the things she was about to say.
Damn. Of course it had to be a perv demon. Best not to tell the boss lady the details. If she found out some guy was trying to hit on the ‘man’ that is Yuan… things would definitely get dramatic.

As she headed back, Yuan Yuanyuan was still in disbelief. Yuan actually attracted a full-on straight dude?! Even though I’m a girl on the inside, the outside’s a guy—and somehow that still worked??

Her brain started wandering. Wait… what if back in the day, Seventeen actually seduced some poor guy too? After all, that disguise of hers did look pretty damn good…

Cough cough, her thoughts were spiraling again. Most of the time she was just amusing herself in the face of overwhelming pressure. From the outside, she looked like she was having a good time, but in truth, it was exhausting.

Recently, the tavern had suddenly seen an influx of young demons. Though they all came in dressed to the nines—wearing the kind of over-the-top outfits older demons liked—Yuan Yuanyuan could tell right away they were mostly around twenty years old. How the heck did these kids find this place?

“Why are there so many young demons flooding in lately?” she asked Li Zi Jie one day. Li Zi Jie glanced over and answered casually, “Oh, it’s just a bunch of freshly-initiated young demons. It’s like this every year around this time. You’re just seeing it for the first time. It’ll be the same next year.”

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly remembered—it was right after the college entrance exam. Back when she finished her exams, plenty of her classmates went to karaoke or bars to blow off steam. These demon students were probably doing the same.

Looking at all the peacocked-up kids, Yuan Yuanyuan’s mouth twitched. So this is how grown-ups see kids our age, huh? Thank god I stayed home after the exams… this is kinda embarrassing.

Apparently this would go on for about a week. Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to warn them not to wander around like this—just play at a friend’s place and be done with it. Why come here? But, as the saying goes, “whoever’s got money is the boss.” She couldn’t really stop them, so all she could do was try to serve them well.

“Boss!” Yuan Yuanyuan picked up her phone and heard Tang Shi’s excited voice:
“We got the results! I got in!”

That news cheered her up for a moment. Even though for demons, school didn’t really matter, she still had a human heart, and the thought of going to school genuinely made her happy.

“How did Qiu Ling do?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked excitedly—and in a burst of glee, she promised to help Tang Shi and the others buy gifts. She regretted it instantly. That meant she’d have to go back, and she still didn’t know how she’d even find them.

Just as she hung up and was still pondering what to do, something unexpected happened.

One day during work, a large group of people suddenly walked in. Yuan Yuanyuan thought, Nice, a big party—that means good business. Just as she was about to greet them…

“I’ve never been here before. My dad never let me come,” someone said.

“Same here. But I figured now that the exams are over, there won’t be many chances in the future, so I wanted to play a bit while I can.”

“Is there anything fun here? Are there hot guys?”

“Probably not guys, but definitely girls… Honestly, can’t these taverns modernize a bit? Bring in some hot male waiters or something…”

…Yuan Yuanyuan watched the group of flashy young men and women swagger in, forcing herself to keep a straight face as she felt her soul leave her body.

“Hey, hey, a bunch of bratty kids just came in,” she whispered to another tavern girl. The girl’s face didn’t look too happy either—they hated dealing with this kind of customer. These kids had wild imaginations and were prone to causing trouble.

For most of the girls working here, the problem was that these kids had no money. They preferred the older guys… uh, the rich ones. As for Yuan Yuanyuan, she just didn’t want to get dragged into any drama. These little brats were a nightmare. She felt like a nanny.

Just as Yuan Yuanyuan was thinking of calling in someone else to handle them, a voice rang out right behind her.

“Actually, I wanted to bring you guys to a boss I know, but he’s been MIA lately… Still, thanks for coming with me! My dad said we can’t stay long—just a couple hours. I feel like we won’t even get to enjoy ourselves…”

Yuan Yuanyuan almost slipped and fell to her knees.

She turned around, trembling. The girl who’d just spoken was wearing a somewhat ill-fitting outfit and had powdered cheeks. Her face was ridiculously young-looking.

…Tang Shi?! What the hell are you doing here?! Are you crazy? Does your dad know?!

“Wow… I can’t believe you actually dragged us here,” said Gao Ling, still a bit dazed. She was wearing a mask—one she’d bought at a cosplay con ages ago.

Her outfit was something she dug out of the back of her closet. Long ago, she’d bought it from a demon merchant she’d met at the Hundred Demons Parade. When they decided to come here, she suddenly remembered it and brought it out.

It was the kind of outfit that would terrify people on the street, but here it actually looked kind of plain in comparison. That made Gao Ling feel even more overwhelmed. Surrounded by demons, she didn’t have the heart to tell Tang Shi that their styles were completely off. The waiters kept casting sidelong glances at them.

Last time… this was where she’d lost her memory, right? Gao Ling scanned the area warily. Before they came, Tang Shi had cast some spells on them—magic to temporarily mask their human identity. Besides Gao Ling, Qiu Ling had come too. Since Tang Shi was about to head off to school, she’d invited a few familiar faces for a send-off gathering.

“You… don’t bother calling anyone else. Go take care of that table,” Yuan Yuanyuan said with a helpless expression to one of the waitresses. The girl practically bowed to her with gratitude. “Okay, okay, thank you Yuan Yuan-jie. I’ll let Li Zi Jie know!” She scampered off like she was afraid Yuan Yuanyuan would draft her into battle.

Yuan Yuanyuan quickly collected herself and walked over to the group of kids.
“Welcome, dear guests. Would you prefer a booth or a private room? We just had a few rooms become available, freshly cleaned.”

Despite looking confident, Tang Shi and the others were actually nervous as hell. When they saw Yuan Yuanyuan come over, they all exhaled in relief. “Private room, please,” they said—afraid of being overheard in the crowded main hall.

Yuan Yuanyuan was relieved too. You little troublemakers… I better not hear any complaints when you get home. She led them into one of the rooms.

Outside, the rest of the demons were still drinking and partying. Everything seemed just as peaceful and dreamlike as ever.

None of them noticed… that in the private room next door to Tang Shi’s group, another strange gathering was underway—people drinking quietly while constantly glancing around at their surroundings.