Little Pink Starfish

After Gao Ling saw the red-clothed woman on the latest issue’s cover, her long-unsettled heart suddenly calmed.

Not because she was especially excited—it wasn’t quite that. It was more that Gao Ling suddenly felt a wave of emptiness. She sat in front of her computer in a daze for over a minute before snapping out of it.

It had been nearly two months with no news of Yuan. Gao Ling had almost resigned herself to it. But suddenly, he reappeared—in another form—within the comic.

You could call it fate. When Gao Ling saw the red-clothed woman appear, she was stunned for a full minute.

She opened the group chat, and it was lively like New Year’s. As she scrolled, Gao Ling found herself smiling too. Someone in the group messaged her:
“Big Boss, did you read the update tonight? Yuan is hilarious.”
Gao Ling replied that she hadn’t yet. “What happened?”

She reopened the comic, which she had paused halfway due to brain fog, and kept reading. About five minutes later, she reached the scene where Fa Ning and Yuan Yingli went to see the red-clothed woman.

Before they entered, the two had a brief conversation. Fa Ning told Yuan Yingli that they’d already gotten a lot of support last time, and if they came again so soon, it might be hard to get approval. But Yuan Yingli reassured him not to worry—he’d handle it.

Fa Ning secretly muttered to himself at the time, thinking, You’re such a lunatic when it comes to taking action… Oh right—Yuan Yingli often came up with reliable plans, but he could be wild at times too. Fa Ning and his bros had all been driven half crazy by him, always afraid he’d suddenly do something reckless.

Then the two of them entered the room and met the red-clothed woman. The plot then reached the moment where Yuan Yingli pressured her about whether Yuan had left any final words before his departure.

In that moment, Gao Ling’s heart—

Her brain was suddenly overwhelmed by an onslaught of snarky thoughts, but she forced herself to keep reading.

She finally understood why everyone in the group had been saying Yuan was too funny…

While reading that part, Gao Ling couldn’t fully immerse herself. Her mind kept filling in all kinds of imagined content: what Yuan Yingli might’ve been thinking, what the woman who seemed like Yuan’s confidante was thinking, and most of all… what Yuan himself was thinking behind the curtain.

Gao Ling thought, If I didn’t laugh out loud, my self-control must be on another level.

But Yuan just had to be Yuan. He was a strange man. At least in this issue, Gao Ling saw a very different side of him—something that made her question if Yuan might actually have a bit of a twisted sense of humor…

Behind the curtain, the red-clothed woman was silent for a long time. In the comic, she was shown quietly drinking tea, every move elegant and meticulous. Readers agreed that she perfectly embodied the ethereal style of Ji Qiu’s art. Even though a curtain separated them, she still came across as stunning. Ji Qiu’s art was perfect for capturing that hazy beauty. Whether she was picking up or putting down the teacup, it was poster-worthy.

In fact, the cover for this issue featured her holding a teacup, drinking tea.

This inserted scene gave a strong sense of atmosphere, but Gao Ling suspected Yuan had been buying time—caught off guard and trying to stall. There was even a bit of Fa Ning’s internal narration, as he stared at Yuan Yingli:
“I’m never trusting you again. You said you had it all handled? This is your idea of handling it? You damn traitor. When we get back, I’m hanging with Changsheng instead…”

Of course, that wasn’t the actual dialogue—it was Gao Ling’s heavily edited version. Even though she knew Fa Ning wouldn’t actually fall out with Yuan Yingli, and they were more like bickering friends, she still felt Fa Ning probably wanted to strangle him in that moment.

Once the red-clothed woman had finished her tea, “she” finally put down the cup and spoke.

Her first word made Gao Ling shudder.

She said: “Yes.”

Holy sh—! Wait, what?! Gao Ling’s brain just blanked out, a million snarky reactions flying through her mind.
This comic is killing me. My imagination is running way wilder than anything drawn. How am I supposed to keep reading like this?!

What others saw as an emotionally intense moment, Gao Ling snarked her way through.

After the word “Yes,” came a moment of silence. Fa Ning thought: Wait, what? That worked?

He looked at the red-clothed woman with a gaze that was a mix of reverence and awe. Yuan Yingli didn’t react, but Fa Ning could tell he was serious. This scene was oddly powerful, especially with the recent tension between Yingli and Yuan. Yingli, the powerful figure who betrayed the organization for Yuan, always looked like a sly fox—but in this moment, he looked like a devoted girl in love.

Now he was confronting the sacred red-clothed woman—a revered figure among fans, on par with goddesses from other works.

Yet now she turned out to be an old acquaintance? Readers were stunned. Some joked that Yuan must have an incredibly wide social circle…

Gao Ling stared at her screen and thought: Shouldn’t we be giving Yuan credit for having the deranged creativity to come up with a plan this effective on the spot?

And then came the twist—he succeeded.

Yuan Yingli updated his mental record of the red-clothed woman and Yuan’s relationship. He had always thought they were just close friends—possibly drawn together by shared ideals. But her quick and definitive answer left him confused…

This didn’t seem like just friendship. Yuan had plenty of unfinished business. If she acknowledged him so easily, she was going to be dragged into it too. (Gao Ling noted that if the comic had drawn her exact words, even more trouble would’ve followed.) So why was she so willing?

Could it be…? Yuan Yingli’s thoughts veered sharply—one male demon and one female demon. Hard not to speculate.

Even though he was filled with questions, Yuan Yingli still respectfully asked, “What did Lord Yuan leave behind after his disappearance?”

The red-clothed woman paused, then replied, “He said everything was arranged. There’s nothing to worry about—everything in this world happens naturally.”

Yuan Yingli was stunned. Then she added, “Actually, he didn’t expect you to leave the Mask Organization.”

Yuan Yingli immediately lowered his head. “I apologize for acting on my own, but at the time, I had no other choice. It was my decision, and I don’t regret it.”

At that point, Gao Ling wanted to flip a table.
These two damn guys are really going at it, huh? Can’t you see you’re ignoring a bystander reader like me completely?!

What kind of plot was this?! Just shamelessly showing off this deep master-servant relationship in front of millions of readers?! Gao Ling fumed, but then realized something—maybe Yuan Yingli had been kept in the dark the whole time.

Heh, no matter how sly you are, when you meet Yuan, he still ends up playing you. Gao Ling felt a strange satisfaction, thinking she might be turning into a bit of a sadist, continuing to read while snarking the whole way.

After hearing Yuan Yingli’s apology, the red-clothed woman didn’t say much—just quietly poured more tea. Then Fa Ning suddenly asked, “When we were coming in earlier, we saw someone outside… Do you know who that was?”

“Who?” she asked calmly.

“The one who’s kinda handsome but always acts aloof,” Fa Ning said, a bit awkward.

The woman beside the red-clothed one suddenly leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She replied, “He… was Seventeen’s best friend back in the day.”

Fa Ning froze at the mention of “Seventeen,” then realized she meant Yuan. He thought, No wonder they’re old friends—she says his ancient nickname so naturally, while I wouldn’t even dare say it aloud.

Yuan Yingli suddenly asked, “Is he also part of our organization?”

“Him?” The red-clothed woman let out a cold laugh. “You all must not go near him.”

“Why?” Yuan Yingli asked.

“He has nothing to do with any of this,” she said.

At that moment, the woman next to her hurried over and quietly told Yuan Yingli that Yuan’s friend had been badly injured in the past and was now cursed, so he couldn’t return to battle. Fa Ning silently thought, What a joke—he beat the crap out of me the first time we met. That’s what you call ‘badly injured’?

As Fa Ning and Yuan Yingli left, they ran into that cold man again. As they brushed past each other, Fa Ning shivered.

The man glanced at him—his features were delicate and sharp, but the coldness in his expression never left. He clearly didn’t recognize Fa Ning and turned to walk away.

After reading all this, Gao Ling’s sanity gauge hit zero.

…

Si Qun Boss—the version without bangs—appeared in the comic for the first time.

Yuan Yuanyuan had actually been quite worried about Si Qun showing up in the comic, since his background made him unsuitable. But she was surprised to find that Ji Qiu treated him with exceptional care—only showing his god-like side, never the silly one.

That face of Si Qun’s… Seriously. Even when acting dumb, he could stir up a storm. When expressionless, he instantly became the comic’s ultimate cold and aloof male idol.

Now the internet was full of theories about what curse Si Qun had, and fans were even pairing him and Yuan Yingli as the red and white roses of the comic’s supporting cast.

So then… what does that make Yuan?

Yuan Yuanyuan thought about last week’s plot and the strange reader comments that followed. She covered her face and laughed.

Damn, I’ve actually become my own widow…

Widow…

But why did that make her feel oddly thrilled? Like she was somehow still “alive” in this world?

No no no… Yuan Yuanyuan forced herself to squash those twisted thoughts. Things were what they were now—what could she do? Just suck it up.

Though… speaking of being a widow… Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly stroked her chin. That’s actually kind of a spicy character trait, useful in many situations.

While she was lost in her own fantasies, the annual comic awards began again. This time, they were voting on the readers’ favorite character, and every character in every comic could be nominated.

This year, without Xiao Ying around to buy magazines, it was just Yuan Yuanyuan and her fat cat. The cat had carried in a whole box of books the day before and said to Yuan Yuanyuan, deadpan:

“Start unboxing.”