Little Pink Starfish

During the afternoon shoot, Yuan Yuanyuan stood on the sidelines to watch. The actor playing Yuan was in surprisingly good form—he nailed the action sequence in one take, even leaving the director visibly impressed.

Yuan Yuanyuan stood with arms crossed, observing silently. While it wasn’t anything earth-shattering… considering he was a human, it was honestly quite impressive. Especially when you looked at the stunned faces of everyone around.

Sure, the movements were a little slow, but he pulled them all off. Whether they sped it up later or added effects was none of her concern. After the shoot, the other demons were allowed to leave. But since Yuan Yuanyuan was the team lead, she had to stay. The production had arranged rooms in a hotel next to the set—other demons could choose to stay or go, but she had to remain.

Yuan Yuanyuan checked into the hotel, which was pretty luxurious. Lying on the ridiculously soft, huge bed, she stroked the covers with great reluctance before sighing. Still, she sat up, left a phantom image of herself sleeping on the bed, and slipped back underground—returning to the tavern.

As she stepped inside, she was surprised not to see the usual familiar faces, but a crowd of strangers. Yuan Yuanyuan’s brows furrowed. She lingered outside, watching, and didn’t rush in.

“Would the elder be willing to meet with us?” she heard someone ask from inside. Yuan Yuanyuan peeked again—it was the same old man who had first brought Fa Ning to see her, now accompanied by a few unfamiliar people.

What’s going on? she scanned the room and didn’t spot Fa Ning. That surprised her a little. One of the demons nearby walked over and quietly explained, “They seem to be trying to speak with you while Fa Ning isn’t around…”

Yuan Yuanyuan thought, What chapter is Ji Qiu even drawing right now? Why are these people looking for me directly?

“No,” she refused without hesitation. “Don’t tell them I’m back. I’ll hide in the back for a while.”

Turning, she left. She didn’t want to get cornered by those folks. Her strategy for problems she couldn’t solve herself was simple: dodge it for now and wait until the proprietress returned.

But she didn’t usually leave the tavern, so she had no idea where else to go.

It was awkward. She definitely couldn’t go to the front—even if she knew the staff well, she couldn’t risk showing her face. Not with her identity at stake. Protecting the tavern came first.

The back… was there any place she could hide? Yuan Yuanyuan hesitated. She even began questioning why she came back at all—wasn’t staying at that comfortable hotel the better choice?

She wandered out of her hiding spot, wandering aimlessly. After instructing a younger demon to tell the proprietress she’d gone out if she came back, Yuan Yuanyuan set off.

The back of the tavern was mostly desolate. It backed up against an alley, where she could faintly hear car horns from the nearby street.

There was, however, a large tree. Yuan Yuanyuan walked without really thinking, and somehow ended up there.

It was winter. The tree had withered, its leaves long swept away. A recent snowfall had left a thin blanket of white over everything. No footprints. The snow was clean.

Yuan Yuanyuan walked forward, her own prints forming shallow impressions in the snow. She looked at a small mound beneath the tree, covered now in snow, its original color hidden.

She stared down at the mound. The rain had been heavy this year… Was there only a skeleton left under there now?

Or had even that decayed away by now?

She stood quietly, staring. Then suddenly, a voice came from behind.

“What are you doing here?”

Startled, she almost turned around—then remembered she couldn’t show her face. She resisted the urge and kept her back turned.

“How did you get in?” she asked.

“I used an illusion to sneak in…” the voice replied, sheepishly. “There were people blocking the front, so I thought I’d check the back. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

As they spoke, Yuan Yuanyuan conjured a veil over her face. She recognized the voice—it was Fa Ning. He was still a distance away. Suddenly, she remembered the illusion spell she had once taught him—he’d developed it into an invisibility technique. She hadn’t realized it had become this powerful… He’d been nearby all along, and she hadn’t even sensed him.

Now that he was closer, she finally picked up on his presence.

“Why haven’t you dispelled the illusion yet?” she asked.

Fa Ning scratched his head. “I… kinda don’t know how.”

Though he was vague about it, Yuan Yuanyuan immediately understood: So it’s not on purpose. She analyzed the technique—since she’d created its foundation, it only took her a moment to spot the issue.

She helped him undo the spell. His figure reappeared, looking a little rattled. “You’re amazing. How did you…”

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t respond. She stood up, looked again at the snow-covered mound under the tree, and suddenly asked, “That guy outside—he was your senior, right?”

“…Yeah, he was.”

“Then what’s this about? Why did he come looking for me alone?” she pressed.

“…Something happened, I guess,” Fa Ning replied. He sounded calm, but to Yuan Yuanyuan’s ears, it was that same tone Liu An used whenever he felt wronged… exactly the same. Like a sulky 200-pound puppy.

“So, what? A disagreement?”

“Not exactly a fight… just that their beliefs started to diverge,” Fa Ning said.

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly found the whole scene strangely surreal. She looked up at the sky, half expecting to see a hidden camera. This kind of “comforting the protagonist” moment usually belonged to side characters… and here she was, a side character long forgotten by the plot, suddenly caught in one.

Still, strictly speaking, she was Fa Ning’s teacher. That made her a senior, right? So comforting him… it made sense?

Fa Ning squatted down beside her. Yuan Yuanyuan thought, Bro, don’t just get so close out of nowhere… Also, can’t you sense how awkward this atmosphere is? Or do you know and just not care?

Lately, it seemed he wasn’t as oblivious as before. He’d started noticing Ji Qiu’s story beats and even joked sometimes about which parts might get drawn. But even knowing that, he clearly couldn’t hold it in right now.

“At the start, their ideals were the same,” Fa Ning said. “But slowly, things changed. Then came the swords and conflict. I guess it’s a classic shounen manga setup. Still… when it happens to you, it really wears you down.”

“Ah, I see,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied. She pointed to the mound under the tree. “Well, it’s fitting to be here, then… This place gives off that kind of vibe. When things get like this, just follow your heart. Do what you believe in. And next time you meet, win or lose, live or die—it’s all on you.”

Fa Ning looked at where she was pointing. “Why do you keep pointing at that spot?”

“I’m pointing it out for you. That’s where the last guy who died is buried,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “Don’t end up like him.”

“You know how he died?” Fa Ning asked. Then he smacked his own head. “Right… you and Yuan… I forgot. So the two of them really split because of differing beliefs… I thought maybe…”

Yuan Yuanyuan stood up and dusted herself off. Different attitudes toward humanity… that was a form of disagreement.

She turned to leave. The job of comforting the protagonist was done. Whether this moment made it into Demon Registry, she didn’t care. Judging by how many sarcastic remarks had been exchanged, it probably wouldn’t. Just as she was about to walk away, Fa Ning spoke again.

“So… how did the one who survived manage to go through with it? Did it hurt when he did it?”

Yuan Yuanyuan stopped.

She searched her mind for a good answer—spent nearly ten seconds doing so—but couldn’t come up with anything remotely appropriate.

They both stood there in silence, oddly in sync. Even Fa Ning looked stunned. He probably hadn’t expected that one offhanded question to kill the mood so thoroughly. Now he just stood there, staring blankly at Yuan Yuanyuan.

The two of them stayed like that for a moment.

Eventually, Yuan Yuanyuan murmured, “I guess so…”

“Huh?” Fa Ning didn’t quite catch it.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t repeat herself. Instead, she spun around and left quickly, vanishing down the path, leaving Fa Ning alone under the tree.

“What the heck…” Fa Ning mumbled. “What just happened?”

He looked up. Snow had started to fall, softly, silently.

Later, when Yuan Yuanyuan got back, she couldn’t stop berating herself.

Why did I say that?! So dumb! I could’ve said something better!

There are people in this world who only think of the perfect response after the conversation ends—and Yuan Yuanyuan was clearly one of them.

Just as she was agonizing over it, the proprietress finally returned—allowing Yuan Yuanyuan to finally exhale in relief.