Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan, carrying her backpack, arrived at the tavern in the middle of the night. The lights had just been turned on. She glanced around, looking a little uneasy.

“All right, I’ll go find you a room,” Xue-jie said, turning to look for Li Zi Jie. The moment Xue-jie left—barely ten seconds—Yuan Yuanyuan relaxed, her expression returning to normal.

The tavern was very quiet… probably because no guests were around. Most of the staff were still asleep. The place looked dim and deserted. It was rare for regular employees to witness the tavern like this.

But Yuan Yuanyuan had seen it before… She walked over, pulled out a stool, and sat down, planning to catch up on some sleep. She hadn’t rested well, and now she’d been dragged over out of nowhere—she was exhausted.

After a while, she heard someone approaching. Yuan Yuanyuan quickly sat up. When she turned around—it was Li Zi Jie.

Why was Li Zi Jie here? Yuan Yuanyuan was startled. Shouldn’t she be asleep at this hour…?

“Yuanyuan? You’re staying at the tavern now?” Li Zi Jie was lightly dressed, as if someone had dragged her straight out of bed.

“Yeah…” Yuan Yuanyuan hugged her luggage and slipped smoothly into her pitiful act. Li Zi Jie reached out a hand, and Yuan Yuanyuan obediently followed her.

“Oh, so that’s what’s going on…” Li Zi Jie said after hearing her explanation. “I was wondering why you’d suddenly come here. In that case, the tavern’s the right place. At least it’s safer here.”

Of course it was safe… This was the anti-war organization’s headquarters. As long as the Red-Clothed Woman wasn’t overthrown, this was absolutely the safest place for a half-youkai like Yuan Yuanyuan.

Come to think of it, the identity she used to pose as the Red-Clothed Woman had become a strange sort of protection for her.

Yuan Yuanyuan looked around while Li Zi Jie led her out through the back kitchen and into a narrow alleyway. “The atmosphere lately hasn’t been good. Fortunately, not many people here know you’re a half-youkai. When you go out, you can spray on some perfume to cover up the scent… But for now, don’t go out front—it’s too close to your home.”

Yuan Yuanyuan nodded quickly, glancing around curiously.

She’d never been here before, not even under her Red-Clothed Woman persona.

This area was even more secluded than the back kitchen. If the back kitchen occasionally saw staff passing through, this little alley was completely off-limits to outsiders. The only time Yuan Yuanyuan had a strong impression of this place was when she’d seen Si Qun walking this way.

Wait a second…

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly tensed.

She looked at Li Zi Jie—was it her imagination, or was there a strange smile playing on the other woman’s face?

“You’ll stay here for now,” Li Zi Jie said as she led Yuan Yuanyuan up a small loft. It was decorated in a classical style. The corridor was suspended outside the building, surrounded by potted plants that perfectly blocked any line of sight from outside.

Nearby were a few cages with birds and hamsters inside.

A fish tank sat in front of a large mirror. The first thing you saw on the upper floor was that mirror, which reflected Yuan Yuanyuan’s face.

She glanced at it—both her own and Li Zi Jie’s reflections appeared. She looked worn out from all the rushing. Li Zi Jie moved quickly; her face flashed across the mirror in a blur.

“There are three floors here. The third floor has a lot of empty rooms. Just pick one and stay there—it’s the quietest,” Li Zi Jie said while leading her upstairs. Yuan Yuanyuan’s eyes lingered on the well-kept flowers, birds, and fish.

…Who lives here? Some old grandpa in a tank top and shorts, fanning himself on the porch?

“Oh, right. There’s a cat here too,” Li Zi Jie added. “Her name is Xiao Mi. A black cat with blue eyes. She’s really pretty. Looks a bit fierce, but she’s super gentle and won’t scratch anyone… Don’t be scared.”

They reached the third floor, which had a U-shaped layout. There seemed to be seven or eight rooms. Yuan Yuanyuan glanced to the side and immediately saw Si Qun sitting by the window, staring blankly at something. When he heard noise, he turned and stared blankly at her too…

…

So these seven or eight rooms are all just for that one little goofball?

“Come, come—see which room you like. Pick one yourself,” Li Zi Jie pulled her toward the rooms. Yuan Yuanyuan peeked inside—each one was nicely decorated, full of that antique charm. Who knew how old the building was.

There were no computers, no Wi-Fi… not even electric switches. Every room had a huge candelabra.

Someone had clearly jury-rigged a power setup with wires and a TV. The place had a cobbled-together, rough renovation vibe—wires randomly piled in a corner.

Yuan Yuanyuan had just been wondering what Si Qun was up to. Upon entering his room, she saw him staring blankly at the wall-mounted TV.

She turned to look at Li Zi Jie with a complicated expression. Li Zi Jie smiled sheepishly, “Ah, don’t worry about it. But if you want to install one, I can get it done tomorrow—I know some reliable people…”

…So Yuan Yuanyuan casually picked a room, moved her luggage in. She didn’t have much—her only real possession of value was her phone.

After some fussing and reminders, Li Zi Jie finally left, heading downstairs. The second floor’s layout was different from the third, but it also had seven or eight rooms—and just one person living in them.

Yuan Yuanyuan sat in her chair, feeling a little awkward. The rooms were so close together that without the curtains drawn, all she had to do was lift her head to see Si Qun.

…Was this a kids’ cartoon channel playing right now or what? Yuan Yuanyuan remembered that back in her childhood, they didn’t even show cartoons during the day on children’s channels.

Wait—it’s winter break! That’s different…

Yuan Yuanyuan walked over and peeked at Si Qun. It was daytime. His room wasn’t even locked, so she just pushed the door open and went in.

Si Qun was completely absorbed in the TV and didn’t react at all to her presence.

After a while, he suddenly reached out, quietly grabbed the remote, and moved it far away from Yuan Yuanyuan.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…”

…Is he actually dumb, or just faking it?

…

Li Zi Jie glanced up at the third floor. The view was thoroughly blocked by the surrounding plants—nothing useful to see.

She sighed, turned, and shut the door behind her.

…

The next morning, Yuan Yuanyuan got up and stretched. It was already broad daylight. She hadn’t helped out in the tavern the night before—Li Zi Jie had figured she was tired from the move and told her to rest.

Yuan Yuanyuan stretched again and began thinking about how she could keep working here while still meeting with the boss lady… She had no clue. Before, she didn’t live here—she could come and go freely. But now, living with Li Zi Jie and Si Qun, she’d have to come up with an excuse to leave.

She glanced over at Si Qun and suddenly remembered a trick she’d used before.

Yuan Yuanyuan made a hand sign and used illusion magic to create a doppelgänger lying in bed. Then she snuck out toward the boss lady’s place.

She’d used this trick back during the comic convention days.

As she left, she glanced back at Si Qun—he was still sitting there, completely unresponsive, watching TV.

Today’s show: a classic winter break cartoon on the kids’ channel—Fu Lu Wa.

Perfect, perfect… Those shows were all educational. Yuan Yuanyuan thought with absolutely zero guilt.

She arrived at the tavern. But the moment she stepped in, she sensed something was off. The floor was littered with little youkai, knocked out in messy heaps—all regular workers—from the entrance all the way to the back.

Yuan Yuanyuan rushed over and checked their pulses. Faint—but they weren’t dead. She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d thought someone had broken in—if even the HQ could be breached, that’d be catastrophic. Had their base really been destroyed?

But once inside, she relaxed a little more… Things weren’t quite that bad. It wasn’t a raid from the outside—it was internal strife.

Those old men from last time were standing there again… Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t sure if they’d come to pick a fight after reading the latest issue where Fa Ning and the Red-Clothed Woman were talking under a tree. If that was the reason, then they really weren’t taking her seriously—why not beat up Fa Ning first? Why her?

Yuan Yuanyuan let out a cold laugh. With a dramatic swish, she flared out her robes and strode forward, both domineering and seductive—leaving only a flash of red behind her.

Back at the loft, Si Qun suddenly looked up at the window.

“Yuan Yuanyuan” was still lying there in a messy sprawl.

He looked for a moment, then gently snapped his fingers—and the curtains in Yuan Yuanyuan’s room fell shut.