Little Pink Starfish

After hearing what Fa Ning said, Yuan Yuanyuan’s brain—which had been idle for quite some time—suddenly shifted into overdrive.

On one hand, she was shocked Fa Ning would share such an important piece of information with her. On the other, she flipped through the comic again.

Wait… the story’s already developed this far? All while I was lying in bed?

Honestly, the battles and scheming in Monster Chronicle had always been exciting… it’s just that Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t pay much attention to that stuff. Managing her own little mess already exhausted her.

Live with everything you’ve got, and if you have to “die,” then do it with all you’ve got too.

If you asked her—she wanted to “die” beautifully, ideally in a way that would go down in history and be remembered forever.

…No, wait. Maybe after she “died,” she’d switch careers and become a doujin manga artist. She’d draw a Yuan-centered story chronicling her tragic life and cursed working history…

Nobody outside had any idea what kind of nonsense was running through her head. If they did, she figured she’d get beaten up by the masses—especially the tavern hostess.

Recently, Fei Mao and Hei Hongse had also been messaging her, warning her to be careful. But maybe afraid of saying too much, they only hinted at things vaguely.

She had no idea where they got their info from. But if they survived this war, she was definitely dragging them into a collab. They could co-author a book titled “Days of a Salty Trio.”

Those two had pretty dramatic lives… if they turned it into a novel, it might actually become a hit.

That day, Yuan Yuanyuan was still comfortably sprawled on the floor when she suddenly heard commotion outside. Curious, she looked out. What’s going on now?

“Yuan Yingli’s been taken out,” said the hostess grimly. “He’s hurt. Badly.”

“…Huh?” Yuan Yuanyuan scrambled up. “Is this news from the frontlines? Who passed it along?”

“No one passed it,” the hostess said. “It was… Ji Qiu.”

“Ji Qiu?” Yuan Yuanyuan paused, then glanced at the calendar.

Ah. Turns out she had slept all the way to Sunday again.

In practice, the comic was the fastest source of news these days. At this point, almost all the monsters and exorcists were following it. Any major development usually got drawn in immediately.

In this new issue, Yuan Yuanyuan saw Yuan Yingli’s public execution play out from a third-person POV—and her feelings were complicated.

In the comic… an injured Yuan Yingli was ridiculously attractive. Ahem. Watching the scene, Yuan Yuanyuan felt a little calmer.

Though he was seriously hurt, his life didn’t appear to be in immediate danger.

According to the comic, he’d been relocated to a safer place and wouldn’t be in any further danger for the time being.

His injury was basically a case of the schemer being schemed against. After tricking people for years, it was only fair he got backstabbed once. By now, everyone was fighting like immortals. A single slip-up was normal.

Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t the type to deep-dive lore like a hardcore theory nerd. She just cared about how good Yuan Yingli looked while hurt.

Damn… he really was a sight to behold.

That afternoon, in the group chat, she saw Hei Hongse and Fei Mao talking. Hei Hongse looked absolutely devastated:

【It’s over it’s over it’s OVER it’s OVER……】

【What’s “over”? That sounds ominous.】 Yuan Yuanyuan rolled her eyes. To her surprise, the guy was still awake. Tough one. Fei Mao was delighting in his misery:

【Don’t bother trying to cheer him up. Let him suffer. He’s having a meltdown.】

【It’s really over this time. My flawless image… is ruined.】

Yuan Yuanyuan assumed he was upset over the embarrassment of getting tricked. She started comforting him in vague terms:

【Come on… don’t be dramatic. Just being alive is enough right now. I’ve been stuck working in the tavern lately, and it’s been all-out war outside. Let’s not expect too much. Surviving is plenty.】

【You don’t get it…】 Hei Hongse cried. One cringy reaction image after another. 【I looked pathetic. And people saw me like that—a bunch of people!】

【I actually think it’s a good look for you.】 Fei Mao chimed in. 【That girl staying at my place has been fangirling over your comic scenes. She says you’re so “uke” and adorable. Even wrote a 1,000-word hurt-comfort fic about you…】

【SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR THIS!】

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…Is it just me, or is everyone’s brain wired differently now?”

She went back to the comic, rereading the episodes where Yuan Yingli was injured. A little giggle escaped her lips… and then she quickly snapped her phone shut and pretended nothing happened.

Yuan Yingli was only the first casualty. Soon after, another monster on their side got hit—and that, too, got turned into comic content.

Yuan Yuanyuan looked closely and realized… that guy probably wasn’t broken because of his injury, but because people saw what he looked like while injured.

“…You guys…”

Most of them weren’t even depressed because of the loss or trauma.

…They were devastated their “bottom” aesthetics had been publicly exposed. And neither of them had expected to survive, so they’d ended up blurting out their true feelings.

Yuan Yingli, for example, lay on the ground, wheezing, voice broken:

【I… I’m really glad I met you, Fa Ning…】

Fa Ning happened to be in the tavern lately. Yuan Yuanyuan had wanted to study his reaction, but alas… he remained poker-faced and dignified, giving no commentary on the scene at all.

The other monster, lying in agony, recalled his ex-girlfriend and found strength in her love to carry on.

Small side note: Yuan Yuanyuan knew that ex-girlfriend. She was part of the organization and often the one who delivered the weekly comic issues to Yuan Yuanyuan. After reading that particular chapter, Yuan Yuanyuan now looked at her with deeply complicated emotions…

Now, neither of those two dared to read the comic anymore. They’d last maybe five seconds before slamming it shut and covering their faces in agony. Yuan Yuanyuan felt just as bad.

She started wondering: Am I next? What will Ji Qiu draw for me?

Yuan Yingli had practically spilled his entire tragic backstory—childhood abuse, twisted upbringing, everything—like one of those last-minute memory montages before death.

The comic looked heroic. But Hei Hongse claimed it felt like being stripped naked and thrown into the street.

Is it really that bad? Yuan Yuanyuan wondered. She’d been dissected more thoroughly than anyone in the series and had grown used to it. Maybe it didn’t hurt as much because she was acting all along and didn’t internalize it.

“…A few days ago, I met a human girl,” muttered one of the tavern regulars who had just seen the comic. “She said I looked so pitiful that she wanted to marry me…”

“That’s… good?” Yuan Yuanyuan said behind the curtain, unsure how to respond.

“She’s the eighteenth this week! I can’t hide my real face well! Everyone recognizes me!” he wailed, then suddenly collapsed to the ground. “Please, my lady! Don’t send me out again! Let me stay here in the tavern! I’ll do anything!”

“…” Yuan Yuanyuan’s mouth twitched. The hostess gave a quick wave, “Fine. Stay in the tavern. Let Xiao Cheng take your missions.”

As they watched the handsome monster exit, Yuan Yuanyuan felt mixed emotions. On one hand, her tavern was producing popular characters. On the other… she had a bad feeling.

No matter how you slice it, my fate is going to be worse than theirs.

“Are you worried?” the hostess asked quietly. “I’m worried too… What if you show up in the comic and end up getting swarmed by fangirls?”

Yuan Yuanyuan silently crushed the imaginary lilies blooming around her and began to feel true dread.

Because really, if the Seventeen arc got drawn…

That would definitely attract fangirls.

And most importantly—she wouldn’t be able to stop acting. She’d have to keep the character consistent. No breaking the persona.

Now it all came down to how the readers would react to the idea that Yuan hadn’t died—just been gravely injured.

Oh… and one more thing.

Would they be able to accept the world’s first crossdressing male supporting character?

Yuan Yuanyuan was dying of anxiety, staring out the window.

Meanwhile, in another corner of C City, Gao Ling was directing a group of people.

“Hurry, hurry! Is everything ready? We need to make sure this gets loud when it happens!”