Little Pink Starfish

After Yuan Yuanyuan left, the “maiden family” kept chatting for a while. Lin Bones and the girl in white were busy all night, scrubbing away every trace of Yuan’s presence.

The two even discussed something in private—but those matters were now a mystery to outsiders.

Yuan Yuanyuan returned and resumed lying stiffly in bed. Her weight had dropped again… which wasn’t ideal. Yuan could be that skinny, but the red-clothed woman couldn’t. Being too thin would draw the Li Family Head’s attention.

Fresh from her dramatic performance, Yuan Yuanyuan lay wrapped in her blanket, feeling around for her chips and sipping orange juice from a teacup while she munched.

Crunch, crunch.

When the boss lady came back, Yuan Yuanyuan told her about City C, saying there was no need to worry—there wouldn’t be any more trouble from the higher-ups, since she’d already dealt with them.

After Yuan Yuanyuan said this, the boss lady gave her a very strange look.

…Hey, what’s with that look? She’d just had a straightforward conversation. 【She didn’t do anything dirty, okay?】

After the boss lady left, Yuan Yuanyuan quietly picked up her phone and resumed browsing, checking out the latest posts on that forum she frequented.

That long-strip comic had been gaining more and more traction lately. A lot of Monster Notes fans were starting to use it to make memes, and even some imitation comics had popped up. They mostly followed the same formula—clearly influenced by the original. As it spread, more people started drawing the same style. The more people joined in, the more it became a meme…

【In a way, memes had become a kind of modern shorthand for how much cultural knowledge people had in their daily lives. Whether it was physics jokes that only professors understood, obscure anime jokes for hardcore otaku, or even naughty jokes…】

Gao Ling thought it wasn’t too different from how people in ancient times used allusions in poetry. 【The point was for those who understood to exchange knowing smiles—silently stamping each other as “one of us.”】

That might’ve been getting a little off track, but Gao Ling felt her first step had gone surprisingly well—far better than she’d expected.

Now that step one was basically done, she was preparing for the second move: she had drawn another short comic.

This new one had a very different vibe from the first. The first was a bit of sweet fluff; this one was all blades.

The comic’s story was about how Yuan narrowly escaped death by drowning years ago. 【She didn’t die, but was gravely injured.】

Yuan was rescued, but she could barely move. Outside, countless enemies were hunting her. With no other choice, she found a temporary place to hide.

While she was in hiding, all kinds of news claiming Yuan had died reached her ears.

At first, she found it absurd. But gradually, she realized most people believed it. When someone even held a second funeral for her, she felt… complicated.

【It felt like reliving the time she’d climbed out of the well.】

Yuan thought it was strange, but didn’t dwell on it.

Until one day, her location was accidentally exposed. A masked person appeared and killed her in bed.

No one knew Yuan had quietly died. 【The day she died was a rare, brilliantly sunny one.】

Outside, people were laughing. Someone even lit fireworks by the riverside.

The comic had a lot of heart-wrenching lines. One of the most brutal was Yuan’s inner monologue when she realized everyone thought she was already dead:

【“Whether someone is alive or dead, no one really knows. Maybe it’s because I’ve told too many lies—in this moment, even when I tell the truth, no one believes me.”】

【“It feels like karma for what I did back then. Everyone thought I was omnipotent. And yet now, I die in this tiny room, and not a single person cries for me.”】

Another was the narration over the fireworks:

【“Beneath the fireworks, the joyful laughter of people drifted over and reached this place.”】

Gao Ling didn’t know if she was venting or what, but she drew several panels of people laughing happily, then contrasted it with a close-up of Yuan’s death-stricken face…

【“No one knew about the death. Maybe someday, the world will finally learn.”】

【“But on the day she truly dies—”】

【“How many people will laugh before her corpse?”】

【“And how many will wait until she’s a skeleton before finally crying?”】

…

Yuan Yuanyuan read the comic and broke out in goosebumps. While others were crying, she was creeped out.

Who the heck was this? Cursing her to die… Yuan wondered.

But then, rereading it, she suddenly understood something. Her mood lightened considerably.

Ah—well.

At the very least… this time she wasn’t in the wrong, right? 【Next time she died, she could say it was this comic artist who jinxed her. It was AG.】

Seventeen was too powerful—and along with Jiuqiu—had dragged her in midway to play Seventeen’s role. All of this was just…

【Next time, when she died again, she could throw this comic out there.】

Everyone knew the story of the boy who cried wolf. If the child cried three times, no one would believe him by the third. But if everyone had read this comic, maybe they’d know—the third time was real?

Yuan Yuanyuan felt quite pleased with herself. In truth, Gao Ling hadn’t thought of any of that… She was just worried that her current injury might get exposed. In the end, the readers had still learned about it through the comic.

After publishing the comic, Gao Ling had felt a bit uneasy. At the time, she thought it wasn’t too revealing—surely no human or monster would come after her? But after posting it, maybe out of guilt, Gao Ling started feeling like it gave away too much.

Anxious, she waited several days… but nothing happened. No one seemed to be coming for her.

Huh? Really no one? Gao Ling peeked around cautiously, like a groundhog in spring.

Yuan Yuanyuan, meanwhile, had other things going on. She’d seen Faning’s latest movements in the comic. His most recent battle hadn’t gone smoothly at first—the enemy forces were still numerous.

Thanks to everyone’s restraint, the war hadn’t spilled into the human-monster world. But among monsters, there were plenty who naturally stood on opposite sides. That was normal.

Faning had always considered his main enemies to be the Masked Organization and the Hundred Demon King. Now, a new one joined—【the Li Family Head.】

Maybe he suddenly remembered an old flame—no, an old superior. Though this young Hundred Demon King wasn’t nearly as strong as the old one—clearly immature and unreliable—the Li Family Head still chose to help him.

Whether it was because he shared the young king’s beliefs or because he couldn’t let go of the past—【that remained unclear.】

This time they clashed directly. Faning thought he had it in the bag, but the sudden appearance of the Li Family Head ruined everything. Furious but helpless, he had no choice but to retreat.

As he retreated, Faning turned and launched into the usual protagonist trope—【trash talk.】

Nice weather today. A perfect day for trash talk.

Faning thought this happily as he pointed at the Li Family Head and began:

【“You actually helped that little guy,” Faning taunted first, with a cold sneer on his face. “That one can’t even tell if the person in front of him is human or monster.”】

【“That’s because the one standing in front is someone who lies a lot,” the Li Family Head smiled. “Just like their master—barely a single truth in their mouth.”】

【Faning didn’t expect to get countered like that and was stunned. The Li Family Head clearly had a better grip on trash talk.】

【“I suggest you don’t follow in your master’s footsteps,” the Li Family Head continued, smiling. “You and your master are alike—look smart, but are actually dumb as rocks.”】

【“Of course, we’re not as smart as you,” Faning suddenly smiled too, staring at him. “What was that white stuff you had Yuan drink back then?”】

【The Li Family Head seemed genuinely surprised and let out an exaggerated “Oh my,” although his tone was so overdone it was almost sarcastic. Faning couldn’t take it. “Can you talk normally? Stop being so dramatic, will you?”】

【“I was just surprised,” said the Li Family Head. “Didn’t expect you to dig up so much.”】

【Faning’s heart suddenly tightened. He backed off quickly—but still got slashed on the arm.】

【The Li Family Head sighed regretfully, but Faning broke out in cold sweat. The fully-restored Li Family Head was terrifyingly fast.】

【“You mean that white stuff…” the Li Family Head looked at his blade and said casually, “Then you really did blame me wrongly.”】

【“I wasn’t the one who made him drink that… it was my dear younger brother who persuaded him.”】