Little Pink Starfish

Some of the things that happened that day made Yuan Yuanyuan feel as if she had traveled back in time. There was always a feeling that the world was unpredictable.

But once she got back to the tavern and saw it as lively and ordinary as usual, Yuan Yuanyuan felt that this was still her original timeline… She hadn’t traveled back; it was just that what had happened recently had brought some lingering effects.

Li Family’s patriarch had already clearly stated his position. Those aligned with him naturally followed his lead. And those who hadn’t considered it before couldn’t help but be tempted by his offer.

For now, reality and the world of the manga seemed divided into two distinct halves. This feeling… was strangely surreal.

It was like those comics where, as you read them, you get irrationally angry and shout, “Are the characters all idiots or what!” while slamming the keyboard.

This was the classic case of the onlooker being clear while the one involved is muddled. Supposedly, that’s how it should be. But if the manga world and the real world are actually one and the same… then from the perspective of a third world, things look hilariously absurd.

…That was Yuan Yuanyuan’s inner commentary. Thankfully, both sides had kept to their own lanes so far, so things remained relatively peaceful.

—But this peaceful coexistence was what puzzled Yuan Yuanyuan.

While everything here was a mess, people around Yuan Yuanyuan had begun to probe her for her intentions.

Yuan Yuanyuan deflected all their questions one by one, never giving a straight answer. The classic art of dodging.

“What are you planning to do next?”

“We’ll see when the time comes.”

“What if those people won’t let you off?”

“…We’ll see.”

Yuan Yuanyuan lay on her bed in a dazed pose. She really hadn’t thought of anything; “play it by ear” was her true philosophy.

Her life motto had always been “take it one step at a time, the bridge will straighten when you get to it.” Though it sounded carefree, it was really just the result of being worn down by life.

What else could she do? Just muddle through, that’s all.

……

But others didn’t see it that way.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s nonchalant attitude seemed to calm everyone around her, making them oddly reassured.

When Yuan Yuanyuan realized this, she was genuinely confused.

…Mainly, she didn’t get how these people thought. Why were they trusting her so easily? Isn’t that weird?

Even the tavern owner who’d asked about her plans suddenly became zen upon seeing her response. The little monsters in the tavern, seeing Yuan Yuanyuan and the boss so relaxed, also calmed down as if everything was under control.

No, no, no… there’s no plan! Yuan Yuanyuan shouted inwardly. “This is all just going with the flow! Going with the flow!”

…But no one could hear her internal screaming. Everyone treated her as the barometer of the situation, which made Yuan Yuanyuan, though bewildered, dare not show even a hint of fear. Even the boss stopped asking her anything, because even the boss now believed Yuan Yuanyuan had a solid plan.

Well, let them believe what they want. Yuan Yuanyuan just kept reminding herself not to get too caught up in their optimism.

And yet, as time passed, she too began to feel as if everything was somehow falling into place. When the time came, she’d know what to do.

This wasn’t even the first time she’d had this feeling—though she couldn’t recall when it last happened. But back then, things really had worked out in the end. Still, Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t quite ready to trust herself.

“Didn’t expect… you and that Li Family young lady to have such a story,” the boss said, rubbing the back of Yuan Yuanyuan’s neck, sending a chill down her spine. She half-expected the boss to start yelling “Yega!” and chop her neck.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t dare provoke the boss. Just as the mood grew tense, Qiuchou dropped a bombshell in the latest manga issue. They thought it wouldn’t depict the young lady leaving the ceremony midway—but it did, just not in the same issue.

The manga even showed Fan Ning sneaking off to find her, but the young lady didn’t go with him.

Li Family’s patriarch didn’t intervene or say anything afterward, as if the whole thing had never happened. Yuan Yuanyuan suspected this was deliberate on his part.

The Li Family’s young lady was different from Li Wangzhu. In most families, a runaway bride would get a proper beating. But in this family… maybe there was more going on. Father and daughter—no one else could interfere. Yuan Yuanyuan just thought they both had terrible personalities, birds of a feather, really.

Fan Ning tried for ages to convince her to leave, but the young lady never responded. Readers expected her to run away with him, especially given how green the groom was. But she didn’t.

Then, just as readers were getting confused, a black shadow flashed on the page. The young lady looked over and tentatively asked, “…Yuan?”

Readers: “…?!!”

Yuan Yuanyuan:

Fan Ning, in front of the manga: “…Oh.”

The sequence seemed out of order, but it didn’t matter. She did indeed call out to Yuan behind the screen.

At that moment, Fan Ning felt himself getting “greened” too… but that wasn’t the point. He was more curious about how Yuan and the Li Family young lady had crossed paths. He’d never heard of any connection between them.

As he flipped the pages, he suddenly saw a sequence from the young lady’s first-person perspective.

From her point of view, there was Yuan in a black trench coat, face expressionless, turning slightly to look at her.

Her inner voice was in turmoil. This was clear from the way it was drawn—chaotic thought bubbles repeating things like “it hurts so much,” “he’s dead,” and so on. Not far from her feet was a pool of fresh blood.

The scene was chaotic, but probably only Yuan Yuanyuan and the young lady could fully grasp its meaning. Even her internal monologue felt jumbled.

It seemed like she wasn’t in a stable state of mind. And Yuan Yuanyuan had already noticed this before—this girl had issues.

Sometimes she was fine, sometimes she wasn’t.

From her perspective, her feet stood on the ground as blood pooled around them, forming a filthy red.

Shards of broken glass reflected harsh light.

She stood very close to the man in front of her. He held a small but unusually shaped dagger, its edge more piercing than the broken glass.

“Use this,” he said, opening his palm to reveal the blade.

“Cut along your artery, find where it pulses hardest. Make it quick.”

He looked indifferent, almost relaxed, but his words froze her in place.

His face didn’t show much, and the dagger lay quietly in his hand. But her hand trembled. Yet from that hysterical state just a moment ago, she suddenly calmed down.

Fan Ning’s jaw dropped after reading this scene. He had to reset it before quietly swallowing his words.

“Damn! Yuan was this badass back then?”

Somehow, it fit his character perfectly…

The panel only lasted a couple pages, drawn in gray tones to show a fragment of memory.

No one knew when exactly it happened.

Fan Ning silently cursed as he read. He’d worked at the tailor shop for so long and had no idea these two had such a dramatic history… From Yuan’s outfit, this must’ve been shortly after he came out of the well—way before Fan Ning even met the girl.

Why did he feel weirdly conflicted?

Online, the brief scene caused a huge stir.

【Damn! So cool!】

【That’s totally Yuan’s vibe.】

【My god… my heart is fluttering like crazy, why is this so romantic all of a sudden?】

……

“How long ago was that?” Yuan Yuanyuan had a different reaction after reading it.

She forced herself to shut off her phone and tried to seriously recall the events of that year.

Not that she didn’t want to remember—it was just that it had been a whole year, and she could barely recall anything. Reading it now, she thought, “Wow, I didn’t even get beat up for that? Guess I was pretty fearless back then.”

“And after that… the girl took a liking to you?” the boss asked, hand still on her neck. “What are you planning to do about her?”

“Spare me.” Yuan Yuanyuan rolled her eyes and pulled her neck away. “You haven’t seen her. That girl is… weird.”

She liked chasing difficult targets. The less someone liked her, the more she was into them. The harder the challenge, the more excited she got.

What word could describe her?

“Uh…” Yuan Yuanyuan hesitated, then slowly said, “Hu Tiehua Syndrome?”