Little Pink Starfish

It wasn’t just that girl who was showing promise—it seemed the entire internet was on fire. This issue of Demon Chronicles had racked up the highest number of comments in its single-issue history, prompting MengMan to post an official Weibo announcement.

Yuan Yuanyuan scrolled through the various online reactions, finding the whole thing quite amusing. She’d never realized before how colorful everyone’s inner thoughts were. Now, in this kind of moment, their commentary was surprisingly fierce.

【My goddess… is a guy?】
【You’ve got to be kidding me. That person in the red dress is Yuan!?】
【I didn’t see it coming at all—I’m crying in the bathroom now. Why is the red-clothed lady Yuan!?】

These types of comments were already considered normal. There were far stranger ones, which Yuan Yuanyuan skimmed past without lingering.

She began to imagine what Yuan Yingli’s expression would be like… or Fat Cat’s… and most importantly—if Fan Ning found out about this, how would he react?

Just picturing each of their reactions made her want to laugh for three straight days. That thought alone lifted much of the gloom she’d been feeling, stuck in this strange space for days.

Just like she had thought long ago—because the secret had been so well hidden, no one ever suspected. So when the truth was exposed, everyone was caught completely off guard.

“Hey…”
In front of a computer, two guys stared blankly at the screen. One of them slapped the other on the shoulder. “Didn’t you say this was your goddess? That he’s the red-dressed god-tier character in Demon Chronicles?”

“Uh… yeah, that’s true,” the other guy replied weakly.

Their eyes drifted toward the bed behind them, where a body pillow lay. Life-sized. Double-sided print. Filled with premium stuffing, smoother than a young man’s baby fat… cough.

Body pillows were usually crafted with care—the front side generally tasteful, while the back… was a bit more liberated.

Unfortunately, the side facing up was the back.

The red-clothed lady lay there, seductive eyes half-lidded, hair tousled, flawless skin revealed, cherry lips parted slightly as if about to whisper something provocative.

“Bro, you…”
The guy behind looked at his friend with an ambiguous expression.

“No no no! It’s not what you think! I didn’t know!” The guy beside him frantically waved his hands, trying to disassociate himself.

…

Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea Demon Chronicles had released red-dress body pillows. The official team probably felt like they’d stepped on a landmine too—trapped by their own artist’s narrative twist.

Eventually, a bold staff member from the official account stood up and declared righteously, “We never designed any breasts! Because the red-dressed lady is flat-chested! And we even covered all the points—this body pillow was correct from the start!”

“……”

No one knows how many times that poor guy got beaten up afterward. But Yuan Yuanyuan knew one thing—that sudden announcement left a lot of people completely bewildered.

Even many old monsters were stunned when they heard the news. After all, the red-dressed lady was considered a veteran monster of legendary status. No one had ever seen her true face. Her first appearance was during the last war over a hundred years ago. Which meant—if Yuan really had planned this disguise—it could have been over a century in the making.

A hundred years ago. When everyone realized this, they all shivered again. They’d already experienced Yuan’s cunning before, but each time felt like the first—a brand new shock.

Still, one thing left the monsters open to ridicule from readers. Online, the audience mocked them:

“All of you monsters interacted with him face to face so many times and not a single one realized he was a guy?”

“And what about Fan Ning? That’s your master! Why can’t you ever recognize him? Is there some weird bug in your brain?”

“The classic ‘barehanded blade-catching’ bug?”

“Yeah! And he wasn’t even using illusion magic! He just put on a little makeup and changed clothes—and none of you noticed he was a man?”

“None of you figured it out either!” A few monsters who knew how to surf the internet were so pissed off they nearly exploded, furiously replying online.

A little while later, a reply came in. They clicked it open and saw:
【Credit has to go to Ji Qiu’s amazing art skills. He draws so well no one could tell! But in real life there would be flaws—how come no one ever noticed those flaws? Isn’t that a bug in itself? The plot sounds great at first, but it doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny.】

【You… shameless!】
The monster behind the screen nearly spat out three liters of blood. The reality was, they couldn’t speak the truth, so they had to bottle it all up and suffer in silence—while countless people online praised Ji Qiu’s skills.

Yes, the dimensions were definitely different. In real life, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen. But credit where it’s due—Ji Qiu’s art was basically god-tier. After nearly half a year of drawing, no one had seen through it.

【I had a hunch at the time, but didn’t think much of it. I just assumed there was something deeper going on. Never imagined this.】

【I think… Yuan is so handsome! I don’t care, he’s just so handsome ahhh!】

This issue even had a bonus chapter. Not much plot—but it showed the red-dressed person’s face.

The red-dressed person without the veil.

Many had long been curious about what the red-dressed lady looked like. Now the veil was finally lifted—though both the process and result were… not quite what anyone had expected.

From just the upper half of the face, “she” still looked very soft and beautiful. Especially with the light makeup. Those eyes were stunning—gorgeous even by female standards—but with a hint of something deeper.

Previously, when only one eye had been shown in profile, many guessed that the red-dressed person was likely a beautiful woman with both charm and elegance. Their guesses were shockingly accurate.

In the end… the red-dressed person really was someone with charm and elegance—
—A man.
Surprised? Delighted?

Though humans mocked the monsters for not recognizing Yuan, and monsters mocked humans in return, both sides had to admit—

—When it came to this whole affair, Yuan had succeeded completely, with not a single seam left in the disguise.

No one knew how the Li family found out the red-dressed person was Yuan. At that thought, everyone’s expressions turned a little strange. There had long been rumors online that the head of the Li family had once had deep feelings for Yuan—a tragic, unrequited love story.

Why else would he be so obsessed?

Gao Ling read through the group chat filled with cheers, but her attention remained on Yuan.

This issue by Ji Qiu wasn’t finished—only the first half was published. The rest likely wouldn’t come until Monday.

So the comic paused right before Yuan’s dramatic clothing reveal. Gao Ling had inferred that Yuan wasn’t doing well physically based on how stiff his movements were.

Actually, the comic had already mentioned it: since the last fight with the Li family head, the red-dressed person had been in poor health—having taken a slash to the neck with a knife.

More and more people were realizing that when the Li family head lit incense to issue a challenge, the red-dressed person had shown up. But “she” didn’t seem bothered. Not because “she” wasn’t Yuan—but because “she” had forcibly suppressed his natural reaction.

Just how bad were the injuries now? Gao Ling was worried. Since that battle, the red-dressed person had been holed up recovering and hadn’t appeared at all. Gao Ling had once witnessed Yuan’s condition after being injured, and she was now getting nervous.

Well… of course, once the next issue came out, she wouldn’t have to worry anymore. Everything would be clear.

Gao Ling, still feeling sentimental, looked at the image of Yuan on her screen. Though she’d always known the red-dressed person was Yuan, she couldn’t quite recall what his true face looked like.

Now seeing that face again, she felt a genuine admiration. No wonder no one saw through the disguise all this time… She wouldn’t have believed it from anyone else—but from Yuan? She believed it. Why?
Because of that face.
Too powerful—truly the strongest of the strong.

While her group was cheering, Gao Ling thought to herself that Ji Qiu had definitely succeeded. Just look at how everyone was going wild.

Casually browsing online, she suddenly came across a post titled:
【A while ago my roommate bought a red-dressed character body pillow…】

【Well… just sell it then,】 Gao Ling replied. 【Plenty of fangirls are collecting them now. Should be easy to sell.】

【No, that’s not the problem,】 the poster replied soon after. 【At first, my roommate said he would. But now he says he’s used to it. I asked if he was going to sell it or not, and he said, “After hugging it so long, I’ve developed feelings for it. The texture feels smoother than a young girl’s xx… I can’t let it go.” What the hell is that!?】

Uh… Gao Ling stared at her screen, eyes dead.

Yuan and Ji Qiu… just how successful were you two…?