Little Pink Starfish

Ah… the people in the group were super excited, like celebrating New Year’s Eve with firecrackers and red envelopes.

One girl was already holding the banner, seemingly prepared to hang it up at any moment. But just then, Gao Ling realized something—they had no idea where to hang the banner…

【Hang it in my family’s hotel!】 a girl in the group said excitedly. 【I’ve wanted to do that for ages!】

【Your family’s hotel?】 Gao Ling was a bit surprised. 【Where is it?】

…

One of the most prestigious hotels in the city.
One day, a bright red celebratory banner suddenly appeared hanging at the entrance.

Though it looked a bit old-fashioned in style, no one could complain once they read the content.

【Are these otakus really playing this big now?】

【Do the hotel staff even know what that banner means?】

【This is nuts! I was planning to book this place for my wedding. But with this strong otaku vibe? How could I possibly go through with it?】

【To the person above, let me tell you—the hotel staff definitely know what it means. Word is, the one who ordered the banner was the young miss of the hotel…】

Gao Ling felt this was way too thrilling… She hadn’t expected someone in her group to be this much of a boss. Those high-end hotels in the city were not cheap. Now she kind of wanted to go cling to this rich girl’s thigh.

That girl even wanted to treat everyone in the group to a gathering at the tavern, inviting them to eat together. The group had been lively lately, and some of Gao Ling’s old comic strips from the forum were suddenly dug up again. The comment section was full of praises: “God-tier!” “Koi of luck!” “Prophet Queen!”

To the netizens, Gao Ling’s comics had been scarily accurate. She had previously made a few spot-on predictions, then went silent for a while—people thought she had quit the fandom. Who would’ve thought she’d come back with another bang—and still be so accurate?

Too accurate. No one had ever suspected that the red-robed woman was Yuan. Most assumed it was a random headcanon of Gao Ling’s, yet somehow it exactly matched Ji Qiu’s reveal.

That gender-ambiguous fanart she drew before instantly became the first real fanart of Yuan as the red-robed woman, getting shared like crazy. Gao Ling became instantly famous online, and was on the verge of breaking out into mainstream attention.

But Gao Ling didn’t want to go viral. In fact, she was quite scared of being too visible and getting targeted.

While many praised the beauty of her drawings, some people felt the imagery carried a bad omen. The whole comic seemed to foreshadow a very tragic ending for Yuan, so someone requested she take it down.

Gao Ling hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn’t delete it.

She thought, just let it stay there—it wasn’t hurting anything.

Now, pretty much everyone knew that the red-robed woman was Yuan.
Yuan Yuanyuan, staying in this strange hidden space, sometimes felt a little uneasy.

Back when her identity wasn’t exposed, people wouldn’t show any weird expressions when they saw her. But now, with the news spreading, some had already started sneaking glances at her while talking.

Look look look, what are you looking at? Yuan Yuanyuan was a little annoyed for no reason. By now, she had already removed the veil from her face. Back when no one knew she was a “man,” dressing like this could still pass as a disguise.

But now that more people knew, continuing to dress like this just made it seem like she was deliberately keeping up a mysterious act…

So she changed into that red cloak she had randomly grabbed off the rack that day. She also took off the veil. No need for elaborate disguises—just showed her original face.

Even though the disguise was gone, people still acted awkward around her. To be fair, she was also a bit awkward around them. It went both ways.

“Any news from outside lately?” Yuan Yuanyuan was listening to another monster’s report. Even though access in and out was more restricted now, a few monsters who had previously been sent out as spies were still on the outside. When the tavern incident occurred, some of them were recalled.

These monsters had mostly served as spies before, and given how tense things were outside, they only briefly reported to Yuan Yuanyuan for now.

“Public opinion outside isn’t very good, my lady…” said one monster.

“There are still rumors that you’re a traitor, and recently, talk has been spreading that your health isn’t in great condition either…” the little monster paused, glanced at Yuan Yuanyuan’s face, and lowered his head again.

“They’re saying I’m in poor health and won’t live much longer?” Yuan Yuanyuan said.

The monsters around her all shook their heads, but from their expressions, she could tell that was indeed the rumor—and also what they personally believed.

She walked to the window slowly, looking out at the pitch-black night, thinking, Damn, all that acting really paid off. She had forced herself to stay expressionless, suppressing the urge to laugh.

She’d been acting so weak that day just for this moment, to make people think she was on the brink of death. There may have been a slip-up last time, but this time, she was definitely going to get it right.

Energized and excited, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly turned around, startling the little monsters behind her. She waved her hand grandly. “Starting tomorrow, recall everyone.”

“My lady, but…” the little monsters were startled.

“Don’t listen to those ridiculous rumors. Bring everyone back. Listening to them is pointless,” Yuan Yuanyuan said sternly.

“My lady!” The little monsters all wore expressions like the sky had fallen. Who knew what they were imagining—Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t press them and happily ran off to play on her phone.

The real world and the online world were truly two completely different groups of people. For example, online folks would go crazy over Yuan’s photos—“So handsome!” “So beautiful!”

But in the real world, all people could focus on were Yuan’s injuries and how weak he looked.

And when the real world collided with the online world, the online world basically stood no chance… they’d be crushed instantly.

That’s why Yuan Yuanyuan remained calm in the face of all the fawning comments online. After all, she knew that if something really happened to her, none of these people would jump in to take a knife for her.

And among those commenters online, how many were humans? How many were monsters?

Among monsters, everything was measured by actual strength. Yuan Yuanyuan was beginning to feel the pressure again, but thankfully, her reputation still held up. So far, no one had dared curse her to her face.

The comic wouldn’t show all this stuff, but Yuan Yuanyuan still hoped that someday, a side story would cover it. At least then, all her suffering wouldn’t be in vain.

On Monday, Demon Chronicles released a new issue. True to expectations, Ji Qiu finally drew the reactions of Fa Ning and Yuan Yingli that everyone had been waiting for.

With news spreading so fast now, of course Fa Ning and Yuan Yingli had already heard. Whether they learned it from the real world or through the comic was unclear, but their reactions were more than enough to entertain readers for six months.

Fa Ning completely lost control of his expression the moment he heard. He froze for a long time, and finally landed on an indescribably weird expression.

Yuan Yuanyuan felt complicated emotions as she looked at it, especially since she remembered telling Fa Ning herself before he left for battle: “If you come back, I’ll show you my face…”

Not to mention the heart-to-heart chats they’d had…

Cough, and the many fanfics online pairing the red-robed woman with Fa Ning…

Oh? Come to think of it, there were quite a few pairing Fa Ning and Yuan. Yuan Yuanyuan thought about it and then felt, inexplicably, that this was way too BL—like some kind of official ship-baiting…

As for Yuan Yingli, who knew where he had ended up by now. Judging by the desolate background, it seemed like a very remote place.

After his last “running away from home,” he hadn’t rejoined Fa Ning or returned to the tavern.

Even when he appeared in the comic now, it was only in two or three panels. One where he suddenly looked up with a “Nani?!” face, and another where he was staring down, deep in thought.

Yingli, come on, you’re making me anxious here. As a key member of the fan club, how can you have so little screen time? Yuan Yuanyuan thought silently.

“How’s Yuan doing now?” Yingli asked.

Truly worthy of being the most level-headed fan—he immediately focused on the most practical question. Honestly, it was the same question Yuan Yuanyuan herself was most concerned with at the moment.

“Doesn’t seem to be doing too well,” said a figure whose face couldn’t be seen clearly.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know who this faceless person was—until she saw something familiar.

…At the top of the panel, a fluffy tail suddenly appeared.

A white, fluffy tail, swaying like a mascot, then quickly slipped out of frame.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…Ah.”