Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan rushed through a narrow alley, her footsteps hurried—then suddenly came to a halt.

She turned her head to look at the two people and one cat coming from the other end of the alley. She rubbed her eyes, at first suspecting she’d seen wrong.

But three seconds later, she immediately realized she hadn’t.

That half-dead-looking cat… there was no mistaking it. Other than Fat Cat, there couldn’t possibly be a second cat like that.

Huh?

Yuan Yuanyuan’s expression instantly brightened into a huge grin ⊙▽⊙

A cat!

She dashed over with gleeful little steps. Her expression turned slightly vicious as she looked at the two demons—she was just about to make a move. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the two demons were chatting, and Yuan happened to overhear their conversation, she really might’ve attacked.

“Wait a second, are we sure this is the cat the boss told us to wait for?” one demon said. “I’m not too confident. Should I go back and check?”

“Probably not anything important,” the other demon replied. “The boss only sent the two of us to stand watch. If it was serious, they wouldn’t have just sent us.”

“True. Let’s just finish the hand-off and get some rest. It’s been exhausting these last few days.”

As the two chatted, they didn’t notice a ghost-like figure silently appear behind them.

“Hand over that cat…”

The two demons instantly froze, their skin erupting in goosebumps from the demonic aura radiating off Yuan Yuanyuan.

…

Five minutes later, the cat was in Yuan Yuanyuan’s hands. As she walked, Fat Cat dangled from her grasp, his four little paws swinging helplessly. He murmured weakly, “Hero, who are you? Could you maybe… put me down?”

Yuan didn’t reply. She stuffed him into her arms and immediately bolted toward the place she’d been living.

She could feel it—his body was ice-cold. The cat was in terrible condition. They’d been together long enough that she knew his health was never the best, especially after such a near-death escape.

Yuan picked him up and sprinted home. From her judgment, Fat Cat had pretty much finished his role. He was retired now—his mission complete.

“Wait… Bro, at least tell me who you are?” Fat Cat suddenly began to struggle. To be fair, his instincts were sharp—even earlier, when those two demons had grabbed him by the scruff, he hadn’t resisted much. But now, in the hands of a stranger, he immediately tried to flee.

Yuan was afraid his struggling might cause him to keel over, so she simply spoke in Yuan’s voice, “Don’t move.”

…

Fat Cat stopped moving.

Yuan arrived at her courtyard, tossed Fat Cat into her room, then hurriedly rushed out again. Fat Cat might have earned fame and glory, but now it was her turn to get busy.

Still, the fact that Fat Cat had ended up in her hands was almost unbelievable. Yuan couldn’t help but suspect it was Jiuqiu’s orchestration. Otherwise, how could such a perfect coincidence happen—the two demons carrying Fat Cat just so happened to wander into that alley?

Whatever the case, Yuan had the upper hand now. She considered sneaking into the main estate to investigate, but hesitated. What if chaos was still unfolding inside? She’d get caught in the middle.

Actually… there wasn’t chaos inside—yet.

Fa Ning hadn’t broken in. Yuan Yingli, after rushing back in a hurry, suddenly found two demons collapsed on the ground.

And that was when things spiraled.

“How are they?” Yuan Yingli asked urgently.

“They seem to have been caught in a powerful illusion. We can’t wake them for now,” the healer tending to them answered.

Yuan Yingli stood there, vision going black for a moment. He recalled how casually he’d told those two demons to wait for Fat Cat’s message. After reading the comic, he’d rushed back immediately to check.

Only to find those two collapsed.

If they had been fine, he could have reassured himself that maybe Fat Cat had simply failed to send a message. But now, it was clear—they had received something important. Someone had intercepted it.

And judging by the intensity of the illusion, it wasn’t any ordinary interruption. The demons couldn’t be woken at all. Yuan Yingli couldn’t even figure out what information they might have gotten.

For now, it had become a complete mystery.

Yuan Yingli felt a sliver of fear. It was as if an invisible hand was orchestrating everything from the shadows.

Invisible hand—Yuan Yuanyuan.

She returned to her room and sat silently, gazing out at a jujube tree outside her window.

One tree was a jujube tree, the other… was also a jujube tree.

Wait, no—

Fat Cat. Yuan looked strangely at him, just in time to catch him glance at her, then quickly turn away and lower his head.

She’d been with him so long, she saw it at a glance.

He was scared! He was actually scared!

That was rare.

Yuan sat down and skipped the pleasantries. “Things outside are chaotic right now. Just stay here safely for the time being. Once this all blows over, you can head out. This place is safe—you’ll be fine.”

Fat Cat licked his paw softly and gave a weak meow.

He was acting cute?! He was actually playing cute?!

Yuan was stunned. Just then, a small demon walked in and whispered, “Word is, the Hundred Demon King is barely holding on—only has one last breath left.”

Fat Cat subtly flicked one ear.

“I see,” Yuan replied, glancing at Fat Cat. “Tell everyone to stay on alert, but no one is to act without orders. Absolutely no private action.”

“Yes,” the demon said, and left. Fat Cat turned his head back as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

…Two-faced bastard. Who’d have thought Fat Cat would be so shy in front of his idol?

Yuan couldn’t help teasing him. “Didn’t expect it—you really had the guts to kill the Hundred Demon King, huh?”

Fat Cat’s head instantly dropped to his chest, furiously grooming himself. Yuan thought, at this rate, he’d lick himself bald.

Then she remembered the hidden clues in the comic and decided it was the perfect time to press him. She deepened her voice and asked, “So you’re from the Jixiang family… why betray the Hundred Demon King?”

Yes, Fat Cat’s surname was Jixiang—not just Ji. A useless piece of trivia he’d once shared when bored.

Yuan never knew what the Jixiang clan did, but now it was all falling into place.

First, they seemed to know a lot about Seventeen. Second, Fat Cat loathed his clan and rarely spoke about them.

She’d always thought it was just family drama. But maybe… it ran deeper.

“Just… didn’t like him,” Fat Cat mumbled. “I looked down on him.”

Perfect. So very Fat Cat. Yuan was unexpectedly satisfied with how easily he confessed.

Her voice lightened again. “Well, little cat, you’re famous now. Your single impulsive move succeeded where your entire clan’s years of scheming failed.”

“Damn right.” At that, Fat Cat perked up a little. “I wasn’t even planning to kill him. Didn’t want the trouble. But then he just lay there, everyone else had been sent away… it was like he was begging for it. So I thought—might as well.”

Yuan and Fat Cat chatted for a long time. She got him laughing several times.

It had to be said: Seventeen’s status as his idol was real. When Yuan spoke as herself, Fat Cat always acted tsundere. But using Seventeen’s voice, he turned into an obedient little kitten. If it weren’t for maintaining her identity as Yuan, she’d have scooped him up into a cuddleball right then and there.

They kept chatting until someone outside walked in. “Looks like there’s a change in the situation.”

Yuan immediately stood up, her expression serious. Behind her, Fat Cat raised his head cautiously, watching the newcomer. But Yuan didn’t speak in front of him. Instead, she followed the other demon outside.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The Li Family Patriarch is furious,” the demon reported.

“Furious? How furious?” Yuan frowned.

“He… he seems ready to do something very bad,” the demon said hesitantly.

“There are lots of bad things. Be more specific,” Yuan demanded.

“He… he…” The demon swallowed. “He’s planning to massacre the city.”

“WHAT THE—!” came a curse from behind them—Fat Cat, who’d been secretly eavesdropping, finally couldn’t hold it in.