Little Pink Starfish

One month later, the comic was still ongoing, though it clearly had the signs of wrapping up. Fan Ning’s momentum was unstoppable, and he was quickly becoming someone with influence on both sides—human and demon.

Basically, he’d reached “main character wins at life” mode. In shounen manga terms, this was like Naruto finally becoming Hokage, or Ichigo marrying the busty one.

Yeah… that kind of ending. Given the unique nature of Demon Chronicles, the story probably wouldn’t go as far as Fan Ning marrying and having kids. Yuan Yuanyuan sometimes even joked, “Don’t tell me the male lead of a Chinese shounen actually managed to escape the mating-finale trope that even Japanese ones couldn’t dodge? That’s… kind of a win, I guess.”

Even if Fan Ning did get married someday, she probably wouldn’t be around to see it. Which was fine—no need to give a wedding gift. She was still working part-time and still pretty broke.

“Your tavern lady boss really is impressive,” Fat Cat said while licking his paw. “She actually took the chance to reopen shop.”

“Well, times have changed. No need to skulk around in hiding anymore,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied.

She took a bite of cantaloupe. “But I still don’t have much money. The tavern needs renovations. The boss is even withholding wages from us old staff…”

“…You’re eating cantaloupe and still complaining?” Fat Cat gave her a look of disdain.

“Oh.” Yuan bit into the melon expressionlessly.

She had returned to working in the kitchen. Life was pretty comfortable these days. The only thing that truly bothered her… was that Si Qun had vanished.

Disappeared completely—no one had a clue where he went. Every day, Yuan Yuanyuan washed cups alone, and she couldn’t seem to recapture the feeling of the past.

Li Zi Jie was searching for him, but even she hadn’t been able to track him down.

“Seems like this whole thing hit the demon side hard,” said Fat Cat. “I heard a lot of demons are applying to become teachers?”

“Yeah. I know someone going back to her alma mater to teach weird arts,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. A face flashed through her mind—Tang Shi.

Qiu Ling apparently wanted to teach there too, but they’d be in different classes. Tang Shi would handle demon students, Qiu Ling the human ones.

They had been close friends since high school and graduated together. Now they might end up teaching at the same school—a rare duo that could serve as a role model for the younger generation.

…So long as none of the kids picked up Tang Shi’s scatterbrain energy, Yuan Yuanyuan thought, a black line forming in her mind.

“I still don’t feel quite right,” Fat Cat said. “I can’t figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“Why didn’t he fight?” Fat Cat said. “If he had, I’m sure we demons wouldn’t have lost. If we’d won… we’d be in power. Do whatever we wanted. But instead, he just… bowed out? I can’t understand what he was thinking.”

Yuan Yuanyuan went quiet for a while, staring out the window.

She knew who “he” was. Ever since Fat Cat had returned, he hadn’t mentioned Yuan by name—always just “he.”

“I… don’t know what kind of life you had before,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “But I used to live day-to-day, scavenging for food, hiding to survive. For a low-level demon like me, death was always just around the corner. Even if I didn’t cause trouble, I might still die some random, absurd death.”

She thought for a moment. “So for demons like me… war, whether won or lost, never ends well for us. It’s better if it never happens at all.”

Fat Cat yawned in her arms. “So now you’re admitting I’m a big-shot demon, huh?”

“Pfft. Like my word matters. But you’ve got at least a dozen underlings, don’t you?” she looked down at him.

Ignoring his joke, she continued, “Who’s right and who’s wrong… who can say? Maybe not even he could say for sure. But I just remembered something—your profile signature. It was ‘I hope for world peace,’ right?”

She looked down at Fat Cat. He thought a moment and meowed, “Oh, that? I wrote that five years ago. Totally forgot about it.”

“If you really meant that… why not live by it?” Yuan Yuanyuan said softly. “It’s already impressive to say it and follow through. Or did you just put it there for show? My great lord Fat Cat?”

“…I’m changing it,” Fat Cat said, glaring at her.

His new profile read: “My roommate is awful. Dog-level awful. Durian-level awful.”

Yuan Yuanyuan: “……”

Ah… life, huh? Humans are never content. Demons are the same.

To be honest, she had so many unfulfilled wishes. Sometimes she thought she was a mess. But as long as she was alive, there was time.

Even if someone came for her, killed her—well, that’s just what she was worth.

Gao Ling had been overwhelmed these days, nearly jumping off her balcony. The reason? Her predictions had come true—again.

That sketch she once made, of Yuan dying alone without anyone knowing… it had happened. Though Yuan had died in front of everyone, no one had known the truth.

For the readers, the most gut-wrenching part was that no one in the world knew how Yuan had actually died. Everyone believed he was simply defeated by Fan Ning.

Damn… that was the exact kind of thing that hit readers the hardest. No one could resist it. Every angle added more emotional layers. It couldn’t even be described in words.

Just thinking about it made people ache with teenage angst.

So even though opinions varied publicly, online comments were nearly unanimous—Yuan had become a legend.

No one had imagined that he would willingly die to prevent war between humans and demons. The comic even showed scenes of humans and demons mocking him for being too weak to beat Fan Ning.

Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea where Ji Qiu dug up those side characters, but they sure roasted Yuan with heart and soul. The more harshly they mocked him, the more devastated the readers became. In just a few days, a huge fanbase had formed, flooding forums to cheer him on.

Beautiful, powerful, tragic—Yuan checked every box. Add in the “sacrificed himself for peace” buff, and he became unstoppable. Before this year’s character popularity poll even started, people already assumed the winner would be Yuan.

【Ahhhh how could no one know how he died?! This is so heartbreaking. If it were me, I’d die of frustration.】

【…My OTP is officially destroyed. Guess Fan Ning’s now a tragic widow.】

Yep. The title of “tragic widow,” once belonging to the lady in red, was now Fan Ning’s.

For some reason, just imagining that made Yuan Yuanyuan want to laugh.

…

As Gao Ling lay slumped over her desk, someone messaged her:
【Hey, I found something amazing. You’ll feel better after reading it.】

【What is it?】 Gao Ling summoned some energy to reply.

【Dude. I’m telling you—it’s a masterpiece. A legit masterpiece.】

Gao Ling’s face froze. She slumped again.

Damn it—don’t say “masterpiece.” That word’s traumatized me.

The person on the other end kept nudging her:
【Say something, boss! I reread Demon Chronicles recently… Yuan’s death was way too tragic. So many people don’t even know how he died.】

Gao Ling stayed silent, pretending to be asleep. But a while later… she quietly began to cry.

——Because she knew.

Some people did know how Yuan died. Everyone knew.

But Yuan… would never know that everyone knew. He’d never know.

…

That day, Yuan Yuanyuan sat on the sofa, petting her cat. Fat Cat lowered his head and said, “After we talked, I thought it over again… I still don’t really get it. But I’ve decided not to dwell on it anymore.”

“Oh god, you were still thinking about it?” Yuan ruffled his head. “Stop. Let it go.”

“Still, I think Yuan had good judgment. He picked Fan Ning, after all. He really is a good guy. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll carry out Yuan’s wishes… even if he’s kind of slow.”

Yuan Yuanyuan burst out laughing. “Oh my god. You’re calling him a good guy? You think he knows you handed him a ‘good guy’ card?”

Fat Cat stared at her. “I used to doubt it too. Until I learned something.”

“Like what?” Yuan asked casually.

“A long time ago, it wasn’t just demons who believed in bloodline supremacy—humans did too. Humans wanted to wipe out all ‘impure’ demons. The leader of that ideology… was Fan Ning’s ancestor.”

Yuan Yuanyuan froze.

“Four months ago, just as Fan Ning headed northwest,” Fat Cat said, “his family’s old faction approached him. They asked if he needed their help… and he turned them down.”

…

“So yeah… maybe Fan Ning really will carry on Yuan’s legacy,” Fat Cat said lazily. “He’s cut from the same cloth as his master. Idiots, both of them… Hey, where are you going?”

Yuan Yuanyuan stumbled out onto the street. That last bit hit her too hard—she didn’t know where to go. She wandered aimlessly through the pedestrian district, eventually ending up in the tavern’s back courtyard.

As if sensing something, she looked up.

A white butterfly sat gently on the fabric curtain of the back kitchen. Its wings trembled. And then, right before her eyes, it fluttered up into the sky.