Dancing with the Devil

"Sadly, mermaids are mermaids, and fish-men are fish-men."

"Even they themselves deeply loathe the filthy and hideous appearance of their own kind."

This world was no fairy tale; it did not hold so many beautiful stories.

Ayin left the Iris Orphanage, leaving behind the Keyboard District—a place forever cursed by the Stars, a place where all color had been lost.

The first to broadcast the incident regarding Rongsen Media and the moon sugar was Starlight Station No. 4, the Flower of Winter station. It was a station effectively controlled by the Winter family.

A well-dressed expert was invited to sit in the studio, providing a logical and grounded explanation of the origins and dangers of moon sugar before countless cameras and media outlets.

With a precedent set, all city radio stations began scrambling to report on the matter, and the true nature of moon sugar became thoroughly known to the public.

[: Have you heard about the Starry Daughter matter? There's been another twist!]

[: Is it that girl named Ai? I really admire her courage. I really don't know what that girl Tang Xin was thinking. Doesn't she have a mouth? Can't she come out and explain herself?]

[: Give it a rest. Are we really going with the 'victim is at fault' theory?]

[: Still, this incident did let me know about that Dream-Chaser Media. So there really was such a media company? It seems like Starry Daughter is the only artist under their name?]

As the storm subsided, the people on the curtain gradually learned parts of the truth and began to independently uncover the content behind this public opinion crisis. Dream-Chaser Media surged onto the trending searches, and countless people learned of this obscure little media company through this event.

They also sought the person behind the scenes who had first posted the video and sparked the controversy.

[: Speaking of which, who was the first one to post that video? Let's 'dig' that person out!]

[: I support a righteous digging. Maliciously occupying public resources and using the netizens' sense of justice to do such a thing—they deserve it!]

[: ↑ It feels like those people were the ones charging on the front lines at the start of the controversy.]

[: This is what you call 'the kindness of a good person isn't absolute, and the malice of a bad person isn't pure.']

Everything developed dramatically. From start to finish, this storm of public opinion was like an absurd opera; having gone through its introduction, development, and climax, it was finally time for the curtain to fall.

In a cramped, dark room in the city, a young girl watched the discussions. her eyes trembled as her fingers continuously swiped across the virtual light curtain. Slime dripped onto her crumpled bedding and spilled onto the trash bags scattered all over the floor by the bed.

"Why? How could this controversy just settle down? Why did that brat Ai have to help her? Why!" The girl's expression became distorted and sinister.

"How did it just flip? Why was she born so beautiful and radiant, with everyone circling around her? It's not fair....

It's not fair......"

At that moment, countless curtain communications popped up, occupying her virtual light curtain like a dense swarm of viruses, and were automatically connected.

"Is this Miss Fren?"

"Miss Fren, your soul truly is as hideous as your appearance."

"Miss Fren, you wouldn't want the Starry Art Academy authorities to know about this, would you?"

"It wasn't easy to get into the Starry Art Academy, was it? Even if your race gets bonus points under the policy support."

"Miss Fren....

"Fren...

"Miss Fren, you really deserve to belong to that race."

Terror-stricken, the girl clutched her head and screamed. She kicked away the trash by the bed and ran all the way to the apartment's bathroom. With every movement, hard scales fell from her body, and every step left a foul-smelling footprint on the floor.

Light from outside the apartment shone in, illuminating the ceramic box holding soap flakes, the bottles and jars of cosmetics on the storage rack, and her hideous fish-face—now rapidly sprouting scales and covered in festering sores.

She wept bitterly, her entire body itching uncontrollably as countless tiny scales erupted from every inch of her skin, scattering a scaly glint.

She pressed her hands against her reflection in the mirror, which was rapidly turning unsightly, slapping it over and over until the smooth, flat surface shattered. It broke into pieces just like her increasingly distorted face.

"Don't hate me."

"Don't hate me... I don't want to become ugly.....

Dark green slime flowed down the mirror, dripping along with the saliva from the corner of her mouth. Her voice became raspy and sticky, making a sound like thick phlegm stuck in her throat.

The girl suddenly thought of something—she thought of the person who had given her the video.

That person had promised that as long as she edited the video and posted it online, she would definitely advance to the next round of the competition. That person had promised she would definitely be transformed into a mermaid.

Now only that person could save her. She had to contact them; only that person could save her now.

Thinking this, she stared with bloodshot fish-eyes, kneeling on the floor as she dialed that person's curtain number. The call was quickly connected.

She vented frantically toward the other side of the curtain, cursing the person with the most vicious and vulgar language she could imagine. Only then, with a sob in her voice, did she state her request.

Like the devil in legends who granted the requests of fish-man sages, the other party did not take offense at her vulgar and vicious insults. A light yet slightly beguiling voice came through.

"Sure, come find me."

As the day grew late, the sky remained a dull gray. Water dripped from the row of streetlights by the pier, merging into the drainage outlets.

Scattered lights flickered on the sea, and the whistle of a cruise ship leaving the harbor echoed from afar, piercing the silent night before instantly returning to stillness.

Fren met the girl as she had wished. The other party had radiant long golden hair and stood under a streetlight holding a black umbrella. Beneath the glow, every strand of her hair flowed like gold, and a gentle, polite smile seemed to be permanently fixed on her face. She was very striking.

Fren rushed forward like a madwoman, reaching out to touch the golden-haired girl's expensive and well-fitted flat-collar evening suit. However, the girl stepped back to dodge her, causing Fren's entire body to fall into a puddle. The large splash of muddy water made her see her own face clearly; that loathsome fish-face stung her eyes deeply.

"These clothes of mine are very expensive; they're hard to clean if they get dirty." The girl's voice echoed in her ears.

"You promised me."

"You promised me.....

The fish-man's breathing grew heavier and louder, finally turning into an undignified roar that shook the raindrops off the streetlight.

"You were clearly the one who promised me first!!"

The girl asked, "What did I promise you?"

"You promised me that as long as I edited the video and posted it online, that Starry Daughter would be reviled by everyone.

That way, people's eyes would no longer be focused on her, and I, who was in the same category as her, would advance to the next round of the auditions,

I could become a mermaid and become beautiful."

"Those were your exact words, right?"

"I just wanted to escape the judgmental looks of others. I just wanted to become beautiful, to be liked by others."

"I just wanted to wear those pretty dresses. I just wanted to live like a normal girl."

Fren's voice was choked with sobs, making a wheezing sound. Her vocal cords were degenerating.

"I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so greedy. I shouldn't have thought about getting things that didn't belong to me. I shouldn't have vented my malice on others. I really know I was wrong, I'm sorry, I'm sorry....

She struggled to crawl toward the girl, her hopeful gaze lighting up like a tiny flame. She wanted to grab the hem of the girl's clothes, but then she remembered the girl's previous words. She lowered her posture; her palms, where fish-webs were growing and five fingers were bonding together in membrane, reached toward the ground near the girl's shoes in a final plea.

"Please, save me. Only you can save me now."

The girl said, "No, only you can save yourself now. Personally tell others the truth of the matter. Admit the mistakes you've committed and put the final period on this farce."

Fren was stunned. When she looked up, she found that the recording pen in her coat pocket had somehow appeared between the golden-haired girl's fingertips, losing its function amidst a burst of electric current.

"Instead of these little tricks, Miss Fren."

"Don't the promises you made count for anything?" Fren said, losing her voice as if she had completely lost her last hope. "This is a kingdom under the gaze of the Stars! You will be cursed! You will be cursed by the Stars just like us!"

"Of course they count. The promises I make to anyone count equally."

"But those promises weren't made by me. I asked someone else to have a death row inmate read them before his execution."

As if for malicious fun, the girl replayed that audio in front of her. The familiar voice echoed in her ears, piercing Fren's eardrums like a knife.

The wretched and ridiculous figure of the fish-man passed indifferently through Xu Xiaoyou's golden pupils. A slight, disdainful curve touched the girl's lips.

"Has no one ever told you, Miss Fren? When you make a deal with the devil, you must pay a price for your wishes to be realized."