Chapter 28: Snack Time with Fries
After putting away her shoes and white stockings, Night Star gleefully scampered around the beach, barefoot and joyous.
Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many people at the beach, which was perfect for Night Star to run around freely without a care in the world.
She reached the edge of the tide, stood on the damp gravel, and gazed out at the ocean with delight twinkling in her eyes.
At that moment, a thought crossed her mind: she would definitely visit a real beach one day!
“Mmm, the water looks so clear here. I should be able to swim, right?”
Night Star squatted down to touch the seawater, shivering a little at the coldness, feeling a strong desire to dive in and swim.
Though she couldn’t actually swim, surely, with a floaty, she’d be fine, right?
Too bad she wasn’t wearing her swimsuit, and with no friends around, she decided to give that dream a rest.
Besides, she noticed a man in a lifeguard uniform staring her way.
Probably the lifeguard, considering Night Star looked like a little kid, and with no adults nearby, it was only natural for her to catch his eye so close to the water.
So, to avoid causing any unnecessary concern, she shuffled back to the safe zone.
“Phew~”
After a flurry of excitement, Night Star’s emotions calmed down, no longer bouncing around like a ball of energy.
So what to do next?
Hmm, build a sandcastle!
She had been wanting to do this for ages!
And so, on the beach, a silver-haired loli found a suitable spot to squat down and started digging through the fine sand with her bare hands.
Passersby couldn’t help but pause, curious about which child was so engrossed in playing with sand all alone.
Not noticing the onlookers’ intrigued gazes, Night Star focused on her sand mound.
After piling some sand together, she realized she had zero artistic talent and no clue how to build anything.
Though she envisioned an epic castle, starting it felt like a monumental task.
“Mmm, let’s give it a shot…”
Night Star mumbled, getting to work.
Being a total beginner, her movements were clumsy, the epitome of a novice.
Her skills were on par with those tiny children playing with sand—shocking, to say the least.
If they saw her, they might turn to their parents and ask, “Why does that big sister play with sand so badly?”
That was about her level.
Ten minutes later, Night Star was staring contemplatively at her gloriously undefined sand pile, lost in thought.
“Hmm… is there a possibility I may lack the talent for sandcastle building?”
Oh no!
She had been so excited to build an awesome sandcastle, but ended up defeating herself before she even began.
At this moment, she noticed that passersby were looking at her with strange expressions.
“Ugh~”
A light blush crept onto her cheeks.
Quickly, she knocked down the monstrosity that was her sand pile and got up to leave.
So embarrassing!
Once she scuttled away to a less crowded area, she slowed down, her hot cheeks finally cooling off a bit.
“Forget it, looking at the scenery seems better… Next time, I definitely need to bring Night Lan, Zero Meow, and White Fish along. Seeing little lolis in swimsuits would be adorable; it should be wonderful!”
Deep down, Night Star was bursting with anticipation!
Speaking of which, should she invite the Rising Sun Theater Group for a beach performance?
She also wanted to see Kong Yu Bai and Lianhua in swimsuits.
Hmm, and maybe that certain Announcer Loli too—now that would be a sight to behold!
“Mmm, I should try that out in the future. For now, I should go grab some food~”
With that, Night Star turned and headed towards the nearby snack stand, ready to indulge her little tummy.
A while later, she returned clutching fries and a crepe, plus a cup of coconut juice—such a complete meal!
“Hmph~ Mmm~ Inspiration is so hard to come by. Should I write a script about the beach? Just kidding!”
Night Star beamed a joyful, cute smile and took a bite out of her crepe.
“Yum~”
Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she let out a delighted sound, then proceeded to munch on her crepe like a little kid, with zero grace whatsoever.
If any gentlemen from the theater saw such uncouth behavior, they’d probably bury their heads in their hands.
While a lady’s table manners may not be under their jurisdiction, watching a member of the theater make a fool of herself, especially an audience performer, would definitely give them a headache.
As Night Star munched away while admiring the glistening, artificial ocean, she felt completely relaxed, equally effective as the enjoyment brought by Star Yoon’s “Lazy Day”.
This natural state of relaxation was simply delightful, and the beautiful scenery brought a joy that nothing else could replace.
Seagulls flew overhead—a true beach scene, perfectly accentuating the atmosphere, just missing that salty sea breeze they kept raving about.
Sitting high on a staircase, Night Star swung her soft, bare feet.
The crepe was long gone, the half cup of coconut juice was down her hatch, and all that remained was a box of fries.
Just as she picked up a fry to eat, a sudden voice interrupted her.
“Hey, can I snag a fry?”
“Huh?”
Night Star looked around, but saw no one nearby.
“Who’s talking?”
There was only her.
Must be her imagination.
She cheekily dipped a fry in ketchup and took a bite, still joyfully swinging her legs.
“Hey, human, didn’t you hear me? Come on, pass me a fry!”
“Whoa! There really is someone talking!”
Night Star nearly dropped her fry in shock as she frantically looked around.
Still, she saw no one except for a gray bird perched on the railing—was it a pigeon?
Suddenly, the pigeon hopped down from the railing and grabbed the fry that had fallen.
“Eh? Coo, coo?”
Night Star stared at the pigeon in confusion, a quirky meme popping into her mind.
But why was a pigeon here in seagull territory?
Had it been assimilated by those seagulls? Eating fries like it was the most normal thing!
After gulping down the fry, the pigeon noticed Night Star staring and spoke again.
“Coo! What are you looking at? Never seen a talking pigeon before?”
“Holy moly! It really talks!”
Night Star almost tumbled off the steps.
Who wouldn’t be startled by a talking pigeon? Even parrots can’t talk that smoothly!
Then Night Star vaguely noticed something.
That pigeon had a faint aura of Star Eclipses around it; even a Night Watcher would likely miss it if not focused.
If she had to guess, this pigeon was definitely a Star Eclipse.
Does that mean the quirky rumors about the beach were all its doing?
Night Star gradually calmed down, her fear evaporating.
After all, her theater group had loads of more powerful Star Eclipses—this little one was nothing to worry about!
As she sank into thought, the pigeon piped up again, “Got any more fries? Hand me another one!”
“Sure thing, Mr. Pigeon.”
“I’m a lady!”
“Oh… Ms. Pigeon…”
