The new year rolled in like a bright tide, with shows blooming along the streets like lanterns after dusk.

On New Year’s Eve the avenue became a river of faces, smiles glittering like frost, friends swapping blessings like drifting plum blossoms.

Red envelopes glowed like warm embers as they landed in children’s hands, little sparks jumping from palm to palm.

New Year’s Eve is the noisiest night, fireworks popping like stars as weary people grant themselves a holiday and nest with family like birds in a red tree.

Of course some still grind like millstones under moonlight—CEOs, white-collar suits, civil servants, national leaders, and… writers.

“Ahhhh! Bad news!”

Star Dream was hunched over his draft like a crane at a river, when the shout cracked across him like lightning; he flung the pages like fallen leaves and glared at the blundering youth.

“You trying to die, Chatterbox Piao Piao? We’ve got an interview tonight like a stage under full moon. I’m fixing the script!”

“This isn’t the time, Star Dream—something huge just hit like a wave!”

“Huh? Whatever it is, we won’t meddle. You should be ferrying our guests like a boatman. Best get our book’s deputy—”

“Star Dream, listen! Author-kun brewed a feminization serum on a whim, and he accidentally turned the Uncle and Meow-kun into girls!”

“Tch, I thought—nani! What did you say!”

Only then did Star Dream feel the ground tilt like a deck in a storm.

Though, it sounded fun—an uncle turned into a cute girl? The thought dripped like honey on his tongue.

Gotta hand it to you, Author-kun, this time you nailed it like a clean strike. Thumbs up.

“Achoo!”

“What’s wrong, Yan Er-chan, catch a winter breeze?”

Yan Er dabbed her nose, snow-pale, and waved off the handkerchief Maya offered like a fluttering dove.

“I’ve got a feeling the Author-kun laid a trap bristling with thorns.”

Yes. It had to be that shameless storm of an author sowing seeds in the dark.

“You’re overthinking. Come on, let’s go face the lights and take the interview.”

Maya Hanazaka didn’t bother chasing clouds; she’d been invited on stage, and let the author drift like mist.

Backstage, Star Dream stared at a stranger of a loli like a porcelain doll, and another stranger—no, someone oddly familiar, like a reflection in ripples: a girl who looked exactly like the cross-dressing Meow-kun, a neat copy in a mirror.

“Who’s that?”

“They’re the Uncle and Meow-kun,” Piao Piao explained, voice skittering like a sparrow.

“Eh—eh—eh!?”

He’d suspected it, but the truth smacked him like a cold wave… who wrote this script anyway!

“Uu-uu, I only fooled around and drank Yunge-chan’s soda like spring water, and now I’m like this. Fate hit me like a falling tile~”

“Don’t cry, Meow-kun. You’ve got me like a bamboo beside you. And you’re adorable as a girl—relax, I’ll take you in!”

“Stupid Uncle! You turned into a loli and still talk like thunder! Besides, weren’t you younger than me? Call me senpai properly!”

“Cut the gas. Looking like that, calling you ‘senior sister’ is me saving your face like shade in noon heat. Stop haggling.”

“Fake loli!”

“Stinky fake lady—no, you’re a real girl now, so… cat-eared girl!”

“Drop dead!”

Watching the two spark like flint, everyone chose to ignore the yuri-flavored catfight and walked off like a breeze.

“What is even happening…”

Yan Er stepped in, nerves twitching like a taut string; the scene felt unreal as mist.

“Oh, oh, oh—cute girls clawing at each other like cherry blossoms in a storm—this sight… oh, I can’t take it~”

Yuri-girl Maya drank the view like sweet wine, eyes glazed like moonlit ponds; Yan Er looked at her as if at a stranger on a foggy bridge—some natures don’t bend.

“Ahem, all of you—my heart beats for yuri.”

When Maya and Yan Er lifted their heads, petals rained from nowhere like a blushing cloud; this was backstage, not a stage, yet flowers poured down like coins—money burning like incense!

Footsteps came on cue like a drumline; a fashionably dressed girl drifted out like a willow branch, a folding fan sleeping in her hand.

Under Maya’s wide-eyed stare, the fan snapped open like a white gull, inked boldly with: “Yuri is Justice.”

“Heh-heh-heh. I’m Xiao Xiao, but you can call me Wei. I’m one of your hosts, like a lantern over a gate. I love yuri. If you two are interested, let’s hit KTV after the show.”

Hearing that blunt breeze, even yuri-addict Maya shivered like bamboo in wind. Why? She’d met someone more aggressive than thunder.

Before anyone could sigh, Wei slid over to the bickering pair, smiled like a fox at moonrise, and simply lifted them, hugging them like armfuls of warm kittens.

“Ah-ah-ah! Put me down—this one isn’t a child!”

“Uwah, I’m a living, breathing Uncle; I like girls but not being pinned by girls… help!”

“Heh-heh-heh. Come play with big sis; it’s sweet like ripe peaches~”

The sight stunned Yan Er and Maya to stone like statues in frost; your question why? They literally petrified in place.

When it ended, Wei left satisfied like rain after drought, two girls sprawled on the floor like wilted flowers; she chuckled and strolled off like a cat.

Damn, that’s a maniac.

A lady thug under velvet moonlight.

Maya Hanazaka broadened her horizons like a sailor seeing a vast sea; the world felt huge, and she had miles to roam.

Truth be told, she set her heart like an arrow—she’d aim for that Yuri Queen.

“Scoundrel Wei, burn your own cash if you want, but you’re torching company funds like dry grass!”

“Uwah—Moonshadow, spare me, I was wrong!”

Thump-thump-thump!

Inside, slaps cracked like thunder; maybe it was an illusion, but Yan Er couldn’t find words like a tongue tied in rain.

“Huh? You two, what are you doing here?”

While Yan Er was mid-stare, Mizuki appeared like a fresh ripple; she’d just stepped backstage too.

“It’s nothing. Let’s not chase every leaf in the wind.”

“?”

“Ah… sorry to keep you waiting. Guests, please come on stage!”

With Star Dream’s call rolling across the hall like a bell, Yan Er snapped back like a string released; it was time. She smoothed her look like still water, took Maya by the hand, and walked up.

“Supporting roles don’t blaze like leads, but they anchor the ship like keels. Please welcome Night Witch’s Yan Er of Songsea, Maya Hanazaka, and Mizuki—three ladies on stage!”

Clap clap clap clap!

Applause rose like a flock of birds; Yan Er led with a smile like sunlight, waving to the audience as she headed straight for the guest seats like a calm current.

The two behind her… not so composed. Maya was all grins like a fox among hens with women, and with men she glared like a cat at a worm.

Mizuki fared worst, trembling like a leaf; even walking felt like stepping through fog.

“Don’t be nervous, Mizuki-chan.”

“Y-yes, Maya-chan.”

“By the way, when did you appear like dew?”

“Uu-uu… I’m just that absent, like a shadow at noon!”

“Hey, don’t cry! Don’t leave the stage—this episode is live, like fireworks!”

Messy as it was, they got the guests back on track like a train re-coupled. As a host, Star Dream swore under his breath like distant thunder never to book this bunch again.

“Ahem, the show goes on like a river. Our guests tonight are key figures from Night Witch. They’re supporting roles, yet vital as arches under a bridge. Dear readers, you’re lucky—your goddesses walk under these lights!”

A loli at the host desk held the mic like a sparrow, voice bright as dawn; that illegal level of cute awakened dangerous things in the loli-lovers like volcanoes.

“I have a question.”

Maya raised her hand like a reed.

“Go ahead, Ms. Maya.”

“Uh, if I remember right, this… Uncle? Mm… loli, only became like this after Author-dono did a feminization number, then rushed here in a hurry, right?”

“Uu! A tragedy like a snapped string! If this Uncle hadn’t stolen Author-dono’s drink like a magpie, I wouldn’t be a loli. I’m actually handsome as a mountain, not this doll face! Believe me, I never wanted to transform!”

“All right, all right, ease your heart, sweetie.”

Ms. Moonshadow patted the loli’s head like warm rain—inside, he was an Uncle—her gentleness shone like a halo.

Maya fidgeted, eyes blazing like twin stars; her hands itched like ants to misbehave. Yan Er clocked her with a quick punch like a falling pinecone, and she settled.

“In short, Night Witch Behind the Curtain invited fan-favorite characters so readers can get close like fireflies. Please ignore the Uncle’s dumb cutesy act, and keep your eyes on our guests like steady lamps.”

Chatterbox Piao Piao ignored the sulking loli and swiped the mic like a swift, diving right into host mode. Compared to the Uncle’s usual goofy thunder, now a loli, the contrast was night and day like sun and frost. Useless for content, but easy on the eyes like silk.

“Also, transformation itself… it’s a big signature. Our book launched under that banner like a flag in wind.”

“Stop! Hit the point. I don’t want to hear dusty trivia!”

“Uh, okay… simply put, Night Witch came out as a transformation title, a seed that cracked soil like a sprout…”

“Stop! What’s with this guy! So many words! I can’t stand it—swap him out—I refuse to talk to a windbag!”

Unable to endure Piao Piao, Maya stood up without worrying about image, and kicked him like a spring-loaded trap.

He screamed several times like geese, then went straight through the ceiling like a comet, leaving a dent like a crater.

The audience shivered like reeds; they swore never to be chatterboxes again.

Another host watched with a grin like crescent moon, amused enough to warm the room like tea.

“Mm? Wait, the one sitting beside Lazy Cat-san—Isn’t that the girl who just got… ‘tamed’?”

Yan Er’s eyes were sharp as knives; she spotted the person next to Lazy Cat-san. It was Meow-kun, no doubt—feminized, but familiar as an old path; he’d cameoed plenty.

“Meow. I am Meow-kun, meow. Ahh, blame me for stepping out and sipping Yunge-chan’s drink like a bird; now I’m a girl, meow. After we’re done, I’ll find Yunge-chan, meow.”

“Meow-haha. Lazy Cat-san feels pleased like a cat in sun. Little brother turned little sister—that’s a good wind.”

“Sorry, my brother’s a pervert under starlight. Yan Er-senpai, please don’t speak to him; he’ll drag your IQ down like mud.”

“Meow! My foolish onii—no, my foolish imouto—how could you grasp your brother’s care like deep roots? You know how hard it was raising you like a sapling?”

“Drop dead, you! We’re twins—so why do you get a proper man’s face, while mine looks like a girl’s? I’m a guy, okay!” His rant flared like a red lantern in winter wind.

“Fool. You’re already a girl now.” The reply fell like a cold snowflake on a hot griddle.

“You rotten scoundrel! Believe it or not, I’ll go complain to someone!” The threat skittered like a crab over wet sand.

Being a guest felt crushing, like a mountain of snow on thin bamboo. Yan Er just wanted to go home.

Why were they fooling around? The promised interview drifted away like smoke over a river.

“To start at the root, Night Witch is just a cutesy transformation show—uh, a military youth show—uh, a school show—uh, nope, none of that fits.” Her words scattered like fireflies in a dark grove.

As one of the hosts, Suofang tried to drag the topic back, like tugging a kite against a gust. No matter how she spoke, the string kept slipping from her hands.

She wanted to judge the book, but the words wouldn’t come, like fish slipping through a net. Author-kun, what genre did you even file this under?

“Even if it’s a transformation story, the focus sits with the female lead flow.” Mizuki touched her chin, her thought settling like dew on leaves.

“Mizuki-san is right. So how would you rate the work?” Suofang’s smile gleamed like stage lights on fresh snow.

“Eh, eh, eh—uh, this…” Her voice quivered like a sparrow on a reed in wind.

First time being put on the spot, Mizuki froze, her tongue tangled like ivy. Seeing Maya Hanazaka ready to jump in, she grabbed the chance like snatching a falling kite.

“I think it’s good. The main and supporting casts are drawn well… and Yun Shi-kun is really handsome.” The admission washed her face pale, like moonlight draining from clouds.

Suofang wasn’t done. Her question slid in like a silken fan. “Seems you and Yun Shi have great chemistry. How is it in private?”

“Eh? Uh… The first time I learned Yun Shi-kun was a girl, I was shocked, like a carp leaping from still water. I never thought a ‘trap’ was a double trap. Also… we get along. Once I knew Yun Shi was a girl, we kind of became besties, like lotus buds opening side by side.”

“Wow, that twist was unexpected. Reading to that point, I broke a sweat, like a storm crawling over the sea. Hearing you now, I feel relieved. I look forward to your story’s next steps.”

“Ahaha, me too. I wonder if Sham-chan will say yes to me—yaaa.” She drifted into a daydream, cheeks blooming like peach blossoms under spring sun.

“But I heard the author got flamed a lot. People said the writing strength slipped, and the fire rose like brush burning.” Yan Er picked the topic like lifting a lid off simmering tea.

“That’s an issue. Yunge doesn’t always hold the reins tight on plot, like a horse bolting through mist. Some point out dog-blood drama in comments or forums. But as a reader, I think it’s fine if it’s fun. Don’t sweat the stitching. Authors work hard to create, like farmers tending fields through rain.”

“Mm, I agree. Different tastes bloom like a garden of herbs. Writing a book isn’t easy. Without authors, we wouldn’t be here.” Her words landed like seeds on tilled soil.

“That’s right.” The affirmation rang like a small bell.

“But host, since you invited the three of us, why not bring Mizuki, Yun Shi, and Sham on as guests too?” The question stood like a signpost in fog.

Suofang went blank, her smile stiffening like frost on bamboo. She couldn’t say they weren’t on this episode’s docket.

“Ahem. Meow-kun will explain.” Her voice padded in like a cat on tatami. “It’s New Year. The story shifted to another place. Those three ran to their battlefields to fight, like migrating cranes turning south. So they can’t come home for the holiday. A pity.”

“Eh, that’s how it is?” The surprise flickered like a candle.

“Of course. The outside world looks calm and merry, like ripe lantern fruit. But a protagonist must face big tides. If they don’t fight, how do they catch readers’ eyes or earn monthly tickets?” Her tone crackled like fireworks.

“Rather than chasing clicks and votes, let’s help the author pick up their lost dignity, like gathering scattered pearls. Push for updates—push hard. That handful of words a day isn’t enough!” Yan Er’s complaint flew like sparrows startled from a hedge.

“You’re a loyal reader, junior. Sadly, Yunge rarely does burst updates, except on special days. Also, Yunge couldn’t join our program, probably busy, like a bee in wisteria.” The sigh spread like ripples in a pond.

“Uu, I don’t care—I want updates!” Her stubbornness stomped like a child in snow.

“Yan Er-chan, be good. We’ll go extort Yunge for draft stock later. That’ll do.” Maya’s grin flashed like a fox’s tail.

“So smart, Maya! I love you!” Joy bubbled like hot sake.

“Uu, Yan Er-chan… ah, I’m touched.” Their yuri play sparkled like fireflies in summer reeds.

Watching the two perform a yuri scene, Meow-kun felt pressure, like a drum beating under a tight skin. Don’t stare. Too much staring, and the yuri girls might ‘kill,’ like thorns snagging silk. Better host quietly.

She glanced at her cue cards. Most questions were done, like a field harvested. Time remained, like dusk refusing to fall. How to stretch?

No choice—make things up. Her smile stitched like quick threads.

“By the way, Maya Hanazaka’s popular among readers, like a bright fan in a crowded market. Compared to the main cast, your page time’s small, but weighty. You can’t fight, yet you won hearts with your violent—strike that—twisted—strike that—yuri gremlin image.” Her voice danced like a kite on a playful wind. “And Meow-kun was once your fan.”

“Eh? Is that so? I don’t feel much. I’m just a supporting role, like a willow by the road. I can’t help Yun Shi grind levels, and I’m not like Mizuki who trains hard. I’m just a girl who loves yuri.” Her laugh floated like pollen.

“Please don’t say that. When Yun Shi dumped you, many cried, like rain over stone alleys. I also think you’re cuter.”

“It couldn’t be helped. Yun Shi doesn’t like me. A lot of us readers thought Yun Shi would collect every girl into a harem, me included, like petals gathered into one garland. I was really upset at first, like sour plum on the tongue. After Yun Shi rejected me and Sham, I realized this book would never go full harem happy end. My heart felt complicated, like tides crossing currents. The wish to not be part of Yun Shi’s harem came true, yet I lost that pure romance.”

“Please stop, I’m about to cry!” Meow-kun’s tears spilled like spring rain.

Maya watched her, half speechless, like a crane pausing mid-step. Then she thought, a supporting character getting a spotlight is rare, like frost flowers at dawn. Maybe chances won’t come again. Better savor this time, like tea warming the hands.

“Anyway, Meow-kun, you got fem-turned to join the show, right? Can you change back?” Yan Er’s curiosity pricked like a pine needle.

“Of course! This is all Yunge-chan’s mischief! I’ll settle the score later!” The vow sparked like a match in dry straw.

“Not exactly. Heard you and that… fake loli…” The tease tiptoed like a cat.

“He’s a middle-aged man!” The correction cracked like bamboo.

“You drank something together and transformed. What kind of drink is that magic?” Her question tilted like a crescent moon.

“Actually…” The pause stretched like silk.

“It’s my drink!” A girl burst from backstage, bright-eyed like dawn over rice terraces. She strode center stage, basking in stares like a peony in bloom.

Guests and crowd stared, stunned, like fish beneath ice.

“Meow-Meow, why are you here? You’re not the host!” The protest fluttered like a startled pigeon.

“It’s New Year! How can Meow-Meow idle? Yunge’s busy, so Meow-Meow must help!” Her pride puffed like a cat’s tail.

“Then go update your novel!” The jab snapped like a twig.

“Hmph, it’s New Year. Can’t I have a holiday?” Her defense clanged like a wok lid.

“How are you so righteous?” The retort flashed like lightning.

Yan Er cut in, clean as a blade through bamboo. “Focus. You said you made the drink. What’s the deal?”

“Right. Meow-kun and crew didn’t drink Yunge’s brew. It was mine. And it’s not a drink, it’s coffee.” Her grin shone like lacquer.

“Coffee?” The word rose like steam.

“Yeah, coffee. Drink my coffee, and middle-aged men turn into lolis, and lolis turn into middle-aged men!” Her pitch leapt like a street hawker’s call.

While Meow-Meow hawked on stage, Meow-kun couldn’t take it. She dragged her off like hauling a net from a river. This wasn’t her solo show, or the topic would drift like a boat in crosswind.

“Let go! Meow-Meow’s poaching talent!” The struggle flapped like a kite.

“Not like that! This is Yunge-chan’s program!” The protest stamped like a hoof.

“I don’t care. Yunge went too far! I want revenge!” Her anger flashed like a sword.

“I haven’t settled with you yet. You turned me into a girl!” The complaint smoldered like incense.

“Ahem. That’s a wrap for today’s program.” The host’s voice closed like a curtain falling. “Thanks to our three guests. The New Year’s Eve interview ends here. Thank you, everyone.”

“Eh, but I still have things to say!” Her words chased the curtain like leaves chasing wind.

“Close!” The finality snapped like a fan shut.

“Wait for me!” The plea faded like a bell at dusk.

And so the interview ended in a ‘harmonious’—well, not really—mood, like a lantern dimming at midnight. The curtain slid shut, and the new year stepped in, like frost giving way to first sun.

Meow-Meow, forced offstage, felt her heart sink like a stone in a pond. Just then, a slip of paper floated in, like a snowflake landing on a palm. She picked it up and glanced over it, the ink glimmering like starlight.