My Demon Friends

Chapter 724 685: What does Zhou Li have to do with me after this?

"Anyway, welcome, everyone."

Zhou Li said to his new junior club members, then delivered the vice president's speech, "In the future, we should all unite in friendship and further the spirit of our club. Let's enjoy eating, drinking, and playing together, and hold card game parties. We'll share things that aren't convenient to talk about with ordinary people and make up for what we've lacked before. Of course, the most important thing is for everyone to rally closely around the Club President and Junior Sister Xiao Hua. Hmm, Junior Sister Xiao Hua will be your next Club President. There won't be an election at the end of next semester when we change leadership."

Xiao Hua immediately showed a shy expression.

Junior Sister Xiao Xiong widened her eyes and asked in a daze, "Has it been decided so early?"

"Not exactly decided. It's just that she's the only one in her cohort."

"So that's how it is!"

"Mhm."

Zhou Li noticed Xiao Hua's expression growing a bit embarrassed and quickly corrected himself, "However, that's just the basic reason. Junior Sister Xiao Hua is very capable; even if that weren't the case, she would still be the President. Besides, Junior Sister Xiao Hua is one of the first civil servants of the national Celestial Master Department. If you foster a good relationship with her, you might also have the chance to join the Celestial Master Department in the future."

"Wow, a veteran!" Junior Sister Xiao Xiong exclaimed.

"What is the Celestial Master Department?" Zheng Fangti asked, his head coincidentally rather square-shaped.

"Is it..." Chang Weiyan mustered the courage to speak, hesitantly and haltingly, "like the Dragon Group?"

"We'll explain it to everyone slowly later." Zhou Li paused for a moment, then looked towards Brother Nan. "Does the Club President have anything to add?"

"Gastroenteritis, I must say, your taste is really old. That was a novel I read in junior high. You should read some newer stuff when you have time." Brother Nan couldn't help but say, then continued, "There's nothing more to say. Since everyone is here, let's go out for a meal tonight, and we can arrange club activities later."

"Okay..."

Everyone agreed.

So that evening, all members of the Probability Society went to eat mushrooms, a special dish from Caiyun. This served as an introduction for the newbies to the perks of joining the Probability Society—

The dinner was free, with the lottery shop picking up the bill!

Plus, even if they had to pay dues, most other clubs couldn't afford to eat mushrooms anyway.

At eight o'clock at night, the evening glow had just started to show.

Zhou Li, carrying the scent of the lively dinner, walked into the residential complex.

Transformed into the image of a classical young master, Huai Xu chattered by his side, deliberately modulating his tone as if reciting poetry, "These children are quite gifted. Although their personalities differ, their morals are all above standard. In my view, the Probability Society will achieve great things in the future, so why not just let me take over as the Club President..."

Zhou Li's gaze wandered—

The flowerbed soil had dried and cracked; it needed watering.

A small tree held a bird's nest on its branch, with a cat sitting below, gazing up helplessly.

Electric bikes under the shelter were parked in disarray.

...

Huai Xu pulled out a folding fan from nowhere, caressed his chest, and said, "That Su Jue, whom I haven't seen for a few months, has really matured. Given time, he has the potential to become the second Huai Xu... But of course, that's just a remote possibility. That Huai Xu is talented, intelligent, and it takes effort, luck—none can be lacking—to achieve what not just anyone can."

Zhou Li hummed in acknowledgment and glanced at a little girl walking her dog; she was being dragged along, unable to hold it back.

"You're being perfunctory."

"Ah?"

"You. Are. Being. Perfunctory."

"Oh." Zhou Li turned his head to look at him. "Remember to return the fan later."

"Okay, stop talking now."

"Oh, okay."

"Speaking of which, the mushrooms tonight were really good. What a pity I've turned into a Demon; poison no longer affects me. Otherwise, I would've liked to try the cold mushroom dish and experience what it's like for little people to crawl all over you and to see colorful snowflakes floating in the sky." Huai Xu said regretfully, "It must be amazing."

"Brother Nan thought so too."

"Is that so? Did he end up trying it?"

"He did, but to no avail; his constitution was already strong," Zhou Li pursed his lips and said. "Otherwise, I would have another reason to laugh at him."

"Maybe the gods were afraid he'd be bugged to death, so they let him buy fake mushrooms," Huai Xu said confidently.

"Bugged to death..."

"What's up?"

"Nothing..."

Just as they reached the entrance of the stairwell, Zhou Li suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look in another direction.

Not far away, a half-grown cat was approaching with tiny, unsteady steps, looking around curiously. Now and then, she would run to the edge of the lawn to peek at ants moving house, tilt her head to gaze at planes thundering across the sky, or stare at the buzzing e-bikes, fascinated by everything she saw. Sometimes she would even sit down to rest for a while...

It took her several minutes to cover twenty meters.

Clearly the type to be late for class.

The little cat had a small clip on her head, adorned with a plastic little daisy, which also wobbled with her steps. When she finally reached the entrance of the stairwell, she locked eyes with Zhou Li.

"Zhou Ni!"

The cat's eyes suddenly widened. She hurried over with a quick trot, hugging Zhou Li's leg and calling out in a soft, fluffy voice, "Lord Dumpling can't walk anymore, hold Lord Dumpling~~"

Zhou Li: ...

You weren't like that when you were jumping up to catch ladybugs just now.

But Zhou Li still picked her up, speaking softly, "Lord Dumpling, you're coming home late today..."

"Zhou Ni is too!"

"That's also true."

"Right!"

"Today the club recruitment ended, and we recruited five subordinates for Lord Dumpling."

"Such a short recruitment!!"

"Hmm, anyway, Lord Dumpling now has five more subordinates."

"Five!"

Tuanzi's eyes widened. Five was already a lot, roughly equivalent to one hundred.

"Of course, Lord Dumpling has so many subordinates, even someone as powerful as Lin Zhong is Lord Dumpling's subordinate, so these five new ones are nothing to speak of." Zhou Li hugged her and gave her a little shake. "Weren't you at home today, Lord Dumpling? How did you end up going out again?"

"MEOW..." Tuanzi briefly pondered the words 'nothing to speak of' and quickly forgot about them. "Lord Dumpling went to play with Master Xiao Lǜ!"

"Did you have fun?"

"Super fun!"

"Has Lord Dumpling been wearing this little flower all the time?"

"That's right!"

"It's very pretty."

"Lord Dumpling is the prettiest!"

"Yes..."

As Zhou Li spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and caught sight of a gaze from the "graceful son amidst the chaos" nearby, which seemed somewhat unhappy.

Zhou Li immediately pretended not to see him, only saying to Tuanzi, "It's as beautiful as Huai Xu."

The Old monster immediately felt much better.

Zhou Li, however, sighed.

Dealing with an innocent child's conversation and an Old monster who could chatter non-stop 24 hours a day was really a bit much for him. But the child's innocence and interests could not be ignored, and the Old monster was easily displeased. Life was too full of helplessness.

Upon opening the door and entering the house, the evening breeze rushed in from the balcony, lifting the curtains and bringing with it the fragrance of Yueli.

Zhou Li's clothes filled with wind, and the smell of the mushroom hotpot on his body also seemed to be blown away. A WHOOSHING sound filled his ears until he closed the door, and the wind finally calmed down a bit.

The room quieted down as well.

Tuanzi was set down and began to move around on her own. The floor was so shiny it could reflect a person, mirroring the red glow of the sunset and her silhouette.

Zhou Li went to the balcony to check the dryness of the soil in the plants. After having applied fertilizer several times in a row, he watered them with clean water this time, soaking them thoroughly. Worrying about the Old monster feeling out of balance, he also went over to the bowl lotus tank, pretended to look and casually fiddled with it, then nodded his head and turned back inside.

There stood the Old monster next to the floor-to-ceiling window, watching him, his face showing a satisfied expression.

Zhou Li kept his composure. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"You're being weird..."

Zhou Li took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then returned to the balcony.

By this time, the sky had darkened, streetlights were on, the windows of the buildings were glowing little squares, and only a line of afterglow remained in the sky. Zhou Li also turned on the light, spread out his diary on the coffee table, flipped to a brand-new blank page, paused to think for a moment, and began to write.

September 19th, Sunday, sunny.

I didn't write in my diary yesterday; I really didn't want to.

Having manned a stall all day, it was hot and sunny, and when I returned, I just wanted to collapse. I had no desire to write and didn't even read.

Luckily, I recruited three freshmen yesterday. Although it's not many, compared to last year, it's a lot.

However, during the process of setting up the stall, girls were always teasing me. It seems that girls in this era are bolder than boys. For example, no boys came to flirt with Brother Nan or Huai Xu. Even after being rejected from joining the club, they wouldn't pester too much, but the girls would cling and ask why, even acting coquettishly for my WeChat.

Don't the juniors use QQ anymore?

Being good-looking is really troublesome.

I sought help from Brother Nan, hoping he could help me, or at least comfort me. But not only did he fail to do so, he said, "Why don't you look for the reason within yourself? Being so handsome!"

I was speechless at the moment, feeling very uncomfortable.

This was another reason I didn't write in my diary yesterday. I was simply exhausted.

...

Today, I recruited two more freshmen. In this way, our Probability Society now has five members in this cohort, an increase of 250% compared to last year.

Congratulations are in order.

Brother Nan also sent me an adult film and told me to learn some relevant knowledge. I'm not sure if this counts as distributing obscene materials. I have some thoughts of reporting him, but I'm afraid of retribution.

Really conflicted.

...

After finishing his writing, Zhou Li held the pen, stared at the diary, and contemplated for a while—

Is this okay?

After all, I, a contemporary Master Ming, may not be much use anymore since the Demons are about to migrate, and The first heavenly master might be useless too, so I could rest easy as a salted fish...

But what if future generations take an interest in me?

They get hold of my diary, flip it open only to find that there's not a single useful thing written in it, just all this stuff!

Maybe netizens would be interested?

Zhou Li glanced sideways. Through a glass door, the elegant young man sat on the floor by the living room coffee table, also lying prone, writing in his diary. Then he too stopped, biting his pen, lost in thought. Perhaps he'd encountered some troubling thoughts as well? Of course, he might also have stumbled upon a word he didn't know how to write.

"Never mind."

Zhou Li muttered to himself and closed the diary.