My Demon Friends

Chapter 728 689: Still Can Only Indulge Him

It was three-thirty.

Zhou Li sat at the edge of the basketball court, silently watching a group of boys and girls playing.

A tall girl dressed in sportswear, a small, antenna-like tuft of hair on her head, approached him, her stride confident.

Reaching his side, she sat next to him, tipped her chin towards the court, and casually asked, "Why are you sitting here alone? Not playing? Too shy?"

"The teacher asked me to watch from the side."

"So you're not allowed to play!" She raised her eyebrows. "Why? Are you too bad? Are they jealous because your girlfriend is pretty, so they're targeting you? Or did someone call you a pretty boy?"

"..." Zhou Li was speechless. "I bumped into two people."

"Hey! Bumping into people is normal when you're playing."

"It was quite a hard bump."

"Then why'd you bump them so hard?"

"They bumped into me, but they were too weak."

"Why did they bump into you so hard?" Brother Nan answered her own question. "It must be because they saw me dropping you off for class earlier, which provoked their collective anger."

"Possibly."

Zhou Li didn't dare to contradict her. After a pause, he asked, "Is your class over already?"

"Yeah! How come yours isn't?"

"Might take a little longer... I tested Lord Dumpling again today. Guess what happened?"

"What?"

"After a whole night, Lord Dumpling still remembers how to write numbers one to ten." Zhou Li was very happy. "This proves my method is working."

"You can take her to the zoo now."

"Mhm."

"Heh."

Brother Nan yawned, looking somewhat languid.

She had worked up a bit of sweat from exercising, and a few strands of hair clung to her porcelain neck. Zhou Li carefully reached out to pluck them away before saying, "A new pig's feet shop opened just outside the neighborhood. I passed by it twice, and it smelled pretty good. Huai Xu said it's delicious."

"A pig's feet shop? Wasn't there already one?" Brother Nan frowned. "He finds everything delicious."

"The old one sells roasted pig's feet; this new one stews them."

"Pig's trotters."

"Right, trotters."

"OOH."

Brother Nan's eyes shifted as she looked at him with a smile. "You're getting savvy, kiddo, growing up and all. You already know how to coax a girl to stay over for the night."

Zhou Li pursed his lips. Is that a touch of gratification in Brother Nan's smile?

Seeing Brother Nan nodding emphatically, she slapped his shoulder hard. "Mhm, not bad at all! You've been getting more and more promising lately. Growing up, growing up... TSK TSK TSK..."

"...That really hurts."

"You're getting smoother and more natural at changing the subject," Brother Nan continued nodding, affirming him. "Like right now, this expression—hey, stay like that, don't move. Yes, that's good. You have the potential to make it big in showbiz... And you're not bad-looking either. Although not quite as handsome as me, your Big Bro, you're still very decent. What do you think? Considering it?"

"..."

Zhou Li felt very uncomfortable.

Unable to agree with Brother Nan's words, and not daring to say so, he struggled for a while before finally blurting out, "My loyalty to Brother Nan is unswerving. I'd rather not enter the entertainment industry."

"Hmm... sensible."

The basketball coach blew the whistle to dismiss the class five minutes before the bell, which was quite rare for PE.

Zhou Li left the sports field with Brother Nan.

After buying a cup of milk tea and sitting in the dormitory for a while, they rode back to the neighborhood. It was just half-past five.

The pig's trotter shop had just opened.

Zhou Li called Huai Xu over, and he and Brother Nan each ordered a portion.

The owner, who stood beside a big iron pot full of stewed pig's feet, would scoop some out into a small clay pot whenever someone ordered. Service was instant.

It was unclear why they were served in clay pots.

Pretend pig's trotters?

But the taste was still terrific.

Brother Nan appraised it as soon as it was served. The trotters were stewed with snow beans, rendering the broth milky white. Each pot contained a whole trotter (excluding the shank), and the portions were impressively large. It was hard to believe a serving cost only twenty-eight yuan. Besides the trotters, the broth and snow beans came with free refills, though most people were full after just one serving.

"That's so cheap," Zhou Li couldn't help but say.

"Frozen goods, for sure."

Brother Nan, with her experience in food business management, wasn't picky. She merely commented, "Their price reflects frozen goods. They don't look down on you for being poor, so don't be fussy either."

Huai Xu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Zhou Li gave a thumbs up. "Brother Nan is so magnanimous."

Huai Xu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Brother Nan chuckled. "Bootlicker!"

Huai Xu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Zhou Li felt slightly embarrassed and hurriedly picked up a spoon. "I'll try the soup first."

The milky broth was thick, feeling like it might leave one's lips sticky. It was richly flavored, not stunningly so, but very comforting. There was also a hint of medicinal herbs; it was unclear what they were or their benefits, but it just felt nourishing.

The trotters were so tender they melted in the mouth, not at all greasy, and the meat easily separated from the bone with a gentle prod of chopsticks.

"Still so cheap," Zhou Li remarked, then looked at Brother Nan. "What do you think?"

"Not bad. The free refills of snow beans and soup especially suit Huai Xu."

"And you, too."

"HA HA..."

It turned out Zhou Li was naive.

Or perhaps Huai Xu had changed.

Huai Xu used to be very frugal. But now, living a life of plenty, he'd become extravagant. Zhou Li originally thought Huai Xu would, at most, keep refilling broth and snow beans until the owner turned green. He never expected that broth and beans alone wouldn't satisfy the Old monster anymore—he wanted meat.

So, Huai Xu gobbled down six servings of pig's feet, and Brother Nan ordered another pot. At this cheap roadside stall, the three of them managed to rack up a bill of over two hundred yuan.

The owner almost thought they were competitive eaters doing a livestream.

「Evening.」

The bed was a bit chilly, but Brother Nan's body was very warm; touching her was like holding a small hot water bottle.

Brother Nan had received a profound spell from His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, which could create a barrier, warding off all prying from the outside world. After using this spell to exclude the Old monster, she carried the slumbering Lord Dumpling outside the barrier and also blocked out His Royal Highness, the Elm King, who had given her the spell. This left a world just for her and Zhou Li.

Zhou Li still remembered how embarrassed he had felt for Brother Nan when she first learned this spell; he'd always felt awkward facing His Royal Highness, the Elm King, and the Old monster.

Now, it was simply delightful.

No sound from the outside world could be heard within the barrier.

The two whispered to each other. Although their voices were still very soft, there was no longer any need to deliberately suppress or hide them. The reason they still whispered was purely out of embarrassment.

"Gently!"

Brother Nan's voice was fierce, as if she were gritting her teeth, barely resisting the urge to break Zhou Li's hand.

Zhou Li calmly explained, "I'm giving Brother a massage. It needs a bit of force to be effective."

"Not needed!"

"No, I must help Brother ease his concerns."

"What concerns? Not a single one! Everything's just fine the way it is!" Brother Nan said stubbornly. "Fighting, fleeing, pumping iron, exercising, sleeping sprawled out—nothing's affected!"

"Is that so…"

"You've got plenty of excuses. Just yesterday you were saying that life science students research the physical differences between human males and females."

"All the same..."

"Enough, that's enough!"

"..."

Zhou Li didn't respond or make a sound. Perhaps he was preoccupied.

Too forceful! Brother Nan also narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and kept telling herself that this was the boyfriend she'd chosen, her one and only. If she accidentally killed him, he'd be gone for good...

「The next morning.」

Lord Dumpling, who had already adapted to a normal human sleep schedule, felt very confused upon waking. She sat alone where she was, lost in thought as if still half-asleep, unable to figure things out. So, she slowly crawled towards Zhou Li, climbed onto him, and asked with puzzlement, "Zhou Ni, what happened? Lord Dumpling always sleeps on the big bed every night, but when I wake up, I find myself under the bed!"

"Maybe Lord Dumpling rolled over there herself, or maybe you were sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking?"

"Sleepwalking means running around while asleep. Scientific research shows that some clever children engage in sleepwalking because they're too smart; their brains can't stop even when asleep," Zhou Li said convincingly, his words carrying weight because he'd invoked 'scientific research.' "Furthermore, research also shows that clever children love to roll around while sleeping. The farther they roll, the smarter they are. I'm just not sure if Lord Dumpling does the same thing."

"I do that! Lord Dumpling does that! Both are true!" Tuanzi asserted seriously. "Last time, Lord Dumpling even rolled outside!"

"That's indeed very clever."

"MEOW..."

Delighted, Tuanzi nuzzled against Zhou Li but suddenly stopped, looked up, and said, "Zhou Ni, you smell like Brother Lan..."

"Oh…" Zhou Li didn't say much more.

Remembering the fragrant softness of her body from the night before, he still longed for more.

Glancing to his side, Brother Nan was still asleep.

While talking to Tuanzi, one of his hands rested on Brother Nan's head, two fingers twirling a rebellious tuft of her hair. These days, being able to play with her hair like this, just like being able to hold her soft body while sleeping at night, was something he wouldn't have dared to even dream of before.

Unable to resist, he stroked Brother Nan's face, then got up, holding Lord Dumpling.

Huai Xu emerged from his room almost at the same time. The Old monster was completely alert, casually greeting him, "Morning."

"Morning," Zhou Li replied.

"Morning, Huai Xu!" Lord Dumpling waved her little paws energetically.

"Good morning, you silly cat."

"You're so annoying!"

"HA HA." Huai Xu laughed proudly.

After a while, he glanced sideways at Zhou Li, his eyes flicking mischievously, and asked, "How did you two sleep last night? Well, I assume?"

"Quite well."

"I thought as much. Couldn't even hear you breathing."

"..." Zhou Li silently withdrew his gaze and lowered his head to tell Tuanzi, "Lord Dumpling is right."

"MEOW?"

"Huai Xu is incredibly annoying."

"Exactly! It's all Huai Xu's fault!"

"All Huai Xu's fault."

Zhou Li sat down on the sofa, casually picked up a piece of paper covered with random Arabic numerals and simplified Chinese numerals, and gave Tuanzi another impromptu test. She passed again. Delighted, he lifted her two little paws and said, "Congratulations, Lord Dumpling! You're now a little cat who can count and write numbers!"

"Does that mean I can go to the zoo with His Highness now, meow?"

"You can."

"That's great, meow!" Tuanzi cheered, raising her little paws excitedly, not forgetting to glance at Huai Xu and add, "Without bringing Huai Xu!"

"Right, we won't bring Huai Xu," Zhou Li agreed.

"I'll go by myself," Huai Xu said nonchalantly. "I don't even need a ticket."

"He's so annoying!"

"Yes…"