My Demon Friends

Chapter 735 - 696 The Road is Too Short

At seven in the evening in December, if it were in Yan City, the sky would likely have already darkened, and the evening fog would have consumed most of the city's light long before nightfall.

But in Banna, half of the setting sun could still be seen, with the evening clouds at their most brilliant.

The barbecue grill by the roadside had already been lit before darkness fell. White smoke rose with the aroma of spices and grilled fish, wafting through the air above the streets.

In the nights of the Dai Clan people, barbecue is an indispensable element. Next to the scenic area, the smoky ambiance of barbecuing became the most captivating sign. That was how Zhou Li and his companions were lured into this unfamiliar Dai Clan restaurant and seated at a round table.

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, was not as familiar with modern dishes as Brother Nan, but she still picked up the menu and earnestly started selecting dishes.

"Don't you love 'vegetable-wrapped fish' the most?" Zhou Li, sitting next to her and noticing her indecision, leaned over to look at the menu and offered a suggestion.

"Oh right, 'vegetable-wrapped fish'," Her Highness nodded repeatedly.

"Order a few portions, as one is only enough for one person," Zhou Li continued to play the role of a strategist. "But we don't need one for each person because there are other dishes. Um, let's go for three portions."

"I'll take your advice," Her Highness was good at accepting suggestions. "Then let's order three."

"Thank you, Big Brother."

"And let's have a pineapple rice..." Her Highness furrowed her eyebrows, not sure what else to choose. She found all these dishes unfamiliar, so she turned to Zhou Li with an air of bestowing favor upon a subordinate. "Is there anything you want to eat? Order it yourself, don't be polite."

"How about 'lemongrass-grilled fish'?" Zhou Li asked. "Back in ancient times, they must have loved grilled fish here."

"That sounds good. What else?"

"Just add a medium-sized 'hand-pulled rice,' and that's it."

"Lord Dumpling, take a look."

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, briefly showed the menu to Tuanzi, but it was just a quick glance. Just as Tuanzi started to look, Her Highness quickly withdrew the menu and handed it to the other girls.

"I'm not picky."

"I'm a fool."

"Same for me!"

The three girls quickly relinquished their right to order.

Zhou Li then handed the menu to the owner and placed the small booklet, made of two stapled A4 sheets, on a bench a bit far from the table to prevent it from getting stained with oil later.

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, turned her head and asked, "What's that?"

"An internship report. I have to write it every day."

"How come I don't have one?"

"I wrote yours for you as a matter of course."

"Why did you write it for me?"

"You mean..." Zhou Li glanced at Her Highness, then at the Cotton Swab Package, noticing that they were also staring at her strangely. He preemptively spoke with seriousness, "You're acting oddly today."

"Give it here. I'll write it myself."

"...Fair enough."

It seemed this Highness was very interested in studying.

So be it then, let her do as she pleases.

The dishes were slow to arrive. Baozi had already spread out her internship report on the table. After writing her school, name, and student ID on the cover, she flipped to the first page and began writing earnestly.

Her handwriting was small and round; although it had a touch of pettiness, it was still neat and pretty.

Zhou Li walked behind her and peered over her shoulder.

Baozi quickly covered it with her hand.

Zhou Li showed an incredulous expression. "Is that necessary? Like a grade schooler hiding their test answers."

Baozi turned her head slightly, looking at him sideways with vigilant eyes, her small hand still tightly covering what she had written. "Write your own... why do you want to see mine?"

"I'm just referencing the format."

"I just wrote it randomly."

"I heard that kind of talk a lot when I was in elementary school," Qian Qian said.

"Same here!" Mianmian added.

"Have you not noticed the section at the bottom for the team leader's comments and signature? I'm the team leader, so I'll see it anyway. I have to write comments for you," Zhou Li pointed out.

"..."

Baozi's eyes began to dart around wildly, extremely lively, yet her face remained expressionless.

Unsurprisingly, she was probably thinking of a countermeasure.

Well, she hadn't figured one out.

She gave up.

Baozi removed her hand and, taking the booklet, showed it only to her cousin, preventing Mianmian and Qian Qian from peeking.

After Zhou Li had a look, he silently nodded to himself. The teacher covered more material this afternoon than I thought.

But Zhou Li kept a calm face and shook his head, saying, "What's there to hide about this? Weren't we all together this afternoon? We saw, heard, and learned the same things. I thought you might have written something fancy, treating it like a treasure not to be shown..."

The implication was that what he wanted to write was coincidentally the same as hers.

Baozi remained silent, her head down.

Finally, the dishes arrived.

Eating these dishes didn't really require chopsticks; simply wearing gloves was enough. Everyone was already very familiar with this, so there was no need for much formality.

Zhou Li first grabbed a piece of fish for Lord Dumpling, watching her munch away, occasionally hissing softly when it burned her tongue. He then picked up a lettuce leaf, wrapped it around the fish, glass noodles, and side dishes, added some sour and spicy lemon dip, carefully folded it, and also presented it first to Lord Dumpling, letting her nibble at her leisure.

"Lord Dumpling's mouth is too small. She can't gulp it down in one bite and enjoy the pleasure of the vegetable-wrapped fish," Baozi remarked from the side. "And most of the time, she ends up eating mostly veggies."

"Don't worry about her; she just loves her veggies," His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, said.

Upon hearing this, Tuanzi immediately looked up and earnestly repeated, "Don't worry about Lord Dumpling, okay? Lord Dumpling just loves her veggies!"

Zhou Li couldn't help but smile and then glanced at His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu.

It seemed the meal was very much to her taste.

「After dinner.」

Night had fallen. The street lights were not as bright as in the city, and tropical plants cast vague shadows all around.

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, and Zhou Li walked at the back. The other three wisely paired up and slowly distanced themselves, not following close by.

As they walked, the pace of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, began to slow. "I don't think I can hold on much longer... No, *she's* about to forcefully wake up..." she said to Zhou Li.

"Ah? We'll reach our place in ten minutes."

"No, I need to sleep now."

"What should we do?" Zhou Li looked around. "There's no park nearby, no chairs."

"That restaurant served too slowly. I thought I could finish dinner with you all before heading back. It's been a while since I've had dinner outside." Her Highness spoke with her usual calmness. "Bend over. I'll get on your back to sleep; she'll wake up soon."

"Oh... Okay."

Zhou Li hesitated briefly, then turned around. He soon felt a soft figure resting on his back and instinctively hooked his arms under her legs.

Hmm...

It looked like Brother Nan was going through a second growth spurt.

"I'll take you to the Mirror Zone in a few days."

"Okay."

"Mm."

Zhou Li felt His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu's breathing quickly become calm, her breath faint and weak against his neck. After walking less than ten meters, he heard her voice from behind again:

"What are you two doing?"

"Ah..."

Realizing it was Brother Nan, Zhou Li's initially stiff body relaxed. But upon recalling Brother Nan's question, he tensed up again. "After dinner, halfway back, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, couldn't hold on anymore. There was nowhere to rest around this little place, not even a step, so we had to do this... She said you would wake up soon."

After thinking for a bit, he added, "Besides, it's you I'm carrying."

"Oh."

Brother Nan nodded, not minding it. She remained on Zhou Li's back and grinned. "I was wondering. You two are really something... You've hardly ever carried me."

"It's because you don't like me to carry you," Zhou Li retorted.

"Nonsense!"

"It's the truth..."

"Absolutely not!"

"Just..."

"BANG!"

"Yes, I'm talking nonsense."

"That's more like it. You always make me resort to violence..." Brother Nan, on his back, rumpled his hair into a bird's nest as she lectured, "Big Brother likes you carrying me, but it's not convenient for Big Brother to ask, so you need to learn to volunteer, got it?"

"Got it."

"SMACK..."

Brother Nan slapped his butt. "Giddy up! Hurry! Let's lose that Little Trash Cat behind us!"

Zhou Li remained silent, maintaining his speed.

Brother Nan didn't urge him further but wrapped her arms around his neck. Her arm was very smooth and tickled his neck. In silence, they walked toward the brightly lit area. The guesthouse where the students were staying and the hotel where Zhou Li was staying alone were both located there.

"We're here."

"Is Big Brother heavy?"

"Not heavy."

"Hey, say it again."

"Big Brother, in my heart, you weigh more than Mount Tai."

"Good. Go on back and get some sleep. Don't call the numbers on those little cards in the hotel; they're scams," Brother Nan said. "And don't call for a massage either; their skills are terrible."

"Thanks for the guidance, Big Brother."

"You could put me down now..."

"Oh, good night."

"Good night."

Zhou Li and Brother Nan waved to each other. As Zhou Li walked back to his hotel, he saw that the light in his room was already on.