Zhu Shuang’s results should be out by now. It was Brother Nan who had reminded Zhou Li of this.
These days, he had been working from dawn till dusk, feeling exhausted and hot. Sotis, when it felt cooler at night, they would also work for a while under the lights. Apart from three als, there was barely any rest except for a midday break. He had even temporarily put aside his study of spells, only occasionally carving small trinkets to play with when he took a break to cool off in the evening.
He only charged his phone once every few days.
As for his younger brother’s college entrance exam results... Who would even rember that!
It was already evening. The group of young people and the old monster were all sitting under the tree, enjoying the cool air and chatting idly.
Suddenly, Brother Nan waved her cattail-leaf fan vigorously in front of Zhou Li. "Aren’t the college entrance exam results supposed to be released today?"
"Are they?"
"Look at the date today!"
"It really is!"
"The results must be available by now! Why haven’t you asked your brother how he did?"
"Right!"
Zhou Li quickly got up and clattered upstairs to grab his phone. He moved closer to Brother Nan to search for a signal and finally managed to log onto QQ.
Zhou Li: How did you do?
Zhu Shuang: Wow, Bro, you actually rembered my results were coming out today! I’m so touched, boohoo!
Zhou Li: ...
Did he actually feel a bit embarrassed?
That wouldn’t do!
So he thought for a mont...
Zhou Li: I was waiting for you to share the news. I waited and waited, and when you didn’t, I finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
He quickly switched to Zhu Shuang’s QQ Space and glanced through.
Good kid, really keeping a low profile.
Zhou Li: You haven’t posted anything either.
Zhou Li: The suspense was killing .
Just then, he heard Brother Nan’s voice beside his ear. "So, you type pretty fast, huh? I thought you were an old fogey, whose typing speed was only as fast as when you usually chat with ..."
A jolt went through Zhou Li’s heart.
Slowly, very slowly, he lifted his head to sneak a peek.
There was Brother Nan, tilting her head, giving him a suspicious look. As he looked up, their eyes t. Brother Nan’s eyes, reflecting the light from the phone, looked sowhat strange.
Zhou Li controlled his expression, saying nonchalantly, "It’s because I’m a bit anxious right now..."
Brother Nan nodded without saying much, just tilting her chin towards his phone, signaling a new ssage.
Only then did Zhou Li sigh with relief and look down.
Zhu Shuang: I was just afraid of disturbing you. Who knew what you were busy with?
Well played, a nice counter-move.
Just as Zhou Li was about to type, another ssage from Zhu Shuang popped up—
Zhu Shuang: It’s not good to post about it. It seems many classmates didn’t do too well this year. I’m afraid of hurting their delicate little feelings.
Zhou Li thought for a long ti, then decided to let it go. We’re brothers, after all. No need to be so harsh.
Zhou Li: Sounds like you did very well then.
This ti, he resud his usual typing speed.
Brother Nan, sitting beside him, adjusted the angle of her fan so that the breeze could also reach him.
Zhu Shuang: Hehe.
Zhu Shuang: An ideal score, I can only say it’s an ideal score. Mom told to be low-key.
Zhu Shuang: Anyway, if you return to Yan City in the next few days and hear motorcades with gongs and drums parading through the streets, go take a look. My poster will be on them.
Zhou Li fell silent.
And *that’s* what he calls low-key?
Brother Nan, observing his expression, hastily asked, "How did your brother do? Did he underperform?"
"Just over seven hundred."
"Which university does your brother want to attend?"
"Tsinghua University."
"Not bad at all." Brother Nan nodded, fanning herself, and said rather maturely, "I almost made it to Tsinghua myself back in the day."
"Almost?"
"If you hadn’t been my deskmate for those last two months, I would’ve surely gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University!" Brother Nan tilted her head back, looking down her nose at him with utter disdain. How dare a re academic slacker from a 211 university question her, the Child of Destiny!
"...It sounds like you’ve figured out the cause-and-effect relationship here," Zhou Li managed to squeeze out after a long pause.
"It’s all because Zhou Li didn’t pay attention in class; he was always daydreaming." Huai Xu’s voice chid in from the side. He knew Zhou Li’s study habits all too well and didn’t mind exposing Zhou Li’s shortcomings for everyone to hear. "He was either watching the demons outside or just sitting there spacing out. Do you rember that one weekend? You asked him to go out for mutton soup or crawfish, and he lied, saying he was at ho doing practice papers. But he actually ran off to play badminton with Zhu Shuang for the whole afternoon."
"Pfft!" Brother Nan couldn’t help but laugh.
"You think I could’ve gotten into Tsinghua just by studying seriously..." Zhou Li was speechless. "Is it really that easy to get into?"
"If your brother can get in, why can’t you? Aren’t you usually pretty good at bullying your brother?" Huai Xu retorted sharply.
"What does soone with an elentary school education know..."
"Who are you calling soone with an elentary school education?"
"You."
"I went to college!"
"Oh? And what courses did you take in college?"
"Lots!" Huai Xu frowned and began to list them. "Music theory, vocal training, bel canto, piano, erhu, folk dance, modern dance, oil painting..."
"Huh? You even learned to dance?"
"OW!"
"Tsundere, tsk tsk... Dance for ! Let see!"
"No!"
"You’ve covered music, calligraphy, and painting from the four arts... you’re still missing chess. Why don’t you learn chess? There’s an elective class for it; that one’s easier to sneak into."
"I won’t learn it!"
"Why not?"
"I beca a demon and got dumber. I’m not suited for chess. It would be embarrassing to lose to others!"
"As expected of soone with an elentary school education..."
"Who are you talking about!"
The topic had circled back around.
After bickering for a while, Zhou Li couldn’t be bothered to argue with him anymore and went back to looking at his phone.
Looking up, he said to Brother Nan, "Zhu Shuang is asking when I’m going back. He ntioned before that he wants to travel to Caiyun after the college entrance exam and asked us to take him. When do you think would be a good ti to tell him we’ll go back?"
Brother Nan frowned and pushed him to the side with one hand. "Don’t sit so close, it’s too hot!"
Alright! The internet is down!
Zhou Li resignedly put away his phone, hoping the connection would improve later when it got deeper into the night.
The small mountain village at night actually had a natural breeze. It was faint and gentle, arriving in gusts that felt very comfortable. The cattail-leaf fans were mainly for shooing away mosquitoes, which seed even more nurous under the trees than elsewhere.
At the sa ti, perhaps because the environnt was better, the fireflies in the small mountain village seed much more nurous than those on the little hill near Puzhou County—far more.
They flitted about freely in the night sky, glowing, sotis landing on people.
Tuanzi was clumsily chasing them.
She also chased the moths drawn to the light.
She had been busy all day but was still full of energy. Now, behaving like an ordinary kitten, she was extrely curious and playful. The mont she saw these twinkling, dancing specks of light, she couldn’t tear her eyes away, becoming very excited.
But she was different from an ordinary kitten.
An ordinary kitten, after catching a moth or firefly, might eat it or play it to death. Tuanzi, however, like other demons, seed to have a better understanding of the aning of life and freedom. She would only hold them gently in her cupped paws, examining them closely or trying to talk to them. When they wanted to leave, she would never stop them; instead, she would earnestly bid them farewell.
This little one was quite the contradiction—
Sotis Zhou Li found her mischievous and extrely annoying, yet at other tis, she seed like a little angel, embodying all the beauty in the world.
Tonight, she must be an angel...
After being busy all day and then catching bugs in the evening, surely she won’t have any energy left for parkour, right?
Supposedly.
「About half an hour later.」
Tuanzi seed a bit tired. She walked back, ca over to Zhou Li, and with a light leap, easily jumped onto his lap.
"Zhou Li, Lord Dumpling is a bit sleepy, mmm~~"
"Sleepy? Go on, keep catching bugs! Catch your Bright Bugs!" Huai Xu said from the side. "Look at you, you’ve been at it for so long and only caught one or two, right?"
"Mmm..."
Tuanzi turned her head to glance at Huai Xu, then looked back at Zhou Li, complaining, "Huai Xu is so annoying!"
"That’s just how he is."
"It’s all Huai Xu’s fault!"
"Watch send him away."
"ow?"
"Wishful thinking!" Huai Xu sat confidently in the Taishi Chair, one leg crossed over the other, watching Zhou Li with the expression of soone ready to enjoy a show.
"Mmm, he won’t leave!"
Tuanzi’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhou Li.
Promptly, Zhou Li took out twenty yuan and held it out to Huai Xu. "Go down the mountain and buy so classic ice pops. We can each have one to cool off from the heat."
The old monster’s expression turned a bit unsightly.
Zhou Li glanced at his watch and continued, "It’s getting late. Probably not many small shops at the foot of the mountain are still open. If you don’t go now, the supermarkets and convenience stores in the county town will likely be closed too."
WHOOSH!
Huai Xu snatched the money from his hand, stating emphatically, "I’ll be back in a few minutes at most!"
Zhou Li shrugged.
「A few minutes later.」
Each of them holding a classic ice pop, they licked them under the vast, starry sky, surrounded by the dance of fireflies, continuing their quiet conversation. After a full day’s labor, resting at night felt very peaceful. The world felt calm and gentle, and ti slipped away quietly with every wave of the cattail-leaf fans and every soft-spoken word.
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