「Number 13, Tuesday.」
Brother Nan yawned as he erged from the bedroom. He was wearing sleep shorts that were slightly crumpled, flaunting a pair of large, fair legs and delicate, crystalline feet clad in flip-flops. His upper body was dressed in a soft, form-fitting white T-shirt, and a red string adorned his wrist, exuding a youthful vibe.
Still fond of last night’s sleep, he clutched the pillow he had used with one hand while the other constantly fiddled with a tuft of hair sticking up like a small antenna on top of his head, turning to look toward the living room.
Zhou Li was telling Tuanzi, "Lord Dumpling, rember to keep it a secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone about this!"
Tuanzi stood on the coffee table, her small, mangosteen-like feet already on the very edge of the glass. She tilted her head, staring unblinkingly at Zhou Li.
"Why, ow?"
Her voice was light, delicate, and crisp, filled with a childlike curiosity capable of raising many questions.
"Because Brother Nan doesn’t want others to know."
"Why doesn’t he want others to know?"
"Because people aren’t supposed to suddenly beco Heavenly Masters. If others found out that Brother Nan had suddenly beco a Heavenly Master, it could lead to trouble for us."
"Oh... then why can Brother Lan suddenly beco a Heavenly Master?"
"Because Brother Nan is amazing!"
"Oh..."
Tuanzi found this explanation very easy to accept.
"So..."
"Got it, OW!"
Brother Nan stood in the doorway of the bedroom, unmoving, a smirk curling up at the corner of his mouth.
So this was what a typical conversation between Zhou Li and Tuanzi was like, exactly as he had imagined.
After a mont’s thought, he suddenly spoke, "What is she saying?"
"She said, Brother Nan isn’t at all..."
Zhou Li began to respond instinctively but stopped halfway, suddenly realizing sothing was amiss. Looking up, he saw Brother Nan with a mischievous smile on his face.
At the sa ti, a pillow flew toward him.
The forr national coach’s reputation was well-deserved; the pillow hit Zhou Li squarely in the face, exactly on the side Brother Nan had slept on the night before. It still retained so warmth and carried the fragrance of her hair—a clean, subtle scent, unlike the overly sweet sll of shampoo used by most girls, and one he had to inhale deeply to catch after the initial impact.
"Zhou Ni, you’ve been hit!!"
"Not at all."
Zhou Li looked at this Little Trash Cat, who seed very pleased, her eyes lighting up with joy.
Brother Nan then pointed at him. "Keep the pillow handy; we’ll need it later."
"Zhou Ni, you’re going to get hit again!"
"..."
Brother Nan went to the bathroom to wash up.
About fifteen minutes later, he erged with a damp, radiant face. A few strands of hair on his forehead and near his temples were also damp, having gotten wet. The first thing he did upon coming out was to pick up Little Trash Cat, who was squatting by the bathroom door, and toss her directly onto the couch.
"Co—transform into a Little Cat Girl for Daddy to see!"
"OW..."
A Little Cat Girl appeared out of thin air, sitting quietly, her large, non-human eyes, which seed to shimr with starlight, looking at him.
Cat ears.
Cat tail.
A delicately adorable appearance.
Brother Nan tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Damn, she’s really pretty!"
"Yeah," Zhou Li couldn’t help but nod in agreent.
Suddenly, he felt a chill at the back of his neck. He looked up to see Brother Nan stepping forward, chuckling, "So this is the Little Cat Girl you usually watch by yourself. Not sharing, that’s not very brotherly of you."
As he spoke, he drew closer, plucked the pillow from Zhou Li’s arms, smiled, and lifted one end high.
"THUMP!"
"Zhou Ni, you’ve been hit again!"
"Lord Dumpling, protect ."
"That won’t do. Brother Lan would beat up Lord Dumpling too."
"..."
After breakfast, they didn’t return to school.
Though they had classes this morning, Brother Nan had just acquired Spiritual Power and was buzzing with excitent, as if a new door had opened. He insisted on Zhou Li teaching him how to use Spiritual Power and how to cast Spells. So, they spent the day at Zhou Li’s usual practice spot, touching only on the basics.
In learning to cast Spells, he was exceptionally eager.
「By the ti they returned to school, it was evening.」
They ate a al of sauerkraut and pig’s feet, then walked shoulder to shoulder through the campus, bathed in the sunset. A little cat trotted happily alongside them, its carefree deanor an object of envy.
Approaching mid-April, the campus trees were lush and full again, their leaves fresh and tender. Occasionally, teachers’ children chased each other on the paths, kicking a football that had co from who knows where. Occasionally, female students set up stalls under the trees, selling trinkets that girls liked.
"HMM..."
Zhou Li saw another petite figure sitting alone on a small folding stool. She had a tender, baby-fat face and was silently looking down, neither reading a book nor looking at her phone.
In front of her, a piece of fabric with little flowers was spread out, displaying photos, picture fras, and postcards.
She couldn’t see any other vendors to her left or right; it seed she had deliberately picked a spot with no one around.
Zhou Li and Brother Nan walked over and stopped in front of the stall.
The girl, noticing them and the very spirited half-grown cat, began tentatively, "Buy so—" She glanced up, saw Zhou Li, and quickly lowered her head again. Only her voice erged, "Cousin, you’ve missed over a week of classes."
"I know," he replied.
"You should skip less," the girl said with concern.
"It’s rare for you to care about ," Zhou Li smiled, "but thanks anyway."
"The teacher assigned more howork yesterday; it’s due tomorrow. Brother Nan asked to help you with it. It’s a good thing you’re back today," the girl said, still looking down. "In the few days you were gone, the school’s cherry and begonia blossoms completely withered. Would you like to buy a photo? To preserve them."
"...I see." Zhou Li felt a pang of sadness.
"Buy one?"
"No need, I’ve seen them."
"You’ve only seen them at their peak. The phase when they’re about to wither and coexist with new leaves has its own charm—more evocative of spring than a branch full of blossoms."
The girl got off the stool and, supporting herself on her stall, carefully crawled forward a step. She picked up a photo mounted in a white fra. "Look, it’s very pretty."
Zhou Li took it, and his eyes lit up.
"It’s very nice.
"But I won’t buy it."
Zhou Li said as he put the photo back in its original place, "Why have you started setting up a stall again?"
The girl silently looked at him for a while, then glanced at the photo he had put back. Only then did she lower her head again, staring at the little flowers on the fabric. "The flowers have withered, so there’s no work for ."
"I see."
Zhou Li noticed a few colorful plastic toy guns next to the stall and couldn’t help but point and ask, "What are these?"
"Bubble Pistols, newly stocked," Baozi replied. She picked one up, then, looking serious, aid it at Zhou Li and pulled the trigger.
"POP! POP! POP..."
A series of bubbles flew out, reflecting the sunset’s light. Various colors, predominantly red, swirled on their surfaces. Scattered by the wind, they quickly drifted into the distance.
Baozi stopped her assault. "It’s fun, Cousin. Won’t you buy one?"
"HMM..."
Zhou Li picked up the most unique-looking one, aid it at Baozi, and also pulled the trigger.
"SQUIRT!"
A small jet of water shot out, hitting Baozi precisely in the face.
The girl instinctively squinted but remained expressionless, rely raising her hand to wipe the water from her face. "This is the water pistol we bought last year when we went to Wild Duck Lake for a water fight."
"S-sorry."
Zhou Li quickly put it down, feeling embarrassed. He changed the topic, asking, "Why did you think of selling these? I an the Bubble Pistols.
"Will anyone really buy them?"
"They’re quite popular."
"Really...?" Zhou Li mused. He still found it unreliable, but the girl looked so earnest when she said it that he didn’t know how to refute her.
"How many have you sold?" As soon as he said it, he felt the question sounded odd, as if he had an accent.
Fortunately, the girl in front of him was impassive, still very calm. "Haven’t sold any yet. Cousin, won’t you buy one?"
"...Alright." Zhou Li softened. "How much for one?"
"20."
"..."
These few together would cost nearly a hundred; that was too expensive!
Zhou Li silently scanned the paynt code.
He’d just consider it as helping his Little Cousin make her first sale.
His Little Cousin took out her mobile phone to check the transaction. It wasn’t that she doubted her cousin; it was just that seeing the numbers in her wallet increase gave her a great sense of happiness and satisfaction.
After turning off her phone, she picked a Bubble Pistol with the most bubble solution remaining, handed it to her cousin, and then looked towards Tuanzi.
"Can I borrow Lord Dumpling again? Without Lord Dumpling, I don’t get any business."
"OW!"
Tuanzi clung to Brother Nan’s ankle, eyeing Baozi warily.
Baozi sighed.
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