「Early morning.」
The clear sky indicated another nice day was in store.
Huai Xu sat on the swing chair on the living room balcony, the chair continuously rotating. He held a large apple, munching on it with loud CRUNCHES.
After freshening up, Zhou Li ca out and asked, "Don’t you get dizzy?"
"Not really."
Huai Xu spun from facing him to having his back to him, then spun back again. When he faced him once more, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Not too bad. I woke up once." Zhou Li walked over and sat down on the lounge chair beside him.
"What woke you up?"
"I don’t know."
"I know," Huai Xu said, still spinning. "The people across the way were up in the middle of the night, ordering barbecue. The door went SLAM! Really, no consideration at all..."
"..."
Zhou Li’s mouth twitched.
In contrast to the evening’s clamor, the morning by Dian Lake was exceptionally calm, with only the cool, quiet air and the gradually awakening city.
He sat on the balcony for a while with this old monster—who stayed up in the middle of the night, paying attention to other people ordering takeout, the sound of their doors slamming, and whether he himself had been woken by it—soaking in the pleasant morning. As eight o’clock, class ti, drew nearer, he finally pulled out his phone.
He opened QQ and, after a mont’s hesitation, chose his closest and most trusted cousin.
Zhou Li: Help and Brother Nan get a leave note.
Baozi: 60
Zhou Li: ?? 60?
Baozi: 5 yuan for a leave note, per person.
Zhou Li: And the rest?
Baozi: 50 for keeping it a secret.
Zhou Li was imdiately stunned. He stared at his phone for a mont.
Zhou Li: Keep what secret?
Baozi: For you not coming ho all night and being unable to attend class the next day.
Zhou Li: ...
Zhou Li: Seriously, can’t your thoughts be a little purer?
Baozi: Cousin, I’m an adult now.
Zhou Li: Then I’ll tell Brother Nan.
Baozi: 30!
Zhou Li: Speechless.
Zhou Li: Consider it al money.
Zhou Li: [Red Packet]
Your friend Baozi has claid your red packet.
Baozi: Thanks, Cousin.
Zhou Li: By the way, Tuanzi isn’t going to work today either.
Baozi: [Red Packet]
Baozi: Cousin, I know I was wrong.
A smile touched Zhou Li’s lips.
He closed QQ.
The swing chair beside him creaked softly.
Huai Xu, still spinning in the swing chair, swept his gaze over Zhou Li with every rotation, making him feel quite uncomfortable.
Finally, Huai Xu asked, "What are you smirking about?"
"Nothing."
"You must have a guilty conscience. You’re the type who doesn’t smile when you’re happy, only when you’ve done sothing sneaky," Huai Xu said, looking away, his tone flat.
"I haven’t."
"So, you’re not anxious about Li Daimao anymore?"
"No!"
"TSK, TSK..."
"Worrying won’t solve anything. We’ll just have to observe for now." Zhou Li stood up. "Brother Nan still hasn’t woken up, and we don’t know when she will. Let’s go get breakfast; we can bring so back for her."
"Hmph, hmph..."
"What’s ’hmph, hmph’ supposed to an?"
"Hmph, hmph..."
Huai Xu leaped down from the swing chair, as light as a feather. The chair continued to spin.
「Half an hour later.」
When they returned ho, Brother Nan was already awake.
A Little Cat Girl sat obediently on her lap, her tail and ears being playfully tousled. The Little Cat Girl seed not to mind at all. With an expression just like a kitten’s, big eyes wide, she gazed around, idle yet earnest, as if the mischievous hand didn’t exist.
Seeing this, Zhou Li felt a pang of jealousy—
He’d known Lord Dumpling for so long, yet they had never been like this.
Huai Xu, however, saw nothing amiss and, full of energy, greeted Brother Nan, "Morning, Brother Nan! We brought back rice noodles for you all!"
"Morning."
"Morning!"
"Sleep well last night?" Huai Xu asked.
"Decent enough," Brother Nan said.
"Decent enough..." the Little Cat Girl echoed.
"The people across the hall slamd their door so loudly last night, it even woke Zhou Li up," Huai Xu said with a sigh. "They ordered takeout—barbecue, grilled eggplant, pig trotters, and lamb chops. It slled so good! Barbecue was all I could think about all night; I couldn’t even focus on my gas."
"Oh, really? I didn’t hear a thing."
"It woke Lord Dumpling up too!"
As the Little Cat Girl spoke, she wriggled on Brother Nan’s lap, and then, WHOOSH! She turned back into a little cat.
Zhou Li had already opened the thermal container on the coffee table. He poured the side dishes and blanched rice noodles into the steaming hot broth, opened the extra plastic bowls he’d requested from the vendor, and unwrapped the chopsticks. He stirred the noodles, then placed a small portion of noodles and at into a bowl for Tuanzi. Only when everything was ready did he pass a pair of chopsticks to Brother Nan.
"Eat up. It’s still very hot."
Brother Nan grinned at him, clearly pleased but also a little sheepish. She turned to Huai Xu and said, "You were craving it so much, why didn’t you order so for yourself too?"
Huai Xu didn’t answer, instead asking abruptly, "Can you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
Brother Nan’s first reaction was confusion. To her, it sounded like sothing kids in middle school would say when trying to pick a fight, yet Huai Xu had no reason to provoke her.
But she was ultimately perceptive. After the initial bewildernt, she quickly furrowed her brow.
Zhou Li’s expression changed similarly.
Huai Xu sat down on the small stool by the coffee table. He eyed Brother Nan askance, a gleam in his eyes, and said, "You woke up once last night and used spiritual power to open the curtains. That kind of seemingly simple application of spiritual power is actually very difficult; usually, only demons can master it. However, because you... well, you’re not ordinary, so I wasn’t sure if you’d mastered it. But since you said you weren’t awake last night, it probably has nothing to do with you."
"For real?"
Brother Nan was stunned speechless.
Zhou Li’s expression also grew solemn.
Tuanzi was munching on her rice noodles—CHOMP, CHOMP. Sensing the strange atmosphere, she looked up at them in confusion, licked her lips with her little tongue, and then lowered her head to continue eating.
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