"Tuanzi, want so grapes?"
"Call Lord Dumpling!"
"Lord Dumpling, want so grapes?"
"No." Tuanzi was too busy sunbathing to care. "Cats don’t eat fruit."
"They’re imported, really expensive ones."
"Really? Bring them for Lord Dumpling to taste."
"..."
Zhou Li passed the grapes over.
Tuanzi opened her mouth.
Then ca the sound of NOM NOM NOM...
"Tasty?"
"Delicious." Tuanzi smacked her lips twice, then lay down again, showing no further interest in eating but instead lost in thought. "In Lord Dumpling’s mind, there’s a very tall mountain, and a very powerful Great Demon lives on it. He grew a kind of fruit that Your Highness used to get half of every year. Now Hong Ran definitely couldn’t do that..."
"Oh." Zhou Li showed no emotion.
"Super delicious!" Tuanzi suddenly flipped over and clawed at Zhou Li’s pant leg, her eyes glittering as she stared at him.
"Oh."
"Lord Dumpling suddenly wants so!"
"Cats don’t eat fruit."
"Lord Dumpling is not a cat!"
"Oh."
He continued to show no emotion.
Afterward, Lord Dumpling tried to persuade him, hoping to use Huai Xu’s exceptional talents to get a share of the fruit, but Zhou Li ignored her completely.
Lord Dumpling felt very disappointed.
anwhile, Huai Xu had already silently devoured an entire Hami lon, leaving only the last piece. He held it out to Zhou Li, eyes faintly filled with expectation. "Zhou Li, want so?"
"Thank you."
"Oh." Huai Xu looked disappointed.
"What do you think about getting a hanging chair?" Zhou Li took the Hami lon and showed his phone to Huai Xu. "This kind. I’m thinking of getting one to place on the balcony when I have the funds, right over there. You can sit and enjoy the breeze, the view. What do you think?"
"Looks like a bird’s nest."
"Right."
"It’s pretty nice, I like it," Huai Xu said.
"Show it to Lord Dumpling too!" Tuanzi jumped onto the coffee table, pawing at Zhou Li’s wrist.
"Which one should I buy?"
"This one with flowers!"
"Lord Dumpling wants the pink one!"
"The flowery one looks good. See, so many are flowery, which proves everyone likes this pattern."
"The pink one! That’s an order!"
"..."
Eventually, he decided to buy the one with flowers; the pink one was just too strange. Facing Lord Dumpling’s pitiful gaze, Zhou Li promised that when the ti ca, he would get her a pink miniature swing that could also be installed on the balcony for her to lie on and bask in the sun.
Huai Xu started eating grapes again, stuffing them one after another into his mouth, neither spitting out the skin nor the seeds.
Seeing that Zhou Li was still holding onto his phone, he asked, "Texting that Little Zheng again?"
"No."
"Let see... What else are you buying?"
"Checking out laptops."
"Where’s my phone?"
"Your phone..."
Zhou Li was sowhat troubled—because Huai Xu’s demands for a phone were exceedingly strict.
Zhou Li thought for a mont and said, "I think between the two I told you about last ti, either the one for 3,999 or the one for 799. I think the 799 one is already enough for you."
"Are there really no super powerful ones for just a few hundred bucks?"
"No."
"Then I..." Huai Xu wrestled with the decision, but upon careful thought, there really wasn’t much to struggle over.
"I’ll take the one for 799!" he declared.
"I’ll buy it for you online," Zhou Li nodded.
"Online?"
"Yeah."
"It’ll take a few days to arrive, right?" Huai Xu sneaked a peek at Zhou Li.
"Hm?"
Zhou Li also looked at him.
After a mont, he nodded and said, "Alright. After Chen Yang and I finish our run tonight, we’ll go to the nearest experience store. It’s also a good chance for to check out their laptops."
"I suggest you buy one that can play gas!" Huai Xu said earnestly. "It’ll be handy when Li Daimao cos over to play."
Zhou Li glanced at him again.
Huai Xu averted his eyes, his voice weakening. "Li Daimao likes to play gas..."
Zhou Li pressed his lips together without a word.
At that mont, another childlike and pleasant voice rose nearby, adding to his lancholy—
"Lord Dumpling wants one too!"
"Sigh..."
Life is so tiring, Zhou Li suddenly thought.
「...」
「At night.」
The light spilling from the streetlamps attracted many small flying insects as vehicles roared by. A muscular young man was bent over at the roadside, hands on his knees, gasping for breath and occasionally dry-heaving.
Looking up, Zhou Li had long since vanished.
"Monster..."
Chen Yang muttered softly, then couldn’t help coughing twice. He hurriedly swallowed to moisten his throat.
Just five minutes ago, he was still thinking about proving himself.
Now, well...
When he had recovered slightly and looked at the empty street ahead, he suddenly ca to a realization—with a carefree wave of his hand, he decisively turned back, walking steadily and talking to himself the whole way.
"What I like is long-distance running, not sprinting!"
"The way he runs, he’ll end up with elephant legs sooner or later!"
"It’s bad for the stomach."
"Bad for the knees too."
"It’s bad for the entire body."
"It’s not good for his roommate either."
"..."
It didn’t take Chen Yang long to convince himself. He nodded, even wondering why he hadn’t brought his phone. If he had, he could have scanned a shared bike right now and ridden it back.
「anwhile.」
Zhou Li had already entered the experience store with Huai Xu.
The store was less crowded at night. Many new models of phones and computers were out for custors to try freely, and a few children lingered, unwilling to leave.
"WOW!"
The dazzling array of phones made Huai Xu’s eyes widen.
Full screens, notch screens – compared to the old model Zhou Li had been using for several years, these designs were undoubtedly more technologically advanced. Under the lighting, they looked spotless and gleaming.
Huai Xu imdiately moved closer.
Price: 1,999 yuan
"Hmm..."
He turned his head to look at another one.
Price: 2,999 yuan
Too rich for my blood...
Although Huai Xu was holding over four thousand yuan—a huge sum in his eyes—he had already decided to give a portion to Zhou Li for rent and food.
There wasn’t much left over.
Besides, he couldn’t let Zhou Li pay for als every ti they went out, right? The last al with Li Daimao had been paid for by Li Daimao, but he knew that Zhou Li would eventually have to pay her back. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t know that.
Buying a phone also ant buying a SIM card.
And paying the phone bill.
And buying Hami lon and ice cream to eat.
These were all expenses.
Although over four thousand yuan was like a gold mine, it could be depleted.
Huai Xu sighed to himself. After more than two thousand years, he felt inferior once again due to poverty.
The two salesclerks were young won. It wasn’t often they encountered two such handso young n, so they both approached, faces beaming with smiles.
"What would you gentlen like to see?"
"I want to buy a laptop."
"I want to buy a phone."
"All right."
The two salesclerks exchanged glances, and then Zhou Li and Huai Xu were "divided" between them. The salesclerk attending to Huai Xu was extrely enthusiastic, eagerly detailing the specs of various flagship models.
"This phone has a very high screen-to-body ratio..."
"Hmm..."
"It has three rear caras, 48-gapixel resolution, the photo quality is very good, and the front-facing cara also..."
"Oh..."
"It also has a large battery capacity, the battery life..."
"Oh..."
Huai Xu didn’t understand a word. The pressure is imnse!
This is even more pressure than facing off against a Blood Demon! he thought, even lifting his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his temples. Glancing at the nearly four-thousand-yuan price tag, he subconsciously wanted to seek Zhou Li’s help but found Zhou Li listening to another salesclerk introduce a gaming laptop.
He opened his mouth but didn’t call out.
And the salesclerk was going on and on, "Our system optimization is also well done. With the Snapdragon 855 plus processor, you can handle any ga with ease and play super smoothly..."
"Ah... Wait! What did you say?"
"I said, for gaming, this phone is super slick!"
"Is-is that so?"
"Yes!"
Huai Xu started to waver.
Luckily, his poverty stopped him.
He hesitated and said, "Is there... sothing a bit cheaper that also runs gas smoothly?"
The salesclerk smiled even more brightly. A handso yet shy guy like him is rarer than a national treasure! He’s utterly adorable! she thought. "Let recomnd the model I’m using. It’s over a thousand cheaper; the lowest price is just 2,799..."
Huai Xu walked over and exclaid, "Huh? This one has an extra cara?"
「Half an hour later.」
The two of them left the experience store, each carrying a large and a small bag, feeling the streetlights above were a bit dazzling.
Not far out, Huai Xu stopped and refused to go any further. His expression was blank as he turned to look at Zhou Li. "Zhou Li, do you think I can still return it if I go back now?"
"That wouldn’t be good, would it?"
"Why can’t I return it!" Huai Xu suddenly got upset. "I’ve only had it for half an incense stick’s ti, and I haven’t even unwrapped it!"
"I didn’t say you can’t return it. You can."
"Really?" Huai Xu hesitated, his voice lowering. "Oh, I’m just asking."
His fickle nature was thoroughly exposed.
They walked on again, silent on their way back.
After an unknown amount of ti—
"Zhou Li," Huai Xu called out.
Zhou Li turned his head. "What’s up?"
Huai Xu said, "You’ve finished military training too. We need to start earning money, or we won’t be able to afford to eat. I’ve decided: starting tomorrow, I’ll go all over Chunming looking for business opportunities. I won’t be accompanying you to school all day long anymore."
"Mm," Zhou Li nodded.
"Oh yeah, did Li Daimao ask about ?" Huai Xu suddenly asked. "If she wants to hang out, tell her to wait until I get back!"
"No."
"Really?"
"Mm." Zhou Li thought for a mont and then added, "Maybe she’s being considerate of , or maybe she doesn’t care that much about such things. You know her mind works in strange and capricious ways."
"That’s true," Huai Xu said, disappointed. "Well, if you run into any trouble at school and need my help, just tell them it’ll have to wait until I get back in the evening."
"Alright."
"Sigh~"
"Sigh..."
Two sighs.
The two of them looked at each other, both feeling helpless.
In truth, it wasn’t just Huai Xu who’d been cajoled into a painful splurge; Zhou Li had also shelled out a considerable sum—he himself wasn’t very demanding about computers. He had liked a thin and light model in the store—very light and thin, with good looks and long battery life—but due to Huai Xu’s words in the afternoon, he had spent over a thousand more on one with a dedicated graphics card, seriously depleting his wallet.
Over a thousand yuan could have fed him for two months in the cafeteria.
It was a huge sum.
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