My Demon Friends

「October 8th, early morning.」

The train was still rocking and rolling forward. Zhou Li, having already washed his face and rinsed his mouth, sat on the lower bunk. Meanwhile, Brother Nan was still sleeping soundly. With just a turn of his head, Zhou could see Brother Nan's fair, delicate side profile, a few strands of hair resting mischievously upon it.

Huai Xu sat on the middle bunk, burping contentedly, and glanced sideways at Zhou Li gnawing on a piece of bread.

"Is this what you're eating for breakfast?"

"Do you want me to get you a bowl of rice noodles instead?" Huai Xu offered.

"Hmph! Forget it!"

"Let me tell you about the rice noodles I just had. I added four bamboo fungi, and they were so delicious, tsk tsk… Are you drooling?"

"Listen to the train… doesn't it sound like it's going 'chomp, chomp, chomp'?" Zhou Li countered.

"..."

Zhou Li's Dao heart was steadfast.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him. "You're up so early, Zhou Li~~ Where are we now~~"

The voice was languid and mellow, even carrying a slight trill at the end.

Zhou Li was startled for a moment. He turned to confirm that the surprisingly effeminate voice had indeed come from Brother Nan before pursing his lips and saying, "We're probably getting close to Chunming. It's past eight already."

Brother Nan yawned again, her fair arm stretching out from under the blanket in a big, lazy stretch.

It even poked Zhou Li in the back.

Just when Zhou Li thought she was going to get up, she pulled her hand back in and tugged the blanket over her head. All Zhou Li heard from within was a soft, drawn-out murmur, and then silence.

It took Zhou Li a good while to recover.

He lifted his head, only to see Huai Xu also peeking over the edge of the middle bunk, his face full of curiosity as he stared down at Brother Nan.

The man and the demon exchanged a look, sharing their thoughts.

Li Daimao is really cute! Huai Xu seemed to think.

... was Zhou Li's silent response.

Zhou Li continued to stuff bread into his mouth, his eyes disobediently peeking to the side from time to time. The pillow was pure white, making the scattered strands of hair particularly conspicuous. Brother Nan's hand still clutched the blanket.

Just when Zhou Li thought she was going to sleep for another half hour, Brother Nan suddenly pulled the blanket down again.

"Is the bread tasty?" she asked, looking at Zhou Li.

"It's okay," Zhou Li replied.

"Let me try."

"Get up and have some then."

"I just want to taste it first."

"You haven't brushed your teeth."

"I just want a taste."

"Here."

Zhou Li broke off a piece of bread, intending to hand it to Brother Nan, but then he saw her open her mouth.

Zhou Li stared at her, utterly bewildered.

Brother Nan simply blinked, her eyes questioning.

With a sigh of cute resignation, Zhou Li carefully placed the piece of bread into Brother Nan's mouth. This must count as feeding a tiger, right? he thought.

「Some ten minutes later—」

Brother Nan, having gotten up and freshened up, sat next to Zhou Li. She listlessly munched on bread and mumbled, "I played games with your Huai Xu until three in the morning last night, and he dragged me down terribly."

Huai Xu looked bewildered. "Huh?? She's the one who dragged *me* down!"

Zhou Li nodded in agreement. "He's not good at playing."

"What are you talking about! The match history is right there!" Huai Xu retorted.

"Actually, he plays okay, but he always insists on playing those heroes he's never played before and keeps getting solo-killed," Brother Nan sighed. "Even though I went godlike every match, I still couldn't carry him."

"Are you talking about yourself?!" Huai Xu fumed. "I'm the one who couldn't carry *you*, okay?"

"He really is like that," Zhou Li said calmly, referring to Huai Xu.

"You guys..."

Huai Xu chose to give up.

After breakfast, Brother Nan leaned against the wall, staring blankly out the window. More and more buildings were appearing in the scenery, and the conductor was up front exchanging tickets. It looked like Chunming was approaching.

"Zhou Li, did you have fun these past few days?" she suddenly asked, continuously poking Zhou Li's back with a finger.

"Yeah, it was fun."

"Then, will you miss it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because, I don't know why, but I kind of feel reluctant to leave," Brother Nan continued to poke Zhou Li.

"Reluctant to leave what?"

"Reluctant to leave what..." Brother Nan thought for a moment. "The scenery, Dali's spicy and sour fish, the smoked ribs, the unfamiliar streets we strolled at night, and the chats we had sitting by the roadside. Anyway, I just feel reluctant. I kind of don't want to go back."

"You just don't want to go to class, right?"

BANG!

"Yes, I can understand," Zhou Li nodded, rubbing the spot she'd hit. "We can go again in the future."

"Will we ever ride bikes on that road again?"

"Maybe."

"Heh!"

Brother Nan smiled; she found that fists were quite effective.

The boy sitting opposite them was also checking his luggage. He smiled and said, "I feel the same way. Probably everyone does. When you're leaving, you always feel reluctant to end a journey, especially if that journey is unforgettable."

He paused for a moment. "I really miss my first trip to Phoenix. It was right after I graduated from high school, also with my first love…"

Brother Nan didn't seem too bright.

Zhou Li, however, turned to look out the window.

「Chunming had arrived.」

Unexpectedly, the boy eventually got Brother Nan's contact information, and it was Brother Nan who had taken the initiative.

To put Zhou Li's mind at ease, the boy added Zhou Li as well.

After adding them, he also said, "We can team up for future trips if you don't mind me being a third wheel… but forget it if it's cycling. I can't ride that far."

Zhou Li nodded politely and agreed.

Besides, he didn't usually chat on Alipay anyway.

The three of them took a taxi back to school together. There was a class during the second period that morning, which Zhou Li and Brother Nan had missed. They heard the roll call had been taken and someone had answered for them, so Brother Nan said she didn't want to go.

Zhou Li didn't dare to walk in halfway through class either.

So, he and Brother Nan retrieved their bicycles, then went to the cafeteria for lunch, and spent the rest of the time in their respective dormitories.

「When school let out for lunch, a few roommates returned.」

They brought back packed lunches to eat in the dorm, gossiping about Zhou Li and Brother Nan's nine-day trip while they ate. Zhou Li answered vaguely, skipping over the interesting parts, which made them lose interest.

So, they started discussing two things the class committee had announced during the break that day:

One was the sports meet next week.

The other was the freshman welcoming party planned for the end of November or the beginning of December.

These were managed by the sports committee member and the arts and entertainment committee member, respectively.

No one was very enthusiastic about signing up.

Of course, that wasn't an option. There were quotas for sports meet sign-ups, and each class had to put on a performance for the welcoming party. If things didn't go well, Zhou Qianqian would lose face, and everyone would suffer.

So, the class committee members discussed and decided to deal with the sports meet first: each committee member had to sign up for at least two sports events.

Even Liu Zhengming, who clearly had no athletic talent, was forcibly assigned the long jump and the relay race.

Thanks to Huai Xu, no one had assigned anything to Zhou Li.

Zhou Li thought for a bit and opened QQ. He saw a message from the sports committee member, tactfully explaining that no one had signed up for the sports meet. As a committee member, Zhou Li needed to register for two events and was asked what he would like to choose. The message was quite lengthy, making him feel like he was being unreasonable.

Zhou Li typed back: "Shot put, standing long jump."

Two laid-back events, he thought. Quick, with no need for a rematch.

The sports committee member replied quickly: "All three spots for the long jump are gone. Everyone wants these easy ones."

Zhou Li typed: "Change it to the 100-meter."

The sports committee member: "Alright. Thanks for your cooperation, Brother Li."

Zhou Li: "Thanks for your hard work."

Putting down his phone, he rubbed his face. He remembered looking quite harmless and always speaking softly and gently. It's all Huai Xu's fault!