My Demon Friends

「October 11, early morning.」

As a young man from Yi Province, Zhou Li understood the importance of cooking skills—although Aunt Jiang always cooked at home, Old Zhou's cooking was also edible. Before Zhou Li entered his senior year of high school, when Aunt Jiang was still working, Old Zhou would occasionally take over the kitchen.

In Zhou Li's memory, his grandfather's cooking had also been quite tasty. Perhaps this cooking gene would skip a generation and be passed down to him?

Having been sealed for eighteen years, it was time to activate it!

Of course, one mustn't aim too high too soon.

He decided to start with boiling frozen dumplings and frying eggs.

The former was of very low difficulty.

But, to be honest, Zhou Li hadn't boiled dumplings many times despite his age. He wasn't accustomed to eating late-night snacks. If he ever wanted some, Zhu Shuang would always volunteer to cook them, leaving Zhou Li to wash the dishes afterward.

Frying eggs was slightly more difficult, but still not much of a challenge.

In any case, Zhou Li started the task in a pleasant mood.

At some point, the door behind him was stealthily cracked open, followed by a clear, thin voice—

"Zhou Li, what are you doing?"

Startled, Zhou Li, who was concentrating hard, jerked his hand. He glanced back to see Tuanzi peeking through the crack with one eye, staring at him unblinkingly.

"You scared me," Zhou Li let out a long breath.

"MEOW? Is Lord Dumpling very scary?"

"Why do you sound like you're actually quite happy about it…"

"Am I scary?"

"Yes."

"MEW! Lord Dumpling is a powerful and scary demon!"

"You…"

Through the crack, Zhou Li saw Tuanzi's smug expression and couldn't help but laugh. He squatted down, touched Tuanzi's head with a finger, then continued to observe the dumplings changing state in the pot.

"What are you doing?" Tuanzi pried the crack wider and slipped in with ease.

"Boiling dumplings."

"Are dumplings tasty?"

"Not as tasty as your canned food."

"Is that so?"

"Of course. We have to save the best stuff for Lord Dumpling," Zhou Li said, bending down. Tuanzi sat by his feet, tilting her head high to look at him, her eyes sparkling.

"MEOW..." Lord Dumpling appeared somewhat skeptical.

Around seven o'clock, Zhou Li came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of dumplings, one large and one small, and two plates of fried eggs.

Huai Xu twitched his nose and blurted out subconsciously, "I think I smell the scent of… burned… tiger skin peppers."

"You're mistaken," Zhou Li replied.

"Oh."

Huai Xu's expression remained unchanged.

Zhou Li placed the larger dish in front of him, while the smaller one was prepared for the little demon.

The little demon was much more polite than a certain old monster. He clasped his two tiny paws together, bowed his head, and said, "I'm truly sorry for disturbing Lord Zhou Li and Lord Huai Xu all night. Now you've even gone to the trouble of preparing food for me; I'm very grateful."

Zhou Li also cracked a slight smile. "Don't mention it."

He went back to the kitchen and brought out another plate for himself.

The fried eggs were indeed a bit burnt.

Fried eggs need to be crispy to be tasty; by that logic, burnt ones would be even tastier.

Zhou Li bit into a fried egg and watched as Tuanzi hopped onto the table in two or three moves. She sniffed around and started moving towards his plate. Before she got too close, he gently pushed her away.

"Lord Dumpling wants to try some."

"This is mine."

"Huai Xu, let Lord Dumpling try some."

"Why don't you eat your canned beef if you have it?" Huai Xu frowned but still gave Tuanzi a dumpling.

"MEOW MEOW MEOW!" After eating it, Tuanzi declared that it indeed wasn't as delicious as canned beef. However, seeing Zhou Li and the others enjoying their meal, she felt she had to join in too. She added that other little kittens would do the same.

Once they finished eating, Huai Xu and Zhou Li went to wash the dishes, while Tuanzi continued to nest on the sofa watching *Animal World*.

The little demon rehearsed in his mind several times and finally approached the kitchen to express his gratitude and say goodbye once more. Zhou Li and Huai Xu felt he was probably safe now, so they agreed to let him leave.

"If he comes back, just come find me directly here," said Huai Xu.

"Thank you, Lord Huai Xu," the little demon responded.

POOF. The little demon turned into a wisp of pale smoke and flew out the window.

After washing the dishes, Zhou Li picked up his book.

This morning, he had an English reading class. The teacher's lectures were pretty lenient, but he was rather diligent about taking attendance.

Just as he was about to leave, Tuanzi suddenly called out to him, eagerly sharing—

"Lord Dumpling had a dream last night."

"What did you dream about?" Zhou Li stopped in his tracks.

"I dreamed that Lord Dumpling ran to the deep sea and played with lots of fish." Tuanzi's eyes sparkled brightly.

"That must have been a lot of fun," Zhou Li said.

"It was! Super fun!"

"But Lord Dumpling is a cat. How could you run into the sea?" Zhou Li asked in a timely manner.

"Lord Dumpling wore a spacesuit!"

"Can a spacesuit be used in the sea too?"

"It can," Tuanzi thought for a moment and then added, trying to convince Zhou Li, "It just can."

"I see."

"And it was very dark in the sea too!"

"So what did Lord Dumpling do then?"

"Lord Dumpling took a flashlight."

"Did you transform into Little Cat Girl?" An image flashed through Zhou Li's mind: Tuanzi as Little Cat Girl, wearing a spacesuit and diving, holding a flashlight that cast a beam, surrounded by various strange, beautiful, glowing sea creatures.

"No."

"Then how could you hold a flashlight?" Zhou Li's fantasy shattered.

"I just could!" Tuanzi insisted.

"Alright then."

Zhou Li thought about it. Even if she wasn't Little Cat Girl, it was still a pretty cool image. But he really had to get to class. He bent down, patted Tuanzi on the forehead, and said, "I have to go to class now. You should share this with Huai Xu."

Tuanzi nodded seriously and hummed a reply.

Nearby, Huai Xu, yawning, glanced at them and muttered under his breath—

"Two little brats."

「When Zhou Li entered the classroom, the bell had just begun to ring.」

Brother Nan was sitting alone in the back row, head down, leisurely munching on a baozi.

As Zhou Li walked over to take his seat, Brother Nan glanced at him sideways and said, "Cutting it close with the bell, huh..."

"Yeah."

"Have you eaten? I've got half a baozi left."

"I have. I cooked myself."

"Instant noodles?"

"Dumplings."

"Oh, we're taking the Level Four exam in December. The guys in our dorm are already preparing," Brother Nan said, swallowing the rest of his baozi in one gulp.

"I heard," Zhou Li said, not discouraged by the lack of praise. "Chang Xiaoxiang suggested our whole dorm try it as a team. Apparently, if you don't pass it in your freshman year, it's even harder later on."

"Yeah, so I'm planning to pass it this December and take the Level Six exam next year," Brother Nan said indifferently.

Zhou Li was taken aback.

"I heard it's all multiple-choice questions."

"Oh..."

The teacher at the front reminded them to stop talking, so Zhou Li and Brother Nan both shut their mouths.

「The short class period passed quickly.」

During the break, the sports representatives from two classes stood up with a sign-up sheet, looking frantic. One of them announced, "The sports meet is next week, but our class still needs people for many events! Everyone please sign up; you can get credits for it..."

"If we don't fill up the spots, Zhou Qianqian will have our heads!"

"Some students haven't signed up for anything. At least sign up for one event! Others have filled up all three of their slots..."

Zhou Li saw many students lower their heads.

Then, the sports representatives began to approach students one by one who hadn't signed up for anything, insisting on assigning them at least one event. Zhou Li remembered Brother Nan doing similar things in high school, though Brother Nan's approach had been much more forceful; everyone had been too scared to say anything.

"What did you sign up for, Zhou Li?" Brother Nan asked.

"Shot put, 100 meters."

"That's weak."

"And you?"

"1500, 3000, and high jump," Brother Nan replied lazily. "I'm aiming to break records. I heard you get five hundred bucks for breaking one. I'll practice a bit more these next few nights."

"Why practice?"

"To control it, not to break it by too much," Brother Nan said. "I plan to break one every year."

"I see."

Just before class, their class's sports representative approached Zhou Li with a pleading look. "Brother Li, how's your long-distance running? We need two people for the men's three-thousand-meters; only Chen Yang has signed up... He told me you run often."

"Put me down for it."

With things having come to this point, Zhou Li found it hard to refuse.

He felt that being a class officer was a tough job. He turned to Brother Nan and said, "Good thing you didn't choose to be a sports representative back then..."

Brother Nan snorted indifferently.