My Demon Friends

October 19th, Friday morning.

Huai Xu wrapped the comforter tightly around himself. Its cover was slick and smooth, and the interior of his cocoon was warm and comfortable, making him feel extremely cozy.

Last night, he had a dream. About the past. It didn't seem to be a pleasant one. He was born in the north, during years of famine compounded by war. The fields bore no crops, and whatever grew was consumed by locusts. People ate everything they could find, eventually resorting to chewing on grass roots and stripping bark from trees, with not a hint of greenery in sight. The rivers, too, had dried up. Without vegetation, the rare rains that fell could not be retained. In his dream, a multitude of people were walking in one direction, leaning on walking sticks, wearing ragged clothes, taking their families with them. Huai Xu was young at the time and didn't understand why they were walking in that direction, only hearing that there was a chance of survival if they did. Starved wolves and feral dogs followed the people. At first, some tried to kill the wolves for food, but those beasts were smarter than humans, pausing to wait when you couldn't catch up. There were corpses everywhere. In the end, even cannibalism occurred. Huai Xu remembered his mother passed away at that time. She was so young then.

Huai Xu's ears twitched slightly. He heard noises from outside—Zhou Li's footsteps, the refrigerator door opening and closing, the clatter of a frying pan on the stove, the rushing sound of water...

There was even humming.

Huai Xu got out of bed.

As he opened the door, sunlight streamed into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving a large patch of pale golden light on the wooden floor.

The humming stopped abruptly.

Standing at the kitchen entrance, Huai Xu looked at Zhou Li and said, "I thought I heard you humming just now."

"You heard wrong."

"I wouldn't mishear."

"It's nothing."

"...What's with that reassuring tone?"

"How about we have instant noodles for breakfast, the green-packaged Maruchan ones? I'll add a fried egg and a can of luncheon meat, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great!" His eyes lit up.

"Satisfied so easily?" Zhou Li recalled Zhu Shuang's usual methods. "Next time we go grocery shopping, let's get some frozen meatballs, and order some handmade beef balls online to stock up. We can use them when we make noodles, what do you think?"

"Maybe I should go to the supermarket..."

"No way!" Zhou Li flatly refused. "Even with your wallet so full now, you still can't shake that habit."

"Oh." Huai Xu turned and walked away, muttering to himself, "What's wrong with grabbing just a little bit from the huge supermarket..."

「Half an hour later.」

Zhou Li had finally finished his noodles, while Huai Xu had put down his chopsticks and had been waiting for a while.

"Finished?"

"Mhm."

"I'll wash the dishes. You go to school," Huai Xu said as he stood up.

"Okay."

"I'll come find you after I'm done with the dishes."

"Mhm."

There was a small stool by the door for convenience in changing shoes.

Zhou Li had specifically worn a pair of running shoes, but he hadn't paid much attention to anything else. For him, 3,000 meters wasn't long; lately, Huai Xu had made him start his runs at fifteen kilometers.

Today was also the last day of the sports festival.

Strictly speaking, it would end by noon.

The morning was mainly reserved for two long-distance runs, a couple of team events, and the announcement of results.

At the same time, the number of people at the sports field was noticeably fewer than on the previous two days. Most were either exhausted or had toughened up. It was highly possible that by next year, some of this year's freshmen wouldn't make a single appearance at the sports festival from beginning to end.

Zhou Li noticed that quite a few of his and Brother Nan's classmates had shown up. However, most of those from his class were girls, while it was the opposite for Brother Nan's class.

The 1,500 meters was scheduled before the 3,000 meters.

Zhou Li followed Brother Nan as she went to pick up her bib number.

He noticed that the girls signed up for the long-distance runs were somewhat polarized in physique: either exceptionally tall or delicately petite.

But Brother Nan was still the tallest.

Today, she wore a set of running gear. Her compression tights highlighted her long, straight legs. The designer seemed to have some issues; on what were otherwise perfectly good compression tights, they had insisted on adding geometric patterns of varied thicknesses, making the sportswear look even better than stockings. Brother Nan wore a pair of shorts over the tights for warmth and running shoes on her feet, while her upper body was clad in a sleek, soft, all-black running shirt.

At the sound of the starting gun, a group of girls burst out together.

In just a few seconds, Brother Nan had left everyone else far behind.

She seemed to be sprinting from the start, extending the gap ever wider and firmly capturing the attention of the onlookers.

Brother Nan was adept at running, so she was a sight to behold—a smooth rhythm, graceful movements, and light steps. If you took a photo of her in motion, you'd find that each one was incredibly beautiful.

Zhou Li saw many people running back and forth on the grass, following Brother Nan wherever she went. The race wasn't over yet. While Brother Nan continued to run effortlessly in circles, the spectators running the shortest distance to keep up were left gasping for air.

At that moment, Baozi came over to Zhou Li with a camera in hand and gave him a glance. "She's about to finish."

"Mhm."

"Aren't you going to get a cup of water for her?"

"She doesn't need it."

"I've realized it's not that Brother Nan is too fierce; it's you. Sometimes, it seems like you're asking for a beating," Baozi said lightly.

"Got it."

Zhou Li quickly got up from the ground.

He grabbed a cup of water, poured in some glucose, stirred it together, and held it at the finish line, waiting for Brother Nan.

The cheering grew louder and louder.

Soon, Brother Nan arrived.

Crossing the finish line, Brother Nan gradually slowed down, her face a bit red. She took a long breath, glanced at Zhou Li, casually took the cup, and gulped down a mouthful. Her first words were to the referee: "Did I break the record?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, she smiled. Her second sentence was to Zhou Li: "Why are you being so sensible today?"

Zhou Li was embarrassed.

Pausing for a moment, he said, "What kind of thing is that to say..."

Brother Nan patted his shoulder approvingly, smacking her lips and savoring the taste. "It's sweet. Go on, pour me another cup!"

"Sure!"

Zhou Li successfully transformed into an errand boy.

The boys' 1,500m had just finished. After that was Zhou Li's 3,000m, which Chen Yang had also signed up for. The two of them went to pick up their bib numbers, helped each other put them on, and stood together.

"Room Leader, are you going to try to break the record too?" Chen Yang asked.

"No, I'm not."

"Well, if you end up in first, could you please go a bit slower? Don't sprint like Brother Nan. Wait for me. I'll run behind you; I can run more comfortably if I follow your pace." Chen Yang paused. "If someone overtakes you, then you don't need to worry about me."

Zhou Li agreed.

BANG!

The runners suddenly dashed out, clumping together.

But after half a lap, the track around them had cleared considerably.

Zhou Li realized Chen Yang had been worrying for nothing. Long-distance events at the department sports meet were unpopular, with hardly anyone signing up. They easily secured first and second place.

Brother Nan, being courteous, also poured a cup of water for Zhou Li and waited for him at the finish line, making others envious.

Even Chen Yang benefited—Brother Nan had arranged for Qian Qian to bring him water as well.

After that was Brother Nan's 3,000m.

The last events were the team competitions and matches between teachers and students.

While the team events were underway, the loudspeakers started announcing the rankings of the various events at the sports meet and any records that were broken.

Zhou Li listened out of habit.

The sense of class pride among the spectators was quite strong; they got excited when they heard a familiar name.

Brother Nan's name was called out three times.

"Come on! I'm treating you to dinner!"

Brother Nan was in a particularly good mood for earning so much without dipping into her luck.

After a pause, she added, "And call Huai Xu."

Zhou Li looked to one side, nodded, then pointed in a direction for Brother Nan. "He's coming out from over there."

Brother Nan turned her head to look.

That was their department's office building. In front of it stood some sports equipment, including a ping-pong table where a few teachers were playing. Brother Nan squinted, watching intently, then cracked a smile.

"See? Zhou Qianqian, and the dean," she said.

"Which one is the dean?"

"The one playing right now, on the left. Zhou Qianqian is waiting on the side," Brother Nan said, pointing with her lips.

"Oh."

"Where's Huai Xu coming from?"

"The restroom, maybe."

"Hmm."

Brother Nan watched the teachers play while waiting.

The dean was quite good at ping-pong and quickly defeated the other older teacher. Next up was Zhou Qianqian.

Zhou Qianqian said something to the dean, but it was inaudible.

The dean served.

After a few exchanges, Zhou Qianqian started smashing. Not only could the dean not return the shots, but he also had to scuttle around to fetch the ball.

This continued until he was defeated by Zhou Qianqian.

Brother Nan tugged at the corner of her mouth and, with a sidelong glance, saw Huai Xu approaching them.

"What are you guys watching?" Huai Xu asked.

"Watching some silly teachers get owned," Brother Nan remarked. "What do you feel like eating? I made some money today, so I'm treating."