My Demon Friends

This afternoon, I had to go to the driving school again.

Today's schedule was pretty much the same as yesterday. Only the route had changed; it was said to head in the direction of Banna, which had quite nice scenery. This was mainly because there were fewer cars, fewer people, and the roads were more spacious, suitable for rookie drivers.

They were still taking turns.

But this time, the instructor set a rule that each person must drive fifteen kilometers before switching. Whether one drove fast or slow, well or poorly, after fifteen kilometers, it was the next person's turn.

There was still a demon sprawled on the roof of the car, poking out half its head to observe what the people inside were doing, which was actually quite unsettling.

Zhou Li couldn't help but wonder what kind of posture Huai Xu was using, whether his limbs were spread out in a star shape.

The effect on Su Jue was even greater.

Zhou Li saw Su Jue unable to resist glancing upward several times, his hands trembling each time. If not for considering the opinions of others, Zhou Li would probably have gotten out of the car and chased the old monster back.

The one hundred and twenty-kilometer round trip took roughly four hours. By the time they returned to the school, dusk had already fallen.

And they still had evening self-study to attend.

The day, packed full like this, was almost as busy as high school. However, there were benefits too. Apart from Monday, they had no classes in the afternoons for the entire week. Oh, and there was a PE class on Friday afternoon.

It meant they might not have to skip class—at least, not for driving practice.

But Zhou Li seemed to have already become a bit unaccustomed to the high school routine. When he rode his bike back to the residential complex, he felt extremely tired.

The red tea he ordered had arrived.

Zhou Li picked it up on his way.

He had bought two kinds of red tea, Dian Hong and Qi Hong, both staple teas from large, reputable factories.

They're cheap.

Strangely enough, once he got home, he wasn't tired anymore.

Setting the two packages on the coffee table, a large and a small demon, like cats that had smelled fish, rushed over excitedly. Tuanzi curiously circled the packages while Huai Xu restrained his urge to open them.

Zhou Li allowed them to unbox the items.

So two seconds later, the packages were opened.

Huai Xu picked up a box and examined it, while Tuanzi used its claws to fiddle with another box, knocking it over to inspect it from every angle.

Zhou Li silently took the tea from their hands and headed to the kitchen.

The milk was already prepared.

Zhou Li thought that the milk tea made with the two kinds of tea might taste similar, and that the ratio of tea leaves, milk, and sugar would likely have a bigger impact. However, he had enough time to experiment slowly. Later, if conditions allowed, he could even make caramel milk tea.

「An hour later—」

Huai Xu leaned against the kitchen doorframe, holding a large bowl. He took a sip and asked, "Are you going to wear a wedding dress with Brother Nan?"

"...Where did you hear that from?" Zhou Li asked without turning around.

"I heard it with my own ears."

"How did you hear it?"

"I eavesdropped."

"It's not true."

"Oh, then are you going to perform a comedy skit?"

"...That's also not true."

"Oh."

"Hurry up and drink!"

"GLUG... Finished!"

"Good."

Zhou Li turned around, took the empty bowl from Huai Xu's hands, and exchanged it for another large bowl filled with milk tea. "Try this one now."

"Oh... GLUG!"

"How is it?"

"Hot."

"I mean the taste. How is it?"

"Tasty."

"And the one just now? Any difference?"

"The one just now was tasty..."

"The one just now was tastier?"

"This one is also tasty."

"..."

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Li thought that for this kind of thing, Tuanzi would be more reliable. Thankfully, he had prepared samples.

Huai Xu was still leaning against the doorframe, watching Zhou Li's busy figure. Holding the heavy bowl, he couldn't help but belch.

「Five minutes later—」

Zhou Li used six small bowls, lined up in two rows, each row representing one of the two kinds of red tea mixed in three different proportions. He took a serving of the version he deemed the tastiest for himself, eagerly awaiting Tuanzi's feedback.

Lord Dumpling scuttled over and tasted each milk tea, her tiny pink tongue licking away happily. Then she turned her head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Lord Dumpling thinks the one in your bowl tastes better."

"The one in my bowl is exactly that kind," Zhou Li said, pointing to a small bowl.

"Is it?" Lord Dumpling still approached him, a suspicious look on her face. "Let Lord Dumpling try it."

"Why do you always not believe me?"

"Let Lord Dumpling try it."

"Really!"

Zhou Li held up the bowl high.

Lord Dumpling stared at him in surprise, then lowered her head to ponder. During this, she occasionally glanced at the bowl in Zhou Li's hands.

In the end, Zhou Li didn't get her opinion.

「Another morning.」

Zhou Li went downstairs to buy baozi and warmed up the previous night's milk tea, which served as breakfast for him and the two demons.

Lord Dumpling still coveted the milk tea in his bowl.

Until she found an opportunity, swaggered straight up to Zhou Li's bowl, and swiftly licked it once.

Zhou Li was stunned for a moment.

How was he supposed to drink it now?

You could say that if Little Cat Girl had picked up the bowl and taken a sip, it might be somewhat acceptable, but sticking her tongue in...

At that moment, Lord Dumpling smacked her lips, puzzled. "Strange, it really does taste the same."

Zhou Li was speechless. "You clearly saw it. I poured it from the same pot..."

Lord Dumpling walked back to her own bowl, pretending not to hear.

Just as Zhou Li was consoling himself—Lord Dumpling is a demon, not a cat, not a creature of this world, and very clean, moreover—his peripheral vision suddenly caught Tuanzi lifting her front paw and nonchalantly giving it a few licks. She then turned her head to look at him with an innocent, puzzled expression.

Zhou Li suspected she was doing it on purpose!

A DING-DONG interrupted his thoughts.

Zhou Li quickly checked his phone. It was a text message:

Little Zheng: I bought a horse yesterday.

Little Zheng: A horse with markings like a dairy cow.

Zhou Li was a bit confused. What was a 'horse with dairy cow markings'?

Zheng Zhilan then sent him a picture.

It was a horse with a piebald coat, resembling the pattern of a dairy cow.

It was the first time Zhou Li had seen a horse with such coloring, and he found it quite unique. It was just that Zheng Zhilan had taken a poor picture; it wasn't focused properly, resulting in a photo that was only marginally better than one Mr. Huai might take.

Little Zheng: Qinghe said this horse is beautiful, and it's an old horse, very smart, so I bought it.

Zhou Li: Next time you take a picture, after you aim at the spot, you can tap the center of the screen and wait a bit longer before you shoot. It will be much clearer.

Little Zheng: Got it.

Zhou Li: But it is indeed very pretty. Can it be ridden?

Little Zheng: Yes, you can. It's very gentle and obedient; even people who can't ride horses can ride it. Right now, I just hope it gets familiar with the path quickly so I can ride it down the mountain to shop.

Zhou Li: Is riding a horse fun?

Little Zheng: It's fun. Do you want to ride?

Zhou Li looked up and saw Huai Xu staring at him mischievously. "Chatting with Little Zheng, huh?"

Zhou Li ignored him.

Huai Xu pretended to sigh dramatically, the fire of gossip in him undiminished by Zhou Li's expression, but he changed the subject. "Now that you know two Heavenly Masters, whom do you think you get along with best?"

Zhou Li still ignored him.

But on second thought, the one he got along with best would have to be Zheng Zhilan. Su Jue was a bit too introverted; even with someone like himself, a fellow Heavenly Master, he seemed to have little to say. Yin Le was probably easygoing, but his views on demons were too different from his own.

Zhou Li turned aside to continue typing, shielding his phone screen from Huai Xu.

Zhou Li: I've ridden a horse once when I went out to play. I've told you about it. But I wouldn't call that riding; it was just me sitting on the horse's back while the owner led me around in a circle.

Little Zheng: I'll lend it to you when you come back.

Zhou Li: Okay.

Zhou Li: By the way, I went for a driving lesson the other day and met another person like us, but he really doesn't like to talk.

Zheng Zhilan took a while to reply with two words:

That's good.

...

And so, October passed.

Their college's welcome party was scheduled for mid-December. In fact, some other colleges had already started holding their welcome parties in November. Chang Xiaoxiang had even dragged his entire dorm to watch one.

However, the welcome parties held around this time weren't very interesting; the really good ones required long rehearsal periods.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan also started on the Subject Two content for their driving lessons.

Oh right, Huai Xu too.