My Demon Friends

The horizon still held a smudge of deep crimson, like a red-hot branding iron, its glow slowly fading away.

Zhou Li helped Zheng Zhilan sit down on the swing chair on the balcony and watched her swinging her legs. He asked, "Does it feel like a swing?"

Zheng Zhilan nodded.

The voices of Huai Xu and Qinghe were coming from the living room—

"You must not have talked with Demons for a long time, huh? There are plenty of little demons around here. Come on, I'll introduce you!"

"Not going."

"Why? What's the point of staying in this room?"

"Not going."

"Let me tell you, those little demons are not like that Evil God; they are really fun and speak so nicely!"

"Not going."

"Hey, you Demon! Why are you so stubborn?" Huai Xu put his hands on his hips, huffing with annoyance, then quickly thought up another line of persuasion. "By human terms, this place is the capital of Demons, and since you've come all this way, I definitely should show you some hospitality."

"No need."

"Are you looking down on me?"

"No."

"So, are you just trying to give me a hard time?"

"…"

Eventually, Qinghe was still taken out by Huai Xu.

Huai Xu said he would take him to see a glowing tree eighty miles away, under which grew a kind of singing mushroom... Zhou Li had also often heard such stories from his grandfather more than a decade ago.

So only Zhou Li and Zheng Zhilan were left at home.

Neither of them spoke; only the sound of the wind whistling outside the window and the faint creaking of the swing chair as it moved could be heard.

"It's so warm here."

Zheng Zhilan was the first to break the silence.

"Well, it's Spring City, spring all year round."

"I was wearing a down jacket when I left. I took it off on the high-speed train, and then it got hotter and hotter. When I got off the train and left the station, Qinghe said a lot of people were looking at me." Zheng Zhilan was a bit embarrassed.

"In Chunming, there are also people who wear sweaters." Zhou Li thought for a moment. "They must think you're beautiful."

"Not at all."

"It must be really cold in the mountains. Does it snow in the winter?"

"It snows in December."

"I've hardly seen snow my whole life."

"I've seen a lot; when it rains at the foot of the mountain, it snows at the top."

"That must be so cold."

"It's not cold if you stay in bed. Sometimes I'll light a fireplace and stay near the fire. Anyway, there's usually not much to do in winter," Zheng Zhilan said as she turned her head and looked outside the window. The neighboring building was lit up with grids of lights, and it was unknown how it appeared in her eyes.

Zhou Li couldn't help but smile.

In his memory, Zheng Zhilan was very diligent; he had not imagined she would snuggle in bed or by the fireplace. He pictured Zheng Zhilan curled up, avoiding the cold or warming up by the fire, and as he thought more about it, only the image of the fireplace remained. That kind of feeling must be completely different from the warm air of an air conditioner.

So Zhou Li asked, "Does the fireplace need wood added constantly?"

Zheng Zhilan laughed softly.

Zhou Li felt a bit embarrassed, but he adapted quickly and said seriously, "Burning the fire itself is quite interesting!"

"You can also cook something inside, like sweet potatoes, or roast some meat." Zheng Zhilan stopped teasing him and whispered, "But I still like roasted sweet potatoes. I peel and eat them right after they're done. They're scalding to the touch but make you feel warm."

"Sweet potatoes really do warm you up."

"Yeah."

"Let me peel some fruit for you..."

Zhou Li rose from his chair, went to the living room, his gaze passing over apples and guavas, but he chose the passion fruit lying in a corner. He felt Zheng Zhilan probably had never tried this thing before.

There's a special tool for opening passion fruit, a plastic one the shop included with the purchase. It can easily open the 'crown' of the fruit, and then you can spoon out the pulp to eat.

After Zhou Li opened it, he inserted the spoon into the passion fruit and handed it to Zheng Zhilan. "Have you ever eaten passion fruit?"

"No."

"There's a place in this province called Banna. The fruits there are not bad, and this one is from there. Just scoop it out with a spoon and eat."

"It smells so good."

"Very sweet, be careful of the juice inside."

"Yeah."

Zheng Zhilan scooped a spoonful and carefully brought it to her mouth.

Her eyes immediately squeezed shut!

"So sour!"

"Haha..."

Disappointing Zhou Li a little, Zheng Zhilan only squinted her eyes; her features didn't scrunch up.

After getting used to it a bit, Zheng Zhilan scooped another spoonful; this time, she wasn't caught off guard. She didn't even squint her eyes and only said, "It's quite tasty despite being sour; smells really nice."

"You like sour things."

"Yes."

"Girls love sour food more than boys do."

Zhou Li thought of Brother Nan, who adored sour food. In fact, this box of passion fruit was purchased by Brother Nan, who bought a lot. It is said that she piled several boxes in her dormitory room, usually scooping out all the pulp into a large bowl, having it as a drink or jam, consuming half a box in one sitting. Zhou Li didn't dare to eat like that.

Seeing that Zheng Zhilan genuinely enjoyed it, he opened a few more for her, then unpacked the parcel he had brought back.

It was his new smartphone!

His old phone was really worn out. Although it would have been fine to use it as before, he now played games occasionally, and because of the freezes, Brother Nan and Huai Xu had scolded him several times. So, Zhou Li bought a new model. Still the same brand. As for the old phone, he could give it to Tuanzi, who had longed for a phone for quite a while, poor thing.

Zheng Zhilan was still rocking gently in the swing chair, legs swinging slightly, her gaze following Zhou Li. When he looked over, she would immediately twist to gaze at the highway outside the window, where blurry streaks of light moved with the traffic.

"So many cars in the city," she said.

"Yeah, cities are noisier," Zhou Li replied as he sat back on the balcony with his phone. "Taking advantage of the recent sale, I got a new phone, same model as yours."

"It's quite easy to use," she commented.

"Hehe!"

"Qinghe hasn't come back yet."

Now that Zhou Li was beside her again, Zheng Zhilan, oddly enough, stopped looking at him, instead turning to peer at the lights and shadows outside the window, and the reflections on the glass.

While Zhou Li was syncing the apps, settings, and home screen layout from the old phone to the new one, he replied to her, "Don't worry, Chunming is a very safe place, and Huai Xu is already well acquainted here. Plus, I know a Heavenly Master. He's pretty awesome. How about I arrange for us to have a meal together tomorrow?"

"Sure," Zheng Zhilan agreed, though without much surprise. After thinking, she asked, "Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

"Missing a few days of classes is fine."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that's how university is. The requirements aren't so strict. As long as you can pass the exams and don't skip too many classes, it's okay," Zhou Li patiently explained to Zheng Zhilan. "But the day after tomorrow, I have to go for driving practice. Though it's only in the afternoon."

"Oh."

The room was continually filled with the sound of their chatter. Unconsciously, the night gradually deepened.

Huai Xu and Qinghe still hadn't returned.

Zheng Zhilan went back to her room, and not long after, the sound of trickling water echoed from inside.

Zhou Li took a pillow from Huai Xu's room, threw it on the sofa, and found a thin blanket to cover himself, which was barely adequate.

He then lay down and chatted with Yin Le.

After telling Yin Le that the Young Heavenly Master he knew had arrived in Chunming and suggesting that the three of them have a meal together, Yin Le agreed after only a brief hesitation.

At that moment, a CLICK came from outside the door.

When Huai Xu came in and saw Zhou Li curled up on the sofa, shielding his head from the light, he asked, "Do you want to sleep next to me?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Not used to it."

"We've shared a room before."

"But not a bed."

"Pfft!" Huai Xu smirked. "We look exactly alike, what's there to get used to?"

"..."

Zhou Li really had no retort for him.

If he thought about it, sleeping next to another version of himself would be strange, wouldn't it? No, that's not right. He couldn't call Huai Xu 'another version of himself.' At least Zhou Li wouldn't lounge on a sofa munching burgers, sipping cola, and burping.

When the lights in the living room went out again, Zhou Li fell asleep quickly, but the night was destined to be anything but quiet—the room of the old monster echoed with video game sounds and team voice chat all night long, and he would occasionally come to the living room to grab some fruit or snacks or to open the fridge.

In a haze, Zhou Li also heard Brother Nan's voice.

That night he had a dream.

He dreamt that early the next day, he skipped class and was called out by the teacher, who threatened to fail him. Brother Nan couldn't get through to him on the phone, so, pretending to use the bathroom, she raced over on her bike, knocking on the door to find him and Zheng Zhilan cooking.

Brother Nan mooched a plate of fried rice with eggs, exclaiming how delicious it was.

In the end, both of them failed their courses.

Zhou Li suddenly woke up.

It was only after waking that he realized how absurd the dream was.

Checking the time, it was only six.

It was still dark outside.

Yet, at this hour, there actually was a knocking sound.

No, it was someone knocking on the window.

Carefully getting out of bed and drawing back the curtain, Zhou Li saw a woman dressed in a bright red ancient costume standing outside the window, holding a short staff and smiling at him.

"Are you okay?"