My Demon Friends

December 14th, Saturday.

Early morning.

Zhou Li checked all the items he needed for the exam, then stood in front of the full-length mirror to comb his hair, admiring his own good looks.

Suddenly, a little paw tugged at his trouser leg.

"Comb Lord Dumpling's fur too!"

"Oh, okay."

So, Zhou Li bent down, picked up Tuanzi, and sat on the couch. He combed her fur backward until each strand stood on end. Seeing Tuanzi's wide-eyed and stunned expression as she stared at him, Zhou Li stayed silent.

He put down the comb and called out to Huai Xu to head for the exam.

This was Zhou Li's first time preparing for the Level 4 exam.

He had heard that the Level 4 exam used the "Plum Blossom" test paper format, which undoubtedly added some difficulty to Huai Xu's task.

Huai Xu's English was quite poor. She recognized only about ten common letters, including A, B, C, and D, and for the others, she could only read Pinyin. Fortunately, she was invisible, so she had enough time to compare answers.

Zhou Li wasn't unduly pessimistic. He had also prepared during this period, but due to his limited English proficiency, he wasn't very confident.

Several thousand students from the entire university were likely taking the Level 4 exam. Most of Zhou Li's classmates had signed up, as had everyone in his dormitory. However, after the random assignment of exam rooms, the chances of them being in the same one were not high.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan were in exam rooms quite far apart.

At 8:40 AM, candidates began entering the exam room.

They checked the listening comprehension radio frequency and tested the sound.

They only received the exam materials after 9:00 AM and began answering the questions.

While writing the essay, Zhou Li realized his English proficiency had declined even further from his college entrance exam level. He could recall the existence of some words but had forgotten how to write them. The process of trying to dredge up these memories was agonizing.

It's hopeless.

Huai Xu leisurely strolled around the exam hall and returned to Zhou Li. "I now know who has the same test paper as you," she said. "I've also roughly assessed their performance. Those who started writing furiously the moment they got their papers, looking confident, are definitely doing well."

Zhou Li remained silent, continuing to rack his brains.

Since he didn't know the vocabulary, he had to resort to a circumlocution strategy. Although this would cause the quality of his essay to plummet, it was still better than being unable to write anything at all.

At 9:40 AM, the listening comprehension section began.

Zhou Li put on his headphones and tried to concentrate.

But soon, he frowned.

For some reason, his headphones had severe interference. Not only were they filled with static, but the radio signals were also crossed. He already couldn't understand the English, and now it was interspersed with Xiao Yueyue's crosstalk performance. The crosstalk was so potent that it vividly conjured images in Zhou Li's mind.

So, the listening test sounded roughly like this in his ears—

KSHHH... dollars... My goodness!

Zhou Li's mind was filled with the image of that comedian: a wide, flat face, beady eyes like mung beans, hands covering his mouth, eyes darting all around.

And then—

KSHHH... Ah, ah, ah, Fifth Ring~~

This is too much!

Just then, Huai Xu returned. Today, she was disguised as a girl. Seeing Zhou Li's expression, she shook her head repeatedly. "Zhou Li, you've really gone downhill since starting university. Look at you! You weren't like this before."

Zhou Li shot her a glare.

Huai Xu leaned in close, pointing to the first question. "I saw the girl in front picked this one—the second-longest option, the one starting with 'n'."

So, Zhou Li chose C.

He had no other choice.

Huai Xu's voice, sounding incredibly sweet, echoed near his head. "You never used to let me help you cheat... sigh..."

Zhou Li: ...

His feelings were so conflicted.

At 11:30 AM.

Zhou Li stood waiting outside the exam hall. From a distance, he saw a tall figure walking toward him. She wore high-top sneakers and cargo pants, looking very stylish, with a small tuft of hair on top of her head sticking straight up like a cowlick, making her appear full of energy.

As she came closer...

Zhou Li noticed that one side of her cheek was red and covered in neat, fine lines.

Zhou Li's gaze moved down to her sleeve cuff.

The lines on her face match her sleeve. Confirmed.

How infuriating!

Brother Nan had been standing in front of him for a moment. Seeing that he hadn't said anything, she put her hands behind her back, bent down, and tilted her head to meet his gaze.

"What's wrong? Why the long face?" Brother Nan asked, her expression bright and captivating. "Did the exam go badly?"

"I don't know if I did well or not. How about you?" Zhou Li paused. "It must have been a bit cold sleeping in the classroom this morning, right? Don't catch a cold."

"Nope! I've already had my cold for the year~"

"So, how did the exam go for you?"

"It was okay, I guess. I'm not really sure," Brother Nan said, spreading her hands. "I finished all the questions pretty quickly and then just went to sleep."

"Did you write the essay?"

"Wrote two lines."

"And the translation part?"

"Didn't write it. Couldn't figure it out."

"I see. Well, how about we go for barbecue for lunch? The one in First City," Zhou Li suggested.

"Deal."

"If you're coming, find a place to manifest yourself," Zhou Li added, speaking to Huai Xu.

"Huh? Oh, oh, oh!"

Brother Nan's brain stalled for a second before she realized Zhou Li was talking to Huai Xu.

She maintained a calm expression, but her eyes darted around as she tried to locate Huai Xu using some imagined special ability. For instance, she tried sensing disturbances in the dust on the ground, looking for leaves that rustled though there was no wind, the flicked-up corners of passersby's clothes, or loose sidewalk tiles that gave way when stepped on and turned into puddly traps after rain.

Any such movement would surely mean Huai Xu had passed by.

Brother Nan silently gave herself a thumbs-up for her ingenuity.

Two minutes later, her search yielded no results.

Undeterred, Brother Nan began to secretly channel her "powers" again. First, she imagined she had superpowers that allowed her to see through a Demon's disguise. Then, she tried to convince herself she could emit a bat-like sonar that would bounce off something in the air and return to her.

Five minutes later...

"Phew!"

She gave up.

Just then, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Brother Nan!"

Brother Nan turned her head. The first thing she saw was a girl so beautiful there wasn't a single flaw to find, as if she didn't belong in this world. Brother Nan had seen this face a few times before.

"Where did you just pop out from?"

"The women's restroom over there."

"Were you following us just now?"

"Nope."

"Oh." No wonder, Brother Nan thought. She silently told herself it wasn't that she couldn't find Huai Xu; it was because Huai Xu hadn't been there. If she had been, Brother Nan definitely would have detected her.

They arrived at the barbecue restaurant.

This was an all-you-can-eat buffet, and Zhou Li had group-buy vouchers for three people.

They chose a booth by the window that could seat four. Zhou Li and Brother Nan sat on opposite sides. Huai Xu, who had walked in last, casually sat down next to Zhou Li and then turned her head to look around.

The restaurant was quite crowded on the weekend. Many people were stealing glances at their table, and more than half of those gazes were focused on Huai Xu.

For once, Brother Nan's striking looks were outshone.

Just then, a chef came over, holding a large skewer of grilled meat. "Garlic beef steak?" he asked.

Huai Xu replied at lightning speed, "Yes!"

So, the chef sliced a bit for each of them onto their plates.

Zhou Li took a bite. Not bad.

"Oh, so we don't have to grill the meat ourselves at this place?" Brother Nan finished what was on her plate in a couple of bites. "It just takes them so long to bring it around. Next time, we need to ask for more... Hey, here they come, here they come!"

"Grilled chicken gizzards and beef tongue?" the chef asked.

"We'll take both! Give us a lot!"

"Alright."

...

This type of restaurant certainly was unique. The barbecue places they had visited in the past were either Korean-style tabletop grills using paper or charcoal braziers. Occasionally, they'd also eaten at places similar to street barbecue stalls. This was their first time experiencing this particular restaurant model.

It's quite hassle-free.

The taste... was also passable.

「Two hours later...」

The chef silently approached, briefly announced the name of the dish, and then carved the meat onto Huai Xu's plate.

It looked like goose meat, and he carved a generous portion.

Zhou Li was playing on his phone while occasionally glancing at the scenery outside the window.

Brother Nan, meanwhile, was sprawled on the sofa seat, clutching her stomach. Her mouth was slightly agape, and she wore an expression of utter despair, yet she still stared intently at Huai Xu.

"Huai Xu, I've realized you really get your money's worth at buffets—*urp*—there it is!"

"This is nothing..." Huai Xu said, her mouth glistening with oil, which severely detracted from the elegant aura her appearance usually conveyed. "Before I met Zhou Li, I never had to pay when I went to buffets."

"And you never got caught?" Brother Nan asked.

"No one would ever suspect me," Huai Xu said.

"So, you made yourself look this beautiful just to avoid suspicion while being a thief?" Zhou Li interjected.

"Of course not," Huai Xu mumbled, her mouth full.

"Eat up."

"Mmph..."

"The official dress rehearsal for our faculty's freshman welcome party started today," Brother Nan said weakly to Zhou Li. "Your cousin is so weird. She packed her dress in her backpack to change at the auditorium; she wouldn't even wear it in the dorm for me to see."

"Stop talking and just digest your food," Zhou Li said.

"But I want to talk!"

"Don't upset your stomach, or you'll end up in the hospital again."

"...I want to punch you!"

"If you end up in the hospital again, you'll be famous throughout our entire faculty, if not the whole university," Zhou Li said, still playing on his phone without looking up.

"You..."

His smug confidence was infuriating! And to make matters worse, she really wasn't in any condition to move right now!

Brother Nan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. To stop herself from lashing out, she turned her head to look out the window. The sunlight felt warm on her face, and she slowly closed her eyes.

Her eyelashes fluttered gently, and her expression became serene.