My Demon Friends

"HAH!!"

Zhou Li sat on the sofa, exhaling a breath toward Tuanzi from afar, imagining that what he breathed out was fire.

Unable to stand the stench of the snail noodle soup, Tuanzi suddenly jumped half a meter to the side.

"Zhou Li, you're so annoying!"

But Zhou Li paid her no attention, instead taking another deep breath, his chest swelling up.

With a gust of breath, Tuanzi yelped and jumped high, quickly scurrying to the doorway to hide and covertly watch him—she became quite responsive at times like these.

"Zhou Li, are you stupid?"

Zhou Li couldn't help but laugh at this. Lately, he'd really been "infected" by Brother Nan and Huai Xu.

Tuanzi, huffing with anger, said, "So stinky! You're not allowed to sit on Lord Dumpling's bed! Lord Dumpling is going to get angry! Go take a shower right now!"

Her voice was clear and melodious, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Afraid she'd truly get angry, Zhou Li went to take a shower.

After he cleaned up and came out, he saw Huai Xu lying on the sofa playing video games. Her calves were crossed and swinging in a way that was rather dazzling under the light, and she was talking to Brother Nan on a voice call about what happened in the auditorium.

"...That guy was so embarrassed, HAHA!"

"Good thing I went to eat snail noodle soup," Brother Nan's voice came through the phone. "Otherwise, I'd have been embarrassed too."

"You did that on purpose, right?"

"Don't guess wildly!"

"HEHE! You can't fool me!"

At that moment, Mianmian's voice came from Brother Nan's side, a bit muffled and unclear. "Brother Nan! Get up and look! Yao Guangzhi has gathered a bunch of people outside the dorm and set up candles, holding flowers... AH, listen, they're shouting your name!"

"Ignore him!" Brother Nan's voice came through.

"Got it!"

"..."

Zhou Li stood in the center of the living room wiping his hair. The volume on Huai Xu's phone kept increasing, soon reaching its maximum.

Unfortunately, they still couldn't hear Brother Yao shouting Brother Nan's name. However, students from other dorms would occasionally run over to Brother Nan's room to report or pass on messages from Brother Yao. Eventually, Brother Nan simply asked Mianmian to close the door, but then other girls came knocking.

It seemed Brother Yao kept calling out.

Huai Xu listened for a bit, then flipped herself upright, slipped on her slippers, and put her phone on the coffee table.

"I'm going to check out the excitement!" With a WHOOSH, she vanished into thin air.

Zhou Li sat down on the sofa, silently staring at the phone.

Brother Nan's temper had improved a lot compared to the past, but she was still not a meek girl. So, before long, Zhou Li heard her angry voice through the phone—

"So annoying!"

This was followed by the RUSTLE of someone getting out of bed.

"Huh? Where's my baton?"

"Talk it out nicely!" Zhou Li quickly picked up the phone and shouted. "Don't hit anyone!"

"Huh? Zhou Li? Weren't you taking a shower?"

"I just finished... Don't hit people!"

"I'm going out to tell them to leave. If they leave, I won't hit them. But if they don't, they can't blame me," Brother Nan declared.

The call ended.

Zhou Li: ...

He sat on the sofa, feeling a bit guilty and remorseful.

Soon after, with a POP, Huai Xu appeared in front of him, excitedly saying, "Guess what happened?"

"Brother Nan beat them up." I've turned into a demon, Zhou Li thought.

"How did you know?"

"Just guessing."

"You guessed right!" Huai Xu clicked her tongue in amazement. "Brother Nan is truly awesome. She didn't just beat up your rival and his accomplices, but she also didn't spare anyone who was heckling or trying to break up the fight... Simply..."

"Just like you?" Zhou Li asked.

"Hmm..." Huai Xu thought for a moment and said, "I really admire Brother Nan!"

"No serious trouble, I hope?"

"No, she knows how to pull her punches. She has a million times more fighting experience than you." Huai Xu sat down next to Zhou Li. "But you're still more formidable. Not only did you resolve the immediate trouble, you also eliminated future threats…"

"..."

Zhou Li moved to the side, creating some distance between them.

Huai Xu looked at him, dumbfounded. She then sniffed her clothes and, looking up, asked, "Do I also smell like snail noodle soup? Why did you move away as soon as I sat down?"

"You're too pretty."

"..." After thinking hard, Huai Xu concluded, "There must be something wrong with you!"

"Oh!"

Zhou Li simply went to his room to sleep.

He had barely lain down when he received a message from Senior Sister Wang Dan—

Senior Sister Wang Dan: Did you know that my classmate and the guys he brought got beaten up by Brother Nan? Are you lying to me?

Zhou Li: How many people were beaten up?

Senior Sister Wang Dan: Allegedly, more than twenty.

Zhou Li: I can't understand how Brother Nan managed to beat up more than twenty of them by herself.

Senior Sister Wang Dan: ...I don't know either.

Senior Sister Wang Dan: I wasn't there.

Zhou Li: I think we should discuss this.

Senior Sister Wang Dan: That's reasonable.

...

「December 17th, Tuesday.」

The confession incident at the Life Sciences Institute two nights ago had spread throughout the school, even making its way from the forums to other schools.

The whole school now knew about a 'Brother Nan' from the Life Sciences Institute, Class of '19. Despite her stunning looks, she could single-handedly beat up her suitor and about a dozen of his henchmen with a baton, standing her ground even when others tried to intervene.

Probably no one would dare to pursue her now.

Brother Nan, on the other hand, wasn't bothered by this. She had always dealt with things this way, from middle school through high school.

Today, she and Zhou Li were going to take the 'Subject Four' test.

They could have taken Subject Four that same afternoon, right after finishing the Subject Three test last week. However, because Zhou Li hadn't reviewed and it was too late after their test, they postponed it to this week.

Qu Xiaogao didn't join them. He was waiting for Su Jue.

They entered the test center. The procedures were the same as for Subject One, but it felt a bit unfamiliar to Zhou Li.

Sitting in front of the computer, he began to answer questions.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind—

"Choose A!"

Zhou Li was rendered speechless.

There was one question where he and Huai Xu had a disagreement. Eventually, Zhou Li ignored Huai Xu's clamoring and chose what he thought was right.

He was wrong!

Huai Xu seemed even more upset than Zhou Li. "See? Not listening to the wisdom of the elders leads to immediate loss!"

Zhou Li pretended not to hear.

Huai Xu continued, "You scored full marks in the first three subjects. Now you've lost points in this one, so it's not a perfect record anymore!"

He's right, Zhou Li thought.

But regret was useless. He had a good attitude, especially when compared to Brother Nan.

After the exam, they swore an oath on the spot and received their driving licenses.

Brother Nan and Zhou Li were both excited. Even Huai Xu, who was next to them, was happy, as if he had passed his driving test too.

"Buy a car, buy a car!" Brother Nan shouted.

"Buy a car, buy a car!" Huai Xu echoed.

"Zhou Li, let me see your photo!" Brother Nan said.

"No!"

"?"

"Let's swap," Zhou Li corrected himself.

"Okay!"

Brother Nan handed her license to Zhou Li and took Zhou Li's from his hand.

Fortunately, both looked good.

Brother Nan returned the license to Zhou Li, bubbling with excitement. "Do you remember what you said before, about us pooling money to buy a car? Does the offer still stand?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Anytime."

"What kind of car?"

"Any kind."

"SUV or sedan? Manual or automatic? German, French, American, or domestic, Japanese, or Korean?" Brother Nan bombarded him with questions.

"...I haven't thought about it," Zhou Li admitted honestly.

"Are you an idiot?"

"..."

"Then listen to me!" Brother Nan declared. "We'll go check out the used car market in a few days. There's no rush; we just need to buy one before the exams are over. Ideally, we'll buy a car and drive it all the way back to Yi Province together."

"Alright."

It's so comfortable not having to think for myself, Zhou Li mused.

Brother Nan continued talking the whole way. She discussed how they would share the car, the model and price she wanted, and various pros and cons of different car brands that Zhou Li didn't understand. So, he just nodded along and said "Mm-hmm."

Huai Xu, meanwhile, was already looking forward to their trip to Qingjiang a year later.

Today, Zhou Li returned to his dormitory, the first time in several days.

In Dormitory 502, a discussion was centered on Chang Xiaoxiang's relationship issues. Chang Xiaoxiang was having trouble communicating with his girlfriend. Chen Yang was seriously giving him advice, and Liu Zhengming occasionally chimed in. Chang Xiaoxiang was actually listening intently.

As far as Zhou Li knew, Chen Yang had never been in a relationship, and Liu Zhengming would get embarrassed just talking to girls.

When Zhou Li returned, Chang Xiaoxiang looked at him as if he were a lifesaver and eagerly presented his problem.

Zhou Li didn't understand such profound matters, so he simply bluffed his way through, contributing his small part to the "crowdsourced" relationship advice of Dormitory 502.

While they were deeply engaged in conversation, he suddenly received a message from Brother Nan—

Li Daimao: Voice message 16s

Li Daimao: Talk.

Zhou Li frowned. He was in the middle of their discussion, and he neither wanted to listen to the voice message, nor was it convenient.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Li typed back: What's up?

Li Daimao: Voice message 8s

Zhou Li: You're right.

Li Daimao: Voice message 5s

Zhou Li: Correct.

Li Daimao: Voice message 6s

Zhou Li: Makes sense.

Li Daimao: Voice message 3s

Zhou Li: Mm-hmm.

Li Daimao: Voice message 10s

Zhou Li: Absolutely.

Li Daimao: OK.

It seems the conversation has come to a satisfying close, he thought.

Zhou Li couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back for his cleverness and returned to his chat with the three guys.

In Dormitory 502, Chang Xiaoxiang was actually the first one to get into a relationship; the others hadn't dated before. Oddly enough, though, Chen Yang and Liu Zhengming seemed to have many insights about romance and could talk about it at length. Nevertheless, since Zhou Li was the 'authority,' they would usually round off their opinions by asking him, "Right, Boss?"

Zhou Li would nod and agree.

They would then be quite satisfied.

An hour later, when Zhou Li went to the bathroom, he suddenly remembered and decided to listen to Brother Nan's voice messages.

Li Daimao: "I just found out that the whole thing with Yao Yao Yao—what's-his-name—was your doing! Zhou Lili, you really pulled one over on me! If Senior Sister Wang Dan hadn't asked me today, you would have kept it from me forever!"

Li Daimao: Talk.

Zhou Li: What's up?

GULP.

Zhou Li swallowed hard.

His expression froze. At this point, he could only brace himself, hope for the best, and play the next message.

Li Daimao: "You're asking *me* what's up?? Is it because I haven't straightened you out in a while that you think I'm easygoing?"

Zhou Li: You're right.

BOOM!

It felt to Zhou Li as if a bolt of lightning had streaked across his world, illuminating the entire night sky.

He panicked. Big time.

With trembling hands, he tapped on the next message.

Li Daimao: "HAH! You even dare to admit it! Looks like you really are asking for a beating!"

Zhou Li: Correct.

At that moment, Zhou Li's expression was priceless.