My Demon Friends

Brother Nan preferred seats against the wall.

In most of the large classrooms they had used, a 363 layout was adopted, which meant there were three seats on the side near the wall. Baozi, however, never agreed to sit next to Zhou Li and Brother Nan, and sometimes even sat quite far from them.

Today, she actually took a seat in the row in front of them.

"Have you guys heard about the three-line love poem collection event organized by the school's publicity department?" Baozi turned to look at them.

"Wasn't that sent to the class group chat?" Zhou Li said.

"Right."

"Are you planning to participate?"

"The top three winners get a cash prize and a gift, plus extra academic points," Baozi explained. "But I can't write for the life of me. If you guys have any inspiration, we could crowdfund it. I just want the cash prize; the gifts would be yours. I can't give away the academic points, though."

"No," Zhou Li was not some literary girl, "and Brother Nan is even less likely to be interested."

"Indeed," Brother Nan nodded in agreement.

"Oh..."

Baozi seemed somewhat disappointed.

Bowing her head in thought for a moment, she suddenly asked again, "Then have you heard about the 'One-Week Couple' event organized by the school's student union branch?"

"I haven't heard of that one," Zhou Li said.

"What's a One-Week Couple?" asked Brother Nan.

"You can think of it as a couple for a week," Baozi said. "With Christmas approaching, the school's student union branch organized this event for single students, allowing them to experience the sweetness of a relationship."

"Sounds like a game," remarked Zhou Li.

"Won't it end up with hundreds of guys signing up..." Brother Nan thought about it, "but only a dozen or so girls?"

"'Based on data from past events at our school, usually more girls sign up than guys,' Baozi replied. She then took out half of a mantou wrapped in a plastic bag from her backpack, unwrapped it, and took a bite. 'This event is quite interesting and has successfully paired up some couples every year.'"

"I see."

"How do you know so much about this? You're not usually interested in this sort of thing, are you?" Brother Nan was suspicious.

"I have a senior sister from high school who's now in the student union's organization department. I saw it on her social media page," Baozi said. She paused, then added, "Do you guys want to participate in this event?"

"Not interested," Zhou Li said.

"Why would I participate? I'm not looking for a boyfriend," Brother Nan tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, with my unmatched looks—I'm Brother Nan, after all—can you imagine the psychological pressure it'd cause the little guys I'd be matched with?"

"I can pull some strings," Baozi said.

Suddenly, Zhou Li and Brother Nan fell silent, one staring at the blackboard, the other lost in thought looking at Baozi.

A moment later, Brother Nan asked, "How does this event work?"

Little Cousin's face remained calm. She finished her mantou, then conscientiously twisted the plastic bag into a small ball and put it in her pocket. "You sign up by paying an 11.11 yuan registration fee and specifying your gender. Once successful, the student union will pair people randomly. You'll receive your partner's QQ number, and then the student union will assign you tasks daily, usually one or two each day. You just follow through for a week."

"I see!"

Brother Nan nodded, now somewhat interested.

So she turned and asked, "Are you going to sign up?"

"Not interested..."

After saying this, Zhou Li quickly glanced at Brother Nan and hesitated. "...Or maybe I am?"

Before they could discuss further, the bell for class rang.

Today was the last session of "Introduction to Life Sciences". The teacher began by taking attendance, and surprisingly, a few students were absent. Then the teacher summarized the content taught over the semester, while the students listened intently, highlighting points in their books with their pens.

Brother Nan also took notes.

Zhou Li guessed she would probably do some revision because luck played a relatively small role in the final exams, and with Brother Nan's honest and straightforward personality, she was too lazy to engage in cheating and dismissed the notion of it altogether.

In terms of character, Zhou Li really admired her.

As for the effectiveness of her revision, that was something he did not know.

At noon, when school ended, Zhou Li took Little Cousin out to the commercial street to improve her diet by ordering several stir-fried dishes.

After finishing the meal, Zhou Li returned to the dormitory, planning to spend the last few days there.

On his desk lay a stack of neatly bound A4 papers.

Zhou Li picked them up to look. They contained review materials for calculus, organic chemistry, basic physics, and English. The organic chemistry and basic physics sections, for instance, practically consisted of questions leaked directly by the teachers, while English consisted of three full pages of translations.

Not only was it bound, but there was even a cover.

Zhou Li thought for a moment, then looked at Chang Xiaoxiang. "Did you do this?"

Clutching a cup of milk tea, Chang Xiaoxiang nodded. "I did it, and then Liu Zhengming and I went to print it together. Don't let it get out, okay?"

"Where did you get the calculus problems from?"

"I asked people from the Chemical Engineering and Computer Science departments. The problems leaked by their teachers are all the same, so there shouldn't be any mistakes."

"Impressive!"

For exams like mathematics or foreign languages, it's possible for all the non-major students throughout the university to use the same paper, or at most there might be separate ones for humanities and science. Indeed, this was a good strategy.

Only Chang Xiaoxiang would have such extensive connections—because he had joined the Computer Repair Department, he had girls from every department in the university as QQ contacts.

Zhou Li expressed his thanks, picking up the materials and starting to go through them.

The formatting was done meticulously; it was indeed Chang Xiaoxiang's style. Only he would be so diligent and unfazed by the trouble.

Having such a roommate was a blessing.

Soon, the others in the dorm began discussing strategies for the upcoming exam.

College was not like high school, after all. Cheating was the norm, and the few cheating skills they had brought over from high school were completely inadequate for the competitive cheating environment of college. They urgently needed to learn advanced cheating concepts from the seniors in their second year.

Zhou Li listened as they spoke with authority, organizing the information in his mind. It actually needed to be divided into two areas—one was 'principle', and the other was 'technique'. The principle focused more on theory, while the technique was about practical skills. For example, choosing a seat that struck a balance between being 'easy to cheat' and 'not easily targeted by the teacher', and how one should act to avoid getting caught while cheating—these belonged to 'principle'. Whether to use a phone or crib notes was a matter of 'technique'.

Zhou Li listened in confusion, when suddenly, he felt as if something was shaking above his head.

Looking up, he saw a pair of legs.

They were barefoot, with soles that were white with a hint of red, clean and tidy, extending up to a pair of beautifully lined calves.

Zhou Li lowered his head, picked up a pen, and poked gently.

"Eh?"

The shaking legs immediately stopped.

Huai Xu, sitting on the bed, bent down to look at him. After a moment, she grinned. "I was wondering why you've become such a cheater! Turns out you've been led astray by these classmates of yours. Luckily, you rarely stay in the dorm and mostly live with me, so you haven't been too badly corrupted!"

Zhou Li really wanted to object but couldn't speak aloud, feeling somewhat stifled.

Huai Xu, oblivious, continued swinging her legs, saying, "That silly cat is making a fuss about running away from home again. She says it's winter now and she wants to go to someone else's house to try their freshly made sausages and cured meat, sigh..."

Zhou Li kept silent.

Suddenly, his phone went DING.

A friend request.

From: Qingdeng Youwei.

Attached message: I'm Wang Ling from the Student Organization Department.

Zhou Li, puzzled, accepted the request.

Wang Ling: Hello, your friend signed you up for our 'One-Week Couple' event, and the registration fee has been paid. I just want to confirm, you will participate in this event and it's not a prank, right?

Zhou Li hesitated for a long time: I'll participate.

Wang Ling: Great, then you have successfully signed up.

Wang Ling: We will inform you of your partner's QQ number on the 24th. The event officially starts on Christmas Day and ends on the 31st. We'll give you tasks every day, which we encourage you to complete as much as possible. (The activities are progressive. We aim to make everyone feel comfortable and ensure absolutely no one is put in a difficult situation).

Wang Ling: During the event, we hope everyone will take it seriously and be understanding and inclusive of each other. Our goal is for everyone to experience the taste of love during this week and, at the very least, come away with a new friend of the opposite sex. Of course, it'd be even better if you could actually start a relationship!

Wang Ling: If you need to drop out midway, please remember to communicate well and explain the situation to your partner.

Zhou Li: Okay, thank you.

She put it quite well. Although Zhou Li wasn't particularly interested in it, her words did evoke a flicker of anticipation in him.