My Demon Friends

Zhou Li glanced upward again.

Somehow, Huai Xu had changed her position. She was now lying on the bed, her upper body hanging over the side, staring straight at his phone.

When their eyes met, she even blinked.

Suddenly, Chen Yang said with confusion, "I always feel like the dorm leader's bed sometimes rocks by itself. Even when no one is touching it, it seems to sway slightly. If you listen carefully, there are creaking noises, but then they stop."

"Right."

Zhou Li also nodded. "I feel it sometimes too. I thought I was imagining things."

"Could it be that your bed is unstable?"

"Possibly."

Zhou Li paused, then added, "Or maybe besides the four of us, there's something else living in our dorm room..."

"Don't scare me!" Liu Zhengming said, frightened. Even though it was sunny outside, it was winter, so the dorm room felt a bit cold. The chilliness was even more pronounced compared to the bright sunshine outdoors.

"Could there be a female ghost living here?" Chang Xiaoxiang looked at Chen Yang.

"It better be a beautiful ghost," Chen Yang said, pretending to be brave, but he quietly picked up the t-shirt and pants from the table and put them on.

"That's unlikely." Zhou Li shook his head. "It's probably an ugly ghost, incredibly hideous, with a rotting face, maggots crawling all over, eyes falling out of their sockets, hanging on its face..."

Zhou Li couldn't finish speaking before he burst out laughing because Huai Xu was pestering him.

Chen Yang widened his eyes. "Listen carefully! Look, the dorm leader is sitting on the stool now, completely away from the bed, and it just made that noise again..."

Zhou Li nodded. "Seems like this ghost isn't very skilled."

Huai Xu then reached out to hit him again.

After the laughter subsided, Zhou Li changed the subject. "Have you guys heard about the 'One-Week Couple' event organized by the school's student union?"

"No."

"Nope."

"I heard about it," Chang Xiaoxiang said. "Too bad I already have a girlfriend."

"What's 'One-Week Couple'?" Chen Yang asked.

"It's..."

Chang Xiaoxiang, who was always well-informed, carefully explained the 'one-week couple' concept to Chen Yang and Liu Zhengming, making the two single guys' eyes light up. Zhou Li guessed that in their eyes, this event probably equated to 'getting out of singlehood.'

After he finished, Chang Xiaoxiang looked at Zhou Li. "How do you know about this?"

"I signed up," Zhou Li replied.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"??"

All three were clearly bewildered.

Chang Xiaoxiang was the quickest to react. "He must have signed up with Brother Nan... TSK TSK, what's the point of you two doing that?"

"I want to sign up too!" Chen Yang raised his hand.

"Me too!" Liu Zhengming added.

"Is it still possible to sign up now?" Chang Xiaoxiang asked. "Our school's 'One-Week Couple' event is quite fun and very innocent. At the very least, you end up making a new friend. It's not like some subpar schools where, reportedly, these kinds of events get out of hand..."

"How do you sign up?"

"I'll send you their QQ contact."

Zhou Li forwarded them Wang Ling's QQ.

Just then, he received a message.

Baozi: Cousin!

Zhou Li: ??

Zhou Li: What's up?

Baozi: Brother Nan hit me again!

Zhou Li: …

Zhou Li: Fight back then.

Baozi: Why don't you fight back when Brother Nan hits you?

Zhou Li: I don't dare.

Baozi: Same here.

Zhou Li: It's because I don't mind the pain.

Baozi: I can't beat her.

Zhou Li: Oh, why did she hit you again?

Baozi: I tried to sell her the photos I took yesterday! (She added a crying emoticon.)

Zhou Li: …You deserved it.

Baozi: (She sent a pouting, tearful emoticon in response.)

Zhou Li: Brother Nan is planning to buy a car. Two hundred yuan is quite a bit of money for her; she's not someone you can easily swindle.

Baozi: One hundred.

Zhou Li: ??

Baozi: I asked her for one hundred... That's the usual rate I charge classmates for photos.

Zhou Li: …Then why did I have to pay two hundred??

Baozi: You have more money, and you're easier to fool.

Zhou Li: …

His heart ached.

Baozi: After hitting me, she snatched the photo as well! /cries

Zhou Li: Deserved!

Baozi: …

To avoid his little cousin asking him for money for medical expenses next, Zhou Li quickly turned off his phone. He instantly felt a wave of relief.

「December 24th.」

These days, celebrating Western holidays had fallen out of favor, a policy promptly adopted by universities. However, for young men and women with budding romantic feelings, they wouldn't miss any chance to express their affection for those they fancied. In their eyes, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had absolutely nothing to do with Jesus.

The school's small supermarket was displaying beautifully packaged apples today. They looked exquisite and, naturally, came with a hefty price tag.

It wasn't just their revelry. Some enterprising students also bought apples wholesale online. Some were pre-packaged, while others bought regular apples to package and sell themselves, always managing to make a tidy profit.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan went to the commercial street to eat clear broth goose. On their way back, Brother Nan looked at the shops on either side of the road and remarked, "Back in the day, shops on the street used to hang colorful lights for Christmas, but now, they rarely do."

Zhou Li nodded.

As they passed by a small shop, Brother Nan slowed down, turning to look at the apples displayed outside.

Zhou Li also slowed down.

Brother Nan leaned in to check the price on the apple packaging, thought for a moment, and said to Zhou Li—

"So expensive!"

"Right."

"I've been looking at cars these last few days, not sure which one to buy. Ugh, it's got me all confused; I can't even sleep well," Brother Nan said. "Can you see the dark circles under my eyes?"

"A little bit."

"Looks like I need to buy some fruit to replenish my vitamins."

"You should."

"??"

"What's up, Brother Nan?" Zhou Li asked with a hint of confusion.

WHOOSH!

Brother Nan grabbed Zhou Li's arm with one hand, gripping it so tightly her fingers turned white from the force. Turning her head, she stared fiercely at Zhou Li and demanded, "Get Brother Nan an apple! Did you hear me?!"

GULP!

Zhou Li swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! I'll go buy one now."

"Who told you to buy it now?!"

"Then when..."

"Buy it secretly yourself!"

"Got it, Brother Nan! Please let go... OUCH!" Zhou Li said, glancing sideways down the road.

He spotted an acquaintance.

On the sidewalk, there was a small stall with a little pile of unwrapped apples that looked quite decent. Sitting in front of it was a quiet-looking girl wearing a bucket hat, her head lowered as if she were counting ants.

Baozi looked up at them. "Buy an apple?"

Zhou Li: ...

Brother Nan: ...

After their initial shock and confusion, the two squatted down and examined the small pile of apples, turning a few over in their hands.

"Where did you get these?" Brother Nan asked.

"The fruit market," Baozi replied, meeting her gaze directly. "Buying an apple?"

"How long have you been sitting here?" Brother Nan asked again.

"Since this morning," Baozi said after a pause. "Are you buying?"

"Why aren't they packaged?" Zhou Li asked.

"Too lazy to wrap them..."

"How much per pound?"

"Ten yuan each. How many do you want?"

...

She'd be lucky to sell any at that price!

Zhou Li realized his little cousin was hopeless. Her current attitude was like she expected money to just fall from the sky.

Baozi sat as still as a statue, occasionally glancing from Zhou Li to Brother Nan. After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Wanna buy? Apples are this price on Christmas Eve. Since you're my first customers, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."

Both silently stood up.

Their figures gradually receded into the distance.

Baozi lowered her head again. What a pity, she thought.

It's always said that the first step is the hardest. If they had bought some just now, this whole pile of apples might have sold out quickly.

Maybe...

That evening, the occupants of Room 502 went out for a stroll together.

Chang Xiaoxiang bought an apple for his girlfriend. Liu Zhengming bought an apple, pretending someone had gifted it to him. Zhou Li, outwardly calm and collected, had also secretly picked out the most beautifully wrapped one. Inside was a bright red, shiny apple, supposedly a Red Snake-fruit.

Price: 25 yuan.

Zhou Li had always thought people buying these were paying an 'idiot tax,' until it was his turn—This apple is gorgeous! No! It's not just an apple! It's a Peace Apple!

Carrying the apple, Zhou Li went to the girls' dormitory building and hid in the shadows of the flowerbeds. He sneakily sent a message to Brother Nan. Only when he saw her bouncing out of the dormitory with her hands behind her back did he go up to meet her.

Beneath the trees, in the dim light, Zhou Li handed over the apple. In his nervousness, he blurted out, "Wishing Brother Nan a lifetime of peace!"

WHACK!

"Sorry..."

Humble Zhou Li, making his daily apology.

Brother Nan accepted the apple with one hand, keeping the other behind her back. Suddenly, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

The tall girl turned her head to the side, then pulled out a similarly exquisitely wrapped box from behind her back. She coughed a few times to muster her courage, still not looking at him, and muttered, "A return gift for you, so you don't think Brother Nan is extorting you."

"Thank you, Brother Nan."

Zhou Li decided he would go back and practically enshrine this apple.

Brother Nan quickly turned her head to the other side again, urging, "Hurry back! It's dangerous tonight, don't linger outside!"

Zhou Li nodded. "Okay."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few leaves fluttering down. One of them drifted towards Brother Nan's 'antenna.'

SWIPE!

Zhou Li quickly reached out and caught it.

This move gave Brother Nan quite a fright.

When she recovered from the shock and saw the fallen leaf in Zhou Li's hand, she stared blankly for a moment, then glared at Zhou Li. "Get lost, get lost, get lost..."

"Oh."

"..."

"Goodbye, Brother Nan."

"..."

Zhou Li returned to the dormitory and coincidentally received a message from Wang Ling. She had changed her online name to 'Cai University One-Week CP'.

Cai University One-Week CP: "Hello, classmate! The QQ number of your 'One-Week CP' match is ****. Surprise! Bet your heart is fluttering like a trapped deer, right? Since Christmas Eve isn't over yet, how about sending them a polite hello?"

Zhou Li looked at the message expressionlessly. Surprise, my ass, he thought. He could recite this QQ number by heart.

「Meanwhile, at the back gate of the school.」

A forlorn figure still sat on a small stool. In front of her, a pile of apples looked pale under the streetlight. Seeing someone passing by, she calmly raised her head and asked, "Buy an apple?"

Someone stopped.

Someone asked the price.

But no one bought.

With three hours left until Christmas Eve ended, Little Cousin, her expression unchanged, picked up an apple and started munching on it.

"No one's buying, huh..." she murmured to herself. Seeing a couple pass by, she called out again, "Buy an apple, classmate?"

Still no buyers.

Where did I go wrong?