My Demon Friends

Huai Xu didn't come to open the door for Zhou Li.

The Old monster was likely sulking.

Zhou Li shifted the bag of popcorn from his right hand to his left, took out his keys, and unlocked the door.

CLICK.

All the lights in the house that could be turned on were blazing. Huai Xu sat on the sofa, stuffing his mouth with huge handfuls of popcorn.

Turning his head, human and demon locked eyes.

In Huai Xu's hands was a bucket of popcorn, and on the floor lay three empty buckets, identical to the packaging in Zhou Li's hands.

After chomping a couple of times and blinking several times, Huai Xu offered the popcorn, "Want some?"

Zhou Li: "..."

Huai Xu asked again, "Why did you come back? Weren't you supposed to be staying in the dorm these days?"

Zhou Li silently set the popcorn on the table without saying a word.

Huai Xu pondered for a moment, then changed the subject, "Was your date with Li Daimao fun?"

"Fun."

"Then do you like Li Daimao?"

"..."

"You definitely like Li Daimao!" Huai Xu's mouth was full of popcorn, making his speech unclear. "You can't fool my eyes!"

"...Eat your popcorn!"

"You really don't want any?"

"..."

Zhou Li grabbed some clean clothes and went back to the dorm.

「December 27, Friday.」

Cai University One-Week CP: It's already the third day of the 'One-Week CP' event. How's it going with her?

Cai University One-Week CP: Fixed task: Before you sleep, say goodnight to her and warmly remind her to rest early.

Cai University One-Week CP: Today's task: The school's sports field is a great place for couples to unwind. Ask her to take a walk with you in the early evening or at night, and find out about each other's romantic history.

Zhou Li: Received

Today was the last day of classes for the semester.

There was only one English class in the morning. The afternoon brought a physical education exam, testing the fifty-meter dash, pull-ups for boys, and one-minute sit-ups for girls.

At four in the afternoon, the sun finally became gentler.

Brother Nan finished her sit-ups first and then came over to watch Zhou Li do pull-ups. She felt that pull-ups, a strength-based exercise, were somewhat incongruous with the Zhou Li she usually knew. Unfortunately, by the time she arrived, Zhou Li had already finished.

"How many did you do?" Brother Nan asked, walking beside Zhou Li as they headed out.

"19."

"Only 19..." Brother Nan curled her lip.

"A perfect score is 19."

"Oh, but how many can you actually do?" Brother Nan asked again.

I don't know… Zhou Li calculated in his mind: at five seconds per standard pull-up, that would be twelve a minute, or seven hundred twenty an hour. He probably wouldn't want to keep going for that long.

"Weak!" Brother Nan remarked.

"Yeah."

"If it were me, I'd do at least a hundred!" Brother Nan boasted.

"What are we eating tonight?"

"Eat..."

As expected, Brother Nan stopped dwelling on the previous topic and fell into contemplation. "Let's have stir-fry, the usual place. Or should I bring some soup back for your cousin to have with her rice? Oh, order something a bit oilier, she's been so pitiful these last couple of days..."

"Eating apples every day?"

"Yeah, you know about apples—super low in calories. Apart from coming to class this morning, your cousin has just been lying in bed all day."

"Saving energy?"

"Exactly."

"I asked her to come eat with me, but she wouldn't."

"Next time I'll carry her over."

"Good."

The two chatted as they walked.

Night fell early. After dinner, twilight already lingered in the sky. From then on, with each step taken from the commercial street to the sports field, the sky darkened a bit more. At some point, the streetlights also came on.

The sports field had two huge lights, one in each corner. Turning both on could illuminate the entire venue.

However, the school usually only turned one on.

Thus, from one corner to the other, there was a gradient from light to dark.

Two figures entered the venue.

There were a lot of people.

On the green field, boys were playing soccer. Divided into two groups, they ran and shouted freely, drenched in sweat. Clothes were casually strewn on the lawn beyond the white lines. Others sat in twos or threes, playing on their phones, chatting, watching the game, or simply lying on the grass enjoying the fading red glow of sunset.

The track was even busier.

There were runners, walkers, students, and teachers with their families in tow. Zhou Li even spotted couples, much like them, walking side by side but not holding hands.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan tacitly stepped onto the track, slowly walking along the outermost lane.

After half a lap, Brother Nan finally remarked, "I didn't expect to see so many pretty girls on the field at night, and with such great figures!"

Zhou Li followed her gaze.

Indeed, they had good figures, and they were wearing very little.

When he averted his gaze, he noticed Brother Nan watching him. She asked, "Good, right?"

Zhou Li pursed his lips. "Not as good as you."

"Hm?"

Brother Nan paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. "Of course!"

After laughing, she clapped her hands and said, "Let's get down to business! Stop dilly-dallying. Let's hurry up and finish the task so we can go back to playing games! I promised Zhou Qianqian that we'd team up and play online tonight!"

Zhou Li hummed in acknowledgment.

According to the task, the two were supposed to discuss their romantic histories.

But... what romantic history did they have?

They exchanged glances, both feeling a bit awkward.

Brother Nan thought for a moment and said, "You've never been in a relationship, and neither have I, right?"

"Right."

"So let's change it up. Let's talk about secret crushes. We've all had those, haven't we? Especially guys. From childhood to adulthood, there must have been at least one female classmate they had a crush on." Brother Nan paused and asked, "Have you ever had a crush on any girl in your class?"

"...No."

"Really?"

"Really, you know that." Zhou Li indeed had never had a crush on a classmate. During his 'dreadful teenage phase,' he didn't even consider himself and his classmates to be the same species.

"I know." Brother Nan nodded. "I believe you."

"What about you then?"

"I haven't either," Brother Nan said. "Do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

"You'll believe me once I explain!"

"...Go ahead and explain." Zhou Li didn't try to suppress Brother Nan's desire to elaborate.

Brother Nan said, "Seriously, from childhood to adulthood, it was always others who had crushes on me; I never had a crush on anyone. Because I never encountered that kind... that... how should I put it? You know, Brother Nan, I am, after all, the Child of Destiny, only recently having become the Successor of Destiny. My looks are as beautiful as a fairy—no exaggeration. From childhood to adulthood, they've never met their match. So, on one hand, I'm pretty picky... you know what I mean, right?

"On the other hand, well, as you know, my way of thinking is quite..." She gestured around her head. "Others think I'm silly, dumb, brash, and so on, so I don't exactly get along with them!

"So..." Brother Nan spread her hands, thought for a moment, and added, "And my mind has never really been on this stuff, you understand that, right?"

"I understand."

Brother Nan, always eager to explore all things interesting, was indeed different from ordinary people. After all, very few ordinary people would jump from a third floor because they wanted to fly. Nor would many walk along a path simply to see what was on the other side of a mountain, only to end up in another county. She was different from the people around her.

Zhou Li thought for a while and said, "Actually, when I was very young, I did have special feelings for someone."

"Who?" Brother Nan asked.

"Not a female classmate?" Brother Nan reacted quickly.

"No."

Zhou Li shook his head, recalling the past, and said in a low voice, "Back then I was so little, maybe only this tall..."

He gestured to a height. "What does a child that small understand!"

"Who was it?"

"An older sister I knew. She wasn't human. Back then, I just thought she was incredibly beautiful, prettier than any star on TV... You've seen 'The Troublesome Romance,' right? There's a 'Siren' character in it."

"I know! When I was a kid, I wanted to marry her!" Brother Nan boasted, then suddenly chuckled and whispered, "When I was little, I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, until I grew up and saw myself in the mirror~~"

"..." Zhou Li fell silent for a moment, then continued, "Back then, I thought that older sister of mine was far more beautiful than the Siren, prettier than any woman on TV. You know how pure children are. When they see a pretty girl, they just think about growing up and marrying her. They never even consider that by the time they're grown, she might be old."

"So you wanted to marry that older sister of yours?"

"I was little back then..."

Zhou Li explained, then added, "And back then, I thought she was incredible, like she could do anything. So I really admired her."

"What about now?"

"Of course it's different now. I've grown up."

"And her?"

"Talking about this is so awkward." Zhou Li raised his hand to rub his eyes, clearly embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject—

"If you were to look for a boyfriend, what kind of boy would you look for?"

"That..."

Brother Nan truly fell into thought. She walked slowly forward, turning to look at those playing soccer on the grass or running past, and said, "I never really thought about getting a boyfriend. What's the point?"

Zhou Li nodded, showing his understanding.

Someone like Brother Nan might always have had an attitude of playing with the world. People often exaggerate, saying the whole world revolves around you. Perhaps during Brother Nan's 'dreadful teenage phase,' she truly thought this way and was unwavering in her belief. Even now, her entire life should be carefree: doing whatever she wanted, not doing what she didn't want, without needing any reason.

"What about now?" Zhou Li asked.

"Now..." Brother Nan pondered for a moment and then sidestepped the question, instead glancing furtively at Zhou Li. "If I were to get a boyfriend, he'd definitely have to be good-looking, and someone I could have fun with..."

This was actually an answer to the previous question.

After speaking, she tossed the question back, "What about you?"

"I don't know," Zhou Li answered honestly.

Brother Nan didn't press him, nodding. "You know, sometimes you're very opinionated, and other times you're not—the opposite of me. I'm sometimes indecisive, and other times I'm not."

"I've never been in a relationship."

"Just like me!" Brother Nan suddenly frowned. "And you've even had a crush! I haven't! I'm losing out to you."

"That wasn't a crush."

"It was! I say it was, so it was!"

"..."

Zhou Li sneaked a glance at Brother Nan. He couldn't help but feel that her expression suggested she felt she was at a disadvantage.

She's adorable.

Zhou Li reached out, gently touched the back of her head, and said with a smile, "Being with you... is really fun."

Brother Nan pushed him away.

The push sent him staggering a few steps to the side.