My Demon Friends

"But I just told Aunt Jiang this afternoon that I would go back tonight," Zhou Li hesitated.

"Isn't that easy?" Old monster casually wiped the oil from his lips with the back of his hand, turned his head to look outside, where the setting sun still left a trace of lingering light. "Later on, I'll transform into your appearance and go home to wash and sleep, then come back. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"Good idea," Brother Nan continued to watch Zhou Li.

"Then... okay."

"Mhm."

Brother Nan took another sip of wine.

The three of them ate and chatted.

In the blink of an eye, Huai Xu changed into Zhou Li's appearance. Brother Nan glanced over and noticed the real Zhou Li was wearing a thin, golden, rather effeminate bracelet on his wrist, while the fake one was not. She kept quiet and continued to eat and drink.

Brother Nan's father's cooking skills were truly unmatched. Huai Xu ate until his mouth was greasy, and Zhou Li was equally satisfied.

It is said that the cured meat came from the hands of Brother Nan's father's master—her great-uncle.

Brother Nan said her great-uncle had injured himself working in a quarry when he was young—an external injury—so he never married. But among several siblings, her great-uncle was the most successful. Their family's shop was handed down from him. Now the old man was advanced in age and his health was not good; generally speaking, he would not easily cook anymore. However, every year he would still make plenty of cured meat and distribute it to each family.

He handled these meats himself, not allowing others to interfere, and the taste was much better than that of ordinary families.

For this reason, Brother Nan's home never made cured meat themselves.

As they talked, the conversation turned to her father.

Brother Nan picked up a large piece of roast pork but didn't rush to put it in her mouth. She just held it up with her chopsticks and looked at Zhou Li. "Don't look down on my old man just because he doesn't do much now, just running a little noodle shop. Back in the day, he was the sharpest of his siblings."

Zhou Li stared blankly at Brother Nan's chopsticks.

Whether it was oil or sauce, it dripped into Brother Nan's bowl, staining the translucent white rice with color and shimmering with an oily sheen.

The tenderly steamed pork belly was so soft that it melted in the mouth, but as a result, it was difficult to pick up. Zhou Li was worried that if Brother Nan didn't eat it soon, the piece of meat would break in half on her chopsticks.

Finally, Brother Nan put the meat into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed it, then casually crossed her legs on the chair.

"Let me tell you..."

She took another sip of wine and rambled on. "The conditions back in those days were nothing like now. Now, restaurants are everywhere. Back then, having a noodle shop in the center of the county was already quite something. Plus, since the shop was big, people would call my great-uncle Boss Li when he went out."

"When he got older and had no successor, he discussed with everyone to pick someone from my dad's generation."

"They needed to choose the smartest one."

"They picked your dad," Zhou Li interjected.

"Exactly, exactly," Brother Nan pecked like a chicken, her face still showing no sign of drunkenness, though her speech was a bit slurred. "They picked and picked, and took away the smartest, my dad... It's also thanks to my dad that my eldest uncle, second uncle, and fourth uncle could afford school fees back when they were studying. BURP. But they were also very determined. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to where they are now."

So the conversation shifted to her eldest uncle, second uncle, and fourth uncle...

And then to her own siblings...

After the meal, Zhou Li had a certain impression of every member of Brother Nan's family.

Speaking of which, Brother Nan's previous generation was truly full of talent—her eldest uncle was the headmaster of a National Key High School, her second uncle was a well-known real estate developer in Yan City, her dad had her, and her fourth uncle got into the military through connections and now held a high position.

However, the next generation fell short.

So far, Brother Nan had the highest level of education. Besides her, among her male and female cousins, only one had completed high school. She was undeniably the hope of the Old Li's Family.

But Brother Nan stated that on average, her generation in the family still had a very high level. After all, they had produced her.

With about ten people plus Ma Yun, the average wealth was still that of a billionaire; by the same logic, even if her cousins were silly, there was still a Successor of Destiny to raise the average.

Huai Xu then proposed a speculation: maybe Old Li's Family sacrificed everyone else in order to obtain her.

Brother Nan tilted the bottle upside down, saw that no more liquor would pour out, gave it a shake, let out a chuckle, and casually tossed it, the bottle landing snugly in the trash can.

"Three-pointer..."

Brother Nan shook her head as she got up, muttering under her breath, "Time for a shower."

"No, it's dishes!" Brother Nan slapped her forehead, but even drunk her reaction was quick. She cupped her hands towards Zhou Li and Huai Xu, saying, "I'm using my nine-square grid method, how embarrassing... how embarrassing..."

"I'll wash them."

Zhou Li hurried to follow her.

After washing the dishes, they played a few more rounds of games, and by nine o'clock in the evening, Huai Xu took Zhou Li's place and went home.

Now only Brother Nan and Zhou Li remained in the house.

"AH~~"

Brother Nan's drunkenness had subsided a bit. She shook her head and neck to loosen up while staring at the screen but didn't start matchmaking immediately, "Ah, what should I pick this game? Without Huai Xu, it's hard to carry you by myself..."

Zhou Li stayed silent.

Brother Nan's gaming was flighty; her aim was usually not to win but to have fun. So forget about going Godlike – in today's games, most of the time she didn't even get as many kills as him, and she died a lot more.

"Guess if I can go Godlike next game?" Brother Nan suddenly turned to look at him.

"..."

"Okay, no need to say it!" Brother Nan had already read the answer from Zhou Li's expression. "How about we make a bet on whether I can go Godlike next game?"

"???"

Zhou Li was shocked; he actually had a day when he could bet against the Successor of Destiny!

"You say 'bet'," Brother Nan prompted.

"Bet."

Zhou Li obediently complied.

Yet he still asked, "Please confirm your choice is 'you won't go Godlike next game'?"

"?"

"I'm sorry."

"..." Brother Nan's clenched fist relaxed once again. "I bet I can go Godlike, you bet I can't."

"Then I bet you can too." Zhou Li knew the principle of clinging tightly to the Successor of Destiny's coattails. "Whatever you bet, I bet the same."

"EH?" Brother Nan was startled. "Then how do we decide who wins or loses?"

"Let Huai Xu lose when he comes back," Zhou Li suggested without hesitation.

"NO! WAY!"

"Umm..."

As mentioned before, Brother Nan wasn't playing well because she simply didn't care about the score; being happy was all that mattered. Thus, she was usually very happy after a game. But if she wanted to win, to go Godlike, to achieve a pentakill, Zhou Li believed she could do it.

So the question arises, why would he make this kind of bet with the Successor of Destiny?

"Alright, but what shall we bet on?" Zhou Li asked.

"This..."

Brother Nan was stumped for a moment.

She first tilted her head to think, and as she tilted, her whole upper body leaned over, her hair hanging down. But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't come up with anything interesting.

"I can't think of anything."

"Then forget it."

"No! I've got it!" Brother Nan said. "Whoever loses has to listen unconditionally to the other for one day in the future, how about that?"

"That sounds a bit too much." Zhou Li began to back out.

"It's not too much at all, where is it too much?"

"You'll make me hug a lamppost and yell weird stuff," Zhou Li reasoned, "or make me crawl on the ground and bark like a dog."

"How could I!" Brother Nan replied without hesitation. "Am I that kind of person?"

"..."

"Enough, don't talk anymore." Brother Nan was genuinely hurt. "So in your eyes, Big Brother's image is so wretched! Alright then, let's set three rules: no actions that are humiliating, nothing that breaks public order, and nothing that would cause serious resentment from the loser, alright?"

"And you can't make me wear a dress."

"EH! That's actually a... fine, if it's not allowed, it's not allowed." Brother Nan agreed, albeit disappointedly.

"So if you win, what will you do?"

"I won't do much," Brother Nan said innocently. "Just make you bring me breakfast, call me 'Big Brother' a few times, or go to some expensive place for lunch and make you pay for it."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"For real?"

"You're such a nag..."

"OH." It all seemed like problems that could be solved with money, but Zhou Li was still reluctant. "I can't beat you..."

"Why do you say that?" Brother Nan patted Zhou Li's shoulder affectionately, and then rested her hand on it without moving, as if brainwashing a subordinate. "You have a great chance to win, just hear me out. First off, I've always been a terrible player, closer to a super demon than anything. Next, it's an all-random brawl, and what if I get Sion? Then I can only feed and die. Plus, you know I have a shallow hero pool..."

"Random, so it's about luck, right?" Zhou Li expressed his confusion sincerely.

"You, this person..."

Brother Nan took a deep breath, and suddenly gripped Zhou Li's shoulder tightly, revealing her true colors, "I suggest you'd best take the bet."

"If I win, I get two days." This was Zhou Li's plan.

"Deal!"

Brother Nan wasn't one to fuss about. She immediately started matchmaking.

She stared intently at the screen, mumbling, "Mouse, Mouse, Mouse..." making Zhou Li beside her quite speechless.

Soon, the heroes were randomly selected—

"OHO, what do you want?"

A large Mouse appeared in the center of the screen.

Brother Nan quickly chose her talents and picked Blade Cluster. She decided in her heart that this game she would do nothing but chase kills. She would target only those she could defeat and then vanish after the kill, letting this little guy who underestimated her... Well, maybe he didn't underestimate her?

Zhou Li was expressionless.

In the following game, he exhausted all his wits doing everything he could to sell out and trap Brother Nan, causing teammates to spam question marks above his head and Brother Nan beside him laughing so hard she could hardly close her mouth.

In the end, he even thought about hitting the power off button, but it was just a fleeting thought. Compared to the bet, his life was more important.

Brother Nan still achieved Godlike status.

Zhou Li felt helpless.

And yet it seemed like it was within his expectations.

While he was sighing, Brother Nan had already gotten up to find a piece of stiff cardboard. She cut it neatly into the size of an ID or business card, took a pen, and began to scribble on it as she leaned over.

Zhou Li, puzzled, moved closer to take a look.

In bold, enlarged letters at the top—

Obedience Card.

Below in smaller font for clarification: When Li Nan gives this card to Zhou Li, it makes Zhou Li obedient for one day.

Signature: Li Nan

Signature:

Brother Nan stuffed the card and pen into Zhou Li's hands.

Zhou Li's eyes widened.

"This??"

"A bit crude, right?" Brother Nan nodded. "Yes, it's a bit crude. Should I make another one next time? I promise it'll be elegant, truly. I've always been particularly skilled with my hands since I was young. If you don't believe me, I can even order a stack for you on Taobao."

"No, it's just sudden."

Zhou Li looked stunned at the card. "This card... wasn't the bet supposed to take effect immediately?"

"Of course not!"

Brother Nan said as if it were obvious, "I'm drunk now, and since it's a holiday, we're not together all the time. If you run off tomorrow, where am I supposed to find you to order you around? We have to wait until school starts!"

Zhou Li was left speechless.

This was indeed what he had anticipated—it was already 9:30 PM, quite late, and since Brother Nan was drunk, he could easily coax her to sleep. At least one-third of the day would pass with that sleep, and tomorrow he was supposed to go home, right? During the pandemic, you couldn't just go out all the time, right? And it wouldn't be too far-fetched for his phone to be off from not charging for so long, right? Delightful!

So Zhou Li tried to struggle one more time: "It should take effect immediately."

"Nope, we never said that. Our exact words were 'one day in the future,' not starting from now, but a specific day in the future." Brother Nan said, pointing upwards. "You can check if you don't believe me, just flip back through our conversation."

"You should be reasonable," Brother Nan said.

"And you should be trustworthy," Brother Nan added.

"A man without trust cannot stand," Brother Nan continued.

"..."

Zhou Li signed his name on the card with resentment.