My Demon Friends-Chapter 439 - 435: The Child of Destiny and the Little Trash Cat
In the Dai Flavor Restaurant, two people sat facing each other.
Brother Nan had ordered dishes and had just given the menu back to the owner, her face still flushed from the recent strenuous activity.
"Was it thrilling?"
She asked Zhou Li with a grin.
Zhou Li, on the other hand, looked calm, as if he wasn’t tired at all, but his face was full of embarrassment, unease, and anxiety—he had never done anything like this before in his life.
After thinking for a moment, he glanced at Brother Nan and said tactfully, "Doing this... isn’t quite right, is it?"
"Would it be okay if we got caught?"
"That would be... also not okay."
"So, you see!" Brother Nan comforted him. "You’ll get used to it... Don’t worry, with me leading you, nothing will go wrong. Besides, don’t you think it’s fun?"
"It’s... okay, I guess."
"It’s way more exciting than a roller coaster at an amusement park, right?"
"That’s true."
"Right! So many people pay to ride roller coasters!" Brother Nan continued to push her dubious values as she persuaded Zhou Li. "So what are you still fussing about?"
"..." Zhou Li hesitated, then chose not to hide his feelings from Brother Nan. Instead, he looked down and spoke honestly, "A couple of days ago, when I was in the Capital, I saw Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing climbing over the wall. I secretly despised them for it, and now, all of a sudden..."
"Don’t sweat the small stuff!" Brother Nan patted his shoulder, giving him a sidelong glance, imagining the corrupted version of Zhou Li she would shape. "You’ve just been following rules for too long. You’re not used to this yet, but after a few more times, you will be! Remember what I used to tell you? You should try things you’ve never tried before..."
Zhou Li offered a bewildered look.
"Actually, I follow the rules too. Like back in high school, when did you ever see me climbing over a wall? I just occasionally commit these harmless little acts of mischief to add some fun to life!" Brother Nan looked earnestly at Zhou Li. "Experience has proven that it really helps to ’face life with a smile’!"
"..."
Zhou Li felt that something was a bit off.
He scratched his head but didn’t continue to argue with Brother Nan. Experience had shown, time and again, that it was a thankless task.
"Brother Nan is right," Zhou Li conceded.
He sneaked a glance at Tuanzi on the table.
Tuanzi had been brought out by Brother Nan, who had led her in climbing the wall and escaping. Therefore, it was natural for Brother Nan to place Tuanzi in front of her at the restaurant. This made Zhou Li feel a bit strange—Tuanzi had always been in his care; now, she was clambering about chaotically on Brother Nan’s side of the table, while he sat alone opposite, watching her.
The feeling was really quite bizarre.
As if sensing Zhou Li’s gaze, Tuanzi stopped crawling, turned her head, and looked at Zhou Li with a pitifully cute expression—
"MEOW~~"
"What’s wrong, Lord Dumpling?"
"Zhou Li~~"
Tuanzi turned towards Zhou Li and scurried over, her tiny feet making a slight sound on the bamboo-woven tabletop. But after just a few steps, she stopped.
She looked back at Brother Nan.
Brother Nan watched her expressionlessly.
Tuanzi silently walked back.
"MEW~"
"..."
Zhou Li couldn’t help looking at Brother Nan. "Don’t be too harsh on Lord Dumpling."
Brother Nan looked utterly puzzled. "Where did you see me being harsh on her? Please, give me an example!"
"She seems so afraid of you..."
"I didn’t hit her or anything." Brother Nan spread her hands and said shamelessly, "It’s Little Trash Cat who chooses to be afraid of me. What’s that got to do with Old Li and half a jug of sweet potato liquor?"
"Maybe I should take Lord Dumpling back home?" Zhou Li ventured.
"Lord Dumpling wants to go back! Lord Dumpling wants to go back with you!" Tuanzi exclaimed.
"What did she say?" Brother Nan peered at Tuanzi.
"Zhou Li~~ tell her Lord Dumpling didn’t say anything~~" Tuanzi whispered to Zhou Li in an extremely quiet voice.
"She said she didn’t say anything," Zhou Li repeated, then continued to look at Brother Nan tentatively. "Anyway, you and Lord Dumpling don’t get along that well, and it’s not like Lord Dumpling can get up to her usual ’trashy’ antics out here, so maybe I should take her back."
"No way!"
Brother Nan rejected him flatly, saying, "I already told the guys in our dorm that I’d send her back in a few days. Old Li doesn’t go back on his word."
After a pause, she added, "Besides, I set an alarm for the crack of dawn this morning to buy her breakfast from the cafeteria. I don’t even eat breakfast myself. I’m also planning to buy some eggs, cat food, and cat treats later. I’ve never treated myself this lavishly. In any case, Old Li knows how to treat a guest; your Little Trash Cat hasn’t been wronged."
The implication was clear: I’ve been so good to her, why would she want to leave?
Zhou Li dared not make another sound.
He might not have fully grasped the underlying point Brother Nan was making, but her tone and gaze had successfully convinced him. Perhaps having Tuanzi stay with Brother Nan for a few days wasn’t such a bad idea after all?
As they were speaking, the dishes arrived. Brother Nan took a small bowl out of her shoulder bag, one she had specially prepared for Tuanzi.
Half a bowl of rice.
A spoonful of diced spicy pork.
Mix it up, and you had half a bowl of spicy pork with rice.
She then took a few pieces from the lemon ghost chicken, crispy pork belly, and spicy beef jerky, placing them on top of the rice. Brother Nan took a look and felt something was missing. So, after a moment’s thought, she picked a tiny piece of bird’s eye chili from the lemon ghost chicken and sprinkled it on top as a garnish. Now, the bowl was a divinely mixed creation, perfect in color, aroma, and taste—so well put together that even someone as picky as her found it extremely satisfying.
"Little Trash Cat, eat up!"
Brother Nan pushed the bowl toward Tuanzi, "This is a rice mix personally prepared for you by the Child of Destiny, far more precious than any state banquet you might have eaten. No leftovers are allowed, not even a bit. Leaving any would be disrespecting me."
Zhou Li couldn’t help but interject, "Lord Dumpling doesn’t like spicy food that much."
However, Brother Nan frowned upon hearing this, "Being picky isn’t good. Eating spicy food can help expel dampness and internal parasites. Maybe after eating this chili, your Little Trash Cat won’t even need deworming!"
"Lord Dumpling doesn’t get worms."
"TSK!"
Zhou Li was about to say something else, but seeing Tuanzi already approaching the bowl, sniffing and licking her lips as if ready to start eating, he had to swallow his words.
"SMACK SMACK..."
Tuanzi’s eating manners had always been adorable, undiminished by the smacking noises she made.
But today was different.
Zhou Li observed quietly.
While Tuanzi usually smacked her lips when eating, it always seemed elegant. Regardless of what she ate, even if it was a state banquet, she consumed it very slowly. You would think she was unhurriedly savoring the food from a judge’s perspective, only meowing twice in delight as praise when pleased. This gave the impression that a delicacy that would make ordinary people "swallow their tongues" was, to her, merely ordinary.
Only fish soup with rice could make her eat a bit faster.
But today, she ate quite rapidly.
At first, Zhou Li felt a bit sorry for Tuanzi. But as he watched, he found himself captivated by her eating. After hesitating for a moment, he made a decision: he scooped himself half a bowl of rice and mimicked Brother Nan’s earlier actions to make his own mix.
"HMM..."
It wasn’t as delicious as he had imagined.
Was it possibly because it wasn’t hand-mixed by the Child of Destiny?
「Afternoon.」
「Room 502, the dormitory.」
Zhou Li was sitting at his desk, but instead of reading or practicing carving, he was looking at game strategies on his computer—specifically, for Ultra Rapid Fire:
What were the most oppressive tower-rushing heroes?
Runes. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Item builds.
Champion abilities and playstyles.
Zhou Li studied carefully.
The QQ icon in the bottom-left corner suddenly started flashing. It was his class group chat, for which he had muted notifications, but its flashing now indicated that someone he had ’specially followed’ was speaking, or someone had tagged @everyone.
Zhou Li casually clicked it open.
It was indeed both.
Zhou Qianqian: "Today, we received a notice from the security office. Two students from the athletics department climbed over the school wall and were caught on the spot by security. They refused to admit their offenses and even taunted the guards while running away. This incident is very serious; the school is furious and has already started investigating. I hope everyone will take this as a warning! Also, I must emphasize again: if you need to leave campus, please apply for leave. And absolutely do not provoke the guards; these are serious times, not for joking! @All Members"
Li Daimao: "Did they catch them?"
Zhou Qianqian: "Apparently not."
Li Daimao: "Any photos?"
Zhou Qianqian: "None either."
Li Daimao: "Then how does the security office know they’re from the athletics department?"
Zhou Qianqian: "Word is, it’s because they could run very fast. Three electric security vehicles chased them for several kilometers without catching up."
Li Daimao: "Awesome!"
Li Daimao: "I really want to meet these two."
Zhou Qianqian: "The school is investigating now, hoping to find them. They plan to have them represent our university at next year’s World University Games."
Li Daimao: "Amazing!"
Zhou Li watched in bewilderment.
