My Demon Friends-Chapter 445 - 441: Big Brother’s Man

October 23rd, Friday.

The sunlight was as scorching as the previous two days.

Chunming’s winters were like this, too—in the afternoons of clear, sunny days, the sunlight could make you squint and heat up the back of your neck.

Zhou Li wore only a long-sleeved T-shirt, strolling out of the dormitory area at a leisurely pace.

Hearing chirping overhead, he used his hand to shield himself from the sunlight and glanced up. A few white clouds drifted across the sky, and two birds were fighting fiercely.

Zhou Li watched them for a few more moments.

A girl with a physique so stunningly beautiful it seemed not of this world appeared from nowhere and joined him. Her tight-fitting clothes outlined her perfect figure, even more impeccable than the retouched fitness photos released by female celebrities. Yet, with a childlike curiosity that starkly contrasted her appearance, she looked up at the two birds in the sky, just as Zhou Li was doing.

"Do you enjoy watching sparrows fight?" the girl asked, withdrawing her gaze.

"It’s okay," Zhou Li replied, also lowering his head and resuming his walk towards the sports field.

"You’re becoming more and more like Li Daimao. Li Daimao really enjoys watching all this random stuff," the girl said, falling into step beside him. "She could watch for half a day."

"Aren’t you doing the same?" Zhou Li glanced at her.

"Me... Um!"

"So maybe it wasn’t Brother Nan who led me astray, but you," Zhou Li said indifferently. "After all, we spend more time together."

"Um... this... this..."

Huai Xu stumbled over her words. She clearly had something to express but seemed unable to, perhaps due to her limited vocabulary or eloquence, and she grew visibly flustered.

Zhou Li almost felt sorry for her.

She stumbled over her words for quite a while but still couldn’t manage to say what she wanted. However, staying silent after all that would make her look foolish, so she abruptly changed the subject and started nitpicking, "How can you describe it as ’leading someone astray’? This isn’t a bad habit!"

"Infectious."

"You can’t use ’infectious’ either! It’s unlucky!" Huai Xu glanced around and declared solemnly, "It’ll be censored!"

"That’s an overcorrection."

"..." Huai Xu looked around again. "Why isn’t Li Daimao with you?"

"She went to class earlier."

"What for? To play basketball?"

"Yes."

"Aren’t you going? There are so many good-looking boys on the basketball court. They must have been longing for Li Daimao for a long time," Huai Xu said with a frown and a lecturing tone. She was seeking to regain some standing on another topic after losing face with Zhou Li.

"...Are they as good-looking as me?" Zhou Li hesitated.

"They’re not, no," Huai Xu was always honest about this.

"Hmm," Zhou Li nodded, not worried in the slightest. "And their basketball skills aren’t as good as Brother Nan’s, so she looks down on them."

"Oh..."

"Why are you dressed like that?" Zhou Li sneakily took another look at Huai Xu but didn’t dare to let his gaze linger.

"I’m going to PE class," Huai Xu answered.

"Got it."

"And you? You missed the last class, and the teacher taught new moves. You’ll definitely fall behind, and then you’ll stand in the formation looking like a fool." Huai Xu boasted with a sense of superiority, "I attended class when I came back from the Capital last week. The teacher praised me for doing well and said that if I learned as quickly and performed as well this class, they would let me lead. So I searched online for a few pictures and got myself this outfit. How is it?"

"You found it on Weibo, didn’t you?"

"No, I just used the browser on my phone. Why?"

"Nothing..." Zhou Li waved his hand, offering a deadpan compliment, "Impressive, very impressive."

"Hehe, you flatter me, you flatter me..."

Many PE classes were scheduled for Fridays, especially in the afternoon. On their way to the sports field, they encountered many people, all dressed in workout clothes, obviously heading to PE class.

Huai Xu was drawing the gazes of all the young men and women, causing both visual and emotional impacts.

Some boys might have trouble sleeping tonight.

The girls probably wouldn’t sleep either.

Awkwardly, Zhou Li also ran into his classmates.

His classmates were very enthusiastic. Both boys and girls greeted him with smiles, then purposefully asked if he was going to PE class. Those who were slightly more familiar would ask which class he had chosen. In any case, they would inevitably sneak glances at Huai Xu beside him.

Zhou Li felt something was odd. My girlfriend isn’t here, and I’m with another... a ’supremely invincible beauty,’ as Huai Xu would put it, walking very close to her. Reflecting on this, his classmates’ gazes also started to seem strange. Hmm... Zhou Li found himself plunged into worries about the future.

「Basketball gym.」

Zhou Li grabbed a bottle of water and immediately noticed the tall girl in the gym with a small tuft of hair on her head that stuck up like an antenna. She was wearing the number 23 jersey with a bit of swagger, donning protective gear, and dribbling past opponents.

She was, without a doubt, the center of attention.

Although other girls were playing basketball in the gym, most of them quite pretty, even an outsider like Zhou Li could see their skills weren’t up to par. They were the type to be protected and deferred to by the boys. Brother Nan, however, was different. She not only possessed absolute skill on the court but was also prettier than the other girls.

With feints, speed, and skill, she quickly bypassed defenders and easily made the shot.

She spun around coolly to the cheers of the onlookers.

Of course, she didn’t forget to look at the boy who had just been guarding her. She spread her hands with a helpless expression, as if to say, "You’re too weak. I was already taking it easy on you, but I didn’t expect you to be unable to guard me even then. There’s nothing more I could do." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The boy’s face was all smiles; he pretended not to see.

Clearly, he was already one of Brother Nan’s Little Brothers.

Standing on the sidelines, Zhou Li occasionally checked his watch.

The weather today wasn’t bad; it was cool as long as one wasn’t directly in the sun. But since Brother Nan was exercising, she had still broken into a light sweat. It dampened the hair on her forehead, causing it to stick to her face, which made her look even more dashing.

A three-pointer.

Another round of cheers.

Brother Nan turned around smugly, surveying the crowd. When she finally spotted Zhou Li, her face immediately burst into a brilliant smile.

But she didn’t come off the court right away. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at Zhou Li. Just two minutes later, she displayed an astonishing leaping ability that seemed impossible for her physique—one that made jaws drop. Leaping high into the air, and for visual effect, she spun the ball 360° with both hands in mid-air before slamming it into the basket.

Windmill dunk.

Zhou Li rubbed his ears; it was noisy around him.

Especially the naive girls’ shrieking...

Piercing.

Looking at the group she was playing basketball with, only two or three newcomers widened their eyes. The rest weren’t surprised; clearly, this wasn’t the first or second time the girl had pulled such a stunt.

"Let’s go! That’s it for today!"

"Play a little longer, won’t you? It’s still early; there’s over half an hour before class starts."

"My boyfriend is here."

"No way! Just call him over to play. I’ve wanted to see what this ’sister-in-law’ looks like for ages."

"No can do! I can’t give him the chance to bully me!"

Brother Nan waved cheerfully at the others and turned to walk towards Zhou Li. Her smile grew even more radiant, and she raised an eyebrow at him as she approached.

"How’d I do?"

"..."

She’s so childish, Zhou Li thought.

"Was I cool?"

"Cool..."

"You’re so perfunctory..."

Brother Nan got in front of Zhou Li, stopping with half a step between them. This allowed her to look down slightly and pull up Zhou Li’s T-shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. She did it very naturally, causing a round of whooping from the group of boys and girls behind her.

"WHOA~~"

Zhou Li felt his face heating up.

Brother Nan, however, was unfazed. After casually wiping off her sweat, she grabbed the water bottle from Zhou Li’s hand and twisted it open.

PFFFT!

A carbonated drink.

Brother Nan tilted her head back and took several large gulps.

Zhou Li, meanwhile, looked down at his T-shirt. It was marked by a distinct wet patch where the color had deepened...

Just then, Brother Nan suddenly put down the drink. As if struck by a whimsical thought, she turned her head, blinked her eyes, and feigned innocence, "Should I have asked you to open the bottle for me before I drank?"

Zhou Li pretended not to hear.

"Shall we go?"

"Let’s go!"

And so, side by side, they left the gym.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Li stealthily surveyed the people around him and noticed many were watching them. Perhaps, in the eyes of these young basketball enthusiasts, Brother Nan was like a star, admired by boys and girls alike—girls, perhaps, even more so. And now, he, who was leading Brother Nan away, felt like the inconspicuous family member of a big celebrity. Also somewhat peculiar.

「Five minutes later—」

Under the shade of a tree, the basketball star began teaching her boyfriend Tai Chi.

Her movements were precise and flowed like water.