My Demon Friends-Chapter 470 - 463: Half a Civil Servant
It was mealtime, and the entrance of the cafeteria was bustling with people.
Brother Nan gripped Zhou Li’s arm. As they walked towards the cafeteria, he gave his little brother a continuous lesson, "I’m just giving you a taste of what you might have done to me in your dreams, you know? Though you probably weren’t as bad as me in your dream..."
Zhou Li nodded, stealthily glancing at Brother Nan, but coincidentally, their eyes met.
"BANG!"
"You actually did something even worse!?"
"No..."
"Not yet? I can already see it in your eyes!" Brother Nan didn’t allow him to argue.
"...That hurts," Zhou Li said, rubbing the spot.
"...Serves you right!" Brother Nan perfunctorily rubbed the spot for him, then continued his lecture, "Anyway, you must always respect your big brother—whether in reality or in dreams, whether it’s the big brother of the past, present, or future. As long as it’s your big brother, you must show respect, got it?"
"Got it..."
"Got it?"
"Got it!"
"Attaboy!"
With that, Brother Nan took his hand again. They walked into the cafeteria, where Brother Nan got two plates of rice and handed one to him.
The two went straight to the window where Little Cousin worked.
"This one, this one, and this one."
Little Cousin was now thoroughly trained by Brother Nan. She knew to give them meat—lots of it—without being told. After dishing it out, she would look to them for approval, only handing over the tray after they nodded.
Remembering her previous mischief and comparing it to her submissiveness today, Zhou Li, for some reason, felt an inexplicable pang of pity for her.
After getting their meal, they also bought some milk tea and finally found an empty spot in a corner to sit down.
"Did you buy anything for Double Eleven?" Brother Nan asked.
"Isn’t today just the 2nd?"
"This year’s Double Eleven started on the 1st."
"Then can it still be called Double Eleven?"
"Hey, not bad, kid!" Brother Nan looked at Zhou Li with surprise, patting him on the shoulder. "Not bad at all. You’re already starting to sound a lot like me."
"..."
Zhou Li’s expression looked as uncomfortable as if he’d swallowed a fly.
Moreover, Huai Xu often said similar things, claiming Zhou Li was becoming more and more like Brother Nan. If that were really true, Zhou Li would find it very hard to accept.
"BANG!"
Zhou Li’s expression instantly improved. He looked down and said, "It’s my honor."
He popped a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed before continuing, "I haven’t had time to pay attention to these things lately; I’ve been swamped. I only got back from the Mirror Zone yesterday morning, Huai Xu had me busy cooking all afternoon, and then I was learning spells in the evening. I’m completely out of the loop."
"It ends on the 3rd," Brother Nan said. "This year’s Double Eleven is pretty underwhelming; I’m not really feeling it either."
"Hmm."
"What do you want to buy? I’ll get it for you."
"There’s nothing I really want to buy..."
"That’s fine. Just browse Taobao for a bit, and you’ll quickly find a bunch of things to buy," Brother Nan said confidently.
"Maybe... What did you buy?"
"Not much. Just some odds and ends, some snacks, two shirts, two pairs of pants. I also managed to snag three pairs of shoes. Oh, and I bought a mechanical keyboard." Brother Nan raised an eyebrow. "Want one too? My keyboard is super cool. Want me to get one for you too?"
"No need."
"Oh, come on!"
"My keyboard works quite well."
"That trash keyboard of yours..."
"I’m not a professional keyboard warrior; I don’t feel any pressure to upgrade my ’weapon,’" Zhou Li explained in a small voice.
"?"
"I’m sorry."
"I’m starting to think you’re really asking for it!"
"..."
Zhou Li placed another piece of meat onto Brother Nan’s plate. "Brother Nan, have some more meat."
Brother Nan finally showed a hint of satisfaction.
Zhou Li smiled too.
Even though he’d just been hit, he didn’t mind because it genuinely didn’t hurt at all. In fact, if he wasn’t afraid the lake water was too cold and that being thrown in would be too embarrassing if people saw, he might have even asked Brother Nan to use more force. So, when it was time to curry favor with Brother Nan, he couldn’t afford to be vague.
Brother Nan was easy to placate.
A little coaxing was all it took.
By the time they finished eating, she was beaming. Forgetting her ’status,’ she even helped Zhou Li clear the trays and take them to the disposal area.
Zhou Li then got a serving of braised fish for Tuanzi—no rice—for her lunch.
「At one in the afternoon.」
The two ambled into the dormitory area, followed by a tuxedo cat whose fur was styled with a side part, drawing the attention of passersby.
The tuxedo cat wasn’t fully grown yet. She had an oval face, not the round, chubby-cheeked look she often adopted. She looked quite delicate. Combined with the ’side-parted fur’ on her head, she had an inexplicably aloof, almost goddess-like aura. The first person Zhou Li thought of upon seeing her was Daji from the old version of *Investiture of the Gods*, portrayed by Wen Bixia.
"I’m heading back," Brother Nan stopped.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Goodbye, Brother Nan."
"The school’s been on lockdown for so long that students are getting a bit stir-crazy. There are a lot of female ruffians about, so it’s dangerous. Don’t wander around aimlessly, understand?"
"Got it."
Brother Nan nodded, then turned and headed towards her dormitory.
Zhou Li continued toward his own dorm, speaking to Tuanzi, who was trailing behind him. "Yesterday, I watched a video by Wang Gang where he taught how to cook fish. Lord Dumpling, how about I make you homemade fish soup with rice next time?"
A gust of wind blew through the gaps between the dormitory buildings ahead, rustling the leaves and creating a whooshing sound around his ears.
"Hmm?"
Zhou Li received no response from Tuanzi. He quickly turned to look.
The tall girl had her hands thrust into her coat pockets. She strode with light steps toward the dormitory building on the left, evidently in a good mood. The errant tuft of hair on her head bounced rhythmically with each step.
