My Demon Friends-Chapter 498 - 478: Small Reunion

This road faced the setting sun, the light somewhat dazzling.

Zhou Li, holding Tuanzi, walked up to Baozi and asked, "Did you twist your ankle?"

"Yes."

"Can you walk?"

"Yes."

"Does it hurt?"

"It hurts."

"Well..."

"It’s okay!!"

"Then you guys wait here. I’ll go get the car and come pick you up; it’ll take about twenty minutes." Zhou Li chuckled, looking at her. "That way, you won’t have to walk over, and it’s not good for you to ride a bike with a twisted ankle."

"Oh, okay!"

"You should still exercise more when you have free time," Brother Nan said, running back over and rubbing Baozi’s head.

"Oh." Baozi brushed Brother Nan’s hand away.

"Look at Mianmian and Qian Qian; they didn’t fall." Brother Nan covered her head with his hand again, rubbing harder. "I feel like either one of them could take on two of you."

"Stop touching me, Brother Nan..."

"I’m going to keep touching you!"

"..."

Zhou Li listened and chuckled, then scanned for a bike-share bicycle. Entrusting Tuanzi to Brother Nan, he rode off.

Mianmian and Qian Qian’s physical fitness was actually quite good among girls. It was just that these two quirky girls loved to act cute and fragile to gain Brother Nan’s affection and the boys’ favor.

Baozi was truly weak.

She was too lazy. In the dorm, she was usually either busy with her own things at her desk or lying flat on her bed.

Logically, a girl who liked photography should have a robust physique. Going out to take pictures was very physically demanding, especially when capturing natural landscapes outdoors. This required a pair of durable legs for trekking and carrying heavy equipment, allowing one to easily top the WeChat step count leaderboard after a day.

Baozi was somewhat of an exception.

When she went out to take pictures, she would walk, and could walk, even carrying equipment all day, never complaining about being tired.

But her leg would still give out if it was going to, and she’d walk with a limp regardless.

Similarly, when she returned, she would lie down as usual.

Therefore, it didn’t result in any lasting exercise effect. Any progress made would soon regress. Right after regressing, she’d go out to take pictures again. Upon returning, due to her limping leg and the money spent, she’d lie down for an extended period.

Weak and lazy.

However, changing was impossible, never in this lifetime.

Riding on the bicycle, Zhou Li couldn’t help but wonder: if he weren’t a Heavenly Master, would he be as weak as her? He guessed not.

The wind whistled in his ears.

Zhou Li rode extremely fast.

「It was six in the evening.」

Huai Xu squatted on the curb at the store entrance, shaking his head and swaying his body, looking like an idle loafer. If not for his good looks, passing children would have steered clear of him.

Behind him stood Su Jue and Xiao Hua.

This year’s Winter Solstice gathering had upgraded to a small get-together for the Probability Society.

The two quirky girls were very excited, rolling down the car window from afar, waving and shouting eagerly at Huai Xu.

Huai Xu scratched his head and stood up. Seeing that Zhou Li was driving, he trotted over enthusiastically to help Zhou Li park.

"How long have you been waiting?" Brother Nan asked.

"A little while," Huai Xu replied.

"Not too long," Xiao Hua answered.

"Handsome Huai, did you also hop the fence to come out? Is your school strict with its lockdown?" Mianmian sidled up to Huai Xu.

"It’s similar to your school, but our school’s wall is easier to climb," Huai Xu said, as if it were true. "But I almost got caught by a guard when I was leaving. Luckily, I run fast."

"You went to so much trouble just to eat with us!" Mianmian looked at him with starry eyes.

"Not really. I mainly wanted to eat meat; it has nothing to do with you guys," Huai Xu cruelly dismissed the girl’s affection. "If it has anything to do with anyone, it’s with Zhou Li and Brother Nan. I’m not really familiar with you guys."

"That’s so sad..." Mianmian started to whimper.

"We’ll get closer in the future," Qian Qian said stubbornly.

"MEOW~~"

"Oh right, and this Little Trash Cat," Huai Xu added. "Although, I’m not that close with this cat either."

"MEOW!!"

"Now I’m even sadder..." Mianmian whimpered.

"BANG!" Brother Nan tapped her on the forehead. "No whimpering. It’s embarrassing in public."

"Okay!"

Mianmian’s expression instantly turned serious.

Fortunately, in this part of Chunming, mutton soup wasn’t a big Winter Solstice tradition, so only two tables were occupied in the restaurant. One table was occupied by a group of uncles who had just left a construction site. Judging by their accents, they seemed to be fellow countrymen from Yi Province working here, laughing heartily around a steaming pot. The other table was occupied by two students in red and white school uniforms, a boy and a girl. It was unclear whether they were high school or middle school students. One of them had ordered a single serving of plain mutton soup; they were possibly experiencing puppy love.

If this were Yan City, any reasonably famous old mutton soup restaurant would have no seats available tonight.

There might still be a chance at noon.

「Ordering time.」

Brother Nan, intending to look after his Little Brother, passed the menu to Zhou Li first.

Zhou Li, intending to look after the girls and ignoring Tuanzi who was pretending to understand the menu, passed it to Baozi.

Baozi wasn’t paying, so she felt hesitant to order and passed the menu to Cotton Swab.

Eager to please, Cotton Swab handed the menu to Huai Xu.

Huai Xu scanned it. He wanted to eat everything but didn’t know how much would be appropriate to order. Torn, he handed it to Xiao Hua and Su Jue.

Xiao Hua and Su Jue looked at each other.

Eventually, the menu made its way back to Brother Nan. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Brother Nan, thoroughly exasperated, didn’t even look at the menu and yelled to the owner, "Four pounds of mutton, four pounds of offal, three servings of blood, and also five servings of the tenderest pea tips... Boss, you have pea tips, right?"

"We do."

"Five servings then."

"You’ve ordered quite a lot..." the owner remarked, eyeing the young women at their table.

"Not at all, not at all! We’re all starving, like refugees fleeing a famine! We can eat a ton," Brother Nan assured him. "Just bring it on. When we’re done, it definitely won’t be enough; we’ll have to order more."

"Alright then..."

The owner went into the kitchen with a smile, his mood lifted by the sight of such pretty young women.

The two quirky girls, having failed to flirt with Huai Xu yet again, felt dejected. They aimlessly looked around until they finally noticed Su Jue and Xiao Hua and started talking to them.

"Did you guys also climb over the school wall?" Mianmian asked.

"Did anyone see you? I heard security patrols near the school have intensified recently," Qian Qian added.

"Yes..." Su Jue blushed slightly.

"We weren’t caught," Xiao Hua said confidently.

"Where did you guys climb out from? Was it the same spot as us?" Mianmian asked.

"Which spot did you use?" Xiao Hua countered.

"The place we climbed out from..." Mianmian looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "It has a tree leaning against the wall."

"Ours also has a tree by the wall," Xiao Hua said.

"And there’s a bus stop outside," Qian Qian added.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiao Hua nodded repeatedly. "We heard about it from Senior Brother Su’s roommate. He said it’s an easy spot to climb over because there’s a tree, which helps. Otherwise, as a freshman who just started this term, I’d never have found a place like that."

"We’re sophomores and we couldn’t find one either," Mianmian said. "Brother Nan was the one who showed us."

"That just proves we’re all good students, right?" Qian Qian chimed in.

"Indeed..." Xiao Hua agreed.

Xiao Hua easily started chatting with the two of them.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan occasionally chimed in, and even Tuanzi would meow from time to time as if joining the conversation. The atmosphere at the table was joyful and harmonious.

Only Huai Xu and Baozi gripped their chopsticks, waiting. One was very impatient, the other very silent. Their common trait was that both occasionally glanced towards the kitchen—one openly, the other sneakily.

"GURGLE..."

"Whose stomach rumbled?"

"I think that was Baozi."

"Brother Nan, I’m reporting!" Mianmian exclaimed. "Baozi skipped lunch today just to save room for tonight’s meal!"

"I’m reporting too! I saw it as well!" Qian Qian added.

"You copycat!" Mianmian said to Qian Qian.

"I wasn’t copying you!" Qian Qian retorted. "I was going to report it myself; you just beat me to it!"

"..."

Baozi remained silent, completely ignoring them.

Fortunately, the ingredients in the mutton soup were already cooked, so it was served quickly. The others continued to eat and chat, enjoying the evening gathering and savoring these seemingly ordinary moments. Only Baozi and Huai Xu ate in silence, focused on their food.

But the difference between them soon became apparent.

Just a little over ten minutes later—

Baozi found that she still wanted to eat more, but her stomach was full. She had to reluctantly put down her chopsticks, feeling quite vexed.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu’s eating prowess remained formidable.

This made her even more vexed.

Baozi puffed out her cheeks, looked at the meat still in the pot, and sat there motionless.