My Demon Friends-Chapter 500 - 480: The Way of Treating Guests

"Lord Dumpling, are you full?" Baozi observed Tuanzi.

"Meow." Tuanzi placed her little paw on the small soup bowl she had brought from home.

"Okay." Baozi quickly served her some soup.

"Meow~"

"You’re welcome."

"Meow?"

"Mhm."

Baozi, imitating Zhou Li and Huai Xu, pretended to understand Tuanzi’s language and reacted according to her imagination.

With her help, Tuanzi was well taken care of.

Brother Nan, slightly tipsy, felt bloated with soup and alcohol and collapsed into a chair. While casting a sidelong glance at Xiao Hua and Su Jue, she reached out to pinch Tuanzi’s tail, rubbing it with two fingers.

Tuanzi, focused on licking her lamb soup, occasionally wrenched her tail out of Brother Nan’s grip and hid it on the other side, only to be caught again shortly after.

Sometimes, when she sensed something was amiss, she would turn back to check. But upon seeing it was Brother Nan pinching her tail, she’d simply continue drinking her soup, leaving her tail to fend for itself in the battle of wits.

Mianmian and Qian Qian also had a bit to drink, and their faces had flushed like red apples.

They were now gossiping about Xiao Hua and Su Jue’s relationship, but Xiao Hua and Su Jue insisted they were just good friends, acting all coy.

"Eh, Su Jue, why is your face red? Did you drink too?"

"The-the dipping sauce is too spicy."

"I used that excuse a lot in middle school."

"Really..."

"Booo..." The two foot-picking cuties jeered in unison.

Knowing Su Jue was shy, they didn’t press too hard but shifted their attention to Huai Xu, asking bluntly, "Handsome Huai, have you really never tasted the bitterness of love? Not even once?"

"I don’t need to fall in love," Old monster stated truthfully.

"So that’s a no?"

"No."

"I don’t believe it." Mianmian’s eyes were watery.

"You’re so good-looking, many people must have chased you back in school," Qian Qian prodded.

"If you don’t believe me, ask Zhou Li," Old monster deflected to Zhou Li. "And stop talking about me; don’t speak to me anymore. I can’t even keep up with eating lamb, and besides, I’m not going to date you two."

"...No." Zhou Li felt somewhat speechless under Mianmian and Qian Qian’s probing stares and was forced to lie. "He didn’t use to dress up much back then and hadn’t really ’bloomed’ yet, so he wasn’t this good-looking. Besides, our high school had a lot of academic pressure; dating early could get us expelled."

"Really?"

"If you don’t believe me, ask Brother Nan."

Brother Nan casually punched Zhou Li. THUD! Then she said to Cotton Swab, "Don’t you ask me!"

"...But many must have chased him in university too. That I wouldn’t know; we weren’t at the same school." Zhou Li, unjustly punched, felt aggrieved and decided to take his revenge. "Maybe he secretly dated but didn’t tell me. Many young boys and girls who’ve just started dating like to keep it a secret, too embarrassed to go public."

"..." Huai Xu.

"..." Xiao Hua.

"..." Su Jue.

"Handsome Huai, I have some life advice for you," Qian Qian said, staring at Huai Xu without blinking. "Date me once, and you’ll know the sweetness of love is even more delicious than lamb soup."

"Me, me, me! Me too!" Mianmian quickly chimed in. "I’m tastier than Qian Qian!"

"Copying others! Turning into a parrot!"

"..."

"What do you think, Handsome Huai?"

Huai Xu kept his head down and continued to eat meat and drink soup, not lifting his head once, as if he were too busy for any interruptions.

The two girls waited with bated breath for a while but received no answer, and they felt deeply dejected.

"So heartbreaking. WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER~~"

"DING~~"

A few gurgles; the harsh drink slid down the throat, tormenting the heart.

The meal was over. Brother Nan stood up to pay the bill, then returned to look at the two foot-picking cuties slumped in their seats, still bickering. She pressed her lips together, approached them, and gave them a light kick with her foot. "Let’s go..."

"Can’t move," Mianmian said.

"Brother Nan, I probably can’t climb back over the wall. Just leave me outside the wall; I can sleep there. Come and wake me up early tomorrow morning," Qian Qian mumbled.

"I’ll carry you guys over," Brother Nan said.

"I’m still okay, but Mianmian definitely can’t make it. She’s dead weight," Qian Qian continued.

"You’re the heavy one!"

"Why don’t you stay at our place for the night and go back tomorrow? You’ve all been drinking, and climbing over the wall might lead to a fall." Zhou Li calmly watched them, pondered for a moment, then said, "You two can sleep in Huai Xu’s room." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"!!"

"Alright!!"

The two foot-picking cuties instantly perked up but only sobered for a second. Then, realizing something was off, they slipped back into a daze, looking as if they were too drunk to be aware of anything.

Zhou Li then turned to Brother Nan and Baozi. "How about it? You two can sleep in my room. Huai Xu and I will take the living room."

"What about Baozi?" Brother Nan asked.

"I don’t mind."

"Then it’s settled!"

After putting Su Jue and Xiao Hua into the car, Zhou Li stood by it, watching Brother Nan and Baozi shove Cotton Swab inside. He then turned back to glance at Huai Xu standing under the shade of a tree before getting into the driver’s seat.

The two foot-picking cuties were truly smitten with Huai Xu; they had lost interest in checking out other cute guys ever since they met him. Now in the car, they were still hung up on Huai Xu.

"Where’s Huai Xu..."

"He’ll take a cab. We’re overloaded," Zhou Li said.

"We... in the back... could still squeeze one more person... The traffic police at night..." Qian Qian slurred, "...are off duty..."

"Quiet down, both of you," Brother Nan said. "If you vomit in the car, I’ll kill you."

"Be a little gentler with us~~ uwu"

The two foot-picking cuties were drunk and noisy in the car, their voices grating, so much so that Zhou Li couldn’t even hear the navigation prompts clearly. But Zhou Li quite liked these two foot-picking cuties. Their liveliness made any place feel bustling and fun. Though he generally preferred quiet, Zhou Li occasionally enjoyed the feeling of having noisy friends around.

「They arrived home.」

Huai Xu had already arrived and was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, waiting for them.

The two foot-picking cuties were still making a racket, seemingly bringing the entire house to life.

Zhou Li set Tuanzi down to scurry about, but his gaze drifted to the balcony, and he fell silent. He had clearly signaled with his eyes for this Old monster to come back and tidy up the house. It seemed Old monster had understood, because the living room was already cleaned and the trash bag had been changed. However, the clothes on the balcony hadn’t been brought in. Among them was one particular item... Zhou Li pursed his lips and quietly approached. Before they could notice, he swiftly pulled the curtains over the floor-to-ceiling window.

Then, he walked back, crouched beside the coffee table, and opened the drawer.

"Whoa!"

Mianmian and Qian Qian both gasped in surprise.

Both drawers were packed full of snacks, a myriad of varieties that dazzled the eyes.

"Help yourselves, don’t be shy," Zhou Li told them. "If you find anything you like, feel free to pack a backpack full when you leave tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Of course, it’s true."

"Then we won’t hold back!"

"Want something to drink?" Zhou Li walked towards the fridge. "There’s a lot of Sprite in the fridge, ice-cold. If you can still drink, I think some icy water might feel good after alcohol."

"One bottle each, please," they said.

"Alright." Zhou Li took out about ten cans, handing two to each person. The fridge was suddenly half-empty. He thought for a moment. "I heard you get thirsty at night after drinking. The drinks are in the fridge. If you’re thirsty, just come out and grab some."

"Thanks, Handsome Zhou!"

"Huai Xu and I will be sleeping in the living room tonight!" To prevent them from feeling uncomfortable about coming out later, Zhou Li added, "I’m not sure if Huai Xu sleeps soundly, so if you see something you shouldn’t, just pretend you didn’t."

"Got it!!"

The two foot-picking cuties secretly resolved to feel very thirsty that night and to come out for water several times.

Zhou Li smiled faintly. "If you finish everything in the fridge, there are several more cases in Huai Xu’s room. Just help yourselves."

Cotton Swab readily agreed.

Only Huai Xu stood nearby, his mouth slightly open, his expression blank.