My Demon Friends-Chapter 515 - 494: Night Talk

"It started to rain."

Zhou Li pulled a cart full of animals back to his small house.

Upon opening the door, he first set Tuanzi down on the floor. After watching her scurry towards the couch, he turned to Cotton Swab. "You guys can stay in my room today. I’ll sleep with Huai Xu. Brother Nan can sleep in the living room, or Brother Nan can sleep in Huai Xu’s room, and Huai Xu and I can sleep in the living room. Either works."

"Ah?" Mianmian asked.

"Same here," Qian Qian echoed.

"What’s wrong?" Zhou Li asked.

"Erm..." Mianmian hesitated, not knowing what to say, then turned her head abruptly. "Qian Qian has something to say."

"Ah? I don’t!" Qian Qian shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum. "It’s clearly Mianmian who wants to sleep in Huai Xu’s room; she’s just too shy to say it out loud."

"Is that so?" Zhou Li asked again.

"Not at all!" Mianmian denied hastily, her face flushing red. "Don’t listen to her nonsense! That’s not true at all!"

"I see."

Clearly, that was the truth: the two cute girls with their foot-picking habit wanted to sleep in Huai Xu’s bed. However, today’s situation was different from the last time. They were too embarrassed to kick Huai Xu out and also worried Zhou Li would think they didn’t want to stay in his room, all while trying to maintain their polite image. It was a bit pretentious of them.

Even so, Zhou Li didn’t intend to grant their wish.

After all, they were his classmates and guests. If both rooms were available, it was more appropriate for them to stay in his room.

Besides, Huai Xu had washed the sheets after they left last time. Zhou Li had found this very surprising, as he never knew the old monster could be so fastidious. But on second thought, it might have been the old monster’s sense of ’territory’ acting up.

All things considered, he felt arranging for the two cute girls with their foot-picking habit to stay in his room was the better choice.

"Then it’s settled!" Zhou Li said with a gentle smile. "If you want to stay out and have fun during the New Year’s holiday instead of going back to school, you can stay here. It’ll save you the trouble of going back and forth."

"Okay." Mianmian nodded obediently, her face still flushed, looking quite cute.

"Ditto," Qian Qian echoed.

"Then you two sleep in the room," Brother Nan said, pushing away Tuanzi, who was rolling around beside him. "I’ll take the sofa."

"Lord Dumpling wants to sleep on the sofa too!"

"Alright then." Zhou Li glanced helplessly at Tuanzi. "Tuanzi usually sleeps on the sofa anyway."

"It’s fine. Your sofa is so big; you and Huai Xu can both fit, and Tuanzi and I can fit too." Brother Nan eyed the sofa and instructed, "I’ll sleep on this side, you sleep on that side. That way, I won’t accidentally crush you if I roll over in my sleep."

"Okay, MEOW!" Tuanzi chirped.

"Alright." Zhou Li nodded and then looked at Cotton Swab. "I’m visiting my sister tomorrow. If you’re still here, I’ll bring back some delicious food for you."

"It really is delicious," Huai Xu said to Cotton Swab.

"Then we’ll impose," Mianmian decided quickly, also deciding for Qian Qian. "But Qian Qian has to go back."

"PFFT! I want to eat the delicious food too!"

"OOH~~"

Zhou Li continued to smile, sat down by the sofa, and casually turned on the TV.

This kind of liveliness is quite nice.

「That night.」

Zhou Li and Huai Xu lay side by side on the bed.

Zhou Li lay covered with a blanket, wrapped up like a log, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Huai Xu’s voice came from beside him, "Are you disappointed that you’re sleeping with me instead of your girlfriend?"

"No," Zhou Li responded indifferently.

"Really?" Huai Xu sounded a bit surprised and rolled over to face him. "So, which is more fun, sleeping next to your girlfriend or sleeping next to me?"

"My girlfriend," Zhou Li said directly.

"Humans..." Huai Xu shook his head, paused, then said, "In a few years, you’ll understand that these things are just fleeting clouds. Look at those bosses—they specifically buy statues that embody tranquility for their bedrooms, just to keep their wives at bay."

"..."

"Not talking to me anymore..." Huai Xu muttered to himself, then switched topics. "Is that blanket you’re wrapped in comfortable?"

"Do you have to talk so much?"

"Li Daimao does too."

"..."

"Actually, you could have used my blanket. It’s no big deal if I don’t use it."

"...I’m afraid you’ll wash the blanket as soon as you get up tomorrow."

"I won’t," Huai Xu said casually. "After all, we’ve lived together for so long. I’m already familiar with your scent—the good and the bad."

"You’re disgusting."

"What’s so disgusting about that?" Huai Xu frowned. "Isn’t that how humans are?"

"Don’t say that."

"That just makes it seem deliberate." Huai Xu continued to impart his wisdom. "First, you need to accept one thing: humans are ultimately just humans, nothing more, not Deities. There isn’t a single perfect person in this world, nor is there anyone who doesn’t pick their nose or fart."

"..."

"Not talking again..." Huai Xu muttered, unconcerned, and continued, seamlessly linking to his previous point. "No matter how polished and glamorous a person appears, if you look closely, they’re riddled with flaws. Even the most beautiful people have unattractive aspects, and the most elegant individuals might secretly pick their feet. I understood these truths over a thousand years ago—the only truly perfect beings in this world are Demons."

"..."

"Now you know who is the most perfect, right?"

"But Demons are chatterboxes."

"..."

This time it was Huai Xu’s turn to be speechless. But after only a few tens of seconds of silence, he changed the subject. "Do you think the Teacher is still alive?"

"I don’t know," Zhou Li said.

"I was scrolling through TikTok today and saw a news story saying scientists have discovered a habitable exoplanet. Did you see it?" Huai Xu asked, then mumbled to himself, "You definitely didn’t. You always scroll TikTok secretly, and there were too many people around today for you to do it."

"I saw that a long time ago."

"Really?"

"Does it matter?"

"I heard that one of Yu Country’s plans, and a high-priority one at that, is to leave Earth for another planet similar to ours," Huai Xu said. "I told you before that many of these scientific research labs have the Demon Kingdom backing them, remember?"

"Why does it have to be similar to Earth?" Zhou Li asked.

"Originally, it didn’t need to be similar, as any new planet would be very different from the Demons’ original world. But now, the Old Land World and all Demons have adapted to Earth’s environment, and the Old Land World can’t undergo another major transformation."

"I see." Zhou Li nodded, paused, and then said, "But that planet is very far away."

"Yeah, it’s a long journey, many light-years."

"Light-years is a measure of distance."

"...Of course, I know light-years measure distance!" Huai Xu retorted, then quickly added, "I’ve noticed you’re most interested when we discuss serious matters like this!"

"Can it succeed?"

"Who knows," Huai Xu said, shaking his head. "Who knows which plan they’ll ultimately execute, or the progress of these plans, or if there’ll be unforeseen circumstances... Maybe the plan that’s currently lagging the most will suddenly have a major breakthrough and become the most feasible. Or perhaps the most promising plan will suddenly hit a dead end, or they’ll discover it leads nowhere... It all depends on the higher-ups."

"I see."

Zhou Li fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "If this plan succeeds, would you leave too?"

"I won’t."

"You sound so sure."

"I suspect many Demons won’t," Huai Xu said, also staring at the ceiling. "They’ve grown accustomed to this land. They’ve lived here for a long time, and it has become their second Old Land. Besides, for an older Demon... they’ve already left their homeland once before."

"Is that so..."

Zhou Li lapsed into silence again.

Huai Xu’s voice continued to echo in his ears, "If I left, would you miss me?"

"Of course."

"HEH HEH..."

"When I was little, in the village..." Zhou Li began in a slow drawl. Just as Huai Xu thought he was about to tell a touching story, Zhou Li continued, "There was an idiot who ran around barefoot even in winter, and he laughed just like that."