My Demon Friends-Chapter 518 - 497: On Vacation

West Mountain.

Zhou Li and Huai Xu had been playing in Hong Ran’s game room for two hours and only came out when it was time to eat.

Hong Ran had long known the allure of her dining offerings for Zhou Li and Huai Xu and had, as always, prepared a lavish meal for them, then sat beside them to watch them eat.

"Didn’t you say you’d bring your little girlfriend over?" she asked softly.

"When did I say that?"

"It was agreed long ago."

"Really..."

"Little liar."

"She’s a bit shy."

Upon hearing this, Huai Xu, who had been devouring his meal, suddenly looked up, squinted his eyes, and looked at Zhou Li confusedly.

Hong Ran naturally knew he was making things up, but she didn’t mind and just laughed, "I’m just curious about her. I want to know what kind of girl she is."

"Just an ordinary girl," Zhou Li answered.

"What do you mean by ordinary?"

"I mean the kind who can only eat and is a fool who can’t do anything else," Zhou Li said calmly, then glanced sideways. "Of course, she’s still a bit better than Huai Xu."

"You..." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Hong Ran covered her mouth and laughed, exuding elegance.

Zhou Li ate a piece of roasted pork with crispy skin. Unlike the Old monster, he didn’t rush, chewing slowly. After swallowing, he added, "And since today is New Year’s Day, she had to go shopping with her two roommates."

"I’ll forgive you this time," Hong Ran’s expression was particularly charming.

"Right, it’s New Year’s Day today," Zhou Li paused. "You haven’t sent me a New Year’s red packet yet, and I’ve already received quite a few."

"Whose have you received?"

"Aunt Jiang’s, Mom’s, and Aunt’s," Zhou Li paused again. "You really need to treat me better, or you’re going to be outdone."

"Okay, okay..." Hong Ran rubbed her temples, amused yet exasperated. "Forgive your sister here. My generation didn’t have this tradition, after all, and you humans always change so fast. It always takes me a while to catch up."

"It’s not too late to send it now."

"Alright, alright..."

Zhou Li soon received Hong Ran’s red packet: 88.88, the same amount he gave to his Little Cousin.

He put down his phone, satisfied, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He glanced down sneakily at Hong Ran’s horse-face skirt and asked, "Sister, how many tails do you have?"

"Just one," Hong Ran looked at Zhou Li, puzzled.

"Oh."

"What’s the matter?"

"Last night, I dreamed you had many tails."

"You’ve been watching too much TV."

"I haven’t watched TV in a long while. I used to watch it a bit when Huai Xu and Tuanzi were watching, but lately, with exams, I’ve been struggling with whether I should revise. Watching TV feels like committing a crime." Zhou Li had a slight headache.

"Study hard and you won’t feel that way."

"Uh..."

"When are your exams over?"

"The 7th."

"That’s soon."

"Yes, then I’ll be going straight back to Yan City."

"You’d better do well on the exams, or even the New Year won’t go well."

"Yeah..."

Zhou Li chatted casually and unhurriedly with Hong Ran while Huai Xu ate voraciously beside them. Without anyone realizing, a large portion of the food on the table had disappeared. However, Zhou Li didn’t mind. Hong Ran had prepared plenty of dishes, enough for him to eat his fill even at a slow pace, as his appetite wasn’t large to begin with.

「January 7th, morning.」

Today’s exam was on Human Anatomy and Tissue, the last one.

This subject wasn’t very important for their major, held only once a week, with the purpose merely to give the students some understanding, yet the credits were the same. It was also the subject Zhou Li had skipped the most.

Early in the morning, when he left the house, he memorized the cheat sheet Chang Xiaoxiang had prepared. Supposedly, it contained leaked questions, but not a single one proved useful.

It’s all based on gut feeling!!

Zhou Li didn’t even know if he was going to fail, nor did he have an idea of his potential score.

He truly felt that his answers were quite logical. Who knows? Perhaps the teacher would be delighted after reading his paper and give him a high score!

On the other hand, failing was also a possibility.

This uncertainty made him uncomfortable. At least in high school, whether he did well or poorly, he could accurately gauge his performance. But in this situation, it seemed he had lost that ability, transforming into a bona fide academic slacker.

The kind entirely reliant on luck...

Oh, but that’s not entirely right!

Zhou Li had just handed in his paper when he caught a glimpse of Brother Nan approaching him.

Brother Nan looked completely relaxed, her eyes crinkling with a smile, seemingly devoid of any anxiety, and every move she made exuded confidence.

"Brother Nan, how did you do?" Zhou Li asked.

"No problem!"

"How did you manage it?"

"I winged it!"

"Got it."

See? Some slackers who just rely on luck are even more confident than him.

At this point, Brother Nan grabbed him by the neck or, more accurately, hooked her arm around... and choked him by the neck. While choking him and walking him outside, she said, "Damn, finally done with exams! Don’t you feel like you’re finally free?"

"Yes."

"I knew it."

"You too?"

"Me? Not really," Brother Nan said matter-of-factly. "I don’t feel the struggle; it’s all the same to me."

"True."

Zhou Li was a bit taller than Brother Nan, so her choking him by the neck looked somewhat awkward. Her hand had to reach up, yet she did it very naturally and effortlessly, chatting with Zhou Li about this and that as they walked.

When he returned to the dorm, he tidied up a bit, saw it was about time, and called his three roommates to join Brother Nan’s room for a farewell dinner.

The two dorms chatted a lot during the meal, but it was mostly about trivial matters. Besides asking each other when they were going home, they discussed exams. Most of their conversation was instantly forgettable.

「One in the afternoon.」

They were ready to set off.

As usual, Brother Nan drove with Zhou Li in the passenger seat. Small clouds dotted the sky outside the window.

"We’ll arrive in the evening, right?"

"UH-HUH!"

"It’s still a bit rushed."

"If we head back a day early, we can go to Little Zheng’s for some mutton a day earlier," Brother Nan said as she started the engine. "You can go to Qingjiang a day early too, and come back for the New Year a day early."

"You’re right," Zhou Li considered.

"You definitely can’t drive this car to Qingjiang. I suggest you rent one, at least with snow tires," Brother Nan added.

"Got it."

"Hey, I’ve noticed our little car is about to hit ten thousand kilometers, counting from when we got it." Brother Nan stared at the dashboard and grinned. "We should reach it halfway there."

"That far, huh?" Zhou Li remarked.

"UH-HUH!"

"Maybe you can get a better car later," came Huai Xu’s voice from the back seat.

"No way! Not changing!"

"Why not?"

"I’ve gotten attached. I have to drive it till it breaks," Brother Nan asserted firmly.

"Isn’t a bigger, cooler one better?"

"This one’s good too! It’s cheap, but it has never had any issues. Plus, it has never complained about me being poor and has always been so honest and obedient. How could I say it’s not good?" Brother Nan said earnestly, before her expression softened. "It’s such a good car; Old Li is too attached..."

"HMM..."

Huai Xu tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then blurted out, "Blow it up! Don’t leave it for the enemy!"