My Demon Friends-Chapter 519 - 498: I Am a Dead Man

"Brother Nan, if you get tired later, find a service area to stop, and we’ll drive," Zhou Li said with concern.

"Brother Nan, if you get tired later, find a service area to stop, and I’ll drive," Huai Xu repeated.

"Hah... a joke!" Brother Nan twitched the corner of his mouth. "I’ve already become one with the car. How could I be tired?"

"Don’t drive when you’re fatigued," Zhou Li said.

"Don’t drive when you’re fatigued," Huai Xu also said.

"MEOW~~" Tuanzi tilted his head, confused.

"That won’t happen, that won’t happen. I can drive for three days and nights. You all just sit tight and don’t disturb my driving," Brother Nan said nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to the pleading in Huai Xu’s voice. He just sang along with the music, "Let me pluck your heart, try to melt it slowly..."

So Zhou Li fell silent, quietly holding Tuanzi, watching the scenery ahead, and listening to Brother Nan’s singing.

The road was still so long.

The scorching sun overhead gradually shifted westward, turning into a sunset. The sky was resplendent with evening colors, which were then replaced by sparse stars, and fog began to form on the road.

Brother Nan drove fast but steady; perhaps this was a minor skill that came with being one with the car.

Zhou Li drifted between drowsiness and wakefulness. Sometimes he’d watch the scenery outside; other times, he’d bow his head, close his eyes for a brief nap, or chat with Tuanzi to pass the time.

「Eleven o’clock at night.」

「Yan City.」

Brother Nan parked the car at the entrance to Zhou Li’s residential complex and got out to help him with his luggage, although Zhou Li could have managed it himself perfectly well. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Aunt Jiang left us some dinner," Zhou Li said, standing by the roadside. "Do you want to come up and eat something?"

"Didn’t we eat noodles on the road?"

"Supper."

"I won’t come up... Your suitcase." Brother Nan handed Zhou Li his suitcase and then his backpack. Watching him put it on, he added, "Go back and get to bed early. If you wake up early tomorrow morning, come over to my place for noodles."

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"YEAH!"

"So busy."

"Isn’t that just the way? We shop owners have it even tougher than employees," Brother Nan said, shaking his head helplessly as he aired the woes of being a boss.

"Alright then."

"I’m off!"

"Goodbye, Brother Nan."

"MEOW~~"

Zhou Li tightened his grip on Tuanzi, who wanted to follow Brother Nan. He stood by the roadside watching Brother Nan leave until the taillights disappeared. Then he turned and, while walking toward the residential complex, said, "Lord Dumpling, have you forgotten that Brother Nan’s home has a very fierce Big Orange Cat? If Lord Dumpling went with Brother Nan, you’d get beaten up by the orange cat."

"That’s right..." Tuanzi agreed softly.

"Isn’t it?" Zhou Li affirmed.

「Eleven-ten.」

Zhou Li took out his keys and opened the door.

The living room lights were still on—the dimmest downlight, casting a white glow. Old Zhou and Aunt Jiang were sitting on the sofa waiting for them. They hadn’t turned on the TV, perhaps because there were no programs they liked at this hour, making the living room eerily quiet.

This quietness was broken only when the sound of keys turning in the lock came from the door.

The first sound was Aunt Jiang’s voice; she said to Old Zhou, "He’s back."

Then came the scuffing of slippers against the floor tiles as Aunt Jiang got up and walked out, bending over and peering towards the door. "You’re back!"

Zhou Li was just pushing open the door. He lowered his head and said softly, "Didn’t I tell you two to go to sleep? Why are you still up...?"

"It’s not that late. Usually, we’re still in bed playing on our phones at this time," Aunt Jiang said.

"I wanted to go to sleep a while ago, but your Aunt Jiang wouldn’t let me," Old Zhou stated matter-of-factly, then assumed the authority of the Head of the Family. "Why did you come back so late? Shouldn’t you have waited another day and come back tomorrow? Driving at night is so dangerous!"

"I missed you guys," Zhou Li said offhandedly, then pointed to Huai Xu behind him. "This is Huai Xu, you remember him, right? He’s staying at our house for the night."

"Hello, Aunt Jiang. Hello, Uncle," Huai Xu greeted them.

"MEOW MEOW~" Tuanzi added.

"Yes, yes, I remember. Huai Xu is still as handsome, and Tuanzi is still so well-behaved," Aunt Jiang said, very pleased. "Huh, how come Tuanzi doesn’t seem to have grown at all?"

"That’s just his breed," Zhou Li explained.

"You’ve struck gold." Aunt Jiang didn’t dwell on that for the moment, instead glancing behind Zhou Li. "Where’s Xiao Nan?"

"He went home," Zhou Li replied.

"Oh..." Aunt Jiang nodded. "Well, you two rest a bit first. I’ll go warm up the dishes for you!"

"You two go to sleep; I can do it myself," Zhou Li said.

"You know how?" Aunt Jiang asked.

"I think so..." Zhou Li said, a little uncertainly.

"Alright then." Aunt Jiang, smiling gently and warmly, said, "Then just make yourselves comfortable. Leave the dishes in the sink when you’re done; I’ll wash them tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Zhou Li acknowledged.

With a smile, Aunt Jiang took Old Zhou, who was already very sleepy, back to their room.

The winter nights in Yi Province are very cold, foggy, and damp; even windows couldn’t keep out the chill. They sat there waiting for several hours, seemingly doing nothing substantial: just a glance, a few words. To me, it seemed utterly unnecessary.

Scratching his head, Zhou Li put down Tuanzi and looked at the table.

Two cold dishes, three hot dishes, a bowl of tomato and meatball soup, and a box of rabbit heads—all his favorites.

As soon as the gas stove and range hood were turned on, the kitchen grew noisy. Even though Zhou Li moved as lightly as possible, the sounds of clinking and clattering were inevitable.

In the kitchen was a small stool, usually used by Aunt Jiang to rest while cooking, but it was now occupied by Huai Xu. He looked up at Zhou Li bustling around and asked, "When are your younger brother and that girl—the one you’re not sure if she counts as your sister—returning?"

"Their plane is tomorrow." Zhou Li didn’t turn his head. "What do you mean, ’the one I’m not sure if she counts as my sister’?"

"AWOO! So, does she or doesn’t she?"

"..." Zhou Li thought for a moment. "Next time, you can call her by her full name, Zhu Bing."

"Got it!" Huai Xu said, then sniffed. "Smells good."

"Is there any of Lord Dumpling’s fish soup with rice?" Tuanzi asked, clinging to Zhou Li’s leg, already standing up like a person, looking up at him.

"No," Zhou Li replied.

"AWW~~"

Disappointed, Tuanzi let go of his leg and squatted down, not forgetting to remind Zhou Li, "Lord Dumpling will sit right by your feet, so don’t step on Lord Dumpling."

Zhou Li didn’t respond.

The kitchen continued to clink and clatter, and they instinctively lowered their voices amid the din.

「About half-past eleven.」

One man and two demons sat around the table for a midnight snack, eating while playing on their phones and chatting, until they had cleaned up every dish. Then Zhou Li went to take a shower, and Huai Xu washed the dishes. By the time they returned to their room, it was already 1:30 AM.

"I’ll sleep on the inside," Zhou Li said.

"Then I’ll take the outside," Huai Xu replied.

"Lord Dumpling sleeps in the middle!!" Tuanzi declared.

The man and two demons quickly settled into bed, all with their eyes wide open, gazing at the patches of light cast on the ceiling by the lights outside.

This area was a bit busier than the one near the school district, so naturally, it was a little noisier at night. Vehicles often passed by outside, their sounds clearly audible. Usually, it didn’t bother me, but when trying to sleep, it was quite irritating.

"Are you asleep?" Huai Xu asked.

"Zhou Ni, are you asleep?" Tuanzi also asked.

"No," Zhou Li answered.

"Why aren’t you sleeping yet?" Huai Xu asked.

"Why aren’t you sleeping?" Tuanzi turned to face Zhou Li, his whiskers nearly poking Zhou Li’s face, his warm breath tickling his skin.

"Because I slept in the car during the day," Zhou Li said, rubbing his face. "Both of you, no more talking, or I might not be able to sleep even by three o’clock."

"Can’t sleep? How about chatting with me then?" Huai Xu suggested.

"If you can’t sleep, play hide-and-seek with Lord Dumpling!" Tuanzi proposed enthusiastically.

"..."

One a restless parkour enthusiast, the other a chatty old monster. Usually, just the latter was enough to wear me out, but now both were sharing a bed with me. I could already foresee the poor quality of sleep I would get tonight. So I pursed my lips, silent, pretending I had already fallen asleep, letting the old monster chatter by my ear and Tuanzi run and stomp on me without making a sound.