My Demon Friends-Chapter 521 - 500: Morning Run

The noodles were served.

Zhou Li sat down and dug into his noodles, his hands fully occupied. Consequently, Brother Nan went around behind him and placed his hand on Zhou Li’s neck.

"HISS..."

Zhou Li’s neck flinched.

Brother Nan, up to his usual antics, pretended not to notice and bent down to ask with concern, "What’s wrong?"

Zhou Li continued to eat his noodles, remaining silent.

Brother Nan’s hand, which was around his neck, tightened slightly. "Big Brother is asking you a question!"

"No..."

"Then why the hiss?"

"It was hot."

"Oh, I see," Brother Nan nodded. "Then eat more slowly."

"Got it." Zhou Li lowered his head to look at the bowl, which was mostly full of beef with a pitifully small amount of noodles mixed in. "There’s a bit too much meat," he observed.

"You should eat more meat." Brother Nan frowned. "Look how thin you are, all bones."

"..."

Zhou Li glanced sideways, noticing Tuanzi with his head buried in a small iron bowl, thoroughly enjoying his meal. He hesitated before suggesting to Brother Nan, "Actually, Lord Dumpling is quite warm too. You could try holding him."

"MEOW?" Tuanzi looked up at him, puzzled.

"I mean, Lord Dumpling’s body is robust, and he’s not afraid of the cold, so he’s very warm," Zhou Li explained. "Right?"

"Yes, MEOW! Lord Dumpling is not afraid of the cold!" Tuanzi quickly nodded in agreement. "Great Demons are never afraid of the cold!"

"Exactly."

Zhou Li then looked up at Brother Nan, hoping he would remove his demonic claws from his neck and reach for Tuanzi instead. But to his disappointment, Brother Nan’s expression remained serene, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

"Sigh..."

He continued to lower his head and eat his noodles.

Luckily, his body temperature was quite resilient. His warmth soon heated Brother Nan’s hand, making it less chilly.

「Ten minutes later.」

Zhou Li and Tuanzi had finished eating. Only the Old monster had added another bowl and was still battling on.

While watching the Old monster eat, Zhou Li reached out to grab Tuanzi’s soft little paws, trying to hold them. However, Tuanzi seemed reluctant to let him. Perhaps he was playing a game, repeatedly withdrawing his little paws from Zhou Li’s grasp just as he was about to catch them, then placing them back to entice him.

"Aren’t you busy, Brother Nan?"

"I’m the store manager."

"Isn’t the store manager busy?"

"Yes, but I can also choose not to be," Brother Nan said, tightening his grip on Zhou Li’s neck again. "What’s the matter? Trying to get rid of me?"

"Just curious."

"You should say it hurts."

"It hurts." Zhou Li thought for a moment and then added twice more, "Hurts, hurts."

"So fake! I’m going to get busy."

"Take care, Brother Nan."

"MEOW!"

Then Brother Nan turned and left. Tuanzi immediately stood up on the table, unhesitatingly hopped down, and trotted after Brother Nan on its short legs, muttering as it went, "Lord Dumpling is going to see what you’re up to..."

Zhou Li expressionlessly retracted his hand and continued to watch Huai Xu eat noodles.

「Another ten minutes passed.」

Tuanzi came running back, its paws moving quickly. It jumped onto Zhou Li’s lap, sat down, and looked up at him. "Zhou Ni, Lord Dumpling missed you..."

"Really?"

"Yes, MEOW!"

"Then I missed Lord Dumpling too," Zhou Li couldn’t help but smile, a warm feeling spreading in his heart.

"Lord Dumpling wants to go for a morning run with you!"

"Hmm?"

Zhou Li felt puzzled and turned his head to look around.

His smile quickly stiffened—

He saw an orange figure at the kitchen doorway, mostly hidden behind the doorframe, eyeing Tuanzi with a predatory gaze.

"HISS... HUFF..."

Zhou Li took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and continued to smile at Tuanzi. "All right."

He felt the pain of those from the past, all those who had been forsaken by Tuanzi, a pain that pierced the heart. It was then that he firmly resolved never to let Tuanzi out to hurt anyone ever again.

...

The winters in Yan City were real winters.

After saying goodbye to Brother Nan and stepping out of the shop, a cold, damp wind blew past, and Zhou Li felt a chill seep deep into his bones.

"HA..."

He hugged Tuanzi tightly for warmth and hurried across the road while the light was green. He had only crossed one intersection when the thick fog obscured the sign of Brother Nan’s noodle shop. Only the two red lanterns remained visible, their light blurred by the mist.

But there were still people fishing by the river. They were dressed in thick, waterproof clothing, sitting on small stools and huddled together against the severe cold.

Zhou Li often envied them. He thought they must live such carefree lives, unbothered by summer heat, winter cold, or stormy weather.

"Lord Dumpling, how about you wait for me here? You can go play with the people fishing by the river. If someone gives Lord Dumpling fish again, remember to thank them, okay?" Zhou Li said while doing his warm-up exercises.

"Lord Dumpling knows!"

"It’s so cold..."

"Lord Dumpling isn’t cold, MEOW!" Tuanzi hunched its shoulders, peering up at Zhou Li through narrowed eyes, determined to maintain its image as a Great Demon.

"I’m starting my run now."

"Okay." Tuanzi sat down on the spot. "Lord Dumpling will watch you run from here. After you’ve run out of sight, Lord Dumpling will go play by the riverbank."

"All right."

Zhou Li put on his earphones, took a deep breath, and started running.

The faster he ran, the stronger the cold wind blew.

Initially, the cold wind chilled his body, but he soon warmed up. Only his face remained ice-cold, especially his nose and ears. He hadn’t run far before his hair was soaked by the fog, tiny droplets clinging to his bangs.

As always, Huai Xu was perched on a utility pole some distance ahead. Now, however, he couldn’t even be bothered to mock Zhou Li, merely looking down at his phone and swinging his legs.

With the thick fog, Zhou Li could run freely.

So he ran faster and faster. The cold wind howled in his ears, becoming a deafening roar. At this speed, unreachable by ordinary people, he actually felt a thrill, as if he could soon take flight.

But a quick glance upward, at the Old monster ahead playing on his phone out of boredom on the utility pole, was like a splash of cold water, jolting him back to reality.

「Back to square one.」

Tuanzi waited obediently by the roadside for him, with three small fish neatly lined up beside it.

Zhou Li let out a long breath, calmly picked up the small fish, then lifted Tuanzi and started walking back. He turned his head to ask, "How fast was I running just now?"

"Wasn’t paying attention..." Huai Xu yawned.

"I see." Zhou Li decided to turn on the running app on his phone next time to check his speed.

"Isn’t it time to pick up your brother?"

"Yes."

"Where from?"

"The Second-rate Airport at Jin Palace."

"Is it far? Isn’t there a first-rate airport?" Huai Xu asked, puzzled. "Is a second-rate airport cheaper or something?"

"Its name is just ’Second-rate Airport’," Zhou Li said, then paused in thought. "This place was originally called Guangdu. Later, during the Sui Dynasty, to avoid the naming taboo of Emperor Yang of Sui, and because it’s situated between two rivers, it was renamed to this."

"Still, they shouldn’t call it ’Second-rate’... It sounds so unpleasant. ’Twin Rivers’ would sound much better," Huai Xu muttered under his breath, then asked, "So, how far is that airport?"

"An hour."

"I’ll drive!!"

"How fast was I running just now?"

"Very fast!"

"Fine."

Zhou Li nodded, satisfied. He rented an electric bike to ride back, changed his clothes, then picked up the keys from the table and left.

Aunt Jiang’s car was a red Volkswagen Beetle, which looked quite cute. Zhou Li remembered it was a birthday gift Old Zhou had given Aunt Jiang one year. At the time, Aunt Jiang had jokingly scolded Old Zhou, saying someone his age shouldn’t be giving her such a "young girl’s car." In truth, however, she absolutely loved driving it.

So Old Zhou still had a few tricks up his sleeve.