My Demon Friends-Chapter 692 - 653: Baozi’s Little Mountain Village Trip

In the upstairs room.

Since there was no table, Baozi moved a small stool to the bedside, placed the computer on the bed, connected it to a card reader, and patiently selected photos.

KNOCK KNOCK.

The sound of knocking came.

"Who is it?"

"Me."

"MEOW."

"It's Lord Dumpling! Come in."

The door was pushed open. Zhou Li and Lord Dumpling entered, Zhou Li even holding an ice cream bar in his hand.

"These are little puddings made with raspberries and yogurt. There's also a blueberry flavor. All the berries are grown in the mountains." Zhou Li held up two ice cream bars to show her. "Which one do you want?"

"What's a raspberry?"

"Things like tree raspberries, mountain bubble berries, milk bubble berries—you know, the red fruits that grow on thorny vines in the mountains."

"Raspberry."

So, Zhou Li handed her the pudding from his left hand. He stood behind her, glancing at the computer screen while eating the other ice cream bar, and said, "Whenever I used to come here, I always thought that if you could come too, you'd definitely be able to capture the scenery."

Little Cousin licked her ice cream bar and nodded with a hum.

So easy to please.

Seeing this, Zhou Li said no more. He watched for a little longer, then turned to leave. "There are plenty more ice cream bars in the fridge. If you finish this one, just go get another."

"Okay."

「Half an hour later.」

Having finished selecting photos, Little Cousin's eyes were blurry; everything looked foggy. She rubbed her eyes as she went downstairs, just in time to see several people getting ready to cook. Wanting to show off so she could have more ice cream later, Little Cousin immediately volunteered, heading toward the stove.

"I'll light the fire!"

She had just taken a step when her pigtail was pulled.

Baozi turned her head to look.

Zhou Li held her pigtail and said to her, "No need. You've been out in the sun all afternoon. Go outside, have some ice cream, and rest a bit."

Baozi actually wanted to. But staying here, eating and lodging, she would feel too embarrassed if she didn't do any work at all. A moment of hard work now was for the sake of better slacking off later.

"It's okay, I'll do it."

Saying this, Baozi resolutely headed back to the stove.

This time, her arm was grabbed, and a pull yanked her forcibly away.

Baozi looked back in confusion—

She saw Zhou Li holding her pigtail with one hand and grabbing her arm with the other. She could only watch as she was forcibly escorted out, all the way to the kitchen doorway.

Zhou Li said to her, "Don't be polite. Go out and play. It's very hot stoking the fire in the summer."

Then Zhou Li sat down at the stove.

Baozi fell silent for a moment—

Cousin was really nice. If only he hadn't tricked her into agreeing to write daily work reports, it would have been perfect.

Baozi went to the main hall and sat down.

The sounds of conversation drifted from the kitchen. Brother Nan's voice was the loudest and most prominent, followed by Zhou Li's. Little Sister Zheng was very quiet; she spoke little, and her voice was soft, but one could still hear her occasionally.

Baozi sat on a high-legged long stool, swinging her legs boredly, her eyes darting around, taking in her surroundings.

The refrigerator, filled with yogurt puddings, was right next to her.

I just had the raspberry flavor, and it was delicious. I haven't tried the blueberry flavor yet.

But she was too embarrassed to go get one.

The surroundings are very quiet; there probably aren't any demons around.

But the big yellow dog from the afternoon and another black-and-white patterned dog—probably a Border Collie?—lay at the main entrance, occasionally casting glances at her. Both dogs were excessively clever, almost like the crow that had pelted her with pinecones in the Pine Forest that afternoon; they were practically turning into spirits.

Baozi was experiencing intense inner turmoil.

As she hesitated, Huai Xu quickly walked out. He opened the fridge, pulled out the drawer, took an ice cream bar, and closed the drawer and fridge again, all in one smooth motion.

Baozi watched him, her mind racing through several scenarios: Huai Xu, are you eating an ice cream bar? or Huai Xu, could you please get one for me too? But ultimately, she was too slow. By the time she opened her mouth, hesitating whether to speak, Huai Xu had already turned and walked away with five ice cream bars—presumably all for himself.

Then another voice joined those in the kitchen.

"…"

Baozi sighed inwardly.

「Dinnertime arrived.」

Baozi still sat with her head hung low on the high stool, hands propped on either side of her hips, swinging her legs back and forth.

Seeing Huai Xu start to bring out the dishes, she hurriedly jumped off and actively ran in to help serve.

In the summer evenings, when appetites were poor, Miss Zheng had ample experience in handling it. Besides a sour-and-tangy pickled radish and old duck soup that Brother Nan liked (which had been prepared before noon), the dishes cooked in the evening were all appetizing small plates. Paired with her homemade pickled Chinese cabbage, they could cure even the poorest of appetites.

The setting sun gradually descended, dyeing the accumulated clouds in the valley a pool of golden yellow. The wind brought a few feather-like wisps of cloud, which were also dyed golden.

Baozi sat at the doorway under the eaves, holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, watching the scenery and eating simultaneously.

The rough, earthenware bowl contained scrambled eggs with tomatoes, minced pork with string beans, and sautéed cauliflower with cured meat, all served over white rice. It looked oddly appetizing.

The camera on the tripod next to her was recording a time-lapse.

The evening breeze on the mountain blew in gusts. Swallows chirped and circled around. The juice from the scrambled eggs with tomatoes had already seeped into the rice, making it sour and slightly sweet. The homegrown tomatoes had a rich, fresh aroma. Baozi mixed the rice with the minced pork and string beans using her chopsticks and shoveled it into her mouth vigorously. She occasionally turned her head to glance at the camera, her foot swinging again.

This life, eating while waiting for the sunset, was just too wonderful.

Her meal finished, the sun had completely set behind the mountains. Baozi stopped the time-lapse and lifted the camera to check it.

Too bad that time-lapsing and taking photos couldn't be done simultaneously.

At that moment, Baozi couldn't help thinking: If only I had two cameras.

Since she had helped serve dishes in the evening, Little Cousin felt she had contributed. So, she secretly took an ice cream bar and ate it while walking out with her camera. The daylight had not yet faded, and crimson clouds still lingered in the sky. She wanted to see if there was anything worth photographing in the little mountain village while pondering her photography plans for the coming days.

Little Sister Zheng's horse was very pretty and well-behaved. Leading or riding the horse in the village would make for a beautiful scene.

The sunset was so beautiful, so the sunrise must be equally stunning. However, it's on the opposite side of the mountain. I might have to climb the mountain behind me to capture it, or go to the opposite side of the valley to photograph the valley itself. I haven't yet photographed this abandoned mountain village this afternoon; I didn't manage to do so last time at Xidian Village either. When meals are being cooked, the rising smoke from the chimneys must also look beautiful. There will be no moon in the coming days. The place is at a high altitude, and I wonder about the light pollution. Perhaps I can capture the starry sky or the Milky Way. There's also Little Sister Zheng's dog. And…

As night slowly fell, Venus, the Evening Star, was the most conspicuous.

Miss Zheng took out homemade iced black tea from the refrigerator. It was sour and sweet with the aroma of lemon. She joined everyone sitting in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air and chat.

Tuanzi stood on the bench next to Zhou Li, head held high, tensing up as if to jump, wanting to catch the swallows and bats as they swooped down.

Brother Nan chuckled, "If you can catch a bird, I'll call you 'big brother' from now on."

At this, Tuanzi quickly turned her head, looking very surprised.

"Really, MEOW?"

"A gentleman's word is his bond."

"Gen-tle-man's… bond…" Tuanzi blinked, staring at him.

"It means I won't go back on my word!"

"Shi Yan…"

"I won't deceive you!"

"Okay, MEOW… Aiya!"

Just in the course of saying those few words, standing on the bench, she had already lost her balance and fell down with a yelp.

But Tuanzi didn't mind. She got up, shook herself off, and jumped back onto the bench, continuing to gaze upward at the swallows. Her neck twisted as the birds flew by. Anytime she saw one dive, she would fiercely leap in an attempt to catch it, only to land with a THUD on the ground.

「After a while—」

Tuanzi again got up from the ground, nonchalantly shook her head, but then walked with mincing steps to Brother Nan's side, pawing at his leg and looking up at him: "Brother Lan, Brother Lan, Lord Dumpling would never make you call Lord Dumpling 'big brother'! Lord Dumpling likes you the most…"

After speaking, she didn't forget to wink at Zhou Li.

Such was a scummy cat's instinct—always so considerate. Zhou Li looked speechless.

Little Sister Zheng also smiled.

Brother Nan, however, wasn't buying it. He grabbed the scruff of her neck, lifting her up, and grinned, "With you like this, you still think you can catch swallows?"

Tuanzi let him hold her, seemingly oblivious to his words.

At that moment, Baozi returned.

Zhou Li quickly invited her over for tea; the sour and sweet iced black tea was perfect for cooling off.

Little Cousin put the camera back in the room and came over to sit obediently beside him. She took the cup Zhou Li handed her and took a sip. The slight heat from her walk promptly dissipated. She squinted, let out a sigh, and then looked towards Miss Zheng.

"Little Sister Zheng, can I go up to the rooftop?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I'd like to go up there to photograph the stars tonight."

"Okay." Miss Zheng nodded gently. She hesitated for a moment, then asked quietly, "Where did you just go?"

"Just walked around a bit, took some photos."

"Were they good?"

"Yes, this place is so beautiful."

"That's good." Miss Zheng, finding herself out of things to say, could only lower her head to drink her tea. She glanced towards Brother Nan and Zhou Li, conveying a silent plea for help.