My Demon Friends-Chapter 710 - 671: Firefly Night

After the rain cleared, the world was bright and pristine.

The concrete yard Zhou Li himself had poured was uneven and had collected quite a bit of water, much like the tiled roof of the house opposite, which the heavy rain had washed clean. However, at the outer edge of the courtyard where flowers were planted, many petals had fallen, mixed with the water, and stuck to the ground.

"Zhou Ni, come play!"

Tuanzi ran around the yard joyfully. Her four little paws splashed in the water as she occasionally leaped high like a rabbit, landing with a THUD, all to stir up the water.

Zhou Li, on the other hand, held a mottled bamboo broom, sweeping the water in the courtyard.

"SWISH, SWISH..."

The mottled bamboo broom was very stiff. It made a crisp swishing sound as it rubbed against the hard ground, its rhythm slow, carrying a tranquil feeling.

The ground seemed clean, but the rainwater was actually dirty. With the high summer temperatures, if not swept away promptly, the water would quickly evaporate, leaving behind a layer of dark, fine mud. Additionally, too many petals had fallen and gotten wet, and they would rot quickly. Cleaning up now was best; once the rainwater dried, those delicate Yueli and hydrangea petals would all stick to the ground, making them very hard to sweep away.

"Mmm!" Tuanzi turned to look at him, her eyes full of curiosity. "Zhou Ni, what are you doing?"

"I'm sweeping the ground," Zhou Li answered patiently, continuing to wield his broom.

"Why are you sweeping the ground?"

"To sweep the water away so it dries faster."

"If you sweep the water away, it won't be fun!" Tuanzi said, her eyes wide, her voice light and crisp. "Why do you want to sweep it away?"

"I'll leave a small puddle for Lord Dumpling to play in," Zhou Li continued sweeping.

"Lord Dumpling wants a big patch!"

"Alright, I'll leave a big patch for Lord Dumpling."

"Oh! Are you going to play?"

"I'm not playing."

"Oh..."

In that case, Lord Dumpling contentedly played alone.

As she played, she suddenly turned her head, staring at the ripples Zhou Li's sweeping created, seemingly lost in thought. Soon, she turned and ran to the area in front of Zhou Li's broom, very seriously playing with the ripples.

Zhou Li found this very frustrating. This little creature just loves to disrupt me when I'm trying to work seriously! It happens every time!

"Lord Dumpling is so annoying."

"Hmm??"

Tuanzi clearly heard him. Despite her intense focus, she spared him a puzzled glance.

But, still very occupied, she quickly looked away and refocused on the ripples.

As Zhou Li swept the petals, she was surprised to find another plaything in the water. So, she began to chase the petals drifting with the current. Zhou Li swept carefully each time, worried about hurting her.

"..."

Zhou Li stopped and leaned on his broom, looking down at her.

"Meow?" Tuanzi also stopped and turned to look at him. "Zhou Ni, why have you stopped sweeping?"

"What do you think?"

"Sweeping the water away makes it dry faster!"

"...You learn fast." Zhou Li was really exasperated. "Lord Dumpling is too troublesome."

"?"

Tuanzi tilted her head, meeting his gaze.

"Sigh..."

There was nothing to do but forgive her.

Zhou Li resumed sweeping carefully, his mind drifting back to the times at home when he used to pick up foam scraps, engaging in a battle of wits with this little creature.

Until Huai Xu joined in—

A petite lolita fell from the sky!

"SPLASH!!"

Two feet landed heavily in the water, sending up a huge spray that likely covered an area several meters in diameter.

Fortunately, Zhou Li was wearing shorts.

But Tuanzi wasn't so lucky. She was already in the water, and the close-range explosion of water soaked her completely. She instinctively jumped half a meter away, then froze in place.

She looked down at the water at her feet, then up at Huai Xu. Decisively, she turned and ran a few meters away to sit and watch Huai Xu play.

"Hey? Silly kitten! Come play!"

Tuanzi sat quietly, shaking her head continuously.

Zhou Li, leaning on his broom, turned to look. At that moment, Lord Dumpling was unusually well-behaved, none of her usual mischief on display. He thought for a moment, then said to Huai Xu with a straight face, "You shouldn't bully Lord Dumpling like that. You should respect Lord Dumpling."

Actually, he felt extremely pleased. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"There's a rainbow."

Brother Nan's voice came from under the eaves.

Zhou Li's first reaction was to look at her. The tall girl in slippers was sitting under the eaves, holding a handful of sunflower seeds in one hand and looking up at the sky, pointing with the other.

Next to her sat Miss Zheng, quietly gazing in the direction Brother Nan was pointing, her expression calm.

Only then did Zhou Li turn his head.

Sure enough, two rainbows graced the sky, almost parallel. That's quite rare.

Zhou Li quickly looked away and glanced back at Miss Zheng, seeing her still staring in that direction, her expression unchanged.

Brother Nan asked her, "Can you see it?"

Miss Zheng said, "There are blurry colors."

"It's just a bridge made of several colors, an optical phenomenon. I'll draw it on a piece of paper for you later. If you look closely, you'll see what it looks like," Brother Nan said.

"We could find a picture on a phone," Miss Zheng timidly suggested.

"Okay then, I'm behind the times!" Brother Nan laughed awkwardly, waving her hand. "Never mind these details. They say you should make a wish when you see a rainbow. Do any of you have any wishes? Hurry and make them before it disappears."

She paused, touching her chin and gazing at the rainbows, pondering, "Two rainbows... I guess I could make two wishes..."

"What's 'making a wish'?" Tuanzi asked curiously.

"It means if you have a wish in your heart, something you want to do, you say it out loud, and maybe it will come true," Zhou Li explained.

"I have one!"

"Then go ahead and make it."

"Lord Dumpling wishes that Huai Xu is never allowed to play with water!" Lord Dumpling declared, her voice firm.

"You're done for. It won't come true now that you've said it out loud," Huai Xu said with a grin at her side. After speaking, she stepped into the water again. "Your wish is useless."

Zhou Li paid them no mind, stealthily watching Miss Zheng.

Miss Zheng thought quietly for a moment and said softly, "Then I hope it will be very cool tomorrow!"

"You have another one," Brother Nan reminded her.

"Then..." Miss Zheng thought again, "I hope the day after tomorrow is also very cool."

"Your wishes are way too simple," Brother Nan said, sounding unimpressed. "They won't come true. You don't even dare to dream bigger; that's too lame."

"What about you, Brother Nan?" Miss Zheng asked, her cheeks flushed.

"I don't have any. I don't need to. I can make wishes every day, and they always come true," Brother Nan said casually.

"..."

"You're done for too. You said it out loud, so it won't come true," the Old Monster chimed in again.

"Oh..."

Miss Zheng looked disappointed.

「In the evening.」

Zhou Li was the first to enter the kitchen. He tugged at the light cord; there was a click, but the light did not come on.

"Is the light broken?"

He tried switching on the outside light, and only then did he confirm: the power was out.

A power outage... It feels like something from a distant past.

Qinghe brought over a candle: a brand-new white candle stuck in a glass beer bottle, which served as a candlestick. The small, flickering flame barely illuminated the stove, and shadows danced on the wall with every movement.

Miss Zheng said gently, "It's already very late. Let's call someone to fix it tomorrow during the day. If we call now, they'll come overnight, which isn't good."

Zhou Li nodded and lit the fire.

He wasn't just good at managing the fire for cooking anymore; he'd also become quite skilled at starting one.

The fire in the stove cast the brightest light, illuminating Zhou Li's face, which Miss Zheng could see by just slightly lowering her head.

She couldn't help but look.

The dim light hardly affected her. Miss Zheng was accustomed to pre-measuring the required seasonings for each dish into small saucers. Usually, she would bring the seasonings close to her eyes to discern the amounts. Now, she merely had to bring them near the candlelight—hardly a difference. As for everything else, she could handle it perfectly even with her eyes closed; all the steps were already committed to memory.

"You all will be starting school soon," she said.

"Yes."

"Brother Nan said you're almost done with your studies."

"We're about to start our junior year. After junior year, we'll spend less time at school, and we'll be finished after senior year."

"Do you have to take exams after you finish?" Miss Zheng asked, a rare hint of curiosity on her face.

Zhou Li smiled and shook his head. "No, we just have to do a thesis defense."

"Oh."

Miss Zheng blushed and lowered her head.

Dinner was soon ready.

The group ate dinner by candlelight. With the power out, no certainty when it would return, and even their phone signals becoming poor, they eventually put their phones away. They gathered in the courtyard, fanning themselves, swatting mosquitoes, and chatting.

The moon was exceptionally beautiful, and fireflies danced in the air.

It was a night completely different from one in the city.