Huai Xu: Tell me all about your night yesterday, come on!

Zhou Li: ...

Huai Xu: What's so embarrassing about that? I've lived for thousands of years; there's nothing I haven't seen.

Zhou Li: Aren't you a Little Demon?

Huai Xu: ...

Huai Xu: You... you...

Huai Xu: Do you know what 'rejuvenation' is? Or 'Return to the Original Simplicity'? It's precisely because I, the Great Devil King, am so old that I've long grown tired of all those behaviors and thoughts you consider marks of maturity. When you reach my age, you'll understand that the simplest pleasures are the most precious and the most comfortable. Doing whatever you want is the true essence of life.

That sounds pretty reasonable.

As for this kind of attempt to persuade him with grand principles, Zhou Li always had his own unique way of dealing with it—

Zhou Li: I don't understand.

Then he stealthily sized up Huai Xu's expression through the rearview mirror.

As expected, Huai Xu was visibly struggling, looking extremely frustrated. It was as if he'd spent ages carefully crafting his argument, searching for the perfect words, convinced his flawless logic would leave Zhou Li speechless and utterly persuaded. It was like winding up to throw a powerful punch... only for it to land harmlessly on a pillow of illiteracy.

Huai Xu still tried to salvage the situation—

Huai Xu: Ever heard of old folks acting like kids?

Zhou Li: No.

Huai Xu: I'm not going to argue with a fool...

Zhou Li: [Handshake]

Huai Xu: ...

At this moment, Brother Nan, who was driving, glanced at Zhou Li and then at Huai Xu in the rearview mirror, saying suspiciously, "I always get the feeling you two are chatting on QQ behind my back!"

Huai Xu immediately tossed his phone aside. "Let me drive! I don't mind if you two chat on QQ behind my back!"

"No way. You don't have a driver's license."

"My driving skills are amazing! Just last month, I was planning to knock out a race car driver and take his place in a race," Huai Xu said, then lowered his voice into a pleading tone. "Great Devil King, please."

"..."

「It was afternoon.」

Tall buildings had begun to appear ahead.

Huai Xu was driving. He treated this new car, which had a landed price of only tens of thousands, as if it were a race car. He managed to almost perfectly avoid all the traffic cameras and unexpected situations on the road, so the two in the back seat just let him be, even though they were constantly being thrown against each other.

"School doesn't start for several more days. Why don't you stay at my place?" Zhou Li said to Brother Nan.

"That would be for quite a few days. That's not ideal," Brother Nan frowned. "It was an emergency, so staying for a day or two is one thing. But I don't want to sleep on the couch for several nights, nor do I want you to."

"Don't be so wishy-washy, acting like a girl," Zhou Li said, mustering his courage and imitating Brother Nan's tone.

"!!" Brother Nan's hand tightened its grip suddenly.

"Sorry."

"Fine then!"

Brother Nan stopped being coy. "You sleep on the couch."

Zhou Li agreed.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu, still driving like a race car driver, said, "You could also sleep next to me. Both of you are welcome; I don't mind. I can even customize my gender and appearance based on your needs and preferences. How great is that? Anyone want to sleep next to Andy Lau?"

No one responded.

Huai Xu switched to another "product" to recommend. "What about Emperor Taizong of Tang? Or Yang Guifei? I've seen them both. Wu Zetian is a no-go, though. I've only seen Wu Zetian in her fifties or sixties, and she was too ugly. I can't bring myself to transform into that."

"Yang—"

Zhou Li was just curious about what Yang Guifei looked like, but he had barely uttered a single syllable before a wave of murderous intent silenced him. At the same time, he felt a faint pressure on his hand, trying to pinch him painfully.

He had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words.

"Ouch," Zhou Li said calmly, then explained, "I'm just a bit curious about historical figures. Just curious."

Brother Nan released the pressure on his hand. "Why the sudden explanation? So weird..."

Zhou Li: ...

「They arrived at the residential complex.」

Brother Nan carried a bag on one shoulder and dragged a suitcase with one hand, walking ahead. The wheels rumbled on the ground.

Boyfriend material, 10/10.

Zhou Li only carried a small backpack, holding Tuanzi as he followed her.

There weren't many people in the complex.

Perhaps it was because the usual foot traffic mainly came from tenants and the few guesthouses, which primarily catered to students from the various universities in the college town. But with the pandemic delaying the start of the school year, the area lacked its usual liveliness.

The place itself wasn't bustling to begin with. There was a factory further up the road and farmland directly behind it; it relied mainly on students.

However, all the shops on the street were open.

The two humans and two demons stepped into the elevator. Inside, there was also a couple with a small Pomeranian.

The Pomeranian seemed very interested in Tuanzi, whom Zhou Li was holding, and stared without blinking. But the little dog was well-behaved; it neither barked nor tried to come closer to sniff, just looked up.

Zhou Li smiled at the dog, then looked down at Tuanzi and said in a gentle, coaxing tone, "Shall we say hello to it?"

"Okay~~" Tuanzi chirped, waving at the Pomeranian.

Zhou Li then smiled at the couple, and they smiled back.

However, the little dog still didn't dare approach Tuanzi. It wasn't until Zhou Li noticed it sneaking glances at Brother Nan that he realized the dog was afraid of her.

Brother Nan didn't bother with such a small creature and just said, "The pandemic delayed the start of school this much. The young women renting in the complex and around the schools must have lost a lot on rent, huh?"

"Possibly," Zhou Li replied.

"Many landlords have refunded the rent," the woman from the couple chimed in. "Even for those who didn't offer refunds, most tenants have terminated their leases."

"That's pretty good, then," Brother Nan remarked.

"They didn't have much choice. If they didn't refund the rent, the tenants would just terminate the lease. The properties would be vacant during this time and impossible to rent out anyway. Finding new tenants later would be more troublesome and time-consuming, costing more than refunding a couple of months' rent," the woman explained.

"That makes sense."

"Are you two tenants?"

"This is my older sister's apartment," Zhou Li said.

"Oh."

DING. The elevator door opened.

Brother Nan was the first to pull the suitcase out, deliberately glancing at the Pomeranian as she exited, which made the little dog hastily retreat. Zhou Li could only helplessly step in front of her to stop her childish antics.

What a weirdo...

"Hey!" Brother Nan suddenly pointed to a "For Rent" sign posted on the door of the apartment opposite Zhou Li's. "This place is for rent too. Maybe I should just rent it and be your neighbor!"

"Okay."

"Just kidding."

"Why would someone post a rental sign here? Shouldn't it be downstairs or outside the complex?"

"How do you know they haven't posted it there too? Maybe they just printed an extra copy or two," Brother Nan said. "Besides, it's not necessarily useless to post it on the door. If I were in a good mood, I might actually rent it."

"Go for it."

"Tch..."

Zhou Li had already opened his apartment door.

Tuanzi wriggled out of his arms, jumped down, and dashed inside, shouting happily, "Yay, we're home!"

The others followed him in.

After putting down their luggage, Zhou Li and Brother Nan went to the balcony to check on their flowers.

The Yueli were thriving, with lush leaves and branches. Apart from being a bit overgrown due to a lack of pruning, there was nothing to fault. Huai Xu had even cleaned up the fallen petals and leaves.

But then...

Zhou Li turned to look at a large water vat on the balcony. It was full of Little Lotus plants, and there was even movement inside. A few dark lines appeared on his forehead. "What's all this?"

"These are the Little Lotus plants I grew! How do they look?" Huai Xu said, his face beaming with excitement. "Aren't they blooming beautifully? So many colors! Look, there's blue, purple, red, pink, yellow... And this one here, see? It's one color at the bottom and another at the top. Pretty, right? I've even put fish in there!"

"Where did you get these..." Zhou Li's mouth twitched; he already had a strong suspicion.

"I grew them," Huai Xu insisted.

"You stole them from the botanical garden, didn't you?"

"..."

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