When Zhou Li left last year, he had cleaned the house thoroughly and locked the doors and windows tightly, but Huai Xu had opened them again. After more than four months of high-rise dust and the howling wind from Dian Lake, dust had settled on the coffee table, chairs, and even the floor.

The first task was to clean the room.

Zhou Li brought over a mop, but Brother Nan snatched it from him, so he had to settle for wiping the tables and chairs with a rag.

Brother Nan appeared carefree and seemed to shirk responsibilities, but she was actually very diligent. Her diligence was the type that "feared not hardship nor fatigue, only the accumulation of trivial tasks." She preferred physical labor—dirty, tiring, or demanding work was all fine with her, but she hated fiddling with minor chores. For instance, right now, she was mopping the floor, HUFFING AND PUFFING, but if you asked her to wipe the tables with a small cloth, she wouldn't do it.

Soon, the house looked brand new.

Brother Nan sat down on a chair, leaned back, and a satisfied smile spread across her face; she was clearly pleased with the results of her labor.

"If I lived here, I'd mop the floor clean every day, or lay down easy-to-wash carpets, though not too soft. Then I'd walk around barefoot all day long—I don't like wearing shoes."

"I don't like wearing shoes either," the Old monster lying on the sofa nodded repeatedly. He lifted his feet, which were fair and smooth as jade.

"Lord Dumpling has always been barefoot too!" Tuanzi also showed off her little feet, her paw pads clean and pink.

"When I was a child, I was always running around barefoot, and my family couldn't get me to listen, especially in summer. Later, under pressure from my teachers and because of the winter, I finally stopped," Brother Nan said.

"Probably me too," Huai Xu continued. "But I think when I was a child, it was likely because I couldn't afford shoes. I'm not afraid of the cold, though, nor of getting scratched or stubbing my toe, and I don't get dirty either."

"How do you not get dirty?"

'Stubbing my toe'… Zhou Li clearly heard him say it with a Mandarin pronunciation. That Yipu accent is pretty good.

"Demons are like that… Don't worry about these little details."

"I see!"

They chatted for a while, and before they knew it, it was dinnertime.

Brother Nan excitedly picked up her phone and stood up. "I've been craving the cross-bridge rice noodles from downstairs for months!"

"Me too," Zhou Li said.

"Me too! I haven't eaten here in days!" Huai Xu exclaimed.

"..."

The noodle shop was indeed crowded.

Most of the diners in this shop were locals or nearby workers. The shopfront wasn't eye-catching, even a bit old, but its food was indeed superb. While it might not surpass the long-established restaurants in Jinbi Square, it was certainly no worse.

But the price difference was huge.

For someone like the Old monster, a meal costing thirty or forty yuan was so large that one huge bowl couldn't hold it all; he needed two. At Jianxin Garden Bridge, Xiang Garden, it was a different story. There, merely adding a drink, a small steam-pot chicken, and one or two inexpensive cold side dishes would allow them to charge one or two hundred yuan.

Zhou Li still ordered only five or six toppings, with fried egg, bamboo fungus, and quail eggs being essential, plus a bit of meat. It cost around ten yuan.

In other restaurants, that would be a "Provincial Graduate" set meal costing thirty or forty yuan. This place didn't offer as many fancy additions, but each portion was substantial.

Brother Nan ate a little more. Hers was the "Imperial Scholar" set meal.

A ladleful of scalding, meticulously brewed chicken broth was poured into the bowl, and the steam, thick with savory aroma, wafted directly into their faces.

After the meal, their stomachs were round and full. Brother Nan declared she couldn't eat another bite, and even the Old monster, who had a huge appetite, was thoroughly satisfied. The complimentary extra rice noodles provided by the shop had all been eaten.

The two humans and one demon sat for a while longer.

"Let's go!"

The Old monster put down his spotless bowl—he had drunk even the soup—and stood up to proactively pay the bill. It seemed Mr. Huai was a changed man now.

「In the evening.」

Zhou Li had only turned on one set of lights—not the main fixture, but a row of downlights. The illumination was somewhat dim, creating a rather chic atmosphere.

The TV was showing *Animal World*, and Tuanzi was engrossed in it from her spot on the sofa.

The coffee table had been cleared to make space for three laptops. The three of them sat cross-legged around it. Mice clicked, and the living room filled with the sounds of *Animal World*, game effects, and the dense, crisp clatter of keystrokes.

Ultra Rapid Fire mode had started a few days ago…

"HEY!"

"We won again!"

Brother Nan released her mouse and looked at them. "Isn't it exhilarating? I got so tanky the enemy couldn't hurt me. My champion became as tough as a horse!"

Zhou Li nodded.

Huai Xu laughed heartily. "The enemy team was full of assassins! So helpless! They must be disgusted enough to puke!"

"The more disgusted they are, the happier we are."

"Exactly."

"What should we play next?" Brother Nan pondered. "How about we try a tower-rushing comp? Twisted Fate, Tahm Kench, Sion… no, Sion might be a huge liability. Let's switch to Little Cannon or Trundle. Little Cannon and Tahm Kench can take down towers without needing minions. Shen works too."

"Sure!"

The three of them started another game.

Tuanzi glanced at them once, then returned to watching *Animal World*.

"Ban Yuumi!"

"Heh? So you prefer dogs, huh?"

"I just love hearing that, hehehe…"

Playing with friends and using set strategies was indeed a lot of fun. They had barely selected their champions when Brother Nan was already rubbing her hands in excitement.

Before they knew it, the night had deepened.

Zhou Li frantically mashed the E key with one hand while calmly sipping water with the other, his eyes flicking to the screen.

"Get on me!" Brother Nan yelled.

"Don't go out! I haven't had enough fun yet!" Huai Xu shouted.

Zhou Li felt utterly exasperated.

This final game, they finally won.

Zhou Li picked up his water cup to refill it and said, "Brother Nan, you can get your clothes out. I cleared out half the wardrobe. For the next few days, you can use the left side, and I'll use the right."

He then added, "I won't peek."

"Peek at what?" Brother Nan squinted at him.

"..."

She's so mischievous.

When Zhou Li returned with the water, Brother Nan was still sitting cross-legged on the floor, now scrolling through Zhihu on her phone.

"Aren't you going to bed?" he asked.

"What's the rush?"

"I'm going to sleep in the living room."

"Go ahead. You're a grown man, are you really afraid of me?" Brother Nan tilted her head, looking up at Zhou Li. She thought for a moment, then stood up, moved to the sofa, and patted the spot beside her. "Come, let's chat."

"Chat about what?" Zhou Li walked over and sat down. He glanced at Brother Nan's thigh, feeling an impulse to rest his hand there, but he didn't dare.

"Have the fourth-years started their thesis defenses yet?"

"I don't know."

"When are we going to your uncle's for dinner?"

"In a few days, maybe."

"Has your mom arrived in Chunming yet?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Is she going directly to your uncle's place?"

"Yes."

"Are you close with your mom?"

"I don't know. Not particularly close, I guess, but not distant either," Zhou Li replied after some thought. "We don't spend much time together."

"I see."

"I might go to my sister's for dinner in the next day or two," Zhou Li said. "What do you want to eat? I'll bring something back for you."

"I want to go too!" Huai Xu raised his hand.

"Hmph!" Lord Dumpling scoffed.

"You go ahead. I'll make sure your cat is well-fed at home; I guarantee it won't starve," Brother Nan said.

"Alright."

Zhou Li's eyelids were already drooping heavily when Brother Nan finally let him go to sleep.

Lord Dumpling stood on the coffee table, looking conflicted. She glanced from Zhou Li, who had already lain down on the sofa, towards the bedroom, then back again. Finally, making a decision, she gently hopped onto the sofa and burrowed under the thin blanket covering Zhou Li.

Then she crawled forward under the blanket until her little head popped out near Zhou Li's chin.

"Zhou Wi, did you do somethin' wrong?" she asked slyly.

"No, why?"

"Then why are you shweeping on da sofa?"

"Because dere aren't enough beds."

"Wiar! The bed inside is sho big, it could fit three or four of you Zhou Wis!" Lord Dumpling muttered after speaking. "You can't fool Word Dumpling..."

"..." Zhou Li decided to steer away from this topic, which was not suitable for young ears. "Does Word Dumpling still want to shweep next to me?"

"Yesh!"

"Is it because Word Dumpling wikes me more?"

"Because *she* will hit Word Dumpling."

"..." Zhou Li paused, thinking it might be better to bring the previous topic back. "It's because we can't sleep next to each other. Two adults of different genders shouldn't just sleep together casually."

"What about Word Dumpling?"

"I've already said Word Dumpling is a wittle kid!"

"Oh, yesh!" Two fluffy little paws clung tightly to Zhou Li's neck. "Word Dumpling shweeps next to Zhou Wi!"

"Word Dumpling is sho warm."

"Word Dumpling is shuper warm!!"

"So, how about no parkour tonight, okay?"

"Mmm..." Lord Dumpling hesitated for a moment before replying, "Cats are aww wike dis!"

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