"Here you go."
Zhou Li threw a blanket over Brother Nan's face. Discovering she was still holding her phone, he couldn't help but say, "Get some sleep now, stop playing around."
"I'm not used to sleeping without playing on my phone first."
"That's not good."
"I slept on the bus." Brother Nan was still clutching her phone, not even looking up. "Besides, tomorrow's journey isn't long."
"Get to sleep."
"Alright, alright, I got it!"
"..."
Huai Xu was also sitting on a small stool, holding his phone. "I read online that there seems to be some virus around Ezhou, quite fierce. Is it similar to the plagues of ancient times?"
"Wasn't that rumored to be false?" Brother Nan said.
"They said it was true again a few days ago," Huai Xu said.
"Not too sure," Brother Nan casually replied. "Ezhou is so far away; it won't affect us."
"You guys are really not keeping up with current affairs..."
Huai Xu glanced at the two youngsters, shaking his head internally, then added, "If it really is a plague and it isn't contained well, other countries could be affected too. You haven't seen..."
"How many plagues have you experienced?" Brother Nan asked curiously.
"I can't remember clearly, probably..."
"Stop."
Seeing that the two were about to delve into a long conversation again, Zhou Li quickly interrupted them. "Let's head back to the rooms and let Brother Nan sleep. Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow during the drive!"
Having said that, he went to pull Huai Xu, who seemed reluctant but still got up and was pushed back to his room by him.
"Good night," Zhou Li said to Brother Nan.
"Oh."
"Stop playing games."
"Night! Sleep!"
Zhou Li silently walked to the bedroom and, on his way, turned off the living room lights.
「The next morning, early.」
Zhou Li had just opened his eyes when a voice sounded next to him—
"Are you awake?"
"!!"
Zhou Li's body shivered slightly.
The voice had startled him from his groggy state to full alertness! Turning his head, he saw that the lounge chair, which had been on the balcony, had somehow made its way into the room. Huai Xu was sitting on it with his legs tucked in, staring straight at him.
"What are you doing?"
"I couldn't sleep last night," Huai Xu said.
"Last night..." Zhou Li felt like he had been watched all night. "If you couldn't sleep, you could have played on your phone or gamed."
"Gets boring after too much playing."
"So you came to watch me sleep?"
"Yeah, it was quite fun."
"..."
"I think I dreamt about Master Ming again last night," Huai Xu said, possibly feeling guilty and changing the subject. "It was a very ordinary dream."
"What did you dream about?"
"I can't remember after waking up."
"You remembered just after waking up, right?"
"Yes, but forgot right after."
"You should have recorded it on a voice memo."
"What is a voice memo?"
"It's using your voice to record things. Or you could open your QQ, send a voice message to your computer detailing everything you remember about your dream, and listen back to it later..."
"Oh, oh..."
Huai Xu nodded, still somewhat puzzled, and then asked Zhou Li, "What did Master Ming look like in your dream the other day?"
"Hmm..." Zhou Li thought for a moment. "He was a very kind old man; he was teaching at the time."
"He liked teaching," Huai Xu said.
"He was very powerful," Zhou Li added.
"Yes."
"Will I become like him someday?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"How so?"
"Your spiritual power is unmatched, just like his, but he also has over two thousand years of accumulation. He became a demon, and if you don't become one, you won't live that long." Huai Xu thought hard, pausing. "Being a sage is tough; being a fool is easier and happier."
"I see."
"Right." Huai Xu nodded, and after a brief thought, he added, "I like you as you are now."
"I'm getting up now."
"Oh."
"You…" Zhou Li looked at Huai Xu.
"What's up?"
"..."
Zhou Li silently reached under the quilt, pulling his pants close, then put them on under the covers before sitting up to put on his jacket.
Huai Xu still sat curled up in the lounge chair, blinking and staring at Zhou Li. "I've seen it all before. Just last night when you turned over, I saw..."
"Please stop."
"HMM!"
As Zhou Li put on his shoes and walked out, Huai Xu also lowered his legs from the chair, walking barefoot behind him. "Brother Nan was talking in her sleep last night, saying something like 'I am your big brother' and stuff."
"Oh."
Zhou Li glanced at Brother Nan, who was sleeping soundly on the couch.
He washed up, watered the flowers, picked up the fallen leaves, and prepared breakfast.
Finally, as breakfast was ready, Brother Nan woke up.
She wrapped herself snugly in the blanket, only her head sticking out. Her somewhat messy hair and groggy expression matched well. Her eyes were half-closed, and in a lazy, dragging voice, she asked—
"What's for breakfast..."
"Instant noodles."
"Did you make some for me..."
"Yes, I did."
"Hmm… Give me a moment!" Brother Nan then dropped back down, pulling the blanket over her head.
"Time to get up," Zhou Li urged.
"UGH!"
With a long sigh, Brother Nan finally lifted the blanket.
Zhou Li caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye: her T-shirt had inadvertently ridden up during her sleep, revealing a stretch of her waist. It was very slender, and the skin on her abdomen was white and smooth, showing traces of abs.
Just for a second, then it was gone.
Zhou Li felt somewhat disappointed.
At that moment, he saw Brother Nan reaching for the hem of her T-shirt again, as if intending to pull it up further.
Zhou Li glanced upwards.
Brother Nan was staring at him with a grin, asking, "Does it look good?"
"What?"
"Playing dumb..."
Brother Nan rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom.
By the time she finished washing up, Zhou Li had already finished eating and was squatting on the balcony, pruning flower branches with scissors. A few days ago, Brother Nan and her aunt had been chatting, and her aunt had shared some flower-raising techniques. Brother Nan probably hadn't listened to a word, but Zhou Li had.
PHEW...
Brother Nan, holding her bowl, walked to the balcony, leaned against the sliding window, and watched Zhou Li prune while she ate.
The distant morning sun shone warmly, and steam rose from the noodles in her bowl.
When Zhou Li noticed her approach, he started talking to her while pruning—explaining his philosophy behind his pruning method and the expected results. Though mostly his own conjectures, it sounded surprisingly professional.
Brother Nan didn't reply, just grinned while eating her noodles.
These moments passed very slowly, the atmosphere placid and unremarkable, but she actually quite liked it.
「Half an hour later.」
The two humans and two demons set off again.
...
Brother Nan slowly woke up, finding herself leaning on Zhou Li's shoulder again, feeling the firm touch. She shook her head, the action essentially rubbing her head against Zhou Li's shoulder.
"It's so hard," Brother Nan said.
"You're awake?"
"Yeah, your shoulder is too hard!" Brother Nan yawned, her eyes a bit teary. She missed Jiang Han's shoulder, but she did not move away from Zhou Li's shoulder. "Where are we now?"
"Almost at Yibin."
"Bairou Ancient Town, huh."
"Yeah. Aren't you going to get up?"
"What did you say?" Brother Nan slightly turned her head to look at him. "What's wrong with letting your Brother Nan lean on you for a bit?"
"Nothing..."
Zhou Li's body gradually stiffened.
It was okay when Brother Nan was asleep, but now that she was awake, she still maintained this posture. In his imagination, he and Brother Nan should be like a couple cuddling together. He had never experienced this before.
He didn't notice Brother Nan's lips curling into a smile.
"Heh~ What time is it now?" Brother Nan yawned.
"Just past three."
"It's New Year already, huh? Doesn't feel like it."
"Right."
"The schedule for these past two days has been pretty relaxed, huh?"
"Right."
"We should be back in Yan City by tomorrow noon, right?"
"Right."
"Are you dumb?"
"..."
"Why didn't you say 'right'?"
"..."
"HAHAHA!"
Brother Nan finally lifted her head from Zhou Li's shoulder, laughing as she chided him, "You're not happy about it? Being leaned on by your Brother Nan is an honor; many people can only dream of it!"
Zhou Li pondered briefly. "Right."
Bairou Ancient Town, also known as Lizhuang Ancient Town, is very close to downtown Yibin. Bairou Ancient Town was a name Brother Nan had recently bestowed upon it.
After they arrived at the inn and checked into two rooms, they went out together to stroll around. During the day, the ancient town was a commercial street. At this time, the effects of the pandemic hadn't reached Yi Province yet, so there were many tourists.
But it was quite suitable for couples to visit.
After a meal of white meat, fog had already started to roll in outside.
The climate in Yi Province is quite different from Chunming. It's mostly foggy in winter, and sunny days are very rare. Coming from Banna, they felt a stark climatic difference.
When they went out again at night, they were both bundled up in down jackets; Zhou Li had even made Huai Xu wear a thick coat.
He even thought about dressing Tuanzi in one.
The ancient town was busier at night than during the day.
"So many couples," Brother Nan said.
"Right."
"They're even holding hands." Brother Nan looked ahead where a young couple was walking hand in hand, which made her click her tongue.
"Yeah."
"Imagine if single people came to visit the ancient town; how much emotional damage would they suffer!" Brother Nan exclaimed.
"Yeah."
Nearby, Huai Xu swallowed a bite of teppanyaki squid, his mouth full of chili oil. "Don't just be envious; you two can do it too. If you're shy, you could go to that street over there where the lights are dimmer."
He paused, then added, "I can make myself scarce too. Give me twenty yuan, and I'll go buy a couple more of these things."
"Don't talk nonsense..."
Zhou Li was somewhat exasperated.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brother Nan pulling out her small wallet and rummaging through it, finally producing a fifty-yuan note.
"Here!"
"AOW! Tuanzi, come on! I'll take you to eat squid."
"Lord Dumpling doesn't want you to carry him!"
"Quit your nonsense and be sensible!" Huai Xu had already taken the money; he was a man of principle.
"MEOW! Let go of Lord Dumpling!"
"Zhou Li, hold on to Lord Dumpling tight!"
"Go away, MEOW!"
"Lord Dumpling doesn't like you!"
"MEOW~~"
Tuanzi gave up and was carried away by Huai Xu.
Zhou Li and Brother Nan were left standing there, stealing glances at each other, both feeling an indescribable tension—as if every inch of their bodies had tensed up. They didn't know where to put their hands, nor how to start a conversation.
Perhaps if they spoke now, their voices would tremble and crack?
Finally, Brother Nan looked at the couple ahead and asked in confusion, "What do you think it feels like for a guy and a girl to hold hands? Is it different from when girls hold hands with each other? Otherwise, why do they all love doing it so much?"
"Want to try?"
"I'm a bit curious..."
"Then..."
Zhou Li hesitated.
He wanted to think about what to say, but his mind was mostly blank. In his haste, he blurted out something he would never usually say, "Try it and you'll know..."
He quickly added, "Try that feeling."
HA!
Brother Nan's lips twitched.
You wish! Thinking you're still dreaming?
"Fine, let's hold hands!"
"Then..."
"Let's try holding for one minute!"
"Okay."