Chapter 85: Chapter 83: The Smile Deeply Hurt Lord Dumpling
Cats are extremely sensitive to their territories.
They are highly sensitive to any unfamiliar object that suddenly appears in their territory, circling it to inspect and sniff lightly, until they are sure the object is safe and pretend it has already paid its respects.
But Lord Dumpling was no ordinary cat—
"What are you two holding?"
"What is this?"
"Let Lord Dumpling check it out!"
"Put it down!"
After all, she could speak.
Zhou Li sat on the sofa and placed his laptop on the coffee table. Beside him, Huai Xu did the same.
Tuanzi deftly jumped up and began to seriously rummage through the two bags, peering inside to see what was stashed within. Seeing that the two had started to unpack, she stopped and sat down on the spot, her tail wrapping around her small paws, quietly waiting.
Zhou Li then took out a laptop.
Huai Xu also took out his mobile phone, cautiously.
"What about Lord Dumpling’s?"
"..."
Lord Dumpling twisted her head, looking seriously from Zhou Li to Huai Xu, waiting for an answer.
The living room fell quiet, filled only with the startup chime of the computer and the keypad tones and screen-locking sounds from the new phone. Still, nobody answered her.
It didn’t matter if she didn’t get an answer immediately; Lord Dumpling could wait patiently. Her tail tip flicked lightly twice, as if to show she had plenty of time, before she continued to alternate her gaze between Zhou Li and Huai Xu.
"Zhou Li, it’s asking me to set a password. What should I set?"
"Set something meaningful, easy to remember."
"Then 141414...," Huai Xu muttered, tapping the phone screen. "It’s also asking me to set up a fingerprint, and I don’t know how."
"Why set a fingerprint..."
"What about facial recognition?"
"You don’t want that either?"
"I want it!"
"Then choose fingerprint."
"I don’t know how."
"Let me see."
Zhou Li took his phone, fumbling with it under Huai Xu’s earnest gaze. This phone seemed to have an in-screen fingerprint reader, a tier higher than Zhou Li’s, and required at least two fingerprints for the initial setup.
So the first fingerprint became Zhou Li’s.
After the demonstration, Zhou Li handed it back. "Just do what I showed you. It’ll tell you when it’s complete."
Huai Xu hurriedly tried it out.
Zhou Li shook his head.
Huai Xu’s transformation ability was something he had mastered while he was still human. It remained after he became a demon, solidifying as a skill that was even enhanced. His ability to appear and disappear stealthily, however, was gained after he became a demon.
This ability was quite flexible.
He could transform into someone based on an image in his mind, making adjustments freely. Generally, he would do this if he hadn’t had physical contact with the person. However, if he had close, or even physical, contact with someone, he would directly read their body data from that moment, perfectly matching all external features.
Who knew how many sets of data he had stored in his mind.
He enjoyed shifting his appearance frequently, seemingly unable to stop even if he wanted to. This left Zhou Li clueless as to why he’d bother setting up such a feature.
It was only after the setup was complete that Huai Xu grinned. "From now on, my thumb can’t change. Oh man, I’ll have to put some effort into this!"
Zhou Li raised an eyebrow.
This old monster was more formidable than he imagined.
He then started downloading some essential software for his computer. Meanwhile, he watched Huai Xu repeatedly lock and unlock the screen, swipe through icons, fumble around with it randomly, and then lock and unlock it again.
"Zhou Li, let me see your phone."
"What for?"
"Just want to see." Huai Xu took Zhou Li’s older device, comparing them side by side, then grinned. "Yours isn’t as good-looking as mine. See, mine looks white, but it turns multicolored under the light!"
"Boring..."
"I also have four cameras!"
"That’s enough..."
"Hehe!"
Huai Xu clearly cherished this phone. He started asking Zhou Li how to download QQ and games again.
Zhou Li patiently taught him, helping him set it up.
By this time, Huai Xu had completely forgotten the sting of the purchase. He was immersed in the excitement of owning his first phone, still unaware of how to turn off the keypad sounds, which made loud TAP, TAP, TAP noises as he pressed the keys.
Perhaps he didn’t want to turn them off at all.
Just half an hour before, he had been debating whether to return this phone and buy a better, more expensive one instead—like the one Zhou Li had said he couldn’t afford the other day.
But if he really did that, Zhou Li would definitely be unhappy.
Now he was no longer torn. The more he looked at the phone, the more he loved it; he was already unable to part with it.
"Wait, I’ll write down the account and password!"
"Do I really not need to buy a SIM card? What is this WiFi thing? I see everyone else has a SIM card."
"I sent you a message, did you get it? What does it look like? Show me!"
"..."
Tuanzi’s heart ached.
She turned and walked away, lonely and pitiful.
"Where are you going?"
"Lord Dumpling is going to sleep."
Tuanzi hopped off the coffee table and walked alone toward a bedroom.
Huai Xu, in the midst of his busyness, glanced over and then reminded, "That’s my room."
Without a word, Tuanzi changed direction.
Thus, Zhou Li watched as she walked into his own room. Remembering Tuanzi’s earlier expression, he chose to remain silent.
「Two hours later」
He tiptoed into the room.
He saw the neatly spread blanket bulging slightly in the middle. He gently lifted the blanket to look. Tuanzi was curled up; feeling the light, she opened her eyes a sliver.
"Hmm... what are you doing?"
Lord Dumpling stretched out a paw and rubbed her eyes. "Why did you wake Lord Dumpling up? Is it morning already...?"
"No, I’m going to sleep now."
"This is Lord Dumpling’s room."
"This is my room..."
"Nonsense, Lord Dumpling has been sleeping here for several days now," Lord Dumpling muttered drowsily, her voice lazy and unclear.
"And what about me?"
"That big room outside is for you."
"...That’s the living room."
"Oh right, that’s the living room," Lord Dumpling nodded. "That’s what I meant. Lord Dumpling has given you the living room..."
"..."
"No need to thank me. Go sleep."
"...I can’t."
"Why, isn’t that big room enough for you to sleep in?"
"Let the big room be for Lord Dumpling."
"Hmm, alright then. As expected, you’re still nicer to Lord Dumpling. Huai Xu is an ungrateful person," Lord Dumpling said. "But Lord Dumpling has already warmed up the bed, and I don’t want to move. You can either sleep in what is now Lord Dumpling’s room, or you can sleep next to Lord Dumpling. Hmm, you can only sleep on the very edge, and you mustn’t crush Lord Dumpling when you turn over at night. You choose."
"...I’ll just sleep outside."
So Zhou Li took out a thin blanket and spent the night on the couch, listening to the noises coming from Huai Xu’s room all night long.
When he woke up, he actually found the couch more comfortable than the bed.
And Huai Xu had left early.
Zhou Li went out for breakfast with Lord Dumpling. He found the breakfast place downstairs a bit more expensive than the school cafeteria. Since he was rather low on cash at the moment, he decided to eat at school as much as possible until he found a part-time job.
Afterwards, he returned to school.
The various clubs were still recruiting new members, and today was also the day to sign up for the student council, so many students went for the written test.
Brother Nan had originally planned to get Zhou Li into the sports department to hang out with her. Unexpectedly, however, she ended up as the class monitor. This position automatically placed her in a department called the Secretary’s Office, which was meant to assist teachers and wasn’t open for external recruitment.
Zhou Li had dodged a bullet.
Classes were set to start tomorrow. Tonight, several teachers from the academic office and the faculty leadership would come to visit everyone, accompanied by the class monitors.
Around eight o’clock, Chen Yang announced that the faculty leaders had arrived, and he was responsible for going to each dorm to tell everyone to put on their pants.
Zhou Li continued watching his TV series.
Until someone tapped him on the shoulder.
For some reason, he just knew it was Brother Nan. To say it was because the shape of her hand and the force of the tap were different might sound a bit too mystical, but he knew.
Zhou Li turned his head, and indeed, it was Brother Nan.
Brother Nan had played basketball in the afternoon and seemed to have just taken a shower; she carried a fresh scent of shower gel. She grinned, looking at the new computer in front of Zhou Li.
"When did you buy it?"
"Bought it last night."
"I’ve been thinking about buying one these past couple of days," Brother Nan said. "I’m planning to get a desktop; laptops are no fun. But I don’t know how to assemble one. I’ve been looking at pre-built PCs on Taobao these past two days, and it’s giving me a headache."
"Wouldn’t a desktop be difficult to move?"
"Why lug it around?"
"True," Zhou Li thought for a moment and said, "For sitting on the bed, watching TV, chatting on QQ, stuff like that?"
"Makes sense!"
Brother Nan fell into thought. "Then I need to buy another lottery ticket this month. I’ll also get a laptop for the bed."
Zhou Li was speechless. Comparisons really do sting.
Zhou Li decided to change the subject. "Where are the faculty leaders?"
Brother Nan waved her hand. "They’re still inspecting the dorms for Class 1 and Class 2, and your class monitor is with them. I didn’t want to follow behind them looking like a fool, so I came to hang out with you... Download League of Legends and PUBG. I’ll show you how to play."
"I don’t play."
"Last time... wasn’t that you last time?"
"Right."
"Who was it?"
"Huai Xu."
"Oh." Brother Nan recalled, and her expression gradually soured. "Doesn’t that mean you tricked me a lot? Hmph, that makes me so mad... Just wait until I get back, and I’ll deal with you slowly! First, download the game. I’ll teach you how to play; I promise I’ll carry you!"
"Huai Xu said you’re really bad at it."
"What did you say?" Brother Nan cupped her ear, smiling broadly. "I didn’t quite catch that."
"Thanks, Brother Nan."
"Smart!"
Brother Nan watched as Zhou Li downloaded the game.
The inspecting faculty leaders gradually made their way over, stopping by the dorm room to offer some kind words. Seeing the truant Brother Nan there, the older gentlemen even cracked a few jokes; they seemed quite approachable.
When they left, Brother Nan left too.
Soon after, Zhou Li received messages from Brother Nan—
Li Daimao: Voice message 23’’
Li Daimao: Voice message 5’’
Zhou Li stared at the screen, gazing blankly at it for a long while.
He did not click on them.
Zhou Li: Brother Nan, my bad.
Li Daimao: Voice message 11’’
Zhou Li: Yeah, right.
Li Daimao: Voice message 3’’
Zhou Li: [Emoji]
Li Daimao: So, how many days did Huai Xu actually attend military training?
Zhou Li wasn’t sure why the topic suddenly switched to military training, but he honestly replied, "Not counting the last day, four days."
Li Daimao: Got it.
Li Daimao: Two days beating people up, two days singing.
Zhou Li pursed his lips.
She’s spot on.