After they released their lantern, Brother Nan pulled Zhou Li over to some nearby steps to get a better angle for photos.
There were still many people below, the lights merging into a river.
"Where's Huai Xu?"
"Don't know."
"I thought I heard you calling me." Huai Xu's voice appeared behind them. "I'm truly touched. It's rare that you still remember me."
"Where did you run off to?" Zhou Li asked.
"Went to take a video."
"Where'd you film that?"
"Look..."
Huai Xu stretched out a finger and pointed above their heads.
Zhou Li looked up and saw a giant golden Buddha statue gazing down, its eyes wide and glaring.
Zhou Li thought for a moment, then asked, "Did you release a lantern?"
"I did."
"What wish did you make?"
"Didn't make one."
"Why not?"
"What's the point of that thing!" Huai Xu curled his lip. "Many deities are only a few years older than me, and even more are younger. They didn't even exist when I was born!"
"That's true."
Zhou Li withdrew his gaze and took a few more photos. Then they strolled around the park for a bit before deciding to leave.
There was also a night market outside.
But Zhou Li's memory was still stuck on the scene of everyone dancing around the bonfire, their lotus lanterns forming a river of light. This made the bustling night market seem somewhat desolate in comparison, leaving him with an empty feeling. But upon further reflection, perhaps there was another reason. It wasn't the liveliness he missed, but rather the moments of standing shoulder to shoulder with Brother Nan in the darkness watching others dance, walking together holding lotus lanterns, and chatting and laughing with each other—those moments were truly precious to him.
Just then, someone tapped his arm—
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me!"
"I was wondering what wish you made."
"..." Brother Nan was momentarily speechless. She glanced left and right, then suddenly turned to look in one direction. "Look at what your Huai Xu is up to!"
"What?"
Zhou Li turned his head to look.
He saw that Huai Xu, who had been following them, had fallen behind and was now surrounded by two shapely, scantily clad girls. Zhou Li and Brother Nan exchanged glances, then quieted down to listen carefully.
"I'll read it out..."
"Okay."
"It's 'Zhou Xianyu'."
"The one named Zhou Xianyu?"
"Yep, that's me."
"I've sent the request."
"Alright, I'll accept as soon as I get back to my phone..."
"Bye, handsome! Let's get together and hang out tomorrow!"
"No problem..."
Just as he said that, Huai Xu's expression shifted; he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
BUZZ!
SWIPE!
Faster than thought—
Huai Xu was back in the hotel room in 0.01 seconds. He put down his phone and reappeared in his original spot, continuing to smile sweetly at the two girls. "Well, I'll head back with my friends now."
The two girls also waved at him, their smiles sweet.
Meanwhile, back in the hotel room, Lord Dumpling had jumped high in fright. After landing, she circled the phone several times. She was sure the phone hadn't been there a moment ago. Then, she looked down at it as the ringtone started: "DING-A-LING-LING... 'Hey, this is Tutu! Little Mushroom Elephant and I are going to Rainbow Mountain today. Are you coming?'"
Lord Dumpling plopped down, lost in thought.
"And you think you're in the right?"
"AOW!"
"..."
Zhou Li took out his phone. Looking at the two WeChat friend requests, he was momentarily unsure what to do.
After mulling it over, he told Huai Xu, "Next time, just have them add you on Alipay."
Huai Xu nodded obediently.
Zhou Li turned off his phone, pretending he hadn't seen anything.
Afterward, they went to have Deadly Skewers, the kind where every skewer cost just five mao. They grabbed about a dozen handfuls, probably around three hundred skewers in total. They also ordered Brother Nan's perennial favorite, vegetable-wrapped fish, plus spicy oil-seared heart vessels and lemon jelly noodles—two local specialties. The local cuisine was intensely sour and spicy, a perfect match for Brother Nan's palate.
They returned to the hotel around ten o'clock.
Zhou Li had packed some fish soup with rice for Tuanzi as compensation for leaving Lord Dumpling alone in the room while they went out to have fun.
BEEP! BEEP!
They entered the room.
Various lights were on inside.
Lord Dumpling was sprawled on the sofa, listlessly flicking the tip of her tail. She immediately lifted her head at the sound of them entering, but only climbed up when she saw Zhou Li. Pointing at the phone, she said, "Zhou Li, this thing suddenly started talking! It gave Lord Dumpling a fright!"
"It's all Huai Xu's fault," Zhou Li said, placing the container of fish soup and rice on the bed.
"It's all Huai Xu's fault."
For Brother Nan, it was still too early in the evening. So, while Lord Dumpling ate at the coffee table, she pulled Zhou Li over to help plan their next destination. Huai Xu couldn't get a word in and just curled up on the side, playing video games.
Banna isn't particularly famous for its scenery.
Visitors come here either to escape the winter, to eat, or to experience the ethnic customs, among which the most famous is the Water Splashing Festival.
Tropical rainforest landscapes are a secondary attraction.
Brother Nan took out her little notebook, referring to Mafengwo and the map, and also searched on Baidu to plan their itinerary for the next few days. She made sure to note down local delicacies for each place, sometimes even specific restaurant names.
Yes, they were finally going to visit some actual tourist attractions.
Zhou Li yawned. Seeing a strand of Brother Nan's hair had fallen onto the paper, he casually brushed it aside.
"Tired?"
"A bit."
"Go to sleep then."
"I haven't showered yet."
"Go on, then."
Brother Nan sat down cross-legged, propping her chin on her hand as she watched him.
This was their third night together, and Zhou Li was less shy. He took his shorts and a T-shirt and went into the bathroom. After showering, he came out with his change of clothes, said goodnight to Brother Nan, and lay down on his bed, ready to sleep.
But he soon realized his sleep schedule seemed to be syncing more and more with Brother Nan's; he just couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried.
Lord Dumpling was also full of energy. First, she bounced around on his and Huai Xu's beds, playing with imaginary companions. Then, she curled up by Zhou Li's pillow, clamoring for a story.
Zhou Li indulged her and began his tale.
Lord Dumpling listened quietly, occasionally piping up with a silly question, which Zhou Li patiently answered.
He wasn't sure when, but the sound of running water started from outside.
Zhou Li, with his keen senses and fondness for observation, couldn't help but notice these sounds—a shower's water cascading down sounded different from tap water gushing out; and even with the same shower, water spraying straight down sounded different from water hitting a body, splashing, and scattering.
"..."
"Why have you stopped meowing?"
"Meow... where were we?"
"You said Princess Baxiu wouldn't sleep at night and kept asking the queen for stories. So the queen fed her a poisoned apple, and then she slept on and on..."
"Didn't Lord Dumpling get any ideas from that?"
"Thought of what, meow?"
"It's about making connections. We should be good at finding links and learning useful things from stories. Lord Dumpling is so clever; you must have understood something."
"Meow..."
Lord Dumpling thought hard, then tilted her head to look at Zhou Li, her eyes sparkling. "You can't eat an apple that's half red and half green!"
"Right."
"Right?"
"Lord Dumpling, you're so smart!"
"Lord Dumpling is super-duper smart!"
Eventually, the sound of running water outside stopped, replaced by the whir of a hairdryer. This was accompanied by humming and Brother Nan muttering to herself about things like a comb not working well, the hairdryer being too weak, or having brought a bar of laundry soap. The distinct sound of the hairdryer plug being pulled from the socket followed, then the bathroom door opened, and soft footsteps approached... Without realizing it, his mind involuntarily sketched out Brother Nan's every move, down to her expressions, though some details remained blank, as he lacked the visual experience to imagine them.
Because Zhou Li's storytelling kept stopping and starting and was often incoherent, Lord Dumpling had complained several times.
Finally, Brother Nan peeked around the door at them. "Still awake?"
"Not yet."
"I'm turning off the lights, okay?"
"Okay."
The room immediately fell dark.
The hotel room fell quiet, with only Zhou Li's voice echoing softly. Even Huai Xu had stopped playing his game. He lay on his side, clutching his quilt, eyes blinking as he stared at Zhou Li, occasionally letting out a silly chuckle or, like Lord Dumpling, asking a foolish question.
He could also hear Brother Nan's soft laughter; she was listening in too.