A series of delicate footsteps echoed, a light, tinkling sound, like fingers drumming rapidly on a tabletop.

A tiny figure moved so quickly it left behind a blur.

"AWOO!"

Tuanzi suddenly pounced onto Zhou Li's foot, tilted her head, bared a set of tiny white teeth, and bit down without hesitation.

"HISS!" Zhou Li inhaled sharply.

"MEOW?"

Tuanzi looked up quietly at Zhou Li, her eyes a watery blue. Only when she saw the pain on Zhou Li's face did she withdraw her mouth in satisfaction, licking her lips and asking, "Did that hurt?"

"It sure did."

"Lord Dumpling is so bored today."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Li started to walk forward.

But Tuanzi still clung to his ankle, looking up at him as if she had become an accessory on his foot, carried along as he moved. At the same time, she said, "Right! Huai Xu isn't home today, you weren't home, and neither was Zhu Shuang. There isn't a single person at home... No one to play with Lord Dumpling. You won't let Lord Dumpling go out to find others to play with, so Lord Dumpling can only play with her own tail."

"I see."

Zhou Li bent down to pick her up, his face filled with a touch of guilt and sympathy—he had indeed overlooked this.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then how about I take Lord Dumpling with me when I go out tomorrow? There will be wood for Lord Dumpling to play with, and a very kind old man."

"Lord Dumpling doesn't like kind old men."

"Why not?"

"Kind old men like to eat cat meat hotpot."

"...Don't worry, I'll protect Lord Dumpling," he assured her.

"MEOW!"

"Then it's settled."

"Zhou Li, will you come play hide-and-seek?" Tuanzi tilted her head to look at him.

"Okay, okay."

"You be the cat."

"Okay… But isn't Lord Dumpling the cat?"

"Nope!"

"What if we take turns?"

"Okie~~"

"Lord Dumpling, you hide first. I'll close my eyes and count from one to twenty, then I'll come find you." Zhou Li paused. "And Lord Dumpling, when it's your turn to be the cat, you also have to close your eyes, cover your ears, and no peeking or listening, okay?"

"Okie~~"

"Let's start…"

Zhou Li closed his eyes and began to count slowly from one to twenty.

When he finished, he asked, "Has Lord Dumpling hidden well?"

There was no response.

Looks like this little thing is pretty smart.

Zhou Li then started the search.

It was a process that required patience.

Tuanzi was just a tiny creature, and in this game, she certainly had an advantage over humans. Plus, her intelligence far surpassed that of an ordinary cat; she wouldn't do something like hiding under a flat blanket, creating a small bump while accidentally leaving her tail sticking out… Actually, strike that!

Zhou Li saw the very tip of a small tail sticking out from the edge of a drawer in his bedroom, swaying slightly.

It seems Lord Dumpling has hidden herself well.

Zhou Li began to mutter quietly, "Now, where could Lord Dumpling have hidden?"

He lifted the blanket.

He pulled back the curtains.

He picked up the pillow.

He opened the wardrobe and rummaged through the clothes.

Then he ran to the balcony, still muttering in distress…

He imagined Tuanzi hiding earnestly in the drawer, curled up and staying perfectly still.

Or perhaps she was secretly delighted at hearing his words.

Zhou Li caught sight of her tail sticking out from the drawer. The wagging was still slight, but the frequency had visibly quickened, clearly betraying her inner glee.

But he continued to search, bit by bit.

Until a few minutes later—

"What's this?"

"It's still moving!"

The tail, realizing it had been spotted, immediately went still.

Only then did Zhou Li approach, gently pinching the tail between two fingers, and tugged it slightly.

"SHHHHK..."

The drawer was slowly pulled open.

Tuanzi was curled up inside, head turned to stare at him, her eyes wide with surprise and full of life.

"Aww, you found me!"

"Finally found you," Zhou Li sighed in relief. "That was so hard."

"Zhou Li, you're so dumb!" Tuanzi gloated.

"Naturally, I can't compare to Lord Dumpling. And it's all thanks to the tail betraying Lord Dumpling; otherwise, I don't know how long it would have taken me to think of Lord Dumpling hiding in this little drawer." Zhou Li shook his head. This game is too difficult.

Hearing this, Tuanzi immediately grew annoyed again and huffed, "My tail never listens!"

"It's all the tail's fault," Zhou Li agreed.

"It's all Huai... I mean, the tail's fault!"

"Now it's Lord Dumpling's turn to be the cat."

"Alright~~!"

Given Lord Dumpling's status, she was naturally not the type of demon to be a sore loser. She scrambled out of the drawer, hopped onto the floor, and immediately started prancing about merrily on her four tiny paws.

"Starting, MEOW!"

"One, two..."

Zhou Li looked around, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although his house was already big enough, he couldn't just waltz into Zhu Shuang's room, or the room shared by Aunt Jiang and Old Zhou. So his hiding spots were limited to his own room, the kitchen and its balcony, Zhu Bing's former room, the study, the storage room, and the bathroom. For someone his size, in a residential building, there were very few nooks he could squeeze into.

No time left...

This little thing skipped 5, then 7... once she gets to the double digits, who knows how she'll count!

Zhou Li tiptoed into Zhu Bing's former room. It had been cleared out, and the wardrobe was empty. He carefully climbed inside and held his breath.

"Lord Dumpling is coming to find you, MEOW!"

"Zhou Li, are you hidden, MEOW?"

"If you're hidden, answer Lord Dumpling!"

"..."

Zhou Li kept silent, silently pricking up his ears.

The pitter-patter of tiny footsteps sounded. Just from the noise, Zhou Li could imagine her trotting along.

First, she went to the bathroom.

Then to the kitchen.

Hopping up and down.

All accompanied by her continuous, one-sided questioning.

Then she ventured into his bedroom.

Wait a minute! What was that? Did I just hear a drawer opening? Unbelievable...

Finally, the tiny footsteps reached the door of the room Zhou Li was in and paused for a moment.

Zhou Li remained silent, imagining the little furball standing at the door, peering inside. Shortly after, the footsteps resumed, getting closer.

Until Lord Dumpling appeared before him, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"Found you."

"Lord Dumpling found me too quickly," Zhou Li said helplessly.

"Lord Dumpling didn't eavesdrop or peek! Lord Dumpling didn't even use her nose to sniff you out! I didn't find you on purpose!" She was immensely proud of her ability to find her way back, no matter how far she roamed to scrounge for food and drinks. "But I still found you!"

"Lord Dumpling is so amazing."

Suddenly, Huai Xu's voice came from the side, "Zhou Li, have you ever noticed you're quite good with kids?"

Zhou Li glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Huai Xu continued, "Brother Nan wants me to turn into Dilinazha later so she can take a picture with me and satisfy her vanity. Want a photo too?"

"Yes."

"Zhou Li, don't listen to her!" Tuanzi tugged at Zhou Li's pant leg. "Let's keep playing... It's your turn, MEOW."

"Alright."

The game continued once again.

Huai Xu still wore an expression that clearly labeled them 'two childish fools,' yet she watched them play, sometimes causing trouble, sometimes helping one confuse the other.

This went on until dinnertime.

Aunt Jiang brought the last pot of soup to the table, wiped her hands, sat down, and asked, "Zhou Li, when do your classes start again?"

"Classes start on the 8th."

"Today is the 5th; shall we move back tomorrow?"

"Alright."

"Then you should pack your things tomorrow."

"Mhm."

This house was indeed a bit far from school, and now that Zhu Bing had left, it was time to move back.

Being a high school senior meant early mornings and late nights; every minute was precious. Sleeping in for just ten minutes or waking up ten minutes earlier than usual was no small thing. Especially once a sleep cycle was established, missing even five minutes of sleep could leave a person feeling off for the entire morning. For someone like Zhu Shuang, aiming for a top university like Tsinghua or Peking University, every single second counted.

They should have moved back several days ago.

After dinner, Zhou Li went out for a walk.

Brother Nan had bought him and Huai Xu a watermelon each. When Zhou Li returned, he sliced his half, reading a book while scooping out the fruit with a spoon. When he tired of reading, he took out a piece of soft cork wood to carve and de-stress.

The day had gone mostly as planned, with the unexpected addition of playing with Tuanzi.