CHAPTER 416: CHAPTER 412 NUMBER 4

Zhou Li woke up very early, as usual. He sat up in bed, leaning against the wall, his gaze drifting downward. Brother Nan was wrapped in the blanket, sleeping on her side next to him, facing his direction, with only her head showing. In her sleep, her expression was serene, her skin flawless and snowy. Although her eyelashes weren’t very long, they didn’t detract from her overall beauty.

She’s incredibly beautiful. The more I look, the more beautiful she seems.

Zhou Li pulled out his phone. With a few quick taps—TAP, TAP, TAP—he turned off the sound.

He pressed the shutter button.

Looking back at the photo, it felt like a fine art portrait, perfectly capturing the beauty of a ’still Brother Nan.’

Because it was so beautiful, that photo was not destined to make it into his hidden album.

Zhou Li opened QQ and sent the original photo to Brother Nan. He hoped that when she woke up, she would see how beautiful she looked while sleeping. Perhaps she would even realize how beautiful she is when quiet and still, encouraging her to be quiet for a bit during the day too. Then I could enjoy seeing her like this even when she’s awake.

How come I’m still dreaming even though I’m awake... Zhou Li muttered softly, shaking his head.

From the adjacent bed, Tuanzi poked his little head out from under the blanket, squinting. "Time to get up, MEOW?" he asked.

"No..."

"Oh~~ Then Lord Dumpling will sleep a bit more~~"

Tuanzi had just tucked his head back in when he suddenly popped it out again. He looked seriously at Brother Nan sleeping next to Zhou Li, then said, "Brother Lan is asleep now, Zhou Li. You can sneak over and sleep next to Lord Dumpling, MEOW~~"

Zhou Li was speechless. He didn’t want to.

Opportunities to sleep next to Brother Nan were rare. He was far from the point of treating his significant other like a platonic sworn sibling; on the contrary, he was just beginning to appreciate what it felt like to sleep next to a girl.

This feeling was vastly different from sleeping alone. It wasn’t just the physical contact with Brother Nan or her scent near his nose. Simply knowing that a girl he liked was lying beside him, sleeping soundly and comfortably, was a completely novel and wonderful feeling.

Zhou Li savored the thought.

However, Tuanzi still had his head sticking out from the blanket, staring at him unblinkingly, waiting for his response.

Time drifted by slowly.

"MEOW?"

"Oh, sorry," Zhou Li apologized hurriedly. "I still won’t. I’m afraid I might wake her."

"Oh~~"

"Sweet dreams, Lord Dumpling."

"Thank you, MEOW!"

"You’re welcome."

Zhou Li continued to lean his head against the wall, reminiscing about the softness he felt holding Brother Nan last night. It was a pity that the moment was too brief; he had only held her for a short while before she, still in a daze, pushed him away.

How cruel! Heartless! That heartbreaker!

So Zhou Li pinched Brother Nan’s cheek again, took another photo, and saved it in his hidden album.

Then he continued leaning against the wall, lost in thought, waiting for Brother Nan to wake up.

Time seemed to pass especially slowly.

Zhou Li really wanted her to wake up soon, yet he also wanted her to sleep her fill. Torn between these desires, he could only sit there, suffering alone.

If only I had brought a book with me. Then, when Brother Nan woke up, she would see me holding a book. She would marvel at how literary and studious I am, and fall for me because of that image...

Zhou Li shook his head again.

Suddenly, his phone received a message.

Zhou Li quickly opened it.

Yin Le: [Image]

Yin Le: The schedule and itinerary are set.

Zhou Li: Received.

Yin Le: Mhm.

Zhou Li: You’re up so early.

Yin Le: You too. I had no choice. You’re probably still on your National Day holiday, right?

Zhou Li: I’m out having fun.

Yin Le: Envious.

Zhou Li looked at his phone, hesitating. He wasn’t sure how to reply. He wasn’t good at making conversation, but he didn’t want to easily let go of someone he could talk to and pass the time with.

Zhou Li: Oh right, I have something else.

Yin Le: ?

Zhou Li: I know two influential friends. Can I bring them along during some of the less important parts of the itinerary? For example, during meals, I could just say one is my friend. I think it might help provide a stabilizing presence.

Yin Le: That would be great.

Zhou Li: Can I?

Yin Le: Of course! But are they really influential?

Zhou Li: Really.

Yin Le: Great.

Yin Le: How influential?

Zhou Li: One is a former student of Master Ming, who is also a Great Demon. The other is a Close Attendant of the Demon King.

Yin Le: ??

Yin Le: Don’t tell me it’s Huai Xu?

Zhou Li: Yes.

Yin Le: Was speechless.

Yin Le: You just want to bring him along to freeload a meal, don’t you... Still, if you can really invite the Demon King’s Close Attendant to make an appearance as a friend, I’ll accept it. We can just consider Huai Xu an extra.

Zhou Li: No problem.

Yin Le: You’re not joking, are you?

Zhou Li: Those Great Demons all know her.

Yin Le: Alright, I’ll submit the request.

Zhou Li: Thanks for the trouble.

After sending the message, he glanced at the bed next to his.

To this day, Yin Le still didn’t know Lord Dumpling’s real identity.

Yin Le: I have to get busy now.

Zhou Li was speechless. The person he was talking to was gone again.

Zhou Li continued leaning against the wall, contemplating life. He occasionally turned his head to glance at Brother Nan, wondering why she could sleep so soundly.

We went to bed at the same time last night.

Even the two young women in the next room had woken up.

Separated by a wall, Zhou Li could hear their voices:

"Why didn’t we hear any noise last night?"

"They probably kept it quiet."

"That young man is really handsome! Super incredibly handsome! Too bad he’s taken. Sigh, another day of crushing on someone else’s boyfriend."

"What are you getting worked up about? His girlfriend is way prettier than you."

"She seems so fierce though..."

"Still prettier than you."

"But the young man is more handsome. If only he didn’t have a girlfriend, then we could, hehehe..."

"Pervert!"

Zhou Li felt somewhat embarrassed.

So, girls also talk like this in private. I thought only crude guys like Chen Yang would talk about such vulgar things.

"Um..." Zhou Li seemed to suddenly realize something and looked down at Brother Nan beside him. Then, images of two cute but crude girls flashed through his mind, followed by the always expressionless Baozi. "Erm..." The mental image was somewhat unbearable.

By ten in the morning, several new photos had been added to Zhou Li’s hidden album. Brother Nan finally woke up.

"Hmm~~~" Her sleepy groan came before her eyes opened. When she opened them, the first thing she did was reflexively give Zhou Li a light slap. "You’ve been pinching my face and playing with my cowlick, haven’t you?" she asked, her voice soft but accusatory. "Did you think I wouldn’t know just because I was asleep?"

Zhou Li kept a calm expression, as if he hadn’t been slapped.

"Time to get up."

"I refuse~"

"?"

"I want to laze around in bed a bit longer!"

"Then I’ll get up and wash up first. You can get up after I’m done."

"You’re not allowed!"

"?"

Before Zhou Li could ask what she meant, Brother Nan suddenly rolled over and hugged him tightly.

Zhou Li thought for a moment. Mimicking her actions from last night, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave a firm push.

Brother Nan looked at him in astonishment.

"??"

A punch came flying.

Zhou Li silently withdrew his hand.

Just then, Brother Nan suddenly stared intently at his neck, her eyes clearing. "Where’s the hickey I gave you last night?" she asked, surprised.

"Don’t know."

"Where did it go?"

"I heal pretty fast."

"..."

Brother Nan continued to stare at his neck, seemingly not quite accepting his answer. Soon, she looked away, muttering to herself, Maybe my lung capacity isn’t strong enough? Or perhaps one of the other steps went wrong...

They lazed in bed for another twenty minutes before finally getting up. By the time they had washed up, it was nearly noon.

The moment Zhou Li opened the door, he saw a handsome young man in a ragged Nationalist army uniform sitting by the doorway. He was in the same chair as yesterday, staring unblinkingly at them.

"Morning?" the handsome young man said.

"Morning..." Zhou Li replied, somewhat awkwardly.

"What do you think of this outfit?" Huai Xu stood up and spun around in front of them.

"It has a certain vibe," Zhou Li complimented. "Why didn’t you change into a character from a TV series?"

"I was afraid of being surrounded by people asking for autographs. Then I’d have to worry about whether to charge or not," Huai Xu answered. "Charging wouldn’t be good; what if the scenic spot staff chased me away? Not charging wouldn’t be good either; I’d feel like I lost out on ten thousand yuan."

"Your perspective is too narrow."

"What’s narrow?"

"Your perspective."

"Oh..."

Just as Zhou Li was wondering why the Old monster hadn’t teased him, he saw the Old monster flash a mischievous smile, his eyes darting toward the two of them.

"Did you two... sleep well last night?"

"Pretty well..."

"Oh? Slept very well?"

"Why do you look so surprised..."

"Because young folks like you are usually full of youthful energy and should be restless all night," Huai Xu said, looking doubtfully at Zhou Li and raising two fingers. "Either you’re lying to me, or you might need a little folk remedy."

"Enough already..."

"It’s already eleven," Brother Nan said, checking her watch, her expression normal. "I was planning for us to go to the volcano for a hot-air balloon ride today. It’s probably too late for that now."

"I think they usually stop flying at 11:30 a.m.," Zhou Li said, also diverting the topic.

"Exactly!"

"So what shall we do?"

"Let’s stroll around Re Sea this afternoon. It’s not far. We can go after lunch and see how crowded it is," Brother Nan suggested, closing and locking the room door. "If it’s not too crowded, we can enjoy the hot springs. If it is, then forget it. I don’t want to soak in other people’s bathwater."

"Sounds good."

"Also..." Brother Nan glanced at Zhou Li again, paused slightly, her lips curling into a grin. "I’m also worried that if there are too many people, too many young women will come up to flirt with you. Then I’ll be outnumbered and outmatched."

"..."

Zhou Li somewhat agreed. Although I’ve always believed that, objectively speaking, my looks might score a bit higher than Brother Nan’s, in this world, men generally have a stronger mating drive than women. If Brother Nan and I both wore swimsuits, her physique’s appeal to men would probably outweigh my physique’s appeal to women. So, I’d actually be at a slight disadvantage.

Thinking of this, Zhou Li couldn’t help but glance at Brother Nan. She would definitely look good in a swimsuit. I can’t think about this anymore...

Zhou Li slightly bowed his head, following Brother Nan downstairs.

Brother Nan’s voice came from ahead. "You can’t swim, right?"

"Mhm."

"I’ll teach you sometime," Brother Nan said, then paused before starting to boast, "Back when I was little, when I went to the town market, I used to swim straight across the river to get there."

"Impressive..." Zhou Li praised at the right moment.

"I’d plunge into the river and not come up for minutes!" Brother Nan said, getting carried away. "Back then, I led a group of kids swimming in the river, and I caught a fish *this* big right out of the water! We took it back and stewed a huge pot!"

"That’s huge..." Zhou Li said, keeping a straight face. "Huai Xu is also a good swimmer."

"Is he?"

"I don’t need to breathe," Huai Xu said.

"..."

Brother Nan was silent for a moment, then turned around and punched Zhou Li in the chest. She frowned at him, looking annoyed.

I’m completely innocent here, Zhou Li thought.

...

The Copper Ladle Beef they had yesterday was so satisfying for Brother Nan and Huai Xu that at noon today, they found a restaurant in Heshun Ancient Town specializing in it. It was reputed to be the best in town. They ordered over ten pounds of beef and ate their fill.

「Only in the afternoon did they go to Re Sea.」

Unfortunately, it was the National Day Golden Week. The scenic spots in Tengchong were quite concentrated, mostly around the city center, with the Re Sea Scenic Area being especially close—a spot most tourists wouldn’t miss. Therefore, Zhou Li didn’t get to admire Brother Nan in a swimsuit.