CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 41 PEACH

However proud she had been before, that’s how embarrassed she was now. However excited she had been, that’s how weary she now felt.

Li Nan lay upside down on her bed, her feet propped against the wall. She stared at her legs, her face burning red.

Fortunately, she’d only talked about it with Zhou Li; thinking this, she felt she was quite foresighted.

No, the more she thought about it, the smarter she felt— Look, back then she was certain she couldn’t miss getting into Tsinghua and Peking University. Yet, she still refrained from bragging and even kept a super low profile, escaping to her grandma’s house to lay low.

Otherwise, she would have lost so much face!

Even so, Li Nan still covered her face.

Just then, her bedroom door creaked open.

Li Nan turned her head and saw her family’s Big Orange strolling in leisurely, pushing the door closed with its behind. With a graceful leap, it landed on her bed and began to rub against the air conditioner.

Li Nan kept her face covered, her expression blank, her gaze peering out from between her fingers and following Big Orange’s movements. But throughout the process, Big Orange didn’t even glance at her.

Big Orange hooked its front paws, yawning widely.

Brother Nan blinked, lowered her hands, and rolled over to stare at Big Orange, her expression quickly shifting from blank to stern. "Look at you! All you do all day is eat and sleep. Do you even know how to do anything else?"

Big Orange turned its head and gave her a fleeting glance, then flopped its head back onto the bed.

"Oh! I get it!"

"And you know how to mess around outside, looking for female cats, bullying other cats, and fighting with dogs. If you meet one you can’t beat, you come back for my help. Honestly, I have no respect for those who run to their parents when they can’t win a fight!"

"Say something, will you!"

"And you, with all those female cats, why don’t you bring back a kitten for me to play with?"

"Useless!"

SIGH.

Brother Nan suddenly felt much better.

Then again, she thought, Zhou Li, that blockhead, wouldn’t ridicule her, right?

Big Orange, who had been silent throughout, also rolled over, closed its eyes, and felt that the room was really cool. It even spared a glance at the computer desk—there was no fruit prepared today.

「...」

Peaches were already on the market. In the evening, after the city management officials were off duty, vendors sold them at every large and small intersection.

Zhou Li stepped out and walked slowly down the street.

Huai Xu looked around him in amazement, exclaiming, "Are peaches nowadays all this big?"

"We’ll buy some on the way back."

"Alright!" Huai Xu took a couple of deep breaths, the sweet scent of peaches filling the air. He surveyed the tricycles selling fruit. "But these peaches look so unnaturally vibrant. Is that redness artificial?"

"Yeah, it’s a common trick."

"Then you go on to your tutoring, and I’ll find a good one."

"Okay."

Zhou Li was headed to Liu Xuehan’s house today, the middle school girl.

When he arrived, Liu’s mother was tidying up the table. Liu Xuehan, looking very cheerful, opened the door for him.

Liu’s father was also very enthusiastic. "Have you had dinner, Teacher Xiao Zhou?" he asked.

"I have."

"The results came out yesterday. How did Teacher Xiao Zhou do?"

"I did quite well, 626 points."

"Over six hundred!"

"That’s amazing!"

Liu’s father and the young girl were both surprised. Liu’s father had only come into wealth in the recent decade; while wealthy, he was less cultured. The young girl was very smart, but her mind was often elsewhere. They thought this score was already very high.

Could they give me a raise after the summer holiday? Zhou Li wondered modestly.

The young girl’s home had a split-level structure, and she happily led Teacher Zhou upstairs to the study. Snacks, fruits, and small bottles of yogurt were already prepared there.

Today, the study had many new additions: an automatic water-replenishing cat feeder, an extravagantly luxurious cat tree and cat house, and lots of cat toys. In the corner, sitting inside a cardboard box, was a lion cat, its fur pure white and eyes a deep blue—very beautiful.

"This..."

"Look, Teacher Zhou, I just found this cat yesterday!"

"No wonder I didn’t see it last time. It’s really pretty."

Zhou Li noted that as he said this, the cat’s eyes narrowed slightly and its chin lifted a bit. It was as if it understood what he was saying, showing a lot of spirit.

Liu Xuehan was also extremely proud. "It really took a liking to me! So many people passed by on the street, yet it ran straight to me and, without a word, flopped down at my feet and started rolling around!"

"Was it abandoned? It doesn’t look like a common domestic cat, and it’s grown so big too."

"Right? Who would abandon such a beautiful cat?"

"It seems very smart." Zhou Li noticed the lion cat’s eyes, very lively, were constantly watching him.

"Super smart!" Liu Xuehan said. "Today, my dad and I took it shopping at the pet supermarket. It was so well-behaved! Even when it broke free from my hands, it didn’t run off. It even picked out its own stuff."

"Picked things out itself?"

"Yeah, look at these. It chose them all by itself. And the food too, it picked that out on its own."

"Cat food?"

"No, freeze-dried treats."

"Those are expensive." Thanks to Zhu Shuang, Zhou Li knew a little about these things.

"It chose the most expensive ones."

"Is that so."

Zhou Li looked over the cat house and cat tree; they were obviously quite valuable.

The young girl had a good heart. "I’m worried this cat might be lost, so I posted its picture online to ask around. If it really does belong to someone else, I will..." She trailed off, very reluctantly. "I’d still have to return it."

Zhou Li hummed in agreement. "Can I pet it?"

"It’s quite aloof," the young girl said. "Sometimes it hides, but it doesn’t bite."

Zhou Li tried to pet it but was indeed snubbed.

The young girl took a cat teaser stick to play with the cat, but it ignored her. A laser pointer didn’t work either.

Only after a long while did it reluctantly let them pet it.

Afterward, at the young girl’s request, Zhou Li took a couple of photos with her to make her girlfriends jealous. Only after Zhou Li urged her repeatedly did the young girl bring out her worksheets and officially start the tutoring session.

The young girl was genuinely smart and one of those rare girls with strong logical thinking; she grasped many concepts with minimal explanation.

Zhou Li felt that she was just too playful right now and had her own ideas. As long as she applied herself in her third year of junior high, she could get into Yan City Middle School. Once she entered an environment focused on studying and realized the importance of learning, her grades would easily improve.

The amusing part started as soon as the young girl began studying—the cat was no longer aloof. It started batting at her pen, pressing on her hand, and lying on her worksheets.

The young girl was greatly distracted and thoroughly enjoying it.

Two hours passed, and Zhou Li generously added an extra twenty minutes.

When he was leaving, Liu’s father saw him to the door.

Walking leisurely out of the residential complex, Zhou Li looked around. Across the street, near Wanda Plaza, he saw Huai Xu. A large screen in the square was showing *The Monkey King: Hero is Back*.

Many parents were there with their children, watching.

Huai Xu wasn’t in the crowd; he was sitting on a streetlamp.

Zhou Li quietly crossed the street and stood under the streetlamp. Looking up, he shielded his eyes with his hand. "Let’s watch it when we get back; I’ll find it for you."

Huai Xu flipped over, landing gracefully.

Then he sniffed around Zhou Li, his eyebrows immediately furrowing. "Why do you smell of another demon?"

"Hmm?"

"A strange demon. Very interesting. Even I, in my greatness, almost didn’t notice it!"

"Oh."

After hearing Zhou Li’s description, Huai Xu nodded. "As for demons like this, the ones that can consistently appear before ordinary people, there are two types. One type is naturally talented but weak little demons; the other is incredibly powerful. I recall a type of little demon, much like animals. A long, long time ago, some would sneak near humans to steal information. They were imperceptible not only to Heavenly Masters but also to other demons. Eventually, no one even knew these demons existed. But still, they couldn’t fool me, haha!"

"Impressive. But in this day and age, there isn’t much conflict between humans and demons, and with the Demon King not having appeared, what could its motive be?"

"Your intelligence disappoints me somewhat."

"?"

"Scrounging for food, of course! What else?"

"Makes sense." Zhou Li glanced at Huai Xu. "Did you find a place to buy peaches?"

"Found it."

Huai Xu felt there was something off about Zhou Li’s gaze just now, but on further thought, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Soon, the man and the demon arrived under a streetlamp. Its yellow light made the peaches look less appealing. A middle-aged man, who seemed a bit simple, was selling them from a shoulder pole.

"Very sweet! I’ve already eaten three myself!"

"Sir, how much are the peaches?"

"Three yuan each. Homegrown and very tasty. Would you like to try some?" The man took out a knife and a peeled peach.

"No, that’s alright. Could I have two bags, please?"

Feeling somewhat guilty, Zhou Li didn’t haggle. He wasn’t good at picking peaches either, so he just chose nice-looking ones without blemishes and filled two bags.

The man then pulled out a small steelyard. Holding the five-jin (catty) cord, he slid the counterweight along the beam. When the beam’s tip angled high, he steadied the counterweight’s string with his fingers and showed the reading to Zhou Li. "Four and a half jin, a good solid weight."

"Oh, alright."

Zhou Li, though not understanding how to read it, took a look anyway.

Huai Xu, however, bent down, his gaze fixed on the steelyard’s beam. He didn’t look away until the man let go, only then did he blink.

After paying and taking the peaches, they walked back.

Huai Xu was very curious. "How do you read that thing? There are no markings on that wooden stick."

"I don’t know how to read it either," Zhou Li shook his head.

Huai Xu pouted.