CHAPTER 394: CHAPTER 390: IN SHORT, I DON’T WANT TO STUDY

"I think our club should hold a welcome party for new members!" Brother Nan said while eating chips. When some crumbs fell on Zhou Li’s face, she hurriedly bent down, carefully picked them up, and put them back in her mouth.

"Mmh..." Zhou Li half-closed his eyes.

"Let’s also have a club activity!" Brother Nan said as she brushed off the crumbs that were too small to pick up from Zhou Li’s face. "What do you think, Vice President?"

"Just four new members... I guess only Xiao Hua and Su Jue will be consistent," Zhou Li said tactfully.

"What’s wrong with four? It’s about quality, not quantity!" Brother Nan became displeased, even considering revoking Zhou Li’s right to use her lap as a pillow. "Even if there’s just one person, we still need to have the activity! Otherwise, the club is as good as dead."

"Mmh..."

"Is ’mmh’ all you have to say?"

"You have a point."

"I’m asking for your opinion."

"The Vice President thinks that the welcome party could be combined with the first club activity," Zhou Li said after a moment’s thought.

"That’s a great suggestion!"

"Mmh..."

"Here! This is your reward!"

Brother Nan stuffed the last chip into Zhou Li’s mouth, shook the bag, and tilted her head back to pour the remaining crumbs into her mouth.

Little Trash Cat ran back from nearby, shouting as she ran, "I caught a fish! A really big fish!"

Zhou Li hurriedly sat up straight.

Brother Nan smacked her lips and glanced at him sideways.

Little Trash Cat, with her cheerful little steps, still shorter than the wild grass by the road, hopped along, seemingly in a good mood. Behind her, Huai Xu followed, unhurriedly carrying a fish strung on a vine, yet he kept pace with her running.

"Zhou Li, look at the fish Lord Dumpling caught!"

"Bullshit!" Huai Xu said disdainfully. "I caught it, obviously. With your tiny frame, you’re not even bigger than the fish!"

"It was caught by Lord Dumpling! It was!"

"’That’s a big fish,’ Zhou Li commented. He couldn’t recognize what kind of fish it was, so he just patted Tuanzi’s head and said, ’Lord Dumpling is truly amazing.’"

"Haha!"

"Just keep spoiling her..." Huai Xu threw the fish aside, letting it struggle. He then sat down on the picnic blanket, tore open a bag of chips, and glanced back and forth between Zhou Li and Brother Nan. "What were you two doing just now?"

"Being in love, obviously," Brother Nan said bluntly.

"We were just discussing the club’s welcome event and the first activity," Zhou Li said, somewhat embarrassed. "As Vice President, do you have any thoughts?"

"You’re blushing..."

Huai Xu was about to continue when suddenly, with a swift flick of his sword-fingers, he sent a gust of wind rapidly flying over Zhou Li’s forehead.

Zhou Li was obviously much slower to react and looked at him bewilderedly. "What’s wrong?"

"A lump of bird poop."

Huai Xu looked up at the sky, where a seagull was flying by, then looked down at Zhou Li again. "Why are you so unlucky today? People in the old days said that if you get pooped on by a bird, you have to go ask for rice from a hundred families and cook it, or else you’ll be unlucky for three years."

Zhou Li stiffened for a moment, then looked toward Brother Nan.

Brother Nan spread her hands, indicating it had nothing to do with her.

Picking up where he left off, Huai Xu said, "Why are you so shy... It’s just dating! It’s not like it’s something shameful or illegal. There’s nothing to hide. I’ve seen it all in my years. You could learn from Brother Nan."

"Have you ever dated in all these years?" Brother Nan asked curiously.

"Demons don’t need to date," Huai Xu explained. "We don’t secrete that... that thing, the stuff for falling in love."

"Melamine!" Brother Nan interjected.

"Right, right, right! That’s the one!" Huai Xu exclaimed.

"PFFFT... HAHAHAHA..." Brother Nan covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

"What are you laughing at?" Huai Xu asked.

"Nothing, I just remembered something happy," Brother Nan quickly stopped laughing and continued, "But you still have emotions, right?"

"Of course."

"Hmm?"

"Our emotions are more rational; they aren’t as easily influenced by other things. We don’t act on impulse," Huai Xu explained. "If a Demon likes someone, it’s a very pure affection. Plus, we live longer, so we can spend more time getting to know them."

"Do Demons fall in love too?" Brother Nan asked.

"Zhou Li has asked something similar," Huai Xu said, stuffing chips into his mouth like a glutton, yet somehow discussing the topic profoundly. "Demons rarely have the concept of ’dating.’ But there are some Demons... emmm, how should I put it? They are very happy together, get used to each other’s company, and then basically spend their lives together, never separating."

"So, will they... hehehe..."

"I’ve never seen any that do."

"Oh~~"

"I think we can start lunch now..." Compared to these convoluted topics, Huai Xu was clearly more interested in lunch.

So he began to take stock of the things they had brought.

"We’ve got Kissing Cakes!"

"These are delicious!"

"Come on, let’s share!"

"One for you, Brother Nan; one for you, Zhou Li; one for you too, silly cat; one for me; and one for Huai Xu..."

"What’s this, meow?" Tuanzi asked, looking down and fiddling with the Kissing Cake with her little paws.

"Kissing Cake," Huai Xu answered.

"Golden Mouth Cake!" Tuanzi repeated.

"Kissing Cake!" Huai Xu furrowed his brows.

"Kissing High!" Tuanzi continued to repeat meticulously, her little face full of a desire to learn.

"Kiss! Mouth! Cake!"

"Golden! Mouth! High!"

"’This is f*cked up...’" Huai Xu muttered.

"This is f*cked up!" Tuanzi echoed.

"’F*CK!’" Huai Xu exclaimed.

"F*CK!" Tuanzi echoed.

"..."

Huai Xu looked at Zhou Li speechlessly. "This stupid cat is just... too..." Realizing that wasn’t quite civil, he immediately changed his words, "Chain of Bewitching Palms..."

Tuanzi tilted her head, staring at him in confusion.

「In the evening.」

Huai Xu was earnestly molding clay in the living room, while Zhou Li sat on the balcony studying.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

Zhou Li frowned immediately.

What a blunder; I forgot to lock my phone in the cabinet before studying.

But it was the sound of a WeChat message. Generally, not many people sent him WeChat messages; he only had about ten contacts in total. So he quickly convinced himself to take the phone out of his pocket.

It was a message from Hong Ran.

Hong Ran: I finished my errands this morning and went out to clear my mind. Guess what I saw?

Zhou Li: What?

Hong Ran: Saw two human kids dating across the street.

Zhou Li’s expression immediately became embarrassed.

Zhou Li: ...Good eyesight.

Hong Ran: /snickers

Hong Ran: Come play with Big Sis.

Zhou Li: Okay.

Hong Ran: Free tomorrow?

Zhou Li: I’ll come over in the afternoon.

Hong Ran: Bringing your little girlfriend?

Zhou Li: No.

Hong Ran: Tsk! Big Sis won’t bite.

Zhou Li: Don’t disturb my studying.

Hong Ran: Heartless!

Logically, he should have turned off his phone and focused on his book. However, the allure of the phone while studying was too strong; its pull directly proportional to how dull his study material was. So he couldn’t help but open QQ again.

The club group chat had 99+ messages.

Zhou Li scrolled down.

It was probably Brother Nan who had announced a club dinner for next Wednesday evening, asking everyone to sign up. The result was, as he expected—

Su Jue and Xiao Hua signed up, while the other two went silent.

Those two probably never imagined a school club group would have only about ten people; its lameness was beyond belief.

Yin Le’s conference had ended; he would be back tomorrow.

So Zhou Li sent another message to Brother Nan, asking her for a recommendation for a place to eat. Then he couldn’t resist opening Dianping to admire the pictures of the restaurant’s dishes and the reviews below, browsing back and forth.

When he finally put his phone down, he realized half an hour had passed. It was truly magical. How come time passes so slowly when I’m reading?