CHAPTER 415: 411

Brother Nan lay on a bed near the bathroom, one leg casually raised and drawing circles in the air as she glanced leisurely at Zhou Li.

Tuanzi was squatting on the other bed, sitting very upright, also staring unblinkingly at Zhou Li.

Zhou Li hummed thoughtfully as he walked over to Tuanzi. He sat down on the edge of the bed, took a sip of mineral water from the nightstand, and used the moment to sneak a peek at Brother Nan.

He saw Brother Nan’s gaze shift slightly downward.

Then he felt a ticklish sensation on his thigh. Looking down, he saw Tuanzi had climbed onto his lap. In the process, her four little paws had inevitably stepped on some rather sensitive areas. However, the thought of ’considering Zhou Li’s feelings’ seemed completely absent from her little mind. She simply found a comfortable spot on Zhou Li’s thigh, sat down, and then stared directly at Brother Nan.

The large one and the small one stared at each other.

Brother Nan quickly averted her gaze and uncrossed her legs. "Come here, sleep next to me," she said to Zhou Li, her tone calm and allowing no refusal.

Almost simultaneously, Tuanzi, still on Zhou Li’s thigh, tilted her little head back to look up at him. Her eyes, like jewels hiding starlight, were incredibly expressive.

Lord Dumpling’s gaze was bright and intense, while Brother Nan maintained a nonchalant expression.

Zhou Li had no choice but to pick up Tuanzi and whisper, "Brother Nan is fierce, you know that. Fiercer than Hong Ran. If I don’t listen to her, me getting hit is a minor issue, but implicating Lord Dumpling would be a major problem... It’s okay if I have to suffer a little."

A shimmer appeared in Tuanzi’s eyes, her voice soft. "Zhou Li~~"

"It’s nothing."

"Despicable woman!" Tuanzi seethed.

"It’s alright. She likes me, just like I like Lord Dumpling. She won’t hurt me." Zhou Li, noticing Brother Nan’s expression souring from the corner of his eye, quickly changed the subject. "It’s just that I can’t sleep next to Lord Dumpling anymore. But with Lord Dumpling’s status, you should have a bed to yourself. It’s not dignified to be crammed in one bed with me."

"She’s just a cat... she can sleep anywhere on the floor, in a corner," Brother Nan said.

"Stupid woman," Tuanzi muttered under her breath.

Brother Nan raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"MEOW," Tuanzi replied innocently.

Reluctantly, Zhou Li went to Brother Nan’s bed, crawled under the covers, and waved at Tuanzi, a gesture conveying his current feelings.

When he turned his head to look at Brother Nan, he saw her expression had changed. She looked a bit stiff and uneasy, her gaze drifting elsewhere.

Seeing this, Brother Nan blurted out, "What’s wrong? Still not used to this?"

"Let’s just... go to sleep early," Zhou Li mumbled, shrinking down until he was fully submerged under the covers, only his head poking out so he could stealthily watch Brother Nan.

Brother Nan glanced at her phone again, appearing quite composed. She didn’t continue playing with it but casually turned it off and tossed it onto the nightstand on her side. Then, she said to Tuanzi on the other bed, "Little Trash Cat, go turn off the light."

Oh, right! Zhou Li suddenly remembered the light was still on.

So, he hastily lifted the covers.

He had tried asking Lord Dumpling to turn off the light before. But Tuanzi, being a little kitten, either didn’t seem to understand the phrase ’turn off the light,’ or perhaps she didn’t know how. It was also possible that Lord Dumpling, with her noble status, was unwilling to stoop to such a task. In any case, he had tried several times. Each time, Tuanzi would just stare at him with a puzzled expression, unblinking and unresponsive. After a few attempts, he had abandoned the idea.

Unless he used the laser pointer trick...

Therefore, Zhou Li dutifully got up to turn off the light himself.

However, just as he bent down to slip on his slippers and looked up again, he saw a small white shadow flit across the room—

CLICK.

The overhead light went out, leaving a faint white afterglow that gradually faded.

The only light remaining in the room was the lamp by Brother Nan’s head.

Little Trash Cat padded back with tiny steps, hopped onto the bed, and as soon as she sat down, she saw Zhou Li looking utterly confused.

"MEOW?" she chirped.

Tuanzi’s expression froze. Oh no, this looks like trouble!

The bewilderment on Zhou Li’s face vanished like bursting bubbles, replaced by a deadpan expression as he stared at Tuanzi. "So, you *do* understand, and you *can* turn off the lights..."

"MEOW?" Tuanzi tilted her little head, her eyes wide with feigned innocence.

Zhou Li sighed and looked away. What else could he do but forgive her?

When he lay back down, he found Brother Nan had also lain down. Her long hair fanned out on the white pillow, and she was facing him, her delicate face mere inches away. Her eyes, reflecting the light, stared unblinkingly at him.

Zhou Li’s gaze flicked upward slightly.

Her cowlick was still sticking up, though it had flopped sideways, its tip drooping slightly.

Brother Nan’s hair was dyed. Under the bedside lamp, it looked beautiful, shining with a soft luster. Especially that little ’antenna’ on top of her head—its color seemed completely different from how it had appeared during the day.

"Shall I turn off the lamp?" Brother Nan asked.

"Mm-hmm," Zhou Li affirmed.

CLICK. The last lamp went out.

But the room didn’t fall into complete darkness. Besides the dim light seeping in from the corridor, both the overhead light and the bedside lamp still retained a faint afterglow, enough for them to clearly see each other’s faces and the slight tremble of their eyelashes.

Zhou Li slowly turned his head.

Tuanzi was still sitting upright, facing them, her eyes reflecting a peculiar light.

After a moment, Zhou Li took a deep breath. "Let’s sleep."

Brother Nan hummed in agreement but said nothing more. Her hand, however, subtly moved under the covers and grasped Zhou Li’s before she closed her eyes.

Sometime later, the lingering glow from the two lamps finally faded completely, and their afterglow yielded to darkness.

The lights in the corridor also went out.

Another CLICK, barely audible, was heard only by Zhou Li. When he opened his eyes, the old town seemed completely submerged in the depths of night. Most of the lights must have been turned off; perhaps moonlight was now the only illumination.

Brother Nan’s voice, barely a whisper, reached his ear— "Are you asleep?"

Her breath brushed his face, carrying the scent of toothpaste.

Zhou Li replied in an equally soft whisper, "Not yet..."

Immediately, Tuanzi’s clear voice chirped, "Lord Dumpling hasn’t been running around *at all* tonight, okay!"

The implication being, ’So you can’t blame me.’

A few dark lines appeared on Zhou Li’s forehead. This Little Trash Cat...

So, she had always known her nighttime parkour disturbed his sleep, and she *had* actually been listening every time he tried to reason with her...

Zhou Li was utterly speechless.

By now, Brother Nan had embraced him, and her hands began to get restless. Though her movements were subtle, they inevitably caused friction with the bedding, creating faint rustling sounds under the covers.

Zhou Li felt his heart rate climb and his blood begin to race.

Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Brother Nan’s tone was playful. Then, lowering her voice, she added, "Want a kiss?"

"Er..."

Well, that wasn’t entirely out of the question.

He figured Tuanzi could watch something like a kiss. Truth be told, even if things progressed further under the covers, Tuanzi, being a different species, could still observe. After all, Zhou Li often cuddled and petted Tuanzi all over, so such scenes were child’s play to Lord Dumpling.

Their lips met.

They kissed, each exploring, the entanglement growing deeper.

SMACK!

Zhou Li quickly withdrew his hand, looking somewhat aggrieved, but could only stammer a weak protest, "That’s not fair..."

Brother Nan ignored him completely, merely moving her lips from his and burying her face in his neck. She took several deep breaths to steady her breathing and heartbeat, then kept her head nestled there, motionless.

Yet, after only a brief moment, as if struck by a thought, she whispered, "Do you know what ’strawberries’ are?"

"No."

"What the—? You’ve never eaten a strawberry?"

"I have..."

"Then why say you don’t know?"

Zhou Li remained silent.

"Go on, keep pretending," Brother Nan scoffed.

"I’m not..." Zhou Li struggled to keep his voice calm. "I just suspect you’re not talking about the actual fruit."

"But I *am* talking about that fruit~" Brother Nan purred.

"Oh..."

"So, do you want some?" As she spoke, her breath tickled a particularly sensitive spot on Zhou Li’s neck. He suppressed the urge to squirm and said, "But we didn’t buy any strawberries today..."

"I have some!"

"I don’t believe you."

"Well, how about this, then..." Brother Nan murmured, and then—

HSS!

Zhou Li instantly held his breath, clenching his teeth.

He’d never realized dating could be this much fun.