CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 63 LORD DUMPLING SHOWS GREAT INTEGRITY

At five in the afternoon, at the entrance of a residential area.

Zhou Li stood by the roadside with a backpack, constantly hearing voices in his ear.

"Hong Ran must hold a high position among the demons, right?"

"Why do I feel that her aura isn’t very strong?"

"I heard that cat say that Hong Ran seems to have a pretty high office. How do these demons choose their officials?"

"Do you think I could do it?"

Zhou Li took out his phone to check the time.

Before long, an old-model white Bentley drove over and stopped in front of them.

A tall man in a black suit with a pale face got out from the driver’s seat, seemingly ready to open the door for them.

But the two had already opened the door and gotten in by themselves.

So he sat back in the driver’s seat.

Today, Hong Ran wore a plain Ming Dynasty attire cloak, not as luxurious and noble as last time, resembling a young lady from a scholarly family. She turned around and pinched Zhou Li’s cheek.

"I finally get to see you."

"Um...don’t!"

"What’s wrong with sister pinching a bit?"

"Gently..." Zhou Li turned his head to look at Huai Xu.

However, Huai Xu was busy touching different parts of the car, lifting his buttocks and then plopping down hard to feel the softness of the seat, looking like a fool.

The driver drove off, silent and smooth.

Hong Ran let go of him and then looked at Huai Xu. "Huai Xu is here too. Is there anything you guys want to eat?"

Huai Xu turned his head and stared at Zhou Li.

"Matsutake," Zhou Li said.

"Anything else?"

"Chicken fir mushroom."

"Anything more?"

"Hmm..." Zhou Li thought for a while. "Old Granny Potato. These items don’t clash, right?"

"Let me think."

Hong Ran turned to look out the window, then after a moment she said to the front, "Go to that restaurant by the lake."

No sound came from the front.

Hong Ran continued looking at Zhou Li and Huai Xu. "Why didn’t you wait for me at school and run here instead? Are you thinking about renting a place to stay?"

"Yes."

"Because of Huai Xu? Oh right, Tuanzi is with you too; staying in the dorms really isn’t convenient." Hong Ran looked curious.

"Hmm."

"Don’t you have a girlfriend or anything?"

"No."

"That’s a pity. Our Zhou Li is so handsome; he should have a lot of girlfriends."

"Don’t say that..."

"Aunt Jiang says that often too," Huai Xu spoke up.

"His stepmother?" Hong Ran nodded. "It’s rare to find someone so open-minded in this era."

"No! Aunt Jiang only said the first part!"

"Right, Aunt Jiang often says he’s good-looking."

"I see, it seems sister misunderstood," Hong Ran’s lips curled into a smile; she was doing it on purpose. "How’s the environment of that complex you were looking at? Not so good, right?"

"Average," Zhou Li said.

"How about sister buys you an apartment? It might even appreciate in value by the time you graduate!"

"No, I can’t accept that."

"Hmm, then sister will help you find one!"

"We’re not in a hurry."

"What are your requirements?"

"No need to bother, we can handle it ourselves..."

At this moment, the driver suddenly spoke up, "There’s one near the university town, ready to move in. It’s not too close to Cai University, but not too far either."

"Oh! Really?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Over at Wulong Street."

"Where did that come from?"

"Someone gifted it a few years ago. It’s registered in Lord Yu Xue’s name and has been unused for quite some time."

"How interesting." Hong Ran found it fascinating. Sometimes assets would just appear without her knowledge.

The driver fell silent again.

Hong Ran then said, "After we eat, let’s go take a look. See how far it is, whether it suits your taste. If you like it, it’s yours. It’s not mine anyway, so don’t be polite with me."

"I won’t accept it."

"Then you can stay there."

"I’ll pay you rent."

"That works too."

The car drove onto Huanhu Road. Hong Ran didn’t talk about how much the rent would be but instead pointed across the lake and said, "See that? That mountain over there is Chunming’s West Mountain. You can overlook Chunming and watch the sunrise from there. Sister lives up on the mountain. Isn’t it close to your school?"

Zhou Li looked in the direction she was pointing.

Dian Lake was vast, the water not very clear. Across the wide expanse of green lake was a mountain that looked like a sleeping beauty.

Not really close, right? Zhou Li felt it must be dozens of kilometers around the lake.

"It’s fast if you fly."

"That’s true..."

The car stopped a few hundred meters from the lake in front of a courtyard house. Zhou Li got out and saw an ajar door with a wooden sign reading ’Tianshui Garden’. The surroundings had a bit of style.

Hong Ran pushed open the door.

Inside was another world.

Small bridges, flowing water, ancient corridors, and waiters in traditional jackets came to greet them.

Hong Ran asked for a private room.

The waiter brought the menu.

Huai Xu, who had already manifested his form in the car, took the menu and started to look through it. Zhou Li also sat next to him to look.

It seemed that you couldn’t order dishes individually here, only set meals. The set meals came in different portions and different grades—all very expensive.

Hong Ran took a sip of tea and told the waiter, "Get this set meal, and go tell your chef to make a separate order for me—a charcoal-grilled matsutake, a deep-fried chicken fir mushroom, and a home-style Old Granny Potato." The waiter noted it down and then left.

Huai Xu also put the menu on a nearby rack.

"Drink some tea," Hong Ran said. "Pu’er. Everyone says it’s good. Anyway, I don’t really drink it. Zhou Li, what major did you enroll in again?"

"Life Sciences."

"Oh... you’re starting military training soon, right?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Military training involves so much sun exposure. Don’t think it’s not very hot here; the UV rays are strong." Hong Ran sat elegantly, staring at Zhou Li. "Actually, I think that stuff is pretty useless. Why not let Huai Xu do your military training for you? Isn’t he very good at changing forms?"

"Great idea!" Huai Xu’s eyes lit up. "What’s military training like? Will there be fighting or anything? Zhou Li, you’re so refined; if you get into a fight, you’re definitely going to be at a disadvantage. I’ll go for you!"

"No," Zhou Li said.

"Why?" Huai Xu asked, bewildered.

"I want to experience it too," Zhou Li replied.

"It’s no fun," Huai Xu tried to persuade him. "I’ll endure the hardship for you... I haven’t been out to have fun in ages."

"We’ll see when the time comes."

"Okay!"

Huai Xu knew that once Zhou Li said that, it was pretty much settled.

The dishes arrived particularly quickly, all served at once.

Zhou Li first tasted the matsutake. He had thought it would be used for soup, but it turned out to be grilled. Sliced thinly, the charcoal fire had wonderfully released the umami of the matsutake.

The taste was very good.

But it wasn’t as divine as Zhou Li had imagined.

Compared to that, he found the fried chicken fir mushroom extremely delicious and perfect with rice.

Old Granny Potato was a blast!

Hong Ran casually ate a few bites, glanced past the ravenous Huai Xu, and looked at Zhou Li, "How is it? Still to your liking?"

Zhou Li nodded. "Delicious, just expensive."

Hong Ran smiled.

The portion sizes weren’t large, but there were many dishes. Thanks to Huai Xu, the food disappeared at a visible rate.

"Anything else you’d like to eat?"

"I don’t want any more."

"Neither do I."

"Um..." Zhou Li hesitated for a moment. "I’d like to get another portion of matsutake and chicken fir mushroom to go, for Lord Dumpling."

"Okay."

"Two portions."

"Alright, I’ll have the chef make it quickly."

"Yeah."

「Twenty minutes later.」

They left the restaurant.

The restaurant used two fairly valuable insulated boxes for their takeaway, and Huai Xu carried one in each hand.

On the way back, they also went to check out the house.

The house was indeed not close to Cai University, but it was still within the university town and accessible by shared electric bikes. Although nobody had lived there for a while, the doors and windows were tightly closed, so it wasn’t too dirty, only the air was very stale.

It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, nicely decorated, and to Zhou Li’s taste.

Huai Xu was also satisfied.

But Hong Ran always avoided talking about the rent.

Zhou Li reached his dorm entrance by eight o’clock. He called Brother Nan down and handed her an insulated box.

"Wow!" Brother Nan was very surprised. "What’s inside?"

"Food."

"What kind of food?"

"Grilled matsutake and fried chicken fir mushroom. Take them back and eat them quickly, or they won’t taste as good," Zhou Li said.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Li explained, "It’s my first time eating these. I found the flavors quite novel. Originally, it was for Tuanzi, but I thought since I’m not paying, why not pack extra..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when Brother Nan interrupted him—

"Okay, stop talking."

"..."

Brother Nan felt the bottom of the insulated box; it was slightly warm. She said to Zhou Li, "Your last roommate has arrived. His name is Chen Yang; he’s sort of a new recruit of mine. Go and greet him. Brother Nan is leaving."

"Oh."

Zhou Li also turned and left.

Room 502 was finally complete. The last one, Chen Yang, was tall and imposing. He sat at his desk in a tank top, smoking. The contours of firm muscles were faintly visible, and he had a non-mainstream tattoo on his arm and a small one behind his ear.

Chang Xiaoxiang was video chatting with someone at his desk.

Liu Zhengming had already climbed into bed and was playing on his phone.

Huai Xu started muttering again, "Looks like a labor camp inmate, and he smokes heavily too. Can someone like that even get into college?"

Zhou Li acted as if he hadn’t heard and greeted Chen Yang.

Chen Yang responded with a bright smile, "Hello, hello! You must be Zhou Li, right? I’ve heard about you. I’m Chen Yang. We’ll be living together for the next four years of college. Please look out for me!"

A cloud of smoke hung in the air before him.

Zhou Li didn’t quite like it but said nothing. He exchanged a few pleasantries before returning to his own desk.

Upon opening the insulated box, a small head poked out from the bed, "Lord Dumpling smells something delicious."

Zhou Li picked her up.

"Go ahead and eat."

Lord Dumpling approached the grilled matsutake. "It’s rare for you to show some conscience. Lord Dumpling won’t be polite!"

"AWOO..."

After taking a bite, Tuanzi suddenly froze, turned her head to look at Zhou Li. "Did you go out and see Hong Ran?"

"How do you know?" Huai Xu asked for Zhou Li.

"Lord Dumpling doesn’t think you guys could afford these matsutakes."

"Is it very expensive?"

"A delicacy."

"Then you better eat it quickly."

"Lord Dumpling has her pride... Forget it, these should have been mine in the first place, all of them!" Tuanzi puffed up, thoroughly vexed that she was now reduced to freeloading meals while Hong Ran held a high position.

"Hong Ran called you a stupid cat," Huai Xu said.

"She’s lying!" Tuanzi bristled. "That despicable woman, daring to insult Lord Dumpling! I’m not eating anymore!"

"Then I will!"

"No! I’ll eat it!"

"HEH HEH!"

Chen Yang’s voice came from behind him, "Bro, how much did you pay for this cat? It’s really cute."

"Found it," Zhou Li turned around.

"The dorm management will check, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you better hide it well. I noticed your cat is quite quiet." Chen Yang took another puff of his cigarette, blowing out a trail of blue-tinged smoke. "When you weren’t back, it was just lying on your bed, not moving or making a sound. Really well-behaved!"

"She’s usually quite aloof."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn’t it eat cat food? What do you feed it?"

"Mushrooms."

"It eats that?"

"Yes."

"Amazing."

Finally, Chen Yang stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the trash can.