June 10, Wednesday.

Zhou Li saw Zhou Qianqian say in the group chat that it was already the end of the term.

He couldn't help but feel startled, feeling like school had just started. Counting back, he had arrived at school with Brother Nan just ten days ago.

It's the end of the term already?

He heard that the exams would also be online, essentially making them open-book exams.

Quite a few teachers mentioned that regular grades would carry more weight and that they wouldn't leak questions during finals like in previous years. So, in these past few days, teachers had been particularly strict during online classes. Some frequently called on students to answer questions, some assigned a ton of homework, and some even suddenly asked students to press '1' in the middle of a lecture, all to prevent them from signing in and then not listening.

But it didn't seem to be very effective.

After all, it was the end of the term. Even if some students weren't keen on studying, at least they would go through the motions, except for a few who were as unconcerned as a dead pig is of scalding water.

Baozi, who insisted on setting up her stall every day, also escaped being targeted. The two times she was called on to answer questions, she did very well.

The time for course selection was also approaching.

「...」

Brother Nan, holding a skewer of chili-sprinkled wheat gluten, marched forward as he ate, speaking somewhat indistinctly, "I'm just saying that the school reopened only to hold on to the boarding fees, right? It has only been a few days since the start of school, and now it's already time for finals."

"Do they have to refund those who didn't return to school?" Zhou Li asked as he held Tuanzi.

"I don't know." Brother Nan offered the gluten to Tuanzi. "Do you want some?"

"MEOW!"

"Don't feed her that stuff!" Zhou Li shifted to the side to avoid the gluten Brother Nan was holding, then looked down at a hopeful Tuanzi and said, "Lord Dumpling's status is too noble to fancy such junk food, right?"

"MEOW~~"

"She doesn't want it," Zhou Li told Brother Nan.

"What junk food!!" Brother Nan punched Zhou Li on the shoulder. "Seeing me eat it and still saying that, are you asking for a beating?"

...

"Right, course selection starts at 8 a.m. tomorrow," Brother Nan spoke again after taking another bite of the spicy gluten, his lips bright red. "Those popular classes are hard to snag. You need to plan ahead and think of alternatives too, so it's easier to get them during selection time."

"You haven't told me which classes are good yet."

"Sit down, I'll explain them to you slowly."

Brother Nan pulled Zhou Li over to a vine-covered pergola nearby, and they sat down on the bench on the left. The hand that wasn't holding the gluten naturally rested on Zhou Li's thigh. He thought for a moment. "You should take a PE class and a qualitative course. Within the PE classes, the popular ones are numerous, like fun ones including swimming, football, and basketball. The easiest to pass is ping pong, but it also depends on the teacher. Do you want to try for those?"

"Not really."

"You want to take badminton, right?" Brother Nan guessed.

"Yes."

"What's the point of that! You already play so well; it's purely for the credits," Brother Nan pouted. "Better to choose another one to learn something new, that's more interesting."

"Emmm..."

Zhou Li thought it over seriously, feeling Brother Nan made sense, and asked, "What do you think I should take?"

"You decide for yourself."

"Then what are you taking?"

"I'm thinking of taking Tai Chi."

"I see."

Zhou Li suddenly recalled the strong wind and falling leaves from a few days ago, and the silly, beautiful girl practicing Tai Chi by the flowerbed.

"Then I'll go for ping pong," he said after a pause.

"Okay!" Brother Nan thought again. "As for qualitative courses, there are plenty, like music, handicrafts, literature, all sorts of miscellaneous ones. Either pick one you're interested in or one that's easy to pass. I only know that the college student's sexual health education is easy to pass. The teacher is very amenable, and the test is simple—just a paper—and you can pass even if you don't attend classes."

"I'm interested in stone carving," Zhou Li had looked it up beforehand. "And I also want to take something easy to pass."

"I want to take pottery, to play with clay," Brother Nan said and then started singing, "It's so cold, I'm in the Northeast playing... COUGH! COUGH!"

She choked mid-song and coughed a few times, but she wasn't embarrassed. She just turned to Zhou Li and said, "I hurt my throat. The bit I just sang is as challenging as a Hua Chenyu concert."

"Who's Hua Chenyu?"

"A singer, reputed to be a good vocalist."

"What if we can't get them?"

"I'll go with sexual health."

"Okay."

Zhou Li glanced down and noticed that Brother Nan's hand, resting on his thigh, was still rubbing up and down, obviously taking advantage of him.

But because Tuanzi was there, he had no choice but to silently endure.

After sitting in the corridor for a while, they continued walking towards the dormitory, passing by Baozi's postcard stall on the way. She seemed to have accepted the fact that her postcards could only sell for two yuan each, as evidenced by the "two yuan each" sign she'd put up. Before that, she always tried to "sell the postcards at the price they deserved," but as soon as she raised the price, people stopped buying.

Also, due to the messages Zhou Li had posted online, many people came to find the "Hotpot Girl," which brought her quite a bit of popularity. But it still wasn't as much as when Tuanzi was there.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan walked past at a leisurely pace.

Baozi was engrossed in her phone. When someone picked a postcard, they just scanned the QR code to pay, without her even lifting her head. Zhou Li thought that if it weren't for the fear of the wind blowing the postcards away, she might not even sit there.

"How many have you sold today?" Zhou Li asked.

"Huh?" Baozi lifted her head to look at them, then her eyes immediately shifted to Tuanzi. "Lord Dumpling has arrived."

"MEOW!"

"Just right—"

Baozi said as she turned sideways, grabbing a small bag beside her, and began pulling things out one by one:

Imported cat food cans;

Freeze-dried deer meat;

Cat teaser stick;

Laser pointer;

Electric mouse;

...

She placed each item on the ground.

She opened a cat food can and handed it to Tuanzi, then picked up the cat teaser stick, confidently saying to Tuanzi, "Want to eat? How about you stay with me today to help at the stall? If you stay, all these will be yours."

Tuanzi blinked her eyes at the human.

Baozi also looked at her, her expression calm.

After a moment, Tuanzi wriggled free from Zhou Li's grip and landed on the ground, walking towards the cat food can with a curious gaze.

Baozi's eyes did not blink. She even shook the cat teaser stick in her hand, her face impassive, but her heart filled with anticipation... She even began to fantasize about her sales for the day.

But Tuanzi approached the cat food can, sniffed it twice, then turned to look at her, and, seemingly uninterested, walked away.

Baozi: !!

She opened the freeze-dried deer meat next.

That wasn't bad; Tuanzi often ate it. But sadly, Tuanzi was just a flighty cat, always seeking novelty and easily bored with all things.

Baozi: ??

She shook the cat teaser stick again.

Utterly useless.

The red dot from the laser pointer danced in front of Tuanzi. Tuanzi just sat down, lowering her head to watch the dot.

The electric mouse SQUEAKED past.

Tuanzi followed the mouse with her eyes, her little head turning from left to right, but she showed no interest in chasing it. Only when the mouse ran beyond her field of vision did she retract her gaze and look up at Zhou Li. "Zhou Li, Lord Dumpling is so sleepy mmm..."

Baozi fell silent.

The cat teaser stick was still shaking in her hand, JINGLING, showing her last bit of stubbornness.

But Tuanzi remained indifferent.

What was the problem? Baozi couldn't understand.

She had invested heavily, putting all the money she had earned yesterday into these items, and even spent an additional ten-plus yuan. She was hoping this investment would bring her days of business, but how could it end like this?

Baozi still sat on her small stool, watching helplessly as Zhou Li picked up Tuanzi, greeted her, and continued walking.

The cat teaser stick still JINGLED.

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