POP!

Huai Xu, who had been lying on the top bunk, suddenly appeared in front of Zhou Li.

Seeing this, Tuanzi immediately jumped down from the bed and fiercely tried to pounce on Huai Xu, only for Huai Xu to kick her aside without even a glance.

"What did he look like?"

"Where did you encounter him?"

"What kind of unique feeling was it?"

"Did he see you?"

"Don't rush me." Zhou Li bent over and picked up Tuanzi, who had rolled a few times on the ground. He also rubbed her belly. "I didn't see his face, only a blurry glimpse of his back in the crowd. He didn't see me either."

"It was over there, not far away."

"'That feeling... I can't put it into words. My heart skipped a beat at that moment, and my eyes twitched too,' Zhou Li struggled to describe. 'The gust of wind after I saw him also felt a bit unusual. I don't know what was going on.'"

POP!

Huai Xu disappeared again.

Zhou Li then sat down with Tuanzi in his arms and asked her in a low voice, "Lord Dumpling, have you ever seen Master Ming?"

"I've seen him, yes~"

"Then did you see anyone like Master Ming today?"

"Nope~"

I thought so...

Zhou Li thought about it; at that time, he was holding Tuanzi with her head resting on his shoulder, looking backward.

But Tuanzi didn't seem to think so. She stretched out a tiny paw, trying to reach Zhou Li's chin, and said discontentedly, "Lord Dumpling is very clever! If Lord Dumpling had seen him, I would definitely have recognized him."

"Yes, he should come and pay respects to Lord Dumpling."

"He won't, no~"

"Hmm? Why not?"

This was the first time Zhou Li had heard Tuanzi say something like that. He had thought this little creature didn't hold anyone in high regard except for the Demon King.

Then, Tuanzi said crisply, "Master Ming is very formidable, and Lord Dumpling is just a tiny bit less so."

I see.

Only then did he realize Master Ming held a truly high status among demons, higher than he had initially imagined.

Then, there was another soft POP!

Huai Xu appeared in front of him again, but this time with disappointment on her face. Shaking her head, she said, "I didn't find him. Could you have been mistaken?"

"It's possible," Zhou Li nodded.

"How likely?!" Huai Xu immediately pressed.

"Emmm..." Zhou Li hesitated.

"'Be honest. Say what you think, and don't beat around the bush,' Huai Xu said, her expression serious.

"Very unlikely [that I was mistaken]."

"...Then he probably doesn't want to see us."

Huai Xu quickly accepted this fact. Scratching her head, she said, "If he wanted to see us, he would have come already. If not, we can't find him."

After a pause, she added, "He may have his reasons..."

However, the regret on her face was unmistakable.

Zhou Li gave it some thought and tentatively suggested, "Is it possible he has just woken up and hasn't recovered his memory yet?"

"Impossible, he wouldn't lose his memory."

"But you lost yours."

"He's not like me. I'm the second creature to have transformed from the human world to the Demon World; he is the third, learning from our experiences. Strictly speaking, he possesses the advantages of both humans and demons. He's not only powerful but also unrestricted by the Will of the World. He's even stronger than before." Huai Xu narrowed her eyes, looking towards a certain spot in the void between her and Zhou Li. "If he wished, he could even bypass the hibernation mechanism. At most, he'd only need to live as a mortal for a few hundred years."

"I see..." Zhou Li said thoughtfully. "So you were ahead of Master Ming."

"'I could scout things out for him.'"

"That makes sense. Then who was the first?"

"Emmm..."

Huai Xu's gaze gradually drifted downwards, then further down, and then a tiny bit to the left. "It was a cat. I only remembered it a few days ago."

Zhou Li also lowered his head.

Tuanzi was wholeheartedly biting the corner of his quilt, vigorously shaking her head. When she felt their gaze on her, she raised her head doubtfully, her bright, sparkling eyes staring unwaveringly at them.

MEOW?

As soon as she opened her mouth, the corner of the quilt fell.

So, she hurriedly tried to pick it up again, her tiny paws scrabbling as she bent down to bite it.

Huai Xu's voice, cool and pleasant, chimed in, "See? Because it's the first one, this thing is full of bugs!"

Zhou Li pondered for a moment, his gaze slowly moving upward... He stared intently at Huai Xu.

Huai Xu cleared her throat twice, mustering up courage to say, "I have some flaws too, but very few. The main issues are with the recovery of my strength and memory."

"So, was she Master Ming's cat before?"

"No..."

Huai Xu peeked at Tuanzi.

Tuanzi was still biting the corner of the quilt, but she was looking at them sideways, her little head full of confusion.

At that moment, Zhou Li turned his head and touched her forehead. "Is Lord Dumpling hungry? Shall we go outside to see if the fish soup and rice are ready?"

"Okay!"

Tuanzi dashed outside in a flash.

"'She was picked up,' Huai Xu finally said, recalling. 'I remember during her transformation ceremony, all the big shots of the demons came. Back then, she must have been just a little cub that had barely opened her eyes. That ceremony was of extraordinary significance and was recorded in the history of the Demon Kingdom. Everyone was overjoyed when it succeeded. Afterwards, she was supposedly taken away by the Elm King. I'm not entirely clear on the details; it's just hearsay. At the time, I even thought the Elm King liked to eat cat meat...'"

I see.

Zhou Li nodded. No wonder prominent figures like Lin Zhong treat Tuanzi so well. They practically watched her 'be born' and grow up, right?

At that time, a small head popped out by the door: "Zhou Li, it's ready now, time to eat!"

"Oh, okay!"

Zhou Li stood up.

Only then did he notice that the girl Huai Xu had transformed into today was wearing hot pants, revealing a pair of long, jade-white legs. He couldn't help but muse, "Why did you become a girl again today?"

"...I knew you'd ask."

"..." Zhou Li turned and walked outside. But after two steps, he stopped and turned back to ask, "Were you originally male or female?"

"I'm not telling you! Hurry up and eat, hurry up and eat!" Huai Xu began to push him out the door.

"..."

「Ten minutes later.」

Zhou Li picked up a piece of pork rib, discreetly observing Zhu Shuang beside him.

Since it was Zhu Shuang's college entrance exam period, and it was dinner, Aunt Jiang had prepared an extremely lavish meal, as if worried he wasn't getting enough nutrition. But Zhu Shuang wasn't a big fan of meat. He kept picking at the stir-fried greens with garlic and occasionally ate some chicken or steamed fish.

Suddenly, Zhu Shuang's eyes darted to the side.

Following his gaze, Zhou Li also saw the black hair tie still on his wrist. He was stunned for a moment.

A sense of foreboding washed over Zhou Li.

Sure enough, after swallowing the food in his mouth, Zhu Shuang wore a mischievous smile. "Bro, didn't you go to the internet cafe with Huai Xu this afternoon? What's this?"

Things having come to this, he could only admit it.

Zhou Li lowered his head, feigning interest in the rice in his bowl. "Brother Nan came too. The internet café has staggered seating now, so we were well spaced out. She saw that girls kept trying to strike up conversations with me, so she put this on my wrist."

"Did it work?"

"Yes."

"Wow! I'm stuffed, I'm stuffed!" Zhu Shuang laughed heartily, apparently pleased with his exam performance today.

"Our Zhou Li is just so handsome!" Aunt Jiang had actually noticed it earlier but hadn't said anything. Now that Zhu Shuang had brought it up, she openly admired Zhou Li's wrist.

You know, seeing her son wearing another girl's hair tie... it really is a peculiar feeling, Aunt Jiang mused.

"This hair tie's quite pretty," Aunt Jiang said cheerfully.

"'I bought it in Chunming,' Zhou Li also said with a smile. 'That day, I'd just gone out to buy you all fresh flower pastries. I saw them at a street stall on an overpass; they were only five yuan... By the way, did you like the fresh flower pastries? There's an even sweeter kind that's more popular, but I remembered you don't like things too sweet, so...'"

"This one is just right!" Aunt Jiang said.

"Mhm!" Old Zhou nodded.

"I really enjoyed it!" Zhu Shuang's smile was extremely joyful.

"'Really?' Zhou Li looked at Zhu Shuang. 'What did your female classmates think? If they're good, I'll buy them again next time! Besides the classic rose, there are actually other flavors like jasmine, taro, and matcha. They'd probably find one they like.'"

"'At least some of them will like them, I suppose?' Zhou Li wasn't entirely sure.

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