The car stopped at the entrance of the residential community.

Brother Nan turned to Zhou Li and said, "Make sure you have everything."

Zhou Li nodded, unbuckled his seatbelt, and said, "You're like a DiDi driver."

The corner of Brother Nan's mouth twitched. "Does a DiDi driver touch your thigh while driving?"

Zhou Li had nothing to say in response. He just didn't understand what was wrong with this girl.

After gathering his things, he stood by the side of the road. He saw Brother Nan lightly honk the horn, and the car began to move again. He subconsciously raised his hand to wave goodbye, then felt the gesture was a bit silly and awkwardly pulled his hand back. He looked down at Tuanzi at his feet to alleviate the awkwardness.

"Lord Dumpling, we're home."

"OOH~"

Tuanzi didn't really have a concept of home. Having just napped in the car, she was still not fully awake and was rubbing her eyes.

POOF.

A figure appeared beside Zhou Li.

Then came Huai Xu's voice, "How come you've only arrived now? You must have been driving dangerously on the way here?"

"...What do you mean by driving dangerously?"

"Exactly that, driving dangerously."

"No, we weren't."

"You definitely were!"

"There was a bit of a traffic jam."

"Oh? You think you can fool me?"

"..." Zhou Li didn't argue with him; after all, he was indeed somewhat in the wrong. "Why didn't you come with us?"

"To leave you space for your dangerous driving."

"..."

"Considerate of me, right?"

"..."

"Hey, wait for me!"

Zhou Li was already walking ahead with his backpack. Tuanzi reacted a bit slowly but also began to toddle after him. Huai Xu could only catch up, adding, "This habit you have of ignoring people midway through a conversation isn't good. It's impolite. You should change it!"

Zhou Li pretended not to hear.

Walking into the residential community, many elderly men and women sat under trees in the scorching sun, whiling away their uneventful elderly lives.

Zhou Li heard them chatting. Starting from the next semester, Yan City Middle School would move to a new campus, and this community would also soon be demolished, probably around October.

A few old ladies were complaining that the compensation was too little: how much another community had received before, how communities in less desirable locations than this one had gotten much more, and stories about someone who held out on signing and ended up with more compensation. In short, no matter how much they were compensated, they always found it insufficient.

Zhou Li continued to walk on. In the summer, the community's shared cats also hid from the sun, mostly tucked away under trees or in the bushes. Only one was squatting under a tree, eying a bird on it with predatory intent.

Lao Hui and Xiao Yuan were sitting on that tree.

The large tabby cat crept closer to the tree trunk and then, with a sudden burst of energy, started to climb.

SLAP!

Lao Hui swatted it down with a single paw.

The tabby cat was skilled enough not to fall badly; it landed steadily but looked utterly confused. Then, startled by Zhou Li's arrival, it ran off. But not far before it stopped, looking back at Zhou Li with a suspicious stare.

"Lao Hui, Xiao Yuan, long time no see." Zhou Li felt he was being unfairly implicated.

"Long time no see, Zhou Li."

"You're back."

"I'm back."

Zhou Li nodded and smiled at them. He glanced at the nearby elderly folks and noticed that, apart from each other, they only had eyes for someone who might appear at the stairwell entrance to throw out cardboard. He then looked up again at the two little demons.

"It looks like the demolition is coming soon. Have you two thought about what we discussed before?"

"You mean about moving?"

"Yes. If you've decided, I'll tell him to move the tree in advance. It's better to transplant in spring and summer than in autumn and winter."

"The little village in the mountains, right?"

"Right."

"We've thought it over, and we're willing to go." Xiao Yuan turned to look at Lao Hui, then rubbed his stubby little hands together awkwardly. "It's really troubling you to worry about these matters for us."

"You're welcome."

Zhou Li paused for a moment. "Then I'll let him know later. We might be able to move over in a few days."

He smiled again and turned to leave.

The old monster followed by his side, stealing glances at him with wide-open eyes, full of curiosity. "I've noticed you've been smiling more and more!"

"Really?"

"Yes!" Huai Xu said with certainty. "I'm never wrong about this kind of thing!"

"Is that so..." Zhou Li also found it rather novel. He hadn't even noticed it himself...

Tuanzi at his feet was calling to be held again, so Zhou Li had no choice but to pick her up, feeling somewhat helpless. This cat is hopeless, refusing to walk even a few steps.

He opened the door.

The air conditioning was on inside the house; it was supremely cool.

The TV in the living room was showing "I am XXX," accompanied by the sounds of munching on potato chips and crunching watermelon.

"HMM?"

The sound of the door opening caught the attention of the people inside.

Zhu Shuang poked his head out first, then Aunt Jiang came to the hallway, followed by Zhu Bing. All of them were smiling.

"You're back!"

"Mhm."

"Ah, Lord Dumpling!"

"MEOW~"

"You've got such a big bag with you! What's inside?" Aunt Jiang walked over to help Zhou Li with his bag. As she approached, she took a closer look at him. "You seem to have gotten tanner."

"Let me see!" Zhu Shuang immediately ran over upon hearing this, staring at Zhou Li with wide eyes, as if beholding a giant panda.

"Have I?" Zhou Li wondered.

"You have," Aunt Jiang said.

"You do seem a tad darker," Zhu Shuang added.

"I can't tell," Zhu Bing said.

"There were a few days I thought it was cloudy, so I didn't apply sunscreen," Zhou Li explained, setting the bag down. "These are things Huai Xu's mother insisted on us bringing—chickens and ducks raised on their farm, as well as pickles, salted turnips, and such."

"Honestly!" Huai Xu grimaced.

"That's a lot to bring!" Aunt Jiang exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah," Zhou Li replied helplessly. "I originally said I didn't want them, but they insisted on stuffing them on me; I couldn't refuse."

"You're making that up!" Huai Xu glanced at him sidelong.

"Are his dad and mom at home?" Aunt Jiang asked.

"His dad isn't, but his mom and grandparents are," Zhou Li said. "Besides harvesting corn and threshing grain, they were also repairing the house. They were so swamped that Brother Nan and I were roped in as extra labor. I even learned how to lay bricks."

"Go on, I'm curious what else you'll fabricate," Huai Xu said dryly.

"That must have been tiring?" Zhu Shuang blinked, squeezing Zhou Li's arm. "You feel about the same as before, not thinner."

"I've been eating well."

Zhou Li sat down and had a drink of water as Aunt Jiang put the things in the fridge. He then continued to Zhu Shuang, "Actually, I didn't know any of this at first. He told us we were going to his hometown to have fun—digging sweet potatoes, wading through streams, watching the sunset from a scenic bridge—he painted such a wonderful picture. But when we got there, we found out it was the busy farming season at his place, and they were also fixing up the house..."

"That's such a scam, haha!"

"???"

Zhou Li continued to ignore the old monster, even picking up a slice of watermelon to nibble on as he watched TV and chatted with them.

Zhu Bing had arrived a few days earlier. She had come to Yan City from Jin Palace because she heard Zhou Li was returning and also because she planned to travel to Caiyun in a few days. Her college entrance exam score was two points higher than Zhu Shuang's. Their achievements made Zhou Li feel somewhat dazzled by their 'halos'.

After finishing his exams, Zhu Shuang also found a part-time job, just like Zhou Li had the year before. He was tutoring, but his wage was much higher than Zhou Li's. He was this year's top scorer in Yan City. That title alone was worth a lot of money.

Add to that the rewards and red envelopes, and the two siblings were now quite wealthy. However, there was a good chance that this summer would be the wealthiest period they would have for the next four years.

After they finished chatting, they had finalized their plans to go to Caiyun in a few days and discussed the itinerary. Only then did Zhou Li manage to retire to his room and lie down on his bed.

The familiar bunk bed, the familiar scent; the afternoon sun made the curtains glow brightly.

The old monster was sleeping on the top bunk.

Somehow, it all felt very comforting and pleasant.

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