"How many days are you guys going to be gone?"

Little Cousin was asking a question. However, her tone and demeanor somehow gave the impression that she was asking it covertly. It was as if she didn't want to be overheard or, rather, didn't want anyone to know she was the one who spoke, as if trying to diminish her presence. That was probably how it felt.

"About ten days or so..." Brother Nan was talking with her mouth full, quite impolitely.

"Oh."

"Are you going?"

"No."

"Come on!" Brother Nan swallowed her food, and her voice suddenly became clear. "You can take photos for us; I'll cover your food and accommodation."

"..."

Little Cousin remained silent.

To be honest, she just didn't want to take photos for them.

There were too many demands, it was incredibly exhausting, and if the post-processing wasn't done well, there might even be a risk to her personal safety—all without pay.

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Been there."

"Oh."

Brother Nan didn't make another sound, focusing on eating instead.

Little Cousin's gaze shifted, eventually landing on Zhou Li, who was talking to Tuanzi. Suddenly, she spoke up, "Since you'll be gone for so long, why don't you let me take care of Lord Dumpling for you?"

Tuanzi was startled and turned to look at her, then back at Zhou Li. "Lord Dumpling doesn't want to stay with her!"

"She doesn't want to," Zhou Li relayed.

"Why not?" Little Cousin asked, unwilling to give up.

"She has no money," Tuanzi said seriously.

"She said you have no money. You can't even afford ice cream, let alone the expensive toys and boiled Chinese cabbage she likes," Zhou Li continued to interpret.

"Did she really say that?"

"Really."

"But she only meowed."

"Oh, I embellished it a bit," Zhou Li explained.

"...I see."

For the first time in her life, Little Cousin experienced the self-consciousness that poverty brought. She couldn't help but lower her head deeply. Usually, even when she was so poor she could only afford steamed buns and had to act cute against her better judgment to get milk tea from her cousin and Brother Nan, she never cared. She hadn't felt there was anything wrong with it at all.

Until now... What was that saying from the internet again? She couldn't recall it at the moment.

「Ten o'clock at night.」

The hot pot meal from earlier hadn't been very filling, especially since Zhou Li hadn't eaten much, and now his stomach was growling.

But his toothache had reached a new level.

Then Brother Nan's late-night snack arrived. She opened the door to get it, brought back a big bag, and laid everything out on the table, announcing each dish.

"Thirteen-spice crayfish!"

"Hand-torn grilled rabbit!"

"Oil-splashed brains!"

"And these are river snails!"

"Barbecue!"

Zhou Li listened with no expression as she announced each dish. He watched as she took a small bowl from the bottom of the bag, telling him it was the congee ordered for him. Then, she generously gave him the very small bowl of seaweed egg drop soup that the owner had included as a complimentary item.

He was truly touched... to an indescribable extent.

"Is this really okay?"

He scrutinized everyone with a straight face.

From the side, Huai Xu's voice came, "Serves you right! You wouldn't let me pull it for you. If I'd pulled it yesterday, with your Heavenly Master's recovery ability, you'd be gnawing on marrow bones by now, believe it or not?"

Zhou Li just glanced at him lightly, continuing to ignore what he had said, even with a bit of disdain—

As if you could eat any of it. Besides, only dogs gnaw on marrow bones.

Zhu Shuang seemed a bit guilty and avoided eye contact with him. Zhu Bing, who had already picked up a skewer of barbecue, hesitatingly put it back.

Even Tuanzi seemed hesitant.

Brother Nan, however, said, "It's great! Really great!"

So Zhu Shuang looked back, a smile gradually appearing on his face. "Actually, I think it's quite good too..."

Zhu Bing picked up the barbecue again and nodded quietly to herself.

"MEOW!"

Zhou Li smiled, having etched this scene into his heart.

Afterward, he quietly picked up his bowl of congee and soup and went back to his room, even closing the door behind him. As long as he couldn't see or smell it, he could actually tolerate it.

He lifted the lid off the congee.

He was silent again.

It was just cooked rice reboiled with water! This definitely deserves a bad review!

Stirring it with chopsticks until the rice and water were somewhat evenly mixed, he lowered his head and took a mouthful.

Although the taste wasn't good, it could relieve his hunger.

But suddenly, his nose twitched. He caught a whiff of a pungent, spicy aroma drifting from somewhere, his senses instantly sharpening. Almost immediately, his stomach started growling, and saliva began to pool in his mouth.

He turned his head and saw the Old monster hugging a basin of spicy braised octopus. Half of one was already in his mouth, with several tentacles dangling out.

"What? What are you looking at me for?"

"..."

"They're all eating, can't I eat too?"

"..."

That night was still tough for Zhou Li.

「The next day.」

It was another beautiful, clear day.

He went to the hospital early in the morning to register. Between a small clinic and a large hospital, he chose the latter. This turned out to be the right choice: the doctor, an older woman, used a syringe and antiseptic solution to flush his inflamed tooth. She told him to return for an extraction after the inflammation subsided, all without charging him a cent.

And it worked quite well.

After that, they drove towards Dali. While still in the car, Zhou Li felt the pain lessen significantly.

Zhu Shuang opened the window a tiny crack, enjoying the breeze. "It's quite cool outside."

Zhou Li peeled a grape and fed it to Tuanzi. "Chunming is much cooler than Yan City," he said, "but Yan City hasn't been very hot this year either. However, if you're out under the midday sun, you'll definitely feel the scorching heat."

After saying that, he paused. "Right, have you all applied sunscreen? Make sure to apply it on your hands too."

"We have," Zhu Shuang nodded.

"He reminded me to apply it," Zhu Bing said.

"That's good then."

Zhou Li glanced at Zhu Shuang through the rearview mirror, then mused, "How come you're even more meticulous in this regard than your older sister? You're more particular than a girl."

Being young, Zhu Shuang was thin-skinned, and his face instantly turned beet red with embarrassment.

Zhou Li, satisfied with the reaction, turned his gaze back, then peeled another grape and offered it to Tuanzi.

Tuanzi leaned over to sniff, then turned his head away, saying, "This one is too sour, Zhou Li, you eat it..."

Zhou Li thought for a moment, then offered it to Brother Nan.

Brother Nan opened her mouth without hesitation.

MUNCH, MUNCH. She swallowed.

Zhou Li tilted his head, closely observing her reaction. Seeing her eyebrows furrow slightly, he smiled with satisfaction. But this alone wasn't enough to satisfy that tiny, hard-to-describe, mischievous feeling in his heart.

So he asked, "Is it sweet?"

"Sweet!"

Huh?

Zhou Li showed a skeptical expression.

The trip from Chunming to Dali takes about four hours by expressway, and this wasn't the first or second time Brother Nan had snuck onto one.

Accommodations in Dali Ancient Town have always been unbelievably cheap. Although it's a very popular tourist spot, the competition for lodging is also incredibly fierce. The last time they came, during the National Day holiday, a room in a guesthouse within the ancient city cost only about a hundred yuan per night, and the conditions were quite good—the rooms were pretty too.

There was basically no need to worry about cleanliness.

Now, at the tail end of the summer vacation, it was still considered peak season, so prices were slightly higher than usual, but still not comparable to National Day prices.

Business hadn't been great this year.

However, Zhou Li and Brother Nan were much better off financially than during their last visit. Plus, with their younger siblings along and the need for parking, they booked the Wind Flower Snow Moon Hotel, located right at one of the entrances to the ancient city. This made parking and getting around quite convenient.

He had also made a group booking for a Dai-style hand-grabbed rice meal. It had high ratings—a full five stars, all positive reviews. Surprisingly, they hadn't tried it on their previous visit.

To this, Zhu Shuang remarked, "We're already stuffed from all the PDA in the car."

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