My Demon Friends-Chapter 583 - 557: First Year

Perhaps it was the wind stirred up while getting dressed that brushed against Lord Dumpling's whiskers, causing a tickling sensation.

Lord Dumpling was tickled awake.

Sleepily, he opened his eyes a crack, spotted a figure heading out, and quickly scrambled up. "Zhou Ni, where are you going..."

"Did I wake you?"

"Yep, I'm awake!"

"Sorry."

"No problem~~"

"I'm going to wash up."

"Wait for Lord Dumpling!" Lord Dumpling scurried to the edge of the bed and jumped down. "Lord Dumpling wants to go too!"

"Isn't Lord Dumpling going back to sleep for a bit?"

"Going back asleep?"

"Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?"

"Lord Dumpling will wash up quickly and then sleep!"

"Okay..."

Zhou Li left the room, heading towards the restroom, followed by a small cat a meter behind. The scene was cozy, and Aunt Jiang, who was kneading Tang Yuan dough in the dining hall, squinted her eyes in amusement.

As the bathroom door was locked from the inside, Little Cat Girl appeared.

Zhou Li brushed his teeth.

Little Cat Girl also brushed her teeth.

As they brushed, she started to mumble something to Zhou Li. Seeing the puzzled look on his face, she quickly tiptoed to the sink to spit out the foam. Her voice, though quiet and still a bit muffled, became clear enough for him to hear, "Last night, outside it went BONGBONGBONG, and Lord Dumpling got scared..."

"So there were fireworks."

"Fireworks!"

"Did Lord Dumpling run all over the house because he was scared?"

"Nope!"

"I see." Zhou Li drank some water, rinsed, and spat. "Were the fireworks pretty?"

"Mmm-hmmm..."

"Spit it out."

"PTOO..." Little Cat Girl spat out the water, then looked up with bright, sparkling eyes. "They were pretty!"

"Weren't they quite scary?"

"But they were pretty!"

"So, were they scary?"

"Scary!"

"How can they be pretty and scary at the same time?"

"Mmm-hmmm..."

"Spit it out, then talk."

"PTOO... but they were scary!"

"..."

Zhou Li wiped his mouth, picked up a towel to wash his face, and added quietly, "They were meant to scare cats, actually."

"Silly cat~"

"You did that on purpose."

"You did it on purpose, hehehe..."

"Hmph!"

Using the towel he had just used for his own face, Zhou Li knelt down to wipe Lord Dumpling's face. Lord Dumpling didn't mind and stood still with his eyes half-closed, allowing him to proceed.

To satisfy the little cat's penchant for ritual, Zhou Li worked diligently, as if he were truly going to clean her face properly.

After washing her face, he flicked her cat ears, then lowered his voice and said, "Hands, hands."

"Hands, hands..."

Little Cat Girl repeated his words, looked down, and quickly placed one hand in his, then watched intently as he carefully wiped her hand.

"The other one."

"The other one..."

"All done."

"Oh!"

Little Cat Girl vanished.

Zhou Li opened the door and left, with the kitten still trailing behind him, leaving a trail of slightly damp little plum blossom footprints on the shiny floor tiles, which quickly faded and disappeared.

Amusingly, only the front paws left prints.

Aunt Jiang turned her head curiously towards them. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"A little kid."

"Where did the kid come from?"

"The little sister from Huai Xu's House." Zhou Li thought for a moment. "They had fireworks at their place last night; the kid was really excited and insisted on telling me about it."

"That means she really likes you!"

"Yes..." Zhou Li trailed off.

"Getting a child to like you isn't easy."

"Maybe..."

"We also had fireworks here last night, across the river. They were very loud."

"I think I heard them too."

"Did it wake you?" Aunt Jiang asked.

"No."

"You sleep so soundly," Aunt Jiang said. "Let's go out for a walk after eating Tang Yuan. Many shops are open this year; we can do some shopping and see if we can buy anything."

"Sure."

Zhou Li said, then returned to his room.

Lord Dumpling, who had initially said he wanted to go back to sleep, no longer felt like it. He jumped into Zhou Li's arms, hugged him, and repeated his words, "The little sister from Huai Xu's House~~"

Zhou Li patiently talked with him.

Soon, Aunt Jiang came knocking on his door, asking if he wanted to join them in making Tang Yuan.

Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year.

According to local customs, they ate Tang Yuan in the morning and noodles at noon. Don't ask what they ate on the Lantern Festival, having already had Tang Yuan on New Year's Day—in any case, it wouldn't be Tang Yuan again.

They also didn't eat dumplings on New Year's Eve.

Watched by one cat, the three of them made thirteen Tang Yuan—four for each person. Served with sweet fermented rice and poached eggs, the subtle aroma of rice wine and sweetness made even someone like Zhou Li, who usually didn't like Tang Yuan, find them quite good.

After washing the dishes, the family went out.

They first walked along the river. The fog on New Year's Day was exceptionally thick, obscuring almost everything, so they quickly decided to go shopping instead.

Indeed, many shops were open.

Aunt Jiang was certainly thinking of buying them clothes, as they visited various clothing stores.

Zhou Li hadn't bought clothes for a while, so he bought two outfits suitable for spring and autumn and two pairs of shoes.

Old Zhou bought three sets.

The father and son duo didn't like online shopping; they only bought clothes under two circumstances: either Aunt Jiang was in a good mood and took them out shopping, or Zhu Shuang wanted to buy clothes and took them along.

On their way, they passed a fishing tackle shop, and Old Zhou kept sneaking peeks at it.

By the time they got home, it was noon.

The noodles had plenty of pea tips and were served with the fish soup leftover from yesterday. Lord Dumpling ate them and declared them delicious.

While they were eating, Zhou Li received a message from his Little Cousin.

Baozi: Cousin, good morning. /smile

This smiley seems off, no matter how I look at it. Zhou Li mused. It must be because my little cousin isn't good at socializing; she probably still thinks this emoji is friendly. As her older cousin, of course, I should forgive her.

Zhou Li: It's already noon.

Baozi: I just woke up.

Zhou Li: I see.

Baozi: Did you sleep well last night, Cousin?

Zhou Li: Very well.

Baozi: I didn't sleep well.

Zhou Li: It must have been the fireworks; they were probably too loud over there. I really envy you, getting to watch fireworks.

Baozi: …

Zhou Li: Going offline, I need to read.

Baozi: … 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Zhou Li put down his phone and shook his head.

What a girl, she really doesn't know how to communicate. How can she just send ellipses in the middle of a conversation? So impolite.

「...」

The morning fog in the mountains was even thicker, only clearing around noon.

Afterward, the sunlight was somewhat dazzling.

Traces of last night's fireworks still remained in Miss Zheng's small courtyard: deep blue scorch marks on the yellow soil, along with fine shreds of paper.

There had been many fireworks, both large and small.

One of the large firework barrels was even propped up with two bricks, tilting it to aim diagonally towards the mountain where the Evil God resided. This had been Huai Xu's idea—to shoot all the fireworks towards the Evil God and scare it to death. However, the fireworks only reached about a hundred meters high, still a considerable distance from the Evil God's location.

At the time, the Evil God had been lying on the mountain, watching her with an indifferent expression.

CREAK...

Miss Zheng pushed open the wooden door, walked out of the inner room, and began to clean up the debris.

Boxes from Sparkling Silver Flower Fireworks, iron wires from sparklers, and paper tubes left by some unknown type of firework—each time she picked one up, she held it close to her eyes, examining it carefully. The vibrant colors and intricate designs on them hinted at a completely different world.

Huai Xu appeared at the doorway at some point. Looking identical to her, he leaned lazily against the doorframe, yawning as he watched her.

"Are the eyes of this Great Devil King useful?"

"Yes."

Miss Zheng glanced back at him, nodded slightly, and earnestly replied, "You have a different kind of eyes."

"How are they different?"

"Your eyes can see very fine things, things that can't be touched. They can capture very subtle changes, changes that are difficult to perceive."

"Of course! Look who I am; I'm certainly not some trash like Zhou Li that can be compared to!" Huai Xu said with a smug look, but quickly added, "You should give them back to me, or I'll start charging. A pair of eyes from the Great Devil King like these are very expensive."

"Okay..."

"Next time, you can use Qinghe's; his are cheaper."

"I'm almost done cleaning up. I'll give them back to you once I'm finished," Miss Zheng said, lowering her head. Dust rose as the broom's fibers bent sweeping across the ground. "Thank you."

"Thank me for what..."

Huai Xu yawned again, scratched an itch on his neck, casually rubbed his chest, and continued to watch her clean up.