My Demon Friends-Chapter 603 - 577: Resigned to Fate

The Spring Festival had just ended, and it wasn't peak tourist season, so there weren't many visitors around Fuxian Lake. The majority of people gathered in a few popular areas, making the rest even less crowded.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan pushed their bicycles along the roadside, slowly strolling and savoring the leisurely essence of springtime.

They talked about all sorts of trivial things as they walked.

「Six in the afternoon.」

Zhou Li and Brother Nan checked into a guesthouse.

A standard room.

On the second floor.

They had booked a guesthouse with a literary, boutique style, right next to the lake. Its lake-view rooms weren't cheap during this season, but not overly expensive either. The room had a huge floor-to-ceiling window and an outside balcony. Whether lying on the bed or sitting at the table and chairs on the balcony, one had a great view of the waves on Fuxian Lake. The decor inside was also beautiful.

After stepping inside, Brother Nan turned to look around and nodded with satisfaction.

She had seen this guesthouse in a travel post on Zhihu and thought it looked nice, so she booked it. It seemed they hadn't made a bad choice.

Slipping off her backpack, Brother Nan tossed it. The bag arced through the air, landing on the bed near the window, declaring her ownership. Then she turned her head. "Tonight, we sleep separately, got it? Being cuddled by you every night, I feel like I'm turning into a plush bear."

"Ah..."

"What 'ah'? Let's go out to eat!" Brother Nan said. "Most restaurants by the lake serve fish. I read reviews saying the best is something called steam pot fish... Send Huai Xu a message, will you?"

"Oh."

"Lord Dumpling wants fish soup with rice!"

"You're awake, huh..."

"I'm awake!"

This Little Trash Cat is really a bit annoying, Zhou Li thought. She sleeps soundly in the bag during the day but has to disturb us at night. If I had known, I would have left her at home for Huai Xu to take care of, or sent her to stay at Baozi's Home.

Thinking this, Zhou Li also took off his backpack and threw it.

The bag was filled with clothes, intended to serve as a cushion for Tuanzi to stand on. It landed on Brother Nan's bed with a soft THUMP, and the smooth bed immediately gathered many wrinkles.

Brother Nan turned her head, a questioning look on her face.

"My mistake," Zhou Li said.

Brother Nan picked up his bag and tossed it onto the other bed.

Zhou Li maintained a composed expression.

They went out, met up with the Old Monster, and arrived at a second-floor private room in a steam pot fish restaurant.

The evening breeze was more frenzied than during the day, and the temperature had dropped slightly. A few more clouds drifted across the sky. Through the window, they could see the sunset on the hills across the lake, like a red jewel embedded in the clouds. The brilliant glow stained the clouds a blushing red, making the scenery intoxicating, as if the clouds themselves were inebriated.

The Old Monster was thoughtful and even brought a cake.

Zhou Li was touched.

Then he watched as the Old Monster shook his head and said, "I'd forgotten that people in your era eat this for birthdays. It's a good thing Brother Nan reminded me... Sigh, we didn't have these things in my time."

It's 'Brother Nan' to her face, and 'Li Daimao' behind her back.

The shameless sort.

Zhou Li was no longer moved by him.

The server came in and started to clean the stone pot. The method made Zhou Li a bit queasy: it was wiped with a cloth a couple of times, then the steam pot was turned on to spray steam, and that was supposedly clean.

Brother Nan chuckled, knowing what was on his mind. "A true man doesn't sweat the small stuff when he's out and about."

Brother Nan had a point...

Zhou Li nodded.

Huai Xu, however, looked confused. "What? What small stuff? Where's the small stuff?"

At that moment, the server came back in, carrying snow-white fish soup and two fish that Brother Nan and Huai Xu had chosen—the largest two from the tank, now prepared and served whole.

Huai Xu glanced at them and nodded. "Those are the two we picked!"

The server gave him an indifferent look.

The server poured the soup into the stone pot, added the fish, and turned on the steam again. The bottom of the pot hissed, and the fish soup bubbled. It was ready to eat in minutes.

The fish soup was fresh, and the fish meat was tender, with no fishy smell.

Definitely recommended.

Only Tuanzi, after a few bites, lifted her head and said, "Zhou Ni, this fish soup with rice isn't tasty~~"

Her voice was clear and bright, and her mouth was still smeared with fish soup froth that looked like milk.

Indeed, she preferred strong flavors, like Sichuan boiled fish or fish with pickled mustard greens.

Zhou Li had indeed become much less particular due to Brother Nan's influence. He devoured his meat and guzzled his soup without a second thought as to whether the pot was clean or not; he didn't care at all anymore.

After finishing two fish, they ordered two more. Along with the other cooked dishes and the cake, everyone ate to their heart's content.

"I'm going to continue my investigation!" Huai Xu declared.

"Oh."

That serious expression of yours looks so fake.

Zhou Li didn't call him out, simply riding back to the guesthouse with Brother Nan on their bicycles.

On the first floor, they chatted with the guesthouse owner about Tuanzi and topics related to raising cats. The owner was a cat lover, and no cat lover could resist Tuanzi's charm, even if Tuanzi couldn't be bothered with him.

When they returned to their room, it was already dark.

The sun had set, the afterglow had faded, and the clouds in the sky had turned iron-grey, gradually blurring out of sight.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan sat on the balcony for a while, fiddled with their phones, and chatted idly, but soon fled back into the room to escape the night wind.

BANG!

The floor-to-ceiling window closed tightly.

The howling lake wind was firmly shut outside, making their ears momentarily unaccustomed to such quiet.

Zhou Li glanced at Brother Nan, then rolled his eyes, taking in the bathroom.

The guesthouse's bathroom featured frosted glass, but it was the very transparent kind. Red stripes, like those on a zebra crossing, were stuck on it, offering some semblance of privacy, but still... Anyway, Zhou Li felt a surge of awkwardness at the thought of showering in such a bathroom with Brother Nan just outside.

It was just like last time... only this one was even more transparent.

So he decided to let Brother Nan go first.

He coughed twice. Just as he was about to adopt the expression of a 'caring gentleman' and 'respectful younger brother,' intending to invite 'Big Brother,' weary from cycling, to wash up first, Brother Nan spoke—

"Are you taking a shower?"

"Erm... no rush," he said.

"Then I'll go wash," she said.

"Okay!"

"?"

Brother Nan tilted her head, scrutinizing him with unblinking eyes. "You seemed to use an exclamation mark there, huh? That's rare. You're not planning to peep at me, are you?"

"Where was the exclamation mark?"

"'After the word 'Okay.' I imagined it based on your tone," Brother Nan said, suddenly leaning a bit closer. Her gaze fixed on his eyes, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile, a hint of amusement in them. This proximity and her expression exerted immense pressure on Zhou Li, making him feel involuntarily guilty. "You're not planning to peep at me, are you?" she asked again.

"No."

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's strange," Brother Nan said, genuinely puzzled now. "Big Brother here is so good-looking, and you don't want to peep?"

"I do," Zhou Li answered honestly, lowering his head to avoid Brother Nan's gaze. "But out of respect for Big Brother, I wouldn't do that. So please, Big Brother, go ahead and wash up."

"Tch..."

Brother Nan walked into the bathroom unceremoniously.

As for peeping? She couldn't care less.

My figure is amazing... Brother Nan thought.

Zhou Li, however, grabbed Tuanzi, who was trying to follow Brother Nan into the bathroom.

"Let go of Lord Dumpling!"

"Why can't Lord Dumpling go in!"

"Lord Dumpling wants to go in too!"

"..."

While shouting, she kicked her little feet, struggling with all her might.

Zhou Li held on to her firmly, took off his shoes, got on the bed, then sat cross-legged. He covered her eyes with his palm, patiently instructing, "Brother Nan is just going to take a shower; there's nothing fun in there. Besides, it's impolite for Lord Dumpling to follow someone when they're showering, okay?"

"Nonsense, meow!"

"Really."

"That's nonsense! Then why are you next to me when Lord Dumpling is taking a bath?"

"...Because I have to help Lord Dumpling bathe."

"Liar, liar!"

"..."

"Why are you covering Lord Dumpling's eyes!?"

"Why won't you let Lord Dumpling see!"

"Put your hand down! Let Lord Dumpling see!"

"Lord Dumpling wants to see too!"

Brother Nan had taken the bed by the window, so Zhou Li's bed was closer to the bathroom—in fact, it was right next to it. He only had to turn his head to see the bathroom's glass door. Inside, water was HUSHING, and a girl's figure was blurred by the frosted glass into a tall, graceful, pale silhouette. However, he could vaguely discern the movements of her limbs as steam gradually filled the air.

Zhou Li kept his head turned.

Such a beautiful view.

Although he and Brother Nan had slept next to each other several times, it was merely sleeping side-by-side for the purpose of spending the night. At most, he would hug Brother Nan, or touch her a little when she was in a good mood. A scene like this was still new and a luxury for him, and it evoked entirely different feelings.

Such a beautiful view...

「Half an hour later.」

Brother Nan came out. She was wearing clean pajamas and a face mask. She turned her head and asked Zhou Li, her mouth barely moving as she spoke, "Did you peep at Big Brother?"

Zhou Li answered honestly, "No."

I watched openly.

After a pause, he added, "Not only did I not look, I also stopped Lord Dumpling. Lord Dumpling is a little rascal; she loves to peep when people use the toilet or shower. If you don't let her look, she'll scratch at the door."

"No wonder she kept meowing."

"Lord Dumpling is not a little rascal! Lord Dumpling is a Great Demon! Zhou Ni is the little rascal! Little rascal!"

"What is she saying?"

"She's protesting."

"Oh..."

Brother Nan nodded. "It's your turn to shower."

Zhou Li scratched his head at her words.

Perhaps he was influenced by Brother Nan's directness, or perhaps his recent observation had shown him the glass wasn't as transparent as he'd imagined—or maybe it was both. In any case, he no longer felt so resistant. After a brief hesitation, he got out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and glanced uncertainly at Brother Nan. "You're not going to peep at me, are you?"

"Tch..."

Brother Nan pursed her lips disdainfully.

This attitude... It made him refrain from asking his intended follow-up: You won't watch openly either, right? Instead, he just said, "Please keep an eye on Lord Dumpling for me too, and don't let her peep."

Brother Nan nodded. "No problem."

At Brother Nan's beckoning, Tuanzi trotted into her arms, showing no interest even as Zhou Li walked towards the bathroom.

There was a bathtub in the bathroom.

A bathtub?!

Zhou Li paused.

If I'd known earlier, I would have used this. Then no one could peep.

So he diligently started cleaning the tub.

After cleaning the tub, he began to fill it with water, then leisurely brushed his teeth and washed off his sunscreen. By the time he was done, there was some water in the tub. He didn't mind that it wasn't much and lay down in it, waiting for the water to continue filling.

During this time, he heard Tuanzi and Brother Nan whispering. Tuanzi was asking Brother Nan what he was doing in there, but Brother Nan naturally couldn't understand her, so she didn't respond. Not long after, he heard Brother Nan say she was going downstairs to buy some snacks to eat while watching a variety show later. Then came the sound of Brother Nan opening the door and leaving, followed by Tuanzi's soft, delicate, "Goodbye, Zhou Ni~" It was incredibly cute.

Brother Nan really was a straightforward person. When she said she wouldn't look, she really didn't, even leaving the room directly.

Zhou Li felt somewhat ashamed.

「A few minutes later.」

Brother Nan returned, opening the door.

SWISH!

A strip of transparent tape was stuck onto the frosted glass.

Zhou Li lay in the bathtub, dazedly turning his head. He saw that a long, rectangular 'window' had suddenly appeared on the frosted glass. The transparency of this 'window' was greatly increased, revealing two pairs of curious eyes pressed close together—one pair black and white, sharp and clear; the other pair sparkling like a galaxy. He could easily imagine Brother Nan and Tuanzi, heads pressed together on the other side of the glass, jostling to peek inside.

"It really works, eh!"

"Hello, Zhou Ni~~"

"Too bad there's a bathtub..."

"What are you doing in there, Zhou Ni?"