My Demon Friends-Chapter 612 - 585: Cousin is So Great

「The 15th.」

Another Monday.

This time, Zhou Li sat in the back row. Using Gomoku tactics, he managed to stave off Brother Nan's drowsiness, finally getting her through this biochemistry class.

"RING RING."

"Class dismissed."

Classmates got up one after another, bustling and carrying their books to the classroom for their next lesson.

Brother Nan packed up her books and casually grabbed Zhou Li's as well. As she stood up, her cowlick wobbled slightly, but her complexion wasn't too good.

She had just played Gomoku for the entire class and had been full of confidence. Before college, she had passed countless classes playing Gomoku. In her view, Zhou Li's student life was as incomplete as his childhood—how could he possibly understand such joy?

Just an idiot.

She even had a plan. She had to save some face for her boyfriend, so she would subtly and ingeniously let him win. This way, she could achieve two goals: he wouldn't realize she was letting him win, and her image as a superior chess player wouldn't be affected.

Yes, I'll just pretend to be distracted, as if playing chess with a newbie is too uninspiring, leading to accidental mistakes. That way, it could be sustainable.

Who would have thought...

Anyway, Brother Nan couldn't hide her embarrassment.

She walked ahead, cutting through the crowd in the corridor, and quickly left the classroom.

Zhou Li's sighing voice came from behind her. "Just last week you said you wanted to study hard, and this week you played chess for a whole class..."

Brother Nan clenched her fists.

It sounds as if he made a huge sacrifice! But who the hell wants to play chess with *you*?

「The second class, Principles of Marxism.」

Zhou Li deliberately slowed his pace in the hallway. He held Brother Nan's hand, tugging her along—she who was rather reluctant to be with him—and glanced back two or three times. Amid the surging crowd, he keenly caught sight of an expressionless, bun-like face approaching with small, quick steps.

"Hi, Baozi," he greeted her with a smile.

Baozi looked at him expressionlessly and responded, "Hi, Zhou Li."

"..."

Zhou Li didn't mind and walked into the classroom side by side with her. Seeing her about to settle into a seat in the first row, as if she were too lazy to walk any further, he immediately extended a warm invitation, "Sit with us."

Baozi tilted her head, a silent question in her eyes. She gave him a puzzled look, her gaze falling on Lord Dumpling dozing in his arms, then shifting to the back of the classroom.

These general education classes were usually attended by several classes together in large, tiered lecture halls, which were quite a walk, and uphill at that.

"Can I pet Lord Dumpling?"

"No."

"Then, no thanks."

Having said that, she sat down in the first row by the aisle and opened her book.

Zhou Li looked disappointed. "I was thinking we could go to lunch together at noon, and then grab some milk tea afterward."

"Please be sure to call me when class ends."

"..."

"I can wait here for you guys too."

"..."

"?"

Baozi frowned deeply, glanced at the indifferent Zhou Li, and after a moment's thought, weakly asked, "If I don't sit with you... does that mean I don't get milk tea?"

Zhou Li pursed his lips.

WHOOSH!

Baozi closed her book and stood up.

Zhou Li nodded and walked towards the back.

He went all the way to the last two rows and chose a corner with more people in front, which would effectively shield them.

He placed Tuanzi on the table. The Little Trash Cat still hadn't woken up. She lay on the table in a stiff, straight posture, her white, fluffy belly facing upwards, and her two little front paws resting naturally against her body. The backrest of the seat in front perfectly concealed her small frame.

Seeing her sleep so soundly, one's heart couldn't help but calm down.

This Little Trash Cat had run wild the previous night. Since the dormitory terrain was complex, she had particularly enjoyed herself. The result was that she wouldn't wake up during the day, no matter how much she was disturbed.

So why bring her to class?

Zhou Li placed a pen on her belly.

A Little Trash Cat pen holder!

Zhou Li examined it for a while and was quite satisfied. Such adorable things possessed a kind of Magic Power that simply made people feel good.

Baozi was sneaking glances from the side.

The class bell rang.

The female teacher walked in—the same one Huai Xu had offended last week.

The first thing she did upon entering was scan the classroom, especially the front few rows. Not finding the person she was looking for, she finally looked up towards the back. A few seconds later, she lowered her head to turn on the multimedia controller and began the class. It was unclear whether or not she had spotted Baozi.

Zhou Li glanced sideways and saw Baozi still sneakily observing Tuanzi. He coughed twice and lightly tapped the desk to remind her, "Pay attention to the lecture."

"..."

His little cousin quickly withdrew her gaze.

Zhou Li felt a pang of sympathy seeing this. It's not that I'm targeting you, Little Cousin; I'm trying to protect you.

Baozi quickly entered a state of focused listening.

She was truly a top student, the kind who won first-class scholarships every year. Even in a dull class like Principles of Marxism, where most students were slacking off and the classroom was noisy, she maintained a very attentive posture. This was despite being so far back she could barely see the content on the projection screen or hear the teacher speaking.

She stared intently at the teacher and the screen, occasionally blinking, sometimes frowning as if deep in thought.

She also took notes from time to time.

With Zhou Li's consent, she gained the privilege of using the Little Trash Cat pen holder. Every time she finished writing, she would place the pen back on it, only to pick it up again when she needed to write. Perhaps this was one reason she took notes so frequently.

Zhou Li felt both ashamed and wistful.

Such a studious student, her reputation ruined by a thousand-year-old Old monster.

Hm? Something's not quite right.

Zhou Li leaned forward to see what she was writing.

Han Liye: 288 + Grandma's Herbal Jelly (approx. 8) + one ice cream (approx. 5) = approx. 301. Four hours.

Zhu Sijuan: 188 + Pearl Milk Tea (approx. 7) = approx. 195. Three hours.

Qu Yingying: ...

There was a total at the end.

Zhou Li fell silent for a moment, then couldn't resist asking, "What's this?"

"That's the money I've earned from taking portraits for people these past few days," Baozi whispered.

"And here I thought you were taking notes."

"..."

"So what were you thinking about?"

"Thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Which one would be most suitable."

"..." Zhou Li fell silent again. "Pay attention to the class."

"Oh."

Baozi continued to ponder, her eyes shining as she looked at the teacher—

The quality and quantity of portraits varied with price, as did the shooting time. Her reputation within the campus photography circle was excellent, largely due to her strict establishment of and adherence to standards. You got what you paid for; there were no compromises.

From the standpoint of price and time spent, the more expensive portraits were clearly more profitable. However, they also required more effort and had a longer post-production time.

That wasn't a problem, though. The blooming period for cherry blossoms and crabapples only lasted a few days and was almost over. Her first priority was to earn as much money as possible during this time. This was the prime time to earn money; afterward, her time wouldn't be nearly as valuable.

But a four-hour session for 288 yuan was too long. Many Little Fairies scheduled their shoots during breaks between classes, and for them, three hours was a very suitable length of time.

Hmm...

Baozi continued to stare unwaveringly at the podium.

The female teacher tapped on the desk. "Everyone, please keep your voices down. Show me some basic respect, alright?"

The classroom suddenly quieted down considerably.

Baozi remained unaffected.

The female teacher's gaze swept over the classroom. "Next, I'd like a few students to answer some questions. Get it right, and you'll get five points added to your regular score; get it wrong, and you'll lose five points."

The classroom instantly fell silent.

The teacher's voice came through particularly clearly. "The first question: how do you correctly understand the socialist road with Chinese characteristics? Would anyone like to volunteer an answer?"

The students below looked left and right.

"No one?"

"Then I'll choose at random." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The students instantly froze, all pretending to lower their heads and look at their books to avoid the teacher's gaze.

Meanwhile, the female teacher muttered, "This is the price for all your chatter," and locked her eyes on the only girl in the back row who was looking up.

That girl had a fair, tender, bun-like face—one that had left a deep impression on her.

"That one..."

The female teacher pointed to the back row, tilting her head. "The girl with baby fat, in the last row, you answer."

Baozi remained unmoved.

It wasn't until Zhou Li nudged her shoulder that she finally snapped to attention, her expression gradually filling with surprise.

The teacher's voice continued, "Yes, you. You seem to be the most attentive student in the entire class. When I ask a question, everyone else looks down, but you look right at me. I just covered this topic. If you answer correctly, I'll let what happened last week slide."

Baozi quickly looked down.

Not only did she lower her head, but she also hunched over, almost burying her face on the desk, desperately hoping it wasn't too late.

Who on earth listens to this kind of lecture? Wait, last week's incident? What incident? Did she notice me zoning out in class last week too? What a terrifying teacher.

"Don't hide."

"It's you. Stand up."

Baozi reluctantly stood up.

Then Zhou Li's voice came from next to her, very quiet, "Page eight, second paragraph."

Cousin~~

Baozi was touched and hastily flipped through her book.

Only to hear the teacher shake her head. "Forget it. Class monitor, take down her name and student ID for me. Deduct five points from her regular score."

Baozi: ...

Zhou Li: ...

One was utterly confused, the other deeply remorseful.

Zhou Li himself didn't quite know what he felt guilty about. It was the Old monster who caused the trouble, yet he was the one stuck cleaning up the mess...

Just then, Baozi felt her phone vibrate. She quickly picked it up to check.

She'd received a red packet from Zhou Li.

? Baozi thought, baffled as she looked at her phone. She turned her head.

The voice from the podium cut in, "You're still playing with your phone? So openly? Another five points off! Class monitor, note it down."

Many students in the front row turned around, watching Baozi with a mix of schadenfreude and fearful relief.

Little Cousin's round, bun-like face gradually turned crimson.

So, so embarrassing...

At that moment, her phone vibrated again.

Baozi looked discreetly—

Zhou Li: [Red Packet]

??

This time, she didn't dare turn her head, only managing to roll her eyes and use her peripheral vision to sneak a glance at the sheepish and guilty-looking Zhou Li.

She was even more puzzled.

But she dared not ask or move.

The female teacher on the podium continued calling on students to answer questions, deducting points from several more before finally stopping. She then began to discuss the issue of quality education among university students today. She subtly alluded to how some students, when appreciating flowers, not only plucked them but did so with righteous audacity, ignoring others' attempts to stop them and stubbornly going their own way.

Fortunately, she didn't name names.

Only students from other classes vaguely guessed it might have been one of the students she had called on. As for her own classmates, and especially those who knew Baozi, they immediately ruled her out, thinking Baozi was just unfortunate collateral damage.

As for Baozi herself...

With two red packets received, a satisfying meal of spicy hotpot downed, and a cup of milk tea to enjoy, who cared about such trivialities anymore? Her main thought was to figure out the logic behind her cousin's red packets so she could snag a few more in the future. However, after hearing him say it was 'just so she could eat a bit better,' and combining that with his immediate help when the teacher targeted her, her heart was instantly overwhelmed with emotion. Though her face remained impassive and she said nothing, inwardly, she was deeply moved.