My Demon Friends-Chapter 672 - 633 Lord Dumpling Learns Immediately

「Half an hour later.」

A palm with fingers spread wide pressed against Zhou Li's face, forcefully pushing him away. "Okay, that's enough for today. Go to sleep... Oh, right! You take the bed tonight; I'll sleep outside. It's perfect. I can play games until morning before sleeping. Hehe!"

Zhou Li asked, "Huh?"

Brother Nan glanced over. "Huh? What 'huh'?"

"It's not enough..." Zhou Li mumbled.

"You need to learn to be content!" Brother Nan advised earnestly. She glanced at the time, then rubbed her right chest. "Your Big Bro has provided you with... half an hour of maternal love. Be good now, go wash up and sleep."

"..."

Zhou Li pondered for a moment. "I suspect you don't actually want to... You just want me to stop teacher mode!"

Having said that, he stared intently at Brother Nan, trying to spot any flaw on her face.

However, Brother Nan had no intention of hiding anything, remarking, "You saw right through me, huh?"

"This..."

"Hahaha!" Seeing Zhou Li's expression, Brother Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud. Then she wrapped an arm around Zhou Li's neck, gave him a quick kiss, and continued, "Alright, enough is enough. I'll remove the block now. She might wake up next time either tomorrow morning or during the day. If you're free, you and Huai Xu can take her out to play."

As she said this, her expression suddenly turned serious, and she pointed a slender finger at Zhou Li. "Mind your limits!"

"Got it." Zhou Li nodded obediently.

That was what he had been thinking anyway.

The Elm King had awakened alone after a thousand years, in a form neither human nor demon; she was pitiful enough. To make matters worse, she was temporarily residing inside Brother Nan, restricted by her. She could only wake and move about for a short while after Brother Nan fell asleep. For over twenty hours a day, she was confined to the 'projection room,' unable to move an inch. This loneliness was perhaps even more profound than what Huai Xu had once experienced. Especially since she was such a playful and lively spirit.

Brother Nan, smiling, rubbed Zhou Li's head, then got out of bed. She put on her slippers, took two steps, then turned back to ask him, "By the way, are you coming for a round of team play?"

"No."

"Nerd..." Brother Nan muttered as she walked out of the room.

「Saturday, early morning.」

Zhou Li, wearing a pair of red-and-white-striped shorts and a loose, comfortable shirt, slipped his feet into slippers and got out of bed. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Glancing towards the living room—

Brother Nan was sound asleep on the couch, a thin blanket mostly covering her stomach. One leg was stretched straight, the other bent and resting against the sofa's backrest.

The computer next to her was still on.

Lord Dumpling, however, having already adapted to a more structured life with a regular schedule, had long since woken up. She lay quietly nearby, as well-behaved as a porcelain doll.

Only when she noticed Zhou Li stirring did she turn her head. Her eyes brightened as she greeted him in a very low voice, "Morning, Zhou Ni~"

Her voice was incredibly soft.

As considerate as a porcelain doll.

"Morning..." Zhou Li shook his head helplessly, then carefully walked over. He picked up the thin blanket on Brother Nan, extending it to cover more of her.

At least to cover her chest and thighs.

After doing so, he turned and whispered to Lord Dumpling, "Lord Dumpling, want to wash up?"

Lord Dumpling repeated in a daze, "Wash up...?"

"Yeah!"

"Lord Dumpling will wait here for Her Highness."

"Her Highness isn't going anywhere."

"'She will, she will run!' Lord Dumpling knew he didn't understand, but she patiently explained to him, her voice deliberately lowered and childlike, 'Her Highness only plays with Lord Dumpling for a little while each day before running off. Lord Dumpling waits here so we can play a little longer when Her Highness comes out!'"

"I see. Alright then."

Zhou Li headed towards the bathroom, feeling rather sour.

He had barely taken two steps when he heard a noise behind him.

Turning his head, he saw Brother Nan groggily grab the blanket and fling it off with a wave of her hand; the blanket he'd just used to cover her had fallen away again. She smacked her lips twice and irritably turned over, clearly defiant about being covered.

Zhou Li sighed at the sight.

The weather was likely at its hottest for the year. He hadn't turned on the air conditioner last night and had ended up sweating in his sleep.

Zhou Li slept with the window open and usually relied on the night breeze from Dian Lake to combat the stuffiness. Last night, however, had been exceptionally hot.

Since Lord Dumpling hadn't followed him to wash up, he brushed his teeth and decided to take a shower.

SHHH...

Warm, slightly cool water cascaded over him, feeling wonderfully comfortable. He gradually lowered the temperature further, then applied a cooling shower gel. After rinsing off, he felt refreshed and cool all over.

This shower gel was amazing; it left his whole body feeling ice-cold, especially a certain part that felt like it was about to freeze solid.

Suddenly, Zhou Li sensed some movement outside the door.

He turned off the shower and faintly heard the sound of adhesive tape being torn. Then, a piece of transparent tape appeared crookedly stuck to the frosted glass door, less than a meter from the floor.

By this time, Zhou Li had already grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself.

CLICK!

He opened the door and peered outside.

He saw a Little Cat Girl sitting on the floor with her legs curled to one side, holding a roll of transparent tape. She had clearly heard the door open and looked up. Her oversized, cartoonish eyes blinked rapidly as they met his. Her face still held a serious expression from when she was applying the tape, but her movements had frozen.

Who said this little thing wasn't smart?

Dark lines appeared on Zhou Li's forehead. "What are you doing?"

"I… Lord Dumpling..." The Little Cat Girl's large eyes stared unblinkingly at him. She stammered, unable to form words, then simply closed her mouth. She sat on the floor thinking for a moment before speaking, her voice lisping slightly, "Lord Dumpling saw you were in 'dere' for soooo long and didn't 'come outsie'. Lord Dumpling came to see what you were doing..."

"Oh, is Lord Dumpling worried about me?"

"Yes, yes! Worried about you!" Little Cat Girl nodded hastily. "Exactly, exactly! Lord Dumpling is worried about you!"

"Heh. Where'd you get this tape?" Zhou Li asked.

"Found it," Little Cat Girl answered honestly, looking down.

"Where did you find it?"

"Drawer. In the drawer."

"That's not called 'finding.'"

"That's not called 'finding'..."

"Forget it, I can't reason with you. Give me the tape." Zhou Li stretched out his hand.

"Can't reason..." Little Cat Girl muttered, hiding the tape behind her back while still staring at him with her big eyes.

"Give it to me."

"..." Lord Dumpling thought for a moment. "MEOW?"

"No more sticking."

"MEOW-OW?"

"Lord Dumpling is a little troublemaker."

"Zhou Ni is a big troublemaker."

"..."

Zhou Li, expressionless, pointed outside. "Lord Dumpling, did you hear a noise from the sofa?"

"Noise on the... MEOW?"

Lord Dumpling realized what was happening, immediately scrambled up by grabbing the towel around Zhou Li's waist, and ran off, abandoning the transparent tape. Her small, pink feet pattered loudly on the floor tiles.

Zhou Li clutched his towel tightly. After Lord Dumpling scampered away, he calmly picked up the roll of tape and peeled the piece off the door. Only then did he close the door and start to get dressed.

Halfway through dressing, Lord Dumpling started banging on the door.

"Zhou Ni, you liar!!"

"Open the door!"

"Where's the tape Lord Dumpling found? Give the tape back to Lord Dumpling!"

"What are you doing in there?"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

With a click, the door opened again.

Little Cat Girl's raised fists froze mid-air. She uttered an "Oh," then looked up to meet Zhou Li's gaze, her voice instantly becoming smaller. "Zhou Ni, what are you doing in there? Are you hiding in there secretly playing with Lord Dumpling's tape?"

"Possibly."

Zhou Li ruffled her head and walked out. Lord Dumpling turned and obediently followed him, accusing him of deceiving her, calling him a big liar.

To this, Zhou Li explained, "That's not called deceiving. I just asked if Lord Dumpling heard a noise from the sofa. The correct answer could very well have been that Lord Dumpling didn't hear anything. I didn't say Her Highness on the sofa had woken up, nor did I say I heard any noise. And even if I did hear something, it's entirely possible I misheard."

Lord Dumpling listened, utterly bewildered.

She was so used to not using her brain around Zhou Ni that she couldn't quite follow his logic. But it didn't matter.

Little Cat Girl turned to face Zhou Li, walking sideways while shaking her head emphatically. "You *are* lying! You are!"

Zhou Li didn't respond, simply pointing calmly ahead.

"MEOW?"

Lord Dumpling turned her head.

She saw 'Brother Nan,' who had sat up at some point, looking at them calmly, a smile playing on her lips.

Zhou Li said nothing.

Little Cat Girl had already rushed toward her.

The Elm King picked up Little Cat Girl, placed the child on her lap, then looked up at Zhou Li expectantly. "What did you two do last night? Tell me all about it!"

Zhou Li hadn't expected this to be her first question. "You should ask Brother Nan."

"She wouldn't let me watch! Surely you can just tell me?"

"No."

"What's the harm in telling me!?"

"Still no."

"Stingy!" The Elm King said disdainfully. "Even if you don't tell me, I can roughly guess. Between you humans..."

"Stop!"

"?"

"Don't say it."

"Hmm? Telling me not to say it?" The Elm King's eyes darted around. "Then I absolutely must say it!"

"Brother Nan!" Zhou Li shouted. "She's being so crude!"

"!!"

The Elm King immediately tensed, looking as uncomfortable as if she were about to be forcibly logged out. It took her a moment to recover.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, telling herself not to stoop to his level. Then she looked Zhou Li up and down. "It seems I'll have to urge them to finish my new body before you two... mate. Otherwise, thinking about what happens in *my* current body..."

"Stop—" Zhou Li cut her off and quickly changed the subject. "Brother Nan said I could take you to do something fun. Is there anything you're interested in?"

"Yes!"

"What?"

"That game she plays every day." The Elm King pointed to the still-active computer. "I've been watching for a long time. It looks really fun. Tell me how to play!"

"Okay."

"Actually, I've almost figured it out. I already know how to play the one on the phone; it's just this computer one I don't get yet. But you only need to give me a simple explanation."

"Alright."

Zhou Li breathed a small sigh of relief. He thought for a moment, then walked over to the computer and picked up the mouse. "Let me first explain the things you can't see or hear in the game. Then, I'll have Huai Xu teach you how to play. She's good at it; Brother Nan and I are pretty bad..."

The Elm King put Little Cat Girl down and sat beside him, adopting the posture of an eager student.