"Isn't that Zhu Shuang behind us?"
"Hey, it really is! So handsome!"
"I recognized his voice, so I turned around. The guy next to him is also very good-looking."
"I think so too, and he looks kind of familiar. He might be from our school. Hehe, should we... say hello later?"
"And add him as a friend?"
The two girls exchanged glances.
Thus, the two girls, who kept looking back, slowed their pace. When Zhou Li and Zhu Shuang reached them, they turned around, waved at Zhu Shuang with a youthful, pretty smile, and said, "Good afternoon, Minister Zhu!"
"Good, good afternoon."
Zhu Shuang didn't react at first. He took a few extra looks before recognizing the two girls were from the class next door. "I didn't recognize you because you aren't in uniform today," he said, revealing a shy smile.
"Hehe, where are you going, Minister Zhu?"
"Heading home. Where are you two going?"
"To watch a movie." "Are you coming?" the bolder of the two girls added.
"Uh, no, no need," Zhu Shuang declined. "I'm too tired from playing basketball, and I'm all sweaty. I need to hurry home for a shower and to rest."
"Okay, that's fine. Can we add you as a friend?" the girl asked with a hopeful look.
"Sure! QQ?"
"Yeah!"
"My number is..."
The two girls immediately fished out their phones, typing the QQ number while stealing glances at Zhou Li beside them. One of them quickly asked, "Is that your friend?"
"He's my brother," Zhu Shuang said.
"Your brother?"
"Oh! The one from Class 2 of the third year?" one girl's eyes widened.
"Yes."
At this moment, the other girl seemed to recall something and blurted out, "The one who's... "
She stopped herself just as she began to speak, sneaking a look at Zhu Shuang's and Zhou Li's reactions.
Zhou Li didn't seem to catch what she was about to say, which eased her mind a bit. Zhu Shuang, however, bit his lip. After the girls sent the friend requests, his pace quickened noticeably as he walked away.
The two girls deliberately slowed down.
Before long, Zhu Shuang said, "Brother, don't listen to their nonsense."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Let's walk a bit slower," Zhou Li said.
"Yeah."
By the time they got home, Aunt Jiang had already started cooking. Zhu Shuang went to take a shower first. His showers were always very long, so Zhou Li decided to go back to his room and tackle some math problems. There were two questions that he hadn't solved before. He thought perhaps after exercising in the afternoon and giving his brain a change of pace, he might find a new angle to approach them and solve the tough problems.
As he opened the door to his room and saw the figure sitting on his chair, he was taken aback.
"Li Nan! How can you be here..."
He stopped speaking and closed his mouth. Li Nan couldn't possibly be in his house.
But Aunt Jiang heard him anyway. She ran out of the kitchen without even putting down her spatula. "What's wrong, Zhou Li?"
"Nothing."
"Oh..." Aunt Jiang gave him another look. Seeing him walking into his room as usual, she relaxed a bit and said softly, "We'll be eating soon."
"Okay."
Zhou Li closed the door and looked towards 'Li Nan'.
Huai Xu also sensed something was off and asked, "Did I cause you any trouble?"
"It's just a misunderstanding, no problem. But why did you turn into Li Nan?"
"I think she looks pretty."
"Do you always transform into other people?" Zhou Li took out his phone, beginning to listen to the messages Li Nan had sent at noon.
"Yes, but sometimes I also make some improvements based on others. The two you saw before were after my improvements. Aren't they much prettier than your people?" Huai Xu looked at the phone by Zhou Li's ear, marveling. "Your people have become so smart! I can't even imagine that you made all these things."
"What about your original appearance?"
"I've forgotten it."
"You forgot?"
"Yes, I should have looked in the mirror after I woke up, but I didn't." Huai Xu fell silent for a moment. "But it's also possible that the way I looked when I woke up wasn't my original appearance, just how I looked before I fell asleep."
"Then you..."
Zhou Li looked at Huai Xu and for a moment didn't know what to say.
After a while, he finally said, "You'll remember. Eventually, you will. Just, in the future, try not to transform into someone I know. I might get them mixed up."
"I just wanted to try something new. I'll change back soon!"
"Hmm, where did you go yesterday afternoon? You're only back now."
"I went over there for a walk." Huai Xu pointed in a direction.
"South."
"Yes," Huai Xu said. "I sensed a strong creature awakening there—very aggressive, continuously spreading its aura to announce its presence. I went to have a look."
"And then?"
"It was indeed terrifying."
"So you..." Zhou Li paused. "Are you in danger?"
"No way!" Huai Xu revealed a confident smile. "I run super fast, faster than a rocket!"
Zhou Li also smiled upon hearing this.
Then he remembered the tone of the children from his childhood and asked, "Faster than Sun Wukong?"
Huai Xu nodded vigorously. "Exactly, exactly!"
He actually knew about Sun Wukong.
Zhou Li sent a message to Li Nan: "Brother Nan, I'm really sorry. I went to play badminton this afternoon and didn't bring my phone. I'm starting on the problems now. Have you figured them out yet? If not, I'll go over them with you later."
Li Daimao replied quickly: "I've asked Chen Xiaozhao already. I'm rushing an essay now. Help me check it later, will you?"
Zhou Li: "Sure."
At this time, 'Li Nan' sitting behind Zhou Li said, "I also took the time to check out that Pearl on the Palm you mentioned. Some other Demon has already claimed it. It's just not there during the day; it probably comes to sleep at night when there are no people around."
Zhou Li nodded while looking at a math problem.
Those two problems, it turned out, were indeed very difficult; or perhaps, their class had rarely encountered such types. Even with a fresh perspective, Zhou Li couldn't overcome them. Instead, he found two more that seemed insurmountable.
"I'll have to ask the teacher tomorrow."
Just then, Aunt Jiang's voice came from outside. "Dinner's ready!"
Zhou Li glanced at Huai Xu and then headed out the door.
Zhu Shuang had already finished his shower and was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, his lightweight foam flip-flops neatly placed on the floor, his hair still damp.
Zhou Li didn't like using a hairdryer, and neither did Zhu Shuang.
Seeing Zhou Li come out, Zhu Shuang looked up and said, "I thought I heard you talking to someone in your room."
"I was explaining a problem to a classmate remotely."
"A lot of homework?"
"Lots of test papers," Zhou Li said as he walked to the dining table.
"Come and eat now!" Aunt Jiang called again, then said to the two, "Guess what I made for you tonight?"
"What did you make?"
The brothers exchanged a look.
Zhu Shuang's eyes widened. "Mom, you didn't go picking locust flowers on the street again, did you? The landscape department says it's best not to eat those; flowers and plants by roadsides could have high levels of heavy metals..."
Zhou Li remained silent.
Last year, after believing some nonsense on a public WeChat account, Aunt Jiang took Zhu Shuang out at night to pluck a big bag of locust flowers from the roadside. They fried it with eggs, which happened to be the flavor Zhou Li liked the least, and Zhu Shuang didn't favor it either.
However, today Aunt Jiang just chuckled and walked into the kitchen, bringing out a pot of bright red crawfish.
"Wow!" Zhu Shuang exclaimed.
"I went out for a walk this afternoon and saw them for sale." Aunt Jiang put down the crawfish and checked her watch. "Your dad will also be home soon. Let's not wait for him; let's eat first!"
"I'll test for poison first!"
Zhu Shuang immediately sprang into action. Donning gloves, he fished out a large, red crawfish from the broth. He juggled the hot shellfish between his hands, and after finally peeling it, took a bite. It was so delicious his face contorted with pleasure.
Nearby, 'Brother Nan' was almost in tears with envy.
Aunt Jiang, however, ignored Zhu Shuang, only watching Zhou Li. When Zhou Li ate one, she immediately asked, "How's the flavor?"
Zhou Li nodded. "Delicious."
After a brief pause, he glanced at Huai Xu and added, "It would be even better as a midnight snack."
Aunt Jiang smiled. "We still have some left. I'll leave it on the stove for you. You work on your homework so late into the night, and you burn a lot of energy, so a little midnight snack shouldn't have any impact."