The house had accumulated a lot of cardboard boxes; the cabinets and drawers were all stuffed full, and Huai Xu's collection of cardboard kept growing. The Old monster refused to give these treasures to the old ladies in the neighborhood.
Today was Zhou Li's Subject Two driving test.
He got up early, cleaned himself up, put on some light old shoes, and then arranged a time to meet with Brother Nan.
Zhou Li: Shall we go?
Li Daimao: What's the rush? The coach said our driving school goes last; getting to the test site by nine or ten is ample time.
Li Daimao: Let me lie down a bit longer~~
Zhou Li: Send a photo.
Zhou Li: To see how you're lying in bed.
In the picture, she was lying in bed, covered with a blanket, her eyes wide open and making funny faces. She didn't look sleepy; it seemed she just wanted to spend more time close to her bed.
Zhou Li zoomed in on the photo.
Brother Nan's skin was very fair, her features delicate. A tuft of hair on top of her head tilted backward, seemingly the origin of her nickname.
Zhou Li put down his phone.
Huai Xu had once again transformed into his form, sprawled on the couch with a bottle of Sprite, a burger, fried chicken, and a tub of Kangshuai Fu Red Bull Roast Meat Noodles on the coffee table. Zhou Li couldn't stand 'himself' being so slovenly.
Seeing him look over, Huai Xu raised an eyebrow. "Want some? I bought a lot."
"It's really tasty." Huai Xu burped. "Especially this meat-stuffed bun, and this popcorn chicken. Try some?"
"Eat less of this junk food."
"Why? It's really tasty!"
"It's not nutritionally balanced."
"But it really does taste good~~"
Then Zhou Li could only watch helplessly as 'himself' took a bite of the burger and then fiercely guzzled a large mouthful of Sprite to wash it down, instantly throwing his head back with an expression of enjoyment… It was truly a sin!
"I'm going out." Zhou Li couldn't take it anymore.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'm going to eat in the cafeteria with Brother Nan."
"OH~~" Huai Xu nodded. "Send me a message when you're taking your test; I'll come and direct you."
These days, Brother Nan was being rather frugal because she had splurged on Singles' Day, buying loads of clothes and shoes, particularly some pricey sports equipment. Plus, she still wanted to buy a used car.
Just buying lottery tickets wouldn't do.
Brother Nan knew well that luck was a good thing. To succeed in everything, turn danger into safety, and have good things come her way, she needed to ensure she always had a large reserve of luck.
She also had to take the CET-4 exam, the Subject Three and Subject Four driving tests, and then it would be almost finals—a time when a lot of luck was needed.
Zhou Li waited at the cafeteria entrance for a while before he saw Brother Nan, who was accompanied by Baozi. Brother Nan was very playful, constantly pulling the hood of Baozi's jacket over her head. Baozi would take it off, only for Brother Nan to put it back on again.
Anyone else might have long been fuming but afraid to speak out, but Baozi had a good temper and showed no sign of irritation.
After this happened a few times, Baozi stopped resisting and just let the hood stay on.
Zhou Li looked closely and realized that Baozi was wearing a beige, furry, hooded coat he hadn't seen before. It had two rabbit ears on the hood and two squeezable, furry bulbs dangling in front.
He felt like he had seen this type of clothing before.
Sitting down in the cafeteria, all three ordered rice vermicelli. Zhou Li pointed at Little Cousin's coat and asked, "Is this supposed to be able to…?"
Upon hearing this, Brother Nan immediately smiled.
She reached out, grabbed the furry bulbs hanging on Little Cousin's chest, and squeezed forcefully.
One of the rabbit ears stood up.
She squeezed with both hands.
Both ears stood up at once.
they drooped down again.
Throughout this, Little Cousin remained expressionless, as if unaware of what was happening atop her head.
Then Brother Nan began squeezing them rhythmically, laughing as she said to Zhou Li, "Isn't it cute? I bought it for her. I got one for each of the three girls in our dorm, HEHEHE…"
Zhou Li occasionally glanced at Little Cousin's round face, then his gaze flickered upwards, and he couldn't help but nod. "Very cute indeed!"
Little Cousin kept her head down, eating her noodles.
The two rabbit ears kept alternately standing up…
A moment later, Little Cousin looked up, her expression still composed. "Recently, it seems a senior is pursuing Brother Nan, a sophomore."
"What!?" Brother Nan's hand suddenly stopped.
"A sophomore senior…" Something stirred in Zhou Li's memory.
"Seems like he's in the same class as Wang Dan," Baozi said. "I met him recently while rehearsing for the freshman welcome party. He's quite handsome and seems to be the president of the Street Dance Club. The program he put together is really cool. He was asking me about Brother Nan."
"What did you tell him?" Zhou Li was worried he might give himself away.
Little Cousin paused. Noticing Zhou Li's nervousness, she slowed down even more. "I didn't say anything."
Zhou Li silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Cousin continued, "Yesterday, he invited Brother Nan to a movie, but Brother Nan dealt with him. However, it seems he hasn't given up; he even asked me about Brother Nan's reaction after she returned to the dorm last night."
"Why was he dealt with?" Zhou Li asked with concern.
"Because he came to our dorm building and told Brother Nan that she *had* to go to the movies with him. His tone was very domineering."
"The noodles are pretty good today," Zhou Li said.
Baozi quietly observed his expression, then glanced at Brother Nan and hesitated. "Such a persistent guy can be really annoying, right? I suggest we spread the news that you two are a couple. Let Qian Qian and Mianmian do it; within a week, everyone in the department will know. Considering Zhou Li's exploits during military training—hitting both an instructor and someone from the sports department—Brother Nan, you'll be left in peace very soon."
After finishing, she added, "Isn't that what a Little Brother is for?"
"Bad idea!" Brother Nan hurriedly slurped up a big mouthful of her noodles.
"Agreed," Zhou Li echoed.
Baozi secretly watched their expressions.
After finishing their meal, Baozi went to class, while Zhou Li and Brother Nan skipped class to head to the testing center, where they began the arduous wait.
They waited until eleven o'clock.
The testing center, initially bustling with people, gradually quieted down. It was finally their driving school's turn, which really showed just how dismal this school was.
Zhou Li sent a QQ message to Huai Xu.
But the Old monster didn't show up, which Zhou Li didn't really mind—he was quite confident. After all, Brother Nan had been making him practice extra every day at noon, and they often discussed things and corrected each other's mistakes. Both had learned quite solidly.
But just as Zhou Li got in the car, Huai Xu appeared.
"Back it up, back it up, no problem!"
"On the slope, when I say stop, you stop…"
"Full score, in the bag!"
Zhou Li passed the test on his first try.
As soon as he finished the reverse parking, Huai Xu disappeared. Brother Nan also returned to the starting point. She got out of the car with a smile on her face, standing on tiptoe to wave at Zhou Li.
"Any mistakes?" Brother Nan asked.
"Me neither, HAHAHA!"
Zhou Li could completely understand her; this was likely one of the few exams where Brother Nan had achieved a full score primarily through her own skill. For other exams, even if she wanted to rely solely on skill, her luck wouldn't allow it.
After a while, Su Jue and Qu Xiaogao also finished their tests.
The instructor waiting outside was very happy to hear the news.
Su Jue then moved next to Zhou Li, a conflicted expression on his face, and whispered, "Can you thank him for me…?"
"You know, that… friend of yours."
"He directed you too?"
"Yeah, otherwise I would have failed." Su Jue was really grateful to Huai Xu. If it hadn't been for Huai Xu, no one else could have lifted and shifted the car's rear when he made an error while reversing. He still felt a lingering unease.
"Okay, I'll tell him."
Su Jue went silent again.
They all treated the instructor to a meal outside. After getting home, Zhou Li didn't see Huai Xu. He only appeared a little while later.
"You're back?" Huai Xu said.
"Su Jue asked me to thank you," Zhou Li said. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Got it." Huai Xu waved his hand. "I mostly did it because he always seems so scared of me. Plus, he often dozes off during driving practice, as if he didn't sleep the night before. He's also timid and gets nervous easily, so he was likely to fail. If he failed, you two wouldn't be able to practice driving together anymore."
"I see." This Old monster is quite meddlesome, Zhou Li thought.
"Guess where I just went?" Huai Xu asked again.
"I found another job. The client offered a high price, but some details weren't quite right." Huai Xu headed straight for the fridge, grabbed a mung bean popsicle, and started eating it. "It's really hot outside..." he remarked.