Ten o'clock in the morning.
Zhou Li sat up in bed and shook his head, still feeling a bit groggy; he rarely slept this late.
Turning his head to glance beside him, he saw Huai Xu had transformed into his male version again, lying on his side in bed playing with his phone. The phone was still connected to its charging cable, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile now and then.
Sensing Zhou Li's gaze, Huai Xu shot him a glance but otherwise gave no indication, continuing to play with his phone and scratch an itch.
It was Tuanzi, who was beside Zhou Li, who opened her eyes. Heavy with sleep, she stretched her limbs with a languid yawn and said softly, "You woke up so late today, Zhou Li~~"
"How long has Lord Dumpling been awake?"
"Lord Dumpling woke up a long time ago, but seeing you hadn't gotten up yet, Lord Dumpling stayed in bed with you."
"Lord Dumpling is a little lazybones."
"That's not true; Zhou Li is."
"Well, I'm getting up," Zhou Li said as he got out of bed, put on his slippers, and pulled back a corner of the curtain. The sunlight outside was dazzling.
"Then I'm getting up too."
Tuanzi mimicked his words and tone. She followed him by climbing out of Zhou Li's bed, jumped onto Huai Xu's bed, casually stepped over Huai Xu, then hopped onto the windowsill, sitting down primly to look outside. Her pupils contracted rapidly in the light, her sea-blue eyes shimmering as if with billions of stars, and her fine fur seemed to glow softly in the sunlight.
"Lord Dumpling is so beautiful," Zhou Li said sincerely.
"Lord Dumpling is so beautiful," Tuanzi said proudly.
"Lord Dumpling confuses her 'l's and 'n's."
"Lord Dumpning confuses her 'n's and 'n's."
"...Alright," Zhou Li turned to look at Huai Xu. "Is Brother Nan awake?"
So he tiptoed to the bathroom to wash up. Tuanzi jumped down from the windowsill and followed behind him.
When passing by Brother Nan, he couldn't resist sneaking a peek. Brother Nan was sleeping on her side, peacefully. Her body created a long bulge under the white sheets, and her hair was scattered on the pillow. Sadly, her cowlick was covered.
Reaching the bathroom, his movements to turn on the tap were very gentle.
Twenty minutes later, he finished washing up and came out.
Brother Nan had changed her sleeping position. She was still lying on her side but had stretched one leg out, pinning the quilt. Thus, her entire back was exposed. She was still wearing those loose shorts and an old T-shirt. The quilt was very soft.
Her jade-white legs, gleaming like ivory, peeked out from beneath the quilt. The T-shirt had ridden up slightly during her sleep, creating a small gap between it and her shorts, revealing the curve of her waist and a patch of her back skin, just as creamy. Zhou Li felt an urge to quietly reach out and pull it down for her.
Brother Nan must not have gone to bed until at least five-thirty last night, right?
Thinking this, Zhou Li felt a pang of concern; it seemed Brother Nan wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
So he took out his phone...
The "Li Daimao" photo album now contained exactly fifty pictures.
Zhou Li returned to his bed and sat down. Huai Xu lifted his eyelids, glanced at him from over his phone, and said, "If you keep walking dark paths, you're bound to meet a ghost. One day, Li Daimao will beat you to death."
Zhou Li pretended not to hear.
It wasn't until eleven-thirty that Brother Nan woke up.
Zhou Li, who was bored to tears, heard movement from the outer room. He carried Tuanzi out with him and sat down on the sofa beside Brother Nan's bed.
"It's already noon," he said.
"Hm?" Brother Nan tilted her head, scratching her hair.
"Who goes on vacation and sleeps this late..." Zhou Li glanced up; the cowlick had reappeared.
"What time did you wake up?"
"What time do you usually wake up?"
"That's what I'm saying!" Brother Nan shook her messy hair. "These are special circumstances!"
"I'm going to wash up," Brother Nan said.
"I need to change clothes."
"Then change in the bathroom," Zhou Li said, remaining seated. He and Tuanzi, who was in his arms, stared unblinkingly at Brother Nan.
"I need to get clothes from my suitcase, and there's some private stuff in there," Brother Nan said, pausing. She suddenly winked at Zhou Li and asked with a mischievous grin, "Want to take a look?"
"I don't want to see."
Zhou Li still didn't move from the sofa.
Brother Nan looked surprised for a moment, then her smile grew even brighter as she stepped toward Zhou Li.
Tuanzi cried out in alarm, "Zhou Li, run!"
When her voice faded and Zhou Li hadn't moved, she meowed, leaped from his arms, and darted back to the inner room in a flash.
Zhou Li had also been wondering whether to run.
He'd been grabbed by the shoulders by Brother Nan, hauled into his room, and then, with a firm push from her, he obligingly tumbled onto the bed. Discover more novels at novel~fire~net
This was followed by Brother Nan's threat: "If you dare take one step out, you know the consequences!"
Zhou Li nodded repeatedly.
On the surface, he appeared terrified, but inwardly, he was unfazed.
Since when had Zhou Someone been afraid of taking a beating?
Tuanzi peeked out from under Huai Xu's quilt, first giving Zhou Li a look of worried sympathy, which then immediately turned into gloating. "Haha, Zhou Li, you got beaten up again, didn't you?"
"Lord Dumpling, you're so disloyal."
"Nonsense!" Tuanzi immediately retorted. "Lord Dumpling is very loyal!"
"But Lord Dumpling ran off so quickly and didn't even help me!" Zhou Li scooted closer to Huai Xu's bed and crouched down to be at eye level with Tuanzi.
"But… Lord Dumpling is just a little kitty. That human is so fierce, Lord Dumpling can't beat her," Tuanzi said slowly, thinking as she spoke. "So… Lord Dumpling ran over here… ran over here to get Huai Xu as backup to help you!"
Seeing Tuanzi nod seriously, Zhou Li believed her and nodded in return. "Well, thank you so much, Lord Dumpling. You're truly loyal."
Tuanzi beamed. "Lord Dumpling is the most loyal!"
By the time Brother Nan finished washing up, it was already noon.
She stood by the door of the inner room, leaning against the wall, holding a small golden bottle in her hand. She wore a headband for convenience while washing, her hair completely tucked away behind it, revealing her delicate, damp face. "Did you apply sunscreen?" she asked.
This was the first time Zhou Li had seen Brother Nan after she had washed up, and he was a bit stunned, his gaze drifting upwards involuntarily.
The headband looked like it was made of cloth, or at least covered in it, and surprisingly, it had a pair of small bear ears, or maybe like Mickey Mouse ears...
"Did you apply sunscreen? What are you spacing out about!"
"No, no... I forgot..."
"Here, take this and put it on!"
Brother Nan tossed the small golden bottle to Zhou Li.
Zhou Li said "oh" and stood up to go out, his gaze irresistibly drawn back to Brother Nan.
Not until his figure had disappeared did Huai Xu lift his head, revealing himself, and said to Brother Nan with a smile, "He's mesmerized by you."
Brother Nan didn't make a sound and turned to leave, while Huai Xu laughed heartily.
Zhou Li quickly finished applying the sunscreen. Brother Nan used the same one as him, the small golden bottle from Anessa. The sunscreen was a milky-white, semi-viscous liquid that left a fine, powdery layer on the skin, which naturally made it appear whiter. Today, Zhou Li had applied it distractedly and hadn't rubbed it in properly, so it looked particularly uneven.
Seeing him, Brother Nan laughed, "You've turned into quite the pretty boy!"
Zhou Li was slow to react.
By the time he snapped out of it and was about to go to the bathroom to check, Brother Nan had already come up to him. She placed her hands on his face and began to gently rub in the sunscreen for him.
His mind went blank; he only felt... a faint, ticklish sensation?