11 p.m.
A pigeon flew past the window, its wingbeats sounding heavy.
Zhou Li placed his papers on the stack of books to his left, writing in his diary patiently, when suddenly, a voice came from outside the window—
"Why haven't you closed the window?"
"HISS!"
Zhou Li was startled.
Huai Xu had both hands on the windowsill, propping up his body. The height of the twenty-fifth floor seemed of no concern to him as he stared at Zhou Li without blinking. "Are you writing a weekly report?"
"Diary."
"Oh, you switched to a diary in high school?"
"Yeah."
"That's tough."
"You scared me out of my wits appearing like that."
"Sorry, I thought you were very brave." Then Huai Xu reached out one hand and tapped the window.
"Come in quickly!" Zhou Li suddenly saw a wound on Huai Xu's arm and asked, "What happened to your hand?"
"A little demon bit me." Huai Xu entered the room.
"How did it bite you?"
"I asked him a question, and he didn't want to answer, so he bit me. Fortunately, I have thick skin. He even said I was bullying him and mentioned he would go complain to someone." Huai Xu added, sounding unconcerned, "As if I would."
"Let it go if you couldn't get an answer," Zhou Li said.
"I got the answer," Huai Xu replied. "Apparently, an agreement was established long ago between demons and humans. Demons must not appear before ordinary people, cannot interact with them, must not disrupt their lives, and certainly not commit any misdeeds. There's quite a list of rules."
"That strict? What if it's violated?"
"This was an order directly from the Demon King. Generally, no demon would dare to break it; they are all very straightforward."
"What about you?"
"Me? I didn't know before; I forgot," Huai Xu said, thinking for a moment. "Looks like I need to be careful from now on too. Plus, I've realized something. If I do nothing all day, I can't remember anything. It's different when I have something to do, though. You see, just by spending one day with you, many of my memories have started to surface."
"Is there still a Demon King among the demons?"
"Yes, it's said to be a fish, which hasn't shown up in hundreds of years."
"A fish?"
"Yeah, they call him the Fish King. But that's the name humans gave him; we just use human language. Maybe he's just a highly respected Great Demon, and ancient humans gave him a name that suited their ideas. If you're not comfortable with that, you can also call him by titles such as Demon Emperor, or even Demon President, Demon Chairman, or Demon General Secretary…"
"ACHOO!"
"Are you sick?"
"The smell of the flowers is a bit strong." Zhou Li moved the hyacinth a bit toward the window.
"They're almost withered, looking all limp." Huai Xu looked at the flowers, his brow slightly furrowed. "I seem to have heard about a type of demon that can make flowers bloom continuously."
"These are considered to have withered late."
"Oh."
"What about people? Are there people among humans who specifically interact with demons, who can see them, like those Taoists on TV?" Zhou Li hesitated, unsure how to phrase it.
"You mean those who specialize in subduing demons and eliminating evil?"
"Probably, but that's not what I meant..."
"I didn't mean that either. Anyway, you mean people like you who can see demons, naturally gifted individuals? Yes, there are. Common people and demons have many names for them; the most common are Mage and Heavenly Master, as well as Taoist Priest." Huai Xu laughed a little. "I knew you would be interested in this, so I asked especially for you."
"Thank you."
"You could probably do that job in the future."
"This also requires learning, right?" Zhou Li asked.
"I guess, but I don't know how to learn, and that little demon doesn't know either. Do you want to try it?"
"I'm a bit interested in learning."
"You should learn. Since you can see demons, you need to learn how to interact with them," Huai Xu told Zhou Li. "Perhaps someday some trouble will find you, and if you can't deal with it, you'll be at a disadvantage."
"Yeah." Zhou Li thought it made sense.
"What do you want to do in the future?" Huai Xu asked again.
"I like animals."
"And then?"
"I want to be a zoologist, or a zookeeper, curator, or go to the savannah to film animals, as a photographer." Zhou Li had been thinking about this for a long time since it related to choosing his college major.
"Aren't you going to college?"
"Yes!"
"You go to college to feed animals?" Huai Xu found this concept somewhat confusing. According to his knowledge, people who went to college were supposed to become astronauts, scientists, teachers, or doctors.
"Essentially."
Then some noise came from outside, and both simultaneously quieted down.
Zhou Li heard the sound of slippers on the floor, most likely his younger brother Zhu Shuang, followed by the sound of the fridge being opened—somehow Aunt Jiang caught him. Aunt Jiang had recently become very interested in health and warned Zhu Shuang that eating at night could lead to a series of health problems.
Zhu Shuang didn't take it seriously and said, "If I'm not supposed to eat at night, why is there a light in the fridge?"
Aunt Jiang kept nagging.
Zhu Shuang didn't argue but ran to Zhou Li's doorway and asked, "Bro, do you want some dried mushrooms?"
"No."
"Okay."
The outside gradually quieted down.
Huai Xu swallowed and continued looking at Zhou Li. "But if you want to train in other skills, like reflexes, I can teach you that. Also, we can inquire within the circle to see where there are highly skilled individuals. Just by finding these individuals, you might learn the way to become a Heavenly Master."
Zhou Li nodded. "Let's talk about it after the college entrance exam."
The college entrance exam was the most important thing right now.
They chatted idly, and it grew quite late before they realized it. Considering Huai Xu had gone out of his way to ask other demons for help and had come over late at night with the information, Zhou Li couldn't bear to send him away. So, he let Huai Xu stay on the upper bunk for another night.
The next day, because third-year seniors had an extra early morning study session, Zhou Li left the house before Zhu Shuang even woke up.
He had brought a bag of dried mushrooms for Huai Xu, who didn't finish them until they had climbed twenty-five floors of stairs.
Zhou Li arrived at the classroom early and was spacing out, looking out the window. Before long, he saw a shapely girl whizzing into the school gate on her bicycle, riding standing up, until she suddenly braked at the bike rack.
Soon after, Li Tongzhuo arrived in the classroom, placed her bag next to her desk, and greeted Zhou Li.
"Morning!"
"Morning."
Huai Xu stood next to Zhou Li. "That's the girl I saw the other night, the one being chased by a dog."
Zhou Li didn't respond to him.
Suddenly, Li Tongzhuo noticed the small cake in her desk, her expression turning lively. She looked around the classroom quietly and then secretly threw the cake into the trash bin, sitting back down to ask Zhou Li, "Was yesterday just reviewing test papers? Was there anything particularly important? If so, can you tell me about it so I don't lose points when it comes up?"
"The English teacher mentioned an easily misunderstood point while discussing the questions. You were the only one in the class who got it right. He said you must have guessed."
"That perv, he's got it in for me!" Li Nan frowned, then immediately relaxed. "Never mind that. Since I guessed right this time, I'll definitely guess right during the college entrance exam too!"
"Sure."
Zhou Li knew that the English teacher always targeted Li Nan.
As for the nickname 'perv,' it had started because the English teacher divorced last year and subsequently spent more time with the single female teachers at school. Coupled with his greasy appearance and the way his eyes narrowed into slits, stacking wrinkles upon wrinkles when he smiled, he would have been a shoo-in if a film crew needed someone typecast as a pervert.
No one knew who started it, but many students called him that.
Soon, Li Nan leaned into Zhou Li again. "Hey, guess why I didn't come yesterday?"
"You were in the hospital."
"How did you know? Did Jiang Han tell you?" Li Nan looked stumped.
"She didn't say," Zhou Li shook his head.
"I thought so! But you guessed pretty..."
"Brother Nan is here!" Chen Guohua entered the classroom and greeted Li Nan. "How are you feeling?"
"Still... still okay."
"Wow, Brother Nan, you were discharged!" Zhang Xiuhua followed closely behind.
"Eh... yes, I was discharged."
"Brother Nan." The cultural committee member also walked in.
He was carrying two apples and suddenly felt somewhat awkward. Everyone in class knew he brought Li Nan things every day. However, there was an unspoken understanding: he pretended Li Nan didn't know, and Li Nan pretended she didn't know. This allowed Li Nan to loudly ask twice in the classroom who had left the items, and then, with no one answering, throw them away. No one knew how this had started, but over time, it had become their tacit agreement.
After a moment's thought, he held up the apples. Perhaps this could be a way to break the deadlock, he thought, then said, "I heard you were in the hospital, so I bought these two apples on the way. Do you... do you want them?" As he spoke, he stumbled a bit over his words.
"I'll pass, thanks. I appreciate the thought," Li Nan said, her mind a tangled mess.
"Alright then, just be mindful of how much you eat, especially after dinner, don't..."
"Stop talking!"
Brother Nan's eyes lost their sparkle.
After the entertainment committee member left, she finally turned to Zhou Li. "Why does everyone know..."
"Jiang Han told Mother Zhao, and Mother Zhao talked about it," Zhou Li replied.
"Did Mother Zhao even mention that I ate again after I got home?" she asked.
"Wu Yuanliang asked about it."
"..."
Wu Yuanliang was the entertainment committee member.
He had been in the same class with Li Nan since their first year of high school, previously following her around like her little brother. Now in their senior year, everyone had matured. Those who were once quiet had become lively, and those formerly arrogant were now easygoing. As their relationships deepened through amicable interactions, he seemed to have gradually discovered his special feelings for his former 'big brother.'
The first class was English.
The English teacher was quite upset with Li Nan for missing class yesterday and started with sarcasm and ridicule, but Li Nan didn't care. She even thought about recording his words to make a remix ringtone with the help of a friend.
Then the class began.
The English teacher was seriously paranoid, always imagining that if he didn't keep an eye on them, the students would start playing mahjong or having a barbecue in the classroom. So, he would frequently whip his head around mid-writing on the blackboard to take a quick look.
But this still didn't stop Li Nan and Zhou Li from talking.
She quietly shared with Zhou Li her history with the English teacher. Zhou Li didn't like English class, so he chatted with her as well.
It seemed the English teacher and her mother had been classmates. Li Nan mentioned her mother was very pretty when young, speculating the teacher might have unsuccessfully pursued her. When classes were reorganized, her mother had specifically approached the English teacher, hoping he would, for old times' sake, look after her 'foolish daughter' a bit more. However, not only did the teacher fail to do so, but he also found various ways to make things difficult for Li Nan.
"That's why I say, this dirty old man is so petty!"
Li Nan always managed to stop talking right as the English teacher turned around, timing it with pinpoint accuracy.
However, the English teacher still took the opportunity to scold her severely for her absence the day before and asked her to visit his office after evening self-study.
Li Nan was furious. What is this pervert plotting now!
She was somewhat regretful. Actually, the night before, she had just felt uncomfortable from overeating, but she got better not long after arriving at the hospital. She could have easily attended class yesterday but had wanted to be lazy. Instead, she stayed home playing video games all afternoon, losing every round. Then, she sneaked off to play basketball at the No. 1 High School, only to be recognized by a teacher there. When she got home, her mother scolded her again. She even thought about taking her anger out on Big Orange but almost lost their fight. In retrospect, attending class would have been a much better choice.
Zhou Li didn't respond; he just shifted his gaze upwards. Today, Li Tongzhuo had no cowlick, which disappointed him a little.
Then he looked past Li Nan towards the window.
The sunlight was a bit glaring, only covering half of the playground, blocked by the academic building, with a line dividing light from shadow.
Huai Xu climbed up a willow tree, not very high, while San Zheng stood at the foot of the tree, looking up at him.
Before long, Huai Xu caught a cicada and brought it over to show Zhou Li from afar.
Outside, the cicadas continued their noisy chirping.