My Demon Friends-Chapter 678 - 639: Big Brother Shows Mercy

Baozi sat neatly with her legs together, her back straight, and her hands on her legs, just like a primary school student in class. However, her eyes dishonestly darted around, observing every detail in the room like a detective without leaving a trace.

She didn't see Brother Huai Xu. Hmm, it was very likely that Cousin had wanted some alone time with Brother Nan and schemed to kick him out. Cousin was the sneakiest!

The room was spotless, the floor dust-free. The wind from the upper floors blew in, lifting the white gauze of the floor-to-ceiling windows, making them sway gently.

Outside, the sky was blue with white clouds, and the weather was beautiful. The Yueli and water lilies on the balcony were in full bloom.

Cousin hadn't closed the window… A thoughtful expression appeared in Baozi's eyes.

Baozi's mom also loved to grow flowers. A major reason they still didn't have a cat was her mom's belief that cats would destroy her plants, but Lord Dumpling would never do that. Besides, Lord Dumpling wouldn't ruin leather sofas, chew on books or data cables, or intentionally push fragile items off tables. Lord Dumpling was a well-mannered and well-behaved child.

The laptop on the coffee table was on. When she came in, she saw a game paused on the screen. She had heard Brother Nan had just woken up; could it be that Cousin was playing?

Had he created a persona of someone who doesn't like games? There truly wasn't a single true word out of Cousin's mouth.

CLICK...

The bathroom door opened, interrupting her observation.

Brother Nan's face was washed clean, still damp, and exuded a youthful, healthy fairness. She definitely hadn't used a headband while washing, so some of her hair was wet, clinging together in strands. Only a small tuft of her characteristic cowlick stood soft yet resilient on top of her head.

She glanced casually at Zhou Li.

"Eat?"

"Oh, sure."

Zhou Li nervously stood up.

Baozi also slowly stood up and asked, "Cousin, why don't you guys order takeout?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's really hot outside," Baozi said quietly. "I walked around school for a long time before coming here, and then I rode my bike. I'm so tired."

"We can just drive out."

"Thanks, Cousin."

They found the car in the underground garage. Luckily, the battery wasn't dead, but the car was covered in a layer of dust. When they sprayed it with washer fluid, the water that wiped off was all black and grimy.

Brother Nan let Zhou Li drive and told Baozi to sit in the passenger seat. She herself sat in the back with Lord Dumpling and opened the letter Elm King had left with her.

"Still experimenting with something…" Brother Nan murmured softly, then took out her phone to type:

I also want to peek at what you're doing when you're awake. Besides, don't you find exploring these things interesting?

Brother Nan put her phone away.

Baozi's stomach was already grumbling, but she seemed not to notice, her head tilted as she stared unblinkingly at the roadside scenery.

The car stopped at a red light.

Baozi retracted her gaze. Hearing Brother Nan in the back seat teasing Lord Dumpling, she suddenly asked, "Cousin, have you ever wondered why Lord Dumpling hasn't grown at all for so long? Other kittens her age are already on their second litter."

"I have wondered, but I don't know why."

"Then have you ever guessed that Lord Dumpling might be a kitten demon? Or about to become spiritually aware?"

"MEOW?"

Hearing someone discussing her, Lord Dumpling turned to Brother Nan and asked, "What is Chen Jin?"

Zhou Li answered with a laugh, "Possibly."

After a pause, he added, "But if Lord Dumpling really were a little kitten demon, that would be great. Then she could turn into a Little Cat Girl and play with me every day."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard Brother Nan's laughter from behind; he quickly flinched.

Baozi, however, nodded in agreement.

Zhou Li then continued, "But you're asking this right in front of Lord Dumpling. If she really is close to becoming spiritually aware, she'd definitely understand."

"I'm not afraid."

Baozi said earnestly, "Even if Lord Dumpling is a little demon, she would definitely be a very cute little demon."

In the back seat, Brother Nan grabbed Lord Dumpling's two tiny paws, hoisted her up to eye level, and scrutinized her. "They're saying you're a cute little demon…"

Lord Dumpling didn't answer, letting herself be dangled. Her body swayed gently from side to side as she quietly put on a cute act.

「For lunch, they had shrimp hotpot.」

Zhou Li asked Baozi, "When are you heading back?"

When she goes back, she should take Brother Nan too. That way, if Mianmian and Qian Qian haven't returned to the dorm and she's there alone, she won't be frightened. Zhou Li left these words unsaid; if he'd voiced them, Brother Nan would surely see right through him.

However, Baozi's mouth was still savoring the endlessly delightful aftertaste of the shrimp hotpot. Knowing just how well her cousin's household ate, she instantly decided, "Classes aren't until tomorrow. I'll go back in the evening."

Zhou Li pursed his lips. "Okay."

「Back at home.」

Baozi once again sat obediently on the sofa, watching a well-fed Lord Dumpling do parkour around the house.

Parkour or not, she never damaged anything.

Zhou Li ignored Huai Xu, who was sitting on the floor watching them but dared not manifest his form, and went straight to the fridge. He asked Baozi, "Want something to drink? We have Sprite, Coke, milk, and yogurt."

Huai Xu, cupping his chin, reminded him, "The Sprite and Coke are my stash! There are only a few cans left!"

Hearing this, Zhou Li took out a can of Sprite and opened it with a PSSHHT. "Sprite and Coke are perfect for this summer."

Huai Xu: …

Lord Dumpling also instantly turned her head, deliberately clamoring, "Lord Dumpling wants to drink 'pencil shavings' and 'I'm thirsty' too!"

Huai Xu: …

Baozi asked, "Do you have milk tea?"

Huai Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Li shook his head. "We have milk, and tea, but no milk tea. So I still recommend you have Sprite or Coke."

"Oh."

A moment later, Baozi mixed the brewed tea with some milk, stirred it with the straw from the milk, and began to sip it daintily.

Zhou Li then opened another can of Sprite and handed it to Brother Nan with an ingratiating smile.

"HMPH…"

Brother Nan harrumphed and glanced at Baozi.

As the saying goes, don't air your dirty laundry in public. With Baozi present, even if she saw the photos, it wouldn't be easy to deal with Zhou Li. But if she didn't look now, who knew what tricks Zhou Li might pull.

Changing the password would be useless. No matter how complex it was, for her, it just meant a few more tries. Maybe he would secretly replace all the photos?

PSSHHT...

Brother Nan opened her Sprite under Huai Xu's watchful gaze.

Just then, Baozi said, "Cousin, I'm a bit sleepy. Can I take a nap here? I-I'll just sleep on the sofa…"

Zhou Li patiently advised, "Sleeping right after eating will make you gain weight easily."

"I'm not afraid."

"Don't listen to him. Sleep if you want to!" Brother Nan interjected. "And don't sleep here; go sleep in the bedroom."

"I-I'll just sleep here, it's fine."

"That's fine too."

"Okay."

Baozi leaned her body to the side, her upper body slowly slumping down, as if she intended to fall asleep in that very position.

Seeing this, Brother Nan hurriedly told her to take off her shoes and lie down on the end of the sofa more suitable for sleeping, and covered her with a blanket. Only then did she sit back down, sipping her Sprite and waiting for Baozi to fall asleep.

Half an hour later, Brother Nan turned to Zhou Li, smiling. "Take out your phone."

"…"

Zhou Li, his face stiff, fumbled for his phone and handed it to her.

From the floor, Huai Xu glanced over.

Lord Dumpling also looked at him curiously.

Zhou Li's expression immediately returned to normal.

"Li Daimao?"

Brother Nan's gaze first swept over the album name, then she turned to Zhou Li with a cheeky smile. "Nice name!"

Zhou Li nodded firmly. "It's alright…"

"I'll start from the bottom…

"The time…

"Whoa! This early!?"

Brother Nan looked at Zhou Li in surprise. "You audacious kid! We hadn't officially started dating back then, had we? And you dared to sneak so many photos, so many, that tarnish Big Brother's image?!"

Zhou Li nodded honestly. "It's all thanks to Big Brother's excellent guidance…"

"Don't—"

Brother Nan gestured for him to stop as she scrolled. "You're entirely self-taught; I couldn't have taught you this well…"

She kept swiping through the album, scrolling upwards.

Most of the photos were taken while she was asleep, in various poses.

It was clear that in the beginning, the kid had been somewhat cautious, merely taking sneaky photos of her sleeping and saving them—a slight sacrilege to Big Brother's dignity. But as time passed, his audacity grew. He began to take selfies with her. Both appeared in the same frame: one awake and handsome, the other completely expressionless in sleep, mouth agape like an idiot, creating a stark contrast. Later on, he even started getting hands-on; by then, they had already started dating.

Pinching her face, squeezing her lips, messing with her cowlick…

"You little rascal… Unbelievable!"

Brother Nan found herself laughing at the photos.

No! I can't laugh! After all, I'm Big Brother. Big Brother's image and dignity must be maintained. Besides, this sneaky, disrespectful behavior towards Big Brother must be severely punished, or it will become unmanageable in the future... What I found even harder to accept was that all of this had started so early. Not only had I been completely unaware, but I had also been consistently confused by his superficial respect, viewing him as a trusted Little Brother. For a time, I even thought he was an honest, timid, and well-behaved boy. But looking at it now, this guy wasn't just audacious and full of bad intentions; he had coveted me, Big Brother, from a very early stage.

"Phew…"

She finally finished looking.

"Excellent!"

Brother Nan turned around sternly, raising her fist.

Huai Xu looked over.

Lord Dumpling also looked over seriously.

Zhou Li pretended to be scared and squinted his eyes.

But Brother Nan lowered her hand and threw the phone at him, hitting his body. "Keep them safe. Make backups. If you lose a single one, I'll chop off your hand…"