At 5:30 PM, they passed through a county town.
Zhou Li took Brother Nan's spare phone, looked again at the sun over the distant mountaintops, and frowned. "We're only halfway there!"
"I've been driving really fast," Huai Xu said.
"We took too long for lunch and even stopped to get some air," Zhou Li said, turning to look at the street on their left. "Let's stop here for dinner. There's a pickled fish restaurant over there; Tuanzi said she wants fish soup with rice."
"Sure!"
The car stopped right in front of the restaurant.
Huai Xu had been driving all afternoon, thoroughly enjoying herself, and now she was about to eat—double the pleasure.
However, Zhou Li looked at the passenger seat and his eyes widened in surprise. "Where's Tuanzi!? Where did Tuanzi run off to?"
"She's here!" Huai Xu said, unconcerned.
A little white paw, like a peeled mangosteen, appeared, clinging to the edge of the seat. Soon, a fluffy round head peeked out. Her ears drooped, and her eyes were half-open, yet still big and sparkling. She looked at Zhou Li with a lackluster expression and asked, "Zhou Li, are we eating fish soup with rice yet?"
"How did you get under the seat?"
"Lord Dumpling keeps getting thrown down~~"
"Oh, does she..."
"Yes," Tuanzi nodded and said pitifully to Zhou Li, "Lord Dumpling climbs up, then gets thrown down again~~"
"It's all Huai Xu's fault!" Zhou Li got out of the car, walked to the passenger side, and carefully picked her up. "Huai Xu drives too fast!"
"Huai Xu drives too fast!" Tuanzi repeated.
"Yes."
"Yes."
"How can you blame me?" Huai Xu complained from the side, dissatisfied. "This road is so long. If I don't drive fast, we won't arrive until midnight."
"She's still arguing."
"She's still debating."
"You two have such interesting conversations… I've realized, Zhou Li, you're good with kids!" Brother Nan remarked, thinking Zhou Li was very patient. She reached out to stroke Tuanzi's little head. Seeing Tuanzi squint and turn her head away, Brother Nan laughed. "She feels no different from a regular cat."
"MEOW..."
Zhou Li took Tuanzi's special bowl from the trunk and went into the restaurant. Looking at the menu, he furrowed his brows.
"Which fish should we get?"
"Let's have snakehead," Brother Nan suggested. "It has fewer bones, so your pampered Tuanzi won't choke on one."
"It's 'noble,'" Zhou Li softly corrected.
"Yes," Tuanzi nodded.
"Hey! You're really in sync!" Brother Nan grinned. She couldn't understand what Tuanzi was saying, but it didn't stop her from finding the scene endearing.
So they ordered two snakeheads and two side dishes.
While waiting for the food, Zhou Li poured tea for Huai Xu and Brother Nan. It seemed to be some cheap Pu'er. Afterward, he explained to Tuanzi, who was looking at him eagerly, "This is coarse tea, the kind ordinary people drink. Lord Dumpling is of noble status; don't drink this."
"Ohh~" Tuanzi nodded upon hearing this.
"Yes."
Zhou Li then turned to Brother Nan and Huai Xu, suggesting, "Why don't we rest here tonight, or drive on to Pu'er? The sun will set in about an hour."
Huai Xu sneaked a peek at Brother Nan.
Brother Nan vetoed Zhou Li's suggestion. "You're not the one driving, so why do you have such strong opinions?"
Huai Xu immediately puffed out her chest and declared, "Brother Nan is right!"
Zhou Li: "..."
Huai Xu's eyes darted around. After a moment's thought, she added, "But Zhou Li actually has a point; driving at night isn't safe… so let me do it. Day and night look the same to me; I could drive with my eyes closed. Plus, I can drive for ten days to half a month straight without feeling sleepy. And at night, when there are fewer cars, I can drive even faster. See? So many benefits."
Zhou Li nodded vindictively. "Makes sense. Let's do that."
After speaking, he stealthily glanced at Brother Nan.
Seeing Brother Nan looked like she was about to burst, he allowed a subtle smile to creep onto his face.
Then he got hit by Brother Nan.
Zhou Li was sure Brother Nan hadn't noticed his covert smile, but what could he do? Brother Nan didn't care about the circumstances; if you annoyed her, she would hit you, whether it was intentional or not…
Facing such an opponent, Zhou Li felt distressed.
The dishes arrived.
Zhou Li first prepared a bowl of fish soup with rice for Lord Dumpling. Seeing Lord Dumpling lower her head and eat noisily, he finally relaxed.
After dinner, Lord Dumpling finally regained some energy.
The two humans and two demons continued their journey.
By the time they arrived in Jinghong, it was already 1:30 a.m. the next day. Huai Xu had driven fast the whole way, but the roads in the latter half of the journey were so bad that even her skills couldn't make the car fly.
The receptionist at the hotel yawned as she processed their check-in. Zhou Li had originally wanted to be a gentleman and help Brother Nan with her suitcase, but Brother Nan not only didn't give him the chance but also picked up his bag as she left. Zhou Li could only silently collect his ID and room card and follow, secretly giving Brother Nan a thumbs-up in his mind.
The room was large, and the carpet was soft.
Zhou Li stepped into the room and switched on the lamps one by one. He suddenly felt a little awkward and turned to look at Brother Nan.
Brother Nan, however, seemed unperturbed. Pulling her suitcase, she walked past him into the room, looking around and commenting, "This room is quite nice..."
Zhou Li looked around as well.
The suite was divided into two parts. The entrance area had a 1.8-meter king-size bed, complete with a coffee table and sofa. Further in were two 1.5-meter double beds. There was no door between the two areas, but those sleeping on the beds couldn't see each other. However, anyone in the inner area wanting to use the bathroom would have to pass through the outer area.
Brother Nan placed her suitcase next to the king-size bed and handed her backpack to Zhou Li. "You two sleep in there!"
Zhou Li took the bag and walked into the inner area.
THUD!
He collapsed onto one of the beds, sprawling out in a star shape.
Zhou Li didn't move for a long time.
Seeing this, Tuanzi looked left and right, then suddenly jumped onto the other bed and quietly lay down.
Huai Xu was thoroughly confused.
At that moment, Tuanzi turned her head to look at Huai Xu and said seriously, "You sleep on the sofa outside... It's all Huai Xu's fault for throwing Lord Dumpling down. You made a mistake!"
Huai Xu: ...
Just then, Brother Nan appeared at the doorway. Peeking in like a thief, showing only half her head, she spied on them and asked, "Are you guys sleepy?"
Zhou Li certainly was sleepy.
But the other two weren't sleepy at all.
After some discussion, they decided to drag Zhou Li out for barbecue, declaring that the nightlife had only just begun.
Zhou Li didn't really want to go.
His plan was for them to go out for barbecue while he took a shower and went to bed. This was his first time staying in the same room with girls—if this even counted as one room? Anyway, he was embarrassed. By the time Brother Nan and Huai Xu came back from eating, they might find him already showered and asleep in bed, perfectly avoiding any awkwardness.
But Brother Nan wouldn't have it.
They left the hotel and stepped onto the main street outside.
Brother Nan didn't drive. She walked ahead, taking long strides, her cowlick bouncing.
The streets were very quiet at midnight, illuminated only by streetlights. As Brother Nan followed the navigation on her phone, she said to Zhou Li without looking back, "Don't think I'm forcing you to stay up late for no reason. There's a reason for this. I've thought this through carefully."
Zhou Li didn't respond.
Her words sounded a bit like 'I'm doing this for your own good.' He was curious to hear what kind of reasoning Brother Nan would come up with.