The weather today couldn't really be considered good; it was gloomy, a common occurrence in Yan City outside the summer season. However, I remembered the sun often came out around the New Year, and the temperature would start to rise from then on.

Zhou Li sat beside the bed, looking out the window.

Someone's pigeons circled in the sky, a thin fog lingered by the river, and there were few people or vehicles on the street.

The whole city was exceptionally quiet.

Huai Xu sat behind him playing games. The remnants of his takeout were in the trash can, and the air was filled with the scent of food. Probably because he had played for too long, he also felt a bit bored.

"Sigh... Brother Nan isn't online either!"

"Brother Nan went on a trip to the mountains." Zhou Li glanced at his phone screen. "Her hometown doesn't have internet; she can only piggyback off the neighboring WiFi."

"Shall we duo queue then?"

"I'm a liability."

"There's no such thing as a liability in Ultra Rapid Fire! As long as you have fun, you can play however you want!" Huai Xu's eyes shone with anticipation. "Shall I teach you some super fun strategies for Ultra Rapid Fire?"

"No."

"That's no fun..."

Huai Xu stretched languidly and then turned his head to Zhou Li. "Go out and bring me a cola."

Zhou Li didn't reply, simply heading out of the room.

Aunt Jiang had developed the habit of taking a nap over the past year. Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing had also returned to their rooms, leaving only Old Zhou in the living room. He was wearing glasses, threading a needle while listening to the news report on TV.

Tuanzi was squatting beside him on the coffee table, craning her neck, intently watching what he was doing with his hands.

Zhou Li silently moved closer to take a look.

To his surprise, Old Zhou was holding a face mask. Beside him lay a pair of small scissors. The mask had been cut very small, and he was now sewing it together.

"What are you doing?" A few dark lines appeared on Zhou Li's forehead.

"MEOW~"

"Making a mask," Old Zhou glanced at him briefly before returning to his careful sewing.

"What sort of mask?"

"A small mask."

"What for?"

"Your cat wants a mask."

"How do you know she wants to wear a mask?"

"Just now, she kept pawing at the drawer and even stole a mask out, so I figured maybe she wants to wear one," Old Zhou explained, cutting the thread with his scissors. "Since I'm not working these days, I've got nothing better to do."

So boring... Zhou Li thought.

Zhou Li got two colas from the fridge.

When he returned, he saw Old Zhou holding the tiny mask up to Tuanzi, who proudly puffed out her chest to cooperate. Zhou Li couldn't help but shake his head. Clearly, even the most stubborn Old Zhou had fallen for the cat's charms.

Huai Xu twisted off the cap and took a big swig. "TSS!" He squinted, savoring the fizzy sensation in his mouth.

"Seriously," he said again to Zhou Li. "I'll go borrow Brother Nan's computer. Duo queue would be more fun, and maybe... you could also take a look through Brother Nan's computer to see if there's anything interesting hidden!"

"I'm not that sleazy."

Huai Xu's expression became a bit strained. Another gulp of cola seemed to restore his cheer. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then how about we go see that idiot at your old school?"

"Alright," Zhou Li thought for a moment and agreed.

"Let's go!"

Just then, a faint scratching sound came from outside the door, accompanied by Tuanzi calling out—

"Zhou Li, open the door."

"Open the door for Lord Dumpling! Lord Dumpling wants to come in!"

Zhou Li got up to open the door. A small creature wearing a miniature mask darted in and began to stroll casually around the room, clearly showing off her new mask.

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

Then came Zhu Shuang's voice, "Bro, want to go play basketball? We can find a deserted place. It's so boring staying at home."

Zhou Li glanced at Huai Xu. "The door's not closed."

With a CLICK, the door was pushed open slightly.

Zhu Shuang peered furtively into the room and immediately noticed the game's end screen on the computer. He exclaimed, "Bro, you still play this game?"

"Occasionally."

"Ranked?"

"Ultra Rapid Fire."

"I play it occasionally too. We should play together next time?"

"I rarely play."

"Oh, come on, it's more fun together! I don't play often either, and I'm pretty bad at it!" Zhu Shuang said, then remembered why he had come. "My sister and I are planning to go play basketball. Are you coming?"

He then added, "It's not much fun with just the two of us. We won't go if you don't."

Zhou Li thought for a moment.

"I'll go."

Tuanzi poked her head up from the floor. "Where are we going? Lord Dumpling wants to go too! Lord Dumpling has a mwashk!"

Zhu Shuang looked down and gasped—

!!!

"Old Zhou made it," Zhou Li explained.

"It's just... too..."

"Too, too, too cute!"

Zhu Shuang gulped heavily, barely able to speak. He then bent down, trying to pick Tuanzi up for a cuddle, but Tuanzi deftly dodged to the side, hiding behind Zhou Li and peeking out at him. Her actions completely drained his HP bar.

Zhu Shuang made a choked sound.

Tuanzi, her eyes wide and innocent, let out a soft "MEOW~"

Suddenly, she meowed in confusion, feeling someone pick her up.

Glancing down, she saw her four paws were indeed off the ground. Following the arms holding her, she quickly looked up at Zhou Li and watched as he carried her over to Zhu Shuang.

"Here, you can pet her," Zhou Li said.

"MEOW??" Lord Dumpling's eyes instantly widened.

A short while later, the three of them and the cat, all wearing masks and carrying badminton rackets, walked out.

Tuanzi, with her mask on, seemed quite excited. She looked left and right, her big eyes seemingly expressive enough to talk. When they passed pedestrians, she actually turned more heads than Zhou Li and the others.

「Two hours later.」

Zhu Bing was already resting on the side. She usually lacked exercise and wasn't very good at badminton.

Now, Zhu Shuang and Huai Xu were on the court.

When they started, Zhu Shuang immediately noticed that his brother's friend wasn't good at badminton, or perhaps his skills were very poor. So, he went easy on him to ensure Huai Xu had a decent experience. But he quickly discovered that Huai Xu was responsive and agile, able to return any shot in a simple yet brutally effective manner. Gradually, Zhu Shuang started to question his reality.

He knew his badminton skills were excellent; among his peers, apart from his own brother, he had almost no rivals.

A few minutes later, Huai Xu, grinning, turned to Zhu Shuang. "Your turn is over!"

Zhu Shuang, with a numb expression, handed the racket to Zhou Li. He was starting to suspect that Huai Xu was playing dumb to get the upper hand. In a flash, he saw Huai Xu rest the badminton racket on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow provocatively at his brother—

"Noob."

Zhu Shuang was stunned.

Another new problem arose—

He always felt that when his brother played against Huai Xu, he inadvertently displayed strength far beyond what Zhu Shuang understood... But weren't their skills supposed to be similar?

His head was full of question marks, and he felt so tired.

"POP..." The badminton shuttlecock whizzed through the air like a white streak, landing on the ground to Zhou Li's side.

Tuanzi, who had been waiting nearby, suddenly pounced on it, batting the shuttlecock with her paw and sending it over a meter away.

Then she chased after it again.

In the process, she quickly glanced at Zhou Li, wary that he might try to take the shuttlecock from her.

With a careless wave of his badminton racket, Huai Xu pointed a finger at Zhou Li. "That's one point for me... Ah, you're so weak, too weak. Can't you show even a little bit of your real strength?"

Zhou Li didn't say a word. He just bent down to retrieve the shuttlecock from Tuanzi, inwardly deciding not to order takeout for the old monster tonight.

Let him order it himself.

And he wouldn't get him a drink either; let him buy it himself.

「Around 5:30 in the afternoon.」

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing took Tuanzi and went home. Meanwhile, Zhou Li and Huai Xu arrived outside their old high school. Seeing no one around, Zhou Li took a few running steps and easily vaulted diagonally across the pond to enter the school grounds.

Huai Xu appeared out of thin air beside him, his tone still teasing. "Are you still afraid of that idiot?"

"Afraid."

"You..."

Zhou Li ignored him and looked around.

The pond was next to the willow grove, but the willow leaves had mostly fallen in winter and hadn't sprouted anew yet. During summer, this spot by the sports field was the only place that offered shade to everyone; now, it looked bare.

Zhou Li remembered Brother Nan liked to play with willow leaves or compete with the boys to see who could jump and touch the higher branches. Near the end of his senior year, he and Brother Nan had also chatted under these trees.

The distant academic buildings and dormitories were silent, so quiet it felt unsettling. Both the basketball court and the cafeteria were deserted.

Familiar, yet alien.

He shouldn't have had much sentiment or nostalgia for high school, as this place hardly held any of his youthful joy.

His high school years should have been monochrome.

But then there was Brother Nan, like a rainbow.

Zhou Li was lost in reminiscence when a loud shout suddenly erupted beside him, jolting him out of his reverie—

"Hey, idiot, come out and take your beating!" Huai Xu stood with his hands on his hips, shouting several times. Then he turned to Zhou Li and said, "He's coming."

Zhou Li was speechless.

A towering creature, three meters tall with horns on its head, stepped out from the small grove of trees, scratching the back of its head with one hand. Initially puzzled, it quickly became excited upon seeing them.

"OH~~" The ground seemed to tremble with its steps.

Zhou Li looked up at it.

It was dusk now. There was no sunset, only deepening twilight. Visibility became very poor with distance, as daylight was slowly being devoured by the urban mist.

Zhou Li, unruffled, rolled his sleeves up to his wrists. If that's how it is, then I might as well enjoy this.

「At eight o'clock in the evening」

The sky was completely dark, and the city lights shone brightly.

"PHEW..." Zhou Li let out a long breath. The first thing he did upon getting home was take a shower, and then he lay on his bed, even turning down Zhu Shuang's invitation to play video games.

「Past ten o'clock」

His phone chimed.

Zhou Li reached for his phone and saw a message from Brother Nan—

Li Daimao: Where did you run off to during the lockdown?

Li Daimao: Over seventy thousand steps??

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.