Zhou Li was actually excited, too.

This amount of money was indeed a figure he had never seen in his life; it might only be a fraction of Old Zhou's net worth, but how many years had Old Zhou struggled to accumulate his wealth? And Zhou Li? Two days?

But how excited was he, really? That was less certain.

Although Old Zhou's wealth couldn't compare to Mr. Jiang's, except when Zhou Li was very young, Old Zhou had never been stingy with Zhou Li financially.

Ever since he was a child, Zhou Li could afford whatever he wanted to buy, and there was always money in the drawers at home.

He had never had his New Year's money confiscated, either.

Growing up in such an environment, Zhou Li didn't have an urgent desire for money; he felt it was enough just to have sufficient funds. And he didn't have particularly expensive personal hobbies—in fact, he hardly had any hobbies at all. He couldn't even spend all the pocket money Aunt Jiang gave him. So, an amount of money far exceeding his needs held even less significance for him.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Li played some music. Whatever the case, his mood was ultimately very cheerful.

He picked up his phone and started typing a reply—

Zhou Li: Received.

Zhou Li: If anything comes up, just contact me. If you're in danger again, just contact me, no matter where you are. Our assistance will arrive the second after your call connects.

That statement was quite domineering.

Mr. Jiang: Thank you, Master Zhou. I will be counting on you a lot in the future.

Zhou Li: No problem. If you think we are professional enough, you can give us some proper publicity.

Mr. Jiang: Definitely, definitely.

Zhou Li: Also, once you have sorted through the books left by your ancestors, if possible, I would like to borrow some of the less important ones. The Heavenly Masters are currently weak, and only you have the complete inheritance.

After sending that message, he felt his face get a bit hot—

It made him sound so diligent, so concerned for the nation and its people; Huai Xu would laugh himself to death if he saw it.

Mr. Jiang: No problem, you can borrow whatever you want.

Zhou Li nodded to himself.

In truth, he just wanted to find some simple spells suitable for him to learn. His output power was high, and even simple spells would be quite effective when cast by him. The Jiang Family definitely had top-notch spells—at least something on par with Zheng Zhilan's Golden Thread. But Zhou Li already had a taste of the difficulty in learning the Golden Thread.

「...」

By the time he got home, it was already half past ten.

The TV in the living room was still on, showing "Ace vs Ace," and the occasional laughter of Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing could be heard.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening and then closing, Zhu Shuang poked her head out from the sofa and mimicked Aunt Jiang's tone, "Did you lock the door behind you?"

This kid...

Zhou Li retorted, "Why are you still up so late? Did your cram school teacher not assign enough homework?"

Zhu Shuang did not reply to him, just showed a beautiful smile and asked curiously, "Why are you back so late? Where have you been? The places to go out should all be closed, right?"

"I had to make a long trip for some business."

Zhou Li secretly decided to subtly mention to Teacher Cao tomorrow that he should assign more homework to these two.

Teacher Cao was his high school chemistry teacher, infamous for assigning a heap of homework. Now, as a tutor for the two in chemistry and physics, Zhou Li often felt that Teacher Cao wasn't pushing them hard enough.

"Ohh! A long trip, huh~~"

Zhu Shuang's voice trailed off, with an expression begging for more homework, which made Zhou Li feel that perhaps it wasn't just Teacher Cao who wasn't doing his utmost.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

Zhou Li's stomach began to rumble.

Running around since the afternoon, he had only had half a portion of fruit and a piece of cake. He had thought that if he slept, he wouldn't feel hungry, but it seemed he wouldn't make it without eating. So, he began searching through the fridge.

"Didn't you have dinner?" Zhu Shuang still leaned over the sofa, looking at him.

"I did, but I'm hungry again."

"Your appetite has gotten so big."

"I had a lot of exercise."

"Makes sense."

"Do you guys want anything?"

"What are you cooking? If it's turkey noodles, I'll eat," Zhu Shuang turned back to look at her sister. "Sister will eat too."

"Okay."

"Fry an egg."

"Hmm."

Zhou Li then got busy in the kitchen.

Apart from instant noodles, he also warmed up some leftover dishes from the fridge. He then used the heated oil to stir-fry some cold rice, making a sort of jumbled fried rice for Huai Xu to eat.

Just as he finished, he heard a series of delicate, brisk footsteps.

A white shadow streaked across the floor and wrapped itself around Zhou Li's ankles, followed by a sweet, adorable voice—

"Zhou Li, you're back!!"

"Hmm."

"Lord Dumpling came out to greet you! Did you make any money?"

"We made some."

Zhou Li, carrying the food, stepped out of the kitchen with Tuanzi still clinging to his leg, being dragged along while looking up at him.

"How much did you earn?"

"Quite a lot."

"Can you buy plain boiled cabbage for Lord Dumpling with that?"

"I told you, there's no plain boiled cabbage for sale recently," Zhou Li said quietly while lifting Tuanzi, feeling quite speechless towards the little thing. "Besides, I called you to come along when I was working outside. You didn't come, and now you want plain boiled cabbage?"

"MEOW?"

Tuanzi cocked its head, showing a bewildered expression as if it didn't understand his words at all, only saying, "Lord Dumpling wants to eat plain boiled cabbage."

"You wish."

"When there's plain boiled cabbage for sale, will you buy some for Lord Dumpling, okay?" Tuanzi jumped onto the table and looked up at him, its eyes sparkling under the dining room light. "Lord Dumpling will let you play with its paw."

"Okay!"

"What are you guys eating?" Tuanzi moved closer to the dish, sniffing. "Lord Dumpling will taste it for you to see if it's poisoned."

"Thank you, Lord Dumpling." After saying this, Zhou Li called out, "You two, the noodles are ready."

"You're welcome, MEOW~"

After tasting, Tuanzi smacked its lips, puzzled, "Isn't this the same thing Lord Dumpling had leftover tonight?"

Zhou Li: ...

He silently picked up a small piece of turkey noodles – the new double-spiced version that Zhu Shuang bought – and offered it to Tuanzi, "Would you like to try this? I've just cooked it; it's sweet and super delicious."

"Then Lord Dumpling must try it, MEOW~"

"AAH~~"

"Is it sweet?"

"It's sweet... seems like a bit... MEOW? MEOW! Lord Dumpling's mouth is on fire, on fire!!"

"What's wrong with Tuanzi?" Coming over with a bowl of noodles, Zhu Shuang only saw Tuanzi frantically shaking its head and scratching at its mouth. "Hey, did you let her sneak a bite of the turkey noodles? A cat's tongue is more sensitive than a person's; she can't handle it. Quick, pour some water!"

"It was just a one-centimeter piece."

Zhou Li poured a glass of water and handed it over.

Tuanzi immediately dunked its head in and glugged away. Yet when it raised its head, its delicate pink tongue was still hanging out, and it immediately urged Zhou Li, "Zhou Li, Lord Dumpling will tell Li Cangguo... BLEP... This thing is poisonous, don't eat it... BLEP..."

As it spoke, it kept flicking its tongue.

Zhou Li suddenly felt a deep guilt.

Thus, he resolutely picked up a piece of turkey noodles. "Since Lord Dumpling is poisoned, I have to share the hardship with Lord Dumpling, and I won't drink even a sip of water!"

Tuanzi hurriedly pawed at his hand to stop him, saying that Lord Dumpling is a Great Demon, so it was fine, but it would surely kill him. He didn't listen and tearfully finished a whole plate.

Tuanzi was incredibly moved.

That night, it snuggled tightly into Zhou Li's embrace to sleep.

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