Zhou Li returned to his room with a plate of strawberries and a plate of snacks.
Huai Xu sat on the upper bunk munching on a chicken leg, his leg swinging back and forth, barefoot—this old monster knew that nobody would easily enter Zhou Li's room when at home, so he was fearless.
Noticing Zhou Li's gaze, he immediately said, "Brother Nan gave it to me!"
"I didn't say it was stolen," Zhou Li muttered softly.
"Your eyes did."
"How did you guys do it?"
"I messaged Brother Nan, and he ran to the kitchen to grab a chicken leg for me, then I went over to get it," Huai Xu said as he continued to eat, chewing and swallowing the bones as well, too lazy to spit them out. "Brother Nan's home is big."
Zhou Li popped a strawberry into his mouth, finding it quite sweet. He then set the fruit plate and snacks on the table and sat down on the bed too.
He wasn't someone fond of taking photos, but on this trip, the number of photos in his album had increased by several hundred. Over seventy percent of them were downloads of Brother Nan's photos from the group chat. Another twenty percent were photos he had taken himself—the ones he had taken openly—and a final ten percent were in a certain private album.
Zhou Li went through them one by one, as if cleaning them up.
Photos he had impulsively thought looked good at the time but were later outshone by newer, similar ones had to be deleted. The ones he kept needed to be sorted into different albums, copied to a portable hard drive, and selectively uploaded to cloud storage.
The scenery of Banna truly couldn't be beaten.
When he and Brother Nan had traveled during the National Holiday, the photos he saved were mostly of landscapes; even those with people usually had beautiful scenery as the background. The photos from this trip were closer to everyday life and the human touch.
Most pictures featured people or Tuanzi, either while dining, in the car, or group photos in front of an interesting or iconic place.
It had a unique charm indeed.
Before he knew it, an hour had passed.
Zhou Li was absorbed in looking at the photos.
Huai Xu, peeking down from the upper bunk, was just as absorbed, and the strawberries on the desk dwindled one by one.
"Why haven't you saved the photos I took? Did you, what's that word, me?"
"Block," Zhou Li supplied.
"Right, right! Did you block me?"
"No."
"Then how did you know I was talking about blocking?"
"I'm not dumb."
"I'm not dumb either..." Huai Xu muttered as he took out his phone. He needed to check if he had actually sent the photos. Since he was using a pay-as-you-go plan, he was reluctant to spend on data charges and kept his mobile data switched off most of the time. He suspected that he might not have been connected to Wi-Fi when he sent them, or perhaps the Wi-Fi network was poor, preventing the photos from being sent and thus missed by Zhou Li.
Old Zhou's and Aunt Jiang's voices faintly reached them from outside. They were discussing taking Zhou Li and Zhu Shuang out shopping for new clothes. Old Zhou tactfully reminded her that Zhou Li and Zhu Shuang already had plenty of clothes, while also subtly suggesting she wait a couple of days. Perhaps feeling there was some truth in Old Zhou's words, Aunt Jiang abandoned the idea.
That was a relief for Zhou Li; he didn't like going out shopping.
After sorting out the photos, just as Zhou Li was about to talk to Brother Nan, he unexpectedly received a message from him first—
Li Daimao: Finished eating?
Zhou Li: I finished a while ago. How about you?
Li Daimao: I just finished.
Zhou Li: Eat in moderation.
Li Daimao: [Kitchen Knife]
Li Daimao: Let me tell you something.
Li Daimao: When I drove back home, guess what expression my old folks had?
Zhou Li: Very surprised?
Li Daimao: Wrong. They weren't surprised at all.
Li Daimao: They just exchanged a glance.
Zhou Li: I see.
Aunt Jiang and Old Zhou must have eaten at Brother Nan's noodle shop, Zhou Li guessed. It's truly lamentable, he thought, how the ancient virtue of 'eat without talking, sleep without talking' has been utterly discarded by people nowadays.
Zhou Li: Do you have any plans for the next few days?
Li Daimao: Asking me out, huh? Too bad. I have to go with my parents to my grandma's place for New Year visits tomorrow morning.
Zhou Li: I'm going to visit Zheng Zhilan tomorrow.
Li Daimao: You really should pay her a visit.
Zhou Li: I was hoping you would come with me.
Li Daimao: Me, go with you?
Zhou Li: Yes.
Li Daimao: Mm, got it... I'll think about it…
Li Daimao: She lives on Mingjiu Mountain, right?
Zhou Li: It's a bit of a distance from Mingjiu Mountain.
Li Daimao: That's not too far. I'll see if I can make time to stay for a day, or at least half a day if nothing else works out. How long are you going for?
Zhou Li: I'll be back by the morning of the 30th.
Li Daimao: Poor Miss Zheng, living alone in the deep mountains.
Zhou Li: Yeah.
Li Daimao: Then it's settled. When are you leaving? Why don't you go in the morning too? Just come with me. I'll drive and can drop you off right at the foot of Mingjiu Mountain, so you don't have to bother taking the bus. Sound good?
Zhou Li: Okay.
Li Daimao: So, will you come over tomorrow morning for noodles?
Zhou Li: I will.
Li Daimao: Alright, I'll save some for you.
Zhou Li: Yeah.
Brother Nan's family is going for New Year visits tomorrow, Zhou Li suddenly realized after sending the message. Won't they have to close the shop?
Li Daimao: What kind of noodles do you want?
Zhou Li stared at the message, pondering. Why am I even going there for noodles?
After hesitating, Zhou Li sent: Are you opening the shop tomorrow?
Li Daimao: No, we're not.
Li Daimao: We're closing soon. The staff are going on holiday this afternoon.
Li Daimao: What's up?
Li Daimao: But I deliberately made a lot of noodle topping today, so there will be plenty left over. Our whole family is going to have noodles tomorrow morning, and after that, pretty much everyone will head back to our hometown for the New Year.
Li Daimao: Hehe...
Li Daimao: Usually, my parents drive back early in the morning. I can't get up, so I leave later. In past years, they would leave first, and I'd take the bus to catch up for lunch. If you come around eight or nine, no one will be here.
Li Daimao: Did that scare you to death?
Li Daimao: Hahaha, too scared to reply anymore? Chicken!
Zhou Li: ...Right.
He was startled, staring at the incessant messages from Brother Nan, his mind racing as he typed and deleted replies, lost in wild thoughts. He contemplated how to tactfully refuse Brother Nan. He also imagined the scene of sitting with Brother Nan's large family to eat noodles tomorrow morning. The very thought was terrifying. It was like a horror movie; he knew it couldn't possibly happen, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. The more he thought, the more scared he became, and the more scared he became, the more he thought.
Zhou Li's face turned red. Reading Brother Nan's last message, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Zhou Li: Noodles with chopped chili topping.
Hearing a voice from above, he sent another message: Huai Xu says he wants beef noodles, with an extra marinated egg.
Li Daimao: No problem! I'll save extra for you guys. I'll let you experience what it feels like to have the noodle topping completely covering the noodles.
Zhou Li: [OK]
Turning off his phone, he looked up to meet Huai Xu's gaze and asked curiously, "Is peeking really that fun?"
「Lunar December 28th, morning.」
Today, the word 'epidemic' appeared noticeably more often in the news and was reflected on various online media platforms.
Zhou Li was unusually going out to meet a friend. Although it sounded a bit special, Aunt Jiang didn't ask much, merely guessing inwardly. It wouldn't be proper to visit someone for New Year's empty-handed, she thoughtfully considered.
"Do any of the elders in your classmate's family smoke?"
"They don't."
"What a pity. We have so many cigarettes at home that we can't give away." Aunt Jiang picked up two bottles of alcohol, one of white liquor and one of red wine. "Take a bottle of alcohol. There's definitely going to be drinking during the New Year. Two bottles of alcohol can't be wrong."
"There's no need."
"You have to take them. What else should you bring..." Aunt Jiang struggled to decide. "How about a carton of milk? That's what everyone brings."
"That's enough, really."
"Okay, okay then."
Aunt Jiang looked helpless, then reminded him, "But still, you should listen to your dad and avoid crowded places, just in case... Though the countryside might be safer than the city."
Zhou Li nodded in agreement.
Aunt Jiang asked again, "Are they easy to carry? Do you want me to give you a ride?"
Zhou Li quickly assured her they were easy to carry, put on his shoes, and effortlessly went out the door, carrying the alcohol in one hand and the milk in the other.
He went downstairs, heading towards Brother Nan's noodle shop.
Huai Xu followed beside him, looking back up at the sky and grinning. "Aunt Jiang is watching you from the window, and so is Old Zhou. Oh, and your little brother is peeking from another window too. How interesting..."
Zhou Li was speechless.
Truly helpless... he thought.
Brother Nan's noodle shop wasn't far from his house. It was just around two corners and then a bit further before he would be out of sight from his own windows. However, this road was practically a straight shot to Brother Nan's noodle shop.
The door to Brother Nan's noodle shop was closed. He didn't dare to knock and just stood at the entrance, sending Brother Nan a message.
The door quickly opened.
Brother Nan, wearing a sweater, cotton pajama pants, and knitted slippers, still in his sleepwear, pulled him in and closed the door. "I've found it's much colder at home than in Chunming. Chunming is so warm… Why didn't you knock? You're such a scaredy-cat!"
Zhou Li just nodded.
The room, with its door shut, was dark. Though it was indeed warmer than being outside in the chilly breeze, he felt a bit odd—why did a simple visit to a classmate's shop to scrounge a bowl of noodles feel so sneaky?