Chapter 92: Chapter 90 All Night
"Don’t touch my cowlick!" Brother Nan glared at Zhou Li, her expression both fierce and serious. "It hurts!"
"Okay, I won’t touch it," Zhou Li coaxed.
"Touch me again and I’ll beat you."
"Okay, beat me."
"Ugh, I want to eat the noodles my dad makes."
"Okay! Eat!"
"My new retractable baton is arriving soon."
"Why did you buy another retractable baton?"
"The old ones are at home," Brother Nan said. Is this person stupid? "You can’t bring retractable batons on a high-speed train."
"I see."
"...Do you think I should buy a skirt to wear?"
"Okay! Buy!"
"But I’ve never worn a skirt, even when I was very, very small..." Brother Nan used the index fingers of both hands to gesture a very short distance. "I never wore one when I was little; I don’t like wearing skirts."
"Then don’t buy it!"
"But all the other girls wear skirts, and my mom says I’m grown up now, a big girl."
"Then buy it."
"You’re an idiot," Brother Nan stated with conviction.
"Girls can wear pants too," Zhou Li said, denying he was an idiot. "Jeans can be very cool."
"Hmm, well said... but girls should be cute."
"You’re quite cute."
"Good! Now tell me, what part of me is cute?"
"..."
Zhou Li’s expression became incredibly strained for a moment.
Brother Nan narrowed her eyes. "If you can’t say it, I’ll hit you!"
"You, you..." Zhou Li stammered "you... you..." for a long time. Am I really an idiot? he wondered, then steeled himself— "Go ahead and hit me!"
"Dammit!"
Brother Nan was genuinely angered and threw a punch at him.
Zhou Li claimed her punch didn’t even break his defense.
Brother Nan calmed down and continued, "I also want to bring my Pumpkin over. If not, then let me play with your Tuanzi. But I don’t know if Tuanzi is delicate. I can’t raise delicate pets. Let me tell you, I’ve already killed two turtles, one rabbit, and three parrots. I feel so sorry for them..."
"You’d better stay away from Tuanzi, for your own good."
"Stingy!"
"..."
"I also want to buy a new pair of shoes..."
Brother Nan was indeed a bit drunk. She’d had too much to drink, not so much because others toasted her, but rather because she’d been drinking on her own. She didn’t need others to prompt her to drink, nor did she like drinking with others; she could just keep gulping it down all by herself.
At this point, her speech was disjointed, saying whatever came to mind.
And I’m perfectly lucid, she thought. Still capable of reasoning with Zhou Li.
Eating barbecue was a slow process; you had to grill and eat simultaneously. Little Cousin had a small appetite. After eating for a bit, she put down her chopsticks. She then picked up the serving chopsticks and assumed the role of a little chef, grilling especially for the three of them.
She heard Brother Nan and Zhou Li talking but pretended she hadn’t.
Brother Nan carefully selected a piece of fresh, tender lettuce of the right size, wrapped two slices of meat in it, dipped it generously in lemon sauce, then deftly used her chopsticks to wrap it up tightly and gulped it down in one big bite.
Zhou Li couldn’t help but glance up before saying to Brother Nan, "You’ve eaten so much tonight. That should be enough, right?"
Brother Nan’s cheeks were bulging as she chewed. She waved her hand at Zhou Li and mumbled, "I know how much I’ve eaten."
"Really?"
"?? "
BANG!
Brother Nan’s eyes widened. She struggled to swallow what was in her mouth. "You’re mocking me!"
"I’m not."
"You are!"
"..."
"Hmph!"
As if to prove her point, Brother Nan kept eating for several more minutes, swallowing the last mouthful with some effort. She breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed her belly, and leaned her entire upper body against the back of the chair to rest.
It was nearly eight o’clock by now. Most people had finished eating and were chatting.
Some were quite bored.
Around 8:30, the class officers from both classes settled the bill. Many students immediately took a cab back to school. Some fun-loving students also gathered, planning to go for karaoke, and invited Brother Nan and Zhou Li as well.
Considering Zhou Li didn’t enjoy singing, Brother Nan declined.
"Baozi, are you coming with us for the all-nighter?"
"I’m not going."
"Oh." Brother Nan nodded, then whispered to Zhou Li, "Do you want to invite that Demon you’re keeping?"
He’d definitely want to go, Zhou Li thought.
"Then invite him. The more, the merrier."
"I need to borrow an ID card..."
Zhou Li thought it over and decided to borrow one from Baozi, since they were related by blood.
Then Brother Nan took Zhou Li to a nearby supermarket to buy a lot of snacks and drinks, and even bought a few more cans of beer.
Zhou Li was somewhat speechless. "Haven’t you eaten and drunk enough?"
"No."
Brother Nan also bought some duck necks and duck heads, saying, "It’s only a little past nine now. I’ll be hungry in the middle of the night. For an all-nighter, you need supplies. You don’t know this stuff, so just listen to me."
Zhou Li fell silent.
He was left to carry everything.
The shopping took only an hour. It was just ten o’clock when Huai Xu received a message and found them.
"Smartphones are so convenient!" Huai Xu said.
"How did you know we were here?" Brother Nan asked.
"I’ve memorized Zhou Li’s aura; I can find him anywhere," Huai Xu smiled proudly.
"Where are we going now?" Zhou Li asked.
"Let’s sit for a while," Brother Nan glanced at a row of chairs by the road. "I’m a bit sleepy."
"..."
"Once I get to the internet cafe, I won’t be sleepy anymore."
"Okay."
So the three of them sat down on the chairs.
Brother Nan dozed off with her head bowed.
Zhou Li gave the duck necks Brother Nan had bought to Huai Xu and described the barbecue they’d had that night, leaving Huai Xu stunned.
Soon, a dirty stray dog stopped in front of them. It seemed lured by the scent of the duck necks, but upon arriving, it stared straight at Brother Nan with clear hostility.
Brother Nan raised her head and said very calmly, "Don’t panic. This Brother Nan has been a magnet for dogs since I was a kid."
Then she barked at the dog, "WOOF!"
The stray dog: "WOOF!"
Brother Nan: "WOOF!"
The stray dog: "GRRR-WOOF!"
Seeing the stray dog bare its teeth, Brother Nan couldn’t stand it and immediately rummaged through her shoulder bag.
"Where’s my retractable baton?"
"You left it at home."
"..."
Brother Nan’s hand froze. She turned to look at Zhou Li, who was also looking at her, his gaze seeming to say—
Are you stupid?
SWOOSH! Brother Nan shot to her feet, rolled up her sleeves, and charged at the stray dog.
Huai Xu, munching on a duck neck, stared blankly at Brother Nan.
"Has she always been like this?"
"Yes."
Less than half a minute later, Brother Nan returned, her expression proud and disdainful. As she rolled her sleeves down, she said, "That dog’s such a coward. The dogs in Yan City are much tougher!"
"Tough," Zhou Li nodded.
"Tough," Huai Xu quickly agreed.
After sitting for about an hour, the night breeze grew cold, and the traffic on the road thinned out. Brother Nan shivered and straightened up.
"Let’s go!"
"Okay."
So the two humans and one Demon found a nice internet cafe.
The internet cafe had a good atmosphere; it wasn’t crowded and was quiet.
The air wasn’t too thick with smells.
In Caiyun, unlike Yi Province, you had to register to use the internet, a process apparently linked to the Public Security Department. However, you could register right at the internet cafe. Once registered, you’d receive a password that could be used at any internet cafe thereafter.
In Yi Province, internet cafe passwords were basically just "123."
Brother Nan had only been at school for a little over half a month but had already pulled several all-nighters. Baozi was also registered.
It was Zhou Li’s first time; he paid a registration fee of fifteen yuan.
Twenty yuan for an all-nighter—pretty expensive.
Brother Nan paid; she knew Zhou Li was broke.
Then, led by Brother Nan, they found a spot in the gaming area, and the three of them sat together. Zhou Li sat in the middle, watching Brother Nan press a button on the screen to turn on her computer. He did the same and also helped Huai Xu turn his on.
He opened QQ, intending to ask Little Cousin for Baozi’s account password, but Baozi had already sent it to him.
Brother Nan launched the game, then turned to watch them, spreading snacks out on the table as she did.
She also handed Huai Xu two cans of beer.
After a moment’s thought, she said, "Let’s start with a few rounds of LoL against bots. We can guide Zhou Li. Then we’ll play some ’chicken dinner’ games. Afterward, we can play a few more LoL matches or some other multiplayer games, either single-player or online."
Zhou Li said, "Oh."
Huai Xu also nodded.
TSSST! Brother Nan popped open a can, tilted her head back, took a gulp, and said, "Log into my account; I have plenty of smurfs."
Zhou Li reminded her softly, "You’ve barely sobered up. Don’t get drunk again."
Brother Nan nodded on the surface. "I know my limits."
Then she muttered under her breath, "Such a fusspot..."
Zhou Li pretended he hadn’t heard.
They started the game and followed Brother Nan’s instructions, beginning a match against bots. Brother Nan told Zhou Li to pick a champion with a large sword, instructed Huai Xu to choose one with a spear, and she herself selected a prince wielding a halberd.
"Hide, just hide in the bushes!"
"Right, right, don’t go out!"
"When I tell you to charge, you charge!"
"Here they come, here they come..."
"Charge!"
After reaching level two, it became even more fun.
Brother Nan was responsible for knocking the AI champions into the air; Huai Xu would then rush in to continue the juggle, and Zhou Li would charge forward, slash once, and start spinning.
After one combo, the opponent was dead.
The match lasted quite a while. By the end, Zhou Li had fully grasped the basic controls and had a decent understanding of the game. Brother Nan turned to him and asked, "Well? Is it fun?"
"It’s fun."
"Let’s keep going. A couple more games, and then we can find a new server to play matchmaking." As Brother Nan spoke, she glanced behind her. A guy back there was constantly shouting at the top of his lungs. When he won, he’d taunt and insult people; when he died, he’d curse. He was incredibly loud.
"That guy is so annoying," Brother Nan said.
"A bit," Zhou Li agreed, also glancing back.
"I feel like beating him up..."
"Should I go..."
The two voices spoke almost simultaneously.
Zhou Li glanced left at Brother Nan, then turned his head to look at Huai Xu, feeling a bit of a headache. "Let’s just forget it. We’re all adults here."
Brother Nan nodded. "True."
Huai Xu rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.
A new game began.
After finishing, they had some snacks and drinks, then found a new queue for matchmaking. This match was a bit more challenging. Among the five opponents, there were clearly smurfs; even the weakest of them was better than the AI.
Zhou Li played poorly, but they still won.
Checking the time, it was already 2 a.m. Zhou Li stood up and said, "I’m going to the bathroom."
Brother Nan nodded.
Huai Xu, gnawing on a salt-baked chicken leg, silently watched him go.
The young man was still being loud. As Zhou Li passed him, he glanced over. He looked like a decent, well-dressed guy. Why would playing a game fill him with such malice?
The young man seemed to sense Zhou Li’s gaze and looked back at him.