"Everyone, hold on tight!"
Huai Xu imitated the public bus announcement and then said, "Brother Nan, your door isn't closed. And Tuanzi, buckle your seatbelt."
"Tuanzi, buckle your seatbelt!"
"Stupid cat in the passenger seat, buckle your seatbelt!"
"..."
Huai Xu pondered for a moment. "Please buckle your seatbelt?"
Still no use, huh?
Tuanzi just lay there quietly on the seat, watching her performance without any intention of moving.
"Alright, I won't argue with you."
"Let's go!"
The vehicle slowly started and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Wow!"
"Isn't this feeling just awesome?"
"WOO~"
Huai Xu was beside herself with excitement.
But she hadn't forgotten her promise; she was always a person of her word. So, once they had driven a kilometer or two and her excitement had slightly calmed, she said to Brother Nan, "Just now, Aunt Jiang said to Zhou Li over the phone..."
She recounted almost everything Aunt Jiang had said about Brother Nan, with hardly any mistakes.
Zhou Li was both surprised and speechless.
Only after she finished speaking did Brother Nan laugh and wave her hand, saying, "You take things too seriously. Did you really think I let you drive just to hear what Aunt Jiang said?"
"Isn't that why?"
"Of course not! I was supposed to let you drive anyway; we already agreed to take turns. I couldn't possibly drive to Jinghong alone for over ten hours."
"Eh?"
"What 'eh'?!"
Brother Nan, glancing at Zhou Li out of the corner of her eye, spread her hands and continued, "Think about it carefully. Why would I be interested in what Aunt Jiang said to Zhou Li?"
Huai Xu: "..."
Zhou Li: "..."
Brother Nan quickly realized her cover-up had backfired and felt a bit embarrassed. She hurriedly rubbed her face—as if embarrassment were just a substance on the surface of her skin, easily rubbed off.
"Huai Xu sure drives well!" she said to Zhou Li.
"Mhm," Zhou Li nodded.
"Hmph!" Huai Xu was inwardly very pleased with herself but pretended to be unconcerned on the surface. "This thing is just a toy to me, no challenge at all."
"Showing off..."
Huai Xu indeed had the right to show off.
Today was probably her first time driving a real car. Previously, she had either played with her toy car, which didn't even have a motor, or lain on the car roof to observe others practicing—or what you might call 'sneaky learning'—thus accumulating a wealth of theoretical experience. Combined with her cheat-like abilities, she was driving almost as well as Brother Nan within a few minutes of touching the car. And in terms of skill and reaction time, she far surpassed Brother Nan.
Brother Nan was a genius.
Huai Xu was a demon.
Only Zhou Li was an ordinary human.
Once Brother Nan was reassured about Huai Xu's driving, she turned to the only ordinary human. "Let's play King of Glory!"
"Sure."
Zhou Li took out his phone.
In the game, he was also an ordinary human.
And a newbie ordinary human at that.
After dragging Brother Nan down in three consecutive games, Zhou Li himself felt embarrassed. Conversely, Brother Nan seemed quite happy—usually, when she played with others, she was the one dragging them down, so being dragged down by someone else was a novel experience for her. What was more surprising was that even though Zhou Li had dragged her down, she actually consoled him afterward and patiently taught him how to play. If one of her silly classmates back in high school had dragged her down like that, she would have considered playing more than three games with them a personal defeat.
As they drove towards Banna, it grew progressively warmer.
The sunlight grew more intense, streaming through the car windows and casting dancing tree shadows, making Zhou Li drowsy.
He put down his phone and gestured to Brother Nan. "I don't want to play anymore; I keep losing. I'm a bit sleepy and want to take a nap."
"You've only played a few games; it's normal to lose. Especially since you're playing with me; we're being matched against high-level Silver-ranked players." Brother Nan paused and then patted her own shoulder. "Go on, sleep. You can use my shoulder."
"Huh?" Zhou Li was taken aback.
"What 'huh'?!" Brother Nan frowned. "During the summer break and at the start of school, I borrowed your shoulder. Consider this me paying you back."
"..."
Zhou Li reached out to touch Brother Nan's shoulder.
Brother Nan's shoulders were slender and well-defined, but consequently, not that soft. A bit bony, right?
Zhou Li glanced downward slightly.
Brother Nan's thighs, on the other hand, looked full yet slender...
Zhou Li pondered briefly, about to speak, but Brother Nan beat him to it—
"Absolutely not!"
"Huh? Absolutely not to what?"
"Absolutely not to anything!" Brother Nan said, pausing. "I'm only lending you my shoulder, nothing else."
"I haven't even said anything yet..."
"Don't you dare say it!"
"Got it..."
At this moment, Huai Xu's voice came from the front seat. "Don't you two have a pillow? Why aren't you using the pillow?"
Brother Nan glanced at Zhou Li.
Zhou Li also looked at Brother Nan.
A moment later—
Zhou Li silently leaned on Brother Nan's shoulder and closed his eyes, actually finding it quite comfortable if he nudged a bit higher and tilted his head. After all, a girl's body is generally softer than a boy's.
Her hair smelled nice. There was the scent of laundry detergent and soap, and perhaps the fragrance of shower gel too. There was also a faint, unplaceable milky scent.
When he occasionally brushed against the skin of her neck, it felt soft, smooth, and faintly warm.
Gradually, Zhou Li's breathing became even.
Brother Nan carefully turned her head to look at him, needing to shift her gaze to the very corners of her eyes to see his face. Then she said to Huai Xu, "He seems to have fallen asleep."
"Indeed," Huai Xu nodded.
"How do you know?" Brother Nan was curious.
"I'm amazing," Huai Xu said, keeping her eyes on the road ahead. After getting accustomed to the car's performance, handling, and the navigation voice, she gradually increased her speed, sometimes taking turns without slowing down.
"I wonder if Zhou Li talks in his sleep." Brother Nan grinned, not daring to move her upper body much and keeping her voice very low. "My dad talks in his sleep, and so did my grandpa. According to my mom, not only does my dad sing in his sleep, but he can also hold conversations. He doesn't lie in his dreams; he'll answer anything. My mom even used this to trick information out of him. I wonder if it's the same for everyone."
"Not at all! Zhou Li sleeps so quietly!" Huai Xu said without a second thought.
"..."
"But I do know of a Demon that can influence people's dreams," Huai Xu added.
"Really?"
"However, with Zhou Li's strong Spiritual Power, that kind of Demon definitely won't affect him, hehehe..." Huai Xu chuckled as she spoke.
"..."
Brother Nan felt disappointed.
Zhou Li wasn't picky about his sleeping environment, but he wasn't a deep sleeper either; it mainly depended on whether the current environment allowed him to feel at ease. Another thing was that if he fell asleep in a noisy environment, he would get used to it.
He must have been woken by the cold breeze from the air conditioner.
The cold air was blowing on his neck...
Wait a minute! Neck?
Only then did Zhou Li realize that at some point, he was no longer resting his head on Brother Nan's shoulder but was instead... lying on Brother Nan's lap.
He slightly lifted his head and met Brother Nan's gaze.
"Get up now that you're awake!"
"..."
Zhou Li blinked but didn't respond to Brother Nan. A moment later, he silently averted his gaze again and closed his eyes, trying to convey that, believe it or not, he hadn't actually woken up. He then settled back, comfortably enjoying the pleasant sensation of Brother Nan's thighs and her scent.
Then, he was lifted up.
Brother Nan's face flushed a little, and she looked quite angry. "You're making your act a bit too obvious, aren't you?"
"Sorry."
"??"
Brother Nan turned her head to look out the window.
She realized that Zhou Li and his cousin were exactly the same in this regard: they were always incredibly quick to bow their heads and admit fault the moment she got angry, even if she was only slightly annoyed or just pretending. It left her feeling as if she'd mustered all her strength for a punch, only to hit soft cotton—an utterly frustrating sensation.
It was just his head resting on her lap for a moment, and besides, he'd been asleep. Brother Nan really shouldn't have been so sensitive about it.
The main issue was that Zhou Li had been jolted from her shoulder when Huai Xu took a high-speed turn. His head hadn't just landed on her lap; it had slipped down, experiencing a certain... process in between. How to describe that process? Perhaps... like crossing mountain peaks and then rolling over hills? After all, Brother Nan was a young woman who had never been in a relationship. It was quite impressive that she'd managed to resist the impulse to drag him out of his sleep and give him a good thumping.
At this thought, she immediately turned and thumped Zhou Li hard on the shoulder.
THUMP!
"??"
Zhou Li looked utterly bewildered.
But upon meeting Brother Nan's gaze, he pondered for a moment and again chose to lower his head in apology. Anyway, regardless of the specifics, he knew he was in the wrong. He promised to change and never do it again. And if, by some chance, he did it again, he would just repeat this whole apology routine.
Rubbing his eyes, Zhou Li looked ahead, just in time to see Huai Xu overtaking another car on a blind bend. His eyes widened.
"What are you doing?!"
"There's no car coming from the other side," Huai Xu said, unconcerned.
"What if there is?"
"There isn't, and there are no 'what ifs'."
"..."
True, this Old Monster has vast powers after all.
Zhou Li patted his head, trying to clear it a little.
Huai Xu drove the car at breakneck speed, thanks to her extraordinary abilities. Handling such a slow-moving behemoth must be child's play for her. Zhou Li was too lazy to even ask what she'd do if the car flipped, as he could already guess her answer.
She'd just say she'd lift it back up, wouldn't she?
The likelihood of getting a speeding ticket wasn't high either; this Old Monster had keen observation skills and was very meticulous. Unless there was a speed camera hidden just around a bend or in some other unseen spot, and the navigation system didn't warn about it.
Zhou Li truly envied her.