Zhou Li glanced at his phone and replied to a few messages.

But Hong Ran still hadn't replied to him.

In the evening, he received two calls: one from his uncle and the other from his mother.

He didn't talk to his uncle for long. After exchanging blessings, they just asked each other about the pandemic situation. A few days ago, Zhou Li had sent them several boxes of masks, and according to his uncle, they hadn't run out yet. Then his aunt took over the phone. Women always seemed to have more to say about the trivialities of daily life than men did. Soon, Zhou Li learned from his aunt how his cousin was now being disdained at home for her slothfulness—sleeping in late, not washing her face after getting up, hardly leaving her room except for meals and using the bathroom, and even locking her bedroom door... In short, she was quite different from the somewhat aloof and sophisticated girl she appeared to be at school.

Zhou Li didn't mention to them about Baozi borrowing money to buy a camera lens.

It was almost as if it had been arranged; just as he hung up the phone, his mother's call came in.

They were going to talk for a while.

The domestic pandemic situation was serious, and foreign reports were often misleading and greatly exaggerated. Moreover, mothers always worry about their children, leading Ms. Ji to believe that the danger level in Yan City might not be much less than that in Jiang City, the center of the epidemic.

So she cautioned him about one thing after another, and Zhou Li listened quietly.

He leaned back on his bed, with Tuanzi nestled on his lap. One hand gently stroked Tuanzi's back while the other held the phone to his ear, as the sky outside was ablaze with crimson clouds.

Perhaps sensing his quietness, Tuanzi was exceptionally well-behaved, lying still and only watching him with a pair of bright, lively eyes.

Actually, the pandemic situation in Yan City was very mild, with only two cases, no further growth, and the prospect of reaching zero cases soon. In contrast, a case or two had recently started to appear abroad. Even though it was far from serious, who knew when an outbreak might occur.

Zhou Li suddenly remembered something from a few days ago.

Old Zhou had been watching the news alone in the living room. Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing were having a tutoring session in the study. Aunt Jiang was taking a nap, and Zhou Li had gone out to pick up some food for Huai Xu. When Old Zhou glanced at him, he said nonchalantly, "Those who have fled abroad will regret it. Don't be fooled by how serious the epidemic is here; it won't be long before the domestic and international situations might reverse. Some countries can't even produce masks. If you ask me, those living abroad should seek refuge back home, quarantine for two weeks, and that's it."

Only now did he understand.

So Zhou Li said to his mother on the phone, "Now there's an outbreak abroad, too. If you have time, you should come back. The domestic situation is under control. Just cooperate with the quarantine when you return."

"I'm busy over here, too."

"You just told me not to go out," Zhou Li reflected. "You didn't come back for the New Year, either. I miss you."

"Really?" Ms. Ji's voice sounded excited.

"Yeah."

"I'll try my best!"

"If the epidemic explodes where you are, that country is too small to control it," Zhou Li said. "You can't even produce masks there."

"That's true."

"Actually, Yan City is pretty good. I've been going out and about these past few days; many industries are starting to resume work…"

Almost as if their roles were reversed, Zhou Li began to try and convince her, but Ms. Ji was not a foolish person, so he didn't need to put too much effort into it.

It was said that Old Zhou and Ms. Ji had had a shotgun wedding, a consequence of youthful indiscretion. After the divorce, both of them struggled and grew in different ways. Old Zhou went into business, while Ms. Ji spent more time learning and improving herself. Initially, her life wasn't easy, and her path was even more difficult than Old Zhou's. However, as the company grew, she was later dispatched to a foreign branch. Afterward, she started another family there, practically anchoring her to that place. Fortunately, the company never collapsed but instead grew bigger, and as a veteran employee, she now held a relatively high position.

Even as an expatriate, she was contributing to the economic development and expansion of her home country's influence.

Old Zhou and she had been separated for over a decade.

Looking back, that love must have been deeply etched in their hearts for it to drive such significant change in both of them. So now, Old Zhou still pretended to casually drop hints to Zhou Li.

However, he was too timid.

He didn't dare utter even such subtle hints in Aunt Jiang's presence; or rather, even when she wasn't there, he didn't dare to make the hints slightly more obvious. Zhou Li even thought Old Zhou was testing his ability to catch on.

More than an hour later, the call finally ended.

Tuanzi finally rolled over on Zhou Li's lap, stretching out a paw tentatively to hook Zhou Li's hand, and asked, "Zhou Li, who were you talking to? Lord Dumpling has been lying here so long my feet are numb."

"My mother... It's my feet that are numb."

"Your mother."

"Yeah."

"Lord Dumpling wants to go out and play."

"Go play where?"

"Go play outside."

Zhou Li understood. "Aren't you afraid there might be viruses in other people's homes during the epidemic?"

"You told your mother there are no more viruses here."

"...We'll talk about it later!"

Zhou Li glanced out the window; the crimson glow of sunset had faded, and the light grew dim as city lights started to flicker on. The phone had grown slightly hot from the long call.

He opened WeChat, and his eyes lit up.

Hong Ran: [Red Packet]

Hong Ran: You're 19, right?

You have received a red packet from your friend Hong Ran.

Zhou Li: Yes.

Zhou Li: It was a busy day today, Sister Hong Ran.

Hong Ran: Tell me about it. A bunch of messy things; I sometimes feel like throwing in the towel.

Zhou Li unconsciously smiled.

Usually, Hong Ran was a person whose every move was steeped in classical nobility and elegance, sometimes with a hint of laziness, which made her all the more charming. But when she complained about work, she was nothing like that.

He felt a twinge of heartache.

Zhou Li: Did you used to do it all, Your Highness?

Hong Ran: No.

Hong Ran: His Highness didn't bother with it either; he let us handle it.

Zhou Li: Isn't that the same then?

Hong Ran: It's different. His Highness could ask us to handle it, but now I'm the only one left in charge, and they might not listen to me.

Zhou Li: That's really tiring.

Hong Ran: Yes, too tiring.

Hong Ran: When will you be coming back to Chunming? If I'm free, I could have you give me a massage.

Zhou Li: Probably not until the epidemic is completely over.

Hong Ran: Completely? That might take a while.

Zhou Li: I still have a piece of cake left, Hami Melon and durian flavor. Do you want it?

Hong Ran: I want it.

Zhou Li: Where are you? If it's convenient, I can have Huai Xu deliver it to you.

Hong Ran: It's a pity. I'm at a place right now where Huai Xu can't come; if he did, he would get caught.

Zhou Li: I'm going to tell him that.

Zhou Li meant what he said and immediately turned to look at Huai Xu. But instead of saying it directly, he sighed casually, "I was going to have you deliver a cake to Sister Hong Ran. What a pity..."

"What happened?" a certain chatterbox naturally asked.

"She said you're not qualified to go where she is now."

"..."

The Old Monster, who always prided himself on being the Great Devil King and was incredibly arrogant, suddenly wore an expression more uncomfortable than if he had swallowed a fly. But he didn't know what to say. After stammering for a long time, his face red, all he could force out was, "What's... what's so great about that!"

How feeble!

...

「Day sixteen ended.」

「Day seventeen also ended.」

Brother Nan said she would consider it for a couple of days, but several "couple of days" had passed, and the holiday seemed to be endlessly long.

Zhou Li never received her decision; it was as if such a thing didn't exist at all. During this short period, he received a few more business deals; Mr. Jiang indeed proved very reliable.

However, only one of the deals involved demons, and it was just a very common dispute; he only needed to mediate a little, and that was enough. The rest of the deals were essentially free money, which greatly enriched his experiences.

Tuanzi went out to be a scumbag cat again.

For fear of worrying Aunt Jiang, Zhu Shuang, and Zhu Bing, Zhou Li told them he had left her in a friend's care.

Speaking of which, he owed it all to Brother Nan. Now, whenever he mentioned a friend, true or false, the entire family automatically assumed that friend was Brother Nan. They didn't question further and trusted him completely. Even when he frequently went out during the epidemic, nobody asked much, invisibly saving him a lot of trouble.

There's no such thing as peaceful times, anyway. It's just Brother Nan taking the blame and moving forward on my behalf.

Zhou Li didn't bother to explain. Ridiculous as their reasoning process might be, the outcome was correct, after all!

「Early March.」

Online classes were starting.

But there was also good news: Brother Nan's family's noodle shop had finally reopened. Her family was quite headstrong; most of Yan City's restaurants had already been open for half a month.

This meant that Brother Nan would also return from her hometown to Yan City, instead of just coming up for a day or two and then running back.

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