Chapter 88
Huada University has entered its winter vacation. My first vacation in college coincided with the Chinese New Year, so it lasted for a month and a half.
Unlike the summer vacation, when some students choose to stay on campus to study, during the winter vacation, most students choose to go home for the New Year.
Not only students, but also shops that were usually busy had to close due to the loss of customers.
The flowers are big this winter, and it is quiet with not many people coming and going.
The only thing left was the weird puppet shop across from the main entrance.
Even though there was a "temporarily closed" sign hanging at the entrance, the door was open, revealing the true appearance of the store.
Seven people with outstanding looks but strange clothes are eating hot pot.
"I didn't expect that there would still be takeout during the New Year. I declare that takeout is the greatest invention in the world!" Bai Zhou said vaguely while chewing a piece of wide noodles.
"Swallow it first and then talk." Lan Ji knocked on the table and said with a complicated expression.
Since coming here, Bai Zhou seemed determined to abandon his identity as the fifth prince and vowed to throw all his previous dignity behind him.
"Lan, don't act like an old man. We are just having a meal with our family, why should we follow any rules or etiquette?"
Perhaps because he had been oppressed for too long, Bai Zhou insisted on eating in an "undignified" way.
Lan Ji was so angry that he threw his chopsticks and wanted to use ice to block the man's mouth.
Opposite Bai Zhou and Lan Ji, Pei Zhao was poking a rattle roll. He lowered his eyes and watched the two of them fighting.
In fact, Lan Ji was also strict. What Bai Zhou called "unseemly" was also the behavior of a nobleman in their eyes.
Bai Zhouzuo was just tired of having to follow rules in every action, and wanted to use this opportunity to declare his freedom.
Pei Zhao withdrew his gaze. The two of them could get along normally as long as they didn't mention Hall City. All the emotions and thoughts are shown on the face, without any barriers between them.
And he and Zhou Yuli...
Pei Zhao couldn't stop sighing.
Since Sudi came today, it is the first time to go to the main world to fight. Although they rarely had the opportunity to be alone together, Zhou Yuli always treated him with a distant attitude.
It's like... I'm doing it for someone to see.
Pei Zhao glanced at Zhou Yuli out of the corner of his eye.
The man's bowl and dishes were clean, but he ate two heads of lettuce at the beginning and never picked up the chopsticks again.
Won’t the puppet be hungry?
Pei Zhao turned his gaze to Miu Yi, who was eating happily without caring about anything.
...Just like humans, they get hungry.
Moreover, there was almost enough space between Zhou Yuli and him for another person to sit.
Normally, Zhou Yuli would always sit next to him, and Pei Zhao could lean over when his waist felt tired.
Zhou Yuli would pick up some food for him, and if he couldn't finish it, he would eat it himself. Zhou Yuli would then pick up new food for him after a while and let it dry. Whenever Pei Zhao wanted to eat, the food would be at just the right temperature.
But today...
Pei Zhao's eyes fell on the dishes in front of him. Where was the dish that Zhou Yuli picked up?
Pei Zhao lost interest after having a delicious hotpot meal. He thought about asking Zhou Yuli to cook something in the small kitchen in the evening so that they could eat together to warm their stomachs.
But perhaps he was thinking while eating, for before he finished his meal, Pei Zhao's stomach started to hurt. At first it was just uncomfortable, but later the pain became unbearable.
Pei Zhao made an excuse that he was going upstairs to see Xiao Rui, and then left the table.
Xiao Rui and her colleagues, that is, the pile of chips - were connected in series to the computer by a device brought by Sudi.
The numbers on the computer were running rapidly, and Sudi said that was Yu communicating with these systems.
I don’t know who Yu is. Why does he seem to be so powerful that he can control the universe?
Pei Zhao just took a look at the data flying on the screen and felt his head start to hurt. He opened the door of the room and dived into the quilt.
In the quilt... there is a faint woody scent, the scent of Zhou Yuli.
Pei Zhao sniffed greedily.
My whole body was surrounded by the scent, as if I was being hugged by Zhou Yuli.
The whole person is relaxed, the heart is warm, and the stomach is warm.
The smell cannot speak, it just invades his nostrils silently.
Nor will I just be stubborn and say nothing.
His stomach cramped from time to time, and Pei Zhao focused on the smells like he had an obsessive-compulsive disorder, imagining that he was hugging Zhou Yuli.
I don’t know how long it was before a pair of strong hands really picked him up from the bed and held him in their arms.
After a dizzy spell, Pei Zhao opened his eyes and saw only Zhou Yuli in front of him.
"Does your stomach feel uncomfortable?" Zhou Yuli rubbed Pei Zhao's stomach. The warm palms made him feel better.
"...My head hurts too." Pei Zhao wrapped his arms around Zhou Yuli's neck and asked, "Are they gone?"
"Not long after you left, Sudi and the others left, and the others are still eating." Zhou Yuli lowered his eyes. Sudi doesn't like puppets, but besides him, Bai Zhou, Lan Ji and Miu Yi are also puppets, so naturally they don't like Sudi either.
Pei Zhao nodded, nestled in Zhou Yuli's arms, and his mind became a little clearer.
"You are unhappy." Zhou Yuli said calmly, "What's wrong?"
And asked me what was wrong? Pei Zhao thought angrily, but his expression remained calm. The shadow of his eyelashes cast on his face, covering his small face which was the size of a palm.
"...I'm not happy because you didn't sit with me today." Pei Zhao whispered, "You didn't pick any food for me either."
Zhou Yuli pursed his lips and softened his voice: "...Sudi, he doesn't like it..."
"Are you my puppet or his puppet? Why do you care whether he likes to do something or not?" Pei Zhao was furious and pushed Zhou Yuli's shoulder hard. "He is just a partner. Why do you care so much about what he does?"
Zhou Yuli fell silent.
Yeah, so why care what he does?
Just because he was such a puppet and was unworthy of sitting with his master, he actually felt so inferior and looked down on himself that he separated himself from Pei Zhao and even refused to serve him food.
"I'm sorry." Zhou Yuli reached for Pei Zhao's hand and apologized to him sincerely.
Pei Zhao let him grab her and hug her in his arms, not forgetting to add: "Besides, look at him, he is on an equal footing with his puppet, but he points fingers at other people's puppets. This is called double standards, which is wrong."
Zhou Yuli looked at Pei Zhao seriously explaining the meaning of double standards to him and couldn't help but smile. He was a modern man and naturally knew what double standards meant.
"Is your stomach still hurting? I'll go make you something to eat." Zhou Yuli poured Pei Zhao a glass of water and put him on the bed.
"Make more, you and me can eat together." Pei Zhao blinked. He must have gotten angry. His stomach didn't hurt so much anymore, and he felt hungry. "Put more meat. I'm so hungry."
They ordered a lot more meat, and some of the meat they couldn't finish was placed in the refrigerator. In addition, there were some dishes that had never been touched, and there were a lot of miscellaneous things. Zhou Yuli took a look and simply threw a piece of hot pot base into the pot, put the things in and cooked them, and then cooked the broth separately and put them together to make a simple version of a small hot pot.
When it was served in the restaurant, the aroma was so fragrant that it could be smelled.
"This smells so good! Is this a new style of hotpot?" Pei Zhao sat at the table, looking at the big pot in the middle, his appetite whetted.
Zhou Yuli served him soup and a lot of meat, and Pei Zhao ate very happily.
After a hearty meal, Bai Zhou and Lan Ji downstairs also finished eating and cleaned up. The sky darkened and the whole city fell into silence again.
Zhou Yuli helped Pei Zhao wash up, and then they lay on the bed. It was very rare for them to just chat under the quilt.
Zhou Yuli massaged Pei Zhao's calves to relax his muscles.
Feeling relaxed physically and mentally, Pei Zhao couldn't help but think wildly: "Zhou Yuli, do you think we can really fight against those gods we have never seen with our mortal bodies?"
"No." Zhou Yuli said calmly, "The power disparity is huge. To gods, humans are just a speck of dust. If we fight against them, we will surely die."
"Alas." Pei Zhao sighed, "Yes, compared to God, humans are too insignificant."
If they want to influence the outcome of the war, they can only find ways to use the existing tools to disrupt the order of the universe as much as possible, so as to divert the gods' attention away from the struggle.
"It was said in the past that gods and humans think differently," Zhou Yuli said. "Perhaps what seems like a big deal to us may seem like a trivial, everyday occurrence to them."
It’s just like when people dig ant nests when they are bored. It’s a disaster for the ants, but for people, it’s just a pastime to kill time.
"So...what if there's a hornet's nest hanging on top of an ant nest?"
Pei Zhao murmured.
Zhou Yuli lowered his eyes and followed Pei Zhao's words: "Or, if one wants to destroy an ant nest, one must first eliminate a hornet's nest."
"Or, people will choose to stay far away from here."
Ants do not pose a threat to humans, but hornets may not be the same.
That night, the lights on the second floor stayed on until late at night before finally going out.
The next day, Bai Zhou came to the living room and saw only Zhou Yuli sitting at the dining table, reading a book and eating.
Bai Zhou was surprised: "Zhao Zhao was tired last night?"
Zhou Yuli glanced at him and said, "No, I was thinking about something and went to bed late."
"So..." Bai Zhou stretched and looked at the host in the living room. "Wow, in just one night, they really built the framework according to what Yu said?"
Zhou Yuli put down the book in his hand and looked over.
Data is constantly being refreshed on the reflective computer screen.
Zhou Yuli only took a glance and then looked away.
"We can only get started after we build a new structure." Zhou Yuli said calmly.
Bai Zhou inexplicably felt that Zhou Yuli today was different from before. He looked a bit... like Pei Zhao.
After this thought came to his mind, Bai Zhou stopped.
"…Are you guys planning something?"
Zhou Yuli looked at him: "No."
If you understand, then this must be the meaning.
Bai Zhou smiled as usual, but he was cursing madly in his heart. Turned around and went back to the room.
Zhou Yuli shook his head.
Why don't you believe him?
He and Pei Zhao were just thinking about how they could rely on the power of mortals to prevent the gods from harming them, the poor ants, that was all.
Zhou Yuli looked out the window and saw the foggy sky in the morning and the crisp chirping of birds.
This world is so beautiful.
There were signs of awakening in his sea of consciousness. Zhou Yuli withdrew his gaze and looked at the quiet door of the bedroom.
He sensed that there was a commotion inside.
I hope this peaceful life can last a little longer.
His brain was still thinking, but his body had already stood up involuntarily and walked towards the bedroom.
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