Hmph~

"All right, these should be everything we need."

After packing the things they would need, Lin Yu knocked on the bedroom door.

"Firefly, are you dressed yet?!"

Firefly's panicked voice came from behind the door. "A-almost!"

He hadn't expected Firefly to have a habit of sleeping in. When Lin Yu had gone to wake her that morning, she had flat-out refused to get up.

She had said she hadn't slept enough and asked to sleep a little longer. It was his first time seeing Firefly like that.

She was completely different from how she was in the game. Was it because of this world?

But this was nice too. She no longer had to face battle and death; she only needed to live like an ordinary person.

That was probably what everyone who liked Firefly wanted.

I'll witness this moment on behalf of all Firefly mains!

"Sorry for the wait."

Firefly's voice interrupted Lin Yu's daydream. As the door opened, it was as if he had laid eyes on his first love...

Oh, wait. He didn't seem to have had a first love.

Firefly had put on that white dress again, pairing it with a woven straw hat tied with a black bow. The long white dress fell below her knees and went perfectly with her white canvas shoes!

Together with Firefly's delicate features, it was as if he had returned to his school days and seen that girl who had been so far out of reach.

"Lin Yu... what's wrong?" Firefly waved a hand in front of him, a little worried.

"...Huh? Oh, sorry, I was a little distracted."

Hearing that he was fine, Firefly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Then-shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

With a backpack on his back and Firefly following behind him, Lin Yu left the building with her.

As soon as they stepped outside, plenty of eyes turned toward them, most of them looking at Firefly.

Quite a few people looked at Lin Yu too, of course, but most of those looks were full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Wow-! Look, look! That girl is so pretty, she looks like a celebrity."

"Is the guy next to her her boyfriend?"

"Damn it! Wait, what? Why him?! How come he gets such a beautiful girlfriend?!"

"I'm seriously jealous!"

"Is she cosplaying Firefly? But she looks way too much like her. She's practically the real thing!"

Lin Yu: We Honkai: Star Rail players really are everywhere...

"But... why do I feel like that outfit looks a lot like the suspicious person who showed up in the residential complex a couple of days ago?"

Hearing that, Lin Yu couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat. He was genuinely afraid they would discover that Firefly really was the suspicious person from that day.

But what the next person said put him much more at ease.

"How could such a gorgeous girl possibly be some suspicious person?"

Hooray! I love you people who judge by looks!!

"Ah! Lin Yu... what's wrong?"

To keep them from giving themselves away again, Lin Yu pulled Firefly along and hurried away from the scene.

Suddenly being pulled into a run left Firefly a little at a loss, but she didn't resist and simply let him pull her along.

Looking at the figure ahead of her, she found herself smiling without realizing it.

By the time they reached the entrance to the residential complex, the taxi Lin Yu had called had just arrived.

After they got into the car, Lin Yu told the driver their destination. Once the car started moving, he slumped back against the seat.

"...Um, Lin Yu..."

Hearing Firefly call him, Lin Yu finally realized he was still holding her hand.

"Ah-! I'm sorry!" Lin Yu hurriedly let go, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Firefly put her hand on her lap and turned toward the window. "...It's okay," she said quietly.

Seeing that Firefly wouldn't even turn her head, he thought he had made her angry.

Lin Yu looked at the hand that had just held hers, his face turning red once again. "So a girl's hand is this soft."

It was his first time holding a girl's hand. It really did feel a little different from a boy's.

Neither of them spoke the whole way, and even after they arrived at the campsite, Lin Yu still hadn't managed to speak to her.

For a while, it made him think Firefly hated him.

Was their enjoyable camping trip over before it had even begun?

He had originally hoped to cheer Firefly up, but now she didn't seem happy.

But Lin Yu had it wrong. Firefly wasn't angry; having her hand pulled along just now had made her heart beat very fast.

She only remembered feeling this way when she faced life-or-death moments in battle.

But... I'm not fighting right now, so what is this?

When they reached the tent rental office, Lin Yu decided to take things slowly for now. Making Firefly happy was what mattered.

"Hello, I'd like to rent two one-person tents."

The person in charge of the rental office was a young man. With a toothpick between his teeth, he glanced at Lin Yu and Firefly, then clicked his tongue impatiently.

"Sorry, sir, the one-person tents have all been rented out."

Hearing that the tents were gone, Lin Yu slapped the counter in agitation.

"What? How can there be none left? You only opened a little while ago, didn't you?!"

"Can't be helped. Our shop is so popular that all the tents were rented in advance."

"But we still have two-person tents left. Would you like one, sir? Just so you know, people together can only rent one two-person tent."

"Well..." That put Lin Yu in a difficult spot. He wasn't sure whether Firefly would accept it.

He turned to look at Firefly. "Um, Firefly, what do you think? Are you okay with that?"

Firefly, who had been lost in thought, finally came back to her senses.

"Huh? Anything is fine. I'll leave it up to you."

"Sir, even this beautiful lady doesn't mind, so why be picky?"

In the end, Lin Yu gave in and rented a two-person tent. Just after the pair left, a reasonably good-looking young man dressed flamboyantly came to rent a tent, his arm around a somewhat vacant-looking girl.

The young man spoke in a frivolous tone. "Hey, boss, did I just hear you say you only have two-person tents left?"

He gave the attendant a pointed look, as if saying, "Hurry up and say yes!"

But the attendant merely gave him a contemptuous look and clicked his tongue dismissively again.

"Sorry, our two-person tents have all been rented out. We only have one-person tents left, and they're the smallest kind."

At that, the man flew into a rage. "What's that supposed to mean?! I just heard you say you only had two-person tents left! And you rented one to them, didn't you?"

"Sorry, you misheard. Besides, that was the last one."

"Believe it or not, I'll file a complaint against you!"

Expressionless, the attendant pointed to a sign nearby.

"Believe what you like. If you wish to file a complaint against me, please come over here and call the complaint number on the sign. Please don't obstruct the other customers."

"You-!" The young man was so angry he could barely speak.

Seeing that things were going badly, the girl with him hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Um, if there aren't any, then never mind. We don't come here often, so let's just rent two one-person tents."

With the girl stepping in, the young man could only swallow the indignity.

"Hmph! I won't argue with you this time, but don't let me see you again!"

"Thank you for your patronage. Please take your tents."

"You! Hmph-!"

The young man stormed off without even taking the tents.

The girl bowed, then picked up the tents and chased after him.

The attendant watched the two leave, a mocking look on his face.

"Hmph~"