Such a Strange Feeling...

As evening approached, the sun gradually sank, painting the sky orange-red.

Inside the tent, Firefly slowly opened her eyes and pushed herself up. She rubbed her eyes groggily and stared blankly around for quite a while before coming to her senses.

After a lengthy boot-up, she finally remembered that she was camping and had fallen asleep because she was tired.

She got up and walked out of the tent, where she saw Su Qingxiao playing on her phone.

Su Qingxiao noticed the movement and looked up. When she saw Firefly, a smile appeared on her face.

"Awake~?"

Firefly sat down beside her and nodded, then looked around as though searching for something.

Seeing her looking around, Su Qingxiao understood that she was searching for her boyfriend.

Su Qingxiao covered her mouth and smiled. "Lin Yu and Yang Chenyu went to get the grill ready. They'll be back soon."

Hearing that Lin Yu would be back soon, Firefly stopped looking around and waited quietly.

Watching her, Su Qingxiao thought it was so sweet. Firefly wanted to see her boyfriend as soon as she woke up. Ah!! She was definitely shipping these two!

"Firefly, I heard you and Lin Yu are living together?"

Firefly was a little puzzled by the question, but she answered anyway. "Mm, we live together."

"Then what's it like living with your boyfriend?"

Firefly was even more puzzled. She didn't understand why that was worth asking, but she didn't know how to refuse, so she answered in the end.

"Grateful."

"Huh...?"

The answer left Su Qingxiao dumbfounded. Wasn't living together supposed to be really sweet for a couple?

What the hell was that answer?

"Um... isn't there anything else? Like feeling shy or your heart beating faster?"

Firefly shook her head, but in truth, she didn't understand what the feelings Su Qingxiao described were like.

Firefly's reaction seemed to make Su Qingxiao think of something. She deliberately lowered her voice and leaned closer.

"Don't tell me you two haven't done anything?"

Firefly tilted her head, indicating she didn't understand.

Seeing that, Su Qingxiao had a rough idea of what was going on, so she continued.

"Then... have you and Lin Yu... kissed?"

"What's kissing?"

Firefly found it a little strange. Was kissing some kind of custom here? But she had never heard Lin Yu mention it.

Seeing how utterly clueless Firefly looked, Su Qingxiao found it a little ridiculous.

She had met innocent girls before, but this was her first time meeting someone this innocent. Firefly had a boyfriend and even lived with him, yet she didn't know what kissing was.

Still, that meant Lin Yu was seriously impressive. His beautiful girlfriend was in front of him every day, and he could actually do nothing?! Was this guy a ninja? He sure had some restraint!

If I were him, I'd probably kiss her every day.

"Um..."

"Just call me Qingxiao."

Firefly said a little shyly, "Mm... Qingxiao."

Su Qingxiao smiled faintly. "Mm, what is it?"

"What is this kissing you were talking about?"

Su Qingxiao understood Firefly's curiosity. Innocent young girls were always curious about things they didn't understand.

For Firefly and Lin Yu's happiness, I'll give her some guidance.

Su Qingxiao adjusted her medium-rimmed glasses and spoke with a serious expression.

"Kissing is a way for two people to express their love and grow closer by pressing their mouths together. But first, they have to like each other."

"Like... Qingxiao, what do you think it means to like someone?"

"How did we end up talking about such a profound question?"

She had only wanted to give Firefly a little guidance. She hadn't expected her to ask such a profound question, and now she didn't know how to answer.

Firefly's inquisitive gaze left Su Qingxiao feeling trapped, so she could only brace herself and give it a try.

"Well, I don't think there's an absolute definition of liking someone. Everyone has their own theory, and no one person's is necessarily right."

"If you ask me, I think liking someone means feeling safe when you're with him, always finding it hard to be apart from him, wanting to stick close and stay by his side, and doing all sorts of things you like together."

As Su Qingxiao spoke, she began to feel a little embarrassed, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"Yang Chenyu might seem pretty unreliable right now, but he's actually quite dependable most of the time, and he's good at taking care of people."

"I know I have a bit of a temper and I'm not easy to get along with, but he puts up with my temper and spoils me. I know he loves me very much, so I don't complain about his faults."

"When I get angry with him, I'm just joking around. He knows that and is willing to play along, so I'm glad I met a boy in this life who only has eyes for me. I'm willing to keep going through life with him, too."

As Su Qingxiao spoke, the affection in her eyes seemed ready to spill over. It was clear she truly loved her boyfriend.

"Sorry, I got carried away and talked a bit too much."

Firefly shook her head and smiled at her. "No, what you said was wonderful. It helped me understand a lot."

It was her first time seeing such feelings. That pure and beautiful affection moved her, and it was something she longed to have herself.

A voice interrupted the two girls' conversation.

"Hey! What are you chatting about?" The speaker was Yang Chenyu. Lin Yu was beside him, and the two men came over carrying the barbecue grill between them.

After setting the grill down, Lin Yu smiled at Firefly. "Awake?"

Firefly nodded obediently. "Mm..."

Once the grill was in place, Yang Chenyu said impatiently,

"All right, hurry and get the ingredients out. I'm starving! It took forever to get this charcoal burning. I'm not buying this kind next time!"

"You're in way too much of a hurry."

As she spoke, Su Qingxiao took the cooler containing the skewers. Several ice packs were inside to keep the food cool and fresh.

The ingredients had been skewered in advance, so they only needed to be thawed for a while before going straight onto the grill.

After the skewers were arranged on plates, the two men, Lin Yu and Yang Chenyu, took charge of grilling, while Firefly and Su Qingxiao were in charge of eating.

Of course, the two women also helped out and took over the grilling from time to time. The barbecue came to an end amid everyone's laughter and conversation.

That night, the four sat around the fire, chatting and keeping warm.

Yang Chenyu looked up at the sky full of stars and couldn't help marveling.

"No matter how many times I see this night sky, it's always breathtaking."

Hearing Yang Chenyu's remark, the other three looked up at the sky too.

Su Qingxiao: "Yeah-it looks beautiful no matter how many times you see it."

Lin Yu: "I'd never seen the stars in the sky before because I was in the city."

Firefly nodded in agreement with Lin Yu.

Just then, a glowing firefly flitted past them and flew toward Firefly.

Firefly slowly held out her hand, and the firefly landed right on it.

"Wow! A firefly!"

Su Qingxiao was very excited to see the firefly.

Yang Chenyu stroked his chin as he looked at the firefly in Firefly's hand, finding it a little strange.

"If I remember right, there should be lots of fireflies around this time of year. How come there's only one?"

As soon as Yang Chenyu finished speaking, more fireflies began to appear around them.

"Wow! We're surrounded by fireflies!" Yang Chenyu suddenly shouted.

"Stop shouting. They're just fireflies. They won't do anything to you." Su Qingxiao immediately stopped him from yelling.

Lin Yu was also awed by the spectacular sight. He was just about to tell Firefly to take a look when he saw her get up and walk away.

As she walked away, the fireflies followed her as if they had received an order.

Firefly stopped five meters from the tent, and the fireflies stopped with her, circling around her.

The sight left Su Qingxiao and Yang Chenyu too shocked to speak.

Lin Yu was all right, only a little surprised. He remembered that Firefly seemed to attract insects and the like, but he hadn't expected her to attract so many.

Su Qingxiao pointed a trembling finger at Firefly, who was surrounded by fireflies, and spoke.

"Wh-what's going on?"

Yang Chenyu chimed in.

"Am I even worthy of seeing a sight like this?"

"And why are all the fireflies surrounding Firefly?"

Su Qingxiao also noticed that the fireflies were mostly moving around Firefly. She looked like a queen, and the fireflies were like her subjects.

Seeing that the two were growing suspicious, Lin Yu hurried to smooth things over.

"M-maybe it's a coincidence?"

But the two still weren't quite convinced. After all, the scene was simply too unbelievable.

Quite a few people camping nearby were also looking over. Some had already started taking photos to capture the scene and post it online.

Surrounded by them, Firefly watched the fireflies trying so hard to glow, just as she once had. It confirmed one thing for her: her constitution hadn't changed.

But since the two couldn't find a reason for it, they treated it as a coincidence.

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. But he might not have known that someone had just photographed the scene and posted it online. The internet was already in an uproar, with everyone discussing the spectacle and Firefly.

Before long, the fireflies dispersed and flew off in different directions, and Firefly walked back.

Afterward, the group kept discussing the spectacle they had just witnessed until midnight.

They were all tired from a day's fun, so after saying good night to one another, they returned to their respective tents to sleep.

Lin Yu now faced a problem: this was the first time in his life he had slept with a girl, and he was panicking.

After saying good night to each other, the two lay down back-to-back. Neither said a word, and the tent was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat.

His nervousness didn't last long. After a tiring day, he could no longer keep his eyes open.

Before long, the sound of steady breathing could be heard. Lin Yu had fallen fast asleep.

Beside him, Firefly turned over to face him.

She sat up and looked at the sleeping Lin Yu, recalling what Su Qingxiao had said earlier.

[Kissing is a way to express love and grow closer.]

She looked at Lin Yu's full, rosy lips, and for some reason her face felt a little hot.

Firefly closed her eyes and moved her face closer, little by little, until their lips touched. The instant they made contact, she hurriedly lay back down in her place as though she had been shocked.

She touched her face, which had grown red with heat. Her breathing had become a little hurried, and her heart was beating fast.

She placed a hand on her chest, felt her heart beating, and murmured softly,

"Such a strange feeling..."