I hope you'll be in my memories

"All right, let's find somewhere to rest."

Now that he had finished talking things through with Firefly, it was time for a break. There was no need to keep strolling, either. Combined with their walk that morning, they had already covered almost the entire campus.

It was only a little past one, with nearly an hour left. Lin Yu planned to rest for a while, then find a sophomore or junior class and take Firefly along to experience the way university classes were taught.

As it happened, they had unwittingly reached the library, so they could go inside and rest.

There were quite a few people in the library. Most were studying seriously, though a small number weren't there to absorb knowledge. For example, a boy and a girl sat two tables over from Lin Yu. They seemed to be studying diligently, but they were actually using studying as an excuse to get all lovey-dovey.

He used to come to the library to study often, so he had seen plenty of this and could tell at a glance. Still, he felt he had seen those two somewhere before, though he couldn't remember where just then.

As for the pair two tables over... the boy pretended to read attentively while sneakily reaching toward the girl's hand beneath the table.

The girl was focused on the book in front of her, completely unaware of the approaching hand.

The instant they touched, her cheeks flushed as though an electric current had shot through her whole body. She shyly looked at the boy beside her.

"What are you doing? You startled me, grabbing my hand out of nowhere."

Though the boy's tone was a little flippant, his gaze was intent as he looked at her.

"I haven't seen you since our last camping trip. It's been so long, I just wanted to hold my adorable girlfriend's hand."

His words made her little face even redder. She shyly turned her head away and spoke in a very quiet voice.

"Th-then... just for a little while."

So the library wasn't just a place to study. It could also deepen a couple's feelings.

"Lin Yu, what are all these books you picked out about? I know every word, so why can't I understand them when they're put together?"

"These are books I used to study from. They're university-level material, after all. It's normal that you don't understand them."

As Lin Yu leafed through the books, his thoughts couldn't help drifting back to his three years at university. He had spent most of his university days studying. Where else would all those scholarships have come from?

Looking through them again brought back feelings along with the memories, though those feelings were mostly boredom.

Even Firefly beside him was rather bored. Just then, a message notification sounded from her phone. She took it out and saw that it was from Su Qingxiao.

The message consisted of a few photos and a single sentence.

[Our semester started! What about you, Firefly?]

The photos were of her and her boyfriend, Yang Chenyu, on campus.

Ever since they had added each other on WeChat last time, they had chatted often. Firefly wasn't good at socializing, and the other girl was always the one finding topics. Sometimes, Firefly couldn't even keep up and had no idea what she was talking about.

But she was still very happy, because this was her first friend. Su Qingxiao wouldn't stop chatting with her because of those things, either. Instead, she would patiently explain.

She said she liked innocent, slightly spacey people like Firefly because they were easy to get along with, unlike those who schemed against one another. Dealing with them was far too mentally exhausting. She had also said something about why she wasn't a man, and how that guy Lin Yu had lucked out.

Firefly was utterly puzzled by that. Did the other girl want to be a boy? But what did that have to do with Lin Yu? Of course, Su Qingxiao hadn't explained that part. She said it was better to understand a little less, because such innocence was rare.

Firefly held her phone out to Lin Yu, who was reading. "Lin Yu, look! Qingxiao and the others have started their semester too!"

He put down the book he was reading and glanced at her phone. "They really have. Looks like their semester started on the same day as ours."

Firefly typed a message in the chat box, preparing to reply to Qingxiao.

[Our semester started too [smiley face]]

Although she wasn't actually a student, just as Lin Yu had said earlier, she could think of herself as one now.

Yet the message she had finished typing remained unsent.

Seeing this, Lin Yu asked from beside her, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm... it feels like something's missing."

One glance was enough for Lin Yu to know what was missing. He took out his phone and sent Firefly something.

"I think this is what you're missing."

Firefly opened what Lin Yu had sent. Her eyes immediately lit up, only for confusion to follow.

Lin Yu had sent photos of her, which were exactly what she needed. But when had he taken them?

One showed the two of them wearing helmets and sitting on the bike. She knew that one-Lin Yu had suddenly taken it on their way here. But when had he taken the others, in the classroom, on the sports field, and in the cafeteria? How had she failed to notice?!

Firefly wasn't blaming Lin Yu for taking photos of her without a sound. She was angry that her powers of observation had deteriorated!

Lin Yu said, "These should work, right?"

Firefly nodded. "Mm."

They would indeed work, but something was still missing. Apart from the photo taken before they arrived, all the others showed only her.

"Why is it only me? What about you, Lin Yu?"

Lin Yu gave Firefly a light chop on the head. "Dummy, what photographer jumps into the frame?"

Of course, he actually said that because he rather disliked appearing on camera, except when teasing Firefly or being forced to take group photos. That was why he almost always volunteered whenever someone needed to take a picture, until he gradually grew fond of photography.

But this clearly wasn't what Firefly wanted. How could only one person be in the photos? Besides, she had Lin Yu to thank for being able to come here at all. No matter what, Lin Yu had to be in them!

At first, Lin Yu refused. As mentioned earlier, he generally wouldn't appear on camera, but one thing she said made him agree.

He said, "These are memories that belong to you alone. I can just stay beside you as a witness and record them."

But she said, "But I want you to be in the memories I keep! And didn't you say I should think more about myself? This is what I want."

In the end, the two took this photo together in the library. This was also the first time Firefly had firmly insisted on a request.

Firefly finally sent the photos and her message. On the other end, Su Qingxiao, who had been waiting for ages, finally received them.

One look left her stunned. She hadn't expected Firefly's natural appearance to be so beautiful! (This referred to black-haired Firefly.) Although she fell a little short of how she had looked with silver hair, that proved she was beautiful to begin with. Even Su Qingxiao, a girl herself, felt a little jealous.

But poor Su Qingxiao probably never would have imagined that silver was actually Firefly's natural hair color, while the black hair was merely a wig. This was largely down to Lin Yu's lie back then that it was cosplay. After all, plenty of people did cosplay these days. Sometimes, you would run into one just walking down the street.

The two chatted on and off about things at school. Since this was Firefly's first visit, Su Qingxiao did most of the talking.

Although Firefly said very little, Su Qingxiao didn't mind. As far as she was concerned, Firefly was an introvert, so she was quiet because she was shy!

She could already picture the other girl's adorable, timid expression behind the screen!

The girl herself, however, showed no sign of timidity. Instead, she was agonizing over how to reply.

Watching the troubled girl before him, Lin Yu pondered what she had just said: I want you to be in the memories I keep!

This was the first time he had seen Firefly make a request that left no room for refusal. It was a good thing.

Firefly was gradually getting better too, becoming more like an ordinary girl. That was what she wanted in the game, and what he hoped could come true in reality.

To run and jump like an ordinary person, to touch and feel things with her own body.

Then, if Firefly truly became part of this world, would she still leave?

And what exactly were the feelings he held for Firefly?

Were they born of pity? Or... were they () born of selfishness?