The design was finalized

After resting for a while, Lin Yu took Firefly to experience a university class, though it might not have been a particularly good experience for her.

She had been quite excited at first, but she could not understand a thing. Even asking Lin Yu did not help her make sense of it, and her excitement gradually dwindled.

There was no helping it. No amount of interest mattered if she could not understand anything. It was a little boring, but fortunately, Lin Yu was beside her to chat and relieve her boredom.

After an unknown amount of time, the class finally ended, and the two walked out of the classroom. After that baptism by coursework, clear signs of fatigue showed on Firefly's face.

Beside her, Lin Yu wanted to say that this had only been the first half of the class and that the second half would begin shortly. But judging by her appearance, she probably could not hold out any longer, so they could only cut the experience short.

They left the teaching building and sat on a roadside bench to rest. "Ah~ I never thought classes would be so tiring..."

Firefly sat on the bench and let out a weary groan.

Lin Yu asked, "Was it really that tiring?"

"Yes, more tiring than fighting." For some reason, even though she had only been sitting still, she felt as if she had just been through a major battle. How strange.

"Meow~"

A cat's meow rang out, and Firefly felt something rubbing against her calf. She looked down to see a little animal with three colors on its body rubbing its head against her by her feet.

Taking a closer look, she recalled the videos she had seen online and tentatively said, "Kitty?"

"Meow~" The cat answered as though it understood, then hopped up beside her and stretched its head toward her hand, seemingly asking her to pet it.

Firefly cautiously placed her hand on the cat's head. When nothing happened, she gently stroked its fluffy head the way Lin Yu stroked hers, and the cat purred in comfort.

So cute~

Lin Yu also heard the cat and looked over, his eyes lighting up. "Senior! So this is where you were!"

Lin Yu scratched the cat's chin with a finger. Enjoying it so much, the cat rolled straight over onto Firefly's thighs and tried to catch his hand with its soft paw pads.

"Lin Yu, do you know this kitty?"

Petting the cat, Lin Yu said, "Yeah, it's sort of our school's mascot. We all call it Senior."

"Senior? Can cats go to school too?"

Lin Yu withdrew the hand he had been teasing the cat with and smiled. "Of course not. It used to be a stray that showed up on campus, but it often ran into classrooms to attend classes just like a student. It's been living here with help from the students. At the very least, it was already here when I arrived."

"That's why everyone calls it Senior. After the school found out, they built a little home for Senior on campus and arranged for people to feed it and give it regular checkups. Gradually, Senior became our Jiang University mascot."

Listening to the cat's story, Firefly gently stroked its back. "So that's how it is. Looks like you found someone to take you in too."

"Meow~" Feeling so comfortable, the cat stretched, curled into a ball, and fell asleep on Firefly's thighs. Firefly gazed tenderly at the cat on her lap.

Seeing this, Lin Yu took out his phone to capture the heartwarming moment.

Of course, Firefly caught him secretly taking pictures and gave him another scolding before the two took a photo together.

While waiting for Senior the cat to wake up, Firefly could not help falling asleep herself, leaning squarely against Lin Yu's shoulder. This gave him a start, and he did not dare move a muscle for fear of waking her.

They were very close, so close that Lin Yu could smell a faint fragrance on her, like fresh citrus, which slowly helped him relax.

Time flew by. Before they knew it, a wash of orange-red had colored the sky. Senior the cat woke up, jumped to the ground, stretched, and meowed at them as though saying thank you before slowly wandering away.

Seeing that Firefly was still asleep, Lin Yu called softly, "Firefly, wake up. We should go."

"Mm..." Firefly slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her lap, only to find the cat gone.

"Huh? Where's the kitty...?"

"The kitty went home. We should get going too."

"Oh... okay." Firefly rubbed her sleepy eyes and turned toward Lin Yu. The moment she turned, she bumped right into him, their faces pressed together.

When she realized what had happened, Firefly turned away in a panic, covering her burning, flushed cheeks with both hands.

What's wrong with me? Why am I panicking, and why is my face so hot...?

Startled by Firefly, Lin Yu asked worriedly, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing the concern in his voice, Firefly hurriedly waved her hands and shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine. I'm just a little groggy from sleeping."

Because of the sunset, Lin Yu did not notice her flushed face, which put him at ease.

"Well, um, let's go!" Firefly moved to stand as she spoke, but the moment she got up, her legs suddenly gave way, and she sat back down.

Firefly said, "Why won't my legs do what I tell them?"

Lin Yu said, "Looks like they've gone numb from sitting too long without moving."

Seeing this, Lin Yu stood, moved in front of Firefly, and crouched with his back to her. "Come on, I'll carry you."

Firefly could hardly refuse. She felt that her legs would not recover anytime soon, and it was already getting late. They could not waste time.

Firefly wrapped her arms around Lin Yu's neck, pressing her whole body against his back. Lin Yu hooked both hands under her slender, long thighs and lifted her up.

The softness against his back left him a little unsettled, but he steadied himself and said, "All right, let's go."

The setting sun cast its last rays as Lin Yu slowly carried Firefly along a campus path. Their shadows stretched longer and longer across the ground, and the evening breeze brushed their cheeks and lifted her hair, forming a beautiful scene.

Firefly said quietly beside Lin Yu's ear, "Sorry for the trouble. Also... I'm not too heavy, am I?"

Lin Yu said, "Oh? Why do I remember someone saying she didn't care about her weight?"

"What! That's not what I meant! I meant, am I too heavy for you to carry?"

Firefly pouted angrily. Unable to hold back, Lin Yu chuckled. "All right, don't worry. You're not heavy at all. Besides, I do work out, you know. I can carry you."

"Hmph~ All right... thank you."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

Neither spoke again. Firefly rested against Lin Yu's back, enjoying the tranquility.

Ah~ I really wish we could stay like this forever.

When they reached the parking area, Lin Yu set Firefly on the seat, put on his helmet, started the scooter, and left the school.

Firefly asked, "Are we going home now?"

Lin Yu asked, "Hmm? Is there somewhere else you want to go?"

A look of disappointment appeared in Firefly's eyes, but she quickly hid it.

"No. I had a really good time today."

Lin Yu saw it all clearly in the rearview mirror. "Since there isn't, come somewhere with me."

Firefly asked, "Hmm? Where?"

Lin Yu said, "A hot pot restaurant. It's getting late, and we won't have time to cook when we get home, so we're eating out today."

Then Lin Yu took Firefly to the hot pot restaurant he used to frequent with his roommates to experience the appeal of hot pot.

The spice got to Firefly as soon as she tried it, but the more she ate, the more hooked she became, until she was dripping with sweat.

Seeing how much Firefly liked it, Lin Yu felt reassured. After dinner, they returned home. It was not that they did not want to stroll around some more, but Firefly had sweated so much while wearing her wig that Lin Yu worried the night wind would give her a cold. If she fell ill, it would not be worth it.

Once home, Lin Yu urged Firefly to hurry and take a shower, and she obediently went to the bathroom to wash.

As soon as she came out of the bathroom, Lin Yu called her over. "What is it, Lin Yu?"

Lin Yu pointed at her phone and said, "I sent you a picture. Take a look and see what you think."

Puzzled, Firefly picked up her phone and opened the picture Lin Yu had sent. One glance left her dazzled.

"Wow-! It's so pretty!"

The picture showed a girl with long, silvery-white hair and purple eyes. She wore a white, wide-sleeved, midriff-baring top that faded into pale green, along with a denim miniskirt. A pale green firefly was printed on the left side of her chest, and little black leather shoes and short white socks covered her feet. A pair of round black sunglasses rested on her head, and a black ribbon like Firefly's, along with firefly wings, was tied on the left side of her hair. The overall look was trendy.

Lin Yu said, "Really? As long as you like it."

Firefly said, "But why are you suddenly showing me this? I don't really understand this stuff, so I can't give you any advice."

Lin Yu wagged a finger. "No, no, no. This was drawn for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah. Did you forget? Didn't you want to become a streamer? This is the virtual avatar drawn for you."

Only when he brought it up did Firefly remember. "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot. Hahaha..." Firefly scratched her head sheepishly.

"It's fine. Since you like it, we'll use this one."

"Mm-!"

As they talked, Lin Yu's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that the name displayed on the screen was none other than...

Mom