A Major Decision

Firefly racked her brains trying to recall last night's dream, but apart from that Universal Language Technique, there seemed to be no useful information.

After thinking for ages and failing to find anything useful, she simply gave up on it!

At least she could be sure for now that the voice meant no harm.

If the being behind it still didn't want to show itself, she would just wait until it did.

She had been here for several days already, and she had gladly accepted it, even if the voice never appeared again and she couldn't go back.

Staying in this world was... nice too.

There was no war here, and everything was so peaceful and wonderful-at least, that was how she saw it.

As for how she would live here in the future... worst came to worst, she could work for Lin Yu for the rest of her life!

She wanted to tell Lin Yu about it now, but he was still at work. Rather than disturb him, she would wait until he came back that evening.

But now that I don't have to study anymore, what should I do?

Firefly was at a loss. For the past few days, she had been either studying or cleaning.

But now she no longer needed to study, and she had finished cleaning that morning.

Firefly lay spread-eagled on the bed, staring into space. "What should I do...?"

She tilted her head and saw the view outside the window.

The sunlight outside was warm, and birds occasionally flew past as she listened to their chirping.

A bold idea surfaced in Firefly's mind.

After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to carry out this major decision!

As people online would put it, I've decided to go against my ancestors... no! To go against Lin Yu!

She would... sneak out on her own!

After all, Lin Yu hadn't allowed her to go out alone before, saying he was afraid something might happen to her.

She had never thought about going out alone before because she had to study.

But now she didn't have to study, and Lin Yu wouldn't be back until dinnertime. With nothing to do all afternoon, she decided to go out by herself.

No sooner decided than done! Firefly got up and began rummaging through the wardrobe for clothes.

She took out a white dress and slipped off her black, fluffy pajamas, revealing her voluptuous figure.

After changing into the white dress, her lazy look gave way to a pure and adorable one.

Firefly carefully put her pajamas away. She liked them very much.

The fluffy top was warm to wear, while the shorts left her legs exposed and kept her cool.

She wore nothing but her pajamas at home every day, and Lin Yu had said they looked good too. It was just that she had caught him staring at her legs from time to time.

"Ah... choo!!"

Lin Yu wiped his nose with a tissue.

"Lin Yu, have you caught a cold?"

At the manager's concerned question, Lin Yu shook his head. "No, it's just... feels like someone's talking about me."

"Oh? Could it be your niece?"

Lin Yu scratched his head awkwardly. "...Probably."

He wondered how Firefly was doing. She was probably studying hard.

"All right, done!"

Firefly was very pleased as she looked at herself in the mirror.

In the mirror, Firefly's hair was pinned up, and a large sun hat, black sunglasses, and a mask covered her up completely.

After all, Lin Yu had told her to hide her identity. She had seen a kind of person called a celebrity online who dressed like this when they went out to avoid being recognized.

"The internet really is great!"

Once everything was ready, Firefly carefully opened the door and whispered, "I'm heading out..."

The apartment Lin Yu rented was room 502 on the fifth floor, the top floor.

Although the residential complex was old, fortunately it had an elevator, so she didn't have to exhaust herself climbing the stairs.

Firefly took the elevator down to the first floor. As she walked out of the building, sunlight fell on her face.

Fortunately, she was wearing sunglasses, so the sunlight didn't get in her eyes.

Firefly began looking around. There was lush green grass on both sides of the building.

To the left was a row of parking spaces with a shelter above them to keep the cars out of the rain.

A short walk to the right was a small pavilion where many elderly people gathered every day.

Firefly excitedly swung her little hands, but just as she was about to set off, a woman came walking toward her.

She was holding the hand of a little boy who looked about six or seven.

The boy stared blankly at Firefly, then pointed his little finger at her. "Mom, look, there's a thief."

The woman gave Firefly a strange look, then hurriedly pulled her child away without looking back, afraid of getting mixed up in something bad.

The mother and son's behavior was understandable. Dressed like that, Firefly could hardly avoid looking like a thief or a stalker.

But she was completely unaware and thought her disguise was flawless.

What she didn't know was that before long, warning notices bearing her current appearance would be posted around the complex.

Firefly herself was now at the small pavilion in the complex, watching the elderly people play chess.

Although she couldn't understand it, she could still tell it was surely quite profound.

But she hadn't noticed that the lively atmosphere had suddenly fallen silent as soon as she arrived.

After watching for a while without understanding, Firefly decided to leave.

As soon as she was gone, the elderly people erupted into discussion, everyone talking about who she was.

Before long, they dispersed and returned to their respective homes, locking their doors and windows and not daring to go out.

Firefly spent the afternoon touring the entire complex and almost couldn't find her way home.

The people in the complex had a rough time of it, though. Everyone was on edge; they had never seen a thief dressed so blatantly.

She had wandered around in broad daylight as if looking for a target.

"Lin Yu, are you getting ready to head home?"

After changing his clothes, Lin Yu walked over to the checkout counter. "Yeah, manager. My shift's over, after all."

"And I'm a little worried about things at home..."

"I see... You really care about your niece, don't you?"

"She was entrusted to my care, so I have to look after her."

Lin Yu was about to leave after saying that when the manager called out, "Wait!"

He turned around and looked at the manager in confusion. "What is it, manager? Is there something else?"

The manager took out a bag and handed it over. "Here, this is for you."

Lin Yu took the bag. "This is..."

"There are two strawberry cakes inside. They're for your niece."

A smile appeared on Lin Yu's face as he put the bag away. "Then thank you on her behalf."

The manager waved a hand dismissively. "They're just two pieces of cake. No need to thank me."

"Okay, I'm off, then."

"Bye..."

Lin Yu opened the door and said, "I'm back, Firefly!"

Firefly, who had been busy in the kitchen, trotted over to the door. "Welcome back."

Lin Yu handed her the cakes. "The manager where I work gave these to you."

Firefly took the bag and opened it, immediately spotting the strawberry cakes inside. "Wow! Thank you!"

"You should thank the manager, not me."

"Okay! Then thank the manager for me later."

After dinner, the two sat in the living room and began enjoying the manager's gift.

While they ate, Lin Yu asked Firefly how her studies were going.

At the mention of it, Firefly stopped what she was doing. "Speaking of that, Lin Yu, I have something to tell you."

Firefly told him about her dream.

After listening to her account, Lin Yu fell silent.

A moment later, he slowly asked, "You mean you've mastered all of Chinese now?"

Firefly nodded, confirming that he was right.

Seeing that he had fallen silent again, Firefly asked, "Lin Yu, what do you think this means?"

"Phew... I don't think the being means any harm. After all, everything it has done so far has been to help you."

"But we can't rule out the possibility that it has some bad intentions. We can only take things one step at a time."

"Then... since nothing seems wrong for now, Lin Yu, can you teach me how to make short videos?"

Faced with her pleading gaze, Lin Yu couldn't refuse.

The two had agreed before that he would teach Firefly how to make short videos once she had learned enough.

For Firefly, who had no legal identity, this was the only way to make money.

Although Lin Yu hadn't minded whether Firefly could make money, she minded quite a bit.

She said she felt a little bad that she was always the one benefiting.

"All right, I'll start teaching you tomorrow."

"It's a promise, then!"

"Yeah, it's a promise."

"Yay!!" Firefly danced with joy.

While Firefly was celebrating, Lin Yu's phone vibrated.

He picked it up and looked. It was a message from the residents' group chat.

He was a little surprised. Had something happened?

He opened the chat and saw that the group admin had posted a photo with a message underneath.

[Everyone, please be careful lately. There may be a thief or stalker in the complex.]

[Tenants in unit one of building six, please be especially careful. This is where the person was last seen on the security cameras.]

[The photo has been posted. If you see the person, remember to call the property owner.]

Unit one of building six? Isn't that where I live? Am I really that unlucky?

With that thought, Lin Yu opened the photo.

The person in it seemed to be a woman wearing a white dress, with her face covered too tightly to make out her features.

But she looked a little familiar, and he seemed to have seen that dress somewhere before.

Then he noticed the mask, sunglasses, and hat on the living room table.

They were identical to the things the person in the photo was wearing.

Could it be...

After thinking it over, he finally remembered that the dress was identical to the one he had bought for Firefly, and combined with the things on the table...

Lin Yu's face turned cold as he questioned Firefly. "Firefly, did you go out today?"

Still caught up in her happiness, Firefly answered before she had registered his question.

"Yeah."

When Firefly realized what she had said, her smile froze. She stiffly turned her head and saw the icy look on Lin Yu's face.

"Uh... um, I'm sorry!!" Firefly immediately made a break for it.

"Firefly, stop right there!"

"I'm really sorry!!"