The sound of rain falling outside the window was clearly audible.
Firefly raised her eyes and looked at the young man not far away.
If it had been someone else staring at her like this, Firefly might have felt uncomfortable.
But the feeling he gave her was very... familiar. There was no malice in his gaze; it even felt warm.
And when he said, "Long time no see."
Firefly blinked, momentarily frozen where she stood. A moment later, a soft light spread through her eyes, and a name was about to slip from her lips.
But she still did not dare be certain, leaving that name caught on the edge of her lips.
A faintly cool silence settled over the room. Their eyes met, their gazes fixed. The old wall clock gave off a soft ticking sound as time quietly passed.
Bai Heng smiled gently.
"Do I need to prove it any further, Miss Firefly? Or have you already forgotten your childhood playmate?"
Her long lashes trembled. A thin mist seemed to rise in her pinkish-blue eyes, as though countless emotions had been held back within them. But in the end, a relieved smile still appeared on her face.
"...Little Bai... Long time no see..."
Their reunion was perhaps calmer than they had imagined. "Long time no see." "Long time no see." All their sorrow and joy seemed condensed into those few words. Their story had once been frozen on that "night." Time had passed in the blink of an eye, and now, at last, someone had turned open those yellowed pages.
"I was worried that my collaborator would be difficult to get along with. But now it seems I'm the difficult one."
As Bai Heng spoke, he sat down across from Firefly.
Once she knew who he was, Firefly