Chapter 34: A Sky Full of Fireflies

Although it was the deep autumn season, this place was still lush with wild greenery, towering larches, maples, and other trees whose names she didn’t know, their branches and leaves reaching to the sky, so that even the night sky was obscured by the trees, like a small forest.

There was no sense of autumnal desolation here, but rather a secluded haven isolated from the bustling city.

More and more fireflies flew, as if there were tens of thousands of them, fluttering their fluorescent lights on the treetops, on the grassy greenery, and more still dancing in the wind, as if to illuminate the entire forest.

This was the first time Ji Shuyi had seen so many fireflies. The spectacle was so beautiful that it left her speechless, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s so beautiful! It’s the first time I’ve seen so many fireflies…”

Having already let go of Jiang Cheng’s hand, Ji Shuyi was now alone, darting through the forest in the light of the thousands of fireflies, as happy as a child chasing a firefly to hide it in her palm.

Jiang Cheng watched the girl running after the fireflies among the star-like fireflies, seeing the smile in her eyes and even hearing her laugh from time to time, talking to herself as if she was talking to the fireflies, trying to coax the fireflies to come into her hand obediently. He couldn’t help but chuckle, and the heart that had been hanging finally fell.

It seemed that he had done something that made her happy today.

Seeing that she hadn’t caught a firefly after chasing them for so long, Jiang Cheng raised his eyelids and looked at the fireflies flying nearby, and then quickly and accurately reached out and caught two, holding them in his palm.

Ji Shuyi was bending over, carefully approaching a firefly resting on a plant, wanting to catch it, but she was still a little short. She was frustrated and pouted her small face, “Humph” in displeasure.

At this moment, she suddenly heard a voice beside her: “Give me your hand.”

Ji Shuyi turned her head and saw Jiang Cheng standing beside her. A light was faintly visible through the gaps in his clenched fist. Ji Shuyi, who immediately understood, excitedly leaned over and held out her hand to him, saying very softly, “Be careful when you give it to me, don’t let it fly away.”

Her voice was so soft, as if she was afraid of scaring the fireflies away. Jiang Cheng was enchanted by her appearance, and his voice also lowered: “Don’t worry, I won’t let it run away.”

Jiang Cheng carefully placed the fireflies into her hand. On the way, to prevent the fireflies from flying away, he almost unconsciously grasped Ji Shuyi’s hand, but the little girl’s heart was focused on the fireflies and she didn’t care at all. Seeing this, he took advantage of the situation and pretended that it was just unintentional.

Finally, Ji Shuyi was extremely happy to get the fireflies into her palm. She put her hands together in front of her eyes, then closed one eye and looked into her hands through the gaps with the other eye, excitedly saying, “Its tail is so bright, it flickers and flickers, it’s so beautiful. I’ll let you see it too…”

As she said this, Ji Shuyi suddenly nudged Jiang Cheng gently with her elbow and then held her hands holding the fireflies up to him, saying, “Bend down.”

Jiang Cheng was a little flattered and surprised for a moment, and then hurriedly bent down and looked at the fireflies through the gaps in her hands. He heard the girl’s happy voice, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Jiang Cheng glanced at her with the corner of his eye and smiled as he replied, “It’s very beautiful.”

Ji Shuyi smiled and looked at it for a while, then said to the fireflies, “Okay, my curiosity is satisfied. I’ve seen you up close. Goodbye…”

With that, she opened her palm, and the fireflies flew away from her hand.

Finally, she looked around at the spectacular night of fireflies flying all over the sky, recorded a short video with her mobile phone, and said to Jiang Cheng with great satisfaction, “Thank you.”

Jiang Cheng, who heard her say ‘thank you’ for the first time, felt a little uncomfortable. Then he heard the girl say, “Why don’t we go back now? I have to go home.”

“Okay.” Jiang Cheng immediately responded, “Then I’ll take you home.”

With that, he moved his feet and prepared to walk behind her to protect her, but he accidentally seemed to step on a branch. In the next second, Ji Shuyi suddenly screamed, and even jumped directly onto him in fright, shouting, “Ah!! There’s a snake! There’s a snake!”

Jiang Cheng, knowing that it was the branch he had just stepped on that had touched her leg, was speechless: “…”

If there really was a snake, he would have been able to detect the movement in advance.

Jiang Cheng, who was about to open his mouth to comfort and explain, looked at the frightened little girl hanging on him and holding his neck, and suddenly didn’t want to explain. Instead, he seriously changed his words and said, “There are indeed a lot of these things in the wild. What should we do? Should I carry you out?”

Ji Shuyi, who was born afraid of snakes, immediately agreed without a moment’s hesitation: “Okay.”

A trace of a smile flashed in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, so silly.

Ji Shuyi, who was being carried out by Jiang Cheng, regained her senses from the fear, gently pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, “Am I heavy?”

“Not heavy.” Jiang Cheng continued unexpectedly, “I can carry a thousand pounds.” (千斤重 – A Chinese idiom meaning extremely heavy)

Ji Shuyi: “…”

She was speechless: “Just answer the first two words, the rest is unnecessary.”

After saying that, she added, feeling that it was not enough to relieve her anger, “Forget it, don’t talk. Being a mute is quite pleasing.”

Jiang Cheng: “……”.

Then he really shut his mouth.

Ji Shuyi had originally put her hands on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, keeping a little distance between them, but after walking for a while, her arms became a little stiff and sore, so she simply didn’t care and leaned directly on his shoulder.

At the moment she leaned down, she didn’t notice that Jiang Cheng’s pace had paused for a moment, because she was once again attracted by the tattoo on his neck. She stared at it for a while, then suddenly tilted her head and called him, “Jiang Cheng.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Cheng subconsciously turned his head to look at her, and his cheek happened to brush past her lips.

“I… I didn’t mean to.”

Ji Shuyi hurriedly retracted her head and covered her mouth urgently, with a face full of embarrassment, even more afraid that he would kiss her back.

What was going on? It was as if she was deliberately calling him to kiss him.

In the face of a sudden ambiguity, Jiang Cheng also paused for a moment. Seeing her embarrassed and flustered, he smiled and said, “It’s okay, I’m very generous. I can give you another kiss.”