CHAPTER 365: 0231 FIREFLY AT FINGERTIPS (2-IN-1)

Water is very common in the world, from the small stream where a girl dips her feet to the vast expanse of stars filling the entire Fixed Star Heaven.

Time, the Star Sea, these are all considered water.

However, for Yun Qian, the most important water is, of course, her husband.

Yun Qian lay on Xu Chang’an’s back, her fingers trailing past his sight to the lake surface. The girl said calmly, "Just some water, it’s not you, how good can it look?"

"Then... should I not look?" Xu Chang’an said this instinctively, then paused.

He realized he was too timid, as the girl merely said a sentence, and he couldn’t go against her wishes.

Come to think of it, even if he insisted on looking at the reflection in the water, Yun Qian couldn’t do anything about it.

The girl didn’t have the strength to hit him.

"Miss, once we leave the island, I’m your husband, not your steward." Xu Chang’an said seriously, "You can’t control me."

"Is that so?" Yun Qian leaned over on Xu Chang’an’s back, her left hand around his neck, her right hand holding onto the fabric over his heart, and asked, "...Where are we now?"

"...On the island." Xu Chang’an’s eye twitched.

Right.

They’re still on the island, who else would he listen to but the girl?

Xu Chang’an quickly found a justifiable excuse to be a coward, he turned his head, "If Miss doesn’t want me to look, then I won’t look."

"I don’t really care." Yun Qian leaned forward and whispered in Xu Chang’an’s ear, "If you want to look, just go ahead."

"How can that be?" Xu Chang’an said, turning his head to meet Yun Qian’s gaze.

This time, he no longer avoided it.

"Since Miss doesn’t allow me to look, you must have your reasons, how can I dampen your spirit?" Xu Chang’an coughed lightly.

"Suit yourself." Yun Qian didn’t care about any lake water at all; being carried by her husband at the moment, how could she care about such trivial matters?

If one had to say there was a connection between Yun Qian and the lake water... it would probably be that a woman’s heart is like clear water, rippling when a stone is thrown.

Yun Qian stopped speaking, as if she had fallen asleep, her delicate chin resting on Xu Chang’an’s shoulder, her gentle breath causing a slight tickle on his neck.

The sky was dark, as if it might rain at any moment, and the calmest time was just before the rain fell, listening to hearts beating faster, not knowing who was swaying.

"Miss, it’s very beautiful here, isn’t it?" Xu Chang’an looked at the lake from afar, where he could see scattered dots of light dancing in the air in his vision.

"What is that?" Yun Qian blinked, "I’ve never seen it on the island."

"Fireflies." Xu Chang’an said with a touch of nostalgia, "We don’t have them on the island; I’m imagining them because they fit our atmosphere well."

Fireflies were quite common by the lake in his hometown when he was young, but after growing up and going to the city to study and work alone, he never saw them again.

"Fireflies..." Yun Qian looked thoughtfully at her fingers.

"Miss, when I was a child..." Xu Chang’an talkatively shared stories of his childhood from a past life with Yun Qian.

"Do you like them so much, why not catch a few?" Yun Qian tilted her head.

"How does Miss see fireflies?"

"Just some ordinary bugs."

"Then forget it. I was just telling you about it. Nostalgic as I may be, I don’t actually like them that much." Xu Chang’an stepped in the opposite direction of the Inner Lake, supporting Yun Qian with both hands, "If you’re not interested, then there’s nothing much to say."

Yun Qian lifted her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, asking, "Did I spoil your mood?"

"Not at all." Xu Chang’an shook his head, adjusting Yun Qian on his back, and then said, "I thought you might be interested since it’s something you haven’t seen."

Upon hearing this, Yun Qian lowered her gaze and softly said, "I’ve seen better things, so I’m not interested."

"Let’s go." Xu Chang’an didn’t press further, speaking softly with Yun Qian as he carried her out of the Spring Valley.

An entire path of green stones, an entire journey of quiet words.

Yun Qian very much enjoyed this feeling, a rare light in the current, her face flushed with beauty.

The difference between stars and the sky is vast, yet it all comes down to that inch of firefly light. At times, the firefly on one’s fingertip surpasses the beauty of the vast sky full of stars.

Yun Qian lowered her head to look at the spaces between her fingernails and fingertips, thinking to herself that the only light captivating enough for her was the one emanating from Xu Chang’an.

Her husband was a reserved man; his light wasn’t blinding, but enough to cast a glow like fireflies in the terrifying darkness where everything feared to exist.

To still be glowing by her side... it’s no wonder there’s always some system seeing him as the only hope against the coming darkness.

——

Indeed, Yun Qian really liked the faint light Xu Chang’an gave off.

The glow from his fingertips resembled his concern for her, like the response she received after telling him she was hungry, like their outings in Beisang City, and more like his morning care and service.

The atmosphere pressed down some stray winds, the once lingering words dissipated entirely in the breeze.

As if remembering something, Yun Qian’s eyes held a softness and nostalgia even Xu Chang’an rarely saw.

In the long river of time, there will always be one grain of sand shining brighter than the rest, fireflies in the fingers brighter than the vast starry river.

This was the firefly she had seen.

Having seen better things, how could she find insects beautiful?

Yun Qian hugged Xu Chang’an’s neck a little tightly, lowered her head, and deeply inhaled the scent at his neck. Upon closer inspection, the girl was always trembling slightly, her lips moving but producing no sound.