Chapter 21: The Night, Fireflies, and You

Vanessa finished speaking and stood up, walking to the cabinet to retrieve the outfit Ke Leya had worn that morning, then came over to her.

“Get dressed. I promised I’d take you out this morning.”

“Where to?” Ke Leya asked.

“Not far.”

Vanessa walked to the window and looked out.

“The mountaintop.”

She set the clothes on the bed, then naturally reached out and began untying the sash of Ke Leya’s sleepwear.

The sash came loose.

Vanessa helped her out of the nightgown and picked up the undergarment.

Ke Leya closed her eyes, lowering her head slightly.

Silver strands of hair fell forward, hiding her reddened ears.

Vanessa was quick—within five or six minutes, she had Ke Leya fully dressed.

“Let’s go.”

She stood up and tilted her chin toward the door.

Ke Leya followed her downstairs. In the inn’s first-floor lobby, the proprietress was dozing behind the counter.

Vanessa pushed open the door, and the night wind rushed in.

The street looked different from daytime.

All the shops were closed.

The stone pavement glowed a cold gray-white under the moonlight. Occasionally a window spilled warm yellow light, but it was quickly left behind.

Vanessa didn’t walk fast, but her strides were long. Ke Leya had to jog a little to keep up.

Her breathing was a bit quick, her chest rising and falling.

After going a short distance, Vanessa turned around and crouched down.

“Hop on.”

This time, Ke Leya didn’t hesitate.

She climbed onto Vanessa’s back, looping her arms around Vanessa’s neck.

Vanessa rose, supporting Ke Leya’s thighs, adjusted her grip, and continued forward.

The small town was soon left behind.

The road turned into an upward dirt slope flanked by dense thickets.

Leaves rustled in the darkness.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps, casting fragmented patches of light on the ground.

‘System.’ she called out in her mind.

[Here, Host.]

The system’s voice replied at once, with a hint of ingratiation.

‘What’s on the mountaintop?’

[Uh, let me check… Stars? Fireflies? Anyway, it’s a classic date spot.]

‘A date?’

[Of course! Dark as pitch, wild outskirts, two lonely girls—perfect for building feelings!]

Ke Leya fell silent. She watched the silver-white tips of Vanessa’s hair, illuminated by moonlight, sway gently with each step.

The slope grew steeper, but Vanessa’s steps remained steady.

Her hands held Ke Leya’s legs firmly, and occasionally her fingertips brushed the bare skin of Ke Leya’s calf beneath the skirt, ticklish.

Ke Leya shifted, trying to avoid the ticklish sensation.

“Don’t move.”

“Okay.”

They walked a bit farther, and the trees began to thin.

The wind picked up, blowing Ke Leya’s skirt and hair backward.

She looked up, and the path opened up before her.

It was a flat expanse of grass, deep enough to cover the calves.

Beyond it was a cliff, with darkness spreading out below.

In the distance, scattered lights gleamed like gold dust sprinkled on the ground.

And above her—

Ke Leya held her breath.

The sky was a deep blue, scattered with countless fine diamonds.

There were so many stars she couldn’t count them.

Some clustered into hazy bands of light, others shone brilliantly alone.

The moon hung diagonally at the edge of the sky, its clear light dyeing the grass a gray-white.

Vanessa set her down.

Ke Leya’s feet touched the soft grass. She tilted her head back, not blinking.

She had never seen a starry sky like this.

The hospital room’s window was too small; the only patch of sky visible was no bigger than a palm, and even that was dirty gray from the city’s light pollution.

But now, the entire sky was laid bare before her—vast and dazzling.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Vanessa’s voice came from beside her.

Ke Leya nodded. She didn’t know how to describe it.

Vanessa walked to the edge of the grass, sat down on a flat boulder, and patted the spot next to her.

Ke Leya went over and sat beside her.

The stone was a bit cool, the sensation seeping through her skirt.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The wind passed through the grass, bringing the faint sound of a nearby river and the chirping of unknown insects.

Then a faint green light drifted out from the grass.

Ke Leya’s eyes followed the light.

It wavered, flickering on and off, tracing irregular arcs in the low air.

Then a second point appeared, then a third.

More and more lights rose from deep within the grass, drifting lazily like tiny stars ascending from the earth.

They glowed soft green, casting small halos of gentle radiance.

They floated past Ke Leya’s skirt, brushed against her hands resting at her sides.

One even landed on her fingertip, lingered for two seconds, then flew away.

Ke Leya looked down at her finger.

A faint, cool sensation still lingered there.

“Fireflies,” Vanessa said.

“Mm.”

Ke Leya let out a sound.

She raised her hand, and another one landed on her wrist.

This time she didn’t move.

She simply watched the green light pulse on her skin, brightening and dimming.

Ke Leya turned her head.

Her eyes still held a trace of dazedness, as if she hadn’t fully pulled herself away from the scene.

“Ke Leya,” Vanessa called her name.

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

The question was sudden.

Ke Leya blinked.

She didn’t know whether to refuse.

She just felt that if she did refuse, Vanessa probably wouldn’t get angry.

She would just nod, say okay, and keep sitting here with her, watching the stars.

But the starry sky was too beautiful.

The fireflies were too lovely. The night wind was too gentle.

And Vanessa’s lips were soft.

Ke Leya lowered her head, her fingers tugging at a blade of grass.

“Mm.”

She made a very soft sound.

Vanessa didn’t move.

Ke Leya waited a few seconds, but the expected touch never came.

Confused, she looked up.

Vanessa was still watching her.

A small smile curled the corner of her mouth.

Then she reached out and took Ke Leya’s hand.

Fingers slid between fingers, interlacing.

Palm pressed against palm, warmth transferring through the skin.

Vanessa’s hand was wider than hers, with calluses on the pads that made Ke Leya’s wrist feel a little ticklish.

“This is enough,” Vanessa said, turning her gaze back to the night sky ahead.

“Watch the stars.”

Ke Leya froze.

She had expected Vanessa to kiss her, like in the room that afternoon.

But Vanessa simply held her hand, shoulders brushing against each other, warmth passing between them.

Above their heads, the starry sky silently shifted.

Around them, fireflies danced in waves.

Ke Leya suddenly didn’t want to leave.