My skill tree increases every day.

Lin Yu didn't know why he had agreed so casually.

If the previous time was due to Liu Zhiyuan's instigation, what about this time?

Perhaps it was seeing Chen Shuyan's dejected look, yet still remembering to invite Lin Yu, that softened her heart.

She really wanted to make me happy.

If I didn't have those memories, I would have fallen for them long ago.

Lin Yu could sense Chen Shuyan's sincerity. But there was really nothing he could do. Facing someone who might skin him alive at any moment, even if she were a fairy descended from heaven, Lin Yu simply couldn't relax.

Lin Yu had prepared a lot for today, as if he were facing a life-or-death exam with an unknown outcome.

Lin Yu couldn't imagine that someone could suddenly burst out laughing while doing a problem in such a situation.

It doesn't matter anyway. In any case, by the end of today, Chen Shuyan's enthusiasm should have been greatly diminished.

Perhaps Chen Shuyan will give up on her feelings for me after this.

Lin Yu thought to himself.

Hearing Lin Yu's agreement, Chen Shuyan's tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly. She still didn't turn around, but instead used even more agile movements than when she came to climb over the wall.

Lin Yu followed closely behind. Having experience climbing over the wall before, he used even more skillful movements to scale the railing and catch up with Chen Shuyan.

Unlike before, Chen Shuyan was not as lively now. She didn't speak, but quietly led the way.

Chen Shuyan did not go back to where they had been before, but instead led Lin Yu to another path. The stone-paved ground soon came to an end, and in front of them was a path worn smooth by people walking on it.

The compacted soil, tamped down by footsteps, is clearly no match for the stone slabs in terms of hardness and smoothness. The branches of the shrubs growing wildly on both sides extend towards the middle of the road, occasionally catching on the hems of trousers.

The phone's flashlight could only illuminate a small area in front of her, and the light swayed with her steps as she walked, illuminating Chen Shuyan's thin figure.

She walked quickly, completely oblivious to the specks of dirt that the hem of her long skirt had left on the damp grass.

"Where are we going?"

As the surrounding environment became increasingly wild, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Could she be so angry and embarrassed that she's going to find a secluded place...?

"We're almost there," Chen Shuyan replied briefly, without offering any further explanation.

As long as he can see it, there is still hope...

The night after the rain has cleared is a good time to watch fireflies on Zijin Mountain. Although you can't see the Milky Way in the sky, you can see the twinkling stars on the ground, which seems to make up for some of the disappointment.

Lin Yu was aware of this as well, and he roughly guessed what Chen Shuyan was thinking when they were halfway there.

Fireflies dance in the air, stars twinkle on the ground.

That was indeed an extremely romantic scene.

However, Chen Shuyan's plan was destined to fail.

According to Wu Jing's climate conditions, the adult period of fireflies is generally from June to August each year. If you want to see a scene like stars on the ground, the best time is also July.

And it's only May now.

"Is there... anything here?" Lin Yu asked. Rather than wasting time here, he thought it better to let her face reality sooner.

"Could you give me a little more time?" Chen Shuyan's voice held a hint of pleading. "I discovered it by chance. It happens in the summer. Tonight... I don't know, but I want to try my luck again."

Chen Shuyan's hopes were destined to be dashed.

This has nothing to do with luck or bad luck; it's just that the timing wasn't right.

Chen Shuyan sat down on the grass, completely unconcerned that her snow-white dress was now covered in mud and grass clippings. She hugged her knees and gazed at the meadow in front of her.

Lin Yu sat down half a body length behind Chen Shuyan, also gazing at the meadow in the night. A mountain breeze blew by, and moonlight occasionally filtered through the clouds, briefly painting the grass blades with a bright hue.

Time passed, and Chen Shuyan remained motionless, gazing at the meadow in the night, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt.

Lin Yu sat behind her and saw her shoulders begin to tremble slightly. Chen Shuyan hugged her knees tightly and buried her face in them.

Lin Yu heard intermittent breathing sounds.

"...Nothing...there's nothing at all," her voice was muffled, broken into incomplete sentences, "It's...it's like this again...there's nothing at all."

Lin Yu could no longer see Chen Shuyan, who had made thorough preparations and carefully crafted a smile that afternoon. All he could see was a helpless girl curled up in the night, crying as she was overwhelmed by a series of disappointments.

"Lately... everything has been like this lately..."

Chen Shuyan raised her face, then quickly turned her head away so that Lin Yu wouldn't see her expression.

"I wanted to take you to see the stars... but no, I wanted to take you to see the fireflies... but still no. Not just today... it was the same before..."

"...I tried so hard to do everything well, to...to make you happy..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, becoming so muffled by her sobs that it was almost inaudible. Lin Yu could only make out a few words from the broken syllables.

Her breakdown wasn't because there were no fireflies tonight, or even because the stars were obscured by clouds.

Perhaps it's the accumulation of other things from before, or maybe it's just that things haven't been going well lately. It's the disappointment after careful preparation, or the messing up of everything despite trying so hard.

These are nothing more than straws.

She was like a child who kept stacking building blocks on the ground, stacking one, and it would collapse; stacking it again, and it would collapse again.

She thought she hadn't built it firmly enough or stable enough, so she focused more intently and carefully, unaware that the ground had always been just a small sampan floating on the waves.

Just one bad day is enough to turn even the most rational person into a madman.

"I thought... if I tried hard enough, my luck would improve. I checked the weather, read travel guides, and made backup plans... I thought at least one thing would go smoothly this time. But..." She looked at the still dark grass in front of her, her voice lowering, "...am I just destined to be this unlucky?"

Perhaps all I need to do now is offer her a little comfort, and I'll win her a lot of goodwill.

But Lin Yu didn't say anything, he just sat quietly in the shadows half a step behind her.

"I guess... I really don't have much luck, and I'm not very good at making people happy."

"I just... wanted to tell you. Thank you for coming out with me today, and thank you... for staying with me until now."

"I... won't do that again." Her voice calmed down a little, but it was still very soft. "I won't... bother you to do things you don't want to do, and I won't... have unrealistic expectations anymore."

Just like that, I felt a sense of relief, but there was something weighing on my heart that I couldn't quite describe. I just felt an itch on my hand, like insects were crawling on it.

Raise your right hand.

Lin Yu saw a glimmer of light in his palm.