Firefly Journey

Chapter 357, Part 2 (1)

The beach was wet and soft, and a gentle breeze was blowing along the shore. It had just rained under the twilight sky, and the beach was full of pits and puddles filled with water.

A rather large puddle suddenly rippled, and through the clear water, it was easy to see what was inside.

A red crab emerged slowly, seemingly wary of falling into the hands of its predator.

To be fair, they don't have many natural enemies, and no hunter can bear to spend a lot of effort to peel off their armor only to get such a meager reward.

Except for... the wicked humans!

This red crab was very fat, which foreshadowed its fate of being captured.

A smooth little leg embedded itself in the soft sand near the small pond. Then, the owner of the leg bent down and effortlessly pulled the red crab out, throwing it into the bucket next to it.

This red crab, huddled among the other miscellaneous seafood, was already contemplating what species it would be reborn as.

As dusk fell, the girl had a bountiful harvest. Satisfied, she carried her bucket and prepared to go home.

Halfway there, she met a tall, handsome young man.

"Diana, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you here!"

The young man sounded delighted, as if it were a magical encounter arranged by fate, but the girl knew it wasn't.

Diana said, "Many people know about this beach, but few know that you can catch seafood after the rain because nobody goes out after the rain except me."

"Binson, you've been to my house, haven't you? Knowing my parents' personalities, they'll definitely tell you where I am; after all, they're always very welcoming."

Having his thoughts exposed, Binsen scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed, and simply confessed, "I came here to see you."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Diana asked as she walked, carrying a bucket of water.

“We’ve rarely seen each other since you got into NYU… If you hadn’t been sick and taken leave this time, I probably wouldn’t have seen you again until Christmas,” Binson said.

Diana said, "We saw each other every day when we were kids, didn't we get tired of it?"

Binsen said shyly, "I won't get tired of it! I'll never get tired of it, so..."

Diana knew what he was going to say and preemptively cut him off.

"I have a favorite person."

The words of confession were already on the tip of his tongue, but upon hearing the girl's preemptive statement, Binsen wisely kept quiet, his eyes dimming.

On California's west coast, there are countless small towns built along the coast, where it's common for boys and girls who grow up together to develop feelings for each other.

But Diana was different from others from a young age.

Her family moved here later. Her parents were originally lawyers and composers who got tired of the city's hustle and bustle and chose to settle in the small town. They were essentially different from her family.

Because of her family environment, Diana excelled academically from a young age. Although she enjoyed catching fish and shrimp like other children by the sea, her family background and perspective were ultimately different.

Specifically, Binson barely managed to get into an ordinary university in California through his own efforts, while Diana, thanks to her good family education, ended up going to a university in New York.

Binsen wasn't too disappointed by the rejection; it was an outcome he had long been prepared to accept. He pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Is he a senior from New York? Bring him back so we can meet him. I'll treat him to a seafood barbecue feast."

Diana shook her head: "No, he's a shy, poor guy with a heavy heart. He always thinks I don't know what he's thinking, but I know everything."

“Your opinion of him doesn’t seem very good… I’ve become interested in him…” Binsen was puzzled. If you like him, why do you belittle him? Isn’t that a contradiction? Or do you like guys with a lot of bad habits?

Diana continued, "If he were really standing in front of you, you wouldn't want to be friends with him; he has very few friends."

After being clearly rejected, Binsen stopped listening to anything else. He chatted absentmindedly for a few minutes and soon they reached the fork in the road.

Diana carried the bucket of water and headed towards her home.

"My little darling is back!"

The moment Diana opened the door, her cheek was kissed by a red lip; her mother always seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

Diana hummed in agreement and carried the bucket into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, her father was preparing dinner.

Seeing her bring back a bucket of seafood, her father smiled and said, "It seems you're recovering well. You'll be able to go back to school soon. If you feel tired, you can rest at home for a while longer, or go on a trip. We'll accompany you."

Diana smiled sweetly: "I signed up for a banquet at a castle, which is only thirty kilometers away. After that, I think I fully recovered."

"That's good. Dinner will take a while. Why don't you go chat with your mom for a bit? She has some snacks."

"Ok."

Diana left the kitchen and sat down on the sofa in the living room. Her mother sat down beside her with a smile, holding a potato chip.

"Open your mouth, I'll feed you, just like when you were little."

Diana opened her mouth and chewed on a potato chip with a cucumber-like texture.

Her mother said, "Honey, you're not a little kid anymore. Do you have any boys chasing after you all the time?"

Diana replied, "Yes, there was one just now."

"You mean Binsen?"

"Yes, I rejected him before he confessed his feelings, so how could you tell him where I went?"

"Uh...it's my fault. Weren't you two very close when you were little? I just..."

Diana said, "We have a good relationship now, but it's not what you think. Okay, I'll tell you, I actually have someone I like. He's handsome, has a good personality, and is a great cook, just like my dad."

It must be said that Diana's last words saved her future partner a lot of trouble.

Fathers-in-law are generally not fond of their sons-in-law from the start.

Hearing his daughter's words, the father in the kitchen couldn't help but smile slightly, while her mother, being quite gossipy, asked a whole string of questions.

"Who is he? Where does he live? How old is he? Is he a student or a working professional? What is his family's financial situation?"

Diana answered them one by one.

"His name is Ario Morris. He's a shy, poor guy who's already graduated, but he's very ambitious and quite capable."

Her mother wasn't sure what to say from her daughter's perspective and kept asking questions, saying she wanted to see him in person, otherwise she wouldn't feel at ease.

To everyone's surprise, Diana suddenly burst into laughter: "You probably won't see him."

"why?"

“Because I’ve only seen him in my dreams,” Diana tilted her head and added, “or in books.”

As an artist, her mother wasn't stumped by this seemingly nonsensical statement. Instead, she pieced together the information and asked uncertainly:

"Can I understand it as... you read a novel and then dreamed about the characters in it?"

Diana nodded: "Yes."

"Okay, then I'm not worried at all."

Diana glanced at the potato chip bag in her mother's hand, and the words on it surprised her.

"Mom, where did you buy the potato chips?"

Her mother replied, "It was recommended by the salesperson at the supermarket. He said this one sells very well, it's imported, and I thought it was good, so I bought it."

Diana fell into deep thought.