72: Chapter 72 is merely a special biological hobby.

Jennifer lowered her eyelids, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the sofa armrest.

The fly named David landed back on her knee, seemingly comforting its owner.

Jennifer's voice was very low, like someone recounting a distant nightmare.

"Very bad things happened there.

Some girls went missing, and some... died horribly."

She paused, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Everyone said it was my fault. Because I'm a freak, I can talk to bugs, I sleepwalk, and I bring bad luck."

She lifted her head, her green eyes hiding deep fear and testing.

"I thought you would be like everyone else, running far away the moment you saw these flies."

"Qin, you are the first."

"The first person whose eyes didn't have that... disgust, like they were looking at something dirty."

Qin Ming watched her.

"You're overthinking it."

Qin Ming's voice was calm, directly interrupting the sentimental atmosphere.

"In this town."

"Some people cut off the hands of the living to keep as full-time butlers in boxes."

"Some people, in pursuit of so-called 'passion', climb onto roofs during thunderstorms, holding iron rods while waiting to be struck by lightning."

"Others idolize serial killers and spend every day researching how to resurrect the dead."

"Compared to them."

Qin Ming pointed to the fly on Jennifer's knee.

"Liking to play with bugs can only be considered a slightly special biological hobby."

"It could even be said to be a fairly eco-friendly and harmless skill."

Jennifer was stunned.

She had imagined countless reactions.

Mockery, fear, or hypocritical sympathy.

She just hadn't expected this... deadpan 'comparing misery.'

"Are you... comforting me?" Jennifer blinked, the corners of her mouth curling up uncontrollably.

"I'm just stating facts."

Qin Ming stood up and extended his hand to Jennifer.

"I'm taking you somewhere."

"Where?" Jennifer subconsciously placed her hand in his palm.

It was a bit cold.

But very steady.

"To wash your eyes." Qin Ming did not head toward the door.

He took out his phone.

The screen lit up, not displaying any app interface, but a creepy pixelated smiley face.

"Larry," Qin Ming said to the phone.

"Time to work."

Buzz!

The lights in the living room suddenly flickered wildly.

The television turned on automatically, and the static screen emitted a harsh noise.

A powerful electromagnetic field instantly enveloped them both.

Jennifer gasped, not having had time to close her eyes.

The world flipped.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted only a tenth of a second.

When her feet landed firmly on the ground again, the musty smell of the old villa had vanished.

In its place was the biting, fresh night wind, and the fragrance of soil mixed with pine resin.

They were standing on top of an abandoned fire watch tower.

Underfoot was a rusty iron mesh platform, and overhead was the vast, unobstructed starry sky.

All around them was an endless black forest, the sound of the trees surging like ocean waves.

"This..." Jennifer gripped Qin Ming's hand, looking around in surprise, "Is this teleportation?"

"I just borrowed the transmission channel of a signal base station."

Qin Ming put away his phone, not offering too much explanation regarding Larry's existence.

He led Jennifer to the edge of the fire tower.

The wind messed up the girl's long hair, and she had to reach up to tuck it behind her ear.

"Look below."

Qin Ming pointed to the pitch-black forest.

"Flies are obedient, but they really don't look that great."

"You need to improve your aesthetic sense."

Jennifer followed the direction of his finger.

At first, there was only deathly silence and darkness.

But then.

A miracle happened.

A faint glimmer rose from the black forest.

They were faint, ghostly green points of light.

Like some kind of mysterious signal.

Then, a second, a third...

Thousands of fireflies lit up one after another.

It had been a long time since she had seen fireflies.

Unlike flies, they didn't emit an annoying buzzing sound; instead, they were as quiet as a dream.

It was like stars awakened by the night wind, breaking free from the shackles of the Milky Way and falling into the human world.

The entire forest came alive.

Green bands of light merged into a flowing galaxy, drifting gently through the dark forest, circling and rising around this lonely fire tower.

They flew unhurriedly.

Some landed on Jennifer's hair, some brushed against her fingertips.

These light spots surrounded her, warm and soft, without a shred of malice.

A firefly landed on the tip of her nose, its tail flickering with a faint light, illuminating her slightly trembling green eyes.

"Coleoptera Lampyridae."

Qin Ming stood by her side, hands in his pockets.

The halo behind his head maintained only the lowest level of brightness in the night, not stealing the spotlight from these little creatures.

"Although essentially the same as your fly friends, all needing to eat, drink, and excrete."

"But at least, they know how to glow."

Jennifer reached out her hand.

She closed her eyes, trying to sense these little lives.

The familiar mental connection was established.

But among these tens of thousands of consciousnesses, there was no violence of fighting for carrion, only a simple, courting joy.

Hum—

With a movement of Jennifer's will.

The fireflies in the sky suddenly changed their flight path.

They surrounded the two of them, forming a huge, rotating cocoon of light.

The light reflected on their faces.

Jennifer opened her eyes and turned to look at Qin Ming.

The boy who was always cold-faced, who struck harder than a devil, now looked somewhat gentle in this soft light.

"So beautiful."

Jennifer murmured to herself.

She didn't know if she was talking about the fireflies or something else.

"How does it feel to control them?" Qin Ming asked.

"Different."

Jennifer shook her head, her hand still held by Qin Ming.

"Before, I felt that controlling them was to protect myself, to scare away those who wanted to hurt me."

"But now..."

She looked at the light flowing on her fingertips.

"I don't feel lonely."

The wind stopped at her ear.

The light fell upon her heart.

The world seemed to have been pressed to mute, leaving only each other's heartbeats.

On this abandoned tower top, far away from the crowds and prejudice.

They found a signal on the same frequency.

Jennifer turned around, facing Qin Ming.

She was a tiny bit taller than Qin Ming.

She lowered her head, her exquisite, almost demonic face slowly approaching.

He looked at those emerald-like eyes.

"Qin."

Jennifer's breath hit his face, carrying the sweet scent of jasmine.

"Thank you."

The distance grew closer.

Close enough for Qin Ming to see the fine fuzz on her face.

Close enough that the ambiguous tension almost ignited the air.

This was a dangerous distance.

Perhaps the beginning of some taboo.

But who cared?

The world was already crazy anyway.

Just as the tips of their noses were about to touch.

Qin Ming's phone in his pocket suddenly rang, breaking the solidified, romantic atmosphere.

It was Emma.

Qin Ming sighed.

The master of ruining the mood was always that antisocial sister at home.

But he didn't let go immediately.

Instead, he gripped Jennifer's somewhat cold fingers back.

"Let's go."

Qin Ming looked at those somewhat hazy eyes.

"It's time to go back and face reality."

"But this group of fireflies."

"You can pack them up and take them with you."

12-year-old Jennifer