CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 304

"You said ’crazy’?"

"What?" Zhou Sisi looked at Lan Tian with a straight face. What crazy.

She thought it in her mind and accidentally blurted it out. Keeping a straight face, she said, "You mean Mr. Zhang? He was my high school teacher. We’ve arrived at the library. Let’s go in!"

The library is very large, with five floors in total. The books on each floor are arranged by level, from simple to deep, from modern to ancient, and from philosophy to abstract. Each series has its designated space and the catalog is detailed.

It was Lan Tian’s first time at the library. Unfamiliar with the rules, she didn’t rush inside and glanced at Zhou Sisi beside her.

Zhou Sisi had been here a few times and knew the library rules. She went straight to the manager’s desk, and Lan Tian followed her.

Zhou Sisi took out a bookmark the size of a good ticket and handed it to the manager. After logging it in a notebook, the manager handed it back to Zhou Sisi, indicating that she could enter.

Lan Tian didn’t have that bookmark. She had to enter the library, so she rummaged in her bag and found a bookmark just like Zhou Sisi’s except it had Lan Tian’s name on it. She handed it over to the manager, waited for her to log it, and then the two entered the library.

Zhou Sisi wanted to find some archaeological materials. The archaeological materials were on the second floor. Lan Tian said she wasn’t interested in those books, so they split at the entrance. Lan Tian wandered around the first-floor bookshelves while Zhou Sisi had no choice but to go to the second floor.

After casually wandering on the first floor and picking up a geography book, Lan Tian headed to the third floor.

"Little Lan, tell me what kind of books you are looking for, and I’ll help you find them. I’ve read most books in this library."

Zhang Shenjing popped up from nowhere, and Hua Kongque followed.

Lan Tian turned to look at him and after a while said, "Since you’re offering, Mr. Zhang, could I trouble you to find some scenic spots in Beijing that are fun to visit during holidays?"

"..." Where did the student who was supposed to be a good, obedient bookworm go?

Mr. Zhang and the other thought she was here to look up information, but it turned out she was looking for places to visit. They quickly regained their composure, and Zhang Shenjing left with a "Wait here for me."

"Don’t mind him," Hua Kongque came over, leaning against the bookshelf and surveying the library. "He’s right, he has read most of the books here. It’s best to let him find them. Girl, aren’t you in the Archaeology Department?" Are those books really good?

"Can’t someone in the Archaeology Department read these miscellaneous notes?" Lan Tian glanced at him and continued searching for the books she wanted.

"That’s not it."

Hua Kongque moved with Lan Tian, scanning her. Seeing her last time in a rush, he felt she hasn’t changed. Recognizing her at a glance now, she seemed quite different. She has grown taller; her body more curvaceous; her aura much colder than before, yet her delicate facial features remained the same.

"Let’s go wait over there." Lan Tian picked two miscellaneous notes after a long choice and Hua Kongque nodded towards a spot behind Lan Tian.

The library design is circular from above, the connected bookshelves looking like a giant maze, with a reading area in the middle.

"Okay." Lan Tian looked back, and behind was not the reading area.

There weren’t many students in the library in the morning. A few were scattered around. Lan Tian walked over, chose a spot to sit down, and Hua Kongque leaned on the table saying, "You sit here, I’ll be right back."

Lan Tian responded without lifting her head and opened the miscellaneous notes she found for browsing. Lan Tian’s reading speed was fast, unlike others who read line by line; she read by pages, thanks to her cheating "Divine Sense". She just needed to scan each page with her Divine Sense. After finishing one book, Hua Kongque came back with a few bottles of drinks.

"Girl, are you thirsty? Drink some water first." Opening the bottle cap and placing a soda in front of Lan Tian, he opened one for himself.

"Thank you," Lan Tian glanced at the soda.

"You’re my girl, no need to thank me. It makes me embarrassed," Hua Kongque couldn’t stand Lan Tian’s serious demeanor; Lan Tian slightly curled her lips and continued flipping through the books.

Hua Kongque drank his water while observing the girl across him, initially thinking she was a country girl, surprised by her powerful background. Seeing how Lan Tian flipped through the pages, his lips twitched. Could she even see the words on the page?

"Girl, can you actually see the words like this?"

"It’s okay." Lan Tian continued flipping through the books without looking up, finishing the remaining two books. Shen Jingbing arrived with a stack of books and placed them in front of Lan Tian.

"Little Lan, here are all the books you asked for. It would take several days to get through all these." There were more than a dozen books and based on Shen Jingbing’s own reading speed, it really would take a few days.

"Thank you." Lan Tian picked up the books to read.

Hua Kongque glanced at the stack of books, curled his lip at her earlier rapid flipping, figuring she could finish them all in one morning.

"Better to ask me than look for books," Shen Jingbing put down the books and dragged a nearby chair next to Lan Tian. "I grew up under the Imperial City. This place is like my backyard; every flower, every brick, every tile, there’s nothing I don’t know about," Shen Jingbing boasted extravagantly.

Lan Tian distractedly acknowledged his words and continued to flip through the books. Shen Jingbing talked to himself for a while, but finding no one responsive, he finally stopped, utterly bored. He picked up a book, looked at it briefly, then threw it aside. He glanced at Lan Tian, who had flipped another page without appearing to see any of the words on it.

His lips twitched. "Can you really see the words like this?"

Hua Kongque shrugged; how would he know.

"Is there more of these books on the shelf?" After flipping through all the books, Lan Tian didn’t find any clues related to "He Xu Palace."

"Finished already?" Shen Jingbing looked at Lan Tian in astonishment. It hadn’t been long, and he suspected she just flipped through without actually reading the content. After meeting Lan Tian’s cold eyes, he finally said, "No more, all the recent ones are here."

"You two, what are you actually here for?" Lan Tian squinted at them; since entering the library, they hadn’t gone to find any materials and had stayed with her the entire time. Lan Tian had reason to suspect that they were specifically meant to accompany her.

"You’re so smart, I knew I couldn’t deceive you. The Crown Prince told us to protect you." Shen Jingbing leaned too close as he spoke, his breath warm on Lan Tian’s neck. She felt very uncomfortable and slapped his head away.

"You’re too close." After speaking, she stood up and moved to another chair.

"You two are Ji Feng’s men." That was indeed beyond Lan Tian’s expectations.