Chapter 37: Interlude
Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Interlude
Since today was Saturday, the Provincial Library was packed with people coming to study. As a result, the "seat reservation" business was booming almost all day long.
Based on Zhang Yan’s private chat with Old Niu, unlike the high-demand morning rush, many of the guys reserving seats later in the day were students working part-time. They were there to study as well, but once they grew tired, they would sell their spots in the group chat, creating a win-win situation. The only downside was the occasional time cost. After all, they had to wait for the "buyer" to arrive, which usually took ten to thirty minutes.
BEEP!
After scanning the QR code, a bespectacled high school student packed up his belongings, stretched lazily, and left the seat.
The book Zhang Yan prepared for today was *Art of Ambiguity*. The difficulty level was moderate, making it perfect for readers interested in interpersonal relationships but lacking a professional psychology background. The writing was accessible and rich in case studies, carrying a certain narrative flow. By combining psychological theories with real-life scenarios, it allowed readers to intuitively grasp the concepts and form their own insights.
Zhang Yan adjusted his posture and drank the Concentration Potion.
"Domain Expansion! ...Never mind, that’s way too cringe."
He began to read.
"Ambiguity is a state that wanders between distance and an Intimate Relationship. It is a vague attraction, a delicate balance where people attempt to control and be controlled in romance.
"True ambiguity isn’t explicit language, but unspoken implications.
"What you perceive as casual coincidence might be the other party’s meticulously crafted trap."
An hour later, Zhang Yan closed his sore eyes, massaged his throbbing temples, and let out a deep breath.
Honestly, if it were the old him, even with the Concentration Potion’s buff, he absolutely wouldn’t have been able to read the entire book in one sitting and basically comprehend its underlying principles. However, ever since Brother Tongzi had enlightened him, he had started reviewing every detail of his past interactions with Cheng Lu. Coupled with his recent practical experience with the junior, he felt as though understanding one concept unlocked them all.
"I’m enlightened!"
Yet, while he believed he had reached enlightenment, Brother Tongzi clearly disagreed. His progress on the book only reached the "Understood" level. Still, he believed that as long as he found time later to review it alongside his recent experiences, he could easily upgrade its rating.
Slumping into the chair, Zhang Yan gave a massive stretch. For the first time, learning something through his own subjective initiative—though slightly motivated by quest rewards—actually felt pretty good.
Scrolling through his phone to relax, he surprisingly noticed a red notification badge with the number "3" on "Gentle Evening Breeze’s" avatar. His spirits lifted, and he immediately clicked on it.
"Did you feed the cat today?"
Half an hour later, another message had arrived: "I’m talking about Big Orange, the orange cat you named."
Ten minutes after that, she added, "I was busy today and couldn’t feed him, and I can’t head back for a while. If you’re free, could you feed him for me?"
The last message was sent fifteen minutes ago. It seemed the senior had picked a rather unfortunate time to text.
Zhang Yan replied, "I’ll go feed him in a bit. Don’t worry."
DING!
[Side Quest: Re-establish contact with Xia Xiqing (Completed)]
[Your Debit Card ending in 2447 has received a UnionPay deposit of 100,000.00 RMB. Current balance: 4,041,636.70 RMB.]
[Side Quest Updated: Further deepen the connection with her and make her develop romantic feelings for the host. Reward: 1,000,000 RMB.]
He thought, "It seems the prerequisite for establishing contact is having a stable communication channel and successfully using it to connect. But this side quest reward is incredibly generous. I can get a million RMB just by making her like me?"
After waiting for two minutes, Xia Xiqing didn’t reply again. Zhang Yan stopped paying attention, pocketing his phone and preparing to leave.
However, just as he was about to get up, a quiet-looking girl with black-framed glasses was shoved toward him by another girl wearing a ponytail.
"Hey handsome, she wants to add you on WeChat!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I... I do not!"
Zhang Yan was taken aback for a moment before he suddenly chuckled. It really was true that clothes made the man. He had studied in his university library plenty of times in the past, but he had never encountered a situation like this before. Without the complementary effects of a good hairstyle and stylish outfit, a man’s facial features struggled to reach their full potential.
"Shh. No loud noises in the library. Let’s talk over there."
Zhang Yan glanced at the girl trailing behind them. Her face was flushed crimson, and her fingers kept nervously picking at her skirt. She looked very demure. While not strikingly beautiful, she won points for her clean, radiant youthfulness. However, she simply looked a bit too "green."
The three of them arrived at a secluded corner.
"Go ahead. What do you need from me?"
Seeing the bespectacled girl squirming nervously, unable to squeeze out a single word, the ponytail girl grew impatient and spoke up on her best friend’s behalf.
"Her name is Xu Fei! She’s been watching you read so seriously over there for almost an hour, so I brought her over to get your WeChat and get to know you!"
"I-It hasn’t been an hour! It’s only been forty-seven or forty-eight minutes..."
Zhang Yan observed them silently. In truth, the ponytail girl was slightly prettier than the girl with glasses, but her overly extroverted personality made her appear less charming than her best friend.
"How old are you girls?"
"High school juniors. We’ll be seniors when the next semester starts."
Once again, it was the ponytail girl who answered. The bespectacled girl named Xu Fei simply nodded along, sneaking a quick peek at Zhang Yan before rapidly lowering her head.
It was exactly the troublesome age Zhang Yan had anticipated. It wasn’t an issue of being seventeen or eighteen, or whether they were of legal age. Rather, at this particular stage in life, an ambiguous and vague romance could easily lead a young girl astray.
"Why do you want to add me on WeChat?"
This time, the ponytail girl didn’t answer for her best friend. Xu Fei seemed to muster a great deal of courage, clenching her small fists before finally speaking in a muffled voice.
"I... I want to be friends with you."
Outright rejection wasn’t a good idea, but directly agreeing was definitely out of the question as well. No matter what, it would end up distracting the young girl and consuming most of her thoughts.
Zhang Yan didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he asked, "You guys should be on summer vacation right now. The fact that you’re running to the library to read shows you really love to study."
"Of course! If anyone in our class can test into a top-tier university, it’ll definitely be Xu Fei!" the ponytail girl interjected, answering on behalf of her best friend with immense pride.
Hearing this, Zhang Yan formed a plan in his mind. He pulled out his phone. "Take down my WeChat ID."
Although Xu Fei was confused as to why he didn’t just let her scan his QR code to add him, she still quickly unlocked her phone and noted down his WeChat ID.
"I won’t accept your request right now, but I can make a pact with you. If you get accepted into Provincial University next year, and you still remember me by then, you can add me and contact me. I’ll treat you to a massive feast. Oh, by the way, I’m a student at Provincial University."
The bespectacled girl, Xu Fei, widened her eyes. This wasn’t quite how she had imagined things going, but a fighting spirit immediately ignited within her heart.
"Okay! You have to keep your promise when the time comes!"
Zhang Yan smiled and bid farewell to the two young girls he had met by chance.
Not long after this little interlude concluded, an exceptionally gorgeous girl stepped out from behind the bookshelf where they had just been talking. She looked in the direction the trio had left. As if recalling her own youthful school days, the corners of her lips curled up unconsciously.
"That guy is actually pretty decent. Plus, his voice sounds a bit familiar."