Chapter 1

Mu Gu was lying down on a mat, thinking, “Ah, it’s such a nice day”, after a book fell on her face. Of such, it appears that it’s been a long time since she barely had time for herself.

Minutes ago, she’d felt the utmost fulfilment but when the books fell, she had to find the exact page she’d lost again, which made her a bit frustrated from the pain and the imagination that had paused.

By now, she was at a place that only she’d might know about, somewhere hidden in the depth of the forest at the back of someone’s bungalow — to be precise, her former living place that she’d failed to protect. It was likely that the current inhabitants of this house had never come across this place, which would explain why the hidden garden had quietly fallen into neglect — though she had only just finished restoring it to how it once was a few days ago.

What’s funny enough was, she never had permission. It just, with the owner’s absence, she slipped in and for a moment, she looked rather proud of it.

Despite all that, after having her imagination paused, she found herself couldn’t recreate the same feeling from the first time she read the book, which paused her. Her hands flip it continuously before a heavy breath comes out of her mouth.

“I give up”, words came out as soon as she laid the book beside her head, and clasped her hand to her stomach, with her eyes gazing at the vast blue sky. Immediately, her eyes glistened and she blinked a little few more times before she gradually became used to it.

How come, at that moment she landed both her mind and heart onto the sky, it’s as if she was enlightened. The kind of feeling that let her heart open wide, and put some inexplicable things in there? Who knows — she herself couldn’t put it into words. What she knew was that it put her heart both with peace, yet indescribable melancholy. It set her heart free from otherworldly strings, but also made the beating stop at a certain time she couldn’t describe nor remember. And that’s the worst part out of all — that feeling left her suffocated.

A while had passed before Mu Gu finally snapped from it. The day began to alternate and she must be back to her place — the only one she could say hers; a library which she spent the result of her hard work to be granted. Before night came, she folded the mat after heaving herself up, then tidied up the place, put the books in her bag and set off the place as quickly as possible.

[ The next day ]

It was quite an ordinary day. Mu Gu was by her bicycle on a pathway near the big street filled with hustle bustle as usual, followed by a morning broadcast speaker ringing throughout the whole area, and busy people walking across. This day, nice weather covered the whole place, but the same emptiness on her was tightly contained, like a chain she chose not to let go. Something was amiss in every step of her life.

Nonetheless, her leg continued pedaling at a moderate pace and eventually arrived.

“Quite a troublesome day after all, has begun”, she murmured low as well as her weighty sigh.

After Mu Gu parked her bicycle, she immediately went into the school library without stopping along the way. Finishing a task is important for a peaceful life. As for the trouble she had mentioned, she was quite confident that it would not reach her as long as she wanted. However, not as predicted, trouble arose towards her as soon as the break’s bell rang — that is, when she had just finished cleaning and decorating the library on the first day of her duty.

On the other hand, Jun Yi heard some words from his friends towards some of the boys, saying,

“Have you heard? A new in duty student had taken charge of the library?”

“Really?!”

“It’s damn real! I’m not gonna lie but the way it was enhanced was the real deal!”, and a hushed tone took over, “ Like you’re on a study group vacation.”

The others naturally laughed, and one carried on, “It should be like — A vacation study session in the library!”

At once, a bang on a desk, and cackles burst out, instantly causing a stir in the classroom.

As Jun Yi heard those, personally, he chose not to take part in the group but since he was being considered as one of them, he decided to just stick around and take a look if it’s really just like the hearsay mentioned. During break, they walked over the hallway in a group of four and eventually arrived, but only for a sense of amazement creeping into them. Nothing was out of ordinary, nevertheless, the whole interior was quite cozy, like a small space just meant for people to have a peaceful holiday in. Rather than the outside, the library was more tranquil. The air was filled with a scent of paper, of books, and a faint scent of rosewood — as if a new batch of necessities had just been arranged, especially the shelves. It was short and filled with books as it stood in place, neatly arranged, whilst forming a measurable walkway each in between.

Other than that, there was a corner on the side, placed with each set of long desks, and a bunch of chairs with cushions, quite comfortable for sitting and reading.

Beside, a tall, wide glass window, which at first long had lost its charm, came to life after a thorough cleaning. Long, green leaves can be seen outside, dangling gracefully as the wind touches, tenderly sending some inside through the slightly opened window.

At first glance, Jun Yi's complexion softened as his eyes fell across the span of the room.

‘I wonder who’s running this place to make it so neat and beautiful?’

Jun Yi couldn’t help himself being allured. Suddenly, something clicked on his mind, remembering something. He then scanned anywhere nearby but his friend was nowhere to be seen, hence, he could only venture inside carefully, while searching for their shadow. His foot passed by a row of books and began strolling everywhere, and handling everything that touched his interest.

As he carried on walking in wonder, his eyes once more fell towards the on-duty girl. A sense of wonder slowly guides his step, leading him past several shelves, when his sight of her gets clearer over the passing moments. Then, he stopped at the second row of shelves and picked some random books. He flips it open as he holds his breath and gushes out slowly before his eyes set on the girl again. How to describe — somehow, this girl gave him a sense of familiarity, but what it is?

‘She must have really loved books when she took care of this place.’

Since the counter stood beside the wall, the soft morning light penetrating the window’s glass beside inevitably causes the girl’s face to dimly brighten in a soft glow, making her face vividly be identified. What he knew was that each of her body’s movements carried a gentle, refined grace as she worked on some kind of documentation — presumably a student's record.

Regardless, given how that graceful essence of hers could put him in ease truly was strange enough for a stranger.

Jun Yi scoffed at himself, because after all those days, he still caught himself back to these matters he knew had no possibility.

Mu Gu put out her reading glasses upon noticing something. She lifted her head, hearing some movement on the second row of shelf in front of her. As her round and shiny eyes swept along the span of the space, it finally fell towards him, followed by a tiny bit of perplexion. Precisely to those moments, recognizing her causing his eyes to widen more in surprise. Immediately, Jun Yi straightened his back and accelerated his casual pace — so quick that Mu Gu hadn’t managed a proper look at him before his figure disappeared from sight.

When he was finally out of the place, Jun Yi's complexion wavered — it sparkled. ‘It’s her! It’s her!’. The small, foolish lift in his chest refused to fade as he swung around to face the way towards the teacher’s room.

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