I looked at him in surprise. “Really? Can I take it with me?”

“Yes, but remember to return it. Otherwise, you’ll be blacklisted and won’t be able to borrow books anymore.” he said as he turned another page.

I looked at the book in my hand. That’s great, I shall bring it back for Khai. If they only learn from that kind of film, they won’t know how a girl feels while doing it. They’d only mimic the actors and won’t develop their skills at all.

“Have you read all the books here?” I asked out of curiosity. The young man looked just like a knowledgeable senior in school, attracting my admiration.

He smirked and replied with a smile, “I’ve read them all.” He pointed towards the southeast while continuing to read. “You can read all about sex over there.”

Turning to look, I saw that it was the same area where I’d taken Budding Gods College.

“However, I have to remind you that it is unhealthy if you read too much,” he said smilingly.

I turned back to thank him. “Thank you.”

He continued to read quietly. With the soft rustle of pages flipping under the sunlight as flowers crowded around him, he looked like a god in a temple, which made others relax around him unconsciously.

“He is such a strange Highness...” Raffles carefully looked the Highness from Silver Moon City up and down. “Maybe it’s just that he’s very capable and doesn’t really care much about you. Or maybe, there is a fight for power in Silver Moon City so he didn’t want to help Xing Chuan,” Raffles analyzed, although I wasn’t able to respond to him.

“The master of Silver Moon City is very mysterious. Although there are two Highnesses, there can only be one person who will become the successor of Silver Moon City. A fight for power is inevitable…” Raffles sighed and shook his head. Instead of femininity, he now tended towards the scheming of an ancient adviser.

I couldn’t help but feel it was such a waste for him to entangle himself in such fighting and petty scheming, with those two brains of his.

“Oh yeah. Ask him where the books about time torque are kept.” Raffles’ eyes shimmered. Now that he didn’t have to worry about the Highness of Silver Moon City capturing me, he’d started thinking up ways to ‘make use’ of him.

What the hell is time torque?!

“May I ask where the books about time torque are?” I asked politely.

The Highness’ hand paused and he finally looked up at me. “You want to study about light speed travel?!”

What the hell is light speed?! Does it mean the speed at which light travels? Raffles, what the hell are you thinking up now?!

I could only pretend that I understood and nodded.

He smiled and pointed upstairs. “Third floor, east side, zone three.”

“Thank you!” I immediately took my book and started running upstairs. When I was halfway up the stairs, I popped my head out to look at him. “If Xing Chuan was half as nice as you, I would have gone to Silver Moon City with him.”

He looked back at his book as he shook his head and smiled. His smile was so charming and heartwarming.

I liked this Highness. He was far better than Xing Chuan. He was gentle, friendly and knowledgeable. I admired boys who read a lot.

If my dad met him, he would definitely like him too.

Dad hadn’t studied much. That was why he’d always told me to pick a guy who was well-read to be my boyfriend. Plus, what my dad meant by being well-read didn’t refer to just studying school textbooks but also being well-acquainted with various extracurricular reading materials.

Hence, I had zero immunity towards two types of guys.

One was guys who could fight and lead like my dad and his friends, guys like He Lei.

The other was guys who were knowledgable yet low-key and didn’t flaunt their wisdom, like this young man.

Attraction was an incredible thing. It could grow from the smallest things without your knowing, beyond your control.

Back then, I’d had a favorable impression of Raffles because he was a scientist. He was smart, knowledgeable and could build all kinds of things. I really admired him.

Unlike Xing Chuan, who didn’t carry through his acting all the way to the end. He’d turned around and tossed our friendship aside. Despite being wicked, he’d pretended to be kind, posing as a gentleman before Arsenal and playing around with her feelings. Although she’d learned what Xing Chuan had done to me, she’d still persisted in looking for excuses for his behavior.

I ran up to the third floor and walked where a flower petal-shaped sign pointed to as the ‘East Zone’. The bookshelves were filled with books about time.

“Wow…” Raffles and I exclaimed simultaneously.

“That one! The Contorted Time!” Raffles became excited. “And that one, that one!”

“I can’t reach!” I whispered through gritted teeth.

“Then, The Contorted Time, Time Torque, Time Expansion.” Raffles was so excited that he seemed about to jump out of my monocle if he could.

I picked up the books that he’d wanted and randomly flipped one open, only to close the book right away. I had yet to read it but just one glance at a picture on the page was enough to make me feel a headache coming on.

Carrying those heavy books downstairs, I saw that the Highness was still reading quietly. My footsteps became softer too because of his silence. It was as though time itself slowed down around him.

I couldn’t help but put down the books in my hands and sit down quietly again. Then, I flipped open the book that supposedly had a lot of bed scenes, Budding Gods College, and started reading quietly too.

The air filled with the scent of flowers was refreshing. It calmed me and allowed me to immerse myself into the world of books, building up the magical world in my mind with the authors’ words.

When we’d been reading Pride and Prejudice, had we ever thought of what the female author was wearing, what the female author was eating, what her best friend was like, and if her own love story had been as romantic as the one in her book?

When we’d been reading Journey to the West, had we ever imagined what kind of house the author had been staying in, or what had inspired him to write such a famous book?

We’d read their novels but we had never tried to understand their lives in depth.

They had been buried in the soil, but they’d left their words behind. Their literature was able to draw us back to the reality that they’d lived and breathed.

That was the charm of words, the power of words. Words were the ultimate recorder of time, forming an existence beyond time. They formed time, shuttled through time, encompassed time and compressed time.

I slowly closed the book. It was a fantasy novel but it had made me see a realistic world and a beautiful love story. It had been rather captivating and touching.

When would I ever walk hand-in-hand with the person that I liked under the blue sky and white clouds? When would I ever walk side-by-side with the person that I liked as we watched waves lap against our feet?

The fragrance of the flowers faded from the tip of my nose. The fresh flowers that had spiraled upward along the railing of the stairs had become withered flower vines in an instant. The sight before me had been restored to its original black and white state.

I thought to myself, in this world I would probably only be able to walk hand-in-hand with the person that I liked through old ruins, or stroll side-by-side with them between fallen statues.

Picking up the books, I stood up and walked down the spiral stairs. The Highness stood at the door in silence with three books in his arms. He smiled faintly at me. “See you next time.”

“When’s the next time?” I asked.

He looked down and thought for a while, before he lifted his chin with a smile. “I think we should meet in Silver Moon City the next time.”

I was surprised but he’d already turned and left through the door. His calm back revealed a touch of a refined yet divine demeanor.