Lu Yanbai stared at the figure suddenly turning away, his eyes slightly lowered. His fingers, which had been twirling the pages of a book, paused for a long moment before slowly flipping to the next page.
The Royal Academy of St. Bramble was not strict in controlling its students, but that didn’t mean students could skip school on the very first day of the semester.
Besides a few of them, he really didn’t know anyone else in the school who had such boldness.
“Hmph, kept me waiting?” A casual voice sounded beside Lu Yanbai.
He remained unmoved, his gaze still fixed on the book pages until the shadow beside him blocked the sunlight streaming through the window. Only then did he slowly set down the heavy book in his hands.
“You’re ten minutes late,” he said indifferently. “Give me a reasonable explanation.”
Lorren leaned one hand on the desk, winking at the girls nearby who were quietly exclaiming at him.
“Explanation… let me think,” he said lazily, turning his head to the side. “Met an interesting girl, does that count?”
“I really don’t know who you consider uninteresting,” Lu Yanbai leaned back and listened to the noisy chatter around, stirred up again by Lorren’s arrival. His fingertips tapped impatiently on the desk.
“Maybe you’re right. After all, I don’t always wear a deadpan expression like you,” Lorren smiled and pulled out a chair, speaking without restraint.
“But she’s different. After all, how many girls would skip registration on the first day of school only to show up here?” Lorren rested his chin on his hand and spoke slowly. “I even wanted her to help me look for you, but she refused. Lucky me.”
“Otherwise, skipping class only to run into the student council president—that’d be awkward…” Lorren’s eyes flicked over Lu Yanbai, pausing when he saw his expression.
“Don’t tell me she’s unlucky enough to have run into you?” Lorren smirked, clearly enjoying the show. “Such a big place, yet she just had to meet you.”
“Correction,” Lu Yanbai said flatly, retracting his gaze without emotion. “She didn’t just meet me. She walked straight up to me.”
Though he didn’t know why she gave up on her decision at the last moment.
“Quite brave!” Lorren said mockingly.
The person being discussed was currently trying to find some suitable books to read in the vast sea of literature.
Wen Qian returned to the reading area, holding the carefully selected books she had picked out after wandering through the fiction section.
The books were spread out in a row: Being and Time, The Selfish Gene, Climate Genes and the Future of Humanity…
Wen Qian calmed her mind and solemnly opened Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
She was going to seriously study just what was going on with these zombies!
[Weekly Quest—Read Books (1/10)]
[Reward: Intelligence +0.5]
Reluctantly closing the book, Wen Qian hesitated and glanced at Being and Time beside her.
The two books were completely different in style, so she wasn’t picking randomly—she wanted to see if different types of books would trigger different rewards.
Opening the first page, Wen Qian was hit hard by the brilliance of knowledge.
Trying to understand but failing, she quickly flipped through the pages as if she wasn’t reading but instead counting how many sheets the book had.
The moment she closed it, the system’s prompt sounded.
[Weekly Quest—Read Books (2/10)]
[Quest Reward: Intelligence +1]
Wen Qian couldn’t help but smile. Indeed, different books rewarded different amounts of intelligence points.
Fortunately, the system didn’t care whether she actually finished reading the content. As long as she flipped back and forth a few times, would she still worry about the upcoming school exam?
In a good mood, Wen Qian lightly waved her fingers, even her gaze on the book cover softened—these were all her “cash cows.”
Just like with the previous book, she quickly finished two difficult and obscure books, and again received the delightful prompt for +1 +1 intelligence points.
She really knew how to “farm” these rewards!
In a cheerful mood, Wen Qian finished the fourth book, but the system prompt that should have appeared did not.
Three seconds later, a somewhat eerie sound effect rang in her ears.
[Achievement Unlocked—Knowledge Indigestion]
[Knowledge flows into your brain, but your smooth brain decides to let it go.]
[Details: Reading large amounts of incomprehensible books causes your brain to fall into chaos.]
[Achievement Reward: Experience +20]
[Side Effects: Topographical Disorientation / Face Blindness Debuff (duration 3 hours)]
Wen Qian: ???
She stared blankly at the book in her hands. The book titled Climate Genes and the Future of Humanity had turned into a gray, unselectable state. On the entire desk, only the first book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies remained normal.
She looked up around her. The previously clear crowd was now a blur of indistinct faces under the negative aura effect.
It felt like extreme nearsightedness—but only towards people.
Through the nearby glass, she could faintly see a dark purple debuff tag floating above her head:
[Face Blindness / Topographical Disorientation, duration (3 hours)]
Though Wen Qian kept quiet, to those watching closely, she was extremely conspicuous.
Lorren didn’t expect Wen Qian to have the nerve to come back—did she really not care, or was she just fearless because of ignorance?
There shouldn’t be anyone in the academy who didn’t recognize him and Lu Yanbai—probably a newly transferred student this year?
“A poor but excellent student?” He shifted to a comfortable sitting position and sized Wen Qian up, apparently unconcerned about whether she noticed.
Glancing over the covers of the books in her hands, Lorren chuckled lightly. She really did fit her identity—such a thirst for knowledge… hmm?
Wen Qian picked up a book and rapidly flipped through it without blinking, which caught Lorren off guard.
Before he could recover, he saw her pick up another book and quickly flip through it from start to finish.
These consecutive actions reminded Lorren of how he had felt when he first met her—the puzzlement over what this person was really up to.
She picked up yet another book. Lorren thought she would start counting pages like before, but instead, she suddenly seemed to notice something she didn’t understand and widened her eyes sharply.
Seeing her look up at him, Lorren chuckled softly, propping his chin on his hand and waving at her.
—Then he received a very confused look in return.
A strange thought flashed through Lorren’s mind: was she forgetting him?
Wen Qian looked at her stack of unread “cash cows” with tears in her eyes—all those good books that could help her gain intelligence points, but now they would have to be reluctantly set aside.
Well, she had already gotten some benefits, so the negative aura was just a side effect.
Wen Qian grabbed another book from the pile: One Hundred Ways to Cook Home Dishes.
Feeling a bit sad, she decided to look at some food-related writing to relax.
Wen Qian didn’t mind the so-called debuff—until after she finished all the books and was about to leave, when the side effects kicked in.
—Which bookshelf did she take the books from again?
Wen Qian felt like her brain was completely empty. Although she had often felt this way since finishing the college entrance exam, this time was different.
This time, it really felt like her brain was empty!
“Need some help?” A vaguely familiar voice sounded in Wen Qian’s ear.
Surprised to encounter a kind person at this moment, Wen Qian looked up, seeing a very ordinary passerby’s face.
“I want to return these books, but I don’t quite remember which shelves I took them from,” Wen Qian said, not caring who the person helping her was—probably a kind NPC arranged by the game.
Meeting Wen Qian’s gaze, Lorren confirmed his earlier suspicion—she really had forgotten him.
A fresh feeling surged inside Lorren; this was the first person he had met who could forget him so quickly.
He smiled warmly and said, “Just put them in the unified return area. There will be staff to sort and shelve the books.”
“May I ask—have you forgotten me?”
Wen Qian was about to thank him but suddenly froze. She quickly glanced at the top of his head—the system was very thorough in preventing players from cheating, and true face blindness meant true face blindness.
Even the ID above his head was blocked, leaving only a generic “Passerby A” tag.
“No way, didn’t we just meet?” Wen Qian said slowly, her brain spinning fast as she tried to figure out who this person was.
Was he the staff who helped her find books earlier, the visitor who asked her to help take photos, or the girl she accidentally bumped into?
No, probably not a girl.
Wen Qian cautiously ruled that out.
Probably not a visitor either, since that visitor was with companions, not alone.
Looking at the kind person still waiting for her to speak, Wen Qian said seriously, “Of course I remember you. You just helped me find some books.”
Lorren’s smile broadened; this probably wasn’t just forgetting him, it was full-on face blindness.
He shamelessly took credit: “That was definitely me.”
A smug smile crept onto Wen Qian’s lips—she felt like her tail was about to wag with pride.
No matter what tricks the system threw, it could never beat Detective Wen!
Decided—next time she came to the library, she’d read The Complete Sherlock Holmes.
In a good mood, Wen Qian looked at the kind staff member who had helped her again.
“Thanks! I’m going to return the books now. See you next time!”
Lorren put one hand in his pocket and waved, “See you tomorrow.”
He was actually looking forward to running into her at school tomorrow—if she didn’t skip class, that is.
Lorren started walking out, but before he left the third floor, a familiar voice came from beside him.
The girl who had just said goodbye to him and said she was going to return books was now standing beside him holding a few books, looking at him with a very unfamiliar, polite expression.
“Sorry to bother you, but do you know where the book return area is?”
Wen Qian looked at the man tagged as Passerby F and politely asked.
She had searched around a lot but couldn’t find the place. She originally wanted to ask the kind Passerby A again, but he had left so quickly that she couldn’t see him anymore.
Most people there were reading quietly, so she didn’t want to disturb anyone. Luckily, there was a seemingly idle Passerby F standing there.
Wen Qian, determined to find help, walked straight toward him.
It was him!