"There were several pieces of paper torn into strips in the envelope. I took the opportunity to peek at them. Most of them were narratives and praises, but there was only one sentence that was like a riddle. Combining it with the other notes, the riddle probably meant that the principal's secret was hidden in his office."
Cheng Shuang suppressed all her thoughts and handed the deciphered note to Liao Yuewei. "I didn't see any obvious places to hide things in the office. Could it be that the riddle wasn't completely solved? Or is there a trap?"
Liao Yuewei took it, looked at the incomprehensible words on it, and showed an incredulous expression: "Liu Zhongmeng Yan Ruyu! Eight men blocked her path, a male rabbit ran alongside, and she moved the treasure to her boudoir."
The character "力" (lì) plus "八" (bā) equals "办" (bàn), and "雄" (xióng) equals "公" (gōng). Together, they form the character "室" (shì).
What a perfunctory word puzzle...
However, the first sentence is a bit difficult.
"Is the principal's surname Liu or Yan?" she guessed.
"No, his surname is Su, and his given name is Su Qing." Cheng Shuang took out her phone and showed her the photo of the 'family of three' that she had taken.
"It's a color photo! Did they have color photos this early on? Wow, the principal's pretty handsome! If he were the site's maintainer, I'd definitely go after him!"
The little girl's lips twitched. So this is what a beautiful older sister you are!
Perhaps realizing she had revealed too much, Liao Yuewei sat up straight, coughed lightly, and continued, "Who is this little boy? Is he the principal and the dean of students' son? He does look somewhat like the principal." She handed the phone back, pondered for a moment, and said, "No wonder you took a picture of the class monitor's chest; you suspected he was the little boy in the photo. To be honest, his features do resemble the boy in the picture."
Cheng Shuang nodded in agreement, but the class monitor's features were very soft, and her eyes were large and bright. These two features alone distinguished her from the principal, making it difficult for people to connect the two relationships at first glance.
Liao Yuewei, who hadn't paid attention to the development of the chest-patting incident before, leaned closer to Cheng Shuang and whispered curiously, "Is it true?" She compared herself to the chest.
The little girl paused slightly, puzzled, and said, "Yes!"
"No, I mean..." She rubbed her hands, unsure how to explain to a child. A woman's pride and vanity are enough to support an entire world, and of course, a cross-dressing master can too.
When the reporter deliberately mentioned the term "cross-dressing master," the girl's expression brightened, and she nodded in confirmation. "It's true! There's a boy in my class who wore his deskmate's school uniform and stuffed two steamed buns inside." The girl delicately wrinkled her nose and said disdainfully, "The steamed buns didn't feel good, and they looked really fake!"
Liao Yuewei didn't know whether to marvel at how precocious kids were these days or to be annoyed at herself for elaborating on the topic. She touched her nose, giving up on delving into this lewd and useless clue. "Forget it, instead of worrying about whether she's male or female, let's solve the first mystery. Although I've been rather passive along the way because I'm afraid of ghosts, I've still gathered some information." She frowned and said, "The ghosts in the mirror are commonly known as 'glasses girls.' They are numerous and their genders are unpredictable."
For some reason, the little girl suddenly thought of the centaurs on the playground, with all sorts of faces, men and women, big and small.
"By the way, what about the Nth copy of your glasses girl?" She suddenly stood up. She had to be on guard against this guy at all times. If he were to hide in the shadows and secretly imitate one of them and take their place, it would be troublesome.
“It ran away.” Liao Yuewei shrugged. “While the class monitor was asleep, it grabbed that bag of pickled chicken feet, crawled into the instrument panel in the room, and ran away.”
Cheng Shuang responded with an "oh," not regretting it at all. Compared to its benefits, the side effects of keeping it around were greater. After weighing the pros and cons, it was better not to encounter it!
The two exchanged information, temporarily focusing their questions, and finally decided to divide the work. "I'll check the bookshelves; I've gained some experience from my time in the library." For example, organizing the bookshelves...
"Okay, I'll find a desk and a seating area."
If you can't solve the puzzle, you need to act quickly.
The two turned around, but Cheng Shuang had just reached the bookshelf when she beckoned to Liao Yuewei, "Sister, come and look, is this pattern a willow leaf?" She was referring to the curved patterns carved on the bookshelf, each pattern with two long, flat, pointed lines beneath it, resembling leaves but not quite, slender and extending to the top of another pattern. At first glance, one would only think they were part of the overall pattern of the curves.
“Willow dreams of Yan Ruyu… There is Yan Ruyu in the book!” Liao Yuewei wasn’t sure if this represented Liu Ye, but everyone was familiar with the first half of the phrase Yan Ruyu. She excitedly clenched her fist, “It must be the bookshelf.”
As she spoke, she immediately stepped on the foot pedal and carefully examined each book, her gaze mostly lingering on those with colored covers. If the name matched the six characters "Liu Zhongmeng Yan Ruyu," it might also be a clue.
Unfortunately, nothing was gained.
The bookshelves appear to contain a large number of books, including many thick dictionaries, series books, and handwritten copies with large print, all arranged quite densely.
Cheng Shuang was short, so she took the initiative to take charge of the bottom few rows of bookshelves. Since she didn't have any ideas, she wanted to observe what books were there first, and then carefully distinguish them by the book covers and titles. However, when her gaze swept over the bottom row, she paused. There was a book missing in the middle of the bottom row.
Although the books are placed side by side, the gaps between them are relatively large, making them more spacious compared to other tightly packed books.
Cheng Shuang squatted down and tried her best to separate the two books until she couldn't push them anymore. Then she measured the size of the remaining space between the two books, and the empty space was about the same thickness as 'A Call from Time'.
The little girl had guessed that the latter half of the book, which was almost entirely praising the principal, might not have been a publicly available book. Now it seems that it was most likely originally stored on the bookshelf in the principal's office.
But who could take the books from the principal's office without making a sound?
It would make sense if 'A Call from Time' hadn't been in the library from the beginning. And if no student had happened to borrow the book, the so-called principal's secret would likely remain unknown to the average person.
The overall cover design of 'A Call from Time' is thin but has an overly solemn feel, making it seem like an unsuitable book for leisure time and not the best choice for teenagers to pass the time.
So why did Song Xiaosha choose to read this particular book? It wasn't prominently displayed in the library!
Cheng Shuang hadn't forgotten that she first noticed the book through the class monitor's eyes.
Could it be that the class monitor took the book?
Why did she do that?
Soon, Cheng Shuang's gaze involuntarily shifted to a book next to her.
Its shape was rather strange, with a narrow cover and wide pages, but what attracted her was not the shape of the book, but the five words "Memories of Time" handwritten in pen on its narrow spine.
"Do you think 'Yan Ruyu' might refer to a color photograph?"
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