outsider
Xiao Yingzhu said nothing more and put the books back.
The atmosphere eased a little, but Jiang Nian didn't want to let the topic end there. Besides, he would have to explain it to him if he found any clues later.
She returned to the bookshelf where she had just seen the familiar book, lowered her head and began to look for the book again. Xiao Yingzhu, who came later, suddenly spoke.
"In the afternoon, someone was hiding in the dark in front of the mansion and spying."
The familiar casual tone and fragrance surrounded him, and Jiang Nian was a little dazed for a moment.
She placed her fingertips on the corner of the book and looked back following the sound.
At this time, Xiao Yingzhu was leaning against the wall, his crow-feather eyelashes drooping, casting a shadow on his fair face.
He looked casual and relaxed, his eyes and brows were calm, as if he had not said anything to explain. He just stood there quietly with his arms folded, waiting for her to find the important clue.
The bony fingertips tapped casually, as if recording time.
Feeling Jiang Nian's gaze looking back at her, Xiao Yingzhu suddenly raised her eyes and looked straight at her.
The dark pupils immediately reflected her shadow. Jiang Nian's heart skipped a beat at this faint but substantial look, and then he calmly looked away and turned his head.
Afraid that she would become suspicious and come up with something else to disrupt their future plans, he specifically spoke up to explain that it was him who had given him the cold stare in the afternoon.
Now he is the one pretending that he never gave any explanation and acting indifferent and nonchalant.
This guy is really weird.
Xiao Yingzhu looked back at him without any hesitation, which made her seem a little suspicious.
What a clever idea.
Jiang Nian paused while reading the title of the book on the bookshelf, then reached out and took the book down.
If I remember correctly, the book she read in modern times should not be much different from this one.
Then there should be the nameless plant that Miss Tao asked them to check.
After all, apart from some deviations in the colors of the paintings, there is not much difference.
The book that Miss Tao found was also very old, and the colors on the plants were likely to have faded.
By candlelight, Jiang Nian flipped through the pages of the book's catalog one by one. When he saw the familiar name, he instantly went to the right catalog and found the plant introduced in the book.
Noticing that she was turning the pages faster, Xiao Yingzhu stood up and was about to go over to take a look, but suddenly raised his hand to extinguish the candle, reached out to quickly embrace her, and then hid in the nearest corner of the library.
The action happened in an instant, and before Jiang Nian could react, he pushed her to the corner of a bookshelf.
This bookshelf faces the window outside. It had just rained, and now the sky is full of clouds and fog. Not much moonlight can illuminate the room. Now without the candlelight, the vision is dim.
The movement just now was so large that it brought a small gust of cold wind past his face.
Now Xiao Yingzhu's hand was on his body, Xiao Yingzhu's hair was hanging on his shoulder, and his whole body was filled with his fresh fragrance. Jiang Nian suddenly didn't dare to move.
The library was dark and silent, and there was almost no sound of others. She was silent for a while, not noticing who was nearby. Just as she was about to turn around to look at Xiao Yingzhu, a slender finger was pressed against her lips.
The moment his cool fingertips touched her lips, they seemed to ignite a hot electric current that spread from her neurons to all parts of her body, and the presence of the strong and lean arm clasped around her waist became more apparent.
Jiang Nian's body stiffened, and she had to maintain the posture of being half leaned against the bookshelf and half leaning in his arms, holding the book with her face sideways, trying to relax her tense nerves so that she could be distracted and not pay attention to what was happening around her.
Except for this moment, she had never been in such close contact with the opposite sex since she was a child. But this was a special moment, and it would be strange to appear awkward and uncomfortable, which would make Xiao Yingzhu feel that she was overthinking.
Jiang Nian finally chose to give up responding to the implicit signals from the outside world and to complete the task without making any sound.
After a long period of darkness, her vision finally saw clearly where she was and the window that was blocked by clouds and mist without the bright moon.
Her gaze moved, then silently moved upwards and stopped at Xiao Yingzhu's face.
With her black hair hanging down, Xiao Yingzhu lowered her eyes. In the dim room, he couldn't see her expression at the moment. He could only feel from the strength of the arms clasped around her waist that he was not in a very good mood.
Because the buckle is a bit too tight.
It was fine if it was short, but after a long time, Jiang Nian even felt a little pain in his waist.
She reached out and gently touched Xiao Yingzhu's hand on her waist, but before he could respond, a dull sound of footsteps suddenly fell nearby.
The direction where the footsteps stopped was exactly where they were originally standing.
The rustling sound of clothes was heard after a dead silence. The unknown person was just a vague black shadow in Jiang Nian's vision, and only a rough outline could be seen.
The shadow didn't seem to be familiar with the library, and even seemed a little unfamiliar with it. He didn't turn on the light, but only used his limited vision in the dark to try to make out the words on the book.
However, this task may be too advanced for him, because the book he wants to find must be in simplified Chinese characters that he does not recognize.
After all, the books that Jiang Nian wants to read and the clues that Xiao Yingzhu wants to find are all related to modern books.
The person who ordered the black shadow to find him was most likely the one who gave him the characters written in Huandu. Therefore, in the already difficult-to-distinguish light, it was almost an impossible task to find a book that did not conform to the Huandu font at all.
The black shadow groped forward in the dim light, bending over and flipping through the books one by one. After a while, he stood up again, seemingly with a sore waist, and was standing there pounding his waist.
Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief.
He doesn't look like someone who has learned martial arts.
The person who was wandering in the corridor just now and this one must have been created by different people.
The difference in intensity is too obvious.
Jiang Nian clenched the book in her hand. It was really uncomfortable to be pushed against the bookshelf by Xiao Yingzhu. She had been maintaining this posture for a while and was almost reaching her limit.
Just as she was about to move her limbs a little, Xiao Yingzhu relaxed his grip on her.
The place where they were standing was a blind spot. The dark shadow could not see them, nor could it hear the slightest movement from here.
The book in his hand was probably the target that the black shadow was looking for. Thinking of the name of the plant he had just seen in the candlelight, Jiang Nian frowned and put the book in Xiao Yingzhu's hands.
When she came down to eat tonight, she never expected that Xiao Yingzhu would bring her to this library, and Xiao Yingzhu also brought her here on a whim.
So neither of them had any sharp weapons in their hands.
Now that Xiao Yingzhu's identity cannot be known to outsiders, it is natural to reduce the number of times he appears in public.
After all, with his outstanding appearance, he can be spotted in the crowd at a glance. Coupled with his identity, I'm afraid anyone who has seen him in person will remember him forever.
Jiang Nian took the lamp from Xiao Yingzhu's hand and she moved slightly to the side.
After staying in this corner for a long time and knowing that the other party would not discover them, she relaxed a lot.
The sharp and refreshing fragrance still lingered around him. Jiang Nian was used to this smell. Standing next to Xiao Yingzhu, he was not overly worried at this moment because he believed in each other's abilities.
The black shadow searched the bookshelf for a while, but didn't seem to find what it wanted. It was a little afraid to go back and report. So it decided not to believe in evil and prepared to walk a few steps to the side.
Seeing the black shadow heading towards them, Jiang Nian subconsciously took a step back and took advantage of Xiao Yingzhu to stop him from getting in his way.
She looked back and realized that if she stepped back any further, the hairpin on her head would probably hit the wall and make a noise.
Jiang Nian was shocked when he avoided the question and hesitated whether to hide somewhere else.
But there is no way to retreat here, unless you squat down under the lowest shelf where there are no books.
Xiao Yingzhu was not as nervous as Jiang Nian. He watched the other party walk over here nonchalantly, without even moving from where he was standing.
There was no worry at all that the shadow would come into this blind spot.
Dead silence spread throughout the entire library. The wind outside the corridor was howling. After a while, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Are you okay? They said... there was no one in that room."
The voice was extremely unfamiliar, and Jiang Nian had never heard it before.
The silence in the library made his words particularly clear.
The person standing in the room paused, then changed direction and quickened his pace towards the door.
Because he felt guilty about entering the forbidden area to look for books, the black shadow walked very lightly and was almost inaudible.
The person outside didn't get a response, and seemed to be impatient. He stomped his feet to drive away the cold and turned around holding the candlelight.
Until the sound of the library door was pushed open, and then the footsteps quieted down.
Their words were immediately blocked out by the thick wooden door.
"...Not in the room? Where's the gatekeeper?"
"None."
"But there's no one else here... Let's not talk about this." The person who entered the library shuddered and closed the door neatly. "Should this room be locked..."
"I don't know. The shopkeeper didn't tell me. But isn't this a forbidden area? How come there isn't even a lock?"
"You're stupid. I've asked you to come here to do this mission. The owner is in charge of these confidential doors. He will naturally help you open them."
Disgusted with the unfamiliar voices and tones, they closed the door and walked away. The chattering sounds were carried into the library by the cold wind.
"...Really? Then the shopkeeper will come to lock it later?"
"Alright, that's enough. Just forget about it and do your job. Remember, don't ask any more questions later. It's embarrassing for us. Just get this done and that's it."
“…”
—
Jiang Nian could not hear their conversation. The candle was relit, and the flickering candlelight shone through. Seeing that Xiao Yingzhu looked strange, he asked a question.
"What did they say?"
Xiao Yingzhu's expression was the same as before, except that the slight smile she had on her face had completely disappeared, and her eyes were filled with aloofness and coldness.
When the outsider pushed the door open, he was in a bad mood, but he didn't show it.
Now, after hearing those words that Jiang Nian didn't hear clearly, Xiao Yingzhu's expression of annoyance increased a bit.
He lowered his eyes lazily, reached out and grabbed Jiang Nian's wrist. Without saying anything, he maintained a firm strength that would not hurt her and led her out of the room neatly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
