Picking Up Girls

Chapter 57 Picking Up Girls

Time flies.

In the blink of an eye, tomorrow is the AET exam.

The library was noticeably more crowded than usual. Some people came every day, some were cramming at the last minute, and others simply came to soak up the learning atmosphere...

Bai Yuzhe carried several books up to the third floor, glanced at his usual spot by the window, and...

His throne was stolen.

Su Xue.

The off-white sweater hung loosely on her body, making her look somewhat thin.

She kept her head down, her hair falling down and covering most of her face, only a section of her fair chin and her fingertips occasionally turning the pages of the book could be seen.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a soft glow on her.

Bai Yuze's gaze swept around the surroundings.

The other seats were either occupied or piled high with books. Only the seat opposite that girl was empty.

He walked over and sat down opposite her.

Su Xue's fingers paused.

She looked up and glanced at him.

It was an overly quiet face.

Her features were so exquisite they looked as if they had been measured with a ruler, but she had no expression at all. Her eyebrows and eyes were lowered, her lips were straight, and she looked like an unpainted porcelain doll.

Only those eyes were alive.

His pupils were pitch black, deep and still, like a bottomless abyss.

She looked at Bai Yuze, her gaze sweeping across his face as if confirming something insignificant, then lowered her eyes and continued reading.

Bai Yuzhe didn't care.

The warm sunshine at the end of March streamed in through the library's floor-to-ceiling windows, making me feel full of energy.

Bai Yuze sat by the window with a copy of "Introduction to Abyssal Biology" open in front of him.

The two of them quietly flipped through the books on their desks. After a long while, Bai Yuze had roughly read through all the books.

He looked up at Su Xue.

The sunlight fell on her, softening her features. Strands of hair cast delicate shadows on her cheeks, swaying gently with her occasional movements.

After looking at it for a few seconds, he lowered his head to look at his book. A few seconds later, he raised his head and suddenly said, "Su Xue."

Upon hearing Bai Yuze's words, Su Xue paused for a moment.

She looked up at him.

"What's up?"

Bai Yuze pushed the book in his hand forward.

"I've read this book, 'Introduction to Abyssal Biology,' several times."

Su Xue's gaze fell on the book, then she looked up at Bai Yuze, her eyes filled with doubt.

Bai Yuzhe continued, "Chapter One: Definition and Classification of the Abyss. Chapter Two: Ecological Niches of Abyssal Creatures. Chapter Three: Methods for Detecting Abyssal Energy Fields. Chapter Four: The History of Human Contact with the Abyss."

"What are you trying to say?"

Su Xue interrupted him, her voice very soft, just like when she answered questions in class, without any emotion.

Bai Yuze leaned back in his chair, looked at her, and slowly said, "I just wanted to ask, when you read a book, do you ever have this feeling? Even though you've read it many times, every time you open it, you feel like you've never read it before."

Su Xue looked at him.

The sunlight moved slowly across her face.

After a few seconds, she lowered her head and continued writing in her notebook.

"Won't."

Bai Yuze was stunned for a moment.

"Won't?"

"Um."

She didn't look up; the pen continued to glide across the paper.

"I read books because I need to know them; I won't read books if I don't need to know them. If I need to know something, reading it once is enough."

Bai Yuzhe remained silent for two seconds.

"So what are you looking at right now?"

The pen paused for a moment.

Su Xue raised her head, looked at him, and slowly said, "Abyss Observation: A Study of the Dark Symbiotic Entities in Human Society."

"This book probably won't be on tomorrow's AET exam."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bai Yuzhe felt like he had made a stupid mistake, since the other party had already said it.

The other person is reading a book, and they are genuinely reading it without any ulterior motives.

Su Xue looked at him without saying a word, but her eyes seemed to be looking at an idiot.

Bai Yuze coughed lightly, trying to change the subject: "Have you always been like this?"

"What?"

"that is----"

Bai Yuzhe considered his words carefully, "You only read what you need, and you can remember all the content after reading it only once?"

Su Xue did not answer; she lowered her head and continued taking notes.

Strands of hair fell down again, obscuring her profile.

Bai Yuzhe thought she wouldn't say anything more, so he continued to look down at his book.

After a few seconds, she suddenly asked, "Have you always been like this?"

Bai Yuze looked up.

"What?"

"Sit across from me."

Bai Yuze paused for a moment.

He looked at her.

She kept her head down, her face expressionless, as if she hadn't said those words herself.

Bai Yuzhe thought for a moment and said, "It's just a coincidence. I really like my seat near the window; it's comfortable to read there. Besides, this library isn't yours to run, so it's my personal choice where I sit."

Su Xue didn't reply.

After a few seconds, she spoke again: "But you've been sitting here for twenty-eight days straight."

Bai Yuze was stunned for a moment.

Surprisingly, this class monitor had actually counted them.

"You remember it very clearly."

Su Xue's voice remained flat, "I don't want to remember, but every time your gaze is directed at me, I can't help but remember."

"That was me—"

'

Bai Yuze was about to say something in his defense when he was interrupted by a moment of blankness.

Su Xue naturally picked up where he left off, saying, "I know."

She lowered her head again and continued writing.

"But when you were spacing out, your eyes were looking at me, so I still have to remember."

Bai Yuze: "...

'

Bai Yuze withdrew his gaze and reopened the book in front of him.

He read two lines, then looked up again.

"Class monitor, have you ever thought about moving to another seat to read?"

Su Xue paused for a moment, then raised her expressionless face to look at him.

Why?

"Didn't you complain that my gaze was too intense?"

Su Xue looked at him for three seconds, then asked, "Does your family own the library?"

"----no."

"Then it's none of your business where I sit."

Bai Yuze paused for a moment, then smiled.

It was 11:30 a.m., and the sun was shining brightly.

Bai Yuze came out of the library and squinted to adjust to the outside light.

The sun at the end of March felt wonderful, and it even lifted my spirits.

After 28 days of waiting, he successfully transformed himself from a complete stranger into a classmate in Su Xue's eyes. Just as he took out his phone, preparing to find a place to eat...

A message popped up.

Yuze: [Yuze, are you free this afternoon? Can you run me an errand? I can't get away from the lab.]

Bai Yuzhe: [Coming right away, is there something you need, Senior Brother?]

Big Thigh: [Come to the lab, I'll let you know when you get there.]

Bai Yuzhe: [Okay, I'll be right there.]

This powerful figure is none other than his senior brother, Aiwas. Whenever Aiwas contacts him, it's usually for good news, and today will likely be no exception.