Yun Chuji arrived at the largest library in S-District in Tang Jianxi’s car.
In truth, calling the building before her a “library” was merely a product of some nostalgic romanticism. There wasn’t a single paper book inside—or to be more precise, not a single sheet of paper.
The structure conformed to the current aesthetic of the Empire’s official institutions. It was entirely transparent, emitting a faint blue glow around the clock. As for its specific shape, if Yun Chuji had to describe it, it was actually quite familiar—it was shaped like a Luban lock.
Inside, countless rooms were clustered together like a honeycomb. Yun Chuji left the car in the parking lot, activated her terminal, and passed through the identification scanner at the entrance. A gentle female voice reached her ears through the terminal’s human-computer interface: “Miss Yun Chuji, welcome to the Imperial Library. Your room number is N79855. An automated elevator will take you there shortly. Please note that materials rated A-level and above are protected by Imperial information law and cannot be downloaded without authorization.”
Yun Chuji breathed a sigh of relief. As far as she knew, the Four Books and Five Classics were D-level materials.
The floor beneath her feet suddenly began to move. Startled, Yun Chuji instinctively reached for a wall, only to touch a transparent pane of glass. The glass was moving along with the floor; together, they formed a standard elevator car, carrying Yun Chuji to her assigned room.
Ah, the Empire’s aesthetic really is… visually inconvenient.
Three minutes later, Yun Chuji arrived at her room.
It was a rather spacious room with a sofa in the middle, surrounded by devices that looked like bookshelves but were actually database ports.
Yun Chuji took a deep breath and, with great solemnity, connected her terminal to the database. After an entire era, she was finally seeing the books she had dreamed of.
“The Way of the Great Learning lies in illuminating illustrious virtue…”
Yun Chuji spent the entire day immersed in the library. Although she could have downloaded the texts and read them at home, from the moment she saw those first few lines of text, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She couldn’t stop herself from sitting on the sofa for hours on end, motionless, reading with rapt attention.
It wasn’t until hunger pangs roused her that she snapped out of it.
Yun Chuji glanced at the sky outside. With great difficulty, she managed to discern the darkness of night through the massive neon billboards and the light that was as bright as day.
It was time to go home, she thought.
If it were up to her, she would have preferred to spend many more days and nights here, finishing all the books she wanted to read in one go. The Imperial Library offered a meal delivery service, and the sofa could be used for sleeping. However, she had responsibilities to fulfill—a couple deeply in love wouldn’t have one partner staying out all night, much less disappearing for days without a word.
Regretfully, she stopped reading and downloaded all the books she remembered seeing in her elder brother’s and father’s studies onto her terminal. But there were too many books here. The pre-modern archive alone contained eighty million volumes, including not only works from ancient China but also books from other civilizations. Compared to the dozen or so titles on her mental list, this database was a boundless ocean. Moreover, the pre-modern archive accounted for only one-twentieth of all the works in the Imperial Library.
Yun Chuji decided to download more books.
Not just the ones she had heard of, but also some that looked interesting.
For example, Dream of the Red Chamber, Collected Commentaries on the Four Books, Dream Pool Essays, A Record of Ten Days in Yangzhou, and so on. She downloaded a huge pile.
Then she browsed books from other countries. Geometry, God, theology, revolution—Yun Chuji understood none of it. So she picked a book she thought she could understand: The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.
At a glance, it seemed to be in the same category as a gentleman cultivating his person, regulating his family, ordering his state, and bringing peace to the world. Indeed, all great principles lead to the same destination.
Satisfied, Yun Chuji closed the data download port.
She checked the time. Crap, she had spent another half hour.
Yun Chuji hurried out of the library and used her terminal to summon the car to the entrance—Tang Jianxi had already granted her usage rights remotely via her terminal.
But while she was waiting for the car, she had the misfortune of running into an acquaintance.
The reason it was unfortunate was that, strictly speaking, this was an acquaintance of the original owner of her body. And, strictly speaking, it was an acquaintance the original owner would have preferred not to meet—her university professor.
The professor was a male omega who looked to be in his thirties but was actually ten years older. He possessed the slender build characteristic of male omegas, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and had a slight frown etched between his brows. He had a strong scholarly air about him.
Yun Chuji’s first instinct was to flee, but the professor had already recognized her and called out, “Yun Chuji, where have you been these past few days?”
An innate respect for teachers made Yun Chuji freeze in her tracks. She answered obediently, “I’ve been busy with some things.”
The male omega professor, whose name was Chu Yuexi, sighed. Looking at his former prize pupil, he couldn’t help but offer some advice. “I know you’re very dejected about not getting into Imperial University, but that’s no reason to let yourself go. You’re still young. You have a chance to turn anything around.”
Yun Chuji didn’t know how to respond to this unfamiliar acquaintance. His words were sincere and heartfelt, and though they didn’t match her actual situation, her upbringing made her reluctant to disappoint the professor’s good intentions. Steeling herself, she mimicked the original’s demeanor from her memories, lowered her head, and said softly, “I understand. Thank you, Teacher.”
A faint smile appeared on Chu Yuexi’s lips. He reached out, intending to pat Yun Chuji’s shoulder, but saw her flinch back quickly, a flustered look on her face.
He paused, confused by her reaction. Then, thinking he had figured it out, he shook his head and chuckled. “My own child is older than you. You don’t need to be so concerned about the distinction between alphas and omegas.”
Yun Chuji’s lips moved, but she said nothing. The faint blue light of the Imperial Library illuminated her troubled profile. The reason for her distress made Yun Chuji feel a flush of heat even in such cold light.
It wasn’t because of the distinction between alphas and omegas, but because of the distinction between men and women.
Even if this Teacher Chu had delicate features and a graceful figure, he was still a man!
A genuine man. In her entire past life, Yun Chuji had seen fewer than thirty men in total!
But in this era, bringing up the distinction between men and women was utterly absurd. Yun Chuji knew this, but she couldn’t control herself.
So she could only lower her head, pretending to accept Chu Yuexi’s explanation.
She didn’t see the look of satisfaction in Chu Yuexi’s eyes—these days, such a well-behaved alpha was truly a rare sight.
He continued the topic he hadn’t finished. “You haven’t chosen a topic for your graduation thesis yet, have you? How about you work with me?”
Chu Yuexi had looked for Yun Chuji at the university, but for the past few days, it was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth. No one knew where she had gone. Before, though her movements were quiet and secretive, one could always find some trace of her. But recently, sending her messages or emails was like throwing something into a swamp—there was no feedback at all. He hadn’t expected to run into her today while looking for documents at the Imperial Library. What Chu Yuexi didn’t say was that he had always admired Yun Chuji’s academic ability. If she hadn’t been so stubbornly set on getting into Imperial University, he would have wanted her as one of his graduate students.
Hearing Chu Yuexi’s question, Yun Chuji could only think of the single year she had left to live. She was already pressed for time just to finish the books she wanted to read, and she still had to set aside time to help Miss Tang. She really didn’t have the energy to complete the original’s studies.
She gave an apologetic smile and said, “Teacher, I need to think about it.”
Chu Yuexi sighed again. He could hear the refusal in her words.
“The topic I have in mind for you is researching the Great Liang Dynasty in pre-modern history. I hope you’ll look up some information before giving me your answer.”
Yun Chuji’s head shot up. This was the first time in this era she had heard someone other than herself mention the Great Liang Dynasty. It gave her a sense of grounding, and the feeling of infinite loneliness lessened considerably. After all, this world was so vastly different from Great Liang—so different that if she couldn’t find information about it on her terminal, she sometimes wondered if Great Liang had ever truly existed.
“May I ask,” she began, suddenly flustered, but she forced herself to finish the sentence, “why do you want to research the Great Liang Dynasty?”
The look of regret in Chu Yuexi’s eyes deepened. She was truly the promising candidate he thought she was. Even his graduate students would be stumped for a moment upon hearing the words “Great Liang,” yet Yun Chuji had reacted immediately.
“Because after this dynasty, the differences between ancient Chinese civilization and the Western world grew larger and larger, eventually evolving into two completely different civilizations with severe divergences in thought and values. That’s why I feel that dynasty is worth studying carefully.”
After speaking, he looked toward the Imperial State Building in the distance with a mocking expression. His thin frame looked like a fragile bamboo stalk in the wind, yet his voice was full of strength. “Of course, it’s very likely this topic was already researched in the pre-ABO era, and perhaps someone even found the answer in the pre-Federation era. But unfortunately, the beast of war always destroys too many precious things. We often have no choice but to start from scratch.”
Yun Chuji strongly agreed with the latter part of Chu Yuexi’s statement, but she didn’t quite understand the first part.
But she thought that once she finished her reading, she would understand.
“I will consider it carefully.”
She said the same words as before, but her tone and inflection were completely different.
Chu Yuexi smiled with satisfaction. Yun Chuji’s car had already arrived. She thought that, according to proper etiquette, it was only right to see her teacher home.
So she asked, “May I ask where you live? I can give you a ride back.”
Chu Yuexi glanced at the car behind her, his eyes pausing for a moment before he gave her another few meaningful looks.
He turned back to Yun Chuji with a faint smile. “No need. I’m staying at the library these days. I just came out for some fresh air. Hmm, if you have any questions while you’re considering my offer, you’re welcome to find me in A18.”
If Yun Chuji had been the original, she would have immediately realized the extraordinary status of this university professor—the A-series rooms in the Imperial Library were never available to any visiting readers. They were reserved exclusively for their designated owners.
But Yun Chuji was not the original. Her knowledge of this world’s common sense was still half-baked. So she only felt envious that he was doing what she dreamed of—reading day and night without distinction.
“Ah!” Yun Chuji suddenly slapped her forehead. “I have to go. Goodbye, Teacher Chu.”
Forgetting to hide it, Yun Chuji performed a curtsy before turning and hurrying away.
Behind her, Chu Yuexi received the gesture and murmured with a sigh, “This child really is good material for studying ancient culture.”
No wonder… He thought of the car, and a strange yet gratified smile touched his lips.
