Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"Yes," Jiang Wang replied, neither servile nor arrogant.

Shen Jianguo looked puzzled. "Why bring Comrade Su to the academy? Your transfer doesn't take effect until after the Lunar New Year. What's the rush? And you're bothering your office colleagues, even coming here to ask for permission."

"She wants to borrow some books that aren’t available elsewhere. I thought the school library might have them."

"What kind of books?"

"High school math, high school physics and chemistry, and problem sets."

Recently, there had indeed been some policy discussions, but even someone as well-connected as Shen Jianguo had only heard rumors—no consensus had been reached. It was unlikely the Jiang family knew more than he did.

Shen Jianguo swallowed hard, unsure how to respond, and simply changed the subject to work matters.

By the time the twins upstairs finally let Su Linjin go, two hours had passed. Unable to refuse, Su Linjin and Jiang Wang stayed for dinner.

After the meal, Shen Jianguo gave Jiang Wang a look that said, *in for a penny, in for a pound*, and arranged for a car to take them to Logging Ridge Military Academy.

Hearing Shen Jianguo instructing the guard, Su Linjin got into the car and asked Jiang Wang in confusion, "Why are we going to your workplace?"

Jiang Wang replied succinctly, "To borrow books."

"Borrow books?"

When they arrived, Su Linjin was even more bewildered.

She stared at the school gate. "What kind of books are we borrowing here? It's a military academy!" She didn’t understand.

Jiang Wang offered no explanation. He produced the letter of introduction, passed through the gate, and led her to a plain yet modern-looking building—unusual for the time.

The walls were painted snow-white, the floors tiled, and the windows were made of stylish steel.

At the end of the first-floor hallway, a hanging sign reading "Library" marked a door.

The librarian sat behind a desk at the entrance, knitting a sweater. When she saw them, she deftly stashed her knitting under the table. "Show me your library card."

Jiang Wang handed her the letter of introduction. "Comrade, I won't be starting until after the New Year. This is a special letter allowing my wife to come and read."

The librarian scrutinized him for a long moment before finally looking at the letter. After reading it, she studied Su Linjin intently for a while, then smiled. "So it’s you. Finally! We've been expecting you. Alright, go ahead. The lending section is on the left—you can borrow two books at a time for a month. The reading room is on the right. Remember, books in the reading room must be read on-site."

Even then, Su Linjin still found it all a bit excessive.

Compared to the university libraries she’d known in her past life, this one paled in comparison. How many books could it possibly hold?

She skimmed the shelves in the lending section before heading to the reading room opposite.

The reading room was empty. Jiang Wang sat by the window reading a newspaper. Hearing footsteps, he glanced up, seemingly curious about why she’d returned so quickly.

Su Linjin pointed to the shelves inside.

The books here were noticeably more advanced and varied than those in the lending section. Alongside military and weaponry guides, there were even foreign-language books.

The reading room door faced the librarian’s desk. Soon, Su Linjin overheard a conversation.

"I saw them. Both so handsome!"

"I was wondering—what kind of ‘small matter’ could involve so many higher-ups?"

"Why overthink it? You’re just a librarian."

"Hey, isn’t it strange they only came for the library?"

Su Linjin browsed shelf after shelf.

To be fair, it was better than she’d expected. Even a book on war history in English would be useful for expanding her reading resources.

Then she reached the last row of shelves.

On the bottom shelf, where no one usually bothered to look, sat a dust-covered wooden crate.

It wasn’t nailed shut. The lid bore a stamped "Sealed" mark, with *Northern Yan No. 4 High School Library* written in brushstrokes beside it.

From Jiang Lin, she knew that ten years ago, Northern Yan No. 4 High had been the best in the city, its graduates typically gained admission to the top universities in Northern Yan.

Her heart began pounding.

If it was in the library, that meant it could be opened, right?

Su Linjin’s pulse quickened. She licked her lips and placed a hand on the lid.

She hoped for but feared what she might find.

Finally, she lifted it gently.

The crate was filled with books. On top lay *1965 College Entrance Exam: Actual Questions and Solutions*.

Remembering her recent frustration to find practice problems, she crouched in the dusty corner, suddenly on the verge of tears.

Flipping through, she confirmed it—the crate was full of college prep materials from a decade ago: past exams, subject-specific workbooks, and advanced practice materials.

It was a treasure.

A treasure trove of forgotten gems.

Clutching the most urgently needed books, Su Linjin rushed back to Jiang Wang.

Hearing her hurried footsteps, he looked up.

Her eyes shining with excitement, her nose and the rims of her eyes slightly red.

He stood quickly. "What’s wrong?"

She thrust the books at him, excitedly babbling. "They’re here! And they’re perfect! Can we come back tomorrow? If the library’s open during the New Year, I want to come then too!"

Jiang Wang glanced at the books in her hands. "Alright. I’ll figure out how to get these photocopied."

He strode to the entrance, where the two librarians were enthusiastically gossiping.

He interrupted. "Pardon me, I need these books photocopied."

One of the aunts asked curiously, "Can these really be copied?"

No wonder she was surprised—photocopiers were hard to come by. Even faculty members had to apply at the main administration building to use one.

The librarian aunt set aside her knitting and glanced at her. "He applied and got permission. Don't be so surprised."

Then she smiled at Jiang Wang and said, "Here, Comrade Jiang, give me what you need copied. I’ll handle it for you."

"He actually got approval?" The other aunt was still amazed.

But then the librarian exclaimed as she looked at the cover. "Oh, so it’s that box of books! They weren’t cataloged or checked out before. Tell you what, I’ll just write down the titles, and your wife can return them when she’s done. That’ll save you the trouble of copying!"

Hearing this, Jiang Wang broke into a rare smile. "Perfect. She wants to borrow the entire box."

"Nobody borrows these nowadays," the librarian remarked, tsk-ing. "Your wife must really love studying. You two make such a perfect pair—if our military academy ever holds a group wedding, you’d definitely be the best-matched couple."

"Thank you for the kind words."

Inside, Su Linjin hadn’t heard this exchange. She had returned to the corner, deciding which of the remaining books to copy first.

Then came the sound of Jiang Wang’s quick footsteps approaching. She looked up at him hopefully, only to see him returning with the same two books.

Her heart skipped a beat. "They wouldn’t let you copy them? It’s fine—I can come every day and copy them by hand."

"No, no copying," Jiang Wang said, his deep black eyes fixed on her, a slight smile playing on his lips. "We can take all these books back with us."

"What?" Su Linjin gasped, covering her mouth.

The news made her palms sweat and her heart race.

If earlier had felt like winning the lottery, now it was as if a flower had bloomed in her chest.

"Absolutely true. The librarian said these books weren’t entered into the system. She’ll just note down the titles, and we can borrow them all."

As he spoke, he pulled out the cotton bag the librarian had given him.

Meanwhile, the nosy aunt outside still hadn’t left, utterly baffled.

"Last time I tried to get a copy of my father’s housing permit, the office wouldn’t even allow it. How come he gets to photocopy a whole book? Since when does our unit bend the rules like this? Isn't this just showing favoritism?"

The librarian snorted dismissively. "What do you know? He’s about to become the youngest instructor here—a regimental-level officer at just 23. And his application was personally approved and expedited by higher-ups. Use your head, will you?"

The other woman pursed her lips and finally fell silent.

By then, Su Linjin and Jiang Wang had finished packing the books.

All eighteen of them, stuffing the bag full.

Jiang Wang carried them to the librarian’s desk. "Could you please record the titles? We might need them for a while. If there are any issues, you can reach out to me anytime. Once I’m on duty, I’ll be training the new recruits."

"Of course, of course," she said, putting on her reading glasses and jotting down the titles.

By the time they left the military academy, Su Linjin’s mood was completely different from when they’d arrived. She was happy, excited—she felt like laughing out loud.

Jiang Wang glanced down at her radiant face and found himself smiling too. "That happy?"

"Yes! So happy! I can’t wait to dig into these books. Don’t worry, I’ll finish the problems as fast as I can so the library won’t give you any trouble."

As she spoke, she unconsciously moved closer to him.

The subtle shift in distance made Jiang Wang stiffen slightly. He looked down at her crescent-shaped eyes and suddenly said, "Then… from now on, don’t borrow books from Lu Zheng, okay?"

Su Linjin burst out laughing, her crescent-like eye crescents puffing up. "Of course! I’ll even gloat to him—tell him I’ve got some amazing… math books now!"

Jiang Wang looked away, cleared his throat, and added, "Maybe… don’t gloat to him either?"

"What’s with you?" Su Linjin stopped and eyed him suspiciously. "You don’t actually… hate him, do you? Sure, his petty nature is annoying, but think about it—people like that aren’t actually bad! Unlike Uncle and Aunt, who act all polite and generous on the surface but who knows what they’re scheming behind your back. That’s the scary kind."

But hearing her describe Lu Zheng as merely "annoying," Jiang Wang relaxed slightly and grunted in agreement.

Su Linjin continued her persuasion. "With this business with Ruan Lingqi, we’re all stuck together now. So hold your temper and be civil to him, got it?"

The way she clearly separated "we" from "him" brightened Jiang Wang’s expression. He nodded. "Got it."

Su Linjin was pleased he’d taken her advice.

After dropping her off at the siheyuan, Jiang Wang went to buy some essentials for Ruan Lingqi.

"What’s that brat up to now?" Elder Jiang muttered, hands behind his back as he wandered into Su Linjin’s east wing. Seeing her carefully placing books into a safe, he asked, "Where’d you borrow these from? And why lock them up?"

Su Linjin straightened up. "From Jiang Wang’s military academy. These books are invaluable—if I lost them, I couldn’t possibly replace them!"

Elder Jiang blinked. "That kid’s been running around all day just for this?"

With a click, Su Linjin locked the safe and stood, cheerfully linking arms with him. "Grandpa, since Jiang Wang’s staying in Northern Yan for work, can he live here too? His room at home is much too small!"