Zhou Wang first smelled a fragrance.
In fact, from a scientific perspective, even the most beautiful women do not actually have a natural body scent, that thing people call "virgin fragrance" is really just psychological.
But every woman indeed has her own unique scent, which is a mixture of perfume, skincare products, makeup, shower gel, shampoo, and so on.
This kind of fragrance varies.
Some make you feel like it's premium, while others just seem irritating.
Digging deeper, this also symbolizes a woman's taste, and how she matches her own scent is an art in itself.
If we look at it from this angle, calling it "body scent" isn't wrong, since everyone's different!
The fragrance of the woman before him was that of a subtle scent of pine, mixed with a hint of something akin to red wine—it was quite pleasant.
If Su Yajing's scent was that of a bright burst of various flowers, then this woman was like a cedar hidden deep in a valley, giving off a distant sense of remoteness yet irresistibly making one want to traverse mountains and rivers to discover its source.
Zhou Wang looked up slightly and saw the woman's face clearly.
In that moment, with some mental preparation, Zhou Wang still felt a flash of amazement.
It turned out that not only her scent was premium, her face was also very premium.
A woman in her twenties, her light makeup was exquisitely applied, her features the standard of unaffected beauty, and her updo hairstyle accentuated her cool demeanor.
"Is it her?"
After seeing the white shirt and black skirt on her, Zhou Wang realized that this was the girl who had stood on the steps before.
So it wasn't a younger sister, but an older sister!
This devastating beauty could easily score ninety points, no wonder she turned heads...
But wasn't this way of crossing paths a bit too much like something from a soap opera?
While Zhou Wang was internally criticizing, the woman had already withdrawn her hand and asked with furrowed brows, "Did you do that on purpose?"
Zhou Wang took a moment to understand what she meant and then said with a faint smile, "Isn't it you who took advantage of me?"
"You..."
The woman was furious but quickly regained her cool composure, "Could you please take your hand away?"
"Sure."
Zhou Wang indeed pulled back his hand, taking the book with him.
"That's the book I was looking for."
"But I got it first."
Zhou Wang raised the book he was holding and, considering they were in the library, did not continue to argue and turned to leave.
However, the woman followed him closely and said softly, "Do you know that this kind of move is very crude?"
Zhou Wang looked at her in surprise. Did this woman really think he was hitting on her?
Well, just looking at the face, she indeed had the capital for misunderstandings, but Zhou Wang still scoffed without giving her any face.
Even without Zhou Wang saying anything, the woman got even angrier and continued coldly, "Isn't it?"
"Think whatever you want."
Zhou Wang felt pressed for time, as every minute he spent reading was like adding bricks to his mansion. Why would he bother arguing with this woman?
In just that short time, the remaining seats in the reading room were scarce, so he quickened his pace and finally found an empty table in a back reading room.
After sitting down, Zhou Wang opened the book and his laptop, ready to start reading, but the woman followed and sat down opposite him, pulling up a chair.
"Is this never going to end?"
Zhou Wang couldn't help but frown. He had many books to choose from and, actually, as long as the other person spoke nicely, he wouldn't mind giving up this book.
What really made him uncomfortable was the other's presumptuous attitude. So what if she's good-looking?
With the system, Zhou Wang, though he hadn't completely changed his previous mindset, did not think that he now needed to accommodate anyone.
"I need to check some very important information. This book was borrowed by someone a few days ago, and I've only just had the chance to wait for it today."
The woman fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
Seeing that the woman's tone was no longer aggressive, Zhou Wang's expression softened a bit.
Judging from what the woman said, it seemed that "Cave Mystery" wasn't always available. Zhou Wang, who had originally intended to give her the book, suddenly changed his mind.
"How about this? If you're not in a hurry, wait for me for a bit. I'll have a look first and then decide."
The woman furrowed her brows but didn't say anything, simply placing the folder she was holding, along with a YSL black shoulder bag, on the table.
Zhou Wang noticed the name card slot on the folder.
Jiang Mo...
Is that her name?
Seeing that she had tacitly agreed, Zhou Wang put down "Wealth of Nations" and picked up "Cave Mystery."
His thought process was straightforward: he wanted to get a feel for the reading difficulty of the book. A mere 20 points for a book—if it took too long to read, giving it up wouldn't be a big deal.
However, as soon as Zhou Wang turned the title page of the book, a strange sensation instantly spread throughout his body.
Although the reading room was quiet, there would still be various soft sounds, such as the rustling of pages, footsteps, and the low murmur of conversations among some people.
But the moment Zhou Wang opened the book, all sounds vanished.
His mind unconsciously immersed itself in the book in front of him, and to Zhou Wang's surprise, as his gaze fell upon it, the lines of text seemed to come to life. He didn't even have to think much to easily grasp the meaning of each word.
This state, as if suddenly possessed by a top student, made Zhou Wang realize why the system had specifically instructed him to come to the Provincial Library to carry out the round of tasks.
It was because reading here would also grant him a buff.
Swish!
In less than a minute, Zhou Wang skipped the preface and began reading the main content.
Another few seconds passed, and Zhou Wang had turned to the second page.
His pace rivaled even that of reading online novels, but he fully grasped the essence of each paragraph. His thoughts diverged, not only reading but also continuously pondering, absorbing knowledge, and constantly coming up with new questions.
Gradually, Zhou Wang had forgotten everything around him, completely engrossed in the pleasure of acquiring knowledge.
His page-turning speed continued to increase, and after an unknowable length of time, when Zhou Wang closed the book, still wanting more, he looked up to see a somewhat stupefied face.
Because Jiang Mo was caught off-guard, her delicate features no longer seemed so cold but rather showed a hint of dazed cuteness.
Zhou Wang glanced at his watch... Huh?
It had only been a little over an hour.
This efficiency was simply too terrifying.
"I'm done. Here, you take it."
Zhou Wang stretched lazily and pushed the book towards her.
"You..."
Jiang Mo finally came back to her senses, her eyes still retaining a trace of shock.
What had she just witnessed?