Once I entered the building, I realized it was extraordinary. It looked like an old apartment from the outside, but inside it was more luxurious than any grand building I had ever seen. If no effort had been put into it, how could it be like this? However, this wasn’t a place for me to explore; for the sake of my life, it was better to look less closely.
Thalia Eve led me into the basement. Even though this was just the tip of the iceberg of the building, it still opened my eyes. The basement was very large, and at the end of this floor, I saw stairs leading down. Thalia Eve told me there were three levels in the basement, and each level had similar furnishings, but the items stored had different levels of restriction. She hoped I wouldn’t wander around. I didn’t feel much about this warning; I had a rough idea of what kind of person Thalia Eve was, and besides, when have I, Lillie, ever been so reckless? I was just thinking: “This scale could be considered a library, right? But there are probably very few libraries of this scale across the country.”
Why did I call it a library? Because the walls of this floor were made up of towering bookshelves, and the center of the floor was occupied by rows of bookshelves, with just enough space between them for one person to pass through. The dim, vintage lights above added to the luxurious yet antiquated decor, making me feel as if I were in an ancient noble family’s library in Europe. I looked at the rows of binders on the shelves, each book spine marked with a code, similar to the cute little rabbit and indifferent wolf I had seen before. I thought these should be the codes for the protagonists in the books, and I casually picked one up.
“The book title is the code I mentioned to you before; you’ve seen a few. You should know what the codes mean.”
I had indeed guessed correctly.
“All this information is updated regularly, so there won’t be any discrepancies, you can rest assured to check it out.”
“Of course, in this day and age, there’s naturally an electronic database, but I personally prefer the ritual of seeing these; it makes me very happy. Plus, having two copies is more secure.”
“I’ve been using the electronic database to find things for you, but since you’re an outsider, you wouldn’t know what’s in stock, so it’s better to look at the physical copies, right?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Thalia, you’re really too good!” I was very excited. With so many options to choose from, how could I possibly not find my true love? I glanced at the binder in my hand labeled “Sammy Wes.”
Opening the first page, there was a full-body photo of him with his weight and height noted below. Uh, I think I know what “Sammy” means; he’s not very tall, slightly chubby, with a fair and clean face that looks quite bouncy, making one want to pinch it. In short, he’s very ordinary. Flipping a few more pages, I saw his personal records, which showed he was a good person. Although he was a good person, there were so many choices here! I should set the ordinary ones aside for now! After all, I’m also someone who cares about looks.
Having already circled around several bookshelves, I found many binders, but none particularly caught my eye. I believe fate will guide me to find my true match; the binder that holds him will surely give me a special feeling. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of anxiety, the kind that comes from the fear of losing something.
In my hurried turn, I came face to face with a booklet. Could it be it? I took the booklet down, only to find that the entire cover was blank, with no title or notes. When I opened it, instead of the handwritten style typical of other binders, it was printed in gold foil. “You really have an eye for this; that’s a hardcover edition.”
“The so-called hardcover edition is a classic selected from these binders. Those chosen are all extraordinary individuals. None of us can define them, so naturally, there are no codes. This hardcover edition is divided into two types; what you have is one kind, while the other has a title, but those are even rarer. The titles of these hardcover editions are given by the clients, and only after meeting and truly understanding can one define it. Hardcover editions with titles usually won’t return here.” She seemed to sense my confusion and carefully explained.
“Why won’t they return here?”
