When Zhang Zian came to the third floor, he saw Meng Li's back in the central reading area.
It was as warm as spring in the library. Meng Li took off his woolen coat and neatly folded it aside. He leaned comfortably against the back of the chair. Instead of reading his mathematics book, he was reading an irrelevant book about popular science.
There were much fewer readers on the third floor than on the second floor, so it was quieter. After all, there were not many readers who could read foreign languages without any trouble.
Zhang Zian did not disturb Meng Li. He continued to do what he was doing on the second floor. He held his phone and searched the third floor, but he still could not find the elfin.
It would be a lie to say that he was not discouraged at all. He thought that the elfin would most likely appear in the Library of Ancient Books, the Chinese Library, and the Foreign Library. The fourth and fifth floors were the newspaper and literature reading room and the digital reading room respectively. Could the elfin appear in those two places?
He left the pet shop in such a hurry that he did not even drink any water. Coupled with the anxiety in his heart, he was quite thirsty at the moment.
There were water dispensers and paper cups on every floor of the library. Readers could take them at will. Zhang Zian went to get a cup of water, leaned against the wall, and drank while thinking.
His eyes fell on the nearest bookshelf, where a book was tucked on the edge of the fourth floor.
"Modern Genetics..."
He knew the English title of the book. It was translated into Chinese as "Modern Genetics: An Analysis from Genes to the Surface."
He had just pretended to be smart in front of Meng Li, claiming that he was studying modern genetics. Even if he did not catch the elfin this time, he could not be looked down upon by Meng Li. He crushed the empty paper cup and threw it into the trash can. He walked over to take out the book, put it under his arm, and turned around to go to the fourth floor.
The number of readers on the fourth floor was even fewer, and they could be counted on one hand. In this era of information explosion, unless one was studying modern history or compiling local chronicles, who would deliberately study outdated newspapers and literature? In movies, there were police detectives who solved cases by reading outdated newspapers and magazines, but that was a movie after all.
Rows of slightly yellowed newspapers and magazines that no one cared about were piled up on the bookshelves, which looked bleak at the end of the day.
The elfin might have come from books, but it was impossible for it to come from newspapers and magazines, because newspapers and magazines were fast consumer goods and did not have the innate conditions for long-term oral transmission.
Even so, there was always a possibility. Since he was already here, he couldn't miss this opportunity, lest he regretted it in the future. Zhang Zian patiently searched through the rows of bookshelves, but as expected, he did not find anything. He had wasted precious time.
At this moment, he was already beginning to doubt himself. Could it be that he had missed a certain row of bookshelves on the second and third floors? He really wanted to go back to the second and third floor to search again, but his rationality told him that he had searched strictly according to the bookshelf number, so it was impossible for him to have missed it.
But … the elves could move between the bookshelves.
If he encountered such a situation, there was really nothing he could do. He was not good at playing hide-and-seek.
All that was left was the fifth floor — the digital reading and communication area. Readers could read electronic books and communicate with each other on the fifth floor.
The electronic books on the fifth floor were provided to the readers after digitizing the physical books on the second to fourth floors. It was more convenient for readers to look up and try out the books. Readers usually found the books they liked on the fifth floor and then went to the second to fourth floors to pick up the physical books. Some of the books that had been borrowed could also be found on the fifth floor in electronic form.
However, what reason would an elf have to appear on the fifth floor?
In any case, Zhang Zian still went to the fifth floor with the mentality of finishing what he had started.
The fifth floor, rather than a library, was more like a school computer room or an internet cafe. Computers replaced the bookshelves, neatly arranged in the central area, and around the walls was a circle of large screen digital terminals with touch functions. It looked very futuristic.
To Zhang Zian's surprise, there were more readers on the fifth floor than on the second to fourth floors. They were mainly young people in their twenties and thirties.
In addition to the young people, there were a few elderly people on the fifth floor. They were all sitting in front of the digital terminals, using the touch screen to swipe left and right, conveniently flipping through the e-books and browsing the electronic newspapers of the day. The large screen of the digital terminals allowed them to read the words on the newspapers without wearing reading glasses.
Because there were no bookshelves, the fifth floor was more visible than the second to fourth floors. Zhang Zian raised his mobile phone and glanced around. His heart sank. There was no trace of the elfin on the fifth floor. It was really strange!
His search was fruitless, so he inevitably felt anxious. He stood there and reflected on the previous search process to see if there were any omissions. Of course, he definitely could not enter places such as the library staff office and the women's bathroom. He could not go up to the roof, either. But other than that, he had walked through every floor. Did the elfin really appear in the Hall of the Ancient Books?
At this moment, he was gently patted on the shoulder. "Young man?"
Zhang Zian woke up from his contemplation and suddenly turned around. He saw an old man standing behind him with a cane. He was about 70 or 80 years old, with a kind face and gray hair that was neatly combed. Although the style of his clothes was old, they were very clean. At first glance, Zhang Zian knew he was a very decent old man.
"Grandpa, what's the matter?" Zhang Zian asked.
"Young man, do you have time? Can you do me a favor and teach me how to use this computer to read? " The old man said with a smile. "I see that everyone is very busy. Young man, you are the only one standing here, so I took the liberty to ask you. If you have something to do, just do it."
Zhang Zian had noticed the old man when he was looking for the elfin on the fifth floor. He was neither operating the digital terminals by the wall like other old people, nor sitting in front of the computer to read like young people. Instead, he was standing blankly and looking around. Zhang Zian thought he was looking for someone.
On the entire fifth floor, only Zhang Zian and the old man were standing. No wonder he came to Zhang Zian.
Usually, teaching the old man how to use the computer to read books was a piece of cake. But now time was extremely precious, and the elfin could disappear at any time. Zhang Zian had enough reasons to refuse.
However, the old man's humble tone and sincere eyes made Zhang Zian not have the heart to refuse him. Before he came to Zhang Zian, he didn't know how long he had hesitated, and how many times he had been rejected by others …
Zhang Zian felt that if he refused the old man's request, then returned to the second to fourth floors to search, and even used all kinds of connections to find a way to enter the Hall of the Ancient Books, even if he eventually succeeded in capturing the elfin, he would inevitably feel guilty.
He thought of the story of the Imagined Landscape that Famous had told him, as well as the earnest teachings of Old Time Tea in the Imagined Landscape. "Do good deeds, don't ask about the future, and don't forget your original intention.
So, he let go of his obsession.
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