Chapter 7

The morning sunlight slanted through the window, landing on the desk and casting a pale yellow reflection.

Lin Sheng lay silently under the covers, his eyes open and his expression calm. Only a faint trace of regret lingered in his pupils.

"No!" He jolted awake, quickly straightening his back and sitting up in bed.

Swish.

Lin Sheng threw off the quilt, climbed out of bed, and pulled open a drawer to retrieve paper and a pen.

After a flurry of soft, scratching sounds, he recorded a line of text clearly on the white paper resting on his desk.

A line of Guren Script.

Lin Sheng stared intently at the characters he had transcribed, which were the cover and a line of text he had forcibly memorized from the book in his dream.

The black Guren Script on the white paper looked like a line of fine metal shards—sharp and scattered, yet arranged in a neat row.

Looking like fragments was the most typical characteristic of Guren Script. This was the key reason Lin Sheng had been able to recognize its features at a glance.

"Interesting." Lin Sheng pursed his lips.

In his past life, he had worked in a profession that required extreme sensitivity to such scripts. Now, facing an unknown language once again, a long-dormant passion began to burn in his heart.

"I didn't expect that I could actually record the Guren Script from my dream, and it looks quite authentic, too."

Rubbing his chin, Lin Sheng's old habit kicked in.

He intended to try and translate it.

"Guren Script. As long as I look them up one by one online, translation shouldn't be too difficult. An ordinary person probably couldn't do it, but for a professional like me who spent five or six years studying ancient languages, it really isn't a problem."

Lin Sheng steadied himself, carefully folding the paper and putting it away.

He was very curious: once translated, what would this Guren Script he had memorized in his dream turn out to be?

"This is my first time officially encountering this script in this life, and I never expected it to be in a dream. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a bunch of garbled code."

Lin Sheng tucked the paper away and got up to get dressed.

Another day of daily life was about to begin.

After eating breakfast at home, he put on his school uniform, shouldered his bag, and headed out at a leisurely pace, then took a slow bus to school, his journey uneventful.

Without a single ripple, it was classes, breaks, lunch, more classes, and breaks.

Until school let out in the afternoon, nothing special happened.

Lin Sheng focused on reviewing his materials, preparing for the upcoming weekly test. Only when he had some spare time did he open the slip of paper with the Guren Script, breaking the characters down into phrases, intending to look them up online.

"There's a mobile book fair later; do you want to go check it out? They say a lot of traveling book peddlers have arrived."

Just as school ended, Shen Yan turned around and asked in a low voice.

"A mobile book fair?" Lin Sheng thought for a moment, recalling what this actually was.

In reality, it was just a group of book peddlers who both bought and sold old books. They were essentially second-hand book dealers. In this era where the internet wasn't well-developed, browsing for books in one's spare time was one of the few hobbies students had.

"Let's go together. Maybe we can even buy some odds and ends." Shen Yan invited him enthusiastically, her attitude warm. It was clear she wanted to go.

"Not going for now, I don't have money." Lin Sheng said calmly.

"Didn't you just get a hundred in pocket money? I saw it yesterday; you had cash in your pocket." Shen Yan sneered.

"That money has to last a long time."

"You'll miss the boat if you don't go now. Are you really not going? You might be able to dig up some good books, and the prices are cheap." Shen Yan winked at Lin Sheng, a suggestive smile on her face.

Lin Sheng remained expressionless.

"I really don't have money."

"It's only a few bucks a book. We'll split it—you buy one, I buy one," Shen Yan said, lowering her voice and leaning in.

"..." Lin Sheng understood what she was talking about.

The so-called "few bucks a book" referred to the "little white books" most popular among students—in other words, erotica.

These small booklets featured various patterns of handsome men and beautiful women on the covers, and the content inside was mostly forbidden material that made one's blood boil.

These little books usually sold for a flat price of four yuan, though the content varied. Even though Shen Yan was a girl, she loved buying these little books on the sly.

"How about it? We'll consider them joint property. I'll read them for a week, then pass them to you. Afterward, we can rent them out for five jiao a day," Shen Yan said mysteriously.

"..." Lin Sheng was silent for a moment before forcing out a single sentence. "Not interested."

"Heh." Shen Yan looked at him and smiled. "It's settled then. We'll meet at the school gate in a bit."

With that, she turned her head and began packing her things.

Although she was a girl, Shen Yan never thought of herself as one. Her relationship with Lin Sheng in class was just like a buddy's.

She had a carefree personality and got along well with the boys. She gave off the impression of an ordinary guy.

If it weren't for her gradually developing chest and hips constantly reminding others that this creature was female, Lin Sheng really wouldn't have thought of her as a girl.

What kind of girl drags a guy along to buy erotica?

Lin Sheng was speechless. This was a one-of-a-kind situation even in his past life, let alone now.

He wanted to refuse; his entire focus was currently occupied by the text he had forcibly memorized from that dream.

A sliver of curiosity drove him to translate that passage as soon as possible.

"But going for a stroll wouldn't be bad either. I remember seeing a pirated Guren Script dictionary at the second-hand book stalls before. It's cheap, so buying it to take a look should at least pass for something."

Thinking of this, Lin Sheng felt a slight spark of interest.

He quickly packed up his books and test papers. Two students from another class ran over to borrow study notes from Shen Yan, so she asked Lin Sheng to wait for her at the main gate.

Lin Sheng carried his schoolbag, standing by the school gate in boredom.

Groups of students in blue and white uniforms left school one after another, walking out through the open gates.

The setting sun dyed the silhouette of every student in a faint red hue.

Shouts from students playing soccer after school drifted over from the nearby field from time to time.

Other students on bicycles rang their bells incessantly as they wove through the crowd.

Lin Sheng stood to one side of the iron gate, involuntarily taking a deep breath. The mild temperature made it feel as if the oxygen was penetrating deep into his lungs, purging all the stale air from within.

"Let's go!" Shen Yan appeared out of nowhere and patted him on the shoulder.

The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail that swayed back and forth behind her head. Her eyes held a hint of a mischievous smile as she glanced left and right.

"I specifically brought a dark-colored cloth bag today, so we can buy plenty."

"." Lin Sheng really wanted to say that he wasn't interested at all.

He was far more interested in translating that text right now, but saying something like that would probably dampen Shen Yan's enthusiasm.

He paused, ultimately holding his tongue.

"I originally planned to drag Ah Li along, but it's a pity she's too thin-skinned," Shen Yan whispered.

"." It wasn't that she was thin-skinned; she just felt too embarrassed to come along knowing there would be a boy present.

Lin Sheng knew Ah Li; she was Shen Yan's best friend and the only person she was truly close to in class.

However, his relationship with her was merely average.

The two didn't say much more, walking briskly along the roadside. After turning two corners, they quickly found an alleyway in a somewhat older neighborhood.

The alley was no more than two hundred meters from the school, and it was filled with all sorts of book stalls.