"This is what you wanted to show me?"

Jiang Yueming held up the book, cover facing out.

Xia He sat beside him, her knees almost touching his.

"Mm-hmm, have you read it before?"

Jiang Yueming shook his head.

"Then take a look, it's really interesting."

She moved her chair closer to him, her shoulder touching his arm, her chin nearly resting on his shoulder. Jiang Yueming was almost getting used to her overly familiar manner with no sense of boundaries.

"The Human Chair?"

Jiang Yueming first saw the red armchair standing alone in the darkness on the cover, then read out the title.

From the cover's style and the title, the book seemed to have some horror elements.

"What's it about?"

"You'll know once you read it."

Xia He just kept urging him, as if the book was written by her, and she couldn't wait to share her work with someone.

"Alright."

Jiang Yueming agreed and turned to the first page.

The beginning was a man's account, saying he was a chair maker with excellent craftsmanship, but no one appreciated him.

He was destitute, unable to get orders and even struggling to eat, until one day, a grand hotel asked him to make a batch of chairs, and he suddenly had an idea—

"He hid himself inside the chair?" Jiang Yueming looked up.

Xia He's eyes lit up. "You read so fast."

"He said he wanted to make a special chair, one that people couldn't leave once they sat on it..." Jiang Yueming flipped back two pages, frowning. "Did he really sew himself into the chair?"

Xia He didn't answer, just watched him flip through the book.

"He liked that feeling." Jiang Yueming read aloud, his voice muffled. "The people sitting on the chair don't know he's inside. They talk, sigh, sometimes cry. He listens to their voices, imagines what they look like, and feels that is the closest he ever gets to people."

He stopped, not continuing to read, frowning as he scanned those lines over and over.

"Have you read it before?" Xia He asked.

"No."

"Then how did you know?"

"Guessed." He flipped another page. "Reading up to here, you can guess the gist of it. But the writing style is quite interesting."

Jiang Yueming lowered his head and flipped another page.

The craftsman in the story hid inside the chair for a long time, listening to all kinds of people talking: noblewomen, rich young ladies, young couples.

His favorite was a woman who came every day and sat on his chair for an entire afternoon.

Her voice was very pleasant, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life. He began to imagine her appearance, her face, her hands, the curves of her body sinking into the armchair.

He wanted to see her, but he couldn't come out, because if he did, he would never hear her voice again.

"He's crazy." Jiang Yueming said.

"Why?"

"He locked himself inside a chair just to listen to one person talk. If that's not crazy, what is?"

Xia He stared intently at Jiang Yueming, a look that made Jiang Yueming, who was just reading a suspense novel, feel a little creeped out.

Xia He's pupils were dark and deep. Her eyes watched Jiang Yueming unblinkingly as she said softly,

"Do you think that craftsman is a pervert?"

Jiang Yueming's fingers stopped on the page. He had just read the first small portion of the book and didn't know if there would be a twist later, but based on the current situation—

This person was a complete and utter pervert.

"Isn't he?"

"Is that what you think?"

Jiang Yueming was a bit confused by Xia He's counter-question. This kind of behavior was clearly perverted, no matter how you looked at it?

"Don't you think, his willingness to confine himself inside a chair just to accompany the person he loves is actually quite—"

Jiang Yueming watched her lips move, uttering an answer he couldn't comprehend.

"Quite romantic."

Jiang Yueming froze.

"What's romantic about it?"

"Look," Xia He pointed at him, "You're just like the female lead, neither of you understand the craftsman. I think, if you truly love someone, it's not strange to do anything for them, even if those actions seem unacceptable to others."

Jiang Yueming subconsciously looked down at the book. His eyes happened to fall on the lines describing how the craftsman peeped into the female lead's life. A chill ran down his spine, as if someone had blown a breath on the back of his neck.

He didn't want to read any further.

"Are we just going to read here today?"

Xia He blinked. "No, we'll have lunch together soon, then we can go to the amusement park in the afternoon, and later watch a movie."

She thought for a moment, then pointed at the book again.

"You haven't finished it yet."

The day's itinerary was packed full. Jiang Yueming's mouth fell slightly agape; he had originally thought they'd part ways after lunch at most.

Jiang Yueming exhaled and picked up the book again.

"I'm going to buy drinks. What do you want?" Xia He stood up.

"Do they sell water inside the bookstore?"

Jiang Yueming turned to look at the front desk. The cash register was buried in piles of books, with no sign of anything else being sold.

"There's a convenience store across the street. Wait for me a bit." Xia He walked a couple of steps, then looked back. "How about oolong tea?"

Jiang Yueming nodded. He quite liked oolong tea.

Xia He left, and silence descended on the bookstore. The ticking of the clock hands on the wall was clearly audible. With nothing else to do, Jiang Yueming picked up the book and continued reading.

The orange cats at the front desk were tired from playing. They buried their faces in their tails and cuddled together in a heap under the counter, asleep.

Jiang Yueming propped his elbows on the table and read. As he read, he unconsciously became immersed in the story, time trickling away bit by bit.

"This book is really good."

A voice sounded from beside him.

Jiang Yueming looked up, only to find it wasn't Xia He, but an unfamiliar girl.

The girl stood beside him, holding an identical copy of "The Human Chair". Astonishingly, she possessed a beauty that was in no way inferior to Xia He's.

She smiled sweetly and spoke naturally.

"You're reading this book too?"

Jiang Yueming looked at her for a moment before realizing she was striking up a conversation with him.

"Yes."

The girl naturally sat down beside him, right in the spot Xia He had been in.

Since Xia He had deliberately moved the chair closer, it meant the girl was sitting very close to Jiang Yueming, their knees almost touching.

Jiang Yueming could even smell the fragrance on her, like the scent of plant leaves after rain.

He subtly shifted away.

"I'm reading this book too. I just got halfway. Can we read it together?"

The girl smiled, revealing two cute little canine teeth.

"Yes, but..." Jiang Yueming looked down at the books in their hands, "How do two people read one book together?"

"Like this, of course."

The girl tossed her own book aside, leaned her whole face over, and read the same copy with Jiang Yueming.

The sudden action startled Jiang Yueming. He could even feel the girl's breath on his face.

"Aren't you a little too close?"

The girl was just saying, "What a coincidence, you're at the exact same part I am," when his words made her realize how close they were. Her face flushed slightly.

"Ah, sorry sorry." She quickly pulled herself back, bringing her hands together in front of her face. "I just got carried away and..."

"It's fine."

"By the way," she put her hands down and tilted her head to look at him, "It's rare to meet someone with the same interest. What's your name?"

"Jiang Yueming."

The girl giggled and extended her hand toward him.

"What a nice name. I'm Su Xiaoyue. Nice to meet you."