The next day, Jin Liwei didn't have any classes but still busied himself by spending the entire morning in the emptiest library in the campus to work on his assignments in peace. He had been very absorbed in what he was doing when he realized that he was missing one of the books in his required reading list.
Sighing, he consulted the librarian before heading to the upper floors to hunt for the lone textbook. There was a distinct old and stale smell in this part of the library due to the lack of air circulation. He didn't mind it, though. In fact, he felt comforted by it.
He thought that he would be the only one here today but was surprised to hear the presence of another person. There was someone singing in a light voice at the topmost floor. He was one floor below. Frowning in disapproval, he climbed the stairs to reprimand whoever it was who had the gall to disrupt the peaceful silence. This was a library, not a damn karaoke bar!
The sound of singing grew clearer when he reached the top floor. His irritation changed into interest when he realized that the singing actually sounded nice. No, it wasn't just nice. It was actually quite beautiful.
Although it sounded light and soft, the voice was crystal clear and the melody flowed like a calm, mystical river. The high notes all reached the right spots as well. Jin Liwei didn't speak Italian but he could recognize the language once he heard it. The person who he still couldn't see from his position was singing a heartfelt Italian aria. He wasn't familiar with the song nor could he understand the lyrics, but it didn't matter. He could feel the passion, yearning, and loneliness through the singer's interpretation as if they were his own.
The disapproval he felt earlier had already disappeared, replaced by a need to listen to the song until the end. Not wanting to startle the singer, he stayed put in his current position by the top of the staircase. He leaned against a concrete column and closed his eyes, enjoying the beautiful Italian aria.
Time passed by and the two figures remained in their own positions. One sang, the other listened. Both were aware of the other's presence but chose not to disturb or acknowledge each other. They couldn't see what the other person looked like because of the tall bookshelves separating them, but right at that moment, the two felt a connection because of the song.
The one singing always appreciated someone who listened to her song.
The one listening appreciated the rare someone who could make him stop and listen despite his busy schedule.
When the song ended, Jin Liwei was dazed. This was the first time that he felt so relaxed since he started studying in university. It had been such a long time. Even a good full body massage was incomparable to the relaxation he was experiencing right now because of the song. Was the mysterious singer a hypnotist as well?
Jin Liwei wasn't surprised by the foreign accent. The university catered to many foreign students from different countries all over the world. He was one, too.
The voice was soft and had a lovely lilt to it yet was still clear enough for Jin Liwei to hear from several metres away. He was unsure from which specific bookshelf the voice's owner was located, but from the looks of it, she was on the other side of where he was supposed to search for the textbook that he needed.
"Don't you know that it's rude to make a noise inside a library?" he retorted.
A light, lovely chuckle tinkled like crystal bells. It made him shiver with an indescribable feeling that he had never experienced before. He was too confused by the feeling of his lower abdomen tightening that he didn't notice that his heart skipped a beat. In the end, he concluded that what he was feeling was annoyance.
'Right, I was originally annoyed before her singing distracted me. Yes, I'm annoyed,' he inwardly told himself.
"Was my singing so horrible that you treat it as noise?" the female voice asked in a curious tone.
Jin Liwei frowned. He didn't like to waste his time explaining himself to a stranger, but for some reason, he couldn't bear to let her think that her singing was horrible. "You misunderstand. You sang well."
She didn't immediately reply, making him think that she had decided to ignore him. He was about to head to the opposite direction to start searching for his book when she finally replied. "Thank you."
With that, the two no longer spoke to each other. They went their separate ways and had tossed this incident to the back of their minds.
Behind a bookshelf, Evelina Vetrova knew when the man she spoke with earlier left the floor with her great hearing. She closed the book in her hand and returned it to the bookshelf before standing up from the step stool she was sitting on.
"Are you done, my lady?" her bodyguard asked beside her.
She nodded. "I want to take a walk outside. I need some fresh air."
"Understood. Please wait for a moment."
Another bodyguard appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and the two partners did a thorough check on the vicinity before escorting her down to the main floor. Her appearance caught the attention of the librarian and the handful of people studying in the library. She was just too beautiful and eye-catching to miss.
Back on his desk, Jin Liwei also looked up and followed everyone's gazes. He caught a glimpse of an attractive blonde woman before she disappeared outside. Something flickered inside him but nothing too significant for him to notice, so he didn't think much of it and resumed his studies.