56 Nothing More Than Tha (2/2)

It did not bother An Xiaoning much, however. Not wanting to use her phone any longer, she got out of bed and looked for some books to read.

Truth be told, it was An Xiaoning's first time entering Jin Qingyan's study room ever since she got married to him.

The door of the study was closed but not locked.

The moment she turned on the switch, the entire room was filled with a bright, white light.

It was a spacious room, with three bookshelves placed against the walls, each filled neatly with books. She could not help but wonder if he had actually read all of them or if it was all just a facade, just so he would appear to be knowledgeable.

An Xiaoning leaned against the bookshelf and scanned the genres for one she preferred.

At last, the uppermost shelf caught her eye. Placing a ladder at the side, she climbed up and ran her fingers across the spines of the books to look for one she was interested in reading. Finally, she set her eyes on a book about personal experiences.

Just as she removed the book, the other books along the same row on the shelf also fell to the ground.

She had no choice but to carry the book she had chosen and climb down the ladder before squatting down to pick up and organize the remaining books on the ground. All of a sudden, she caught a glimpse of a yellow envelope in between the books.

There was not a single word written on the envelope.

She picked up the envelope and found a photograph after peeking inside.

It was an old photograph of a few children.

Looking at the photograph, An Xiaoning could roughly make out who each of them were.

From left to right, it was Long Tianze, Mo Li, Jin Qingyan, Ling Ciye, and a girl with an unfamiliar face.

In the photograph, Jin Qingyan seemed to be about 10 years old, approximately.

An Xiaoning began to ponder about why he had kept the photograph in the envelope since there seemed to be nothing unusual about it. Besides, a photograph with such sentimental value ought to be well-kept in a photo album instead.

An Xiaoning did not return the photograph to its original position and instead simply re-organized the books. She then placed the ladder aside and left the study with the book she had chosen and the photograph.

An Xiaoning was 20 pages deep into the book when Jin Qingyan returned home and opened the door of their bedroom.

”I went to your study to find a book to read, but I ended up knocking down some books by accident. And I found this while clearing the mess.”

Jin Qingyan moved forward and took the photograph from her hands. After taking a few glances, he said, ”I'll put it back.”

”Keep it in an album. Isn't it an old photograph?”

”I can't do that,” he clipped and headed to the study.

Holding the photograph in his hands, Jin Qingyan took a look and felt an immense pain in his heart as he kept his eyes focused on the girl next to Ling Ciye in the photograph. He then placed it back inside the envelope on the table and tucked the envelope between the books on the shelf.

An Xiaoning had thought he would bring up the matter about the photograph when he returned from the study. To her surprise, he did not breathe a word about it.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, she asked, ”Who's that girl next to Ling Ciye? I've never seen her before.”

With stiffened motions, he answered coldly, ”A neighbor.”

”Was she your first crush?” asked An Xiaoning. It was only normal for one to think that way, given his reaction.

”No. Am I the kind of person who'd still have feelings for a girl I used to feel good about when I was a child?” he said while remaining calm and composed.

”Well, I'll never know.” An Xiaoning had a nagging feeling in her heart that the girl had meant something to him. He would not have been so reluctant to talk about her, otherwise.

”Believe me, it's not what you think. I'll tell you more about it and her when the time is right. It's a long story,” he assured An Xiaoning while looking at her earnestly.