“So you’re saying… you’re also afraid you won’t be able to finish reading?” I asked.

“I can’t say for sure.” Baiyang shook his head. “People all have inertia. It’s just precautionary measures. If I don’t finish reading a book in a day’s time, I’ll think I ‘owe’ something. The sense of anxiety will be heavier. This anxiety will force me to complete the task every day.”

“Alright.” I nodded, feeling I still couldn’t keep up with Baiyang’s way of thinking.

But it was also precisely this fortuitous opportunity that I became familiar with Baiyang.

Becoming familiar with Baiyang relied on “seeking benefit and avoiding harm,” and becoming familiar with Jiang Ruoxue relied on “leg hair.” These social skills wouldn’t be written in any book. It seemed the fate between people was even more mysterious than what was written in books.

This feeling of familiarity with Baiyang was hard to describe—like reuniting after a long separation, yet also like getting to know each other anew.

I was getting to know anew someone I had thought about every day for five years. It was indeed somewhat abstract.

From then on, I went to see Baiyang every morning and continued recruiting strong individuals in the afternoon. This lasted about a month.

Baiyang’s reading speed was even faster than I imagined. He could even finish reading a theoretical book in one afternoon.

Moreover, he began to have requirements for the content of books. He only needed books on economics, management, political science, game theory, and the like. I had once tried to bring him some psychology books, but he didn’t seem very interested.

This day I went to the bookstore again to get him a book, but suddenly discovered the place had changed.

A male Earth-Snake had occupied this place, making this bookstore his “game venue.”

This was really somewhat absurd. The bookstore that had always been unclaimed suddenly became a game venue… How could I still get books for Baiyang this way?

I tried to approach that pale white Earth-Snake and explain my intentions. He grabbed my hand and enthusiastically pulled me inside the house.

He told me everything could be discussed, but I also needed to help him do something.

He seemed… a bit effeminate.

That pale white snake told me that as long as I joined his “Sorrow Society,” I could thereafter take books from here in the name of “borrowing.” I could choose whatever books I wanted, but I needed to borrow one and return one.

But the problem was that all the books I gave Baiyang, he took back to his own residence. How could I borrow one and return one to the pale white snake?

Perhaps I should explain the situation to Baiyang… and have him return the finished books to me every day?

I was pondering the feasibility of this condition when I suddenly felt somewhat sad.

What exactly was I doing…?

Honestly, Baiyang hadn’t given me any promises, nor had he given me any advantages. He said he had “guaranteed my safety,” but who could prove it…?

Perhaps all these years, I had been foolishly doing things for Baiyang, but he hadn’t done anything.

Now was I going to join this organization that didn’t know what it did for the sake of Baiyang, thus making deals with other “Zodiac”?

Thinking that I had been doing useless work for so long, my eyes quickly became dejected.

“Damn brat.” The pale white snake looked at me and said, “What’s going on? Why are you suddenly so sad?”

“I… I don’t know either…” I shook my head. “I just suddenly thought of some bad things.”

“That’s okay!” The pale white snake said. “The ‘Sorrow Society’ I established is to help everyone walk out of sorrow!”

“Walk out of sorrow?” I said doubtfully. “You mean this ‘Sorrow Society’ helps people walk out of sorrow?”

Good heavens, from the name I thought it was to help people create sorrow.

“What’s the specific format?” I asked again.

“Uh… I haven’t thought about it carefully yet… Today is my grand opening, it’s an idea I thought of on the spot… I estimate it’s probably everyone sitting together and chatting about their sad stories to each other?”

I never thought “Zodiac” would be so casual…

“You mean having us sit in a circle and tell our sad stories to each other?”

“Yes, isn’t this good? What you need is to confide! The more sad people there are here, the more people you have to confide in, you brat!” The white snake said again. “How could there possibly be anyone willing to establish a support institution for the sorrowful here? Only me!”

“But this is an incorrect way of thinking.” I deeply sighed and stood up, saying, “Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don’t want to hear other people’s sad stories. Once ‘sorrow’ is shared, everyone can only harvest two portions of sorrow.”

“Hiss…” The white snake slowly frowned. “Why do I feel like I’ve heard your way of speaking somewhere?”

I didn’t pay attention to him, only feeling that faint sadness just now had eased somewhat, so I asked again, “White Snake… what do you think is each person’s motivation here to want to escape? Why do these people want to live so much?”

“Motivation…?” The pale white snake reached up and touched the top of his head, actually also showing a sorrowful expression.

I thought he would continue being flippant and unserious, but unexpectedly he deeply sighed and said, “I… don’t know about others, but I’m doing it for my lover.”

“Lover…?” I was stunned.

“Yes, he’s still waiting for me at home. He’s suffered for me, endured wrongs for me. He’s all my thoughts in this life.” The white snake said with a frown.

I stared at the white snake for a long time. He kept calling me “brat,” always making it feel like there was an age difference between us. However, the snake skin exterior prevented me from seeing his age clearly. So he was already a married man?

Yes, this was inexplicably reasonable.

When you can’t find motivation to live for yourself, you can live for others.

However, Baiyang looked quite young… Would he have a wife?

The white snake reached up and rubbed his eyes, then said, “As long as I can escape from this hell-like place… even if my body is riddled with wounds, I won’t retreat. This is my motivation.”

“I understand…” I nodded at him. “You’ve given me a very good line of thinking.”

Seeing I was about to leave, he was inexplicably reluctant. “You’re leaving? You’re my first customer… If you don’t join the ‘Sorrow Society,’ would you consider playing a game? The mortality rate is very high, very exciting!”

“I won’t participate in the game. I want to confirm one last time… Without joining your ‘Sorrow Society,’ can you let me borrow books every day? I promise you that starting from the second day, I’ll borrow one and return one every day.” I turned back at the door and said, “If I encounter other people, I’ll also try my best to ask them if they want to join your ‘Sorrow Society.’ This is the only bargaining chip I can offer.”

“This…” After hearing this, the white snake shook his head. “No good… My game props are only these books. If I unconditionally agree to everyone who comes to borrow, the first one to break the rules will be me.”

“Alright.” I nodded to show understanding. “In that case, we’ll meet again if fate allows.”

I walked out two steps, then turned back and said, “By the way, change the name.”

“What?”

“I mean your ‘Sorrow Society.'” I helplessly shook my head. “Our school organized similar activities, but they weren’t called ‘Sorrow Society,’ they were called ‘Mutual Aid Society.'”

“Eh?” The white snake blinked. “‘Mutual Aid Society’?”

“This name at least sounds like ‘mutual assistance.’ Your name is really a bit scary.” I waved at him and left the bookstore.