[The Gap of the Heart]

Chen Miemie carried the book to the living room and placed it on the coffee table.

Curious heads crowded around.

"Forbidden Fruit, are you saying this book counts as my harvest?"

The Forbidden Fruit Bestiary replied firmly, "Of course. This isn't an ordinary book. You must have noticed—it can't be opened and it glows faintly."

"What does that mean?"

"If I remember correctly, this is exactly the state books are in before they transform into anomalies."

"What?! You're saying this book is turning into an anomaly?"

"That seems to be the case."

Chen Miemie, who had been careless just moments ago, immediately changed his expression:

"Quick, this is a top-priority item. Move the teapot farther away—don't let my precious book get wet."

He had no choice but to take it seriously. If this book, Jinse, successfully transformed, it would be the first anomaly he had personally helped bring into existence—an achievement of great significance.

Chen Miemie's face lit up with excitement. Running this shop could drop equipment, or rather, drop companions?

"Jinguo, is there anything I can do to help it along?"

"Nothing at all. The book itself is already complete. Just put it back on the shelf and wait quietly."

"How long will the wait be?"

"That's not fixed. Every book is different."

"Great, perfect. At least this means the shop hasn't opened in vain. I need more customers." Chen Miemie was suddenly full of motivation.

Unfortunately, motivation alone wasn't enough. No new customers came that night.

The frequency of visitors to the mysterious shop was very low—only three so far.

Strictly speaking, only Du Juan qualified as a true customer. Yi Zhu and Yi Xian had been somewhat guided by Chen Miemie's initial prompting.

Not only were there no new customers, but the shop even refused "repeat customers."

Chen Miemie received a message from Yi Zhu saying he had tried to find the shop at night, but when he and Yi Xian came back, the gap between No. 17 Fairytale Road and the neighboring wall was gone.

They saw and touched it—No. 17 Fairytale Road was built flush against the wall!

Chen Miemie was dumbfounded.

Although he hadn't planned to keep milking the same two customers, this behavior showed that this shop really wasn't accessible to ordinary people.

Wasn't this just sabotaging his business? Not allowing advertising was bad enough, but now it wouldn't even let old customers refer new ones—negative review.

Pure Water, Lost, and Origami had analyzed this from a technical perspective:

"The DoorGap isn't on the street itself; it's in the hearts of those who are lost. It's a HeartGap. When Yi Zhu and Yi Xian's heart gaps were repaired, they could no longer see this gap."

Chen Miemie wasn't convinced by this explanation:

"You've definitely got it wrong. If that were the case, then the fact that I can see it means I have psychological problems, right? Let me tell you, my mental health is just fine."

Pure Water, Lost, and Origami hadn't expected to hit a nerve and quickly corrected themselves: "You're different. You're the shop owner, so you're an exception."

Only then did Shopkeeper Miemie give a satisfied "Hmph, hmph."

With no customers at night, he got plenty of sleep and had the energy to go out during the day.

At 11 a.m., Chen Miemie was about to go grab a strange cup of coffee.

But as soon as he stepped out of the DoorGap and onto Fairytale Road, he was caught by the green-haired little girl.

"Haha! I knew I'd find you here!" Chenpi was thrilled.

Knowing that her background was terrifyingly powerful, Chen Miemie didn't really want to hang out with her. He felt that getting close to her would only bring trouble.

"What do you want?" Chen Miemie asked, expressionless.

"To recruit you into my research team, of course! You promised—as long as I didn't demolish this street, you'd join."

"Didn't you reject me back then? You said you only wanted senior researchers."

"Hmph, my project is huge, and I need all kinds of talent. No more nonsense—starting now, you're the 'Logistics Officer.'"

Chen Miemie didn't like people going back on their word. He didn't enjoy trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either: "Fine. How many members does our project team have now?"

"Two."

"You mean, counting us, it's just two?"

"As expected of the new 'Logistics Officer'—your comprehension skills are excellent."

What made Chenpi happy was that Chen Miemie only nodded and didn't react strongly upon hearing that the project team had no one else.

Neither Chenpi nor Chen Miemie were normal people, and their thought processes were a bit unusual.

In Chen Miemie's view, taking on this "Logistics Officer" role would only last about two months. Once the store-opening task was complete, he would leave the Sealed Book Library. He didn't even care what the project was researching. Fewer people meant less work—that was a good thing.

Chenpi, the head of the project, had finally managed to grab a helper and immediately assigned him work:

"Chen Miemie, your first task is to properly allocate and manage our project funds."

"Oh? How much project funding is there?"

"None right now. You'll need to secure it."

Chen Miemie stared at the green-haired little girl, his face blank: "So not only are there no benefits, but I also have to bring my own investment to join the group?"

Seeing his expression turn sour, Chenpi quickly hugged his leg, afraid he might run away: "I'll write you a note. You can take it directly to the Scholars' Academy to collect the funds."

Chen Miemie looked down at her suspiciously: "Is it really that simple?"

"Yes, yes! Trust me—my handwritten note is as good as a check."

Chenpi pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, scribbled something on it like a chicken scratching in the dirt, and handed it to Chen Miemie.

He studied it hard, half-guessing the contents. The gist was indeed a request for funding.

Although he couldn't read all the characters clearly, the amount—"5000 years"—was perfectly legible.

"Once you get the funds, come find me in the lab on the fourth basement level of the library. I'll give you access." Having said that, Chenpi made a quick exit and ran off.

Following his original plan, Chen Miemie went to the Four Seasons Café, ordered a coffee, and sat down at an outdoor table on the street to wait.

A few children were playing and laughing not far away.

Seized by a sudden childlike whim, Chen Miemie watched them play.

They were acting out roles from a fairy tale.

A little boy shouted, "I'll be the lamb!"

A little girl quickly grabbed a role she wanted: "I'll be the orange!"

A third little boy called out, "Then I'll be the banana."

"I'll be the cat!" "I'll be the apple!" "I'll be the elephant!"...

Once they had assigned the roles, they immediately burst into a chaotic game.

Qiu Tian walked over carrying coffee: "Today's special—'Summer Wind Hearing the Cicada.' Give it a try."

Chen Miemie looked into the cup and stirred it slightly. He spotted a faintly reflective thin piece: "What's this piece?"

Qiu Tian tilted his head: "We use real ingredients here, honest and fair. In 'Summer Wind Hearing the Cicada,' it's naturally cicada wings."

Chen Miemie quickly set the cup down, afraid he might be asked how it tasted, and awkwardly changed the subject:

"What are those kids playing?"

Qiu Tian glanced over and listened for a while:

"Oh, they're acting out a famous fairy tale from the Sealed Book Library.

Once upon a time, there was a little lamb and a little cat who lived on opposite sides of a wide river. They couldn't meet face to face, but they chatted by calling out to each other across the water and became friends.

The little cat had many fruit friends at home, and they often got into fights. After each fight, the little cat would come to the riverbank and share some of its unhappiness with the little lamb. Comforted by the little lamb, the cat would cheer up again and go back to living happily ever after.

Chen Miemie: “...”

“What kind of story is that? It's so childish.”

Qiu Tian shrugged. “It's a fairy tale for kids—they're all like this. By the way, how's the coffee today?”

“What were you thinking? Did you really put cicada wings in it?”

“What's wrong with cicada wings? They're washed clean. If cat poop can be used to make coffee, why not cicada wings?”

“Why do you feel the need to try making a new flavor every day?”

Qiu Tian sighed.

“No matter what coffee I make, it's always delicious—that's both a blessing and a curse.

Even if I want to make two cups with the exact same flavor, I can't. When I follow the exact same recipe as before, what appears in the cup is coffee that is deadly poisonous.”