Flowers were a rare sight for the scholar who lived in her ivory tower, buried under piles of books. A young man, who admired the scholar, once gave her this exotic flower in the hope of bringing some life to the dull and lonely days she spent in her study. The scholar accepted the gift gratefully and made a flower bookmark with it. Ever since then, there has always been a splash of vivid color hidden somewhere in the pages of the dull piles of books.

The scholar's quill pen is made from the feather of an exotic bird. After an enormous amount of writing, the feather has been stained black. In all her years, the scholar never thought of changing her stained quill pen for a new one. Just as an old soldier feels most at ease with his own weapon, the scholar needed her familiar quill pen.

A delicate clock placed carefully on the scholar's desk. Spending days and nights in her study, the scholar lost all sense of time. This exquisite clock served as a beacon guiding the scholar in her relentless pursuit of knowledge. The time the scholar spent would prove to be fruitful. Knowledge would find its way to her.

A delicate tea cup that belonged to a scholar. This treasured cup is made of light porcelain and gilded with gold stripes. The dainty cup was in stark contrast with the messy room in which it was found, but seemed to suggest that the scholar was from a well-to-do family. Not caring about the beauty and purpose of the tea cup, the scholar in her ivory tower dipped her quill pen in it. She only saw it as a convenient ware to wash the tip. Now covered in ink stains, the cup has long since lost its former elegance.

The pursuit of knowledge is a risky gamble. Even after devoting one's entire life to it, it may prove to have been futile. The scholar spent half of her lifetime in endless research, taking notes and making calculations. Having failed to find the answers she was looking for, she once hesitated and questioned her career choice, thus wasting further time. Her once sharp eyesight had also been damaged by intensive reading. All this, and the answers she sought were still beyond her reach.