Yu Jiuyuan's attention was immediately drawn to this. This was exactly what she had been waiting for. Rong Shenghan never did anything meaningless; if he brought this up, he must have something important to share.

"Senior knows?" she feigned surprise, but her eyes were already darting around, calculating rapidly.

“I saw similar cases with my elders a few years ago.” Rong Shenghan said casually, as if he were just mentioning it casually. “It requires specific reinforcement technology, which will be more expensive, but it can completely solve the hidden dangers.” He paused and looked at Yu Jiuyuan. “Xie Zhecheng was not included, probably because he felt… there was no need to hand a knife to the opponent.”

"Then why did you tell me, senior?" Yu Jiuyuan looked directly at him, her eyes clear.

Rong Shenghan smiled, a smile that appeared particularly gentle in the warm yellow light, yet also carried a hint of something indescribable: "Because I'm curious."

"What are you curious about?"

"I'm curious to see how far you can take this game." His voice was soft, like an evening breeze brushing against flower petals. "Xie Zhecheng's perfect defenses, Yuan Xu's biological world, and the Su family behind Lin Yanran... how do you plan to 'recruit' them one by one?"

The word "incorporation" was used scathingly, yet it precisely struck at Yu Jiuyuan's heart. Her smile remained unchanged, but inwardly she sneered. Rong Shenghan indeed saw through everything, but he hid it too well, like a spectator standing outside the chessboard, occasionally making a move to disrupt the situation, but never revealing his true intentions.

"Senior is joking." Yu Jiuyuan lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the emotions in them. "I just want to finish my family's business properly, and by the way... make some friends."

“Friends?” Rong Shenghan repeated the word, his tone playful. “Like Yuan Xu?”

When Yuan Xu was mentioned, Yu Jiuyuan's tone softened, as if she were talking about a close friend: "Yuan Xu is amazing. His talent in the field of biology is so great that even the professors praise him highly."

“He spent four hours in the lab this afternoon studying the wing structure of a new type of insect,” Rong Shenghan suddenly said. “He only came out for a drink of water, the same thermos you gave him this morning.”

Yu Jiuyuan was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Rong Shenghan to know even such details.

"Senior, you're very observant." She looked up, her smile now warmer, not from gratitude, but because Yuan Xu's 38% favorability rating finally had a more concrete basis. The boy, immersed in his own world, was actually more concerned about her actions than he appeared to be.

“I just happened to see it.” Rong Shenghan shrugged, looking nonchalant. “He seems to have made a specimen of the lemon slices from the lemonade you gave him and kept it in his notebook.”

This time, Yu Jiuyuan was genuinely surprised. She had originally thought that Yuan Xu's goodwill stemmed more from her precise "feeding" and respect for his research, but she hadn't expected such a subtle detail.

As if she had discovered new experimental data, she quickly adjusted her "taming strategy" for Yuan Xu in her mind. Compared to Xie Zhecheng's stubbornness and Rong Shenghan's unfathomable nature, perhaps she could find a breakthrough by focusing on this boy who was engrossed in the biological world.

“He’s always so…special,” Yu Jiuyuan said with a smile, her tone carrying just the right amount of appreciation.

Rong Shenghan didn't reply. He simply picked up the geological report, turned to a certain page, and wrote an address in the blank space with his fingertip.

“This is a company that has mastered that kind of reinforcement technology, and the boss is a family friend of mine.” He pushed the report back to Yu Jiuyuan, “Mentioning my name will make things easier.”

"Thank you, senior." Yu Jiuyuan put away the report, her fingertips touching the words he had left on the paper. The strokes were smooth, yet they carried a hidden sharpness, just like him.

"It was nothing." Rong Shenghan straightened up and straightened his cuffs. "I have something to do, so I'll be going now. Oh, by the way—" He walked to the door, then suddenly turned back, his smile gentle, "Wearing red would be very appropriate for the charity gala."

Yu Jiuyuan watched his retreating figure disappear through the doorway, and the smile on her face slowly faded.

red.

That was the most flamboyant and dazzling color, and also the color most likely to stir up emotional fluctuations. Rong Shenghan was reminding her that it was time to throw a more violent stone into this calm game of chess.

She picked up her phone and opened her chat with Yuan Xu. The last message was from when she reminded him to eat on time, and he replied with an "okay" emoji.

Yu Jiuyuan's fingertips twitched slightly as she typed a line: "Are you free tomorrow morning? I'd like to ask for your help with a rare plant discovered near the eastern part of the city, which is said to be related to your research topic."

Sent successfully.

She put down her phone and turned her gaze back to the window. Dusk had fallen, and the outline of the rose garden was blurred in the night. Only the occasional breeze could carry a faint fragrance of flowers.

Xie Zhecheng's cold indifference, Rong Shenghan's gradual guidance, Yuan Xu's subtle concern, and the newly appeared Lin Yanran and Su Jingshu behind him...

This game is finally getting more and more interesting.

Yu Jiuyuan picked up the geological report, lightly touched the red pen marks made by Xie Zhecheng with her fingertip, and curled her lips into a cold and beautiful smile.

So what if you're a perfectionist? So what if you're unpredictable? So what if you're engrossed in research?

In her world, there are no untamed prey, only strategies that are not precise enough.

Charity gala, red dress, eastern city plot, Su family's Yanran...

All the clues have been laid out; all that's left is for her to make her next move.

But she has patience and sharp enough methods.

As night deepened, the lights in the student council office remained on for a long time, like an eye lurking in the darkness, calmly watching each piece on the chessboard, waiting for the best moment to make a move.