In the study of the villa, the glow of the desk lamp focused on the rosewood workbench, making Yu Jiuyuan's profile appear exceptionally focused.

Wearing a pair of fine cotton gloves, she held a miniature carving knife between her fingertips and carefully sculpted a piece of silver-gray metal.

"What are you doing?" Rong Shenghan's voice came from the doorway. He was wearing loose pajamas, and the gauze on his left arm had been removed, with only a loose bandage wrapped around his wrist. He had obviously just woken up.

As Yu Jiuyuan turned around, the carving knife had just made a shallow mark on the blank.

She hurriedly hid the things behind her back, a sly blush spreading across her face: "It's nothing, just a craft assignment for the student council class."

Rong Shenghan walked over, his gaze falling on her gloves covered in metal shavings, then sweeping over the workbench.

There were several design sketches scattered there, all depicting ring designs. One of them, circled in red, was a simple plain ring with a string of tiny letters marked on the inside.

"For me?" As he bent down, the ends of his hair brushed against her earlobe, carrying a faint scent of ebony.

Yu Jiuyuan, her thoughts exposed, instead tilted her head back and held the metal blank in front of him: "So what if it is?"

She tapped the unglazed clay with her fingertips. "Once I finish making it, you'll have to wear it every day and you're not allowed to take it off."

These words sounded like a domineering declaration, but there was a glimmer of expectation in his eyes.

Rong Shenghan's heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something, and he reached out to take the blank.

It felt cold to the touch, and the edges had unpolished burrs, clearly indicating that it was an unprocessed platinum blank.

Where did it come from?

He recognized it as Pt950 platinum from the Yu family's collection, so pure that it could be used directly to make jewelry, and its market value was enough to buy half of Saint Sakura Academy.

"I took it secretly."

Yu Jiuyuan snatched the blank back and held it in her hand as if protecting a treasure. "I want to make it myself to show my sincerity."

She lowered her head and continued carving, the sound of the carving knife sliding across the metal was exceptionally clear.

Rong Shenghan moved a chair and sat down next to her, looking at her serious profile.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, her eyelashes trembled gently from focus, and she even breathed very softly, as if afraid of affecting the strength in her hands.

This demeanor was completely different from the composed and manipulative young lady she usually was; she looked more like an ordinary girl frantically trying to finish her craft class assignment.

"It needs to bend a little here."

Rong Shenghan suddenly reached out and grasped her hand holding the carving knife, guiding her to carve a shallow groove on the inside of the blank, "so it won't hurt your hand when you wear it."

His palms were warm, calloused from years of holding pens, and he gently placed them on the back of her hand, his touch as tender as if he were protecting a fragile treasure.

Yu Jiuyuan's heart skipped a beat. The system panel flashed in her mind. Rong Shenghan's positive emotional fluctuation had risen to 130, like a deep lake with ripples that lingered for a long time after a stone was thrown in.

"How come you can do everything?" she complained deliberately, her voice cloyingly sweet, "It makes me seem so stupid."

"Not stupid." Rong Shenghan kissed the top of her head, his gaze falling on the string of letters on the inside of the mold.

It's the initials of his name, with a small "鸢" (yuan) character engraved next to it, meaning "very smart".

He certainly knew the significance of the ring.

It wasn't one of those luxurious jewelry pieces inlaid with pigeon blood red in the mall, but rather a plain ring she had personally polished, with its unrefined burrs, yet it captivated him more than any other jewel.

This is her mark, a unique proof of her taming that belongs only to him.

Yu Jiuyuan suddenly put down her carving knife, turned around and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck: "Baby, do you think I'm bad?"

Her nose touched his, her breath mingling with the cold metallic scent and the ebony smell emanating from him: "I made you a ring, but I also give sweets to others. Isn't that going too far?"

Rong Shenghan tightened his arms, holding her even closer: "As long as I'm the one who stays by your side in the end, that's enough."

His voice was soft, yet carried an unmistakable stubbornness.

Yu Jiuyuan smiled and lowered her head to kiss his lips: "Of course it's you."

"My baby is so well-behaved, how could I bear to abandon you?"

The carving knife was casually tossed onto the workbench, making a crisp sound.

In the glow of the desk lamp, the two figures intertwined, like a flowing painting.

The platinum blank on the rosewood lay quietly, the letters on the inside shimmering in the light, like a hidden promise.

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Jiuyuan picked up the carving knife again, but this time she changed her posture.

She nestled in Rong Shenghan's arms, his right hand holding hers, as they completed the remaining procedures together.

Metal shavings landed on his loungewear, but he didn't care. Occasionally, the carving knife would slip and graze his fingertips, but he would just hold her hand tighter and continue carving.

"Almost done." Yu Jiuyuan's voice was a little tired and hoarse, but her eyes shone like stars.

Rong Shenghan looked at the thin calluses on her fingertips, then suddenly took her gloves and gently blew on her fingertips: "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Yu Jiuyuan shook her head, holding up the finished ring under the light. "Look, isn't it pretty?"

The edges of the plain ring have been polished smooth, the letters on the inside are clearly visible, and the outside is undecorated, yet it gleams with a warm luster under the light, like a piece of jade polished by time.

Rong Shenghan extended his left hand and slipped the ring onto his ring finger.

The size was just right, and the cool platinum felt strangely reassuring against my skin.

He raised his hand, looked at the plain ring, and smiled—a genuine smile, like the gentle ripples spreading across the surface of a lake after the first snowfall.

“It looks great,” he said.

"Then you'll have to wear it for the rest of your life."

Yu Jiuyuan pinched his finger, her fingertips caressing the ring. "You're not allowed to take it off, or I'll get angry."

"Okay." Rong Shenghan lowered his head and kissed her lips. "Wear it for the rest of your life."

Moonlight streamed through the gauze curtains and fell on their clasped hands.

The plain ring shimmered in the moonlight, like a silent contract.

Yu Jiuyuan leaned against him, listening to his strong heartbeat, and felt that this game might not be so boring after all.

At least, she found a pet willing to stay by her side, wearing the shackles she carved herself.

"I want one too." She suddenly pointed to her finger, like a spoiled child, "You have to make one for me too."

Rong Shenghan chuckled, took her hand, and gently kissed her ring finger: "Okay, I'll make it for you when my hand is healed. It'll be even prettier than this one."

"Pinky promise." Yu Jiuyuan extended her little finger.

"Pinky promise." Rong Shenghan hooked his fingertips around hers, his touch as gentle as if he were protecting a fragile dream.

The lamplight gradually dimmed, leaving only moonlight weaving a silver net on the floor.

On the rosewood workbench, carving knives and metal shavings lay quietly, while only the plain ring shone with an eternal light in their clasped hands.

This is her spoils of war, and his final resting place.

In this game, they finally found a bond that belonged to each other.