On the system panel, Lin Yanran's favorability rating finally showed a change, jumping from 0 to 1.

The observatory was unusually quiet late at night.

Yu Jiuyuan stood in the snow wrapped in a thick coat, her telescope lens already pointed in the direction of Orion.

Xie Zhecheng stood beside her, his movements as he adjusted the equipment more focused than during the day. The frost on his eyelashes frosted over and melted, casting a faint shadow under his eyes.

"President Xie, do you think stars can also have their own temper?" Yu Jiuyuan suddenly spoke up, her breath blurring her profile. "For example, this Betelgeuse, it's clearly a red supergiant, but it insists on hiding behind Orion's shoulder, like a sulking child."

Xie Zhecheng stopped adjusting the focus.

He turned his head to look at her. The girl was looking up at the stars with a serious expression, her eyes reflecting starlight like shattered diamonds. She was completely different from the girl who usually gave orders in the student council.

He was silent for a few seconds, then his voice was softer than the wind and snow: "The evolution of stars only follows the laws of physics."

“But rules are also drawn by people.” Yu Jiuyuan turned her head, so close that she could see the ice crystals on his eyelashes. “Like President Xie, you always keep yourself on edge like a precision instrument. Don’t you ever want to break the rules sometimes?”

Xie Zhecheng's pupils contracted slightly. He saw the girl's fingertips reach out and gently brush away a snowflake from his shoulder.

The touch, soft against the cashmere glove, sent a jolt through his skin like an electric current. When the system notification sounded again, he heard his own heartbeat drown out the wind and snow.

[A system notification sounded in my mind: Xie Zhecheng, favorability 8, positive emotions +2, current level 52.]

Footsteps approached from afar, and Rong Shenghan walked over carrying two cups of hot cocoa, white steam rising from the rim of the cups: "Presidents, Yuan Xu said there has been a new discovery of lichen samples, and she asked me to come and call you back to take a look."

He handed one of the cups to Yu Jiuyuan; the temperature of the cup was just right to warm her hands. "Officer Lin is also in the lab and said he wanted to see how to operate a cryogenic microscope."

Yu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow as she took the cup.

She saw Lin Yanran frowning at the microscope in the morning, so she deliberately asked Yuan Xu to put the instruction manual for the low-temperature equipment in the most conspicuous place in the laboratory.

Hearing Rong Shenghan's words, she smiled and said, "It seems that Secretary Lin is adapting quickly."

Rong Shenghan smiled but didn't reply.

He watched Yu Jiuyuan turn and walk back towards the wooden house, then glanced at Xie Zhecheng beside him, who was clearly lost in thought, and the smile in his eyes deepened.

Snowflakes fell on his hair, quickly melting into water droplets from his body heat, like stars hidden in the shadows.

The system panel lit up as Yu Jiuyuan entered the wooden house:

Yuan Xu: 68 (+2)

Hsieh Che-cheng: 8 (Positive emotions +4)

Rong Shenghan: 45 (+2)

Lin Yanran: 1 (+1)

At the same time, the system's voice sounded: "[Host, I haven't been giving you much real-time updates today because I wanted to give you a little surprise now.]"

Yu Jiuyuan took a sip of hot cocoa, the sweet warmth sliding down her throat.

The snow is still falling outside the window, and the Orion Nebula is slowly emerging from the clouds.

She looked at the three figures gathered around the microscope in the laboratory. Yuan Xu was excitedly explaining, Lin Yanran frowned but did not leave, and Rong Shenghan leaned against the door, his gaze seemingly falling on her.

Xie Zhecheng was standing by the window recalibrating his telescope, but this time, his fingertips lingered on the knob for half a second longer, as if waiting for someone who happened to pass by.

The night in Changbai Mountain is still long, enough for something to quietly warm up amidst the snow.