Three days into the winter break at St. Sakura Academy, an even heavier snowfall swept across the entire city.

In the courtyard of Yu Jiuyuan's villa, the pine branches drooped low under the weight of the snow, the glazed tiles were covered with a fluffy white layer, and even the palace lanterns under the corridor were tinged with a hazy warm light.

As Yu Jiuyuan sat by the window flipping through documents, her fingertips traced the words "Su Group" when the door was gently pushed open.

Rong Shenghan walked in carrying a cup of hot cocoa. The light brown liquid was topped with a ring of cream and sprinkled with cinnamon powder. The sweet aroma instantly filled the entire study.

"Yuan Xu just messaged me, saying that the mimicry bacteria he cultivated can survive at minus five degrees Celsius." He placed the cup beside her, his gaze falling on the striking title on the document, "Investigating the Su family's project?"

Yu Jiuyuan looked up, took the hot cocoa and took a sip. The temperature was just right to soothe her palm: "The land plot in the east of the city that they bid for last month has a high degree of overlap with the project that the Yu family failed to complete three years ago."

She tapped the paper with her fingertips. "The Su family suddenly has the confidence to take on this tough challenge. There must be someone behind them providing financial support."

Rong Shenghan smiled but didn't reply. He simply took out a small incubator from his pocket and said, "Yuan Xu asked me to pass this on. He said it's a sample that can change color at low temperatures. If you leave it here for two days, you might be able to observe a new morphology."

The box was lined with sterile cotton, and a few tiny bacteria, about the size of sesame seeds, were scattered on it, appearing pale purple at room temperature. Yu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow: "He's quite comfortable entrusting his treasure to me."

“In his eyes, you are more reliable than the incubator.” Rong Shenghan’s tone was slightly sarcastic, but his gaze was fixed on her face, serious as if he were not joking.

The system panel trembled slightly in my mind. Rong Shenghan's favorability rating remained steadily at 100. The fluctuations in positive emotions were like ripples on a calm lake, subtle yet continuous.

Yu Jiuyuan curved her lips into a smile and placed the culture box into the incubator next to the bookshelf. It was specially sent by Yuan Xu, and the parameters were set exactly the same as those in his laboratory.

"Will Xie Zhecheng come over tonight?" Rong Shenghan suddenly asked.

"Yes, we arranged to discuss the outline for next semester's debate competition." Yu Jiuyuan closed the file. "His perfectionism kicked in, and he said he wanted to break down the logical chain of each argument into mathematical formulas to verify it."

Rong Shenghan chuckled softly, "Only you can tolerate his obsession." He paused, then added, "Lin Yanran will also be coming, saying... to deliver plum blossom cakes from the Su family."

Yu Jiuyuan was slightly surprised, but then she understood. Lin Yanran had mentioned the Su family's tea and snacks before, and now she had specially sent them over, clearly using it as an excuse to come over.

She traced circles on the table with her fingertips: "Perfect, saves me the trouble of asking him about the Su family again."

As evening approached, Xie Zhecheng arrived right on time.

He was wearing a long black overcoat, shaking off the snow as he entered. He was carrying a black briefcase containing a thick debate outline, the margins of which were densely marked with red pen.

When he saw Yu Jiuyuan, the usual coldness on his face softened a bit. He put his briefcase on the table and said, "The initial framework is done, and the logical loop is fine, but we need to add a few data examples."

"Warm yourself up first." Yu Jiuyuan handed him a cup of hot black tea, her gaze sweeping over his briefcase. "You're treating winter break like a second semester."

Xie Zhecheng took the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm cup, his ear tips slightly burning: "If you're going to do it, you can't be perfunctory."

He looked down and opened the outline, but his gaze unconsciously drifted to her hand, where there was an exquisite white porcelain plate with freshly arranged plum blossom cakes. The pinkish-white cakes were imprinted with red plum blossom patterns and exuded a sweet and glutinous aroma.

"This is……"

"Lin Yanran sent these; he said they're made by the Su family." Yu Jiuyuan picked up a piece and handed it to him. "Want to try some?"

Xie Zhecheng hesitated for a moment, then took it and took a bite.

The sweet but not cloying red bean paste melted on his tongue, carrying a faint fragrance of plum blossoms. However, he suddenly felt that the taste was not as good as the piece of chocolate she had casually handed him in the student council activity room last time.

The system notification sounded at the right time: Xie Zhecheng's positive emotional fluctuation +5, his favorability remains at 77, and he did not move.

A knowing glint flashed in Yu Jiuyuan's eyes. Perfectionists always think this way; they don't care about the things themselves, but rather the weight of "exclusivity."

As they were talking, Lin Yanran appeared at the end of the corridor.

He was wearing a camel-colored cashmere coat, his hair was neatly combed, and he was carrying an exquisitely packaged gift box, a stark contrast to his usual carefree demeanor at school.

Upon seeing Xie Zhecheng, his brows furrowed subconsciously, and his tone returned to its usual arrogance: "I thought I was the only guest."

“Xie Zhecheng is here to discuss student council matters,” Yu Jiuyuan stood up and naturally took the gift box from his hand. “You’re right on time.”

Lin Yanran felt a little uncomfortable after being praised for being "on time". She turned her face away and snorted, "My dad told me to leave after I delivered the things. He's still waiting for me in the car."

Despite saying that, she didn't move, her gaze involuntarily falling on Xie Zhecheng's unfolded debate outline. "You're going to have a debate? What's the topic?"

"Artificial intelligence ethics," Xie Zhecheng said succinctly, his tone carrying a subtle hint of detachment.

Lin Yanran scoffed, "What's the point of arguing about this kind of empty talk?"

Despite saying that, he couldn't help but lean over and take a look. When he saw a certain argument, he suddenly said, "The case here is wrong. Last year, a company in Northern Europe had a similar ethical incident. Didn't you check?"

Xie Zhecheng was taken aback. He looked down and flipped to that page, and sure enough, he found that the case citation was incorrect.

He looked up at Lin Yanran, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry. This guy seemed so carefree, yet he actually paid attention to this kind of news.

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