The snow in the backyard of the villa has begun to melt.

Icicles hanging from the eaves refracted the afternoon sun, casting shimmering light. Occasionally, a drop of water would fall onto the bluestone slab, making a soft tinkling sound, as if counting down the long winter vacation.

Yu Jiuyuan sat in front of the French windows in the living room, holding a silver fountain pen in her hand, writing and drawing on a notepad.

She was wearing a cream-white turtleneck cashmere sweater, the cuffs bunched up to her elbows, revealing a section of her fair wrist. The pale blue veins on her wrist bones were clearly visible, rising and falling gently with the movement of her pen.

"Important considerations for attending AI exhibitions?"

Rong Shenghan walked over with two cups of hot cocoa and placed one of them on the coffee table next to her.

In the rising steam, the scent of fir trees mingled with the sweetness of cocoa wafted from him, creating a strange yet comforting aroma.

Yu Jiuyuan looked up, her pen pausing on the paper before landing a neat dot: "Hmm, I'm afraid Xie Zhecheng will nitpick over the details again."

She chuckled softly, her fingertip tracing the words "Exhibition Area Order" on the sticky note. "Perfectionist tendencies need to be prevented in advance."

Rong Shenghan sat down beside her, his long, slender fingers holding a mug, his fingertips brushing against the hot glass, yet he seemed oblivious: "He has always been exceptionally attentive to your affairs."

"Regarding student council matters," Yu Jiuyuan corrected, her tone calm as if stating a fact, "I am the president, and he is a member; this is what he should do."

She lowered her head and continued writing, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyelids, obscuring the emotions in her eyes.

As Rong Shenghan looked at her focused profile, he suddenly felt that the pen that was spinning nimbly between her fingers was like an invisible thread, tightly binding Xie Zhecheng, Lin Yanran, and even himself in her palm.

This realization made his Adam's apple bob slightly. He suddenly leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear: "And what about me? My concern for you is also 'what I should do'?"

His voice was low and deliberately hoarse, like a feather brushing against the heart.

Yu Jiuyuan didn't move her hand holding the pen, but turned her head to the side, her nose almost touching his cheek: "You are my 'bed warmer,' how can I not take you seriously?"

Her eyes were bright and clear, with a sly smile, like a cat that had just stolen some fish.

Rong Shenghan looked at his own reflection clearly in her eyes, then suddenly chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair, making her carefully styled hair a little messy: "Yes, my young lady."

He didn't ask any further questions, but simply picked up his hot cocoa and took a sip.

As the sweet liquid slid down his throat, his gaze fell on the notepad, where he noticed the words "Lin Yanran" written in the corner, followed by a small question mark.

"Are you still worried he won't go?" he asked casually.

“It’s not that I’m worried.” Yu Jiuyuan put down her pen, picked up a hot cocoa and took a sip, tasting the slightly bitter cocoa powder on her tongue. “I’m thinking about how to get him to ‘obey’ on his own initiative.”

Her tone carried an almost naive certainty, as if making that arrogant young master of the Lin family bow his head was just a trivial matter.

Rong Shenghan looked at the cocoa stains on her lips, reached out and wiped them off for her. The heat from his fingertips made her flinch slightly.

“Lin Yanran’s personality is such that she responds better to gentleness than force.” He withdrew his hand, the soft warmth of her skin still lingering on his fingertips, “but she’s even more susceptible to the idea of ​​‘being needed’.”

Yu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Does the vice president have a brilliant idea?"

"Not really." Rong Shenghan smiled. "I just saw him asking about the technical details of the AI ​​exhibition in the student council group yesterday. He asked quite a few detailed questions."

A knowing glint flashed in Yu Jiuyuan's eyes.

She knew that someone like Lin Yanran couldn't stand being excluded. She might pretend to be indifferent on the surface, but secretly she'd probably already thoroughly examined all the exhibition materials.

"Looks like I don't need to worry about it." She picked up the notepad, ticked Lin Yanran's name with a swift and decisive motion, "But what about you? What's up on Saturday?"

She asked this question more than once, but her tone didn't reveal much inquiry; it sounded more like she was confirming a pre-arranged schedule.

Looking into her open eyes, Rong Shenghan suddenly felt that his carefully concealed thoughts seemed somewhat superfluous in front of her.

He repeated the same sentence, only adding, "It has nothing to do with the Su family."

Yu Jiuyuan didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded and lowered her head again to write a note.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, bathing her in a soft golden glow, making her look like an exquisite oil painting, almost unreal in its beauty.

Rong Shenghan suddenly recalled the first time he was alone with her in the student council office.

She sat in the president's seat, twirling a pen in her hand, and casually asked him why he transferred to Sei Sakura.

He said, "Because there are worthy people here." She smiled, her eyes filled with knowing wisdom, as if she had long seen through the truth hidden in his lie.

He should have known then that this woman knew everything.

She understood his pretense, Xie Zhecheng's restraint, and even the naivety beneath Lin Yanran's arrogant exterior.

She's like a top-notch animal trainer, always able to pinpoint everyone's weaknesses and then gently tighten the reins little by little.

In the evening, the steward came to report that Yuanxu had sent someone to deliver a box of things.

Upon opening it, one finds experimental samples packed in an insulated box, along with a note in Yuan Xuqing's neat handwriting: "Newly cultivated cold-resistant strains, given to you as ornamental plants."

Yu Jiuyuan looked at the white mycelium in the glass petri dishes and suddenly smiled.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!