The villa was so quiet late at night that you could hear the soft crackling of firewood in the fireplace.

Yu Jiuyuan, wearing Rong Shenghan's black cashmere coat, walked barefoot on the carpet in the second-floor study.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the night was deep and dark, and the neon lights of the distant city were blurred into spots of light in the snow and fog, which made the tranquility inside the room even more profound.

Her fingertips traced the rows of books with gold-embossed covers on the bookshelf, suddenly stopping at an old book about family trusts. The edges of the pages were worn, clearly indicating that it had been read repeatedly.

"What are you looking for?"

Rong Shenghan's voice came from the doorway. He was wearing only a shirt loosely over his bathrobe, with the collar open, revealing the red marks on his collarbone that had not completely faded—marks she had left the night before.

He held two glasses of whiskey in his hand, the ice cubes clinking gently in the amber liquid.

Yu Jiuyuan didn't turn around, her fingertips brushing against the spine of the old book: "I'm seeing what secrets you're hiding."

Rong Shenghan approached and handed her one of the glasses of wine, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against the back of her hand: "Aren't all my secrets right in front of you?"

His tone was as gentle as ever, but his eyes were like a blade sharpened by night dew, gently scraping across her face.

Yu Jiuyuan took the glass, swirling the ice cubes inside and watching them rise and fall in the liquid: "For example? What was the real reason you transferred to Saint Sakura? Or what is your relationship with that mysterious person in charge of the Su family?"

Her question was so direct it was almost provocative, like throwing a boulder into a calm lake.

Rong Shenghan's smile faded slightly. He leaned against the bookshelf, tilted his head back, and took a sip of whiskey. The curve of his Adam's apple was particularly clear under the light.

"Does A-Yuan care that much about the Su family?"

"What I care about are all the variables that might affect my plans."

Yu Jiuyuan turned around, the moonlight falling precisely on her face, revealing the coldness in her eyes. "Including you, Rong Shenghan."

She rarely called him by his full name, and when she did, it meant she had dropped all pretense.

Looking at her like this, Rong Shenghan suddenly felt his heart being clenched by something. This was the real Yu Jiuyuan, calm and rational, like a precise machine, always calculating the optimal solution.

But he just happened to like her just the way she was.

I like the sharpness in her eyes, the air of control she exudes, and even her indifferent disdain for everyone else.

"What if I said that I and the Su family are enemies?" he suddenly asked, his voice as low as night fog, "Would you believe me?"

Yu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow and downed the whiskey in her glass in one gulp.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, burning a warm sensation in his stomach: "Whether you believe it or not is unimportant."

She tiptoed and gently touched his chest with her fingertips. "The important thing is that you can't be an obstacle to me."

Her fingertips carried a slightly cool scent of alcohol, which made Rong Shenghan's breath catch in his throat.

He reached out and grasped her wrist, his grip firm but not too tight, so as not to hurt her: "What if I become an obstacle?"

“Then get rid of it.” Yu Jiuyuan’s tone was as calm as if she were talking about the weather today. “I never keep disobedient pets.”

These words were like a needle, piercing through the ambiguous facade between the two.

The air in the study seemed to freeze instantly, with only the crackling of the fireplace casting flickering shadows of the two figures on the wall, like a silent struggle.

After a long while, Rong Shenghan suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter carrying an indescribable indulgence: "Don't worry, Miss." He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his breath carrying the mellow aroma of wine, "I will never be an obstacle for you."

His kiss landed immediately, with an irresistible passion, as if to melt away all the previous probing and confrontation in this kiss.

Yu Jiuyuan didn't push him away; instead, she raised her hand and pressed it against the back of his neck, deepening the kiss.

She knew Rong Shenghan was lying.

This man's words were always a mixture of truth and falsehood, like poison coated in honey, alluring yet deadly.

But she didn't care. Lies or truths, as long as they could be used by her, they had value.

Just like Xie Zhecheng's perfectionism, Lin Yanran's arrogance, and Yuan Xu's purity, everyone has their own "user manual," and what she excels at is precisely finding the password to that manual.

They kissed until they were both a little breathless before Rong Shenghan pulled away slightly, his forehead pressed against hers, his eyes burning: "Xie Zhecheng is coming to pick you up tomorrow, do you want me to 'avoid' him for a bit?"

“No need.” Yu Jiuyuan licked the wine stains from the corner of her lips, her eyes sly. “It’s good for him to see, so he won’t always think he still has a chance.”

That's exactly what she wants—to put everything out in the open.

She wanted Xie Zhecheng to see her intimacy with Rong Shenghan, to make Lin Yanran feel her control, and to make everyone clearly understand that in Yu Jiuyuan's world, only she could set the rules.

Rong Shenghan chuckled and reached out to pick her up horizontally: "Yes, my young lady."

When I returned to the bedroom, the fire in the fireplace had died down.

Rong Shenghan placed her on the bed and turned to add firewood, but Yu Jiuyuan grabbed his clothes.

"Don't go," she said softly, a hint of languor in her voice. "Hold me."

This was the first time she had taken the initiative to ask for it. Rong Shenghan was stunned for a moment, then obediently lay down and held her tightly in his arms.

Neither of them spoke, but simply listened to each other's heartbeats and felt each other's body temperature.

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Jiuyuan suddenly spoke up: "Yuanxu's strain has bloomed, white ones, quite beautiful."

"Mmm," Rong Shenghan responded, gently stroking her long hair with his fingers.

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