In early October, the ginkgo-lined path at Saint Sakura Academy was carpeted in gold. As Yu Jiuyuan walked towards the teaching building, the rhythm of her heels tapping on the fallen leaves miraculously overlapped with the morning chimes of the distant clock tower. She raised her hand to catch a swirling, falling leaf, her fingertips tracing its distinct veins, her peripheral vision already fixed on the figure in front of the notice board.
Xie Zhecheng stood in front of the "Notice of Joint Student Union Meeting," his school uniform collar neatly fastened. He traced the signature line at the end of the notice with his fingertip, where Yu Jiuyuan's name was written in a smooth and flowing pen, a stark contrast to his tightly pursed lips.
"Studying my handwriting?" Yu Jiuyuan's voice drifted over with a laugh, the ginkgo leaf in her hand waving in front of his eyes. "Or are you still debating whether or not to attend the conference?"
Xie Zhecheng stepped aside to avoid the leaf, his gaze behind his glasses as cold as if it were covered with a thin layer of ice: "The notice says that all members must attend." He paused, then added, "I will not break the rules."
"That's good." Yu Jiuyuan tucked the ginkgo leaf into her notebook, her smile as innocent as a rabbit that had just stolen some honey. "I was worried you would use the astronomy club's observation activities as an excuse."
Xie Zhecheng's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. The Astronomy Club did submit an observation plan for the Orionid meteor shower last week, but the timing conflicted with the meeting. Yu Jiuyuan had signed off on the plan three days ago.
"The observation activity has been rescheduled." He said this and turned to leave, his black backpack strap tracing a clean line across his shoulder. Yu Jiuyuan watched his retreating figure, her fingertips lightly tapping the cover of her notebook. The system panel appeared in her mind: [Xie Zhecheng: Negative Emotions +2 (currently 32), Neutral Emotions -3 (currently 3)].
Sure enough, disrupting a perfectionist's plan elicits a greater response than direct provocation.
The coffee machine in the student council office hummed precisely at 10 a.m. Rong Shenghan placed two lattes on the coffee table by the window, the rising steam blurring the emotions in his eyes: "President didn't go for a morning run this morning?" He looked at Yu Jiuyuan's hand as she picked up the coffee. "At this time normally, your fitness tracker should be reminding you to drink water."
Yu Jiuyuan blew on the milk foam on the surface of her coffee, a little moisture clinging to her eyelashes. "I was organizing meeting materials until very late last night." As she looked up, sunlight pierced through the clouds, and her usually clear eyes suddenly sparkled with tiny glimmers of light. "As for the vice president, she even remembered my bracelet's reminder so clearly?"
“After all, we need to cooperate with the president’s work.” Rong Shenghan dragged over a chair and sat down, his long legs crossed, the crease of his trousers taut. “By the way, regarding the proposed changes to the attendance system, I’ve added a few supplementary clauses. Please take a look and see if they’re suitable.”
The document he handed over had a clause highlighted in red ink that stood out: "Members of special clubs who are late more than three times must submit a written explanation, which must be signed by both the president and vice president." Yu Jiuyuan's fingertips paused for half a second on the words "signed by both," then she suddenly chuckled: "Is the vice president indirectly monitoring me?"
"It's just for fairness." Rong Shenghan's gaze fell on the slightly curved corners of her eyes, his tone unreadable. "After all, Xie Zhecheng's record of being late is enough to fill three pages."
The soft clinking of glassware echoed from the end of the corridor. Yuan Xu, carrying an incubator, hurried over, the hem of his white coat stained with specks of grassy sap. He stopped at the office door, his eyes lighting up when he saw Yu Jiuyuan: "President! The begonia seedling has sprouted its third true leaf!"
"So fast?" Yu Jiuyuan put down her coffee cup and went to greet him, naturally helping him steady the incubator that was about to slip off. "It seems your cultivation method is indeed amazing."
Yuan Xu's cheeks flushed slightly as he lowered his head and unlocked the incubator: "Actually, I used your nutrient solution formula..." He suddenly remembered something and pulled a sealed bag from his pocket. "This is my purified chlorophyll crystal. It will change color in the light. You might like it."
The green crystals inside the sealed bag refracted iridescent light in the sunlight. When Yu Jiuyuan took it, her fingertips deliberately brushed against his fingertips, clearly feeling his instantaneous stiffness. The system panel popped up at the opportune moment: [Yuan Xu: Favorability +2, currently 40].
"It's beautiful." She put the sealed bag into her handbag, her smile carrying just the right amount of surprise. "It'll fit perfectly in my specimen box. By the way, are you sure you can come to the joint meeting on Friday?"
Mentioning the meeting, Yuan Xu's brows immediately furrowed: "That day was the peak period for moth emergence..." He noticed Yu Jiuyuan's slightly lowered eyelashes and suddenly changed the subject, "...I will adjust the collection time."
Just as Yu Jiuyuan was about to say something more, Rong Shenghan suddenly coughed lightly: "I've looked at the Biology Club's budget application." He slowly flipped through the documents, "It seems that Yuan Xu has labeled the parameters incorrectly regarding the model of the new microscope."
Yuan Xu's attention was immediately drawn to it: "Impossible! I checked it three times..."
“It’s the objective lens focal length.” Rong Shenghan pointed to a line in the document, his tone flat. “The latest model should be 0.17mm, but you wrote 0.16.”
Yuan Xu's face flushed instantly, and she grabbed the file to start flipping through the information. Yu Jiuyuan watched the two of them huddled together discussing parameters, then picked up her cold coffee and took a sip.
Rong Shenghan's move was ingenious. He subtly interrupted her time alone with Yuan Xu, and precisely targeted Yuan Xu's area of expertise. This new vice president was far more adept at controlling the situation than she appeared.
The joint meeting was held in the Great Hall on Friday.
As Yu Jiuyuan sat in the chairman's seat, her gaze swept across the audience, precisely capturing three key figures: Xie Zhecheng sat on the left side of the first row with his back ramrod straight; Yuan Xu fiddled with her phone in the third-to-last row, the screen displaying a countdown to insect molting; and Rong Shenghan sat in the vice president's seat next to her, his fingertips lightly tapping a rhythm under the table.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
