April afternoons are always warm and drowsy, but the atmosphere under the wisteria trellis in the backyard of the villa is tense.
Xie Zhecheng sat upright in the rattan chair, his fingertips tracing the edge of the bone china teacup, his gaze fixed on Rong Shenghan opposite him, cold as ice.
Yuan Xu held a thick biological encyclopedia, but her gaze kept glancing at the two of them. The little white mouse at her feet was scurrying around restlessly in its cage.
Lin Yanran leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, her face showing undisguised impatience.
"Speak, what do you want from me?" Rong Shenghan spoke first, his tone indifferent, as if he were merely discussing the weather.
He had just returned from the student council meeting. The cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up, revealing a simple silver watch on his wrist. The sunlight fell on his face, making his usually smiling eyes seem somewhat distant at this moment.
Xie Zhecheng put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the table: "Rong Shenghan, you can't keep monopolizing her forever."
Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow: "I don't understand what you're saying."
"Don't you understand?" Lin Yanran scoffed and took two steps forward. "The master bedroom light stays on until late every night. Who in the villa can't hear it? Yu Jiuyuan belongs to everyone, not just you."
His tone carried his usual arrogance, but there was a hint of imperceptible urgency hidden in his eyes. Since moving here, he had very few opportunities to get close to Yu Jiuyuan alone. Most of the time, her gaze was fixed on Rong Shenghan.
Yuan Xu pushed up his glasses and echoed in a low voice, "Based on observations, an excessively possessive nature in organisms can lead to group imbalance." He paused, then added, "I've only seen her three times in the lab this month."
Rong Shenghan looked at them and suddenly laughed: "So? What do you want?"
"We've reached an agreement."
Xie Zhecheng spoke, his voice cold and firm yet carrying an undeniable certainty, "I acknowledge your 'big' position, but you must guarantee that we also have the right to approach her on an equal footing."
The moment those words were spoken, even the air seemed to freeze.
Lin Yanran frowned, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of being a "concubine," but ultimately didn't object. Compared to having no chance at all, this compromise seemed acceptable.
Yuan Xu nodded silently. As long as he could spend more time with Yu Jiuyuan, a formal title was not important to him.
Rong Shenghan's smile faded, and he tapped his fingertips on the table, making a rhythmic sound: "What makes you think I would agree?"
“Based on our relationship with her, it’s no less intimate than yours.” Xie Zhecheng looked directly at him. “The Xie family and the Yu family are old friends, and I grew up with her.”
“I’m a student council member, and we spend a lot of time together,” Lin Yanran retorted.
"She would patiently listen to me talk about biology experiments and accompany me to see rare butterfly specimens." Yuan Xu's voice was not loud, but it carried a unique persistence.
Rong Shenghan was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled: "You all seem to have forgotten who has been living in this villa since winter break, who gets to sleep in the master bedroom every day, who..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them, "To make her lower all her guard."
These words were like a thorn, causing Lin Yanran's face to darken, Xie Zhecheng's jawline to tighten, and even Yuan Xu to purse her lips.
They had to admit that Rong Shenghan held a truly special place in Yu Jiuyuan's heart.
“But you should also understand,” Xie Zhecheng softened his tone, a hint of calculation in it, “Yu Jiuyuan’s personality is not one to be confined by anyone. She needs us as much as she needs air and water. If you push us all away, it will only annoy her.”
Rong Shenghan's fingertips stopped.
He recalled the look in Yu Jiuyuan's eyes last night when she nestled against his chest and whispered, "Shenghan, don't always be so tense." There was reassurance in her eyes, but also a subtle distance.
He was truly terrified, afraid that this hard-won intimacy would be stolen away, afraid that the place he had so painstakingly secured in her heart would be taken away by someone else.
“I can agree.” After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, “but I will set the rules.”
Lin Yanran raised an eyebrow: "What rules?"
“She’s mine on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can arrange the rest of the time yourselves.”
Rong Shenghan looked at them, "Also, you are not allowed to mention today's agreement in front of her, you are not allowed to force her to make a choice, and you are even more not allowed to..." His gaze turned colder, "...try to bypass me."
The three exchanged glances, and Xie Zhecheng was the first to nod: "Okay."
Lin Yanran snorted, tacitly agreeing. Yuan Xu adjusted her glasses and said softly, "Deal."
Such an absurd negotiation came to an end, and peace returned to the wisteria trellis, with only the rustling of the wind through the leaves, as if mocking this ridiculous agreement.
In the evening, when Yu Jiuyuan returned to the villa, she smelled the aroma of food as soon as she entered.
Rong Shenghan came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, her wisps of hair on her forehead damp with moisture, giving her a gentle, domestic look.
"You're back? Wash your hands and eat."
Yu Jiuyuan walked over and hugged him from behind, nuzzling her nose against his back: "So well-behaved today?"
He turned around, turned off the stove, and kissed her forehead: "I'll wait for you to come back."
During dinner, Xie Zhecheng and the others seemed a bit unusual.
Lin Yanran didn't mock Rong Shenghan as usual; instead, she offered him some soy sauce.
Yuan Xu kept putting food on Yu Jiuyuan's plate, her eyes filled with a cautious expectation.
Xie Zhecheng, unusually, asked, "Have you prepared the materials for tomorrow's student council meeting?"
Yu Jiuyuan saw all of this, a faint smile playing on her lips, but she didn't say anything.
She was incredibly clever; even a fool could see something was amiss with these people's unusual behavior. Fortunately, the system had given her a hint; she could simply pretend she knew nothing about it.
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