The library of St. Sakura Academy was filled with the unique scent of sandalwood from old books in the afternoon.
Yu Jiuyuan's fingertips traced the gold-embossed spine of the "White Paper on Ethics of Gene Editing," and her peripheral vision precisely caught a fleeting figure behind the bookshelf.
As she pulled out the book and turned around, she bumped right into Rong Shenghan, scattering the pages all over the floor.
"Sorry." Rong Shenghan's movements as he bent down to pick up the book were so fluid, as if he had rehearsed it. His fingertips brushed against the back of her hand, bringing a slightly cool touch.
"Looking for this book? I just read it last week; the clauses about gene patents were very interesting."
Yu Jiuyuan took the book, her fingertips pausing at a folded corner of a page, where the Yuan family laboratory was applying for a patent.
When she looked up, her smile was innocent, as if she hadn't noticed the deliberate nature of the coincidence: "The vice president even studies such obscure white papers? It seems he's genuinely interested in biotechnology."
“After all, we’re going to be working with Yuan Xu, so we can’t be too inexperienced.” Rong Shenghan’s gaze fell on her loose hair. He reached out to tuck it behind her ear, but Yu Jiuyuan naturally avoided him in mid-air.
Her movement of raising her hand to gather her hair was light and graceful, like that of a wary deer.
Rong Shenghan: Favorability +2 (currently 37) (triggered "Pursuit Desire" and increased)
"Speaking of which, how's Lin Yanran's student council registration form coming along?" Yu Jiuyuan opened her book, her voice as soft as turning pages. "I heard he got into an argument with Xie Zhecheng at the astronomy club yesterday?"
Rong Shenghan leaned against the bookshelf, rubbing his chin with his fingertips: "Xie Zhecheng changed his registration form to 'Astronomy Club Auditor,' and Lin Yanran was so angry that she almost overturned the observatory."
He suddenly chuckled, "The revenge of a perfectionist is more childish than I imagined."
As Yu Jiuyuan closed her book, she happened to see Yuan Xu carrying an incubator as he walked through the corridor. The boy's white coat was stained with fluorescent dye, which shimmered green in the sunlight, like an angel who had accidentally fallen into a palette of paint.
"Yuanxu!" she called out to him, her voice filled with natural joy. "Has the fluorescence intensity of the glowing butterflies stabilized? I dreamt last night that they turned into real stars."
Yuan Xu's cheeks flushed instantly, and she quickly walked over and opened the incubator: "Better than expected! I adjusted the promoter sequence, and now it can glow continuously for 12 hours!"
He suddenly remembered something and pulled a small glass bottle from his pocket. "This is purified fluorescent protein. It will glow when coated on paper. You can use it as a bookmark."
The green powder inside the glass bottle swirled in the sunlight, like shattered starlight. When Yu Jiuyuan took it, her fingertips deliberately lingered on his palm for half a second longer, clearly feeling the shiver that moment.
[Yuan Xu: Affection +3, currently 57 (triggered "Touch Dependence" reaction)]
“It’s prettier than any metal bookmark.” She put the glass bottle into her handbag, her gaze falling on the butterfly specimens in the incubator. “Do you need me to go with you to the patent application meeting this afternoon? I heard the Su family will also send a representative.”
When the Su family was mentioned, Yuan Xu's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Yu Jiuyuan knew that his aversion to business negotiations was like his allergy to formaldehyde, but she insisted on bringing it up at this moment. Appropriate dependence would make the innocent boy even more inseparable from her guidance.
"...Is it okay?" Yuan Xu's voice was a little uncertain. "You seem to be very busy with student council matters."
“Your matter is more important.” Yu Jiuyuan tapped the incubator lightly with her fingertips. “Besides, the Su family wants to steal your patent, how can I let them succeed?”
Rong Shenghan looked at the distance between the two of them, which was naturally close, and suddenly said, "I have asked the lawyer at home to prepare the legal documents required for the patent application."
He handed her a file folder, his gaze lingering on Yuan Xu's flushed ears. "Looks like I've come at just the right time."
Yuan Xu took the file bag somewhat hastily, like a child whose secret had been exposed.
Yu Jiuyuan watched his retreating figure as he hurriedly left with the incubator, then suddenly chuckled at Rong Shenghan: "The vice president is always so 'timely,' which reminds me of the Swiss Astronomical Forum. It's said that someone used hacking techniques to steal the latest star map data at that conference?"
Rong Shenghan's smile faded slightly.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass window, casting a shadow on his face, half bright and half dim. "The chairman is certainly well-informed," he suddenly leaned closer, his voice extremely low. "Then do you know why the person who stole the data sent it to Xie Zhecheng?"
Yu Jiuyuan's fingertips paused on the book. She had indeed seen the star map data in Xie Zhecheng's email, but she hadn't investigated its source. It turned out that it was bait deliberately sent by Rong Shenghan.
"They probably wanted to see if a perfectionist would hand it over to 'the wrong person'."
She looked up to meet Rong Shenghan's probing gaze, a hint of sharpness in her smile. "Unfortunately, Xie Zhecheng understands 'boundaries' better than you think."
The moment their eyes met, the sound of leather shoe heels echoed down the corridor.
Xie Zhecheng walked over carrying a stack of astronomy journals. His gaze lingered on the two of them for half a second behind his glasses before finally settling on the white paper in Yu Jiuyuan's hand: "I've made a copy of the dark matter paper you requested."
The paper he handed over had its edges neatly cut, and even the binding lines were as straight as a ruler.
When Yu Jiuyuan took it, her fingertips brushed against his fingertips, and she felt the momentary stiffness. Xie Zhecheng's tolerance for touch seemed to be quietly increasing recently.
[Xie Zhecheng: Positive emotions +3 (currently 38), Negative emotions -3 (currently 7) (the threshold for triggering "actively approaching" has been lowered)]
"Student Xie even uses imported photocopy paper?" Rong Shenghan suddenly chuckled, picked up a piece of paper and looked at it against the light, "The weight of this paper is three times higher than the student council's budget standard."
Xie Zhecheng ignored him and said to Yu Jiuyuan, "At the patent application meeting this afternoon, I checked the information of the Su family representative. That person is good at using the means of blurring the boundaries of patents to seize results. You should remind Yuanxu to be careful."
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