Her tone was a little arrogant, yet also playful, but her eyes were surprisingly bright, like a little animal declaring its territory, honestly endearing.
Rong Shenghan looked at her like this and suddenly chuckled. He let go of her hand, but his fingertips brushed through her hair and tucked a stray strand behind her ear: "Then I'd better hold on tight, or I'll be left too far behind."
The touch of her fingertips was slightly cool, and when it brushed against her earlobe, Yu Jiuyuan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
On the system panel, Rong Shenghan's positive mood jumped to 75 without warning, like ripples spreading across a lake after a stone has been thrown in.
"Very good, another step forward." Yu Jiuyuan was satisfied, but her face remained expressionless. She took half a step back to create a safe distance: "The ginger soup was delicious, thank you. It's getting late, shouldn't the vice president go back to rest?"
This was a clear invitation to leave. Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow but didn't get up. Instead, he took a small glass jar from his pocket and placed it on the table: "I almost forgot, this is for you."
The jar contained small, round, plump purple berries that glistened under the light.
"This is……"
"I picked some wild blueberries in the woods this afternoon." Rong Shenghan pushed the jar. "You seemed interested, so I picked some and washed them."
Yu Jiuyuan looked at the blueberries in the jar and remembered casually mentioning that afternoon, "I heard there are wild blueberries on the back mountain." She hadn't expected him to actually remember it. This vice president always managed to make people feel... a little difficult to deal with, without them even realizing it.
"You're so thoughtful." She picked up a blueberry and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour juice burst on her tongue, carrying the fresh fragrance of the mountains and fields.
"Of course I'll care about you." Rong Shenghan's tone was very natural, as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today," but his eyes held a deeper meaning as they fell on her face.
Yu Jiuyuan didn't reply, but just kept her head down and ate her blueberries. The dormitory fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the pine trees outside the window and the faint voices coming from the distant observation station.
"President Xie seems to treat you... a little differently." Rong Shenghan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
Yu Jiuyuan looked up and saw him playing with the empty bowl in his hand, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather: "The way he looked at you at the observation station this afternoon didn't seem like he was looking at an ordinary friend."
"Here it comes." Yu Jiuyuan knew it in her heart, but pretended to be stupid: "Really? I didn't notice. President Xie is cold to everyone, I guess I'm mistaken."
"Perhaps." Rong Shenghan smiled and didn't press further. He stood up. "Then I won't disturb your rest any longer. Tomorrow morning... shall we go watch the sunrise together?"
The sunrise at Changbai Mountain is famous, and the observation base has a dedicated viewing platform.
Looking at the expectation in his eyes, Yu Jiuyuan quickly calculated in her mind how much favorability she could gain by watching the sunrise alone with Rong Shenghan? Would Xie Zhecheng see them and cause new "emotional fluctuations"?
"Okay." She finally nodded. "What time?"
"5:30? I'll come and wake you up."
"OK."
When Rong Shenghan left, his steps were as light as if he were walking on clouds. Yu Jiuyuan watched his figure disappear at the end of the corridor before closing the door, leaning against it, and letting out a long sigh.
Dealing with Rong Shenghan is more tiring than dealing with ten Xie Zhechengs. He's like a slippery fish; just when you think you've caught him, he always manages to slip through your fingers, leaving you feeling itchy all the while.
She walked to the table, picked up the can of blueberries, and glanced at the system panel. Rong Shenghan's positive emotions were stable at 75, and his favorability rating was 63, but there seemed to be a slight sign of easing.
"There's been some progress," Yu Jiuyuan muttered to herself, her fingertips tracing Yuan Xu's name on the screen—his positive emotions had risen to 88, and his favorability rating was 76, not far from the next milestone.
Only Lin Yanran's column remained glaringly 3 and negative 18, like a stubborn stone that could never be warmed up.
"Looks like I'll have to find some 'fun' for this young master when we get back." Yu Jiuyuan curled her lips, a calculating glint in her eyes.
Suddenly, the observation deck outside the window went dark. The moment the searchlight went out, the entire forest seemed to be swallowed by ink, leaving only a sky full of stars.
Yu Jiuyuan walked to the window and saw Xie Zhecheng appear at the entrance of the observatory. He looked up at the starry sky, then glanced casually in the direction of the dormitory area before turning around and walking back to the dormitory.
On the system panel, Xie Zhecheng's positive emotions fluctuated slightly at the 93 level, like a heart unwilling to remain silent.
As Yu Jiuyuan watched his figure disappear into the night, she suddenly felt that this trip to Changbai Mountain was like a huge furnace, burning everyone's thoughts to a fever pitch.
Xie Zhecheng's awkwardness, Rong Shenghan's probing, Yuan Xu's purity, and even the awkward Lin Yanran are all like chess pieces on a chessboard, being drawn step by step by invisible lines into the trap she has set.
On the title page of the "Taming Manual," it seems appropriate to add a sentence: "The human heart is more difficult to calibrate than the most sophisticated instrument, yet it is more fascinating than the most brilliant stars."
She picked up a blueberry and put it in her mouth, the sweet and sour taste spreading across her tongue. Tomorrow's sunrise should be beautiful, right?
At least, it has to look better than Xie Zhecheng's data reports. Yu Jiuyuan smiled and turned off the desk lamp.
The dormitory was plunged into darkness, with only starlight filtering through the curtains and casting dappled patterns of light on the floor, like scattered diamonds.
The night in Changbai Mountain is still long. And this silent contest has only just begun to reach its climax.
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