On the seventh night in Changbai Mountain, the bonfire was burning brightly in the open space.
The leaping flames, like a restless red ribbon, cast flickering light on the faces of those around them, and even the distant pine forest was bathed in a warm orange hue. The wind carried the scent of pine resin across the flames, and the crackling of firewood mingled with the laughter of the astronomy club members.
Yu Jiuyuan sat on a folding chair not far from the fire, holding a roasted stick in her hand. The sugar coating had melted on her fingertips, sticky and sweetly warm.
Her gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Xie Zhecheng, who was adjusting the equipment not far away. He had indeed brought the astronomical telescope and was squatting on the ground calibrating the focus. His profile looked softer in the firelight, but he still maintained a perfectionist attitude, even wiping the fingerprints on the lens three times with a chamois cloth.
"What are you looking at?" Rong Shenghan's voice sounded from behind him, carrying a warm, homely tone.
He was holding two cans of soda, and he pulled the tab to hand one over. "I just heard from a member that Chairman Xie specially adjusted the telescope so that we can see Venus and the Moon in conjunction tonight."
Yu Jiuyuan took the soda, her fingertips touching the cool can, and a smile spread across her face: "The vice president is certainly well-informed." She tilted her head back and took a sip, the bubbles bursting on her tongue, carrying a slightly bittersweet taste.
“But more than the stars, I’m interested in…” she said, waving the perfectly baked caramel crust in her hand.
Rong Shenghan followed her gaze and saw Xie Zhecheng had just finished calibrating the equipment. As he straightened up, his gaze inadvertently swept over this side. When it touched Yu Jiuyuan's hand, he quickly looked away as if he had been burned, but a very faint blush appeared on his ears.
"It seems President Xie isn't completely indifferent to everything." Rong Shenghan's voice was low, with a hint of mischievous amusement. "At least he pays close attention to what you have."
Yu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. She simply held the food to his lips: "Try it? It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I baked it."
Rong Shenghan looked at her fingertips stained with sugar, and without hesitation took a bite. The sweetness of caramel mixed with the warmth of her fingertips spread on her tongue, and a warm, itchy feeling rose in her heart as well.
"Not bad." He licked his lips, his gaze falling on her fingertips. "They're just a little sticky."
As he spoke, he reached out and wiped the sugar stains off her fingertips, the caress of his fingertips deliberate and slow, as if he were tracing something.
Yu Jiuyuan didn't dodge, letting him do as he pleased, even tilting her head slightly to look into his eyes, which were so close to hers, with a sly smile in them.
On the system panel, Rong Shenghan's positive emotions jumped to 90 like a flame that had been fueled, and even his favorability rating of 63 shone with a brighter golden light.
Not far away, Xie Zhecheng almost scratched his glasses with the chamois cloth in his hand. Next to the positive emotion number 95, the neutral emotion number 10 suddenly mixed in 2 points of negativity, like a spark splashed into ice water.
"Have you had enough fun?" Yu Jiuyuan gently nudged Rong Shenghan's shoulder as he withdrew his hand, her tone carrying a hint of warning. "If you tease President Xie any more, he'll smash the binoculars."
“It’s good that it’s smashed.” Rong Shenghan smiled and said casually, “Anyway, the Astronomy Club of Saint Sakura Academy is not short of money. I can just pay him for a new one.”
His confident demeanor reminded Yu Jiuyuan of the scene when he transferred to the school. The head of the academic affairs office introduced him with a smile, saying that he was "a child from the Rong family's side," and the fear in his tone could not be hidden.
The Rong family's influence in the capital is deeply entrenched and far deeper than it appears. This vice president certainly didn't rise to a high position in the student council just by being approachable.
"The young master of the Rong family is indeed different." Yu Jiuyuan teased, but her gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Yuan Xu, who had just run over from the direction of the dormitory.
Yuan Xu was wearing a clean white shirt, her hair was neatly combed, and she was carrying a tin box in her hand. Her cheeks were flushed from running, like a rabbit whose fur had been ruffled by the wind.
"I...I'm here!" He ran up to Yu Jiuyuan, shoved the tin box into her arms, and said breathlessly, "Here you go!"
The box contained plant specimens in transparent bags, including purple gentians, needle-like pine needles, and several ferns with serrated edges. Each bag had a small label indicating the collection time and location, written in delicate handwriting like a girl's.
“This is…” Yu Jiuyuan picked up a bag of gentian specimens. The petals were flattened, but the vibrant purple color was still visible.
"I collected these in the mountains these past few days." Yuan Xu scratched her head, her cheeks turning even redder. "I thought they looked nice, so I made them into specimens... If you don't like them, I... I'll throw them away..."
“Who says I don’t like it?” Yu Jiuyuan interrupted him, her fingertips brushing over the date on the label. The earliest bag was five days ago, the day they arrived at Changbai Mountain. “It’s very thoughtful, I like it very much.”
Her tone was sincere, and the smile in her eyes seemed genuine.
Yuan Xu looked at the specimens in her hand, her eyes instantly lighting up like stars being ignited: "Really? Then, then I'll go back and make you a specimen album, and put all of these in it..."
“Okay.” Yu Jiuyuan nodded with a smile, holding the tin box in her arms as if it were a precious treasure. “But we’ll have to wait until we get back to talk about it, otherwise you’ll have stripped all the plants off Changbai Mountain.”
Yuan Xu was amused and laughed out loud. Her cheeks flushed even more, but she no longer avoided her gaze. Instead, she stared at her intently, her eyes shining brighter than a campfire.
On the system panel, his favorability rating jumped to 82 with a "snap," and his positive emotions surged past 95, stabilizing at 96, like a ripe fruit, so sweet it was almost overflowing.
Yu Jiuyuan was satisfied, but remained outwardly calm. She patted the empty seat next to her and said, "Sit down. It's freshly baked. I saved the biggest one for you."
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