He gripped his phone tighter, and the game on the screen displayed a pause message due to prolonged inactivity.
Yu Jiuyuan caught a glimpse of the redness on the tips of his ears out of the corner of her eye. On the system panel, Lin Yanran's negative emotion fluctuation rose from 18 to 20, while his favorability rating remained a glaring 3.
She understood. Dealing with such an arrogant and rebellious fellow, a direct confrontation would only provoke stronger resistance. It was better to ignore him to diminish his presence. Just like when taming a wild animal, the most effective punishment for an unruly beast is never whipping, but complete indifference.
The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from snowfields to forests, and then transitioned to towns. At noon, while resting at a service area, Yu Jiuyuan used the excuse of buying coffee to find Lin Yanran, who was smoking, alone.
He leaned against the rear wheel of the SUV, a cigarette between his fingers. In the swirling smoke, his profile looked less arrogant and more tired than when he was in school.
Seeing Yu Jiuyuan approach, he immediately stubbed out his cigarette in the snow, his tone curt: "What is it?"
"It's the student council's attendance sheet. You missed three meetings this month." Yu Jiuyuan handed over a printed sheet with the absences circled in red.
"Uncle Lin asked me to look after you more. I can't really hand in your absence report and let him know that you're just going through the motions again, can I?"
Lin Yanran's face instantly darkened, and she reached out to snatch the paper: "Don't try to use my dad to pressure me!"
Yu Jiuyuan deftly dodged him, folded the paper, and stuffed it into his pocket: "Just give me the minutes for the three regular meetings next week. As for the content..." She took a step closer, her voice low, carrying a hint of nonchalant threat.
"You can copy whatever you want, but don't let me find any typos. After all, the Lin family and the Su family are on good terms. If word gets out that the young master of the Lin family can't even write a report properly, it won't look good for your father's reputation."
After saying that, she turned and left without looking back to see Lin Yanran's reaction.
The system panel flashed in her mind, and Lin Yanran's negative emotional fluctuation dropped from 20 to 15.
Although he still lacked positive emotions, at least his attention had shifted from "resistance" to "fear".
That's enough.
The first step in dealing with a wild horse is to let it know who holds the reins.
When Xie Zhecheng got back to the car, he had already checked the last set of data and was packing up his notebook.
Rong Shenghan leaned against the car door, holding two hot lattes in his hand. When he saw her coming over, he naturally handed her one: "I just bought an extra one. It's unsweetened. Does it suit your taste?"
Yu Jiuyuan took the cup, her fingertips touching the warm rim: "Thanks."
"Xie Zhecheng said that this observation discovered three new variable stars and he plans to apply for an inter-university academic award."
Rong Shenghan looked at the distant snow-capped mountains and said casually, "He seems to value this award a lot."
"Perfectionists always need awards to prove their perfection."
Yu Jiuyuan took a sip of coffee, her gaze falling on Xie Zhecheng's straight back. "However, the Astronomy Club does indeed have the ability."
Rong Shenghan chuckled softly, "You seem to understand him quite well."
“I just know how to make things go the way they should.” Yu Jiuyuan turned to look at him, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Just like Vice President Rong knows how to use someone else's flowers to present to Buddha, making Yuan Xu owe you a favor."
Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow, not denying it: "Mutual cooperation is essential for the smoother operation of the student council, isn't it?"
The two exchanged a smile, their gazes briefly meeting in the air before shifting away, like a silent game of strategy.
Looking at the water droplets condensing on the cup, Yu Jiuyuan knew that this journey home was not only a physical movement, but also a power struggle with undercurrents.
Xie Zhecheng's perfectionism needs to be satisfied, Yuan Xu's academic enthusiasm needs to be nurtured, Lin Yanran's arrogance needs to be suppressed, and Rong Shenghan... this unpredictable guy is still observing her every move from the shadows.
At 3 p.m., the convoy entered the city where St. Sakura Academy is located.
The buildings outside the car window gradually changed from bungalows to high-rises, finally settling on the iconic red brick clock tower of St. Sakura Academy.
When the SUV slowly stopped downstairs in front of the dormitory building, Xie Zhecheng got out first, carrying the astronomy club's equipment box and heading straight to the laboratory without saying a word.
Only the full bar of positive emotions on the system panel proved that he was not completely unmoved.
Yuan Xu, carrying the incubator, hurried towards the biology building. Before leaving, she turned back and waved to Yu Jiuyuan, her eyes still showing her eagerness for the experiment.
Lin Yanran slammed the car door shut and walked towards the school gate, her back still arrogant, but the creases on the meeting minutes in her pocket were even deeper.
In the end, only Rong Shenghan and Yu Jiuyuan remained.
"President, see you next week?" Rong Shenghan smiled and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Yu Jiuyuan called out to him, taking a small box out of her backpack. "A specialty of Changbai Mountain, dried blueberries, they're quite sweet."
Rong Shenghan took it, opened it, glanced at it, then looked up at her with a questioning look in his eyes: "Did you bring this especially for me?"
"I bought it on a whim," Yu Jiuyuan said calmly.
“All the student council members have theirs. Xie Zhecheng’s is in his equipment box, Yuan Xu’s is in the lab, and Lin Yanran…” She paused, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
"His copy will probably appear in next week's meeting minutes."
Rong Shenghan chuckled softly, his fingertips tracing the edge of the box: "Then I'll have to keep it safe."
Watching his departing figure, Yu Jiuyuan suppressed her smile and opened the system panel.
Hsieh Che-cheng: Favorability rating 10, Positive emotions 100.
Yuan Xu: Favorability 85, Positive Emotions 97.
Lin Yanran: Favorability rating 3, Negative emotions 15.
Rong Shenghan: Favorability rating 64, Positive emotions 92.
The data didn't change much, but it was all moving in the direction she expected. Like the return journey to Changbai Mountain, it seemed calm, but in reality, each leg of the journey was building up strength for the next stop.
She turned and walked towards the student council office. The setting sun cast long shadows on the ground through the glass of the clock tower. The silver ring in her pocket dig into her fingertip.
Yu Jiuyuan gently stroked the ring, her eyes clear and bright.
The observation of Changbai Mountain has ended, but her "taming manual" has just begun a new chapter.
Xie Zhecheng's perfectionism, Rong Shenghan's unfathomable nature, Yuan Xu's pure persistence, Lin Yanran's unruly nature... these seemingly uncontrollable traits are nothing more than different "taming" codes in her eyes.
In this game called "Strategy," she will play step by step until all the pieces are firmly placed in the positions she wants.
After all, she is Yu Jiuyuan, a born controller.
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