December at St. Sakura Academy is always covered in fine snow, and the air is filled with the warm scent of pine needles and fireplace wood.
Yu Jiuyuan had just finished the student council's morning meeting and was standing in front of the bulletin board checking the program list for the New Year's Eve party when a slightly excited female voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Brother Shenghan!"
Yu Jiuyuan paused, and when she looked up, she saw Rong Shenghan being linked arm-in-arm with a girl in a camel coat.
The girl had a playful high ponytail with the ends curled into cute arcs. She had a bright smile on her face and was looking up at Rong Shenghan, talking to him intimately, as if they had known each other for many years.
Rong Shenghan's smile was gentler than usual. He reached out to brush the snow off the girl's shoulder, and when his gaze fell on her reddened nose, there was a hint of indulgence in his eyes.
To onlookers, the scene looked like a perfect couple.
"And who is this?" Yu Jiuyuan closed her notebook and stepped forward, a perfectly measured smile of curiosity on her face.
Rong Shenghan turned to look at her and introduced her, "This is Tang Nianzhi, my family's younger sister. She just returned from England and is here to visit the school today."
He then turned to Tang Nianzhi and said in a gentle tone, "Nian Nian, this is Yu Jiuyuan, the president of the student council."
Tang Nianzhi's gaze swept over Yu Jiuyuan, from the Patek Philippe watch on her wrist to the Chanel ankle boots on her feet. A hint of assessment flashed in her eyes before she smiled sweetly.
"President Yu, hello! I often hear Sheng Han mention you." She leaned closer to Rong Sheng Han, her posture intimate and natural. "He said you are very capable and manage the student council very well."
"Miss Tang, you flatter me." Yu Jiuyuan nodded slightly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Rong Shenghan's hand on Tang Nianzhi's shoulder. His fingertips curled slightly, as if it were a subconscious action, or as if he was deliberately maintaining a distance.
The system panel flashed through his mind, but Rong Shenghan's emotional fluctuations remained stable at a positive 92, without any change.
This is truly interesting. Yu Jiuyuan chuckled inwardly, but her expression softened further: "Is this Miss Tang's first time at Saint Sakura? I can have a student from the secretariat show you around the campus."
"No need, no need," Tang Nianzhi immediately waved her hand, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Rong Shenghan. "Brother Shenghan said he would take me to see the telescope at the astronomy club. He said it's the most advanced equipment in all of Asia."
Mentioning the astronomy club, Yu Jiuyuan naturally thought of Xie Zhecheng. She looked up at Rong Shenghan: "I just happen to be going to the astronomy club to submit a loan application for observation equipment, want to come along?"
Rong Shenghan seemed surprised that she would come along, and after a half-second of hesitation, he smiled and said, "Okay."
The three walked side by side toward the astronomy club. Tang Nianzhi chattered like a happy little bird, telling Rong Shenghan about interesting things in England and occasionally mentioning embarrassing things from her childhood.
"Do you remember, Shenghan-ge? When you were ten years old, you took apart my brand-new astronomical telescope, and when you couldn't put it back together, your uncle chased you for three blocks."
Rong Shenghan chuckled softly: "Wasn't it because you wanted to study the principles of lenses? Besides, in the end, you were the one crying and begging your uncle not to scold me."
"Who told you to be my brother?" Tang Nianzhi smiled, her eyes crinkling, and patted his arm with such familiarity that no one else could get a word in edgewise.
Yu Jiuyuan walked quietly to the side, like a dutiful companion, only occasionally speaking up to answer when Tang Nianzhi asked about campus facilities.
She noticed that when Tang Nianzhi spoke, her gaze would always sweep over her intentionally or unintentionally, with a kind of secret scrutiny, like a small animal whose territory had been invaded, silently asserting its sovereignty.
As I walked to the entrance of the astronomy club, I happened to bump into Xie Zhecheng carrying a stack of observation data.
He was wearing a black windbreaker with the collar turned up, covering half of his face, revealing only his sharply defined jawline.
When he saw the three of them, he paused, his gaze lingering briefly on Tang Nianzhi before settling on Yu Jiuyuan.
"President Xie," Yu Jiuyuan handed over the application form, "I would appreciate it if you could take a look at the matter of borrowing the spectrometer for the New Year's Eve party."
Xie Zhecheng took the order, his fingertip lingering on the words "holographic projection equipment calibration." Without looking at Rong Shenghan and Tang Nianzhi, he said to Yu Jiuyuan, "I'll give you an answer this afternoon."
“Niannian, this is Xie Zhecheng, whom I told you about,” Rong Shenghan introduced at the right moment, “the astronomical genius of Shengying, and also my friend.”
Tang Nianzhi immediately showed an admiring expression: "Hello, Xie! I've heard of you since I was in England. I even cut out and saved your analysis of the Orionid meteor shower published in 'Astronomy Enthusiasts'!"
Xie Zhecheng simply nodded slightly, his gaze remaining fixed on the application form in his hand, not even sparing a glance.
Tang Nianzhi's smile froze for a moment, and she awkwardly tightened her grip on Rong Shenghan's arm.
Yu Jiuyuan understood as she watched this scene. Xie Zhecheng's perfectionism was not only reflected in his work, but also in his interpersonal relationships. Clearly, Tang Nianzhi's overly outgoing enthusiasm was not within his acceptable range.
“If President Xie is busy, we won’t bother you any longer,” Yu Jiuyuan said, smiling at Tang Nianzhi. “How about I take you to see the biology club’s incubator? Yuan Xu recently cultivated a kind of bioluminescent fungus, it’s very beautiful.”
Tang Nianzhi's eyes lit up, clearly more interested in the "luminescent fungus." Rong Shenghan naturally had no objections, and just as the three of them turned around, they heard Xie Zhecheng's voice behind them: "Come pick up the application form at three o'clock this afternoon."
Yu Jiuyuan turned back to him and smiled, "Thank you, President Xie."
The biology lab was as warm as springtime. Yuan Xu was hunched over a microscope, writing and drawing, her white lab coat stained with a few drops of indigo reagent.
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