The night after the snow stopped was chilly, the air thick with the cold of ice crystals.
The tree-lined avenues of St. Cherry Academy were bent low by the weight of snow, and the streetlights refracted tiny lights through the ice crystals, like a path strewn with diamonds.
As Yu Jiuyuan locked the door to the student council office, her wrist was suddenly gently grabbed.
The force wasn't strong, but it carried an air of inescapable power.
She turned around and met Rong Shenghan's smiling eyes. He had been standing there for who knows how long, with a few unmelted snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes. His breath, carrying the sweet scent of latte, brushed past her nose.
"President, are you working overtime this late?" He let go of her hand, his hand casually placed in his pocket as if he were talking about the weather. "I just dropped Nianzhi off, and I was thinking you were probably still busy."
Yu Jiuyuan chuckled inwardly. After sending the message, she still asked a question she already knew the answer to. Our vice president is really something.
Yu Jiuyuan pulled the scarf tighter, her fingertips touching the warmth in the fabric. It was given to her by Yuan Xu that morning, who said it was made of newly cultivated heat-generating fibers and was even warmer than down.
When she looked up, her eyes held just the right amount of surprise: "Why didn't Vice President Rong go back first?"
“I was worried it wouldn’t be safe for you to walk alone at night.” Rong Shenghan’s gaze fell on the half of her face covered by the scarf, his smile gentle. “After all, on a snowy night in Saint Sakura, there can be ‘accidents’ from time to time.”
His deliberate emphasis on the word "unexpected" felt like a feather gently brushing against my heart.
Yu Jiuyuan lowered her eyelashes, her long lashes casting a small shadow under her eyes: "Thank you for your concern, but I drove here."
"Oh?" Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow and stepped aside to make way for him. "That's perfect, my car is downstairs too, shall we go together?"
The snow in the parking lot had been swept away by the property management, revealing the black asphalt surface. Yu Jiuyuan pressed the key, and the hazard lights of a white sports car not far away turned on. She had only taken two steps when the person behind her suddenly spoke again.
“This afternoon,” Rong Shenghan’s voice was a little deeper than before, the wind in the snowy night carrying his words over, “I think I saw you and President Xie at the entrance of the Astronomy Club.”
Yu Jiuyuan paused, but didn't turn around. She simply said softly, "Yes, get the application form for holographic projection equipment calibration, and also give him a thank-you gift."
"President Xie doesn't seem too happy?" He took a few steps closer, the distance between them narrowing to the point where they could see the reflection of the light in each other's pupils. "I noticed his complexion isn't good."
Rong Shenghan: Emotional fluctuations - Negative +2
The system panel's notification sound echoed softly in my mind.
Yu Jiuyuan finally turned around, her face showing innocent confusion: "Really? President Xie is just strict with his work. He probably doesn't want to cause trouble for the equipment."
She looked up at him, the light from the streetlamp falling on her eyes, shining like stars. "Vice President Rong, did you have a pleasant chat with Miss Tang?"
She deliberately brought up Tang Nianzhi, as if reminding him who the "main character" of the afternoon was. Rong Shenghan suddenly laughed, a low laugh echoing in the empty parking lot, carrying an indescribable meaning.
“Nianzhi said she likes you very much.” He leaned forward, and the distance between them suddenly closed. His scent enveloped them, a woody fragrance mixed with the faint scent of tobacco, a completely different smell from Xie Zhecheng’s.
"Saying you look like an angel in a shop window makes one want to..."
Before he could finish speaking, his gaze fell on her lips.
There were still traces of the lipstick she had applied that afternoon, a light pink color made with plant pigments researched by Yuan Xu, like a cherry blossom in its first bloom.
Yu Jiuyuan deliberately slowed her heartbeat at this moment.
She knew what he was going to say and what he was going to do next. People who are hard to fathom are often the most honest when they are being tested.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, her tone carrying just the right amount of innocent confusion, like a fawn unaware of impending danger.
Rong Shenghan gently raised his fingertips, just before they touched the corner of her lips, then suddenly stopped.
He withdrew his hand, put it back in his pocket, his smile still gentle, but there was something deep hidden in his eyes: "I would like to invite you to Nianzhi's welcome-home banquet next week."
“Of course I’ll go.” Yu Jiuyuan smiled as if she had breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to walk towards her car. “After all, it’s Miss Tang’s banquet. As the student council president, I have to give Vice President Rong some face.”
The moment she opened the car door, her wrist was grabbed again.
This time, the force was greater than before. Rong Shenghan stood behind her, his warm breath falling on her ear, his voice low, like a lover's whisper:
“Yu Jiuyuan,” he said, “if Xie Zhecheng can get it, shouldn’t I also get a share?”
The wind suddenly stopped in the snowy night.
Yu Jiuyuan could clearly hear her own heartbeat, not from panic, but from the excitement of the hunter finally showing his claws.
She didn't turn around, but asked softly, "What does Vice President Rong want?"
“A thank-you gift.” His fingertips brushed against her earlobe, carrying a cool temperature. “The same one I gave to President Xie.”
Rong Shenghan: Emotional fluctuations - Negative +2
It turns out that those negative emotions stemmed from "injustice".
Yu Jiuyuan chuckled inwardly. This seemingly shrewd and sophisticated vice president actually harbored a childlike calculating streak deep down.
She slowly turned around and took a step closer.
They were so close they could count each other's eyelashes. She could see herself clearly reflected in his pupils: innocent, harmless, with a hint of startled bewilderment.
"Vice President Rong," her voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh, "isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with it?" Rong Shenghan's gaze was fixed on her lips, his smile now tinged with a sense of certainty. "Or is it that the president treats President Xie in a particularly special way?"
He was pressuring her to make a statement.
Use the gentlest tone to probe the sharpest angles.
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