The cold wind swirled snowflakes, pattering against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the St. Sakura Academy auditorium, making a soft, rustling sound.
Yu Jiuyuan stood in the center of the stage, looking up at the hanging crystal chandelier. The craftsman was adjusting the angle of the last lamp, and the refracted light spots danced on her beige coat, like a handful of crushed diamonds.
"President, Senior Yuanxu's butterfly display case has been delivered to the side hall."
A student council member jogged in, holding a receipt in his hand. "The temperature control system shows everything is normal, except... Member Lin just caused a scene, saying he didn't want to be in charge of the sign-in desk."
Yu Jiuyuan took the receipt and signed it, pausing for half a second next to the three characters "Lin Yanran": "Tell him that he either has to stand at the registration desk or cross the Lin family's name off the guest list right now."
She handed the signed form back, her tone as calm as if she were talking about the weather, "His father just messaged me last night, saying he's looking forward to seeing him be 'sensible'."
The officer paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and ran off. Yu Jiuyuan watched his retreating figure, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the buttons on her coat. They were made of biodegradable material by Yuan Xu, and were said to change color with body temperature; at the moment, they were tinged with a faint pink.
[Lin Yanran: Favorability 3 (unchanged), Emotional fluctuations - Negative 24 / Neutral 10 / Positive 0 (Negative +2)]
The system panel's notification sound echoed softly in my mind.
The corners of her lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. To tame an arrogant beast, you need the sharpest reins.
Inside the greenhouse of the biology laboratory building, Yuan Xu was squatting in front of the incubator, carefully adjusting the flower branch where the butterfly was perched with tweezers.
The veins of the aurora butterfly's wings shimmered like mother-of-pearl in the warm light. He suddenly picked up his phone and took more than a dozen pictures of one of them.
This bird's wing veins most resemble the aurora borealis of Changbai Mountain. He wanted to set it as his screensaver so that every time he turned on the screen, he would remember watching the snow with Yu Jiuyuan at the observatory.
"Busy?" Yu Jiuyuan's voice came from the doorway, carrying a thermos. "Auntie made some snacks to give you some energy."
Yuan Xu turned around abruptly, her ears turning bright red instantly, and she almost dropped her phone: "A Yuan, what brings you here?"
He hurriedly stood up, pollen from his white coat smearing onto her sleeve like a pink snowflake. "I...I was just choosing the best habitat for them."
Yu Jiuyuan walked closer to take a look, then gently tapped the flower branch with her fingertip: "Move it one centimeter to the left, and use dark blue velvet for the background, which will make the wing veins brighter."
She opened the thermos and took out a matcha pastry. "Try this. It's low in sugar, perfect for when you're working late into the night."
Yuan Xu's fingers trembled slightly as she took the pastry, but her eyes lit up when she took a bite: "It tastes just like the one I had at your house last time!"
He suddenly remembered something and pulled a small box out of his pocket. "Here you go, a mini version of the sound wave controller. Press this button at the banquet and the butterflies will change color."
[Yuan Xu: Favorability 85 (unchanged), Emotional fluctuations - Negative 0/Neutral 12/Positive 98 (Positive +3)]
Yu Jiuyuan took the controller. The small metal casing was engraved with a butterfly, and the pattern on its wings was exactly the same as that of the Aurora Butterfly.
When she looked up, she met Yuan Xu's evasive gaze, her eyes filled with an infatuation that was like a cup of warm water about to overflow.
"It's beautiful, thank you." She put the controller into her handbag. "Vice President Rong will be here this afternoon to check the sound system. Please give him a copy of the sound wave frequency."
Yuan Xu nodded quickly, watching her figure disappear through the door before taking a bite of the pastry. It was just the right amount of sweetness, like the way she spoke, always hitting the most comfortable spot.
In the astronomy club's observation room, Xie Zhecheng was facing a computer screen, converting star trail data of Changbai Mountain into a three-dimensional model.
As he hovered the mouse over a simulation of the Orion Nebula, he suddenly recalled the scene he had seen in the archives yesterday.
Yu Jiuyuan stood in front of the bookshelf, her fingertips tracing the pages of "Stars and the Language of Flowers." Her profile was bathed in sunlight, making her look like a meticulously drawn illustration.
"President, the student council has sent an electronic invitation to the welcome-home party." A member knocked on the door, his tone a little cautious. "The note says they hope you can prepare a piece of music. Miss Tang is from the art department, so she'll probably like it."
Xie Zhecheng opened the email. The attachment contained a preview of a piano score, a Chopin Nocturne. It wasn't very difficult, but it required extremely delicate emotional interpretation.
He stared at the screen for half a minute, then suddenly picked up the astronomical telescope on the table and turned the lens toward the biology laboratory building.
The greenhouse curtains weren't fully drawn, and you could see Yuan Xu leaning over the incubator, scribbling in a small notebook, while Yu Jiuyuan appeared right behind him, bending down to talk to him.
The two were very close, like a painting framed in a camera lens.
[Xie Zhecheng: Favorability 17 (unchanged), Emotional fluctuations - Negative 0/Neutral 5/Positive 103 (Positive +2)]
The system panel's notification sound startled the sparrows outside the window.
Xie Zhecheng abruptly turned the camera away, and the cold star map reappeared in his field of vision, but the force with which he tapped the keyboard was slightly heavier than usual.
He opened the email and replied with just one word, "OK," as if executing a command that had to be completed.
In a private room at the café, Rong Shenghan was listening to Tang Nianzhi talk about her art exhibition in London.
Her fingertips traced the desserts on the menu, her voice brimming with excitement: "Brother Shenghan, I want to wear that burgundy dress tomorrow, to go with the pearl necklace you gave me, okay?"
Rong Shenghan paused in stirring his coffee, then looked up with a gentle smile: "It suits you very well." His gaze fell on the window, where the clock tower of Saint Sakura Academy was exceptionally clear after the snow.
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