"Welcome everyone to the Saint Sakura Academy's end-of-term party." Her voice, gentle yet carrying an undeniable authority, resonated throughout the auditorium through the microphone.
"First of all, I would like to thank Vice President Rong for his technical support, President Xie for his star projection design, Yuan Xu for his fluorescent butterfly... and Secretary Lin, who, despite always saying he wanted to strike, guarded the registration desk more diligently than anyone else."
Good-natured laughter came from below the stage, and four pairs of eyes pierced through the crowd, landing precisely on her.
Rong Shenghan's hand, holding the champagne glass, froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with a knowing smile.
Xie Zhecheng sat at the piano, his fingertips hovering over the keys, his gaze following her figure.
Yuan Xu crouched beside the butterfly device and quietly pressed the release button. The first "Snow Kite" flapped its wings and flew towards her under the spotlight.
Lin Yanran stood at the entrance, the leopard head on her tie clip gleaming in the warm light, as if proclaiming some kind of clumsy belonging.
[Xie Zhecheng: Favorability +6, Emotional Fluctuation - Negative 0/Neutral 5/Positive 105 (Positive +9)]
Rong Shenghan: Favorability +1, Emotional fluctuations - Negative 1/Neutral 8/Positive 92 (Positive +1)
[Lin Yanran: Favorability +3, Emotional fluctuations - Negative 24/Neutral 10/Positive 0 (Negative -3, Positive +3)]
The system panel's notification sounds blended together, like a silent cheer.
Yu Jiuyuan looked at the "Snow Kite" that landed on her shoulder and suddenly smiled at the audience.
There was not a trace of indifference in her smile, only just the right amount of gentleness, like starlight scattered on a lake, making everyone who looked at her feel that they were the one who was favored.
Tang Nianzhi sat next to Rong Shenghan, looking into his undisguised gaze, and suddenly picked up the champagne in front of her and drank it all in one gulp.
The astringent sensation of the bubbles bursting on her tongue finally made her understand.
In this pursuit disguised as love, she lost from the very beginning.
It wasn't that she lost to Yu Jiuyuan's family background or methods, but rather to the struggling yet decadent light in the eyes of those men when they looked at Yu Jiuyuan.
As the clock struck midnight, the party was drawing to a close.
Hsieh Che-cheng's piano music echoed in the auditorium; it was Chopin's Nocturne, which Yu Jiu-yuan had "sent out," and the melody was as gentle as melting snow.
Rong Shenghan was dancing his last dance with Yu Jiuyuan. His hand was loosely around her waist, and he deliberately spun half a beat slower, letting her skirt brush against Xie Zhecheng's piano bench.
Yuan Xu crouched in the corner, holding the incubator, counting the returning "snow kites." Every time she counted one, she would look up at the figure in the center of the stage, as if to confirm that her treasure had not been stolen.
Lin Yanran leaned against the bar, watching Yu Jiuyuan's glass become empty. She then subtly asked the waiter to refill it, her movements awkward yet revealing her stubborn concern.
As Yu Jiuyuan leaned on Rong Shenghan's shoulder and spun around, her gaze swept over the three people in the corner, and the smile on her lips carried the composure of someone in complete control.
The favorability rating on the system panel is like four stars that have finally converged, shining with the same bright light on the same orbit.
[System Notification: All target affinity levels have exceeded the threshold; the current phase of the mission is complete.]
[Rong Shenghan and Yuan Xu's affection level reaches 100, completing the romance guide]
The cold, mechanical voice echoed in her mind, but Yu Jiuyuan remained completely unmoved.
She tiptoed and planted a light kiss on Rong Shenghan's lips, as if completing some kind of ritual, then pushed him away and walked towards Xie Zhecheng by the piano.
"President Xie, could you play a waltz?" Her fingertips landed on the piano keys, producing a series of light and cheerful notes. "I'd like to dance one with Yuan Xu. He said butterflies love the rhythm of waltzes."
Xie Zhecheng's fingertips moved away from the piano keys with indulgence, and his gaze fell on her and Yuan Xu's twirling figures, the indifference in his eyes completely melting into tenderness.
Lin Yanran watched as the hem of her skirt swept past her leather shoes, then suddenly reached out and held her waist, her movements awkward yet earnest: "It's my turn."
The spotlight swirled among the four people, like drawing a gentle circle.
As Yu Jiuyuan spun around in the center of the circle, she looked like a real princess, carefully protected by knights.
Only she knew that in this seemingly equal rotation, there was always an invisible thread in her palm, gently pulling at everyone who came near.
The young lady's strategy is never a cold set of instructions.
Instead, it's about making each person being tamed feel that they willingly wear the collar and... are the only one who is favored.
The snow started falling again at midnight, landing on the glass windows of the auditorium, like a gentle stamp on this grand event.
Yu Jiuyuan looked at the snow falling outside the window and suddenly remembered the four hearts that beat for her on the snowy night. Under the spotlight, they finally converged into the same frequency of tide.
She stood in the middle of the tide, smiling as she accepted all the love, like a true, all-powerful young lady.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
