Mentioning Yuan Xu, Rong Shenghan's smile remained gentle: "That's good. Yuan Xu is a calm and steady person. Being with him should be more comfortable." He looked at her with sincere eyes, "If Xie Zhecheng causes you trouble, remember to tell me."
"Okay, thank you, Senior Rong." Yu Jiuyuan nodded and turned to walk towards the laboratory building.
Watching her figure disappear around the corner, Rong Shenghan's smile slowly faded. He took out his phone, and the screen displayed a message he had just received: "Xie Zhecheng's computer motherboard is burnt out; we are contacting the manufacturer to replace it."
His fingertips tapped lightly on the screen, his gaze deep, as if he were deep in thought. Was this Yu Jiuyuan really as innocent and harmless as she appeared?
The insect breeding room in the biology lab building was filled with the damp, earthy smell. Yuan Xu was holding a magnifying glass, intently observing the larvae in the petri dish, her expression as serious as a child's.
"Yuan Xu." Yu Jiuyuan gently pushed open the door, her voice very soft.
Yuan Xu looked up and saw it was her. His previously tense smile softened. "You're here." He pointed to the petri dish. "Look, they've molted."
Yu Jiuyuan walked over and approached the petri dish. Several pale green larvae were wriggling inside, their old skin cracking to reveal tender new skin underneath. "How amazing!" she exclaimed sincerely. "What color butterflies will they become when they grow up?"
“Blue,” Yuan Xu said, a hint of pride barely perceptible in her voice, “is a new variety I bred using gene-editing technology. The patterns on its wings change with the light.”
"Amazing!" Yu Jiuyuan looked at him, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Yuan Xu, you're practically a magician of the biological world."
Yuan Xu's ears turned red again at her straightforward praise. He looked away somewhat embarrassedly and picked up the notebook beside him: "I've recorded their growth data. Do you want to see it?"
“Okay.” Yu Jiuyuan readily agreed.
The two huddled together, looking at the densely packed data in the notebook and the hand-drawn diagrams of larval growth. Yuan Xu patiently explained things to her, speaking slowly but clearly. Yu Jiuyuan listened attentively, occasionally asking a few well-timed questions, clearly having done her homework.
[System notification: Yuan Xu's favorability +3, current favorability 28.]
Yu Jiuyuan felt a little more at ease. Dealing with Yuan Xu was like cultivating a field that required patient irrigation; as long as enough effort and attention were put in, there would always be a harvest.
“By the way, Yuanxu,” Yu Jiuyuan suddenly remembered something and said in a relaxed tone, “The student council is preparing for the arts festival, and Senior Rong said he wants the biology club to set up an exhibition area. Are you interested?”
Yuan Xu paused for a moment, then shook his head: "No interest, too much trouble." He had never been enthusiastic about these kinds of public appearances.
“But,” Yu Jiuyuan blinked, her tone laced with a hint of temptation, “if you showcase the fluorescent fungi and butterflies you cultivate at the art festival, it will definitely amaze many people. And, who knows, it might even attract like-minded people to study them together?”
Yuan Xu paused. He looked at the larvae in the petri dish, his eyes flickering, clearly persuaded. For him, finding like-minded people and having more people see his research results was undoubtedly attractive.
"Let me think about it some more," he said softly, his tone softening.
[System notification: Yuan Xu's favorability +2, current favorability 30.]
Yu Jiuyuan smiled and didn't urge her any further. When dealing with Yuan Xu, it's best to stop when you've made your move; pushing too hard will only cause resentment.
At lunchtime in the cafeteria, Yu Jiuyuan unexpectedly ran into Xie Zhecheng. He was sitting by the window, alone, with a simple set meal in front of him, eating with his head down, and his expression still looked unwell.
She hesitated for a moment, holding her tray, but still went over.
"Xie," she said softly, a hint of caution in her voice, as she stood by the table, "is your computer... fixed?"
Xie Zhecheng looked up, saw it was her, and immediately frowned, his eyes showing obvious rejection: "What is it?"
“I want to buy you a new computer,” Yu Jiuyuan said, placing a bank card on the table and pushing it in front of him. “There should be enough money in here. The password is six zeros.”
Xie Zhecheng's gaze fell on the bank card, then he looked up at her, his eyes icy: "Yu Jiuyuan, do you think your money can buy back the data I didn't save?"
“No,” Yu Jiuyuan explained immediately, her tone sincere, “I just want to make up for my mistake… I know this might make you uncomfortable, but I really don’t know how to get your forgiveness…”
Her voice grew softer and softer, tinged with helplessness, as if she truly didn't know what to do.
People around them had already started to notice the commotion, pointing and whispering among themselves.
Xie Zhecheng's face darkened further. He hated being watched, especially in such an embarrassing situation. He picked up the bank card and threw it back at her, his tone laced with sarcasm: "Take your card, I don't want it."
After saying that, he got up and left, leaving the food on his plate almost untouched.
Yu Jiuyuan watched his retreating figure, gripped the bank card in her hand tightly, and showed a perfectly measured hint of disappointment on her face.
[System Notification: Xie Zhecheng's favorability is 0, and his emotional fluctuation is +5 (negative).]
Although the emotions were still negative, the fluctuations were noticeably smaller. This suggests that Xie Zhecheng had begun to develop a subtle immunity to her persistent apologies, and might even... have other ideas?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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