"No!" Lin Yanran immediately denied, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I just felt... with the snow falling so heavily, he was all alone..."
"What he does is none of your business," Yu Jiuyuan interrupted him, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible irritation.
"If you have nothing else, Officer Lin, please leave. I need to wait for Xie Zhecheng to bring over the data this afternoon."
Another order to leave.
Lin Yanran looked at her tense profile, opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed back the words, "He seems to have a fever."
He could tell that Yu Jiuyuan was in a bad mood, and mentioning Rong Shenghan at this time would only add fuel to the fire.
"Then I'll be going now." Lin Yanran turned and walked towards the door. When she reached the entrance, she couldn't help but look back. "President, don't be too angry."
Yu Jiuyuan ignored him.
The moment the door closed, a crack finally appeared in the calm on her face.
She picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it forcefully. The cushion hit the wall, bounced back, and landed on the carpet like a deflated balloon.
angry?
She wasn't angry at all.
She just... felt a little bored.
At 3 p.m., Xie Zhecheng arrived right on time.
He was wearing a dark gray overcoat and carrying a silver case containing the final data from the intelligent medical system.
"The snow is too heavy outside, and the roads are a bit congested." Xie Zhecheng placed the box on the coffee table, his tone calm. "The data is all here, encrypted. You'll need your key to open it."
"Okay." Yu Jiuyuan nodded, got up and walked towards the study. "Let's talk in the study."
Xie Zhecheng followed behind her, his gaze sweeping around the living room.
He noticed the empty guest room door and the undisguised weariness in Yu Jiuyuan's eyes, and he roughly understood what was going on.
"Rong Shenghan isn't here?" he asked casually.
"Yeah, I'm home." Yu Jiuyuan turned on her computer, her tone as natural as if she were talking about something insignificant.
Xie Zhecheng didn't ask any further questions. He simply took out his laptop and started connecting to the silver box: "My mother said she will be there on time for the dinner next Wednesday."
"good."
The two got busy in the study, checking data and discussing ways to optimize the system.
Xie Zhecheng's meticulousness and focus acted like a good medicine, allowing Yu Jiuyuan to temporarily forget the irritation brought on by Rong Shenghan and throw herself back into her work.
They didn't finish everything until it got dark again outside the window.
"I'll take you back." Xie Zhecheng closed his laptop and stood up.
“No need, the driver is waiting for me outside.” Yu Jiuyuan shook her head. “I will send the data to the academic committee as soon as possible, and I will let you know when I have news.”
"good."
Xie Zhecheng walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and turned back to look at her: "Yu Jiuyuan, if you need any help, you can always come to me."
His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable reliability.
Yu Jiuyuan looked at him and suddenly remembered what he had said before: "Any form of concealment is a betrayal of trust."
"Thank you." She smiled, the first genuine smile she'd given all day.
After Xie Zhecheng left, the villa returned to silence.
Yu Jiuyuan sat in the study, watching the snow falling heavier and heavier outside the window, and suddenly felt a little tired.
She got up, went to the living room, turned on the TV, and randomly selected a channel.
The screen was playing a noisy variety show, and laughter and music filled the room, but it couldn't dispel the deep-seated emptiness.
Yu Jiuyuan leaned back on the sofa and fell asleep without realizing it.
She had a dream in which Rong Shenghan came back.
The handprint on his face hadn't faded yet, but he still smiled as before, handed her a glass of hot milk, and asked if she hadn't eaten on time again.
She wanted to yell at him, wanted to spill the milk, but she couldn't move. She could only watch helplessly as he sat beside her, quietly keeping her company while she watched that boring variety show.
When I woke up, the TV was still on, and the snow outside the window had stopped.
The fireplace was relit, its warm light dancing and casting a dim, golden glow over the living room.
Yu Jiuyuan touched her cheek; it was ice-cold.
She got up and walked to the window, looking at the world outside covered in snow, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind:
Rong Shenghan...where will he go?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she forcibly suppressed it.
What does it have to do with her?
Whether he lives or dies, whether he stays or leaves, it has nothing to do with her anymore.
She is Yu Jiuyuan, the master of this "taming game". If one "pet" is lost, she can find a new one.
But why... does that empty space in my heart seem to be getting bigger and bigger?
Yu Jiuyuan drew the curtains, shutting out the night outside and that untimely longing into the darkness.
Unbeknownst to her, a black sedan was quietly parked on the street corner opposite the villa.
Rong Shenghan sat in the car, looking at the lights on the second floor of the villa. In the weariness in his eyes, there was a trace of stubborn waiting.
He didn't leave.
He was right here, out of her sight, guarding this villa, guarding that two-faced young lady.
Until she calmed down, until she was willing to forgive him, until... the moment she needed him.
The villa in the snowy night appeared calm and serene, but undercurrents were surging beneath the surface.
That slap, instead of severing the entanglements, was like oil thrown into a fire, causing certain hidden emotions to burn even brighter in the silent waiting.
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