The night wind in Changbai Mountain carried a biting chill, sweeping across the roof of the observation station with the lingering afterglow of the aurora borealis.
Yu Jiuyuan pulled her camel-colored cashmere scarf tighter, her fingertips touching the silver iris flowers embroidered on the edge of the scarf. Yuan Xu had given it to her last week, saying it was dyed with a new type of dye cultivated in the laboratory, which would shimmer in the cold.
"President, aren't you leaving yet?" A laughing voice came from behind. Rong Shenghan's black windbreaker was zipped up all the way, revealing only his two crescent-shaped peach blossom eyes.
"President Xie said that the aurora activity level tonight has reached a three-year high. If we stand here any longer, we'll freeze into specimens."
Yu Jiuyuan turned around and looked him over in the warm light emanating from the observation station.
Rong Shenghan has been a student at Sheng Ying School for three months. From initially smiling and saying "Please give me your guidance" in the student council meeting room, to now being able to handle disputes between various departments with ease, no one has really figured out what's hidden beneath his approachable demeanor.
Just like now, the smile in his eyes was as thick as honey that couldn't be melted, but Yu Jiuyuan clearly noticed that his left hand was in his pocket, and his knuckles were unconsciously rubbing something.
"I'll wait for you." Her voice was light and carried by the wind, yet it was filled with an undeniable certainty. "As the vice president, you wouldn't want the president to walk alone at night, would you?"
Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow, pulled his hand out of his pocket, and lay a Changbai Mountain pine cone strung with a red string in his palm.
"I just found it in the woods. They say it can calm the mind when strung into a bracelet. Secretary Lin insisted on taking it, but I hid it." He shook his wrist, the red string drawing a thin red arc in the moonlight. "Does the chairman want it?"
Yu Jiuyuan stared at the plump pine nut and suddenly recalled the scene when she set off three days ago.
Lin Yanran, carrying the latest guitar bag, wore her usual arrogant expression, but when her father's gaze swept over her, she reluctantly bowed to him and said, "Hello, President." Her awkward demeanor was much more amusing than Xie Zhecheng's unchanging icy face.
"Officer Lin was quite well-behaved tonight." She took the pine nuts, her fingertips inadvertently brushing against Rong Shenghan's palm. His body temperature was higher than hers, like holding a warm stove. "He didn't argue with President Xie about the accuracy of the observation data again?"
"President Xie is checking the star map in the tent," Rong Shenghan followed her towards the accommodation area, their footsteps crunching on the snow.
"Officer Lin was scolded by his father for half an hour on the phone. Now he is practicing deep breathing in front of the snow. His father said he needs to 'control his temper'."
Yu Jiuyuan chuckled softly.
The system panel flashed through my mind, and next to Rong Shenghan's favorability rating of 45, a light pink progress bar was slowly moving.
It was a bit worse than Yuan Xu's 69, but much more pleasing to the eye than Xie Zhecheng's 10. She suddenly stopped and looked up at him.
The starry sky over Changbai Mountain is so low that it seems you could reach out and touch it, and Orion's belt is clearly visible.
Rong Shenghan's shadow stretched long, falling on the snow and overlapping with hers. The smile in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by a hint of inquiry: "What's wrong?"
“Rong Shenghan,” Yu Jiuyuan stood on tiptoe, her scarf slipping halfway down to reveal her beautifully shaped chin, “Guess what I want to do right now?”
Her movement came so suddenly that Rong Shenghan instinctively tried to back away, but she reached out and pressed down on the back of his neck.
The girl's fingertips were slightly cool, yet her grip was surprisingly steady. He smelled a faint scent of gardenia in her hair, mixed with a very faint smell of disinfectant, which Yuan Xu had accidentally splashed on her during her experiment yesterday.
She smiled and said, "The scent of the 'Yuanxu' is quite pleasant."
“I can’t guess.” His voice deepened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “But I guess the chairman has a reason for everything he does.”
Yu Jiuyuan smiled. Yes, she always had a reason for doing anything.
Targeting four objectives is like solving a complex equation; every variable must be precisely controlled.
Yuan Xu's 69 points of favorability is like a frog being slowly boiled in water; Xie Zhecheng's 10 points require a new breakthrough; Lin Yanran's 3 points need to be addressed by working on his father; and Rong Shenghan... 45 points, neither high nor low, just the right time to add fuel to the fire.
The night wind swept in, carrying snowflakes. Yu Jiuyuan tilted her head slightly and kissed the corner of his lips.
A very light kiss, like a snowflake falling on the skin, fleeting in an instant.
She didn't even get a taste of the faint mint flavor on his lips before she took a half step back, pulled her scarf back up, and covered her earlobes, which might be turning red.
"This is a reward for you," she said calmly, as if she were simply handing him a document. "It's a bonus for being the vice president for the past three months."
Rong Shenghan stood still, a crack appearing on his face for the first time.
Those peach blossom eyes, which always held a smile, were slightly wide open, churning with surprise, doubt, and other emotions that Yu Jiuyuan couldn't decipher, like an underground river flowing beneath the perpetually frozen ice of the Changbai Mountains.
He raised his hand and touched the corner of his lips; the temperature of his fingertips was surprisingly hot.
"Reward?" He repeated the word, his voice slightly hoarse. "The president's reward is truly special."
“Mm.” Yu Jiuyuan nodded, her gaze passing over him and looking towards the accommodation area.
Yuan Xu is probably organizing tonight's aurora photos, Xie Zhecheng is probably still checking star trail data, and Lin Yanran... is probably still struggling with herself in the snow.
Her gaze finally settled on Rong Shenghan's face, and she smiled, "After all, the vice president helped me resolve a lot of trouble."
For example, last week when Lin Yanran deliberately made things difficult for the freshmen, Rong Shenghan smiled and smoothed things over, but then anonymously sent the evidence of Lin Yanran's violation of discipline to the student union's discipline inspection department.
For example, Xie Zhecheng insisted on making the observation plan accurate to the minute, so Rong Shenghan stayed up all night to prepare three alternative plans, leaving that perfectionist with no faults.
For example, Yuan Xu was so engrossed in the lab that she forgot about the student council meeting, and Rong Shenghan answered the questions for her and even helped her finish her biology report.
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