As the morning financial news broadcast came from the living room, Yu Jiuyuan was lying on Rong Shenghan's lap watching him polish a ring.
The east wing of the villa had been converted into a temporary studio. Under the glow of a desk lamp, he held a platinum ring in his left hand and fine sandpaper in his right, his movements as focused as if he were carving a rare treasure.
"The Su Group announced its bankruptcy liquidation today, and its founder, Su Hongming, has been arrested on suspicion of multiple economic crimes..."
The anchor's voice was calm and objective, but Yu Jiuyuan caught a glimpse of Su Jingshu's relieved emotions in the faint light of the pinky ring. It was like a frozen lake finally cracking open, revealing the surging undercurrents beneath.
“She succeeded.” Yu Jiuyuan’s fingertips traced Rong Shenghan’s injured left hand, the faint scar barely visible under the light. “I won our bet.”
When they first collaborated with Su Jingshu, they made a bet: if they could completely bring down the Su family within three months, Yu Jiuyuan would transfer the three biological laboratories under the Su family's name to her.
Now that the dust has settled, the woman who had endured for so many years has finally stepped over the ruins of her family and put on her own crown.
Rong Shenghan stopped polishing the ring and brought it up to the light for a closer look.
The platinum surface, polished to a mirror-like smoothness, reflected the tenderness in his eyes: "What reward do you want?"
"Didn't the rewards already start?" Yu Jiuyuan tilted her head back, kissed the corner of his lips, and gently licked his lower lip with her tongue. "For example... the ring you made yourself."
She hadn't forgotten that she had made him a ring using platinum from the Yu family's collection, and he had smiled and said, "I'll make one for you when my hand is healed."
Back then, his hands were still wrapped in bandages, and he could barely hold a pen. Now, however, he can precisely control the pressure of the sandpaper and polish the ring to a perfect curve.
Rong Shenghan chuckled and slipped the ring onto her ring finger to test the size.
The cool platinum felt against her skin, and the size was just right, as if it had been tailor-made for her.
"Just one last step." He picked up the engraving pen, lightly touching the inside of the ring with the tip. "What do you want engraved?"
“Your name.” Yu Jiuyuan’s voice was soft, and the blue light from the pinky ring shone with a gentle, warm hue.
Rong Shenghan's positive emotions remained stable at 160, like honey thoroughly warmed by the sun.
The engraving pen made a soft, scratching sound on the metal. He engraved the three characters "Rong Shenghan" very lightly, yet with such force that it penetrated the ring, as if he wanted to forever imprint his name on her mark.
Looking at his lowered eyelashes, Yu Jiuyuan suddenly felt that this handmade ring was more tempting than the diamond-encrusted jewelry in the safe.
After all, this was a sentiment he painstakingly crafted with his hands, which had slowly recovered from an injury.
Even though she knew that this "taming game" was full of scheming, she couldn't help but indulge in this moment of tenderness.
“Xie Zhecheng has been standing outside for ten minutes.” Rong Shenghan suddenly looked up, his gaze passing over her shoulder and looking toward the door. His tone was emotionless, but his fingers tightened their grip on the engraving pen.
Yu Jiuyuan turned around and saw Xie Zhecheng standing at the studio door. His white shirt was perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle, and he was holding a steaming cup of coffee. His gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses fell on the plain ring on her ring finger, as if he had been stung by something.
"Come in." Yu Jiuyuan smiled at him. In the faint light of the pinky ring, Xie Zhecheng's emotions flickered with a very faint gray, a fleeting sense of loss, so quick it was like an illusion.
Xie Zhecheng walked in, placed the coffee in the corner of the workbench, and his gaze lingered for half a second on Rong Shenghan's ring-grinding tool: "The student council has a document that needs your signature."
"Just put it there." Yu Jiuyuan shook the ring on her hand, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Isn't it pretty? Sheng Han made it himself."
Xie Zhecheng's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His gaze behind his glasses fell on the simple platinum ring, and he suddenly spoke, "I know a top jewelry designer, who can..."
“No need.” Yu Jiuyuan interrupted him, her fingertips tracing the engraving on the inside of the ring. “I just like this one, it’s unique.”
The four words "unique" are like a fine needle, gently pricking Xie Zhecheng's heart.
Looking at the undisguised indulgence in Rong Shenghan's eyes, he suddenly felt like an unwanted intruder. In this tender moment shared by the two of them, he didn't even have the right to interfere.
The blue light from the pinky ring flickered, Xie Zhecheng's favorability rating stopped at 96, but his positive emotions quietly dropped a bit, like the surface of a lake rippled by the wind.
Yu Jiuyuan took in all of this, but her heart remained unmoved.
That's exactly what she wanted—to make them clearly aware of each other's presence, and to let them sink deeper into jealousy and restraint.
"Where's Yuan Xu?" Rong Shenghan suddenly spoke, breaking the delicate atmosphere. "How's his bacterial culture going?"
"He's conducting experiments in the west wing." Xie Zhecheng's voice regained its usual calmness. "I saw him this morning adjusting the new temperature control equipment."
Yu Jiuyuan watched them chatting casually and suddenly found the scene quite amusing.
Several people who were once at odds are now able to coexist peacefully in the same villa because of her, like wild beasts locked in the same cage, temporarily sheathing their claws.
This is probably the kind of "taming" she wanted—not to make them enemies of each other, but to teach them to abide by her rules within her territory.
In the evening, Su Jingshu sent a message with only one photo: she was standing in front of the ruins of the Su family's old house, wearing a black suit, holding the key to the laboratory in her hand, and a sharp smile that she had never seen before on her lips.
Yu Jiuyuan replied with "Congratulations", then threw her phone on the sofa and turned to throw herself into Rong Shenghan's arms.
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