On a snowy morning at St. Sakura Academy, the air was crisp and cold, filled with icy crystals.
As Yu Jiuyuan walked towards the astronomy club through the thick snow, her leather boots sank into the snow, making a soft crunching sound.
The lights from the observation room shone through the glass windows covered in frost flowers, casting warm yellow spots of light on the snow, like a forgotten honey cake.
When she pushed open the door, Xie Zhecheng was kneeling on the carpet, holding a soft measuring tape in his hand, measuring the perpendicularity of the telescope base to the ground.
He was wearing a dark blue windbreaker, the zipper zipped up tightly, and even the drawstring of the hood was tied in symmetrical knots. He was meticulous in the typical Xie Zhecheng style, even cleaning was like conducting a precision experiment.
"What are you doing?" Yu Jiuyuan's voice was tinged with laughter as she rubbed the snow off her boots, leaving faint watermarks on the floor.
Without looking up, Xie Zhecheng recited a string of numbers: "The base tilt is 0.3 degrees, which exceeds the allowable error range of 0.1 degrees." He suddenly paused, as if only then realizing that he was explaining these insignificant details to her, and a faint blush rose to his ears.
Yu Jiuyuan walked over and naturally sat down on the carpet next to him.
I was so close I could smell the faint scent of ebony and bergamot on his jacket, like a reindeer just emerging from the forest.
"Perfectionists would nitpick even 0.1 degrees of error?" Her fingertip lightly touched the metal frame of the telescope. "Actually, the difference is not visible to the naked eye."
Xie Zhecheng's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, as if refuting this "imprecise" statement.
But he only picked up the calibration tools, and his movements were a beat slow; he didn't immediately create distance between them as he usually did.
[Xie Zhecheng: Positive emotions +3 (currently 47), Negative emotions -1 (currently 0) (triggered "distance breakthrough" threshold)]
“I’ve read Lin Yanran’s letter of self-criticism,” Yu Jiuyuan suddenly said, her gaze falling on his tense jawline. “He said he would ‘strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the Astronomy Club’ from now on. It seems he was scared by you.”
Xie Zhecheng paused as he calibrated the telescope: "He wiped the lenses with alcohol-soaked wipes, almost corroding the coating." His tone carried a barely perceptible grievance, like a cat whose territory had been invaded.
Yu Jiuyuan couldn't help but chuckle softly, her laughter ringing out clearly in the quiet observation room. She suddenly reached out, her fingertips gently brushing against his hat drawstring: "Look, the knot was tied too tightly, it's left red marks."
As my fingertips brushed against the skin on the back of his neck, I felt that momentary stiffness, followed by a very slight shiver.
Xie Zhecheng abruptly turned his head, his gaze behind his glasses like that of a startled deer. But he didn't back down; his breathing simply faltered, and the curve of his Adam's apple was clearly visible.
[Xie Zhecheng: Favorability +3 (Currently 3) (First time breaking through 0! Triggering the "Physical Contact Tolerance" milestone)]
As the system notification sounded in her mind, Yu Jiuyuan naturally withdrew her hand and pretended to straighten her scarf: "Speaking of which, Yuan Xu wants to come with us on the Changbai Mountain observation project."
Seeing his eyes light up instantly, she added, "He wants to collect genes from cold-resistant insects, which doesn't conflict with your astronomical observations."
Xie Zhecheng's attention was indeed diverted. He immediately took out his notebook and began calculating the latitude and longitude of Changbai Mountain and the best observation angle for the Orion Nebula. The sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper was light and quick, like humming a silent song.
Looking at his serious profile, Yu Jiuyuan suddenly felt that the sight of this iceberg finally beginning to melt was more interesting than any perfect data model.
As she stood up, she deliberately left her scarf on the carpet. It was a creamy white cashmere scarf with tiny star trail patterns embroidered along the edges—a "bait" she had prepared especially for today.
When I left the astronomy club, the snow had stopped. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, refracting dazzling light onto the snow.
Yu Jiuyuan walked to the entrance of the biology lab and saw Yuan Xu running out carrying an insulated box. Her white lab coat was stained with fluorescent dye, which shimmered green in the sunlight.
"President!" He ran until his cheeks were flushed, like a rabbit that had wandered into a snowfield. "The cold-resistant genes of the glowing butterflies have stabilized! They can glow even at minus five degrees!" A faint flapping sound came from the incubator, like a breathing galaxy hidden inside.
"So amazing?" Yu Jiuyuan's voice was filled with genuine amazement as she looked at his reddened nose. "Why didn't you wear more clothes? Your hands are freezing."
I naturally took his wrist and slipped the hand warmer from my pocket into his hand.
Yuan Xu's ears turned bright red instantly, and he even stammered, "I... I wanted to tell you sooner..." He suddenly remembered something.
He took a small box out of the insulated box. "Here you go. These are seeds bred with cold-resistant genes. They can germinate even in winter, just like you. They look soft, but they are actually very strong."
[Yuan Xu: Affection +3, currently 66 (triggers "Trait Projection" bonus)]
The seeds in the box had a strange silvery-gray hue, resembling tiny ice crystals in the sunlight. When Yu Jiuyuan took it, she noticed a line of small characters engraved on the bottom of the box: "Gift to Jiuyuan—A Little Sun in Winter."
Just as she was about to say something, Rong Shenghan's voice suddenly came from behind her: "As expected, the president is here." He was wearing a long black coat and carrying an exquisite insulated bag. "Yuanxu's mother asked me to pass this on. She said it's for preparing some warming soup for the trip to Changbai Mountain."
The moment the insulated bag was opened, a rich aroma of ginger and jujubes wafted out.
Xu's eyes lit up: "It's my mom's best angelica and mutton soup! Drinking it can keep you warm even when the temperature drops to minus twenty degrees Celsius!"
Rong Shenghan's gaze swept over Yu Jiuyuan and Yuan Xu's clasped hands, his smile still gentle: "Where's Xie Zhecheng? I brought his portion too, but I deliberately put less ginger in it, because I remember he doesn't like spicy food."
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