CHAPTER 82

As Qin Zhaoci was still in a daze, Ye Lianyin had already pressed her body close to hers.

Before Qin Zhaoci could react, she found Ye Lianyin's face so close in front of her.

"W-What's wrong?" Qin Zhaoci stammered as she looked at the unbelievably beautiful Ye Lianyin before her.

"Qin Zhaoci, why do you emphasize being unique?" Ye Lianyin raised her head and gazed at her. "Qin Zhaoci, on the morning we parted ways at the Pastoral Planet, did you steal a kiss from me?"

Qin Zhaoci's face instantly turned red, and she nervously blinked her eyes rapidly. "Y-You woke up? You, you, how... how did you..."

"You want to know why I didn't refuse you, don't you?" Ye Lianyin's eyes curved as she smiled and continued the conversation.

"Uh," Qin Zhaoci blinked guiltily and nodded timidly.

Ye Lianyin lowered her gaze and glanced at the nearby sofa. She reached out and pushed Qin Zhaoci's shoulder, causing her to fall onto the sofa. Then, she positioned herself with her right foot kneeling on the sofa beside Qin Zhaoci's body.

Supporting her own body, Ye Lianyin lowered her head and cupped Qin Zhaoci's face. After a moment, she leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. With a serious expression, she said, "Because I like it when you kiss me."

In that moment, Qin Zhaoci felt like fireworks were blooming in the depths of her heart. She was filled with a euphoric feeling.

Seeing Qin Zhaoci staring at her in a daze, Ye Lianyin pinched her cheek and pursed her lips. She asked, "You understand what I mean, right? What's your answer?"

Qin Zhaoci's gaze subtly changed, and she wrapped her arms around Ye Lianyin's waist, gently guiding her to sit on the sofa. Then, she gently cupped the back of Ye Lianyin's head with her hand, staring at her lips, and devoutly kissed her.

This kiss could truly be considered their first meaningful kiss. Qin Zhaoci's movements were not very skilled, but they were filled with tenderness.

She curiously explored Ye Lianyin's lips, capturing her lip pearls, and danced together with her tongue. She savored the taste of the person in front of her, deepening the kiss as if she wanted to merge the other person into her soul.

The initially face-to-face position transformed into Ye Lianyin being underneath and Qin Zhaoci on top. Ye Lianyin's back pressed against the armrest of the sofa. Although she had taken the initiative, in the end, it was Qin Zhaoci who couldn't resist and took charge.

"Okay, we can stop now." Ye Lianyin pushed Qin Zhaoci's shoulder, breathing heavily. "I'm running out of breath."

"Okay." Qin Zhaoci leaned in, looking at the lipstick marks left on Ye Lianyin's lips. She then kissed her again. "I like you, Ye Lianyin. I really like you."

"Yes, I know." Ye Lianyin curved her lips and pinched Qin Zhaoci's face. "From now on, no more running around recklessly."

"Okay." Qin Zhaoci blinked her eyes. "I'll report to you wherever I go from now on."

.....

When the two of them came out of the dressing room, Ye Lianyin held the flowers in her right hand while Qin Zhaoci held her left hand. They walked around the backstage area and found their seats in the audience section.

Ye Lianyin had already reapplied her lipstick in the dressing room after being kissed, and she hadn't brought any other clothes, so she was still wearing the same suit when they came out.

The final performance had already ended, and the principal was giving a speech on stage, but most of the students in the audience weren't paying much attention.

Shortly after they sat down, they heard students in front of them still discussing Ye Lianyin's performance from earlier.

"Oh my god, we always knew Ye Lianyin was beautiful, but I never expected her to look so stunning after getting dressed up. That glance, that smile, even an Omega like me would fall in love with her. She's so enchanting, truly extraordinary."

"Her singing is incredibly beautiful too. That voice, that face, every move she makes is so sexy. She used to be so low-key, I always thought she was just good at studying. Beauty really doesn't like to steal the spotlight."

"Seriously, it's such a waste that a face like hers didn't debut earlier. Hmm, why is she with someone like Qin Zhaoci? It feels like a beautiful flower has been planted in cow dung." [Also known as cow pats, cow pies or cow manure; a waste product (faeces) of bovine animal species.]

...

Qin "Cow Dung" Zhaoci's face instantly turned sour, and she turned to Ye Lianyin with a look of grievance.

Ye Lianyin gently tapped the backs of the seats in front of them with her hand and whispered, "Don't speak ill of others behind their backs."

The people in front, who were originally happily gossiping, turned their heads in dissatisfaction when interrupted. But when they saw that it was Ye Lianyin who spoke, their expressions immediately changed.

The words they were about to impatiently say were swallowed back, and they glanced at Qin Zhaoci sitting next to Ye Lianyin. They turned their heads meekly and dared not speak.

Seeing that they had stopped talking, Ye Lianyin reached out and held Qin Zhaoci's hand, her fingertips sliding down to intertwine their fingers.

As time passed, the two of them sat in the audience seats, neither of them speaking a word. However, the moist feeling between their clasped palms spoke volumes about the nervousness in their hearts.

After the principal's speech, it was the representative of the royal family, Yue Lituan, who took the stage to deliver a speech.

She had also attended the Imperial Academy in the past and shared a series of memories about campus life. She then expressed her expectations as a member of the royal family and her desire to attract young supporters through this speech.

After she finished speaking, it was already 7 p.m., and the presentation of the Imperial Scholarships for outstanding students began.

Qin Zhaoci saw her own mother, Qin Zhongying, stand up and take the list of scholarships named by the Qin Group from the principal, and she began to announce the names of the awarded students.

"Li Hua, Chen Xiaoming, Zhang Wei, ..., Ye Lianyin, Bai Qingci, Lin Jiayi."

Qin Zhaoci was surprised to hear Ye Lianyin's name among the list of winners. She glanced at her, and Ye Lianyin stuffed the flowers into Qin Zhaoci's arms, whispering softly, "I'll go up on stage first."

"Okay." Qin Zhaoci lightly caressed Ye Lianyin's palm with her fingertips, watching her as she stepped onto the stage.

"Keep up the good work." Qin Zhongying handed the envelope containing the scholarship to the awarded students as she passed by. When she reached Ye Lianyin, she paused for a moment. "Let's have dinner together tonight."

"Okay." Ye Lianyin nodded and accepted the envelope, with a very natural expression.

After the scholarship presentation, Qin Zhongying took a group photo with everyone. Ye Lianyin followed her off the stage but didn't leave quickly because her mother, Ye Yufeng, also went on stage to present the Ye Group scholarships.

Qin Zhaoci sat in the audience, witnessing Ye Lianyin sweeping all the prices.

After receiving all the envelopes, Ye Lianyin held a dozen of them in her hand and sat back in the back row.

Seeing Qin Zhaoci looking at the things in her hand, Ye Lianyin handed her the envelopes and said, "Here, take a look."

Qin Zhaoci handed the cherry blossom to Ye Lianyin and curiously took the envelopes. She discovered a small black chip inside, no larger than a fingernail.

"Um, where's the money?" Qin Zhaoci pinched the small object, looking confused.

"Like this." Ye Lianyin raised her arm and placed the optical brain on her arm against the small chip. The chip instantly disappeared.

At the same time, her optical brain displayed a line of text: "Your account received 50,000 stardust coins at 7:35."

The disappearance of the chip was something Qin Zhaoci hadn't anticipated. Just as she was about to ask, Ye Lianyin proactively spoke up, saying, "The chip uses a special carrier material. Once the information is read, it immediately disintegrates in the air. Rest assured, it's completely harmless."

Qin Zhaoci was no longer surprised by technology. After the initial astonishment, she began to marvel at the high value of the Imperial Scholarships. The chip she had just taken out was already worth so much, and it wasn't even the scholarship envelopes from the Ye and Qin families.
With that thought in mind, she grew curious and took out the envelopes from both the Ye and Qin families. She placed the small chip on Ye Lianyin's light brain, and it displayed 150,000 stardust coins and 120,000 stardust coins, respectively.

The high value of the scholarships truly amazed Qin Zhaoci. She was getting a bit addicted and proceeded to open all the remaining envelopes, one by one, and stick the chips onto Ye Lianyin's optical brain.

After reading all of them, Qin Zhaoci added up the amounts and calculated that Ye Lianyin had received a total of 1.2 million stardust coins in scholarships.

"Wow, you're a top scholar and a rich lady." Qin Zhaoci hugged Ye Lianyin's arm tightly, rubbing her head against Ye Lianyin's shoulder. "So studying really can make you rich."

"Well, what you said seems to be true." Ye Lianyin tilted her head and leaned against Qin Zhaoci's head. "For an ordinary Imperial family, this is indeed quite a substantial income."

"Oh, by the way," Ye Lianyin remembered what Qin Zhongying had said to her on stage, "Mom just told me that we'll have dinner together tonight."

"Which mom? Ye Yufeng or Qin Zhongying?" Qin Zhaoci wondered, thinking of both Ye Yufeng and Qin Zhongying.

Ye Lianyin pinched Qin Zhaoci's nose. "Yours."

"Where are we going to eat? The food at the Imperial Hotel isn't good," Qin Zhaoci frowned. "Let's go home instead."

"Are you going to cook?" Ye Lianyin felt a bit worried.

Qin Zhaoci nodded, thinking it was time to reveal it to Qin Zhongying and the others. "Yeah, I'll cook."

"Okay, let's go home together then." Ye Lianyin nodded, looking at the dispersing audience.

Qin Zhongying and the others waited until most of the students had left before standing up and walking towards the exit. To Qin Zhaoci's surprise, her two mothers were accompanied by Ye Lianyin's two mothers and her sister.

Were both families going to have dinner together? Qin Zhaoci glanced at Ye Lianyin, her eyes filled with confusion.

Ye Lianyin also didn't expect both families to have dinner together, and her expression showed surprise.

"What's this, my dear sister?" Ye Yici also noticed the discomfort Ye Lianyin displayed upon seeing Ye Yufeng. Her eyes glanced at the flowers Ye Lianyin was holding, showing some curiosity.

"It's fruit, something you can eat." Ye Lianyin had been holding it for so long without tasting the fruit. After hearing Ye Yici's question, she first took a photo with her optical brain and then stuffed the bouquet into Qin Zhaoci's arms for her to hold. She plucked a cherry from the bouquet and put it in her mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Qin Zhaoci, dutifully holding the bouquet, looked down at Ye Lianyin with her usual expectant eyes.

"It's delicious, very sweet." Ye Lianyin felt the juice burst in her mouth and nodded in satisfaction. Finally, she felt something hard against her teeth and spat it out into her hand.

"Give me the pit." Qin Zhaoci took out a small box from her pocket and handed it to Ye Lianyin. She whispered in her ear, "Pits can be planted, don't throw them away."

"Okay." Ye Lianyin smiled and nodded, placing the pit in the small box.

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