CHAPTER 83

Observing the intimate and smiling exchange between the two, Ye Yici suddenly felt like she had been fed dog food. She reached into the bouquet that Qin Zhaoci was holding and said, "I want to taste it too."

Ye Lianyin ruthlessly swatted her hand away and gave her a disdainful look. "These are all mine, not for you."

Ye Yici felt hurt. "Heartless little sister."

Qin Zhaoci chuckled and pinched Ye Lianyin's palm, trying to diffuse the situation. "If big sister wants to taste it, we can go to our house later, and I'll prepare it for you."

"Okay." Ye Yici immediately followed the steps downward. "Then where are we going to eat?"

"Our mothers, how about coming to my and Yinyin's house? I've learned some cooking recently and I want the moms to taste my skills." Qin Zhaoci looked at the four of them, smiling and extending an invitation.

Rao Antong and Qin Zhongying exchanged surprised glances and smiled. "Our Xiaoci has matured a lot after getting married. She can even cook now. We definitely want to taste it."

"Great, then let's go home first." Qin Zhaoci nodded with a smile, then turned to exchange a glance with Ye Lianyin before following the others to the parking lot.

Ye Lianyin was driving today, and once Qin Zhaoci sat in the passenger seat, they set the address and headed home.

"The watermelons you planted in the backyard have grown quite big now, but they're not very sweet. However, they have a good amount of juice." Ye Lianyin mentioned the watermelons in the yard during the drive home.

Qin Zhaoci raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You've already tasted them?"

"Yeah, I tried them." Ye Lianyin didn't hide anything and nodded.

Qin Zhaoci wasn't surprised by the result. "How many watermelons have grown? Have you counted?"

Ye Lianyin thought carefully for a moment. "Probably around twenty to thirty, and they're all quite big."

"That's a lot." Qin Zhaoci rubbed her chin. "In that case, let's use these watermelons as ingredients for the milk tea shop. After picking them, I'll remove all the plants in the backyard that were grown in the Empire's soil. They don't taste good. I plan to have someone bring soil from the Pastoral planet to create a separate section in the backyard for planting."

"Is that possible?" Ye Lianyin raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The tree you planted is already half a person's height."

"We'll remove that too. Let's use the backyard for planting flowers instead. In a few days, we can have some people set up a swing and build a tea house in the backyard. We can go there when we're bored." Qin Zhaoci envisioned the empty space in the backyard and had a rough idea of how it could be transformed.

"Sounds good." Ye Lianyin knew that Qin Zhaoci had good taste, and she nodded in agreement.

"When we cook later, there will be so many people.  Will you be able to handle it on your own? Do you want me to help you?" Ye Lianyin looked ahead and casually asked.

Qin Zhaoci's eyes brightened slightly. She leaned over and kissed Ye Lianyin's cheek, smiling as she whispered in her ear, "Sure."

Her voice was already quite pleasant to listen to, and now that their relationship had been confirmed, she spoke with an affectionate and coquettish tone. When she said those words, her voice seemed to have a hook, teasing Ye Lianyin's ears and making them instantly turn red.

Qin Zhaoci also noticed the change in Ye Lianyin's ears. She looked at her reddened ears and smiled, leaning closer to kiss her earlobe. "Are you feeling shy?"

"N-No, what are you talking about?" Ye Lianyin raised her hand to cover her tingling ear, blinked a few times, and changed the subject. "Why do you love kissing me so much?"

"Because I love you." Qin Zhaoci refused to hide her feelings any longer. "What should we do? I really want to be close to you. Will you find me annoying?"

"N-No, I won't." Ye Lianyin stammered, her ears turning even redder.

Watching Ye Lianyin's adorable reaction, Qin Zhaoci couldn't help but turn her head and chuckle softly. Her eyes were filled with indulgent amusement. She had thought Ye Lianyin was quite bold, but it turned out she was a bit of a paper tiger. How cute she was!

Soon, the car stopped in front of their house.

Ye Lianyin got out of the car first and walked to the front door to open it.

Qin Zhaoci followed beside her, holding flowers in her arms. Her eyes were fixed on Ye Lianyin, and a faint smile lingered on her lips.

Rao Antong, who had just gotten out of the car, happened to witness this scene. She nudged Qin Zhongying's arm in surprise, gesturing with her eyes for her to look.

Qin Zhongying glanced over and saw her daughter clearly immersed in love. Her eyes also filled with astonishment.

Just as Ye Yufeng and the others got out of the car, Ye Lianyin had just pushed the door open and walked inside after changing her shoes.

After entering the house, Ye Lianyin took the cherry blossom flowers from Qin Zhaoci's arms and held them tightly, as if they were precious treasures. She quickly went upstairs to her room and put them away.

Qin Zhaoci clearly knew that she was doing this to prevent someone from seeing. She smiled, her lips curving with a hint of meaning, and glanced at Ye Yici.

Ye Yici didn't understand the meaning behind her gaze. It was her first time visiting Ye Lianyin and Qin Zhaoci's home, and she was curious, looking around the house.

"Mother, mom, please have a seat. I'll go pour you some water." Qin Zhaoci pointed to the sofa, picked up a kettle and cups, and went into the kitchen to make tea.

The tea leaves were collected by her during the apocalypse, but she didn't know much about tea, so she had gathered them all without understanding their quality. Thinking that today's guests were elders, she took out some to serve them.

"What's this?" Ye Yufeng held the glass and frowned at the green leaves floating in her cup.

"These are tea leaves. Mother, you can try them." although Qin Zhaoci didn't like Ye Yufeng's attitude towards Ye Lianyin, she still maintained respect for the elders.

"Mmm, it smells quite fragrant." Qin Zhongying picked up the cup, took a sniff, blew on it, and took a sip. "Hmm, the water also has this fragrance, it's quite pleasant."

Qin Zhaoci nodded with a smile. "Actually, tea leaves should be brewed using tea utensils, but we don't have those at home. So, I just made a casual brew. I wanted you to taste it and see if you like it."

"It smells quite fragrant. I've never seen these kinds of leaves before. Where did Zhaoci get them?" Song Xinchu was curious.

Rao Antong was also curious, but she didn't really like the taste of tea. Although it smelled pleasant, she couldn't discern much from it.

"I've been researching this recently, and the details are still confidential. The source was a fortunate coincidence." Qin Zhaoci thought that if the milk tea shop's trial went well, she might consider setting up a tea plantation in the Pastoral planet.

Seeing that Qin Zhaoci didn't want to say much, Song Xinchu understood that it might involve commercial matters, so she didn't pursue it.

Soon, Ye Lianyin finished putting things away and came downstairs. She saw the tea placed in front of Ye Yici and the others and blinked curiously at Qin Zhaoci.

Qin Zhaoci understood her meaning and whispered in her ear, "These are tea leaves. I think you might not like the taste when brewed this way. I'll use them to make something else for you later."

"Okay." Ye Lianyin nodded with a smile, watching Qin Zhaoci go into the kitchen to prepare something.   

With the presence of the parents, Qin Zhaoci hastened her pace. She put black tea and white sugar in a small pot in a certain proportion, heated it up and stirred. Once the sugar turned caramelized, she added a certain amount of boiling water and stirred. After the water boiled, she poured in the prepared fresh milk, and let it boil again. She then filtered out the black tea, and poured it into the prepared teapot, and set it aside.

"Yinyin, do you want your drink to be cold?" Qin Zhaoci took out a glass from the cabinet and poked her head out of the kitchen.

Ye Lianyin was casually chatting with her sister and the other mothers. Upon hearing Qin Zhaoci's voice, she immediately looked up and replied, "Either way is fine."

"Okay." Qin Zhaoci thought that the weather was still somewhat hot today, so she added a few ice cubes to the glass. Once the drink was ready, she carried the teapot and the glass and went out, handing the glass to Ye Lianyin.

"What's this? It smells so good." Ye Yici, who wasn't captivated by the tea leaves, was attracted by the aroma of the milk tea.

Ye Lianyin held the glass and looked at the floating ice cubes inside. She took a sip, and her eyes brightened slightly as she nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, it's delicious. It has a milky taste and tea fragrance, and it's quite sweet too."

"I felt that you don't like things too sweet, so I didn't add too much sugar. Mom, you can also give it a try. If you want it cold, you can get some ice cubes from the fridge. I won't keep you entertained for now. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare dinner." Qin Zhaoci said.  

Before leaving, Qin Zhaoci gently patted Ye Lianyin's head and then turned to the kitchen.

The vegetables that had been in the fridge before were barely touched by Ye Lianyin. Qin Zhaoci checked them and replaced them with fresh ones. She then turned on her optical brain and ordered some fish and meat online.

"Mmm, this is really delicious." Ye Yici poured herself a glass after Qin Zhaoci left and took a sip, nodding in satisfaction. "Qin Zhaoci has such culinary skills. She could open a shop."

"Really? Our Xiaoci has such great cooking skills?" Rao Antong was also surprised.

Seeing their reactions, Ye Lianyin picked up the teapot and poured a glass for each of them.

She didn't make too much to begin with, and after pouring, the teapot was empty. Ye Lianyin shook the empty teapot in her hand with some regret, sighing inwardly.

Ye Yufeng initially didn't believe that it could be so delicious, but seeing Song Xinchu and the others praising it, she took it with skepticism and took a sip. Her eyes lit up after drinking it, and she unconsciously finished the entire glass.

"Mmm, is there any more?" Ye Yici looked at her empty glass with a hint of reluctance, licking her lips. 

Ye Lianyin rolled her eyes at her and said, "There's none left. She only made this much."

" But I wanted to..." Before Ye Yici was about to say something.

Ye Lianyin interrupted her, saying, "No, you can't. She just came back from the Pastoral planet, and she's already exhausted. Don't think about bossing her around."

Seeing Ye Lianyin being protective like this, Ye Yici pouted and said, "Are you still my good sister?"

"No means no." Ye Lianyin shook her head. "I'll go help her with the vegetables."

Seeing Ye Lianyin's protective behavior towards Qin Zhaoci, Rao Antong and Qin Zhongying smiled at each other in satisfaction. Song Xinchu also felt relieved because she could see that Qin Zhaoci treated her daughter very well.

"What are we having for dinner?" The villa didn't have an open kitchen like the one in the Pastoral planet. so the people outside couldn't see what they were doing when Ye Lianyin went in.

Therefore, Qin Zhaoci became a bit bold. When Ye Lianyin entered, she naturally leaned over and pecked her lips, then licked her own lips afterward. "Hmm, quite sweet."

Author's Note:

Qin Zhaoci: "I meant the milk tea was quite sweet; don't misunderstand."

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