CHAPTER 100

Upon hearing Ye Lianyin mention her upcoming 28th birthday, Qin Zhaoci furrowed her brow and nodded. "Yeah, my mother said the Qin family will organize a birthday banquet for me and take the opportunity to interact with our business partners. Ah, it's so troublesome."

"Is that so?" Ye Lianyin nodded. "That works too."

"What's wrong?" Qin Zhaoci tilted her head, looking at Ye Lianyin. "Are you thinking about what birthday gift to prepare for me?"

Ye Lianyin smiled. "What do you want?"

Qin Zhaoci tilted her head and thought seriously for a moment. "I don't seem to lack anything. As long as you're not too busy every day and go to bed early, that's enough."

"You pervert." Ye Lianyin rolled her eyes in speechlessness. "What are you constantly thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about you." Qin Zhaoci smiled and leaned in to kiss Ye Lianyin. "Who else should I think about since you're my wife?"

"You're so talkative." Ye Lianyin pinched Qin Zhaoci's lips. "Are we going to have it at one of the high-end mansions under the Qin family?"

"Yes, yes." Qin Zhaoci nodded.

Ye Lianyin seemed thoughtful. "Show me the guest list when the time comes."

"Okay, okay." Qin Zhaoci looked at Ye Lianyin, who was still holding her lips, and could only nod.

Seeing Qin Zhaoci being so obedient, Ye Lianyin smiled and retracted her hand, pinching her face. "Why is my Ah Ci so well-behaved? It's been so long, and you haven't gotten angry with me."

Qin Zhaoci pursed her lips and muttered softly, "It's not that I haven't gotten angry. It's just that when I get angry, you're even fiercer than me. I'm too busy trying to appease you that I forget I'm angry too."

"What did you say?" Ye Lianyin didn't hear clearly. Qin Zhaoci immediately put on a smiling face and made a heart gesture. "Because I love you."

Ye Lianyin was soothed by her words and she silently contemplated the birthday plans for Qin Zhaoci.

A month later, Qin Zhaoci's birthday banquet was held at the high-end mansion.

Ye Lianyin looked through the guest list sent by Qin Zhaoci and indeed saw the name of the An family.

"What's wrong? What are you looking at?" Qin Zhaoci, dressed in a black women's suit, walked out from behind Ye Lianyin. "Why haven't you changed your dress yet? Do you want me to help you change?"

Ye Lianyin turned off her optical brain and glanced at her. "I'll change right away."

"Alright, I'll go downstairs but give me a kiss first." Qin Zhaoci pouted.

After giving Qin Zhaoci a quick kiss, Ye Lianyin took the dress and walked into the fitting room.

Qin Zhaoci, satisfied, then walked downstairs to welcome the arriving guests.

"Ms. Qin, your business has really been flourishing this year. My husband has been trying to buy grapes online, but they always get sold out. And even for restaurants, it's impossible to make a reservation. The earliest available is three months later."

Once Qin Zhaoci came downstairs, a business partner of the Qin family approached her and raised a toast, sounding quite helpless.

Qin Zhaoci smiled and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. The production is limited. As for the restaurants, when the chefs are trained, we may consider opening more branches, and then there will be more availability."

"That's true. Your restaurants under the Qin Corporation make the most delicious food. The chefs are indeed the most important." the person nodded. "Even in the Empire, there's no better place to eat than the ones you own, Ms. Qin."

Qin Zhaoci smiled and replied, "The drinks, dishes, and desserts tonight are all prepared by the contracted chefs under our company. You can taste them to your heart's content."

"Really?" The person was surprised. "Then I must savor them."

Qin Zhaoci is currently working on building a winery. Since it hasn't been completed yet, the wine served at the birthday banquet was taken from the storage space. Fortunately, the inventory was plentiful and more than sufficient.

"Ms. Qin, long time no see." An Shujue raised his glass and approached Qin Zhaoci, proactively clinking glasses with him. "Happy birthday."

Beside him was An Rixi, wearing a red dress. Her eyes were filled with tenderness as she smiled and clinked glasses with Qin Zhaoci. "Xiaoci, happy birthday."

Qin Zhaoci understood the principle of not hitting a smiling face, even though she didn't like this father and daughter pair. She still put on an official smile and nodded. "Thank you."

"Xiaoci, your company has really been thriving this year. I can't believe it. A year ago, you were just a kid who loved aircraft competitions, and now you've grown into an outstanding adult." An Shujue looked at Qin Zhaoci with a probing look in his eyes.

"I heard that you're preparing to open a new restaurant. If there's any project that you can entrust to the An family, we're one of the best in home design."

Qin Zhaoci immediately understood that this was the purpose of An Shujue coming over tonight. She smiled and replied, "There's probably no need. Ever since the establishment of the Pastoral (Tianyuan) Tea Flavor, we've had a long-standing partnership with the Ye Group in terms of home design. After working together for so long, everyone has become accustomed to it, and we won't easily make any changes."

"Oh, that's a shame." An Shujue's eyes flashed with annoyance. "Then I'll have to see if there's an opportunity for us to collaborate in the future."

Qin Zhaoci nodded slightly, not wanting to engage in small talk with this father and daughter. She glanced at Zhou Qifeng, who was not far away, and found an excuse to leave. "Mr. Zhou is here too. I'll go greet him."

An Shujue politely nodded, watching Qin Zhaoci walk towards the location where Zhou Qifeng was. The smile on his face instantly disappeared. "Tonight, you must win over Qin Zhaoci. The An family is not as powerful as before, and the Qin family is our most reliable ally."

"Qin Zhaoci is now the most promising entrepreneur in the Empire. This year alone, she has made a fortune with Pastoral (Tianyuan) Tea Flavor. After you win her over, it would be best if you can conceive a child, so that the Qin family will be ours as well."

"Hmm," An Rixi had been watching Qin Zhaoci's increasingly successful development over the past year, and she was itching with regret. She regretted playing hard to get with Qin Zhaoci before. If she had known that Qin Zhaoci would develop so well today, she should have agreed to her pursuit earlier.

But now, she had to seize the opportunity while she could. It was so troublesome.

With these thoughts in mind, she exchanged a glance with a nearby waiter.

The waiter nodded and kept an eye on Qin Zhaoci, who was chatting with Zhou Qifeng not far away, preparing to make a move at the right moment.

"Xiaoci, this is the birthday gift I got for you." Zhou Qifeng took out a small box the size of a palm from his pocket. "It's a little gadget newly developed by the military. It has undergone strict testing and is quite interesting."

"Really? Can I open it now and take a look?" Qin Zhaoci accepted it and asked for Zhou Qifeng's opinion.

Zhou Qifeng nodded with a smile. "It's meant for you."

Qin Zhaoci opened the box and found a small black chip inside, similar to the ones contained in the envelopes when Ye Lianyin received scholarships from the Empire Academy before.

Qin Zhaoci followed the action of Ye Lianyin from before and placed the chip on her optical brain. The chip instantly disappeared, but she didn't receive any transaction information, indicating that it wasn't money.

"Why, are you a little disappointed?" Zhou Qifeng looked at Qin Zhaoci's disappointed gaze as she stared at her optical brain and found it amusing.

Qin Zhaoci awkwardly smiled. "I thought there would be some secret funds deposited."

Zhou Qifeng paused and blinked. "I don't even have money myself, so how can I give you secret funds? Does Xiaoye manage your finances so tightly? Doesn't she give you any money?"

Qin Zhaoci scratched her head with a smile. "All the company's income goes into her account, and she gives me pocket money every month. But who would complain about having too much money?"

"Well, that's your own doing. Just live in poverty then." Zhou Qifeng sneered at Qin Zhaoci. "Even the 'Alpha' who spoils her wife doesn't have money. Everyone's the same. Look at Wan Baiyun, she's as broke as can be."

Wan Baiyun, who was unexpectedly hit by the comment, pursed her lips. "But I have to support my wife and child. That's normal."

"Still talking about a wife and child," Qin Zhaoci couldn't resist mocking, "Are you still hoping for a remarriage with Shan Pan?"

Wan Baiyun, feeling guilty, pursed her lips and couldn't respond.

Ten minutes later, Ye Lianyin, dressed in formal attire, came out with Rao Antong.

Upon seeing Qin Zhaoci, Ye Lianyin let go of Rao Antong's hand and walked towards her.

Ye Lianyin was wearing a white evening gown today, while Qin Zhaoci was dressed in a black women's suit. They looked very well-matched standing together.

"Xiaoci and Yinyin make such a lovely couple." Rao Antong said, holding Qin Zhongying's hand. "Ah, I just wonder when they will give us a granddaughter for us to take care of."

Qin Zhongying also wished for a granddaughter, especially since Wan Baiyun and Shan Pan's daughter could already walk, but there was still no sign of children from Qin Zhaoci and Ye Lianyin.

"Why do you think Xiaoci hasn't marked Yinyin as her life partner yet? What are their plans?" Rao Antong was curious.

Qin Zhongying was equally puzzled. "Ah, I'm not sure either. Maybe they don't want children."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." While Qin Zhaoci and Ye Lianyin were walking around the banquet hall, a waiter approached and accidentally tilted his arm, spilling red wine from the tray onto Ye Lianyin's evening gown. Stains on a white gown would be particularly noticeable, and upon seeing it, Qin Zhaoci quickly took off her own jacket and covered Ye Lianyin with it, frowning at the waiter. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." apologized the female waiter. "Someone bumped into my arm just now. I didn't do it on purpose. I'm willing to compensate."

"Never mind, you're here for a part-time job, right? The salary isn't high to begin with. Forget it, just be more careful next time." Qin Zhaoci said to the waiter, realizing they were probably not a full-time staff member. Ye Lianyin glanced at the waiter and, upon hearing her mention someone pushing her arm, instinctively looked around the banquet hall to find An Rixi's figure. However, strangely enough, she couldn't spot her anywhere.

"Thank you, Ms. Qin." the waiter breathed a sigh of relief and timidly walked away.

"I'll take you to change your clothes." Qin Zhaoci said, embracing Ye Lianyin's waist.

"No need." Ye Lianyin shook her head. "I'll go change by myself and come back later."

After walking from the banquet hall to the front desk, Ye Lianyin looked around and saw the staff members working there. She took a few steps forward.

"Ms. Qin, Ms. Ye said she couldn't find her evening gown and asked for your help in the room." a male attendant suddenly approached.

"Is that so? Why didn't she call me?" Qin Zhaoci checked her optical brain but didn't find any messages or calls from Ye Lianyin.

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