Chapter 497: Extra: Ye Linyuan - Melting Kiss on a Snowy Night (2)

Jiang Qingli only found out about Ye Linyuan’s birthday today.

It was a long story.

After the award ceremony, Jiang Qingli and Ye Linyuan went to the military district. The main purpose was another physical examination to confirm his genetic stability.

While Ye Linyuan was inside getting his check-up, Jiang Qingli had nothing better to do, so she browsed through his files outside.

Back at Lü Xin’s research institute, she had skimmed them too quickly and missed many details. This time, she read them with extra care.

When he was finished, Jiang Qingli and Ye Linyuan left the military district, deciding to go for a walk.

It was early autumn, and a dry heat still lingered in the air. Jiang Qingli went to the mall with Ye Linyuan.

The mall was holding an event. Artificial snow fell from the ceiling, creating a cool atmosphere with the feel of a romantic drama.

A child stood in the middle of the crowd, a birthday crown on his head, squealing for his mother to take a picture.

On the way to the movie theater, Jiang Qingli bought a candied hawthorn skewer. After a couple of bites, she found her gaze drifting to Ye Linyuan several times.

Ye Linyuan, carrying the things she’d bought, casually raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well... there’s something I want to ask you, but I’m a little hesitant," Jiang Qingli said.

Ye Linyuan turned his head away. "Then don’t ask."

Jiang Qingli: ?

The corner of Ye Linyuan’s mouth lifted. "Go on."

Jiang Qingli asked, "Do you want to celebrate your birthday? I was looking at your file, and it seems like your birthday is in about two weeks."

Hearing the word "birthday," Ye Linyuan scoffed.

Observing his expression, Jiang Qingli thought she had touched on a painful subject and quickly said, "If you don’t want to, we can just forget it."

She had been afraid that his experiences in the laboratory would make him averse to such things, which was why she had never asked.

But a moment ago, she had seen his gaze linger on the child celebrating his birthday for a few seconds. ’Maybe,’ she thought, ’he used to want to celebrate his birthday, too...’

But if he didn’t want to, she wouldn’t force him to celebrate just to satisfy her own feelings.

Just then, someone came over to hand out flyers. After Jiang Qingli politely declined, the person’s eyes widened in surprise. "Jiang Qingli! You’re Jiang—"

"Shh!" Jiang Qingli pressed her index finger to her lips.

Ever since the award ceremony, she often ran into "fans" whenever she went out.

Jiang Qingli had never been a celebrity, but she was already quite adept at handling these situations.

She said in a low voice, "Sorry, I’m on a personal outing today, so..."

"I get it, I get it!" The person quickly covered their mouth. "Can I... shake your hand?!"

"Of course."

Jiang Qingli smiled and shook their hand. As the person left, they glanced at Ye Linyuan with a hint of envy, looking back every few steps.

After that little interruption, the two continued on their way to the movie theater.

Ye Linyuan had booked the entire theater. They were the only two people in the vast auditorium, sitting right in the center.

The movie was about to start in three minutes.

During the wait, the screen was blank.

After sitting down and adjusting her seat, Jiang Qingli suddenly heard the young man’s low, magnetic voice ask, "Just the two of us?"

Jiang Qingli asked, "Hm?"

"The birthday," Ye Linyuan said, as if asking nonchalantly. "Just the two of us?"

"So you do want to celebrate it!" Jiang Qingli laughed, nudging his shoulder with hers. Seeing him purse his lips a little unnaturally, her smile deepened. "It’s your birthday, so of course we’ll celebrate it however you want. If you want it to be just the two of us, then I’ll be right here with you."

A slight curve appeared on Ye Linyuan’s lips.

"Should I start planning then?" Jiang Qingli said. "In two weeks, we could go see the autumn leaves. They’re beautiful."

"No." A flash of disgust crossed Ye Linyuan’s eyes.

Jiang Qingli sensed that he didn’t seem to like the date of his birth.

It was understandable.

After all, Ye Linyuan’s birth hadn’t been accompanied by the warm atmosphere of a typical family.

His birthdate only served to help the laboratory staff calculate his age more accurately, making it easier to record experimental results.

Every mention of it was accompanied by pain and torment.

Jiang Qingli took his hand and gently kneaded his fingers. "Then when do you want to celebrate it? Is there a date you like?"

"You decide."

"Me?"

"Mhm."

Ye Linyuan hooked his fingers around hers, lacing them together until they were tightly intertwined. His vertical pupils fixed on her, tracing the outline of her profile in the dim light.

He repeated softly, "My birthday. You decide it."

She hadn’t expected him to say that. Her heart suddenly softened, and she turned to kiss the corner of his lips.

With Ye Linyuan entrusting her with such a great responsibility, Jiang Qingli felt the pressure. She asked, "Any time is okay?"

"Mhm."

"Do you have a favorite month?"

"No."

"What about ones you hate?"

"All of them."

"Then... is there a season you prefer?"

"No."

"Hey, how am I supposed to plan anything with that!"

She was starting to get annoyed. "Are you doing this on purpose to make things difficult for me?"

The corner of Ye Linyuan’s mouth lifted. "I wouldn’t dare."

Jiang Qingli retorted, "Oh, I think you would!"

The movie began, and the light from the screen illuminated her profile, making her eyes sparkle.

Ye Linyuan lowered his head to kiss her, his lips caressing hers as a muffled laugh rumbled in his throat.

When the movie was over, Jiang Qingli and Ye Linyuan walked out of the theater.

On the way back, they passed by the event area again. The artificial snow was still falling, landing on their hair and eyebrows and dusting them white.

Jiang Qingli thought the cool touch of the snow felt a bit like Ye Linyuan.

"Ye Linyuan," she said suddenly. "Why don’t we make your birthday the day of the first snow?"

"When the first snow of the year falls, we’ll walk home together, hand in hand."

Ye Linyuan looked at her snow-dusted hair, his expression softening. "Alright."

As he watched, the snow drifted down, and it felt as if they were the only two people in the world.

Jiang Qingli snapped out of the lingering, passionate kiss.

She felt something coil around her waist. Looking down, she saw, as expected, the tip of a black snake tail.

’This guy has no self-control at all.’

He had been holding her and kissing her on the desk just like this before Qiao Lan and Tang Ran arrived. Now that he knew no one else was coming, he was even more brazen.

Her scalp tingled from his kisses. She bit his forked tongue, and only then did Ye Linyuan slowly release her.

His eyes held a hint of dissatisfaction. "Just the two of us."

"It is just the two of us, but I can’t exactly keep you company in the office. If anyone found out, what would happen to my reputation as the president?" Jiang Qingli kicked his tail. "Put it away. Put it away."

At her words, Ye Linyuan retracted his tail and straightened her skirt.

Today was the last day of the semester. Winter break would follow, and they wouldn’t be back at the academy for a whole month.

Jiang Qingli finished up her work, sent a few red envelopes in the group chat, and left for the day, holding Ye Linyuan’s hand.

By the time they got downstairs, the snow was falling more heavily.

Jiang Qingli tilted her head back to watch for a moment, then let go of Ye Linyuan’s hand and reached out to catch the snowflakes.

She snapped a picture with her terminal before the snow could melt.

"Today is January 25th. So, this will be your birthday for this year," Jiang Qingli said, putting her terminal away and taking Ye Linyuan’s hand again. "Let’s go home."

White puffs of air escaped her lips as she spoke, but her eyes were sparkling.

"Time to celebrate your birthday!"