Chapter 225: Checking Mental Power
That night, after Ye Ming finished washing up, he took out Shi Lan’s gift again.
He opened it and looked. Inside was a wool felt doll of his beast form—a Black Panther wearing a red bow tie and an earring, looking a bit dorky and cute. Next to it was a greeting card.
The first part of the card was filled with her birthday wishes for him. The latter part said: "Ye Ming, I don’t know if you’ll like this gift. It’s the first time I’ve ever made a doll like this by hand. It’s just a small token of my affection.
If there’s anything wrong with it, would our gentle and kind Prince forgive me?"
After that, she had added a cute, pleading emoji, and ended with one more birthday wish: "Happy birthday to you. May you have no more worries, and may all your wishes come true~"
Ye Ming softly mouthed the words, as if Shi Lan had appeared right before him, teasingly begging for his forgiveness, then earnestly speaking her blessings with those rosy lips.
A bright smile unknowingly spread across his face. He carefully put away the card, then took out the wool felt Black Panther again. He loved it, no matter how he looked at it.
Although the dorky expression didn’t quite suit him, the thought that Shi Lan’s mind had been filled with his image as she made the gift sent an inexplicable heat and an indescribable sense of satisfaction through his body.
He placed the little Black Panther on the pillow beside him and gazed at it for a long time before closing his eyes in contentment.
It was his first birthday since leaving Black Star, and even though his father had scolded him, Ye Ming felt an unprecedented sense of joy.
—
The next day, Ye Ming made a special trip to a Treatment Pod to heal his injuries. Then, he personally picked a bouquet of flowers from the palace garden, arranged them beautifully, and went to Interstellar Mansion with the flowers in his arms to pick up Shi Lan.
Shi Lan was delighted to see the flowers. She distributed them among the vases in the room, and as Ye Ming watched her bustling about like a busy little bee, his heart melted.
After she finished, just as they were about to leave, he gently pulled her into a hug and gave her a restrained, tender kiss on her eyelids.
"Lanlan’s eyes are very beautiful, too."
He was responding to what she had said last night. He continued, "Thank you for the birthday gift, Lanlan. I like it very much."
Hearing this, the memories she had tried so hard to suppress came rushing back, making her blush.
’I was so forward last night.’ But who could have resisted? In such a wonderful atmosphere, a kiss seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Ye Ming gave her a simple kiss on the eyelid and then pulled away before leading her to the Hovercar.
Shi Lan was a little surprised. ’I thought he would continue kissing his way down. I could clearly feel the lingering reluctance as his lips paused over my eye. They were trembling with excitement and pleasure, obviously not wanting to stop, yet he still pulled away so quickly.’
Shi Lan was too embarrassed to ask. For his part, Ye Ming felt he had already gained so much all at once. ’I’m not a greedy person,’ he thought, ’I don’t dare to ask for too much. This level of intimacy is something I’ve never even dreamed of. Lanlan has given me so many new feelings.’
’Last night, my dreams were even filled with images of the two of us tangled together.’
At that thought, Ye Ming didn’t dare to dwell on it any further and immediately cut off his train of thought.
In the car, Ye Ming told Dr. Ai about the matter. Dr. Ai immediately replied, "Of course, Prince. I’ll be waiting for you at the research institute."
Shi Lan had assumed Dr. Ai’s research institute would be in a remote location, but the Hovercar arrived in no time. She looked over in surprise—it was inside a shopping mall in a bustling part of the city center.
Ye Ming led her directly to a private elevator. He felt around inside for a moment, and a keypad appeared. He entered the correct command, and the elevator began to descend with the two of them.
Shi Lan said in disbelief, "The research institute is in this mall?"
Ye Ming nodded. "This mall is one of my assets. I figured it would be convenient to hide in plain sight, so I decided to build the research institute twenty meters underground here."
Not long after he finished speaking, with a "DING~", the elevator reached its destination.
Shi Lan followed Ye Ming out, her face a mask of astonishment as she watched the robots and staff in white lab coats coming and going.
The staff all recognized Ye Ming and greeted him in a natural, familiar way.
Ye Ming’s expression was usually much colder toward outsiders, but with Shi Lan by his side, there was still a hint of a smile in his eyes.
The staff noticed the difference in his mood and glanced curiously at Shi Lan a few more times. However, the number one rule for working at the institute was to not engage in idle gossip and to keep a tight lip, so no one asked any questions.
The research institute was quite large, and the decor was very similar throughout, making the layout feel like a maze.
Shi Lan stuck close to Ye Ming’s side. As she walked, staring at the cold, repetitive decor, she started to feel a little dizzy and worried she would get lost.
She unconsciously gripped the hem of his clothes.
Ye Ming paused. Noticing her anxiety, he glanced down at her hand, his lips pursing nervously before he took the initiative to hold it. "Don’t worry, I’m right here."
Shi Lan’s fingers instinctively slipped between his. She nodded, feeling much more at ease.
The two of them wound their way through several more sensor-activated doors before Ye Ming finally stopped.
Dr. Ai had recently been studying Chao Si and some newly captured members of the Insect Clan. Worried that something "unclean" inside might affect Lanlan’s health, Ye Ming didn’t enter the lab directly. Instead, he pressed the call button outside to let Dr. Ai know they had arrived.
Hearing the call, Dr. Ai paused his work, took off his gloves, and came out.
His gaze fell on Shi Lan for a moment, then shifted to Ye Ming after a few seconds. He asked respectfully, "Eldest Prince, do you need to test spiritual power now?"
"Is it this young lady who will be tested?"
He looked at Shi Lan again. Ye Ming responded with a simple "Mm."
"Very well, follow me."
Dr. Ai led the two to another lab, this one filled with specialized equipment for measuring spiritual power.
Jiang Xia, too, was in a belated state of shy embarrassment. The two of them were alone in such a confined space, and he could clearly smell the faint rose scent on her—Shi Lan. He remembered it was the scent of the shampoo she had given him before.
But he had used that bottle of shampoo, and it still wasn’t as fragrant as Lanlan’s natural scent.
Moreover, from hugging Lanlan so tightly just now, he’d discovered that her whole body was soft—so very soft. Especially the part pressed against his lower chest, which was unbelievably supple.
Jiang Xia didn’t dare to think too much about what that was. In an environment like this, everyone was very open about pursuing partners; he wasn’t that naive.
He inexplicably found it hard to breathe. He couldn’t help but greedily take a few breaths of the fragrance wafting around him before his Adam’s apple bobbed twice. "Then let’s go into the sea now."
At this moment, their bubble was floating on the surface of the sea, drifting with the waves, while curious seagulls circled them.
Taking the female lead to check her spiritual power / Female lead’s chip self-tests.