Chapter 14: Aunt Wang Is the Best??
“Cen Miao!” Qin Zelin called out to him.
“? Hubby~”
The man inside the car looked cold and stern, his tone serious. “What happened to your face? Did someone at school bully you?”
“It’s because… I ate this!”
Cen Miao pulled a large roasted sweet potato from one of the bags hanging from his scooter’s handlebars.
“I bought one… for you too!”
His little face was filthy, leaving only his eyes shining brightly.
Qin Zelin: “…”
He looked at the sweet potato, roasted until syrupy juices oozed from it. The moment he took it, his hand would be covered in sticky residue.
He hadn’t wanted to accept it, but he was worried the little monster would feel hurt if he refused.
“…Thank you.”
The bodyguard in the passenger seat immediately read the situation and got out of the car.
“It’s cold outside. Please get in and warm up, sir. I’ll ride your scooter home for you.”
“I’m not cold.”
Cen Miao pulled out another roasted sweet potato.
“This one is for you, Big Brother. It’s really tasty.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
“I-I get one too?” The bodyguard’s heart nearly melted. He cradled the roasted sweet potato with a foolish grin, not caring in the slightest if it stained his clothes, and carefully tucked it into the large pocket of his down jacket.
“There’s one for Big Brother Little Liu too.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!”
Qin Zelin watched helplessly as Cen Miao produced one sweet potato after another.
“…”
Was he some kind of sweet-potato-gifting fairy?
Qin Zelin lowered his gaze to the one in his own hand. Comparing it with the others, the corner of his lips curved almost imperceptibly.
The little monster was quite considerate.
He had known to choose the largest one for Qin Zelin.
Although… after eating something this large and sugary, even an hour of cardio probably wouldn’t burn it off.
After the bodyguard repeatedly urged him, Cen Miao finally got into the car.
Meanwhile, beneath the bodyguard—who was both 190 centimeters tall and weighed nearly ninety kilograms—Cen Miao’s little electric scooter…
Cen Miao glanced through the window and felt as though the scooter had sunk several inches lower. It looked like it was about to be crushed to death.
“…”
Would it break?
Once they arrived home, Cen Miao began handing out sweet potatoes.
Aside from Aunt Wang, who was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, every maid, gardener, and bodyguard received one. Everyone was smiling, and the entire villa became lively and cheerful.
After changing into loungewear, Qin Zelin came downstairs and was about to head toward the dining room when he spotted Cen Miao sneaking into the kitchen with an enormous sweet potato in his arms.
“…”
It was much bigger than the one he had given Qin Zelin.
Inside the kitchen—
Cen Miao held out the sweet potato like a treasure.
“Aunt Wang, this is the biggest one! I saved it especially for you!!!”
“Oh, my darling, your little face is all smudged. Why did you save the biggest one for me?” Aunt Wang smiled and reached out to wipe Cen Miao’s cheek.
“Because Aunt Wang is the best. You make delicious food for me.” Cen Miao smiled sweetly.
“Oh, then once the braised ribs are ready, you must eat plenty.”
At the mention of meat, Cen Miao nodded vigorously.
“Mm! I’ll eat lots and lots!”
Qin Zelin stopped mid-step.
“…………?”
Hah.
He paid for the ingredients. He hired Aunt Wang. He was the one who gave Cen Miao the bank card for spending money.
So why had he never heard the little monster say that he was the best?
After dinner, Cen Miao sat on the sofa eating fruit and watching television. Qin Zelin returned to the study to handle some work, then changed into workout clothes and went to repay his debt.
He had only been running for half an hour when the screen of his private phone lit up several times.
He slowed the treadmill and picked it up.
Meng Yu had posted the location of their gathering in their small group chat, followed by the message:
Whoever doesn’t come is a dog.
Only then did Qin Zelin remember that Meng Yu had returned from abroad several days ago and had loudly insisted they all meet on a fixed date.
But with his grandfather falling ill and his sudden marriage, too much had happened, and he had completely forgotten.
They had grown up together, after all. Meng Yu had finally returned after being away for so long, so Qin Zelin had to go.
It certainly wasn’t because he cared about being called a dog.
Qin Zelin clicked his tongue and turned off the treadmill.
He would add another half hour of cardio tomorrow morning…
By the time Qin Zelin entered the private room at the club, everyone else had already been there for quite a while.
“Brother Zelin~~ Why did you come so late? Don’t you miss me?” Meng Yu sat on the sofa, pitching his voice high and throwing Qin Zelin a flirtatious wink.
Qin Zelin was thoroughly disgusted. He frowned and sat down.
“Why are you being so cold, Brother? You’re completely ignoring me~”
“Meng the Third, did you get gender reassignment surgery overseas?”
“You even found out about that? It’s all because I’m hopelessly in love with you~” Meng Yu grinned at Qin Zelin’s revolted expression.
“Then you’re too late. Your dear Brother Zelin is already married.” Shao Siheng took a sip of wine, looking entirely ready to enjoy the show.
“What?” Qin Zexi put down his glass, his face filled with disbelief.
Xu Xiao and Lin Jingcheng also turned toward him in unison, wearing identical expressions.
Based on everything they had known about Qin Zelin since childhood, the man lived like a monk who had severed all worldly desire. His eyes contained nothing but work.
They had never met anyone so passionately devoted to working.
“You’re married???” Meng Yu abruptly sat upright. His flirtatious look vanished, and he even forgot to use the affected voice. “Someone actually likes a robotic android like you?”
Qin Zelin: “…”
“Get lost. It’s called self-discipline.”
“Hey, then what about the one who chased you for years before leaving the country heartbroken? Won’t he be furious when he finds out?” Xu Xiao raised a brow, his tone teasing.
Qin Zelin frowned as though he had remembered something filthy.
“I don’t intend to make the marriage public. It’s enough that you know.”
Throughout the evening, the others tried every possible indirect and direct method of prying for details, yet they still failed to extract a single juicy piece of gossip from Qin Zelin.
Near the end of the gathering, Qin Zelin had just stood to use the restroom when Lin Jingcheng beat him to it.
“Let’s use the restroom outside. I’ll come with you.” Shao Siheng stood as well.
Inside the restroom, Shao Siheng leaned against the sink with his arms crossed, his expression playful.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask last time. How’s married life? Happy?”
Qin Zelin finished washing his hands and leisurely pulled out a handkerchief to dry them.
After a moment, he sighed, helplessness entering his voice.
“It’s a contractual marriage. You know Grandpa’s condition. He said that if I didn’t get married, he wouldn’t rest in peace even after he died. What else could I do?”
“Don’t tell the others. Qin Zexi and Meng the Third have mouths like loudspeakers.”
“Wait, haven’t you two already done the whole sugoi thing?” Shao Siheng lowered his voice.
Qin Zelin was silent for two seconds.
“…He watched some nonsense and copied it blindly.”
At those words, Shao Siheng’s crossed arms dropped to his sides. He instantly lost all desire to enjoy the drama.
Instead, he felt as though something were lodged in his throat, needles were pressing into his back, and he was sitting on pins and needles…
What did that make him?
How had he inexplicably become a double agent?
They truly were grandfather and grandson!
One deceived him, and the other deceived the old man.
How sweet—
Bah.
In the end, he was the one who suffered.
If the supposedly ill man at the hospital learned the truth, he might genuinely become sick from anger.
“Aren’t you… afraid Grandpa will find out?” Shao Siheng asked speechlessly.
“If you don’t tell him, he won’t.”
Shao Siheng: “………”
“What the hell do I owe your Qin family?”
Qin Zelin gave a cold laugh.
“Aren’t you our family’s hired hand?”
Shao Siheng: “…”
Only after their footsteps faded did the door of one of the restroom stalls slowly open.
On the third floor of the villa, Cen Miao was completely absorbed in the world of short videos.
What he wanted:
How can a little zombie pretend to be a human wife without being discovered?
What the algorithm thought he wanted:
How to make a man hopelessly obsessed with you.
