Chapter 18: PTSD? PSTD?
The atmosphere inside the car was frozen.
Little Wang took a deep breath and braced himself before saying, “Boss, sir probably… didn’t notice our car. Why don’t I go call him over?”
“…Mm.” An emotionless response came from the back seat.
Moments later, the bodyguard in a black suit efficiently loaded the little electric scooter into the trunk before returning to the car.
“Hubby! Why are you here?”
“That perv— Who was that person talking to you just now?”
The moment the door closed, they spoke at the same time.
“That was Senior Xu.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
The one he was always talking about?
“I made an appointment with a psychologist for you. I’m taking you there so you can talk to him.” Qin Zelin explained in a neutral tone, his fingertips unconsciously tapping once against his knee. Then, as though asking casually, he added, “What was that man saying to you?”
In the driver’s seat, Little Liu wrinkled his nose and clicked his tongue inwardly.
Wow, that sour smell.
Someone was drowning in jealousy.
Cen Miao quietly repeated, “He said that if anything happens, I should go to him and not worry about troubling him.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
As expected, that man didn’t look like a good person.
The way he had stared at the little monster—so fixed, sticky, and lecherous—made it obvious he had bad intentions.
Go to him if something happened?
Hah.
It wasn’t as though the little monster had no one looking after him.
“There’s no need to trouble outsiders if something happens.” Qin Zelin turned his head, his gaze falling on Cen Miao’s face. “If you can’t reach me, contact Assistant Fang or Uncle Lin. Remember that.”
Cen Miao blinked.
Back in his previous world, whenever anything happened, he had indeed gone to his caretaker daddy first.
He obediently replied, “Oh.”
Seeing him agree so obediently, Qin Zelin raised his brows slightly, satisfied.
Inside the consultation room, Chen Jinming put Cen Miao through a series of detailed assessments, then spoke gently with him for a long time.
At the end, he gave his usual reassuring smile and asked his assistant to take Cen Miao outside. Then he invited Qin Zelin in.
“Please, have a seat.”
Chen Jinming stood and gestured toward the chair across from him. Only after Qin Zelin sat down did he return to his own seat.
An assistant brought coffee and placed it in front of Qin Zelin. He nodded slightly in thanks before looking at Chen Jinming.
“Cen Miao, he…”
“Your husband’s condition,” Chen Jinming began, leaning slightly forward with his hands clasped on the desk, his tone gentle but serious, “is relatively complicated. In fact, I’ve never encountered anything quite like it throughout my career.”
Qin Zelin’s brows drew together.
“…Is it serious?”
“Based on the assessment results, I found signs of impairment in his cognitive functioning.”
“It may have been triggered by a major upheaval in his life, resulting in PTSD, but I’m currently unable to give you a definite conclusion regarding the exact cause.”
“My recommendation is to avoid medication for the time being. Try to be more patient with him and give him additional care and affection.”
“As for his grades, you can first find him a tutor and see whether his learning ability and cognitive functioning gradually recover.”
Qin Zelin nodded with a complicated expression.
“All right. I understand.”
Outside the door, Cen Miao had his ear pressed against it as he secretly listened to their conversation.
What was that P-something again?
PDST?
Then whenever he did something wrong in the future, could he say it was because he had PSTD?
That way, no one would discover he was a little zombie!
He was so clever!
Hehe.
A few minutes later, inside the elevator—
Cen Miao lowered his head and picked at his fingers. He was thinking about the juicy beef ribs Aunt Wang had cooked last time and swallowed.
Once they got home, he had to ask Aunt Wang to make them again for dinner. He hadn’t eaten nearly enough last time.
Qin Zelin glanced at Cen Miao’s bowed head.
For some reason, even the round back of his head looked pitiful.
He had lost the grandfather who loved him, been driven out of his home, and even his previously excellent grades had fallen drastically.
The little monster must be frightened inside.
Qin Zelin gently rubbed the back of his round head and comforted him.
“Don’t worry. It’s only mild PTSD. As for your grades, I’ll find you a good tutor. You’ll recover soon.”
Cen Miao, who was deciding what fruit to eat after dinner, distractedly murmured, “Mm.”
He decided on big strawberries.
Seeing that Cen Miao had become even quieter, Qin Zelin grew more certain that his suspicions were correct.
On the way home, Cen Miao watched the scenery outside the window.
While they were stopped at a red light at an intersection, a storefront suddenly caught his attention.
Remembering what he had learned from the short videos, he turned to Qin Zelin and said, “Hubby! Buy me a bag!”
Qin Zelin, who was messaging his assistant and asking him to find Cen Miao a tutor:
“…………??”
“A bag? Didn’t I give you a card? You can use it to buy whatever you want.”
Cen Miao scrunched up his little face.
“I want Hubby to buy me a bag!”
Qin Zelin was about to refuse when he suddenly remembered the psychologist’s words.
Be patient…
Give him more care…
“…”
Fine. He would agree to take the little monster shopping for a bag this once.
He happened to have cleared his schedule for the afternoon anyway.
Just this once. There would be no next time.
“All right. Which brand do you want? What kind of bag?”
Cen Miao instantly brightened and pointed out the window toward a shop near the intersection.
“I want beef buns!!! Thank you, Hubby!”
Qin Zelin: “…?”
Little Liu: “…?”
The bodyguard: “…?”
Curious, all three followed the direction of Cen Miao’s finger.
A large red flower decorated the golden signboard, beneath which several enormous characters gleamed brightly:
The Capital’s Number One Beef Buns
A smaller line underneath read:
A Century-Old Shop. Flavor Guaranteed. Honest Service for All Ages.
All three men’s eyelids twitched simultaneously.
“…”
Qin Zelin’s mind went blank for a moment.
His head hadn’t hurt this badly even when he had stayed up for an entire week working on a project.
A few minutes later, Little Liu and the bodyguard sat inside the car, staring blankly as their boss—dressed in a perfectly pressed suit and overcoat—led his husband into a steamed-bun shop.
When the two emerged, Qin Zelin wore the same stern expression as always, but in his hand was a transparent plastic bag that looked utterly incompatible with his entire person.
It contained a bag full of buns and several packets of complimentary pickled vegetables.
“…”
Inside the car, Cen Miao lowered his head and sniffed the bag of buns in his arms. His eyes filled with affection as he began untying it.
Everything the videos taught him was true!
He had asked for a bao, and this human had really bought him one!
Qin Zelin continued reading his work emails. Hearing the rustling beside him, he did not shift his gaze in the slightest.
“Eat when we get home. Don’t eat inside the car.”
Cen Miao’s hands paused.
He secretly glanced at Qin Zelin. Seeing that Qin Zelin wasn’t looking at him, he resumed his movements even more carefully.
“No,” Qin Zelin said, still staring at the email without turning his head.
“…”
The corners of Cen Miao’s eyes drooped innocently, and he pouted.
“But I’m hungry. I want to eat.”
Qin Zelin looked into his watery eyes and gritted his teeth, silently repeating the same words three times.
Be patient.
Give him care.
Be patient.
Give him care.
Be patient.
Give him care.
They could open the windows and air out the smell after getting out of the car.
This was a special situation because Cen Miao was hungry.
He would agree just this once.
There would be no next time.
“…Go ahead.”
