Chapter 19: Just This Once~
After eating three beef buns in a row, Cen Miao was about to reach for a fourth when his phone suddenly rang.
Seeing that it was a voice call from Senior Xu, he answered.
“Miaomiao, you never messaged me. Are you still not home yet?” The voice on the other end was gentle, with a faint trace of concern.
Qin Zelin’s finger paused on his phone screen. His instincts told him it was that pervert from the school gates.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen, but he stopped scrolling altogether.
“Not yet,” Cen Miao replied slowly.
“How come you’re still not home? Are you feeling upset?” Xu Jianian’s voice was full of concern. “Why don’t you send me your location? I’m genuinely worried about you.”
“Don’t worry. I just have p… ppst.”
The car fell utterly silent, with only the quiet hum of the air conditioner.
The person on the other end and everyone inside the car fell silent at the same time, momentarily at a loss.
After a while, Xu Jianian finally recovered and quietly confirmed, “Do you mean PTSD?”
“Mm. PPT.”
Qin Zelin raised a hand and pressed his aching brow.
“…”
“I’m going home now. Bye-bye.” Cen Miao poked one of the buns, eager to end the call.
Xu Jianian paused before his gentle voice came through the receiver again. “…All right. Be careful on your way home, Miaomiao.”
In the front seats, Little Liu and the bodyguard pressed their teeth into their upper lips, stretching their philtrums long as they struggled not to laugh. Their faces turned bright red, but neither dared make a sound.
Qin Zelin turned toward Cen Miao, who reached for another bun the instant the call ended. The corners of his mouth twitched repeatedly.
That six points…
The little monster had probably guessed the correct answers.
His gaze lowered to the phone carelessly tossed onto the center armrest.
“Was that Senior Xu again? The one who asked you to work part-time?”
Cen Miao nodded. “Mm. Munch, munch. Senior Xu… munch, munch… is a good person. Munch, munch.”
“…”
Hah.
A good person?
His gaze had practically been glued to Cen Miao!
Only someone as innocent as the little monster would fail to understand his intentions!
Besides, that man was built like a willow branch. He looked weak at first glance.
If they ever encountered danger, forget protecting the little monster—he probably couldn’t even protect himself.
Although theirs was only a contractual marriage, Qin Zelin had promised his grandfather that he would take care of Cen Miao. He certainly couldn’t allow him to be deceived by someone like that.
Qin Zelin lightly tapped his fingers against his knee as a plan formed in his mind.
“Why don’t you put that part-time job on hold for now?”
“Why… why?”
“I asked Assistant Fang to find you a tutor. You don’t have much free time after class, so you can study with the tutor at home on your days off.” Qin Zelin’s voice was gentle, carrying a hint of coaxing. “You want your grades to recover quickly too, don’t you?”
Cen Miao lowered his head and pouted.
Although he didn’t like studying, if he wanted to fit into the human world, he had to learn human knowledge.
“I understand.”
The corner of Qin Zelin’s lips curved upward ever so slightly.
“Then shouldn’t you tell him first? Otherwise, if you suddenly don’t show up and he hasn’t hired anyone to replace you, it’ll cause him trouble.”
“And what if he blames you for it…”
Cen Miao grew nervous and hurriedly picked up his phone.
“I can’t cause… trouble for other people. I’ll tell Senior Xu right now that I’m not going.”
Qin Zelin smiled faintly. “Mm. Good boy.”
Little Liu: “…”
His boss truly was a capitalist.
With just a few sentences, he had strangled his rival in the cradle and even poured a bucket of water over the remains.
After they returned home, Qin Zelin went upstairs and discovered that all of Cen Miao’s daily necessities had been moved into his room.
He didn’t even need to think about it. Uncle Lin must have misunderstood because of what happened the previous night.
Tsk.
The little monster liked him so much that he had insisted he was afraid of the dark and wanted to sleep with him. If Qin Zelin moved him back out now, he would probably cry in front of him again like last night.
Forget it.
He could move Cen Miao back to his own room once his psychological condition improved.
That evening, Cen Miao finally got the beef ribs he had been craving.
When he started gnawing on the sixth rib, Qin Zelin silently picked up his phone and contacted Chen Jinming.
[Qin Zelin] Hello. Could an unusually strong appetite be related to his psychological condition?
[Chen Jinming] Eating can also be a way of releasing emotions. As long as the amount doesn’t affect his health, there’s no need to intervene for now.
[Qin Zelin] What if he ate four large beef buns after leaving your clinic, then gnawed on six beef ribs about the length of a forearm at dinner?
[Qin Zelin] He’s on the seventh now.
[Chen Jinming] …You should intervene a little. [Wry Smile.jpg]
[Qin Zelin] Understood… Sorry to bother you.
[Chen Jinming] It’s fine. Contact me anytime if you have questions. A friend of Siheng’s is a friend of mine.
After deliberating for a long time, Qin Zelin softened his voice.
“You shouldn’t eat too much at night. You’ll feel uncomfortable if you overeat.”
Cen Miao, who had starved to death in his previous world and wished he could stuff every piece of food into his stomach for safekeeping: “…?”
How could having food make anyone uncomfortable?
Being completely stuffed was the most comfortable feeling of all!
But if he ate too much, would this human think he was too expensive to feed and stop wanting him?
Sigh.
A zombie living under another’s roof still had to behave.
“I understand. Can I finish this one?” Cen Miao asked softly.
“…Mm.”
The phone on the table chimed again. Qin Zelin picked it up.
[The Most Handsome Man in the Universe] Bro, my restaurant is getting Kobe beef and bluefin tuna the day after tomorrow. I saved some especially for you. Bring my sister-in-law over to eat! [Hehe.jpg]
Qin Zelin could tell with his knees that Qin Zexi had arranged this purely because he was curious and wanted gossip.
[Qin Zelin] Not going.
[The Most Handsome Man in the Universe] Come on. Taking my sister-in-law to a psychologist isn’t as useful as letting him chat with me. Remember my autistic deskmate from school? I talked him into becoming outgoing.
[Qin Zelin] The one who cursed you out every time he saw you?
[The Most Handsome Man in the Universe] …Just tell me whether his autism improved or not! [Hands on Hips.jpg]
Qin Zelin: “…”
[The Most Handsome Man in the Universe] Six thirty the evening after tomorrow. Remember to bring my sister-in-law.
“Qin Zexi… is my cousin. He said there’ll be Kobe beef and bluefin tuna the evening after tomorrow. Do you want to go?”
Cen Miao, who only understood the words Do you want to go eat?, immediately replied, “I want to go. Munch, munch. I want to go! Munch, munch!”
“Mm.”
Qin Zelin wasn’t surprised by his answer. He turned toward Little Li.
“Tell Aunt Wang she doesn’t need to prepare dinner for the two of us that day.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After dinner, Cen Miao ate some fruit before returning to the bedroom to watch short videos.
[When a wife knows how to act cute, her husband’s soul will float away~ Babies, today I’m going to teach you how I usually act spoiled! Once you learn it, I guarantee your husband will obey your every command and indulge your every wish. First…]
So this was what acting spoiled meant?
Cen Miao cleared his throat and began imitating her.
“Hubby! Pretty please~ Hubby! I’m begging you~ Hubby, you’re the bestest ever~”
As long as he learned those few sentences, he would know how humans acted spoiled?
That was so easy.
[A wife who cooks well will have her husband rushing home every day! This is the dinner I prepared for my husband today—five dishes and one soup~]
Cen Miao: So to be a human wife, he also had to cook delicious food for his husband!
