Chapter 23: So Mad!
In the courtyard, Cen Miao secretly glanced at the two gardeners with their heads lowered as they packed soil around the trees. He quickly reached out, plucked several bright red berries from a branch, and was just about to put them into his mouth when Qin Zelin’s sharp shout startled him.
“Cen Miao!”
He hurriedly turned around. Seeing Qin Zelin striding quickly toward him, Cen Miao panicked, tilted his head back, and stuffed all the red berries in his hand into his mouth at once.
“Cen Miao, spit them out!!!”
Qin Zelin rushed forward, grabbed his jaw, and forced his mouth open.
“Mmph…”
Several small red berries rolled onto the ground. Qin Zelin held his face and carefully checked inside his mouth. Only after confirming there were none left did he release his grip on Cen Miao’s jaw.
His temple throbbed with anger. He suspected that even if a gust of wind passed by, the little monster would want to grab a handful and taste it.
They had only just left the hospital because of his reckless eating. If Qin Zelin hadn’t seen him, he would probably have ended up right back there!
“You put anything you see into your mouth. Do you even know whether it’s poisonous?” Qin Zelin lowered his eyes, his tone cold and stern, his anger unmistakable.
The two gardeners had no idea what had happened, but when they saw their boss lose his temper, they both froze and didn’t dare say a word.
Cen Miao looked up timidly at Qin Zelin’s ashen face. His lips turned downward, and tears suddenly rolled from his eyes without warning.
Unlike the deafening wails he had let out from stomach pain the night before, he simply stood there silently, lips trembling and eyes red as he cried.
“…!?”
“Why are you crying?” Qin Zelin looked stunned and instinctively reached out to wipe his tears.
Before his hand could reach him, Cen Miao abruptly shrank back, his dark eyes fixed on Qin Zelin with a hint of fear.
Qin Zelin’s hand froze in midair before he slowly withdrew it. His confused voice carried a trace of panic.
“No… I wasn’t going to hit you. I only reached out because you were crying. I… I never hit anyone. Don’t be afraid.”
But Cen Miao’s tears fell like a broken string of pearls, rapid and aggrieved.
Everyone had always said he was the best-behaved and cutest little zombie at the base. Even his caretaker daddy had never spoken to him so harshly.
He didn’t want to stay here anymore.
He wanted to go home.
Seeing the fear in Cen Miao’s eyes, Qin Zelin felt as though something heavy had lodged in his chest, leaving it tight and suffocating.
Although Cen Miao had been wrong to eat random things, Qin Zelin could have explained it properly and reasoned with the little monster.
“I’m sorry.” Qin Zelin’s voice unconsciously softened. “My tone was too harsh just now. I saw you eating something dangerous and panicked, so I…”
“Hm???”
Qin Zelin lowered his head and looked at the footprint now stamped across his leather shoe. Then he turned to stare at the person who had stepped on him and run away.
“…”
“B-Boss… you should wipe that off.” One of the gardeners cautiously offered him a tissue.
Qin Zelin silently accepted it.
“…Mm. Thank you.”
Inside the living room, Cen Miao was nestled against Aunt Wang, sniffling as he complained. His eyes were red, as though he had suffered some enormous injustice.
Aunt Wang wiped his tears while soothing him in a gentle voice.
Qin Zelin was about to walk over and explain again when he met Aunt Wang’s gaze.
She lightly waved him away and silently mouthed, “Go to work first.”
He remained where he was for a moment before finally turning and walking back outside.
At ten thirty, the tutor arrived at the villa on time.
After Aunt Wang’s comforting and persuasion, Cen Miao had calmed down. He was sitting beside the desk in the art studio, waiting.
When he heard the door open, he raised his head nervously and greeted the newcomer in a quiet voice.
“Hello, Big Brother.”
The person who entered was a young man carrying a backpack.
At the sound of Cen Miao’s voice, he looked up. The moment his gaze landed on Cen Miao’s face, his steps abruptly halted.
Bright sunlight streamed through the window and spread softly over Cen Miao.
His face was slightly tilted upward, and a trace of lingering moisture still clung to his lashes. His dark eyes held a touch of unease, yet they were as clean and clear as crystal.
Yu Rui stared blankly at the person before him, forgetting to respond.
Only when Cen Miao blinked in confusion did he suddenly come back to his senses. His face flushed uncontrollably.
“H-Hello. I’m the tutor your family hired for you. My surname is Yu. My name is Yu Rui. I’m twenty-five years old, have a bachelor’s degree, and I’m unmarried…”
“Are you angry, Big Brother?” Cen Miao asked.
Yu Rui froze.
“…Hm? No…”
Cen Miao tilted his head slightly.
“Then why did your face turn red from anger?”
“…”
“I’m… I’m just too hot. The room is warm, so my face turned red. Haha.”
Yu Rui awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and tried to change the subject.
“Um… why don’t we begin the lesson?”
Before coming, he had already learned about Cen Miao’s situation and fully prepared himself to treat him like a child and start teaching from the very beginning.
After roughly half an hour, Yu Rui noticed that Cen Miao’s attention was clearly beginning to wander, so he suggested taking a break before continuing.
He took out his silenced phone and checked it. Seeing a WeChat message from a close friend, he smiled and replied with two stickers, saying that he was tutoring someone.
“What’s this?”
Cen Miao suddenly reached out a finger, his eyes lighting up as he tapped a sticker on the screen. It showed one little figure jumping up to hit another.
“Do you mean this sticker?”
Yu Rui turned his head, and his face began to heat up again.
“My friend made it himself. I can send it to you if you like it.”
“Mm!”
“Are you very hot, Big Brother?” Cen Miao looked at his reddened cheeks. “Should I open the window for you?”
The moment he spoke, Yu Rui felt his face grow even hotter. His gaze shifted away involuntarily.
“N-No need. Opening the window when you’re hot can make you catch a cold.”
“All right.”
The two added each other on WeChat. Yu Rui sent Cen Miao a large collection of stickers and taught him how to save them.
Soon afterward, they resumed the lesson.
To make himself more like a human, Cen Miao studied very seriously.
At eleven thirty, the trial lesson ended. Yu Rui assigned him a little homework before leaving the villa.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the large conference room on the top floor of Huanyu Group was solemn and oppressive.
Everyone could feel the low pressure radiating from Qin Zelin.
At the head of the table, Qin Zelin’s brows were tightly furrowed. His mind was filled with the little monster’s aggrieved, frightened expression from that morning.
Tsk.
He wondered how the tutor Fang Huan had found was doing.
It was only reasonable for him to check on the tutor’s performance, wasn’t it? If the tutor wasn’t suitable, they could replace him in time and find someone better.
Qin Zelin picked up the phone on the table. After thinking for a moment, he sent a WeChat message, then placed the phone back down.
He lifted his eyes toward the data displayed on the conference room’s large screen, yet his peripheral vision kept drifting toward the phone on the table.
