Chapter 27: I Ate It Fair and Square
The atmosphere in the private room instantly froze.
Meng Yu opened and closed his mouth for a long while. The words rolled around in his throat several times before he hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, no! I’m not a bad person trying to trick you!”
“But Hubby said last night that anyone who asks me to call him Big Brother is a bad person trying to deceive me,” Cen Miao said slowly.
At that, Meng Yu shot Qin Zelin a teasing look and deliberately dragged out his voice in an obnoxious tone.
“I’m really not a liar~~ If you don’t believe me, ask your darling hubby.”
“…”
Qin Zelin covered his eyes with one hand, rubbing his aching temples with his thumb and middle finger before quietly murmuring, “Mm.”
Sometimes, he truly wanted to cover the little monster’s mouth.
But if he actually did that, the men across from him would disgust him to death with their relentless teasing.
Xu Xiao and Lin Jingcheng seized the opportunity to crowd over with cheerful smiles and introduce themselves. Then they copied Meng Yu’s tone and said the exact same thing.
…
Qin Zelin remained silently resigned and didn’t refute them.
Only Shao Siheng quietly watched the show. He hadn’t forgotten his duties as the Qin family’s hired hand and occasionally refilled Qin Zexi’s water.
Once the chef had prepared the ingredients and utensils, he began cooking, instantly drawing Cen Miao’s attention away.
Soon, the sizzling sound of fat hitting the hot iron plate filled the room. The rich aroma unique to beef, mingled with a faint milky fragrance, spread throughout the private room.
Cen Miao stared fixedly at the meat like a young wolf preparing to pounce.
Qin Zelin glanced sideways at the way his body leaned forward impatiently, and the corner of his lips curved unconsciously.
The chef carefully controlled the heat, sprinkling on simple seasonings at precisely the right moment.
At Qin Zexi’s signal, he lifted the first piece of meat and placed it on the plate in front of Cen Miao.
The meat touched the plate for less than half a second before it vanished into Cen Miao’s mouth.
Scalding, milky juices instantly burst across his tongue.
So hot!
So delicious!!!
So hot!!
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath simultaneously.
Even the chef was stunned. In all his years of cooking, this was the first time he had encountered such a ferocious customer.
That meat had just come off the iron plate…
Qin Zelin’s expression changed. He hurriedly reached for Cen Miao’s mouth, his voice urgent.
“Spit it out right now.”
Cen Miao: “…”
Why was the human trying to steal his meat?!
He wouldn’t spit it out!!
Why should he give up meat that had already entered his mouth?!
Enduring the burning pain on his tongue and the tears welling in his eyes, Cen Miao pressed his lips tightly together and swallowed the meat in one determined gulp.
Then he opened his mouth and said, “Ah. It’s gone.”
Seeing that the tip of his tongue was only red from the heat and hadn’t blistered, Qin Zelin finally released a breath and let go.
Qin Zexi stared wide-eyed at the scene.
Watching Qin Zelin attempt to dig the meat out of the little curly-haired boy’s mouth, he began to suspect his cousin had been possessed by something unclean.
What happened to his germophobia?
Why was he treating people so differently?
“Bro… do you remember when I was little…”
“You ate poop.”
Before Qin Zexi could finish, Qin Zelin’s three icy words stopped him cold.
“…”
Yes.
That was definitely his brother.
Qin Zexi instantly became bitter and complained unhappily, “When I ate poop as a kid, you didn’t stop me, but when he burns his mouth on a piece of meat, you try to dig it out?”
Beside him, Shao Siheng silently sighed.
How could this idiot announce that he had eaten poop with such pride?
“That’s enough. Stop talking.” Shao Siheng covered Qin Zexi’s mouth with one hand.
Meng Yu and the other two also looked disgusted.
Qin Zexi had already complained about this incident eight hundred times, like Xianglin’s Wife endlessly retelling her tragedy.
In fact, Shao Siheng had witnessed the incident too.
Back when Qin Zexi was still a baby, he had somehow smeared poop all over one hand after relieving himself. By the time Qin Zelin finished solving a problem and noticed him, Qin Zexi had already stuck his hand into his mouth and was sucking it enthusiastically, completely lost to the world.
Both Shao Siheng and Qin Zelin had been so shocked by the sight that neither had the courage to step forward and stop him.
In the end, the nanny heard the commotion and rushed over, carrying the little ancestor away to clean him up.
Grandpa Qin happened to witness the entire incident. Once Qin Zexi was old enough to understand, the old man told him the story as a joke.
Ever since then, Qin Zexi had held a grudge and complained that Qin Zelin was inhuman whenever he got the chance.
Cen Miao hadn’t paid attention to what they were discussing.
He secretly glanced sideways at Qin Zelin’s dark expression and muttered quietly, “There was still more over there. Why did you insist on stealing the piece in my mouth?”
“…”
Qin Zelin was so irritated that rage flared inside him.
Still, he remembered the psychologist’s instructions to remain patient and forcibly suppressed it.
Only after calming himself for a long while did he speak.
“Let the meat cool slightly before eating it. I won’t steal it from you, and neither will they. If you eat like that again, I’m taking you home immediately.”
The moment Cen Miao heard they might go home, he cowered.
Remembering the trick he had learned from the short videos, he tugged Qin Zelin’s sleeve and acted spoiled in a soft voice.
“Hubby, pretty please. Don’t take me home. You’re the best~”
“Hey, your sleeve.”
Qin Zelin lifted the cuff of his sweater, which had accidentally brushed against the dipping sauce.
“Go wash it and wipe it clean first.”
“Then we’re not going home.” Cen Miao stubbornly pursed his lips, looking as though he wouldn’t move until Qin Zelin agreed.
Qin Zelin sighed.
“Mm. We’re not going home.”
The manager immediately stepped forward, tactfully offering, “I’ll take the young gentleman over and help clean the cuff of his sweater while we’re there.”
Qin Zelin nodded.
“Mm. Thank you.”
The moment Cen Miao followed the manager out of the private room, Xu Xiao could no longer hold back.
He turned toward Qin Zelin and blurted, “Dad…”
“Yes?” Qin Zelin answered immediately.
“Pah, pah, pah! You old dog, taking advantage of me!”
“What I meant was, why do you look like his father?”
“Get lost.”
“Oh my, that little brother is so good at acting spoiled. No wonder you turned into a beast, bit his lips until they bled nonstop, and even broke the bed.”
The private room fell deathly silent.
Their gazes crossed in midair.
Qin Zexi looked at Meng Yu.
Meng Yu looked at Lin Jingcheng.
Lin Jingcheng looked at Xu Xiao.
Every one of their expressions carried doubt and confusion.
The exact same thought flashed through all their minds:
Was that really what I told you?
Followed by another:
Wasn’t your addition a little too outrageous?
Qin Zelin’s brows knitted tightly.
“Where did you hear that?”
Pull one radish, and the whole clump of mud came with it.
Several minutes later, under Qin Zelin’s threat that if they refused to confess, he would speak with their families and arrange for them to study abroad, he finally uncovered the rumor’s chain of transmission.
Grandpa ? Qin Zexi ? Meng Yu ? Lin Jingcheng ? Xu Xiao.
Butler Lin was probably somewhere at the very beginning.
Each loudspeaker embellished the story a little. By the time it reached Xu Xiao, it had transformed into the version he had just described.
Qin Zelin was about to explain that none of it had happened when the private room door opened again.
Cen Miao had returned.
Everyone instantly fell silent and, with perfect coordination, put on expressions suggesting nothing had happened.
The chef resumed cooking.
Qin Zexi looked up at the manager.
“Bring me a bottle of my wine.”
Then he turned toward Cen Miao.
“What would you like to drink, Little Curly?”
Qin Zelin looked at the person whose ears seemed to shrink backward nervously after being addressed and felt slightly amused.
He had no idea what that enormous idiot Qin Zexi had done to make Cen Miao so frightened of him.
“Doesn’t he have a name?” Qin Zelin lifted his eyelids and glanced at Qin Zexi.
Qin Zexi: “…”
“Tell him what you want to drink.” Qin Zelin gestured toward the manager.
Cen Miao poked out the tip of his tongue and licked his lips.
“I want bomb water. Don’t shake it, please.”
