Chapter 34: Hubby Has Too Much Heat
“Winter is… dry.”
Qin Zelin pressed another tissue to his nose and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Go dry your hair.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cen Miao flopped backward like a boneless giant pink rabbit and sprawled across the sofa.
“Oh.”
But he showed no intention of moving.
“…Fine. Be lazy to death, then.”
Inside the bathroom, Qin Zelin was cleaning the blood from his face in front of the mirror when the phone in his pocket rang.
He dried his hands and answered.
“What is it?”
“My wife saw a short video and insists on trying this new place in the suburbs that serves freshly slaughtered lamb eighteen different ways. Bring the little one, and we can all drive there tomorrow night. It’ll be livelier with more people, and the two of us can’t finish an entire lamb anyway.”
“All right,” Qin Zelin agreed immediately.
He didn’t need to ask the little monster to know his answer.
As for Qin Zelin himself, as long as it meant one less meal cooked by the little monster, he didn’t care what they ate.
“…”
Lin Jingcheng fell silent for a moment before tentatively asking, “Is this Zelin?”
“Are you sick?”
“No, you agreed too quickly. I’m not used to it. Aren’t you supposed to reject me outright, then reject me again after I persuade you nicely, and finally make me visit you three times like Liu Bei recruiting Zhuge Liang?”
“Oh. Then I take back my agreement. Go ahead and make your three visits.”
Lin Jingcheng: “…”
“I’m not sick. I’ll send you the location later. I’m going to notify the others.”
Qin Zelin ended the call, picked up the hair dryer, and left the bathroom.
When he returned to the sofa, he discovered that the giant pink rabbit had already fallen asleep in that brief amount of time.
He lay there quietly, nothing like his usual noisy self.
Qin Zelin shook his head, plugged in the hair dryer, set it to its lowest speed, and began drying Cen Miao’s hair.
Before long, the person lying on the sofa frowned. Then he irritably rolled inward and raised his hands to cover his ears.
Qin Zelin: “…”
You’re actually annoyed?
I should have let you sleep with wet hair.
After drying his hair, Qin Zelin set the hair dryer aside, scooped the giant pink rabbit into his arms, and carried him back to the bedroom.
Once he placed Cen Miao on the bed, Qin Zelin looked at his sleep-flushed cheeks and couldn’t resist pinching one.
The skin beneath his fingertips was warm and soft, like a giant glutinous rice ball.
Just as he withdrew his hand, he heard Cen Miao mumble something indistinctly.
Qin Zelin stiffened, thinking he had woken him.
After holding his breath and observing for a moment, he realized Cen Miao was merely talking in his sleep.
“I want… ten.”
Qin Zelin leaned down slightly and asked in a quiet voice, “Ten of what?”
The sleeping person smacked his lips.
“Baby’s spicy legs.”
Qin Zelin: “…All right.”
“Thank you.”
Suppressing a laugh, Qin Zelin said, “At least you’re polite.”
The following afternoon, after learning they were going out for dinner that evening, Cen Miao entered the study every so often to ask,
“When are we leaving?”
They finally made it to a little after four. Once Qin Zelin received the message, he closed his computer and took Cen Miao to the suburbs.
Several cars arrived one after another at the countryside restaurant.
The owner warmly came out to greet them and led the group into the backyard to choose a lamb.
Cen Miao was overflowing with enthusiasm. He pointed at the cutest little lamb and raised his voice excitedly.
“This one! Hubby, I want this one!”
The others didn’t particularly care which lamb they chose, so they laughed.
“All right. We’ll listen to Little Brother.”
Once the lamb was selected, they were shown inside and seated around a large round table.
The owner brought over a freshly brewed pot of chrysanthemum tea. The tea was clear, and steam carrying a faint floral fragrance drifted upward.
“Oh, I know this. It reduces internal heat. Eating this kind of food makes you especially prone to it,” Meng Yu said eagerly after taking a sip.
Hearing that, Cen Miao held his cup and drank very seriously, taking small sip after small sip.
Before long, he had finished three cups.
Meng Yu found it amusing and advised, “Little Brother, even if it tastes good, don’t drink too much. Save some room for the meat later.”
Cen Miao shook his head.
“I have to drink it. I don’t want too much internal heat. Hubby had too much internal heat three times last night, and his nose bled.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
The entire table fell silent for a moment, and every gaze drifted toward Qin Zelin.
Yu Wei, seated beside Lin Jingcheng, instantly lit up with excitement.
There was far too much information packed into that one sentence.
As someone who read trashy romance novels, she could come up with eight hundred different scenarios leading up to that nosebleed!
Meng Yu glanced at Qin Zelin, propped his chin on one hand, and smiled maliciously.
“Oh? Then tell Big Brother what you were doing before your darling hubby’s nose started bleeding.”
Yu Wei looked at him approvingly.
Excellent question!
Ask more!
She loved listening!
“I was putting on my pan—Mmph?”
Cen Miao had barely spoken a few words before Qin Zelin covered his mouth.
“Cen Miao, are you trying to go home again?”
“…Don’t wanna go home.”
“Then talk less and eat more.”
After speaking, Qin Zelin removed the hand covering Cen Miao’s mouth.
Yu Wei: Putting on pants???
Then hadn’t he needed to take them off first~~~~?
“Little Brother, so Brother Qin’s nose started bleeding as soon as you took off your pants?”
Cen Miao quietly denied it.
“No. Hubby said it was because of too much internal heat. This season makes people especially prone to—Mmph.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
Seeing that Qin Zelin couldn’t control Cen Miao at all, Shao Siheng laughed delightedly.
“Come, come. Everyone have another cup of chrysanthemum tea. This season truly does make people prone to internal heat. As a doctor, I know that best~~~”
The dishes arrived one after another.
Cen Miao liked the lamb pilaf most and kept his head lowered as he ate bowl after bowl.
Looking at the person across from him whose face was practically buried in his bowl, Qin Zexi remembered how Little Curly had once said he wanted to win the lottery. He couldn’t resist quietly reminding Qin Zelin,
“Bro, treat him better.”
Shao Siheng sighed and placed a piece of meat into the idiot’s bowl.
“Just eat.”
“Another bowl.”
Cen Miao held up his completely empty bowl and looked eagerly at the person beside him.
Qin Zelin released a long sigh, unwilling to respond to Qin Zexi.
Even he thought he looked as though he had starved Cen Miao before.
He reached out and gently removed a grain of rice stuck beside Cen Miao’s lips. Then he took the bowl and filled it with more rice.
As the meal neared its end, Cen Miao suddenly tugged Qin Zelin’s sleeve and asked quietly,
“Hubby, when are we taking the little lamb home?”
Qin Zelin automatically translated Cen Miao’s words in his mind:
Can we pack up the leftovers after dinner?
He glanced at the untouched plate of lamb pilaf still on the table and replied,
“After we finish eating.”
“All right.”
After dinner, Qin Zelin carried the takeout containers and led Cen Miao out of the restaurant.
At the entrance, everyone chatted briefly, said their goodbyes, and prepared to get into their cars.
But Cen Miao suddenly grabbed Qin Zelin’s sleeve, his voice carrying a trace of urgency.
“Hubby, we still haven’t taken the little lamb home.”
Qin Zelin lifted the takeout containers in his hand.
“Isn’t it right here? I had everything packed up for you.”
