Chapter 40: The Little Monster Kissed Him!
“!!???”
Qin Zelin’s entire body stiffened. His mind went blank for a moment, and his heart began pounding uncontrollably, so fast it seemed ready to burst through his chest.
The sensation against his lips was unbelievably warm and soft. The sweet fragrance of strawberries and cream curled around him, and even the faint moisture left at the corner of his mouth felt exceptionally vivid.
The! Little! Monster! Kissed! Him?!
Did Cen Miao like him so much that he simply couldn’t restrain himself?
Little Li: “!!!”
Before Qin Zelin could react, Cen Miao calmly returned to his seat and resumed eating his cake as though nothing had happened.
A moment later, he raised his head, looked at Qin Zelin, and once again puckered his cream-smeared lips.
“???”
Qin Zelin’s head buzzed. His throat felt blocked by something, and although his lips moved several times, he couldn’t force out a single word.
Cen Miao: “?”
Sigh. He had to earn the cakes himself.
Qin Zelin stared blankly as Cen Miao walked toward him again. A vein throbbed at his temple.
“Cen—”
“Muah~”
“…”
Little Li’s eyes widened into circles.
Oh my god!!!
Sir was so bold and domineering!
“Young Master! I think I heard Aunt Wang calling me. I need to go check right away, so I won’t disturb you and your husband!”
Watching Little Li leave with her arms and legs moving stiffly in unison, Qin Zelin finally managed to recover a shred of rationality.
He was still considering how to deal with the situation when a magnified face suddenly appeared before his eyes.
“Muah~”
“…”
The rationality he had just recovered promptly ran away again.
After finishing the last bite of cake, Cen Miao smeared the cream onto the corner of Qin Zelin’s mouth, grabbed the chocolates, and ran off.
Three kisses should earn him three cakes, right?
Qin Zelin: “…”
Could it be that the little monster was especially upset today and wanted to obtain a little warmth from him?
The reason Qin Zelin hadn’t pushed him away in time must also have been because he was afraid of hurting Cen Miao’s feelings and worsening his condition, right?
Qin Zelin stiffly rose to his feet.
After leaving the dining room, he glanced toward the living room, where a single tuft of hair poked above the back of the sofa. With a complicated expression, he walked out of the house.
Inside a high-rise apartment in the city, Shao Siheng returned home from work. He had barely entered the password and opened the door when he saw Qin Zexi wearing his pajamas and lounging comfortably on the sofa while watching television.
He looked so at ease that the pajamas seemed to have always belonged to him, and the apartment might as well have been his home.
Shao Siheng took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and changed into them.
“Why did you suddenly come over?”
Qin Zexi lazily propped himself up on one arm, amusement in his eyes.
“I was craving something spicy. Let’s make big-plate chicken, Bro. I already bought all the ingredients and put them in the kitchen.”
“All right. I’ll wash my hands and change first.”
“Then hurry! I’ll help you!”
Shao Siheng smiled.
Qin Zexi’s version of helping probably meant tying Shao Siheng’s apron for him, then standing nearby playing on his phone while chatting to keep him company.
“All right.”
More than an hour later, once the big-plate chicken had begun reducing, Shao Siheng quickly stir-fried two vegetable dishes as well.
Halfway through dinner, Shao Siheng’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, declined the call, and placed the phone facedown on the table.
Still gnawing on a chicken leg, Qin Zexi casually asked, “Who was it? Why didn’t you answer?”
“My mom.” Shao Siheng paused. After hesitating for a moment, he still admitted, “She… wants me to go on a blind date.”
“A… blind date?”
“Mm.” Shao Siheng raised his eyes, looking tentatively at the person across from him. “Do you think… I should go?”
Qin Zexi’s heart suddenly sank.
An uncontrollable, indescribable feeling surged through him, and even the chicken in his mouth no longer tasted good.
He supposed it was possessiveness.
The friend who had always been closest to him was suddenly going to have someone else with whom he shared an even closer relationship.
Seeing Qin Zexi’s conflicted expression, a faint spark of happiness had barely risen in Shao Siheng’s heart before it was shattered the next second.
“Then… if you have a kid someday, can I be the godfather? And if I have one later, you can be their godfather too, okay?”
Qin Zexi gazed earnestly at Shao Siheng with his fox-like eyes.
That way, they would still be the closest!
Shao Siheng felt a breath lodge in his chest, his head aching as though it had multiplied eightfold.
He was an idiot for thinking Qin Zexi’s conflicted expression meant he had finally realized something.
“Eat. I’m not planning to go on a blind date for now,” Shao Siheng sighed.
“Oh.”
The tension in Qin Zexi’s heart inexplicably loosened, and the food immediately tasted delicious again.
“By the way, Bro, what were you doing standing on the balcony in the middle of the night that day?”
Shao Siheng: “…”
You rubbed me hard, so I was airing out the gun.
“…Looking at the scenery.”
“What scenery is so interesting in the middle of the night?” Qin Zexi pursed his lips.
Shao Siheng took a deep breath.
“…The moon.”
After dinner, Qin Zexi lay sprawled on the sofa, contentedly holding his stomach.
Shao Siheng went into the kitchen to clean up. As he loaded bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher, the phone on the table behind him rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, answered, and wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear without stopping what he was doing.
“Hello, Zelin.”
“Cen Miao suddenly kissed me just now.”
Qin Zelin’s voice came from the other end.
Shao Siheng raised a brow and replied without any emotion,
“…Oh.”
“He kissed me three times,” Qin Zelin added when Shao Siheng reacted so indifferently.
Shao Siheng tilted his head to adjust the phone and continued placing plates into the dishwasher.
“So?”
“Sigh. Before, he only confessed to me verbally. Today, he probably felt upset after severing ties with the Cen family, so he could no longer suppress his feelings for me.”
“I’m afraid that if I don’t stop him, he’ll fall even deeper.”
“Oh.”
Shao Siheng closed the dishwasher door, switched it on, and offered some advice.
“Then stop him.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
“But his PTSD and cognitive impairment are still very serious. He likes me and depends on me so much that I still think I should show him care. As for his feelings for me, I can guide him slowly in the future. I could have him treat me like an older brother.”
Shao Siheng wondered what sins he had committed in his previous life to encounter two people in this one whose emotions were encased behind walls of reinforced steel and who remained utterly oblivious.
He was already irritated enough, yet Qin Zelin had actually called to show off.
Care, care, care.
Who showed someone care by practically feeding food directly into their mouth?
What severe germaphobe brought a sheep home just because someone cried, all to make them happy?
Completely unaware of Shao Siheng’s resentment, Qin Zelin continued,
“Do you think that if he kisses me again, I should push him away or not?”
“Sigh, forget it. As long as he doesn’t do anything more excessive, everything else can wait until his PTSD improves.”
“You’re busy. I’ll hang up.”
With a beep, the other person ended the call entirely on his own.
Shao Siheng: “…**&%..?%&#@”
