Chapter 54: Does He Love So Humbly?
Light snowflakes drifted through the sky.
Xu Jianian gazed at Cen Miao’s profile and stepped forward, just about to speak.
“Miaomiao, come here!”
A man’s low, steady voice rang out.
“Hubby!”
Cen Miao looked up. The moment he saw Qin Zelin, he happily trotted over and threw himself at him.
Beside the black Bentley, Qin Zelin opened the front of his dark overcoat and strode forward, wrapping Cen Miao inside it.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait inside? Why did you come out?”
Inside the oversized coat that nearly dragged along the ground, Cen Miao tilted up his beautiful little face, pale and rosy with health. His eyes sparkled.
“Because I saw the snowflakes. They’re very pretty, so I wanted to watch them.”
Qin Zelin froze for a moment. An unconscious smile appeared on his face as he reached up and pressed down the stubborn tuft of hair sticking up from Cen Miao’s head.
“Mm.”
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he looked past Cen Miao toward the entrance and met Xu Jianian’s gaze from afar.
An undercurrent seemed to flow through the silence.
Maintaining eye contact with the other man, Qin Zelin wrapped an arm around Cen Miao’s waist.
“Let’s go home.”
“Young Master, please wait!”
The manager hurried out carrying an insulated bag.
Hearing the voice, Cen Miao turned around.
It was the person who had bought him bomb water the last time he ate here!
“Young Master, I saw that you came with your classmates, so I didn’t want to disturb you. This is a strawberry siboust. The kitchen made it not long ago, so we packed one for you to take home as dessert.”
Cen Miao didn’t know what a siboust was, but he accurately extracted four crucial words from the sentence:
Strawberry dessert.
He liked it!
His eyes remained fixed on the insulated bag as he asked his usual question.
“Is it expensive?”
The manager looked bewildered.
“Huh?”
“…”
Qin Zelin ruffled Cen Miao’s hair.
“This is Qin Zexi’s restaurant. You don’t need to ask. You can accept it.”
Cen Miao happily took the bag.
“Thank you. I like it very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
Beside the car, Qin Zelin helped Cen Miao inside. Then he walked around to the other side, seemingly casually glancing toward the restaurant entrance before getting in as well.
Xu Jianian stood at the entrance, watching Cen Miao smile and throw himself into someone else’s arms.
He looked even more lively and captivating than before.
Why had Xu Jianian fallen for him and found himself drawn to him?
Perhaps it was because most people he had met since childhood carried some sort of ulterior motive, always placing personal gain first.
Even his parents had been tied together in a marriage of convenience.
But Cen Miao was always quiet and treated everyone with kindness—even Cen Ning, who bullied him.
If Xu Jianian had confessed earlier, would things have been different…?
Inside a Cayenne parked not far away, Xu Jiaxing sat in the back seat and watched the restaurant entrance, calculation flashing through his eyes.
No wonder the old man had refused the arranged marriage he proposed a few days ago, even resorting to a hunger strike.
A horn sounded.
Xu Jianian gathered his thoughts, looked toward the Cayenne, and got into the car.
“Have you thought about what I told you a few days ago?” Xu Jiaxing asked. “Use the shares Grandpa left you to help me secure a seat on the board, and I guarantee the family will never force you into an arranged marriage.”
When Xu Jianian remained silent, Xu Jiaxing continued.
“At least I’m your biological brother. Wouldn’t it be better for me to take that position than those illegitimate sons outside who are watching us like hungry wolves?”
Xu Jiaxing smiled at the person beside him.
“There’s no need. I can accept an arranged marriage.”
Xu Jianian felt that if it wasn’t Cen Miao, then anyone else would make no difference.
Surprise flashed through Xu Jiaxing’s eyes.
“Oh? You like that boy from just now, don’t you? He is quite beautiful.”
“He’s… married.”
“What if I told you their marriage was contractual?” Xu Jiaxing tapped his fingers rhythmically against his knee.
“You dislike social events, so you probably don’t know that the man who came to pick him up is Huanyu’s current president. I once overheard him personally say that he had entered a contractual marriage to appease his family.”
“I think the boy from just now is probably the one.”
Xu Jianian’s heartbeat abruptly quickened.
Miaomiao’s marriage was contractual?
“But the two of them didn’t look like…”
Halfway through his sentence, Xu Jianian looked into Xu Jiaxing’s eyes and suddenly remembered how his parents also maintained the appearance of a loving, respectable marriage in front of others.
So perhaps Miaomiao didn’t like that man.
Did that mean Xu Jianian still had a chance?
“All right. I’ll help you,” Xu Jianian said.
Meanwhile, inside the car, Cen Miao hugged the insulated bag and turned his head.
“Hubby, can I eat this strawberry… %?#@ now?”
Little Liu: “?”
Bodyguard: “?”
Qin Zelin suspected something was wrong with his ears.
Otherwise, why had the little monster’s sentence suddenly turned into garbled symbols?
Suppressing a laugh, he reached out and pinched Cen Miao’s cheek.
“Pronounce those words properly, and I’ll let you eat it.”
“Strawberry %?#@!”
“That’s wrong.”
Cen Miao anxiously scratched his head.
“Strawberry Can’t Kill Him!”
“Still wrong. It seems you’ll have to wait until we get home.”
Qin Zelin couldn’t hold back and laughed.
“Ahhh~ I want to eat it! But I really want it!”
“Then say its name correctly.”
Cen Miao suddenly remembered how he had persuaded Qin Zelin to dry his hair. His expression instantly turned pitiful.
“Hubby~ Please, please~”
“Hubby, I’m begging you~”
“Hubby, you’re the very, very best~”
The car abruptly fell silent.
Looking at the privacy partition silently rising in front of them, Qin Zelin coughed lightly.
“Don’t… Don’t act spoiled.”
“Just this once. There won’t be a next time.”
Cen Miao lowered his head and opened the insulated bag.
“Thank you, Hubby! Hubby is the best! I love Hubby the most!”
Qin Zelin: “…”
He had shown Cen Miao only the smallest amount of kindness, yet the little monster responded so passionately, telling him how deeply he loved him.
Did the little monster love him so humbly?
Qin Zelin suddenly remembered a news article he had once read.
Children needed to be raised with abundance. Otherwise, they could easily be coaxed away by some yellow-haired punk in the future.
He should… show Cen Miao even more care from now on.
Otherwise, one day, someone like that Senior Xu might…
The rich, sweet fragrance of cream filled the car.
Qin Zelin turned and watched Cen Miao’s cheeks bulge as he ate.
He suddenly felt that the little monster might not even need to be coaxed.
Someone could probably lure him away with delicious food alone.
Perhaps Qin Zelin should raise him with even greater abundance and satisfy his requests whenever possible.
“Cen Miaomiao.”
“Mm?” Chew, chew, chew. “Why…” Chew, chew, chew. “…are you calling me, Hubby?”
“Is it good?” Qin Zelin asked.
Cen Miao’s body abruptly stiffened.
He stared at Qin Zelin with his dark eyes for a moment, then lowered his gaze toward his little dessert.
He suddenly remembered a short video he had watched before.
A group of people had been sitting inside a car. An old man was eating pastries, and the person beside him asked whether they tasted good.
The old man hadn’t answered. Instead, he had taken a pastry from the bag and handed it over.
Cen Miao remembered someone explaining:
Kid, where we come from, asking “Is it good?” is the same as saying, “Give me a bite.”
“!!!”
The human was craving his little dessert.
He wanted a bite.
The Adorable Little Zombie Transmigrates and Gets Pampered by a Big Shot
