Chapter 9: Hubby!
“!!!”
He wouldn’t even let him finish this rib?
Bad human!
Cen Miao pursed his lips, feeling so aggrieved that he wanted to cry.
In his original world, supplies had been scarce too, but while his caretaker daddy was still alive, he had never once let Cen Miao go hungry.
He might be easy to feed, but he had a temper too!
Hmph!
Qin Zelin watched a layer of mist gather in Cen Miao’s eyes, and something stirred in his heart.
Was he really that moved over such a small thing?
What if he fell even deeper for him?
Seeing that Qin Zelin had no intention of negotiating, Cen Miao rose from the table with reddened eyes and stormed out of the dining room.
In the guest bedroom on the third floor, Cen Miao pretended his pillow was Qin Zelin and angrily punched it.
He was going to earn lots and lots of money to buy food!
He did have the kind grandpa’s card, but Grandpa was already very old. It must be difficult for him to earn money!
Cen Miao couldn’t spend too much from Grandpa’s card.
Pouting, he sat on “Qin Zelin” to vent his anger, then opened a short-video app on his phone that he had never used before.
An hour later, Cen Miao stared blankly at the same video, replaying it over and over.
[Babies, after you get married, how do you make a man willingly serve you and spend money on you? Just do exactly as I say, and I guarantee your husband will be completely obsessed with you.
If you tell him to go east, he won’t dare go west. If you want tickets to a Jay Chou concert, he definitely won’t buy you JJ Lin tickets instead.
First, when you’re doing it and he’s working so hard, no matter what, you have to praise him!
Sweetly call him “Hubby!” Say, “Wow! Hubby, sugoi!”
“You’re amazing! I love it!”
Babies, praise him exactly like that! Give him plenty of emotional validation! Seriously, listen to me! I’ll be waiting for your feedback!]
Cen Miao scratched his head and took a deep breath.
On an otherwise ordinary afternoon, a whole new world opened before him.
He had to call Qin Zelin “Hubby.”
When Qin Zelin was working hard, he had to praise him by saying sugoi, though Cen Miao had no idea what sugoi meant.
He also had to say, “You’re amazing!”
Did that mean he could gnaw on as many ribs as he wanted?
In the study, Qin Zelin suddenly sneezed.
Immediately afterward, someone knocked on the door again.
“Come in.”
As soon as Qin Zelin spoke, a fluffy head poked through the doorway.
“Hubby?” Cen Miao called tentatively, his voice soft and sweet.
“???”
Qin Zelin’s temples tightened, and the expression on his face nearly cracked. When he spoke, his voice was deep and husky.
“What is it?”
“Can I eat the beef jerky… we bought yesterday?”
Qin Zelin: “…”
He had eaten so much at lunch. Had he already digested it all?
“Mm. You can.”
Cen Miao: “!!!”
Calling him “Hubby”… really worked!
That big sister was amazing!
“Then I also want big strawberries, oranges, blueberries, melon, and cherries. Can I have those too?”
Cen Miao’s eyes brimmed with expectation. After a pause, he softly added, “Hubby.”
Qin Zelin: “…”
Was he placing an order?
“Mm.”
Cen Miao was thrilled.
Surviving in the human world wasn’t that difficult after all!
He had only called Qin Zelin “Hubby” and hadn’t even praised him yet, but he was already allowed to eat so many things!
“Thank you, Hubby~”
Cen Miao happily skipped downstairs.
The study fell quiet again, but Qin Zelin’s heart was anything but calm.
The little monster really was falling deeper and deeper for him…
He was so young, and he had just lost the only relative who had ever cared for him.
How could Qin Zelin address this form of endearment without hurting him, while also making him understand that he only saw him as a contractual spouse and a younger brother?
For once, Qin Zelin found himself at a loss.
A little after five that afternoon, Qin Zelin finished his work and left the house with Cen Miao to visit the hospital. Meanwhile, Butler Lin was busy directing the workers setting up the art studio.
Assistant Fang had failed to get any useful answers from Cen Miao, so he simply purchased the best brands available.
At the private hospital’s fifth floor, an alarm suddenly went off the moment Qin Zelin’s car passed through the entrance gate.
“Grandpa!” Shao Siheng hurried into the hospital room.
“Hmm? I just finished dividing it. Take that half over there and eat it together.”
“Forget the food for now, Grandpa. Zelin is here!”
“What? Why is that little brat suddenly here? Why didn’t Butler Lin warn me?” Qin Jianye hurriedly put down the leg of lamb in his hand.
“Quick, quick! Get the whole roasted lamb out of here!”
Shao Siheng looked at the two flustered caregivers.
“…”
“Even if you carry it out, the smell won’t disappear!”
“I told you to restrain yourself for the next few days. Zelin registered his marriage, so of course he’d bring Cen Miao here to report in. But you just had to eat a whole roasted lamb!”
Qin Jianye said, “I… thought Butler Lin was keeping an eye on him!”
“He’s already registered the marriage. Why don’t you just tell him you were pretending to be sick? I have to help you hide this every day, and with how petty he is, who knows how he’ll retaliate when he finds out?”
“You think that little brat wouldn’t bring me their divorce certificate tomorrow if he found out today that I was faking it?” Qin Jianye glared.
Shao Siheng let out a long sigh and rubbed his brow.
“Little Zhang, call in the nurses on duty outside. Ask Deputy Director Wang to come too.”
“Yes, Director Shao.”
A few minutes later, Qin Zelin pushed open the hospital-room door.
At a glance, he saw seven or eight people sitting on the sofas in the lounge area. On the coffee table lay a whole roasted lamb that had already been carved up.
Then he looked at his grandfather.
There was still a suspicious sheen of oil on his lips.
“…”
“You’re here,” Shao Siheng said calmly.
“Mm.” Qin Zelin nodded.
The moment he finished speaking, a head poked out from behind him, its gaze locking onto the roasted lamb.
“Hmm? You must be Cen Miao.” Qin Jianye’s face creased into a broad smile as he gestured with his hands. “I held you when you were only this big. Oh, those big eyes are still like grapes. You’re just as pretty as you were when you were little.”
Cen Miao turned his head.
“…?”
The kind grandpa who gave him the card!
“Yes! I’m Cen Miao! Hello, Grandpa!”
His family was full of rebellious sons and unfilial grandsons. No one had ever called him “Grandpa” in such a sweet voice before.
Qin Jianye’s heart instantly softened.
As he beckoned Cen Miao closer, he removed the watch from his wrist.
“Good child. Grandpa didn’t know you were coming today, so I didn’t prepare a gift in advance. Take this watch and wear it for now.”
The kind grandpa was already sick and unable to earn money, yet he still wanted to give Cen Miao a present?
“It must be… very expensive, Grandpa. I can’t accept it.”
Cen Miao pushed the watch back.
Qin Jianye’s heart ached.
The entire Cen family was truly despicable. Just look at how they had raised the boy—he didn’t even dare accept a watch.
“It’s not expensive! This model… didn’t sell very well, so it was discounted. It was extremely cheap.”
The corner of Shao Siheng’s mouth twitched.
“…”
Of course not many people had bought it. It was a globally limited edition, with barely more than a dozen in existence.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
The air-conditioning was on in the hospital room, and the temperature was rather warm. After removing his own coat, Qin Zelin turned toward Cen Miao.
Seeing that Cen Miao had no intention of taking his off, he said, “Take off your coat.”
“Oh.”
Cen Miao removed his coat and handed it over.
As though he had anticipated the gesture, Qin Zelin naturally reached out and accepted it without the slightest hesitation. He only frowned when his fingers touched the padded jacket.
Shao Siheng and Qin Jianye exchanged a glance, silently communicating.
Shao Siheng: Didn’t you say he would rather die than marry him? That’s why you dragged me into helping you fake an illness.
Qin Jianye: That’s right…
Shao Siheng: Does this look like someone who would rather die than marry him?
Qin Jianye: Not really…
Shao Siheng: “…”
Beside the hospital bed, Cen Miao watched Qin Zelin carry his coat over to the rack by the door.
Then he tilted his head and glanced at the meat on the coffee table. His large eyes blinked, and his lashes fluttered.
He uttered a sentence that shook everyone in the room.
