Outside the meeting room, Fang Huan frowned as he finished communicating, then hung up the voice call with a serious expression.
His boss’s little darling… had been called in for a parent meeting…
A few minutes later, after learning the situation, Qin Zelin’s expression cracked for a moment. He even forgot he was presiding over the meeting, his tone filled with disbelief.
“How many points did you say?”
Everyone in the meeting room silently perked up their ears: …………? Was there gossip?
Fang Huan swept his gaze across the room. Qin Zelin immediately understood. “Ten-minute break before we continue.”
Meeting room crowd: ……… The gossip was gone.
After everyone had filed out one after another, Fang Huan finally answered Qin Zelin’s earlier question.
“The counselor said… Young Master Cen only got two multiple-choice questions correct. He scored six points in English.”
Qin Zelin: “………”
The two men, who had both practically gotten full marks their entire lives, stared at each other in silence for a long moment, their expressions complicated.
“He… wasn’t it said in the earlier investigation that his grades were quite good?”
Fang Huan nodded. “That’s what the counselor said as well. And they contacted his parents first, but they… said that from now on, they will no longer be responsible for Young Master Cen’s matters.”
“Additionally,” Fang Huan hesitated slightly, “the counselor suggested taking him to see a psychologist as soon as possible. He believes that such a drastic drop in grades may be related to psychological stress caused by family changes.”
“I also checked—Young Master Cen doesn’t have classes this afternoon.”
Qin Zelin nodded, then seemed to recall something and picked up his phone to take a look.
It was completely clean—no missed calls, no messages.
Legally, he was the little monster’s family now, wasn’t he? Yet when something happened, he hadn’t been contacted first?
And he and the little monster… weren’t even friends on WeChat…
“How did he end up calling you?” Qin Zelin looked up at Fang Huan, his tone calm.
Fang Huan’s heart trembled: ………!!
He sneakily glanced at Qin Zelin’s expression. “Young Master Cen must have been worried that you were too busy and didn’t want to disturb you, so he called me instead, haha.”
“Mm.” Qin Zelin tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Then he picked up his phone and made a call—but it rang until it disconnected automatically without being answered.
He could only leave a message for Shao Siheng on WeChat.
“Notify them to continue the meeting. Clear my afternoon schedule for now—move everything to tomorrow.”
“Yes, boss.” Fang Huan let out a sigh of relief.
In the school office building, after leaving the office, Cen Miao returned to the classroom with Cheng Cheng. As soon as he sat down, Mother Cen called.
The woman’s voice on the phone was cold. “Cen Miao, after taking money that doesn’t belong to you, you cut up all your clothes, and now you’re trying to use this kind of behavior to get our attention again? I don’t care if you’re truly degrading yourself, but I hope you won’t bother us anymore.”
“There are many matters at the company right now. I don’t want to receive any more calls about you. I’ll send the agreement to terminate the adoption relationship to your school. As for money, don’t even think about it.”
“Mm, I understand. I don’t want the money.”
After hanging up, Cen Miao felt a strange sensation in his chest. He didn’t know if it was the previous owner of the body feeling sad.
He touched his chest and comforted it silently: Don’t be sad, okay? She doesn’t like you, but I like you.
“Miao Miao, are you okay? Don’t worry, we can slowly relearn everything,” Cheng Cheng said, worry evident on his face.
“Mm, I’m fine.”
Not far away, Cen Ning, surrounded by a few people, watched Cen Miao after the call, noticing his somewhat dazed expression. A trace of satisfaction flashed through his heart.
It wasn’t until past noon that Shao Siheng, having finished a surgery, returned the call.
Qin Zelin was eating lunch. He glanced at his phone and answered.
“What do you need?” Shao Siheng’s voice carried a hint of fatigue.
“Hey, go wash your hands first.”
“Ugh, you germophobes are so annoying!”
“Is Qin Zexi there too?” Qin Zelin asked, hearing their conversation through the phone.
“Yeah, he came to see Grandpa. Say what you need quickly—I just got out of surgery and haven’t eaten yet. I’m starving.”
“Do you know any reliable psychologists?” Qin Zelin put down his chopsticks and asked.
Shao Siheng: “You’ve finally realized your obsession with work is a problem and want treatment?”
“What? My brother needs treatment?” Qin Zexi’s carefree voice came through the speaker.
Qin Zelin: “………”
“You two are the ones who need treatment.”
“It’s Cen Miao. His grades… dropped a bit. The counselor suggested taking him to see a psychologist.”
Shao Siheng rubbed his temples and gave a questioning hum. “Old Master Cen passed away. It’s normal for his mood to be affected and his grades to drop a little.”
Qin Zelin fell silent for a moment, still deciding to preserve the little monster’s dignity: “…a bit more than ‘a little.’”
“How low could it be? Aren’t you overreacting? The last time I saw him, his mental state seemed pretty good.”
“And besides,” Shao Siheng shifted his posture and spoke earnestly, “you can’t use your abnormal standards to judge him. Nowadays it’s all about happy education—kids being happy is more impor—”
“Six points.”
“How many???” The person on the other end instantly raised his voice.
“…Six points.” Qin Zelin closed his eyes, his heart sinking as he uttered the two cold words.
Shao Siheng: “……..”
That was indeed… a bit too happy.
…
“I’ll contact a psychologist for you right now! Very reliable—top of the field, a senior I know! Don’t worry!”
Qin Zelin: “…Mm. Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Qin Zelin looked at the contact card Shao Siheng had sent him on WeChat and tapped to add.
The little monster… adding him on WeChat would make communication easier if anything happened.
A reasonable excuse—and a simple matter.
Qin Zelin entered Cen Miao’s phone number and sent the request.
The other side accepted almost instantly.
Qin Zelin raised a brow. Accepted so quickly—the little monster must have wanted to add him for a long time.
At two in the afternoon, a black Bentley was parked not far from the school gate.
Qin Zelin’s gaze lingered at the entrance for a long time before finally catching sight of Cen Miao pushing his small electric scooter, with two people beside him.
One of them, who also had a similar scooter, exchanged a few words with him before leaving.
The other was noticeably taller than Cen Miao, always smiling, his gaze fixed firmly on him.
Like a pervert—something about him felt off.
Qin Zelin instinctively disliked this man.
By the school gate, after hearing Cen Miao refuse to stay at a place near his own school, Xu Jianian sighed softly. “I understand. But if you have any difficulties, you must tell me immediately. Don’t think of it as troubling me—I’m willing.”
“Okay, thank you, Senior Xu.”
“Mm. Then I’ll head back to school. I still have classes this afternoon. Message me when you get home safely, and don’t overthink things,” Xu Jianian said gently, reaching out to rub Cen Miao’s head before turning and walking into the campus.
Inside the car, Qin Zelin frowned as he stared at the two of them talking.
What was the little monster saying to that pervert? Why hadn’t he left yet?
“???”
Why was that pervert touching the little monster’s head!!!
Why didn’t the little monster dodge???
After Xu Jianian left, Cen Miao glanced at the black car not far away and thought to himself: Why are there so many ugly cars that look like my husband’s?
Then he climbed onto his beloved little electric scooter.
Qin Zelin, who had thought he had already noticed him and would happily run toward him: “………..？”