Inside the car, the atmosphere was stiff. Xiao Wang took a deep breath and forced himself to speak. “Boss, Madam probably… didn’t notice our car. Should I… go call him over?”
“……Mm.” A response came from the back seat, unreadable in tone.
In the next moment, the bodyguard in a black suit swiftly lifted the small electric scooter and placed it into the trunk, then got into the car.
“Husband! Why are you here!”
“Who was that per— that person you were talking to just now?”
The moment the car door closed, both of them spoke at the same time.
“That was Senior Xu.”
Qin Zelin: “……..” The one he always mentioned before?
“I booked a psychologist for you. I’m taking you there to have a chat,” he explained calmly. His fingers tapped lightly against his knee as if unintentionally, and he casually asked, “What was that person saying to you just now?”
Driver Xiao Liu wrinkled his nose inwardly: …wow, that jealousy.
Cen Miao repeated softly, “He said if I have any problems, I should go to him and not be afraid of troubling him.”
Qin Zelin: “……..” As expected—he didn’t look like a good person at all.
Just the way he looked at the little monster—so direct, clingy, and suggestive—he definitely had bad intentions.
Go to him if there were problems?
Heh.
The little monster wasn’t without someone to take care of him.
“If anything comes up, don’t trouble outsiders,” Qin Zelin said, turning his head to look at Cen Miao. “If you can’t reach me, then contact Assistant Fang or Uncle Lin. Got it?”
Cen Miao blinked. Thinking about how in his previous world he would always go to Caretaker Dad first when something happened, he obediently said, “Okay.”
Seeing his compliance, Qin Zelin’s brows lifted slightly in satisfaction.
In the psychology consultation room, Chen Jinming conducted a series of detailed tests on Cen Miao and spoke with him for quite a while in a gentle manner.
At the end, he wore his usual reassuring smile, signaling his assistant to lead Cen Miao out first before inviting Qin Zelin in.
“Please, have a seat.” Chen Jinming stood and gestured to the chair opposite him. Only after Qin Zelin sat down did he sit again.
The assistant brought coffee and placed it in front of Qin Zelin. He nodded slightly in thanks and looked toward Chen Jinming.
“Cen Miao, he…”
“Your wife’s condition,” Chen Jinming leaned forward slightly, hands clasped on the table, his tone gentle but serious, “is quite complex. It’s something I haven’t encountered in my years of practice.”
Qin Zelin frowned. “……Is it serious?”
“From the assessment results, I’ve found that his cognitive functions are showing some issues.”
“It may have been triggered by a major life change, possibly leading to PTSD, but I cannot yet give a definitive conclusion about the exact cause.”
“My suggestion is to avoid medication for now. Try to be more patient with him and give him more care.”
“As for his academic performance, you can try hiring a tutor first and see if his learning state and cognitive functions recover.”
Qin Zelin nodded with a complicated expression. “Alright, I understand.”
Outside the door, Cen Miao pressed his ear against it, secretly listening to their conversation.
That p-what was it again? PDST?
Then in the future, if he did something wrong, could he just say he had “PSTD,” and then no one would discover he was a little zombie?
He was so smart!
Hehe.
A few minutes later, in the elevator—
Cen Miao lowered his head, fiddling with his fingers, while thinking about the juicy braised beef ribs Auntie Wang had made last time. He swallowed.
When they got home later, he would definitely ask Auntie Wang to make it again tonight. He hadn’t eaten enough last time.
Qin Zelin glanced at Cen Miao, who had his head lowered, and somehow felt that even the back of his head looked pitiful.
He had lost the grandfather who loved him, been cast out, and even his once-decent grades had dropped drastically. The little monster must be feeling scared inside.
Qin Zelin gently patted the round back of his head in comfort. “Don’t worry. It’s just mild PTSD. As for your grades, I’ll find you a good tutor. You’ll recover soon.”
Still thinking about what fruit to eat after dinner, Cen Miao gave a perfunctory “Mm,” deciding he would eat big strawberries.
Seeing that he spoke less, Qin Zelin became even more convinced of his own assumption.
On the way home, Cen Miao looked out the car window. While they were stopped at a traffic light, he was suddenly drawn to a shop.
Remembering what he had learned from short videos, he turned to Qin Zelin and said, “Husband! Buy me a bag!”
Qin Zelin, who was messaging his assistant to help find a tutor: …………??
“A bag? Didn’t I give you a card? You can just swipe it for whatever you want.”
Cen Miao’s small face scrunched up. “I want husband to buy me a bag!”
Qin Zelin was about to refuse, but then suddenly remembered the psychologist’s words: be patient… give more care…
“………” Forget it. He would agree to accompany the little monster to buy a bag this once.
He just happened to have cleared his afternoon anyway. It wouldn’t happen again.
“Alright. Which brand? What kind of bag do you want?”
Cen Miao immediately brightened up and pointed out the window at a shop near the traffic light.
“I want beef buns!!! Thank you, husband!”
Qin Zelin: ………?
Xiao Liu: ………?
Bodyguard: …………?
The three of them followed the direction he pointed, only to see a golden signboard with a large red flower on it. Beneath the flower were several bold characters:
Beijing’s No.1 Beef Buns
And below that, a line of smaller text: A century-old shop, guaranteed flavor, fair to all customers.
All three of them twitched at the same time: “……….”
Qin Zelin’s mind blanked for a moment. His head hadn’t hurt this much even when he had stayed up for a week straight working on a project.
A few minutes later, Xiao Liu and the bodyguard sat in the car, staring blankly as their boss—dressed in a neat suit and overcoat—walked into the bun shop with Madam.
When they came out, Qin Zelin’s expression was as serious as ever, but in his hand was a transparent plastic bag that completely didn’t match his image.
A bag full of buns, along with several small packets of pickled vegetables given as a bonus.
“………”
In the car, Cen Miao lowered his head and sniffed the buns in his arms, his eyes filled with affection as he began untying the bag.
The videos hadn’t been wrong at all—he asked for a “bag,” and this human really bought him one!
Qin Zelin looked at his work emails. Hearing the rustling sounds, he didn’t even shift his gaze. “Eat when we get home. Don’t eat in the car.”
Cen Miao’s hands paused as he untied the plastic bag. He secretly glanced at Qin Zelin, and seeing that he wasn’t looking, his movements became even more cautious.
“No,” Qin Zelin said, still not turning his head.
“………”
Cen Miao’s eyes drooped pitifully as he pouted. “But I’m hungry. I want to eat.”
Looking at his watery eyes, Qin Zelin gritted his teeth and repeated three times in his mind: be patient, show care.
The smell in the car could be aired out later.
This time he was hungry—special circumstances.
He would allow it this once. No next time.
“…Eat.”