Not just an occasional snack, but quite a lot?
Hearing Qin Jiang say this, Xiong Deyong immediately looked at Xiong Ming.
And Xiong Ming’s expression changed instantly.
“Xiong Ming, is what Dr. Qin said true?”
Xiong Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know how to answer.
When a parent calls you by your full name, that’s usually a bad sign.
Xiong Ming stammered, “I… I really only eat them once in a while.”
Seeing that Xiong Ming wasn’t being honest, Qin Jiang said calmly, “That doesn’t add up. If you only ate them occasionally, why would you have such a poor appetite?”
“With just those three proper meals a day, don’t you get hungry?”
“Also, you’ve been having a hard time in the bathroom lately, haven’t you? That’s because eating too many snacks has caused heat buildup in your body, leading to dry intestines and constipation.”
As soon as Qin Jiang said this, Xiong Deyong believed him immediately.
“So that’s why you’ve been spending two hours in the bathroom every day—it’s because you’ve been eating too many snacks!”
“You little brat! Tell me, where did you get all those snacks?”
Seeing Xiong Ming’s face turn pale with fear, the live stream viewers burst out laughing.
“Only Dr. Qin could handle this little monster so perfectly.”
“The kid probably never expected that Dr. Qin could casually list out his recent symptoms like that.”
“So eating too many snacks really causes constipation, just like Dr. Qin said?”
“It’s true. Most snacks have a lot of additives, so kids who love snacks usually find regular meals bland and lose their appetite.”
“Once they eat too many snacks, they get constipated easily. Like my little sister—she loved mooncakes when she was young. One time, when no one was watching, she ate a ton of them, and then she got so constipated she couldn’t go. She was crying in frustration.”
The ingredients in snacks are very different from those in regular meals.
A lot of them put a heavy burden on the digestive system.
That’s why kids who love snacks often have poor gut health.
Facing Xiong Deyong’s interrogation, Xiong Ming had no choice but to brace himself and say, “I… sometimes I save my bus fare. That way, I have money to buy snacks.”
Hearing this, Xiong Deyong immediately understood.
The only fixed cash that passed through Xiong Ming’s hands was his bus fare.
Because Xiong Deyong was busy with work and also wanted to cultivate Xiong Ming’s independence,
he gave him money every week to cover his own bus fare and get himself to school.
Their home was three kilometers from the school—not too far, not too close. Taking the bus took about ten minutes or so.
So Xiong Deyong had always felt pretty comfortable letting Xiong Ming commute on his own. After all, he was old enough, and there were security cameras along the way.
But what Xiong Deyong never expected was that Xiong Ming’s motivation for saving that money would be so strong, just so he could eat snacks.
“So you mean… you’ve been walking to and from school every day?”
Xiong Deyong was shocked.
No wonder Xiong Ming left home early and came back late every day—he was trying not to be late!
But even so, that took a tremendous amount of willpower.
Walking every day, rain or shine, through all four seasons, from early morning dew—it didn’t seem like something a kid his age could pull off.
For a moment, Xiong Deyong didn’t even know what to say to Xiong Ming.
Sure, he was greedy for snacks, but he also had incredible perseverance.
He just wasn’t using that perseverance in the right place.
If he put that kind of focus into his studies, he’d probably be in the top ten of his grade by now. Instead, he was always at the bottom of the class!
Just when it seemed like Xiong Ming might slip by,
Qin Jiang took a sip of tea and continued calmly, “That still doesn’t add up. Even if you save your bus fare—what, two dollars a day? How many snacks can you buy with two dollars?”
“Judging by your current physical condition, you’ve completely replaced proper meals with snacks. Your daily spending on snacks is definitely more than that.”
As soon as Qin Jiang said this, Xiong Ming’s face turned sour again.
He looked at Qin Jiang with a very complicated expression.
There was resentment, frustration, pleading, and fear all mixed together.
Sure enough, just as Xiong Deyong was about to let the matter slide, Qin Jiang’s words made him frown again.
“Explain yourself. Tell me everything!”
Seeing Xiong Deyong’s attitude, Xiong Ming knew there was no way he was getting out of this one.
He could only force himself to say, “I… sometimes I also help my classmates use their meal cards. I buy them meals with my card, and they use their cards to buy me snacks from the convenience store.”
When Xiong Ming said this, Xiong Deyong was absolutely furious.
Their school had two types of meal cards. One could only be used for buying meals in the cafeteria. The other was a universal card that worked both in the cafeteria and at the convenience store.
Now that Xiong Ming was swapping cards with his classmates, it meant he had definitely made some kind of deal with them.
For example, he’d help them buy ten dollars’ worth of meals, and they’d only need to buy him eight dollars’ worth of snacks.
This kid. He came up with a scheme like this just for snacks. Xiong Deyong realized he had still been treating him too much like a little child.
Smack!
Xiong Deyong slapped Xiong Ming hard across the face. He was absolutely livid.
“How many times have I told you? Eating snacks is bad for your health!”
“No wonder you’ve looked malnourished all year. Every other day you’re complaining about eye pain or neck pain—turns out you’ve been eating snacks every single day!”
“What else have you been hiding from me? Tell me the truth, right now!”
Xiong Ming covered his face, tears streaming down immediately.
For a lot of things, Xiong Deyong usually looked the other way and didn’t discipline Xiong Ming.
That was why Xiong Ming had developed such a wild, unruly personality.
But when Xiong Ming crossed the line, he still got hit.
Replacing proper meals with snacks, for example, was something Xiong Deyong had strictly forbidden and emphasized over and over again.
Judging by the look in Xiong Deyong’s eyes right now, Qin Jiang was pretty sure Xiong Ming was in for a serious beating once they got home.
Xiong Ming said through tears, “That’s everything. Really, that’s everything.”
“I swear. I’ve told you absolutely everything I should!”
Xiong Deyong ignored Xiong Ming and immediately looked at Qin Jiang instead.
Qin Jiang pretended to be surprised and said, “Little guy, you shouldn’t just make promises like that. What if it actually comes back to bite you?”
“Actually, the snacks aren’t even the worst part. The real problem is that you love drinking cola.”
“At least three bottles a day, right?”
“The reason you’ve been feeling dizzy and weak is because you’ve been drinking too much cola, which gave you hypokalemia—low potassium. That’s a very serious condition, so you need to take it seriously.”
“No more cola from now on. If you absolutely have to drink it, one bottle every two days is enough. In moderation.”
Xiong Ming looked at Qin Jiang in sheer terror.
This doctor even knew how many bottles of cola he drank every day?
That’s insane!
Xiong Deyong was so angry that he pulled off his belt and started disciplining Xiong Ming right then and there!
