Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Bai Jingyun only glanced at it at first, after all, he knew well that nothing good could come out of Bai Sheng's sharp and caustic 'dog mouth'.

Then he suddenly froze.

What?

It took him a few seconds to realize what Bai Sheng had actually said.

Bai Jingyun: ????

Bai Jingyun: Are you crazy?

Bai Jingyun: Are you joking? How could this be possible? You know our family has never had a cub that wasn't an A, right?

Bai Jingyun: ...Really?

It was clear that Bai Jingyun was stunned; he sent several messages within a minute, even saying 'our family' to Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng held the paper report in his hand, still cradling the dazed cub in his arms. He shot a slightly mocking sidelong glance, but seemed to be in a good mood. Even the sight of Bai Jingyun's name seemed a bit more pleasing. Now that he had said what he most wanted to say, Bai Sheng had no intention of communicating further with Bai Jingyun.

He couldn't be bothered if the other guy was furious tonight or able to sleep.

He looked down at the big-eyed cub.

In just a few days, the new dad had gotten one shock after another: first, that he had a cub, and then that his cub was actually a cute little omega. This cub had turned his life upside down in such a short time that even Bai Sheng was a bit overwhelmed.

He let out a long breath and stopped his frantic behavior. He gave up searching online for how to raise an omega cub. He put down his phone and looked at the training plan he had just spent a lot of time working on.

Ha — delete, delete, delete all of it!

Little Bai Nuo was actually still running a low fever. By this time, it was well past the cub's bedtime. He was fighting his sleepiness, but the little cub was too sensitive and was keenly aware of the stares of the people around him.

Earlier, just a moment ago, after Dad saw that paper, the uncles and Grandma Feng had been staring at Nono.

Is there something on Nono's face? Or is there a problem?

Little Bai Nuo had always hidden his unease well, but in this vulnerable moment of illness, it showed easily.

“Dad?”

He had just called out in his childish voice, startled by the way everyone's faces suddenly lit up and they couldn't help but move a little closer. He stared around with wide, dazed eyes.

The little one had always been cute, but because of Bai Sheng, people held back; even if they liked him, they wouldn't show it too obviously.

But now — this was a rare and precious little omega cub. Not only were omegas scarce in the alliance, with Alphas and Betas being the standard, but even in the Bai family, the appearance of an omega cub was unheard of. So it was inevitable that they showed their emotions more openly.

Bai Sheng noticed the cub’s anxiety.

Bai Sheng finished deleting quickly and saw the little cub, with water droplets still on his long, dark lashes, looking at him pleadingly. 'Dad, why did you delete it? Nono is a powerful A cub. Nono will protect Dad.'

Dad had just personally said that.

The little one looked at Bai Sheng as if seeking confirmation.

“Not an A.”

Bai Sheng remained the same as usual. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes on his little cub, and casually tousled the little cub's curly hair.

“Nono is a little O cub.”

The whole ABO thing was too complex for a little cub who came from an apocalyptic world. He only had a vague idea, just a general concept.

The little one blinked his eyes. 'O cub?'

The little omega cub was soft and warm. When sick, he spoke even more slowly. He tilted his little head in confusion while in his father's arms.

“Not powerful?”

“No, omegas can definitely be powerful too.”

Bai Sheng's attitude remained the same as he spoke seriously to the little one.

“It's just a bit different, like pulling a rare item from a box. The training plan just can't be the same as before.”

The little one nodded without thinking. Maybe because the atmosphere was so familiar and the attention wasn't as intense, the little one soon got sleepy in Bai Sheng's arms. Since he truly hadn't felt any change in Bai Sheng's attitude, he just repeated quietly, 'Nono is Dad's rare pull.'

Bai Sheng wrapped the little one in a light blanket to keep the wind off him, then responded, 'You can barely keep your eyes open. Go to sleep.'

The cub muttered sleepily.

“Nono's eyes aren't closing at all…”

“Tomorrow morning, when Nono wakes up, he'll see Dad.”

“Mm… then Dad and Nono made a promise…”

The tiny cub finally fell asleep soundly in his father's arms.

Bai Sheng let out a long breath, then turned his head to look at Xu Chuan. He lowered his voice, 'Give me all the details of the exam.'

As Xu Chuan spoke, Bai Sheng looked over the full exam report on his phone and thought to himself.

Easy to handle.

Over the past few days, Little Bai Nuo had always been a very well-behaved and easy-to-handle cub.

He also didn't obsess over the training plan Bai Sheng had made.

Of course, there was another thing.

Bai Sheng was almost glad the Bai family had only ever had A cubs in the past.

This kid was more sensitive than Bai Sheng thought. He was still naive now, but he might have already sensed the difference between Alphas and Omegas. Bai Sheng even began to wonder, if he had known from the start that this cub was an O cub, what would his reaction have been? Would he have paid more attention? Not necessarily.

But this perceptive little one might have been even more uneasy — would he only be cared about because he was an O cub?

And now, at least Little Bai Nuo could clearly know: that wasn't true.

So he could fall asleep peacefully.

Because Bai Sheng's attitude hadn't changed.

Bai Sheng wasn't the type to share or talk much. If no one asked, he wouldn't bother to explain. Bai Jingyun had simply run into the 'line of fire,' which quickly killed Bai Sheng's desire to talk about it.

As for whether Little Bai Nuo was an A cub or an O cub, did it make any difference to him?

Bai Sheng thought carefully. Apart from realizing how sweet and cute his cub was, there seemed to be no difference.

He's my cub, after all.

After roughly listening to some precautions and learning that there might be registration and other procedures once the results from the Federation come out, everyone in the ward filed out of the room. Bai Sheng gently cradled the sleeping cub in his arms and lay down sideways on the bed.

It was a long day.

Time to rest.

But—

Right before he drifted off, Bai Sheng checked his phone again.

Besides Bai Jingyun, who was still obsessively texting him to confirm the news, there were hardly any messages from anyone else.

Guess there really is a difference.

Bai Sheng pulled the blanket over himself, rubbing his chin and muttering softly. The usually arrogant, sharp-tongued, bad-tempered man had an unusually soft look in his eyes—he was the one with an omega cub, the first in the entire Bai family.

Even knowing his strict grandfather—the kind who might just whip out the family code over this—was thoroughly pissed at him, it didn't dampen his mood one bit.

Not that he was showing off. Bai Sheng simply thought, as the clock neared 1 a.m.: "That Xie Yu usually texts constantly, so why is he so quiet now?"

At the same time.

In the city center of Angshi, at the Sheng'ang University research building.

The constant hum of various lab instruments filled the air.

A bunch of grad-student research slaves were still grinding away.

In a lab on the first floor.

A man in a protective suit stepped out of the room.

He took off his mask and gloves, turned his head, and looked at the person next to him.

"Second Young Master."

Second Young Master of the Bai family, Bai Liang, was an honorary professor at Sheng'ang University. The family's dedicated researcher, he rarely went home, preferring to live in the lab.

He had short, neat hair, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and appeared gentle and refined. His voice was as warm as a spring breeze, but his eyes were utterly flat.

"What's wrong?"

"The old master is returning tomorrow. He's learned about Third Master's situation."

"Grandfather is coming back?"

Bai Liang raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a cub. Why all the fuss?"

He hadn't even bothered to go back and take a look at this random nephew he hadn't even met.

"This... I'm not sure."

"Probably Grandfather had high hopes for that kid Bai Sheng. Now that the strongest of the generation has turned out to be the biggest disgrace, the old man's losing face."

Bai Liang spoke with a smile, ripping into Bai Sheng without mercy.

"I hear the Liu family tried to screw Bai Sheng over on that foreign contract using this as leverage. Did he shut them down?"

"After all, some foreign partners really hate this kind of messy drama."

Bai Liang's assistant frowned instinctively. Anyone who had worked with foreign business partners knew how annoying some of them could be.

"Alright, got it."

Bai Liang waved his hand casually, took out his phone from the password-protected box next to him, pushed up his glasses, and rubbed his temples, looking a bit sleepy.

"Since Grandfather is coming back, I'll make a trip back tomorrow too."

Just going through the motions.

Bai Liang thought offhandedly—what could be so special about some random little cub that just pops up out of the blue?

And Bai Sheng, who had the strongest sense of detachment from others, couldn't possibly turn into a doting dad over a surprise cub, right? Now that would be a nightmare.

Early the next morning.

The curtains in the room hadn't been pulled shut properly. The sun had risen, and a ray of light streamed in through the window.

After sleeping off his fever, the little cub groggily opened his eyes and sat up.

"Hmm..."

Xiaobai Nuo rubbed his eyes with his little hands. His tiny mind was still fuzzy. He instinctively looked around, trying to remember what had happened, and then spotted the hand that had slipped down beside him.

Xiaobai Nuo blinked.

Nono really did see Daddy when he opened his eyes. Daddy kept his promise.

Meanwhile.

Downstairs in the hospital.

Bai Jingyun, who hadn't slept all night, couldn't hold back anymore.

He had looked at the unusually quiet main building during the night and realized a problem—was he the only one that bastard Bai Sheng told about Nono being an omega last night? And the little guy had been sick too.

Thinking enough time had passed, Bai Jingyun quickly went upstairs.

With dark circles under his eyes, he followed the directions given by Assistant Li, who had a complicated expression, and rapped gently twice on the door of the ward.

Of course, the hospital room wasn't locked. He pushed the door open gently and looked inside.

He was taken aback for a moment.

The little cub was sitting in the sunlight that spilled through the curtains, his soft curls dusted with a thin layer of gold from the sun. A fever patch was still stuck askew on his forehead. He looked like a sweet little angel bathed in sunlight, but he wasn't there to soak up the rays or curiously explore the room.

The adorable little omega cub was sitting in front of Bai Sheng, who was still asleep, blocking the sun for his sleeping dad. When he heard the sound, he blinked and looked over, quickly putting his little hand to his lips. His tiny, milky voice dropped to a soft, low whisper as he said, "Big Uncle, shh—"

Author's note:

Dad: I'm such a dignified man, so why didn't a single person check up on me at 1 AM?

Big Uncle, who tossed and turned all night: The air is sure sour today [lemon][lemon][lemon].