Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Little Bai Nuo actually had some possessions in the post-apocalyptic world. He used his smarts and scavenging skills to stay alive for a long time. He had some little treasures that kept him company, and of course, there were times he got bullied.

The things Little Bai Nuo used to own—what adults saw as junk—got wrecked, hidden badly, or stolen. He had to avoid people just to survive.

The little monitor was the very first thing Little Bai Nuo owned after arriving here, and his first friend. Unlike those other things that might be contaminated, even though it scared him at first, he'd never seen anything so pretty that answered all his questions and was actually his.

Little Bai Nuo just clutched his broken 'treasure' the same way, leaning forward. He spotted the chipped pieces of Doudou on the ground and reached for them.

For a kid that young, he was already acting incredibly calm and tough.

A kid that emotionally stable might seem obedient and mature, but it makes you wonder—how much hurt and sadness does such a young child have to go through, how many times do their tears go ignored, before they end up that calm?

Until Little Bai Nuo heard his dad's voice. His big round eyes were still wide open—just a second ago, he'd been trying so hard to make the other person apologize to his new big brother and Doudou. The next second, the little one looked at Bai Sheng like this, tears poured down his face.

The little cub was so upset he could hardly talk: "Daddy... Daddy, Doudou—Doudou is... gonna die."

He just held onto his little monitor like that, holding in all his hurt, waiting for Bai Sheng to come.

Even Xie Yu, who followed behind Bai Sheng, had a serious look on his face.

Over there, Liu Guang had just been helped up by the Liu family secretary and now burst into loud sobs: "He scratched me! My back hurts so much! He scratched me, call my dad right now and let him teach him a lesson!! Waaah—"

The Liu family secretary immediately covered Liu Guang's mouth.

Your dad can teach him a lesson? Are you kidding—does your old man think he can fly?!

This time, cold sweat really broke out on his forehead.

He didn't know this kid, but how could he not know Bai Sheng?

This might be beyond just paying up. There's no way he could deal with something like this—the boss would have to come.

Thinking this, the secretary cursed under his breath: This bratty boss kid should have had someone watching him knowing his nature. The kid just barged in headfirst, knowing foreign clients were here for business, thinking he'd try his luck, always thinking nothing would happen. Now he's in huge trouble, and don't you dare blame him for not keeping an eye on the brat—he's not the one at fault. With the way the Liu family raised kids, once this one exploded, there was no way he could hold him back.

Especially when the Liu family secretary glanced back into the crowd made his headache even worse. Although Ang City was a big international city, foreigners weren't that common. Right now out in the crowd, there was clearly a foreign face—a very familiar one—rubbing his chin and watching.

He seemed to have followed Bai Sheng in.

This was gonna be huge trouble.

And with Liu Guang's howl, Little Bai Nuo, who had been choking back sobs, clutched Doudou as tears finally spilled out in big drops: "Nuonuo didn't mean to... He dropped Doudou and yelled at big brother. Nuonuo is not... a troublemaker."

The little one struggled to explain to his dad that he didn't mean to scratch someone, that it wasn't his fault. This was also the little one's habit: to be good, to be sensible, to be strong, to show his value.

Little Bai Nuo was still growing up, and his parents were still learning how to be parents. Little Bai Nuo just didn't realize yet that in his parents' eyes, none of that stuff mattered.

Bai Sheng had already walked past Little Bai Nuo. He bent down and picked up the fragment of Doudou that the little one had been trying to reach.

Bai Sheng's expression was unreadable, showing no emotion. Even his usual sarcasm and sharpness were completely gone, replaced by pure coldness—no, that wasn't accurate either. It was more like a quietly burning anger.

Bai Sheng placed the fragment into the little one's arms and reached out to touch his curly hair.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Little Bai Nuo tucked the piece away, felt his dad's hand on his head, looked up at him, and shook his head.

Bai Sheng didn't need to know every detail right then. He only needed to know that his own cub was bullied.

He'd only been out of sight for a minute, and his kid was already getting picked on.

He said: "It's okay. Daddy's here."

He didn't have to explain or try to sort it out—because someone would clearly side with him, cherish him, and put him first.

The tiny little cub immediately burst into tears, holding Doudou with one hand and grabbing Bai Sheng's other hand, burying his tear-stained face in his dad's palm.

"Waaah... waaah... Daddy... waaah... Daddy..."

It was heartbreaking to hear him cry.

Aunt Feng held Little Bai Nuo, feeling her heart shake at his sobs.

"I broke it up in time. My fault for keeping my distance, thinking nothing would happen. Who would've guessed something like this would happen."

Aunt Feng held Little Bai Nuo, glaring at Liu Guang across from her, her eyes blazing.

"I don't know whose brat that is—zero manners."

The parents watching couldn't stay quiet anymore—one brat, one poor innocent kid. Especially those who saw the whole thing in the pottery shop were even angrier.

"Your kid didn't even touch the other boy, and he almost knocked him over, then shoved the table and smashed stuff. Whose child is this? How can he be like this?"

"Sweetie, don't be upset. Uncle saw everything. If his parents come and try to blame you, I'm not letting that slide!"

Over on the other side, the Xie twins saw their dad and ran over, dirty little monkeys reaching for him—"Daddy, Daddy! It was Liu Guang who bullied people!" "Daddy, I didn't lose when fighting!"

Xie Yu had a serious expression at first, but seeing Little Bai Nuo was fine, he just relaxed. Then he was almost amused by his two proud little alpha rascals. What do you mean you didn't lose in a fight? Who told you to fight? But of course, you can't lose in a fight!

Xie Qing grabbed his dad's leg and pointed at Liu Guang, indignant.

"He bullied little brother."

"Find a chance to give him a beating."

That last bit wasn't said by the twins.

Xie Yu almost choked. He pulled Yu Chuyan over, who was being protected by Yu Chen's assistant.

Don't say that now. Shouldn't that kind of shadiness be said in private?

Yu Chuyan watched Little Bai Nuo, his face buried in his dad's hand, looking so wronged. The little cub who a few hours ago said he would protect his little brother pouted his lips, feeling a bit defeated as he lowered his head.

"Aunt Feng, take Nuo to the back. I'll have Assistant Li come over."

Bai Sheng's face was cold, but in front of Little Bai Nuo, his voice still tried to be gentle. He withdrew his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and carefully used the back of his dry hand to wipe the little one's wet lashes.

"Don't cry. Wait for Daddy a moment."

When Aunt Feng acknowledged, Bai Sheng turned around.

The furious top-grade alpha's face was completely expressionless. Every step made the Liu family secretary's heart pound.

Everyone knew the most ferocious person in the Bai family was Bai Sheng. When his pheromones went out of control, he beat someone half to death, though it was a dangerous criminal at the time.

And the Liu family secretary was genuinely afraid Bai Sheng would come over and start a fight without a word. There are laws, but what if the dad doesn't care about the law and just wants to beat you up to let off steam?

What? Are you asking if the Bai family is scared of jail? Ha! With their money and power, they don't need to be civil servants or anything. What do they have to worry about?

And when you start hitting people, you're not gonna hit me too, are you?

Various thoughts flashed through the Liu family secretary's mind, but he still stood in front of Liu Guang, forcing a smile: 'I'm really sorry, really sorry, Mr. Bai. Our young master is still young and doesn't know any better. He's just a child. Please don't hold it against him. We'll definitely compensate for the damaged items, whatever the cost.'

Bai Sheng was a head taller than the other man, and a faint but extremely aggressive mint scent came off him.

'Doesn't know any better?'

Bai Sheng let out a scornful snort. He indeed didn't lay a hand on the child directly, but alpha pheromones naturally repel each other. Even for a young alpha whose gland hasn't fully matured, facing the highly aggressive pheromones of a top alpha was like being thrown into a room of pure terror. Liu Guang, who had been crying and wailing just moments ago, immediately began trembling in fear, likely to have nightmares for days.

'He was pretty fluent just now when he called for people to cause trouble, wasn't he? Beating up a little brat like him is beneath my dignity.'

Bai Sheng pulled a tissue from his pocket—a habit he'd developed since raising the child, used for wiping the mouth of the little one who loved to eat.

He slowly wiped Xiaobai Nuo's tears off his hand, then looked up casually and finally smiled.

'When will Liu Dong arrive?'

After saying that, Bai Sheng seemed to sense something and looked behind him.

Liu Dong had received the news and was rushing over, his face ashen. As soon as he stepped into the small circle, he spotted Bai Sheng standing in the middle of the crowd, and his expression shifted abruptly.

Wanting to snatch business from Bai Sheng was one thing, but actually facing Bai Sheng in person was another.

That extremely aggressive pheromone was controlled perfectly by its owner, not letting those around sense anything amiss, but it was pressing down on Liu Dong without reservation.

To a certain extent, the rank difference between mature alphas was an insurmountable chasm.

Liu Dong's body stiffened instantly, and cold sweat broke out instantly.

But he still managed to force a smile: 'Boss Bai, it's just a small matter. There's no need to make it so tense. I heard from the secretary—we'll compensate right away. Don't hold a grudge against a child. We'll still be seeing each other in business, and we have many collaborations with Boss Bai Qi...'

He looked at Liu Guang, who was already panicked, and said sternly, 'Apologize now!'

Liu Guang was startled and quickly stammered, 'S-sorry.'

But to a parent, whether the apology was given or not made no difference.

Bai Sheng had already walked up to him. The closer the angry parent got, the stronger the pheromone suppression became.

Bai Sheng had already placed one hand on his shoulder.

A tremendous force came, and Liu Dong stumbled backward, nearly falling, but his assistant behind him steadied him. He was already shorter than Bai Sheng anyway.

Now looking up at Bai Sheng from a position of weakness, he listened as Bai Sheng spoke slowly.

'Bringing up Bai Qi? Are you asking me to do you a favor or a favor for her?'

'Ha, don't be ridiculous. Bai Sheng has never done anyone a favor.'

'If Bai Qi doesn't know her place, as her older brother, I wouldn't hesitate to deal with her first.'

Bai Sheng had already seen Assistant Li approaching quickly. He was furious; the alpha's inherent violent nature blazed up at the little one's pitiful sobbing. Seeing Liu Dong's face, he wanted nothing more than to land a few punches on it to vent his anger.

But his own cub was still there; going to the police station over this might scare Nono, which wasn't worth it. Besides, aside from a direct beating, Bai Sheng had many ways to make the Liu family suffer. He just hadn't had the time to deal with them thoroughly before.

Liu Dong's expression grew slightly grave. He asked tentatively, 'Boss Bai, isn't this just a scuffle between kids? And it's not that serious, is it?'

Bai Sheng raised his hand to adjust his watch and glanced at the time. He was calculating his next move and considering whether to have someone give the Liu family a little payback.

But before Bai Sheng could speak, another voice came from the crowd. The voice was smiling but cold, with a peculiar tone: 'If it were serious, given Mr. Bai's personality, you would be lying on the ground right now.'

Halle Garrison walked out with a smile, meeting Liu Dong's even more grim expression, and gave a gentlemanly bow. His tone rose slightly: 'It's truly hard to imagine that an otherwise innocent and adorable child could be taught to behave like this. Mr. Liu, I've seen all the invitations you sent me before. Now I can give you a clear answer: failing to properly teach a child what is right and wrong is, in my view, a form of "abuse" that will be punished by God in the future. Please stop sending invitations to my company. We will not cooperate with such a family.'

Liu Dong's expression worsened. He tried to salvage the situation: 'Mr. Halle, there must be some misunderstanding...'

He tried to be sly and only made things worse—that described Liu Dong perfectly.

Halle, however, didn't continue speaking to the other party. He smiled at Bai Sheng: 'Handling the compensation with your assistant should be sufficient, right? Oh, Mr. Bai, I can't wait for you to introduce me to your little darling. He's been through so much. As a father, what you should do now is give him a warm hug.'

'Dad...'

Xiaobai Nuo over there had his face wiped by Grandma Feng, and was still holding the little monitor, staring intently at this side and calling out, as if worried his dad might come out on the losing end.

Bai Sheng took a deep breath, suppressing the rage inside him for now. He turned to look at Assistant Li, who had just arrived and hadn't yet learned the situation: 'Handle the rest.'

'Whether it's compensation or actions against the Liu family.'

Li Zhilin had just arrived and was still a bit unclear about the situation. This highly versatile assistant wore a cold expression and instinctively glanced at Xiaobai Nuo, who was holding the little monitor.

He saw the little one's face was a tear-streaked mess. Upon seeing Li Zhilin, the child still called out obediently, just like before: 'Uncle Li.'

It was the same way he used to toddle around the offices sharing goodies he had received.

But his voice was a bit hoarse from crying.

How did his voice get hoarse?!

Even the usually calm Li Zhilin panicked for a moment: 'Young master, why are you crying so much? Have some water, stop crying.'

Li Zhilin watched Bai Sheng walk back and scoop Xiaobai Nuo into his arms. Aunt Feng quickly went to get water, and the little one buried himself in Bai Sheng's embrace.

Only then did Assistant Li turn to look at the Liu family. His expression grew even colder. He looked at the bewildered shop owner: 'Please provide the store's surveillance footage.'

After saying that, Assistant Li looked back at Bai Sheng.

'Boss, I'll handle things here. The crafts the young master made will be sent back later. I'll report to you later. Should I inform Miss Bai Qi?'

'No need.'

Bai Sheng held the cub. Upon hearing Bai Qi's name, the warmth in his eyes cooled.

'I'll take Nono to eat first. Handle it thoroughly, no rush.'

As soon as Bai Sheng walked away holding Xiaobai Nuo, Liu Dong wanted to say something but was blocked by Assistant Li.

Although Li Zhilin was Bai Sheng's assistant, he was also well-known in the industry. Liu Dong ultimately failed to stop them and had to follow, shooting a glare at the pained-looking Liu family secretary.

He had only taken a few steps when a message came on his phone. A previously almost confirmed business partner suddenly changed their mind. Liu Dong's face twisted for a moment. He glared at Liu Du, who was trembling behind the secretary, then reached out and pulled Liu Guang, who dared not cry anymore, over. With a dark face, he said to the secretary in a low voice: 'Arrange a meeting with Boss Yu tonight. Also, have Liu Sen go find Bai Si and tell her not to play tricks. Don't think she's safe just because she's latched onto Bai Si. I know everything she's done.'

'Yes, boss.'

Bai Sheng walked out holding the little one.

Xie Yu watched the sad little cub lying in Bai Sheng's arms, trying to piece together the fragments of the little monitor.

It was really a coincidence—it had broken right at the seam. Now the little monitor's lights were flickering erratically, and the AI's voice was crackling with static, clearly damaging the internal components.

Xie Yu, who had suggested bringing the kids here to play, felt pretty terrible. Who'd have thought a place that was supposed to be completely safe could have something like this happen?

He was holding one cub in each hand, while also looking after Yu Chuyan, whose older brother hadn’t arrived yet. “Thank goodness you’re not hurt. Stop him from trying to put it together, watch out for live wires or something. Nono, how about Uncle Xie buys you a new one?”

Hearing this, the three Alpha cubs looked up and chimed in eagerly.

“Nono, I’ll give you my allowance.”

“And mine!”

“I have a lot of allowance, Nono, let me buy it for you.”

Xiaobai Nuo couldn’t put it back together, and his eyes were clearly filled with tears. Bai Sheng tried to comfort him repeatedly, but the little one still lay pitifully in Bai Sheng’s arms, looking aggrieved.

Hearing what Yu Chuyan and the others said, the little guy turned to them and said very obediently, “Thank you, big brothers, thank you, Uncle. But Nono still wants Dou Dou... If I replace Dou Dou, he’ll be sad.”

This...

Data corruption made it difficult. Could they find someone specialized in data recovery right now? It wasn’t impossible, but it would be a hassle.

Xie Yu had a headache. Then he noticed Bai Sheng holding the little cub with one hand while browsing on his phone with the other. The man had been trying to soothe the little one for a while without success, but quietly confirmed that the cub wouldn’t hurt himself by continuing to tinker, so he didn’t stop him.

He was looking at a parts interface, placing a rush order to be delivered to the Bai family old residence.

Xie Yu suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

Clearly, Bai Sheng had decided to fix it himself. That made sense—for this “god,” putting together a little surveillance cam was probably as easy as a kid playing with a simple Lego set.

“Don’t worry, Daddy will fix it for you later.”

Bai Sheng held the cub, gently touching his cheek to the little one’s.

“Really?”

Xiaobai Nuo looked up, tears threatening to fall again.

“Nono avenged Dou Dou. Nono listened to Dou Dou and scratched where I should. Dou Dou will be okay, right?” He had been so good; he shouldn’t lose anything else, should he?

With such tiny, short nails, the little guy probably barely left a mark on the other party. Looking at his own cub, Bai Sheng, who was nearly traumatized, brought back the training plan he had previously shelved.

“Hmm, let’s go eat first.”

Bai Sheng exhaled, held the cub, and exchanged a glance with Xie Yu.

Xie Yu nodded. “Then I’ll take them to eat too. You take Nono...”

He was about to ask if Bai Sheng planned to have lunch with the client while bringing Nono—after all, he and Bai Sheng were old acquaintances from college, while this foreign client was a complete stranger.

But before he could finish, Xie Yu noticed Harley staring at the little one in Bai Sheng’s arms with envy.

Xie Yu: ...

Never mind.

Xie Yu led the three cubs, watching a group of grubby, mischievous Alphas wave goodbye to the little Omega cub who had cried himself into a mess. Just as he was about to ask Yu Chuyan what he wanted to eat, the Yu family’s car pulled up by the roadside not far away.

The door opened quickly, and a slender but imposing beta teenager stepped out briskly. His tense, stern expression softened slightly when he saw his little brother.

Yu Chen greeted Xie Yu. “Uncle Xie, how is everything?”

“Nothing much. That kid from the Liu family made Bai San’s cub cry. Bai San’s handling it. Ask Xiao Yan for the details, and you can figure out what to do about it.”

Xie Yu gave a brief explanation.

Yu Chen frowned, taking Yu Chuyan’s hand. The little one had a sour expression on his face. After a simple meal with the Xie family, Yu Chen took Yu Chuyan and got into the car.

“This angry? He’s two years older than you. It’s normal you couldn’t pin him down, isn’t it?”

Yu Chen fastened the seatbelt for his grubby little brother and sighed again.

“He bullied Nono.”

The little cub scowled stubbornly, spoke angrily, and then hung his head.

“I didn’t protect Nono. I made him cry.”

“My little rascal, I’d be grateful if you just kept yourself safe.”

Yu Chen hadn’t met this “Nono” that Yu Chuyan was talking about, and couldn’t help but chuckle as he ruffled his little brother’s hair.

Then he noticed his little brother grabbing a fitness center flyer that had been handed out during the meal.

The little cub said seriously, “Brother, I want to exercise. I want to become the strongest, like this guy. Then no one can beat me.”

That way, the soft little rice cake wouldn’t have to cry so pitifully.

Yu Chen hummed in acknowledgment at first, then looked at the muscle-bound man on the ad that Yu Chuyan was pointing at—

Yu Chen: ...

He looked at his cool, grubby little brother, then at the hulking figure in the ad. The corner of his mouth twitched. He couldn’t accept his brother turning into a big, dumb brute.

He pinched the ambitious little cub’s cheek, squeezing it hard. “You’d better not.”

Author’s note:

Cub: [crying loudly][crying loudly][crying loudly] Dou Dou wuwuwu—

Dad: rolling up sleeves, ready to build Dou Dou by hand