Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Little Bai Nuo was overflowing with joy.

He never thought he’d ever have enough to eat, sleep without being scared, and get gifts—that anything he liked would just come to him.

Dad was amazing. He could make so many wishes come true.

Bai Sheng watched the little cub hug the strawberry-shaped piggy bank, which seemed huge to him, with his cheek pressed against it.

The child was still small, with a naturally chubby face. As he pressed his cheek against the bank, his soft cheeks squished out a bit more, giving Bai Sheng the impression that he’d managed to put some weight on the poor kid.

But the little guy was still light as a feather.

Just as Bai Sheng was thinking this, he heard the little one speak softly again: "I’ll be super greedy. I’ll get spoiled really bad. Even worse than Dad."

Bai Sheng thought it over—being worse than him might take some skill—but as a dad, he casually rested his chin on his hand and replied, "Mm."

"Fine."

"Then Nono will be so bad that I'll eat all the food!"

What an adorable kind of bad.

Don’t eat too much, you naughty little Nono.

"I’ll be really, really bad."

Little Bai Nuo struggled to lift his head, looked at his dad, and smiled.

As his dad urged him to put his things away and get ready to wash up and sleep, he thought—

Then he would protect Dad.

And Grandma... As for Grandpa, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Aunt, and Great-Grandpa, Nono would try his best too.

The little boy silently clenched his fists, then hugged his strawberry piggy bank and ran upstairs.

The small camera followed behind, quickly disappearing at the top of the stairs.

"Third Master, make sure to clean and disinfect the coins for the young master. Coins can carry a lot of bacteria."

Aunt Feng said worriedly.

"Mm, I know. I wiped them down with alcohol before giving them to him."

Bai Sheng nodded. His eyes still lingered on the top of the stairs, and after a moment, he straightened up and let out a chuckle.

"Little money-grubber."

Bai Sheng turned around again.

"Oh, right, don't use the small kitchen tomorrow."

Aunt Feng: ...?

Huh?

"I’ve got quite a few nutritious recipes that Xie Yu recommended."

Bai Sheng finally decided to give them a try.

Aunt Feng: ...

"Ah, okay."

Though she had a feeling this wouldn't end well.

The next morning, bright and early.

Bai Sheng opened his eyes.

He had woken up forty minutes early to try out Xie Yu's healthy recipes.

Anyone who works a day job knows what a sacrifice that is! But...

Bai Sheng scratched his black curly hair, his handsome, angular face full of helplessness.

"You're only four years old—just how early do you get up?"

How can he be up this early? Doesn’t he need more sleep?

Bai Sheng checked the security footage and saw that Little Bai Nuo was already in the garden, holding a small hose and helping the gardener water the plants.

Bai Sheng then got up, washed up, and flipped through the recipes on his phone as he went downstairs.

Making breakfast with eggs was way too simple—no challenge at all. Bai Sheng, who handled everything effortlessly and had even mastered parenting in record time, was very confident. He skipped over the simple recipes and finally settled on shredded potato pancakes to make.

Bai Sheng nodded. This would do.

Under the worried looks from Aunt Feng and the chef, he picked out ingredients and entered the small kitchen. After setting everything down, he walked to the door and pushed it open.

The sun had just begun to peek out. With early summer approaching, the morning temperature was just right. The freshly watered garden smelled like clean earth, mixed with the sound of Little Bai Nuo chattering with the little monitoring device.

The little one, who had just been watering, had already put down the small hose the gardener had specially found for him. He was now standing beside the gardener, picking out flowers he thought were pretty from the budding flowers the gardener had trimmed. Since he still didn’t recognize many flowers, he’d pick one, show it to Dou Dou, and ask what flower it was.

Even though he talked a lot, it wasn’t annoying.

Bai Sheng leaned against the doorframe, watching. He also glanced up at the sky. He usually focused on important stuff—but now, this little one was gradually grabbing his attention.

And he even thought to himself—today was truly a nice day.

"Dad!"

The little one had already spotted him.

As the childish voice called out, the little one was already running toward him, holding flowers in his arms.

"Slow down."

Bai Sheng said, crouching down to wait for the little one to run into his arms.

The little boy, who looked a bit like him, looked up with a bright smile and held out the colorful flowers for him to look at.

"Dad, Dad! Grandma Feng said Nono can pick some flowers to put in a vase. Look, these are the flowers Nono picked."

"They’re beautiful."

Bai Sheng said, picking up the little one.

The little one whimpered in his arms, he rarely complained and even then only in a quiet voice, then turned his head to see Dad's reaction.

"Daddy, you barely looked."

"One look is enough? Only kids stare at flowers like that."

Bai Sheng hummed casually, setting the little one down on the soft mat. Aunt Feng had already prepared a vase with nutrient solution for the little one, though she still kept the scissors in her own hands, out of reach.

Xiaobai Nuo, set down by his dad, blinked while holding his flowers, then thought for a moment, then decided Dad had a point.

The monitoring robot, which rolled along much more slowly than Bai Sheng walked, finally arrived late.

Bai Sheng announced he was going to make the shredded potato pancakes.

Xiaobai Nuo quickly nodded in response, hurrying with his own task to help Dad.

Peeling potatoes was no trouble for Bai Sheng.

But when it came to shredding, even with a professional shredding tool, Bai Sheng gave it two tries under the chef's nervous gaze and found it not good enough.

The shredded pieces weren't uniform.

Why weren't they uniform?

The chef stared in disbelief.

Bai Sheng was usually meticulous—as seen in how he raised the child, following a first-time dad handbook almost perfectly without any errors. So it was understandable when measuring tools appeared in the kitchen… right?

My foot!! If he were that meticulous, he'd use a scale for seasonings, but Third Master, who uses a ruler to cut potatoes into shreds?!

By the time the little one finished arranging his flowers and entered the kitchen, this was what he saw.

Bai Sheng, measuring with a ruler, had meticulously cut… potato sticks.

Well, not quite what he imagined.

Xiaobai Nuo stood beside his father, craning his neck to see clearly, while Bai Sheng looked confused—where exactly had he gone wrong?

Seeing the little one hopping around his feet trying to get a better look, Bai Sheng had someone get a high chair and set the little one in it.

Xiaobai Nuo blinked. In the post-apocalyptic world, he didn't know potatoes, but in the past few days, the food-loving little one had quickly learned about this world's foods.

"Daddy, are you cutting potato sticks?"

The little one blinked.

Bai Sheng: …

Bai Sheng stayed silent.

Xiaobai Nuo leaned on the edge of the counter, watching Bai Sheng stubbornly measure and mutter under his breath.

"How can a cut that should be one millimeter wide turn into a side that's one centimeter long?"

At that exact moment, the monitor robot, which had been circling anxiously around Xiaobai Nuo's chair, unable to see the child from that angle, automatically issued an alert when the child had been out of its view for a set period.

"Hello, Dou Dou cannot find the target. Please provide instructions."

The robot's voice partly overlapped with Bai Sheng's muttering, so Dou Dou caught a few words: '…cut… one… mm…'

Dou Dou automatically searched and instantly replied, "Are you asking about load-bearing beam specifications? Typically, load-bearing beam dimensions must match the weight they will carry. A one-meter diameter load-bearing beam can support a small bridge—"

Bai Sheng: …

Already doubting himself after the little one's innocent "potato sticks," he now heard the robot's "load-bearing beam."

Bai Sheng put down the knife, picked up the robot, shoved it out of the kitchen, and closed the door.

Stay outside!

Dou Dou: ?

Now the target was completely lost.

Dou Dou spun around anxiously, but luckily it had a built-in map of the house, so it located where the target had vanished. It backed up a bit, then charged at the kitchen door, and called out, "Hello, hello, let me in, let me in! Please open the door! I need to go in! In ten seconds, I will alert the guardian. Ten, nine—"

Aunt Feng and the chef, who had been watching closely from outside: …

Inside the kitchen, Bai Sheng, at his wit's end, temporarily disabled Dou Dou's target tracking from his phone.

"Daddy, why did you put Dou Dou outside?"

Xiaobai Nuo heard Dou Dou calling and instinctively wanted to jump down from the chair, but Dad stopped him. Now that Dou Dou was silent outside, the little one looked at Bai Sheng with wide eyes.

Bai Sheng: …

Potato sticks he could handle, but a load-bearing beam was too much.

He didn't want to explain.

"Nothing, it was hungry. I asked Grandma Feng to take it to get charged."

Bai Sheng, outwardly calm, finally gave up on the dream of hand-shredded potatoes and turned back to the shredding tool.

Luckily, shredding tools had been upgraded to prevent cuts, so Bai Sheng got through the shredding step smoothly.

But what was "an appropriate amount"?

Bai Sheng looked confused. He added flour, with the little one's help, and then the seasonings, only to be stumped by "appropriate amount."

Bai Sheng didn't understand—this was supposed to be a precise world, so how could "appropriate amount" exist?!

Fortunately, this was just a small trial. Bai Sheng used only one small potato, quickly calculated in his mind, thinking especially that for the little one, it was better to be a little bland than too salty.

He held the spoon, his expression serious and focused, adding salt grains almost one by one.

Then he stirred. It was a bit thick? No problem, it could still go into the pan.

Bai Sheng naturally had basic cooking knowledge, so he didn't splatter oil everywhere.

But he still opened the kitchen door and moved Xiaobai Nuo back a bit.

Finally, under the wide-eyed stares of Aunt Feng and the head chef, Bai Sheng presented a plate of blackened shredded potato pancakes.

Bai Sheng: …That's not right. Something must have gone wrong. I followed the recipe strictly. How did this happen? This shouldn't have happened.

"Your heat was too high for the pan, and the pancake was too thick…"

The chef couldn't help whispering, and he looked again at the many utensils in the kitchen that he didn't understand, finally unable to hold back.

"Third Master, there's really no need for you to cook for the young master yourself."

It's better to stay out of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Little Bai Nuo, holding Doudou, took advantage of the adults not paying attention and went over to the plate of suspicious-looking shredded potato pancake. He broke off a corner and stuffed it into his mouth, crunch, crunch, crunch—

Where was that crunchy sound coming from?

A group of people looked over.

Aunt Feng: "!!! Young master, you can't eat that!!! Third Master, please don't go into the kitchen again!!!!"

Because you have a child who likes and trusts you too much, and he will actually eat your disaster cooking!!!

Aunt Feng lost it. Ignoring Bai Sheng's authority, she shoved him out of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Little Bai Nuo, who had been yanked off the dining table by his father, was trying to choke down that bite. As if making a firm decision, he hugged his father's neck and said, "Daddy, tasty!"

It's okay, Nono can just close his eyes and say it's good.

Bai Sheng: ...

Don't look like you're about to go die a hero!

Something's definitely off.

Bai Sheng couldn't wrap his head around it. He didn't think there was anything he wasn't good at.

But in the end, Bai Sheng compromised and stopped obsessing over the kitchen. He glanced at the message from Xie Yu saying that his two "A-kids" loved the pancakes he made.

At work, Bai Sheng couldn't help wondering, so what if they liked his pancakes?

After a long pause, Bai Sheng replied: After I fixed Doudou for him, Nono came up all happy and gave me a kiss. Is that normal?

Xie Yu, who was also at work, saw this message out of nowhere: "?"

He was checking if the money tree in the company had been watered with boiling water by those two little brats, when this message caught his eye.

What does he mean, "is it normal to come up and kiss"?

That's definitely not normal! Where does a cub happily come up and give you a soft kiss?! Even if they kiss you, it's with a greasy mouth or a face full of paint!!! And that paint is hard to remove, and then you'd end up with a dirty, grimy cub and a smudged self.

Hah, "A-kids."

Does he know how hard it was to get that little turtle off his face last night?!

So Xie Yu started typing deliriously: 'That's not normal. Usually, Nono must have something wrong with him. I don't believe it unless you send him over so I can see.'

Comparison really does make you appreciate what you have. Bai Sheng was satisfied.

So he generously shot back two words: 'Dream on.'

And he ignored Xie Yu's string of complaints after that.

Until after the lunch break, the little guy was worn out from today's antics and slept like a log during his nap.

Bai Sheng looked at the time. He stubbornly wanted to give it another shot, so he prepared to take the little guy home.

Bai Sheng walked into the rest area.

On his bed, the blanket was a small lump.

The little guy was sleeping on his side, with the little monitor placed aside. His face was all pink from sleep, his little hands loosely clasped, and his black hair caught the warm light under the sheer curtain that only partially blocked the sunlight.

Time to wake him up; nap too long and he'll get a headache.

Bai Sheng fished out a new, sterilized coin from his pocket.

Bai Sheng sat on the edge of the bed and placed the coin on the kid's eyelid.

Little Bai Nuo felt his dad bothering him, moved his little hand, and groggily grabbed the coin and opened his eyes.

"Daddy?"

The little cub saw the coin in his hand clearly.

"Wow, a new one! I've never seen this before!"

"Time to get up, we're heading home. Keep it—you opened your eyes the second I put it on."

Talk about being money-hungry, huh? Bai Sheng thought, amused.

Little Bai Nuo blinked, got up, and tucked the coin into his pocket, and was then carried off the bed by his father.

The little guy patted his pocket.

He thought: It's okay, Nono will save it all. When it's useful, I can take it out. If something happens, what if it's just a little short? Nono can help fill the gap!

He still remembered how the villains ended up broke and miserable. The little guy carefully saved every little scrap he thought might come in handy.

Such a small cub was determined to have his parents' backs.

Even if he saved bit by bit, like in an apocalypse, if Nono saved more, he would have a lot.

But the parents obviously didn't know yet.

Bai Sheng carried Little Bai Nuo out of the company.

In the top-floor office, they were discussing in low voices.

"Boss left so early today?"

"The young master didn't even have time to wake up and say hello to us. How could he be carried away?"

"Leaving early again, leaving early again! The boss isn't active at work now. How is he going to earn money to support the young master?"

"Although that's true, the boss still handles a lot of documents at home, right?"

"I don't care about that. Since the boss isn't here, can't I talk some trash?"

Just then, the elevator on the top floor opened, and a man walked in. He subconsciously glanced at the somewhat noisy assistant secretary's office and asked in a low voice, "Is the boss not in the office?"

Otherwise, why would it be so noisy?

"Ah, Engineer Zeng." Tao Fei from the secretarial office looked over. She recognized the man, Zeng Liang, a senior engineer in the technical department. He was a genius at work, but had a gloomy personality and didn't like interacting with people, so he wasn't very popular.

"The boss left early today. You can submit any proposals directly to us. We'll pass on important documents to the boss."

Zeng Liang acknowledged and handed over the USB drive in his hand.

He glanced in the direction of Bai Sheng's office and asked in a low, hoarse voice, "Did the boss take the little master home?"

Zeng Liang had of course seen Xiaobai Nuo before, but he was withdrawn by nature. Although he was curious about the little omega cub, he only watched from afar and kept his distance. Xiaobai Nuo, on the other hand, was sensitive in this regard—even at just four or five years old, he knew how to maintain a comfortable distance.

Zeng Liang had never reacted much, but Bai Sheng's persistent lateness and early departures recently had slowed their progress, which Zeng Liang couldn't understand.

But he said nothing, just thinking as he left the secretary's office: perhaps when the boss sends that little guy to kindergarten, then elementary, middle school, high school, and university, things will go back to normal?

The parent who had once again turned down the kindergarten trial invitation quietly put away his phone. The same parent who had earlier argued it was for Xiaobai Nuo's good, wearing a serious expression as if he were about to send the little one to kindergarten, hadn't yet braced himself.

At that moment, Bai Sheng was stubbornly in the main house's kitchen, refusing to give up.

At home was only Ms. Cen Zhi, who had just gone to see her cousin, and the grandfather, who had unusually not gone out fishing.

Oh, and Bai Liang, who hadn't gone to Sheng'ang University.

But just as Xiaobai Nuo had learned in his dream, with Cen Zhi around, although the Bai family members had strained relationships, they would all sheathe their 'fangs' and put on a show in the old house.

Xiaobai Nuo's activity for the day was origami.

A new origami book and colorful sheets of paper were laid out in front of the little one.

Grandma was on the phone, and the little cub waited to read the book with her, so he didn't turn the page, just tilted his little head up, waiting for her to finish.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop here. I'll contact you when I go to Lishan later. Why so urgent? Your little grand-nephew is waiting for his aunt to do origami!"

Cen Zhi hung up and looked down at the little one.

"Come on, have you been waiting long? Grandma will teach Nuo Nuo how to play."

But Xiaobai Nuo wasn't focused on origami anymore. The little one blinked and sensitively reached out to grab his grandmother's clothes.

"Grandma, are you going out later?"

"Grandma is going to help your cousin, just to show support. But not now—it'll be a while yet. We're going to Lishan, not too far from here. At most, Grandma will be away for three or four days. Nuo Nuo will wait at home for Grandma to come back, okay? Oh, and in a few days, your little uncle will be back. He has a lot of interesting things. Nuo Nuo can see what he wants to play with."

Xiaobai Nuo ignored the mention of his little uncle. The little one only knew that his grandmother had died in a disaster. Now, hearing that she was going out, he immediately tensed up, wrapping his little arms around her.

He wanted to say not to go to a place with mountains where disaster might strike, but just like before, the words were on the tip of his tongue but wouldn't come out.

In the end, the little one pursed his lips and pressed tightly against his grandmother.

"Grandma stays with Nuo Nuo. Grandma doesn't go alone." Nuo Nuo will find a way to protect Grandma.

The little one snuggled up softly and said this seriously.

Cen Zhi's heart melted.

She smiled and touched the little one's cheek. "So clingy with Grandma, huh?"

So adorable.

"What about Daddy, then?"

She deliberately said this, looking toward Bai Sheng, who was frowning in the kitchen.

In her opinion, Bai Sheng was just bored and restless, always showing off his cub to the point of walking on air all day. He even daydreamed about what he'd do if it were just him and Xiaobai Nuo, and how he would raise the little one—simply crazy.

The little one tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Daddy comes too."

He looked up. "Nuo Nuo, Daddy, and Grandma all together. Daddy is super strong." With Daddy there, there must be a way.

Too cute.

Cen Zhi couldn't take it. She took a photo from that angle of the little one holding her arm and happily posted it on Moments.

'Just because I have to go on a business trip for a few days, our baby is already unhappy. He just can't bear to be away from Grandma. "Picture"'

The old man, sitting on the sofa with an unchanged expression, glanced out of the corner of his eye.

He thought: Origami? Such childish games.

Then he heard his phone ring. He took it out and saw that post on Moments, as well as the discussion in his small group chat.

These days, the old man hadn't caught any fish, so his blood pressure was a bit high. They were afraid that taking him out might cause problems, so they skipped fishing today.

They were all advanced in age, so at home, of course, they talked about their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Because omega cubs were precious, anyone with a little omega at home would be bombarded with questions.

Bai Yan watched for a while, then cleared his throat. Still poker-faced, he forwarded the picture Cen Zhi had posted to the group.

Bai Yan: "You wanted to see this? It's nothing special. 'Picture'"

'? Brother Bai, what do you mean "nothing special"? Oh my god, did your Bai San bring home a doll to keep?'

'Looking at this angle, is he being clingy? As expected of a little omega, he looks so soft and clingy, like he wouldn't cause trouble? My little Alphas are fine too, but ah...'

'That's Brother Bai for you. If I had a great-grandson like this, I wouldn't want to go out either.'

Bai Yan remained expressionless.

He even let out a light snort: He was obviously different from these guys.

Then he saw a comment: 'Is he being clingy with Cen Zhi? Brother Bai, why not post a picture of this little one being clingy with you? Old Wang set his little omega great-grandson as his profile picture.'

Bai Yan: ...

Bai Yan looked up at the little one who was far away. Their relationship so far had only gotten to the point where the little one no longer took back his 'welcome home.'

Bai Yan: ... Are you talking too much?

Author's Note:

Nuo Nuo: I am a bad baby, badder than Daddy.

Dad: Very good, you've got guts. Applause