Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The Xie Family Twins, who had always lived by the rule that might makes right and would start a fight in an instant, paused slightly.

Even Yu Chuyan looked at Xiaobai Nuo, who slid the cookies over to them.

Unlike adults, who would go soft-hearted and emotional at the sight of the little one, these little rascals were more straightforward and direct. They didn't share those sentiments—whether they got along was purely based on feeling and preference.

Growing up healthy, these kids never cared about their parents telling them who to be friends with. Whether it was Yu Chuyan or the Xie Family Twins, if they didn't like him, they wouldn't have started playing with Xiaobai Nuo in the first place.

But even though they played together now, they still weren't that close yet.

They just always thought the little brother was very cute, like a delicate doll, something nice to look at.

But if it was going to be like today…

“Little brother feels like he's easy to bully, huh.”

Xie Yue cocked his head, finally done wrestling with his brother. He rested his hands on Xie Qing's shoulders and blinked.

The Xie Family Twins looked very much alike, and their personalities were similar too. It was just that Xie Qing, having been born a few minutes earlier, naturally took on the role of the older brother and tried to snatch things from his younger brother. Over time, Xie Qing's personality seemed a little more steady.

But when two pairs of identical amber eyes stared back without blinking, the emotions inside them were the same.

Xie Qing nodded too, a worried look on his little face: “If Little Brother Nono lived with my little brother, all his food would be snatched away.”

Xie Yue: ?

Is that what I meant?! When did I say I'd snatch all the food?! I'd leave *some* for Little Brother Nono, geez?! I'd only snatch yours!

Xiaobai Nuo blinked, confused if he'd said something wrong. Since his dad wasn't around, he naturally looked to Yu Chuyan, the most reliable one around.

Yu Chuyan gathered all the cookies onto one plate and slid it to the center of the flight chess board, said in his childish voice: “Stop arguing. Let's eat together. If there's any trouble, I'll handle it.”

That settled that.

“I see, Brother Yan's already got it figured out. Little Brother Nono, don't worry about anything from now on. Brother Yan's a great fighter!”

Xie Qing nodded, agreeing.

“If there's any problem, go to Brother Yan.”

Xie Yue: “That's right!”

Xie Yue patted his brother's chest for emphasis.

“My brother and I will protect you too!”

Xie Qing, jolted by the pat, shot back, “Pat your own chest!”

Yu Chuyan handed Xiaobai Nuo the cookie he thought was the best.

The Little Cool Guy was a little worried.

Because Xiaobai Nuo was just too well-behaved—he really seemed easy to bully. And there might be some who would take advantage of his good nature.

He'd need to watch out for him in kindergarten.

So Yu Chuyan said seriously: “If anyone bullies you, don't be quiet about it. Tell me, and I'll knock 'em into next week.”

Xiaobai Nuo blinked, looking at the three little ones in front of him. He hadn't forgotten his own role as part of the Villain Family: “But Nono's a villain, so I know how to scratch when I need to!”

Shi Lin, who'd been listening from outside and getting all choked up, was now speechless.

You kids are barely out of diapers and all you talk about is fighting?! Who's been teaching you that?!

But soon the topic got lost in the kids' noisy chatter. The four little ones started playing flight chess. Shi Lin watched Yu Chuyan pick up the die like it was a sacred object: “Come on, Little Brother Nuo, let's crush 'em!”

“I won't lose at flight chess, Brother Yan!”

So intense, but over what?

Shi Lin exhaled, shook her head, and headed for the study. But her eyes were glistening with a smile.

Man, these little munchkins are adorable together.

Xiaobai Nuo was on a roll today. Teamed up with Yu Chuyan, they breezed to the finish and crushed it.

The Xie twins refused to believe it and started replaying the game in their heads, which quickly turned into another argument, blaming each other for bad luck dragging them down.

Xiaobai Nuo stretched out his little hand: “Brother Xiao Qing, Brother Xiao Yue…”

The two little guys were going at it.

“I remember everything! You rolled like fifteen times and still couldn't leave the base! And you're blaming me for bad luck?!”

“Oh yeah?! Who took a dozen tries to get the last piece home?!”

“It was you!”

“It was clearly brother!”

“I'm gonna bite you!”

“Oh, attacking like that? Then I'll bite here!”

Xiaobai Nuo: …

The tiny guy couldn't get a word in edgewise.

The little guy blinked in confusion.

“It's fine, they're always like this.”

Yu Chuyan said, as if used to it, and handed a small glass of juice to Xiaobai Nuo.

“Oh, thank you, brother.”

The little guy took the juice glass with both hands.

Yu Chuyan's little handkerchief finally came in handy. He carefully wiped the cookie crumbs off Xiaobai Nuo's mouth. Seeing the little guy squint, he softened his touch and spoke solemnly.

“You're welcome.”

Xiaobai Nuo took a couple sips, set the glass down, picked up Dou Dou, and looked at the flower-shaped cookie on his plate. He asked softly, “Is Papa still busy?”

“Daddy’s taking forever,” Nono said. “Nono hasn’t seen Daddy for so long.”

Yu Chuyan subconsciously turned his head to look behind him.

The nanny sitting at a distance, watching them with a knowing, doting smile, glanced at the time upon hearing this. “They should be back soon.”

It was already about that time.

Meanwhile, the meeting on the parents’ side was indeed just about wrapping up.

The Liu family was already about to collapse over the past few days, with shareholders growing deeply dissatisfied with Liu Dong and considering swapping him out.

Of course, the Liu family wasn’t much of a threat. The main issue was Yu Chen and Yu Chuyan’s father, along with that illegitimate child. Given that the two families had never really gotten along, they might be reckless enough to oppose the Bai family.

The father was foolish, but Yu Chen wasn’t. At just fifteen, he had the qualifications to sit as an equal among many business tycoons. That alone made it easy to imagine how much Yu Chen had sacrificed over the years. Naturally, Yu Chen didn’t want his father to have an easy time either.

With a common goal in mind, their conversation flowed smoothly.

Not to mention that both families had kids of similar age.

After finishing the discussions on related matters, both Bai Sheng and Yu Chen planned to go pick up their little ones.

But before that—

The fifteen-year-old beta young man, still carrying the slight greenness of a newcomer, yet with a calm demeanor. He seemed to notice something and looked toward the window. Yu Chen batted his eyes slowly. “Uncles, give me a moment.”

Xie Yu was familiar with this routine. Glancing at Bai Sheng, who was standing with one hand in his pocket, checking his phone’s surveillance feed to see what his kid was up to, he chuckled and joked, “What’s up? Did you catch Xiao Yan doing something bad?”

Yu Chen: …

“Looks like it, yeah?”

Yu Chen walked over to the window and pinched a soft, wilted succulent leaf. With just a light squeeze—it fell off.

Yu Chen: …

His plant!!!

That little brat Yu Chuyan had been carrying his tiny watering can again, watering every single one, hadn’t he?! This was the only plant your big brother could keep alive, you know?!

Feigning calm, Yu Chen asked the servants behind him, “How many times did he water them?”

“Ah, watering the plants? I remember… the young master watered them yesterday morning.”

“I saw the young master watering them yesterday afternoon.”

“Hmm? I thought it was in the morning.”

“No, it was right before he left the house. He was even humming a tune.”

Yu Chen: …

Pretty diligent, watering them three times a day, huh?!

He clenched his fists.

“Ah, he probably meant well.”

Xie Yu followed an irate Yu Chen as he stormed back toward the Xie residence, trying to soothe him while fumbling for his keys in his pocket. To his surprise, Xie Yu, who hadn’t looked in his pocket all day, felt something sticky on his hand. He looked down sharply.

What the hell?

Only Bai Sheng remained calm, ready to pick up his own child and head home.

Upstairs, the little ones had already heard the commotion and were coming down.

The door opened. Yu Chen, who had been so composed during the negotiation just moments before, grabbed Yu Chuyan by the cheeks as the boy ran over, squeezing them hard and giving them a firm squeeze.

“Uwah!” Yu Chuyan startled, his little cool guy face now squished. “Brother, what are you doing?!”

“How many times have you watered the plants by the window this past week, you little pest?”

“Brother, you never take care of them, so I did it for you!”

Yu Chuyan pulled at his brother’s hands.

“You said they were succulents, right? Succulents need more water, don’t they?! And I haven’t even mentioned you tricking me into taking a bath with you—”

You little brat, you’re definitely getting back at me, aren’t you?!

Yu Chen kneaded his younger brother’s soft cheeks, gritting his teeth. “That was the only plant your big brother could keep alive!”

The plant killer’s tears streamed down silently.

Meanwhile, Xie Yu stood in confusion, pulling a mushy, moldy, sticky piece of glutinous rice cake out of his pocket.

“...Who did this?”

The Xie Family Twins had been enjoying the drama, but when they saw what was in their father’s hands, memories came flooding back. Memories of eating out at a restaurant, loving the food so much they couldn’t stop, stuffing themselves until they couldn’t eat another bite, and then finding a place to stash the leftovers to be eaten later.

That place, apparently, was their father’s pocket.

Xie Qing: “Ah, I forgot.”

Xie Yue: “Ah… it’s moldy.”

Xie Yu said flatly, “Ah… you two are about to get a beating.”

If you’re going to hide things, put them in your own damn pockets, okay?! You little monkeys!!!

At the same time, Xiao Bai Nuo had already spotted his father. Hugging Dou Dou, he toddled over to Bai Sheng as fast as his little legs could carry him. “Daddy!”

Bai Sheng crouched down just in time for the little one to crash into his arms and wrap his arms around his neck. He had been enjoying the show, but now he couldn’t help but laugh.

“In such a hurry?”

“Because Nono hadn’t seen Daddy for so long.”

Xiao Bai Nuo wasn’t used to being away from Bai Sheng for long. The only reason he had managed to wait was because he had Dou Dou and his friends around. Now that he saw his father, the light in his eyes was impossible to miss.

“And there are cookies!”

The little one still clutched a cookie in his hand, holding it up to Bai Sheng’s lips. His big eyes sparkled.

“Nono got lots of cookies! Nono saved this one for Daddy. Daddy, eat!”

Nono’s treasures were to be shared with his father, too.

What's that noise? Yu Chen, who was squeezing his own younger brother's cheeks, turned around. It was his first time seeing Xiaobai Nuo, and he witnessed everything that followed.

This kid... what is he?

What's with this kid?

Is there really such a kid in this world? It's gotta be just the looks, right? It's like a cookie filled with mustard or something...

He looked over, softly called out "big brother", and when his parent picked him up, he actually obediently snuggled into his parent’s arms?!

Nearby, Xie Yu also looked over upon hearing the little one's voice. His own two little rascals had already squealed and ran off. Seeing the intense turmoil in Yu Chen's eyes, he raised his clean hand and patted Yu Chen on the shoulder.

— Take a deep breath, relax. Having the thought "swap that kid for mine" is normal.

Author's note:

Bai Sheng: Holding up the cub, "I'm not showing off at all [sunglasses]"

Yu Chen: ...

Xie Yu: ...

Hand me the cub.