Chapter 51

Chapter 51

This has to be an illusion!

Bai Jin stared at Xiaobai Nuo's cheeks, watching the little guy lower his head to unwrap the rice cake packaging. Bai Sheng tapped him on the shoulder before he could even reach out.

Squatting on the ground, Bai Jin looked up and locked eyes with Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng stood beside the little one, looking down with condescending arrogance—unlike Bai Jin's flamboyant and overbearing attitude, his arrogance was the kind that completely ignored everyone else, as if they didn't exist.

He motioned silently: *You done? Then get lost. Keep your hands off him.*

Bai Jin: ...

After exchanging glances with Bai Sheng, Bai Jin abruptly turned to look at Xiaobai Nuo.

"Last time, it was your dad who hid your puzzle."

He brought up the old matter, trying to get Xiaobai Nuo to blame his dad.

Xiaobai Nuo, who was just taking a big bite of the rice cake, looked over upon hearing this.

The little cub glanced at his uncle, then at his father, swallowed the rice cake in his mouth, and said, "Dad is good. Uncle must not say bad things about Dad."

Bai Jin: ...

This kid holds grudges, but he loves his dad and thinks everyone else is the bad guy.

Bai Jin heard his third brother let out a low laugh—that laugh was really smug.

Bai Jin could suddenly really empathize with his eldest brother, who used to hate Bai Sheng.

Watching the little one being carried away, Bai Jin thought: *So annoying!*

Bai Jin grabbed a towel and casually wiped the raindrops off his face. He sat down on the chair behind him, pulled out his phone, found a name in his contacts, typed a message, and hit send.

And so, Bai Jingyun, who was working, saw a message on his phone.

*Five: Is Third Brother seriously ill? Tie a leash on him. I feel like he's about to take off.*

Bai Jingyun read the message and, for a moment, completely agreed.

Then he saw Bai Jin send another message.

*Five: By the way, last time that little guy said he was on your side. Did you say something to him? How did you do it?*

Bai Jingyun's fingertips paused.

Hmm?

Bai Jingyun sensed a feeling of 'danger.'

Over there, Bai Jin waited for a while. He was spinning his phone with one hand. When he heard the notification sound, he glanced down.

*Big Brother: I think you're fine as you are now. You should stay true to yourself and not follow the crowd.*

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin stared at this message for a long time, then suddenly let out a laugh.

He had always thought Bai Jingyun was up to something, and now it was completely confirmed. As expected of a big capitalist—masterful at shifting risks and increasing competitiveness.

Bai Jin thought about Bai Jingyun's earlier behavior. It was too obvious—Bai Jingyun had even said outright that he was on Xiaobai Nuo's side—so Bai Jin caught on, though he hadn't connected it to Grandpa yet.

He just muttered under his breath, "That guy wasn't secretly gloating behind my back, was he?!"

...

The filming here quickly reached a break.

Unlike the earlier filming requirements inside the Chestnut Mountain buildings, those artists had basically not come along. This was considered an outdoor segment for Cen Zhi's behind-the-scenes introduction in the show.

So there weren't many people from the production team, the atmosphere was quite relaxed, and it quickly came time for a break.

The rain was still falling.

It was the kind of annoying drizzle that wasn't worth an umbrella, but getting soaked for a while still left you damp.

"The weather at Chestnut Mountain recently has been really terrible. This rain just won't stop. Now there are no heavy rains, but it's drizzling all day. Looking at the weather forecast for the next few days, there's rain every day too."

Cen Liu muttered softly.

"It was nice to come see the rain scenery before, but now it's clear we really need some sun."

He watched Cen Zhi, who had naturally picked up Xiaobai Nuo, and felt very envious. He quietly glanced at Bai Sheng, who was frowning off to the side and reportedly had an urgent contract to handle today. After confirming that the child's father wasn't approaching, he moved closer to the child.

He watched Cen Zhi pull a picture book from the bag next to her.

Xiaobai Nuo had already heard Cen Liu's words. He was still holding the bag of rice cakes his uncle had given him, sitting obediently on his grandmother's lap, looking up at the man: "Uncle, if it keeps raining, will something really scary happen?"

Xiaobai Nuo kept staring at his grandmother, especially after Cen Zhi left the house, he was inseparable from her.

The little one only knew that his grandmother had an accident outside and that's why she left.

But he didn't know the specifics.

But since his uncle said the recent weather was bad, maybe it was a problem in that area?

Not that the little one could be blamed for being cautious. In that apocalypse, disasters were frequent, and any small anomaly could lead to a big catastrophe.

"Scary thing?"

Cen Liu looked over and saw the worried expression on the little one's face, couldn't help but smile.

"Baby, don't worry. Although this is also a relatively remote mountainous area, because it's a scenic spot with many residents, there are many uncles and aunties on daily patrol. Among them, some are responsible for observing the impact of rain on Chestnut Mountain. It's just that today's rain is a bit unusual. Besides a few heavy rain warnings, Chestnut Mountain as a whole is still very stable. Nothing scary will happen."

Cen Liu said so, looking at Xiaobai Nuo, and found the little guy's timid and anxious questioning both adorable and amusing.

So nothing will happen?

Xiaobai Nuo hugged the picture book, looked at his uncle, and nodded his little head.

As for his uncle, Xiaobai Nuo knew even less.

He had never even heard of Cen Liu's existence in the original story.

So Cousin isn't even a bad guy?

Seeing the skepticism in Xiao Bai Nuo's little eyes, Cen Liu laughed out loud again: "Don't worry."

Taking advantage of the parents not paying attention, he ruffled Xiao Bai Nuo's little head.

Feeling the soft, fluffy little curls, he was over the moon as he patted his chest.

"Although I can't compare to your dad, I'm still a strong alpha, so you don't need to keep such a close eye on Grandma. I'll help keep an eye on things. Go find something fun, and your dad can take you to play."

The little one let out an "mmh," but then snuggled tighter into Grandma's embrace.

"No, Nono wants to stay with Grandma."

"Oh, our Nono is always the closest to Grandma, right?"

Cen Zhi, who had been silent all along, was now grinning from ear to ear at Nono's cuteness.

"But why are you staying so far away today?"

Yesterday, the little one had actually been quite close.

"...I can see that river."

The little one, nestled in Grandma's arms, opened the picture book and pointed at the river bend without looking up.

"Nono doesn't like the river."

"If you don't like it, then don't. Nono can dislike it if he wants."

Cen Zhi continued smiling as she glanced at the picture book.

"Hey, haven't we read this picture book before?"

She watched Nono nod his little head, and her smile deepened.

"So, Nono, do you still remember what it's about?"

"Yes, Nono will tell Grandma!"

The little one immediately began pointing at the text in his cute little baby voice, imitating the way Cen Zhi had described it before.

The adults didn't notice anything unusual at first.

But after flipping through two pages, Cen Zhi finally realized something.

"Hey, sweetie? Did you memorize all these words?"

Even though his speech was still a little babyish and unclear, Nono's narration was different from how most kids tell a story from pictures.

He could pretty much read every sentence correctly.

And he had only seen this picture book once before.

Nono blinked. "There are some words I don't know, but others I've seen in different books before. Nono remembers them."

Nono remembered them all.

Cen Zhi and Cen Liu leaned in together, listening as the little one finished the picture book. He could even use what he'd learned, like the apple division math problem in the book. Some kids know that one plus one equals two, but they might not get the simple switch, like if you have one apple and someone gives you another, how many apples do you have now?

But for Nono, this was a piece of cake.

When the break ended, Cen Zhi put the little one and the picture book on a chair and stood up.

Although the Bai family's kids had always been smart from a young age, and this wasn't Cen Zhi's first time witnessing it, the question was—this little one had only been taken out of the research institute a few months ago, right? That meant he hadn't been living a normal life for long.

Cen Zhi grabbed Cen Liu by the shoulders and shook him in excitement. "My baby can read picture books and do math! He's so smart!"

Dizzy from the shaking and still dazed from hearing Nono's little voice recite the whole book, Cen Liu mumbled groggily, "Exactly. So, Nono, come home with your cousin. If you agree, just keep breathing. If you disagree, recite 'The Memorial to the Throne on Dispatching the Troops' to me and solve a calculus equation. With your intelligence, I'm sure you can do it!"

The little guy clutching the picture book looked confused: ...I don't understand.

Cen Zhi: ...

Getting a grip on herself, Cen Zhi looked at her nephew and, while shaking his shoulders, flung him away.

She let out a dry chuckle.

"In your dreams!"

Nono is going to stay with Grandma forever. This is the omega grandson Grandma has been waiting for!

Bai Sheng, who'd been dealing with papers off to the side, glanced over and then looked at his own child. He silently twitched the corner of his mouth.

If he remembered right, that was his kid, right?

—You guys shouldn't be so possessive of someone else's child.

Almost time. This time and angle are just right.

Cen Zhi checked the time on her phone, called out to Cen Liu, who was now sprawled on the ground, and quickly walked back to her previous spot.

Leaning on the railing with one hand, she noted it wasn't far to the ground, but the ground sloped down in a series of steps. From here, you could see the whole Lishan Mountain scenic area, and you could see most of the nature reserve behind it too. It was a perfect lookout spot.

And at this time of day, it was the best.

Cen Liu had already called the others over to start getting ready to film. He stood next to Cen Zhi, talking things over with her.

Nono held his picture book tight and kept watching Grandma.

But then the little guy felt a bit uneasy.

Not physically, but a feeling that most people never get—something only real survivors who'd been through the apocalypse and all kinds of disasters would recognize.

A strong sense of wrongness, totally out of place with the calm around him.

Something was wrong.

Nono blinked, thinking without really meaning to.

But he hadn't put his finger on what was wrong.

After all, Cousin had just said there was nothing to worry about here.

Nono glanced subconsciously at his father, who was sitting a few steps away, and his uncle, who was sitting backwards on a chair with his chin on the backrest, messing with his phone.

Nono hesitated for a second but in the end didn't go ask his dad. Instead, his big eyes darted all around.

Trying to pick up on the tiny details.

Finally, Xiaobai Nuo paused. He heard a faint cracking sound, hidden within the rain and wind, muffled by the adults' conversations, not very clear.

At the same time, the steep cliff face not far from them, perhaps from the rain washing it away, had some small rocks silently sliding down.

Xiaobai Nuo’s eyes widened. He watched the pebbles tumble. In that brief second or two, it seemed infinitely magnified in his eyes—his survival instinct told him to get out of there, right now, immediately.

Water can drown people, mountains can devour them.

If you are even one step slow, you will be completely swallowed up by the ferocious disaster.

Xiaobai Nuo had seen such terrifying scenes many times before.

He had already pushed himself up, his body almost instinctively turning backward, but in the next moment, without hesitation, he leaped down and sprinted toward Cen Zhi.

“Grandma! Grandma! Grandma! Don’t stand there! Rocks, rocks are coming!”

“Nono?”

Cen Zhi instinctively took a few steps toward Xiaobai Nuo.

The young, childish voice pierced everyone’s ears. Cen Liu, standing beside Cen Zhi, had just talked to Xiaobai Nuo about disasters. Though he didn’t think anything serious would actually happen, he was still a bit more vigilant.

At the same time, most people’s phones sounded alarms: “Earthquake warning, epicenter alert in 2, 1—”

The alarm was so brief that people barely had time to react. This magnitude earthquake, which would barely cause damage on ordinary plains, struck. The ground suddenly began to shake. The falling pebbles were only a precursor. With a loud rumble, without giving anyone a chance to respond,

huge rocks tumbled down, along with countless large and small scattered stones around them, rapidly falling, forming a terrifying rockslide.

Screams erupted instantly. Cen Zhi was startled by the little one sprinting toward her and hurriedly moved to run over as well. Cen Liu behind her gave her a forceful shove—he ran a few quick steps himself and then threw himself forward.

The largest rocks didn’t hit them, but countless tiny stones bounced around, cutting bloody marks on their bodies.

Cen Zhi had already scooped up Xiaobai Nuo. Cen Liu scrambled to his feet, trying to shield them with his clothes. Meanwhile, Bai Sheng and Bai Jin reacted with lightning speed. They were strong and fast, with the absolute oppressive force of top Alphas. Each grabbed one person, pulling Cen Liu and Cen Zhi—who was holding Xiaobai Nuo—out of the danger zone.

“Looks like a magnitude 3 or 4 earthquake triggered a geological disaster. Damn, it’s been raining nonstop in Lishan recently! The phone’s already giving a high-risk geological hazard warning! Let’s move!”

“Don’t run downhill! Go get the car! We need to leave this area fast!”

The show crew was also in chaos. In such a dangerous situation, they couldn’t be bothered to pack up. Seeing that only a few had minor injuries, they hurriedly, with both relief and panic, pulled people into the cars, planning to leave first.

The ground’s slight shaking only lasted about ten seconds. They were already in the car, speeding toward a flat, open area.

Cen Zhi hadn’t fully come to her senses. She held the little cub tightly in her arms.

Heaven knows her heart had nearly stopped.

She had turned and seen such huge rocks falling, and the little one, so much smaller than those stones, had called out “Grandma” and run over to pull her away.

Cen Zhi held the cub without letting go. Her hands were trembling. She didn’t even have time to check if she herself was injured.

The originally harmonious and relaxed atmosphere was shattered, turning heavy and panicked.

“Send a message to the second department. Ask them what their situation is and if anyone is injured.”

Cen Liu felt a burning pain all over his front and back.

The front was probably scraped from when he threw himself forward, and the back was from flying stones. He winced slightly but still tried to stay calm.

“No need to ask.”

Bai Sheng sat close to Cen Zhi. One hand was protectively over Xiaobai Nuo’s head, the other holding his phone. His voice had lost its casualness and sarcasm, cold enough to freeze.

“The weather in Lishan has been bad recently. It probably triggered rockfalls in some places. No phone signal—likely the signal tower was damaged.”

“Then what do we do?”

Cen Liu asked Bai Sheng instinctively.

“Signal restoration will be quick. Let’s gather at a flat area first.”

Bai Sheng said calmly.

“Damn, what the hell! Good thing no one got hurt.”

Bai Jin cursed. He hadn’t managed to get a spot next to the little one. Sitting in the third row of the car, he fidgeted with his phone in irritation, then looked forward. The little one’s warning had come even before the alert. Now the cub was trembling slightly in his grandmother’s arms.

Bai Jin couldn’t help but curse again in his heart.

The alphas’ surging adrenaline began to subside a little. Cen Liu also calmed down from the sudden shock.

Judging by the scene, this magnitude 3 or 4 earthquake hadn’t caused much damage to Lishan. It probably wouldn’t be a major disaster.

Cen Liu let out a breath and tried to lighten the mood: “What do you mean no one got hurt? Isn’t your cousin a person?”

He glanced at Bai Jin.

“I don’t know how many cuts those flying stones made on my back…”

But his helpless, bitter laugh stopped abruptly.

Because their car had safely navigated down from the observation deck just now, reaching the area below.

In their hasty evacuation, they hadn’t had a chance to see the situation clearly.

But now, Cen Liu was suddenly speechless. Everyone around fell silent.

From this angle, they could see the extent of the damage to the observation deck.

The thick alloy railing had been completely demolished by the rolling rubble, forming a gaping opening outward. The rocks had rolled all the way down, breaking apart and creating a huge pile of debris that covered the farmland below. The largest rock hadn’t been completely shattered in the fall, leaving a deep crater in the ground.

Of course, that wasn’t the main point.

A chill crept up Cen Liu’s spine.

That gaping opening was exactly where he and his aunt had been standing just moments ago.

Though not as strong as the top Alphas of the Bai family, Cen Liu—who considered himself a fairly sturdy Alpha—began to wonder: If they had been buried, could he and his aunt have survived?

…It didn’t seem likely.

Cen Liu couldn’t help but glance at Xiaobai Nuo in Cen Zhi’s arms.

“Mom.”

Bai Sheng finally spoke. He lowered his eyes, looking at the trembling cub.

“Let me hold him.”

Bai Sheng’s own lingering fear was no less than Cen Zhi’s, but he managed to stay somewhat calm, trying to check if his little one had any wounds.

"Don't touch him!"

The moment Bai Sheng reached out his hand, Cen Zhi nervously pulled the little one tighter, clearly still in shock.

Such a terrifying experience.

Cen Zhi absolutely did not want to see that little boy running toward her at a moment like that.

Indeed,

When Cen Zhi first heard about this child, she felt nothing.

She had already doted plenty on the Bai family's children, and it was only because she learned this little one was a small omega that she flew back from abroad eagerly.

Though as time went on, Cen Zhi grew fonder of Xiaobai Nuo, unlike the child's father, Grandma here always had an extra reason—all that affection and natural fondness—because Nono was a precious and rare little omega, the one Grandma had been waiting for.

Until this moment.

Cen Zhi could hear her own heart pounding like a drumbeat.

He was trembling, he was afraid, he sensed something wrong, yet despite his fear, he called out "Grandma" without hesitation and ran toward her. Cen Zhi knew how fast this little one could move, so she understood how hard he had run just now.

For an instant, Cen Zhi felt that the child she cherished so dearly was about to be struck by those falling rocks, but just as she embraced Bai Nuo, the little one first reached out and wrapped his arms around her head.

For Cen Zhi, it was an unprecedented emotional shock.

"Mom—"

Bai Sheng's voice dropped low, sounding somewhat heartless.

"I need to check if Nono is hurt."

Only then did Cen Zhi snap back to reality, releasing her hold.

His father lifted the trembling little boy into his arms and opened his small clothes to check everywhere.

Xiaobai Nuo was shaking, but he didn't cry; he was completely dazed.

Because the young child didn't understand what was happening or what to expect, until he saw Bai Sheng's face, then he reached out with trembling hands, wanting his father to hold him: "Daddy, Daddy, are you okay? Is Grandma okay? Is everyone..."

Is everyone okay?

What about Little Uncle, the other uncles, and aunties—

The tiny child, protected in his father's arms, seemed to finally "wake up" from the apocalyptic scene from the past. The white void before his eyes vanished, and the sudden ringing in his ears gradually faded. He looked at everyone, and finally looked like he was about to cry.

"It's okay..."

Bai Sheng said softly, almost in a whisper, as if letting out a sigh of relief. He found only a small scratch on the little one's hand, no other injuries, and patted his back.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

Cen Zhi slowly regained her composure, her eyes fixed on the little child. She stepped closer, bent down, and pressed her forehead against the little one's forehead.

"Nono, you can't run over like that. Do you know you almost scared Grandma to death?"

An adult might be able to withstand it, but if a child got hit by a rock, that would be disastrous.

Grandma's warmth spread to him.

Grandma was still here.

After being tense for so long, the young child clutched his father's clothes.

"The mountain eats people."

The little one described it in the most intuitive way he could, his voice small.

"Nono told Grandma earlier, Nono was watching the whole time, Grandma is very important."

Without Grandma, Grandpa would be sad, Daddy would be upset, Big Uncle, Second Uncle, Little Uncle, and Aunt would all start fighting.

Nono would also be especially, especially, especially sad.

Because Grandma is very important to Nono, Nono likes Grandma, wants Grandma to always be well, Nono made a wish.

So...

With his still panicked eyes, he looked at Cen Zhi very seriously,

"Nono won't let Grandma get eaten by the mountain."

Author's note:

Big Uncle: "Seeing this message" Oh no!!!

Cen Zhi: San'er, you go compete to be the family head, and give me the child.

Bai Sheng: [Question mark]

Cousin: What do you mean I'm not even a villain?! "← The cannon fodder itself"