Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Bai Qian recognized this strawberry-shaped piggy bank.

Xiaobai Nuo had been gathering the small coins left forgotten in corners all over the house and stuffing them into this jar.

This little jar was almost as important to him as his little monitor—he took it everywhere he went, treasuring it greatly.

Bai Qian wasn’t the type to pry into a little kid’s things; he only heard a passing mention when Cen Zhi asked, learning that the jar was a gift from Bai Sheng.

When he went to Chestnut Mountain this time, he had brought the piggy bank along. After returning home, he came straight to the main building, and most of the luggage was sent back to Bai Sheng's residence. Only this jar was also brought here, since he wasn’t sure if the little one would need it. Bai Qian had caught a glimpse of it when he went upstairs, but didn't think much of it at the time.

To him, it was just a temporary collecting urge from a little kid who didn’t know much about the world—precious only to the child for now.

And now, that precious piggy bank was being offered to him. Though it was a small piggy bank and not even full, for such a tiny child, those coins were already quite heavy.

Xiaobai Nuo’s voice left Bai Qian, who had just taken his meds and was still doubled over with stomach cramps, at a loss for words for a second.

"Grandpa, Grandma taught Nono how to count already. Grandma and Nono counted together. There are ninety-two coins in there now. Grandpa, you can take them. Nono can save more later."

The little one didn't understand the complexities of the adult world. In a child's world, everything was simple: he knew this world was different from his own, knew that everything left traces here, and that using a phone to pay would leave a record. If Grandpa didn't want others to know he was seeing a doctor, then he could use the coins he had saved—that way, nobody would know, and Grandpa could still see the doctor.

It wasn't a matter of saying "I can give you fifty of them." He had a mix of coins—big and small—bringing all the fruits of his efforts over the past few days.

After all, in this day and age, unless someone deliberately exchanged for them, coins were relatively hard to come by. Xiaobai Nuo had already saved quite a few.

Bai Qian opened his mouth slightly, then finally reached out. He took the strawberry piggy bank and placed it on his desk. The clinking of metal produced a pleasant sound.

Bai Qian couldn’t help bending down to pick up the little guy, who had just pulled his hands back, and set him on his lap.

Compared to the last time he’d picked up the kid, Bai Qian was a lot more practiced—even if he hadn’t really thought about doing it.

By the time Bai Qian realized what he'd done, the child was sitting dazedly on his knees, while he sat stiffly in his chair, the stomach cramps still not easing. For a moment, both the adult and the child felt uneasy.

Bai Qian closed his eyes.

Why did he just pick him up?

And Xiaobai Nuo, suddenly lifted into the air and placed on Grandpa's lap, now rested his small hands on the desk in front, his back straight and posture proper. He turned his head to look at Grandpa.

"Grandpa?"

But aside from being held by Grandpa for the first time, the little one's stiffness also came from remembering that Grandpa was in pain.

Xiaobai Nuo turned around, reached out his little hand, and gently touched Grandpa's stomach.

"Does it hurt here, Grandpa?"

Bai Qian was definitely not good at this whole warm grandpa-grandkid thing.

He lowered his eyes, his voice a little dry.

"A little to the left."

The warm little hand gently rested against his stomach.

The little one looked up worriedly. "Is it here, Grandpa?"

"Mm, you found it pretty accurately."

Bai Qian's expression remained largely unchanged.

If he weren't holding Xiaobai Nuo in his arms, he would have looked just like he was handling some serious document.

Nono understood. Xiaobai Nuo blinked and said in a very small voice.

"Because when I was hungry, my tummy hurt right around here too."

It was just that when the hunger got severe, the pain spread all over, and Xiaobai Nuo couldn't tell the exact spot; he only knew it was roughly in that area.

Bai Qian: ...

The corner of Bai Qian's mouth twitched, barely noticeable.

He asked casually, "Did you go hungry a lot back then?"

"Not really often."

The little one tugged at his shirt, thought for a second, and clearly didn’t want to remember the past.

Bai Qian listened. He didn't ask further, but reached for a low-sugar biscuit from the side of the desk.

The biscuits were there because Cen Zhi insisted—small, frequent meals, always something to eat.

Honestly, ever since the little guy started watching his meals, he’d been eating way fewer of these biscuits, but he still kept them around out of habit.

This little one loved sweets, and Bai Qian wasn't sure if he would like this low-sugar kind.

But looking at Xiaobai Nuo's fluffy back of the head, thinking about what the child had just said, he felt an inexplicable urge to feed him. This was all he had at hand.

However, the little one didn't mind.

Xiaobai Nuo opened his round, curious eyes wide, turned to glance at Grandpa, then looked at the biscuit, and took a bite right from Grandpa's hand.

A small, crescent-shaped bite mark appeared on the round biscuit.

The little one chewed, swallowed, then went for a second bite.

It wasn't very sweet, but the wheat flavor was strong. Even though he had just finished lunch, the little one still felt like he hadn't eaten enough, so he welcomed Grandpa's offering without hesitation.

Bite after bite, his appetite opened up, and he started holding onto Grandpa’s hand as he munched away eagerly.

After finishing that biscuit, he turned back with pleading eyes, watching Grandpa expectantly, hoping to see if he would take another one.

Faced with that gaze, Bai Qian almost couldn’t resist.

He reached out and picked up another biscuit.

Within a few minutes, the little one had devoured three biscuits.

Bai Qian gradually relaxed. His stomach really did react to mood and stress, and with the meds kicking in and a warm, soft kid in his arms, the sharp pain slowly eased.

The child in his arms unconsciously leaned closer, his back gradually pressing against him, no longer so tense.

"Alright, I can't give you any more."

Bai Qian looked down, met the kid’s hopeful eyes, and finally forced himself to say.

"Grandma will be upset if she finds out."

The little one obediently said "Oh," covering his mouth with his little hands. "Then Nono won't eat either. Grandpa, are you okay now?"

"Mm, much better already," Bai Qian said, opening a file on the computer before handing the little piggy bank back to Xiaobai Nuo. "Nono, keep saving it. Grandpa is fine. When I need it, I'll borrow it from you, okay?"

The gentleness in his own voice surprised even Bai Qian.

"Mm-hmm."

The little one hugged his piggy bank tightly and nodded firmly.

"Look, these are the precautions. Grandpa knows them all—small, frequent meals, regular meal times, and make sure to supplement these..."

Bai Qian opened the document in the folder and explained to the little one.

"So you see, Nono, it's just a small issue, an old ailment that flares up occasionally. No need to worry too much. You don't have to tell Grandma about it."

As Bai Qian spoke, he looked down and saw the screen's light casting a small glow on the little one's face. Though he didn't know many characters yet, he was staring intently at the screen, as if trying to remember every word Grandpa had just said.

Even Bai Qian, who hadn't spent much time with him, felt a warm feeling inside.

That Bai Sheng, when he was little, was always running around pulling pranks with his own inventions. He never sat still in a parent's lap like this.

Now Bai Qian understood why Cen Zhi had always wanted an omega child. This child was wonderful, truly wonderful.

"So you're not telling Grandma again."

After listening, the little one pursed his lips and shot a dissatisfied glance at Grandpa.

"Grandpa, you have to say things out loud. You can't just keep everything to yourself. Grandma is beautiful—you have to tell her she's beautiful. Grandma does a great job—you have to tell her she's done well. Grandma gives you cookies—you have to say thank you. Family is precious, and the time we spend together is precious too."

Holding his piggy bank, Xiaobai Nuo imitated Grandma's guidance as he looked at Grandpa, who had been stubborn for decades. "Grandpa, what do you want to say to Nono now?"

Bai Qian: ...

"...Thank you, Nono?"

"Mm!" The little one nodded, then looked a bit bashful. "Nono just wanted you to know, not to ask for your thanks."

He had his own way of thinking. How could he be so cute?

Bai Qian thought.

Cherish all the time spent together?

But before Bai Qian could think too much about it, the little one in his lap reached out his hand again. "But this time, Nono won't say anything to Grandma. Grandpa, you have to eat well, see the doctor properly, and live this long—"

The little one stretched his short arms as wide as they could go, demonstrating for Bai Qian.

"This is Nono's little secret with Grandpa for now."

Bai Qian finally smiled. He held the little one's warm hand gently and replied, "Mm."

"Grandpa is already much better. Just in time to get some fresh air. Don't you want to see the little fish? Let's go see the little fish."

"Mm-hmm."

Downstairs, Bai Sheng and Cen Zhi occasionally glanced upstairs.

Both felt that Xiaobai Nuo had been up there for quite a while.

Across from them, Ye Jiu was unusually restless.

Other than that, it was just Bai San's relentless probing into education issues that had him struggling to keep up.

He worked in the Federation's talent development department, responsible for finding and cultivating special talents—you could say they specialized in hunting for one-in-ten-thousand geniuses. Education matters were handled by the Education Department.

He was already a half-baked expert on this topic. If they kept digging deeper and asking sharper questions, he wouldn't be able to keep up the act! Give me some face!

I'm talking about you, Bai San!

Ye Jiu remembered the Bai San he had met before wasn't this anxious father figure! Had he completely changed after getting a kid?

Even though you now have the only little omega in the entire Bai family, do you have to worry this much? It can't be that you're riding on your child's coattails now? Haha, the thought alone is ridiculous.

Sounds came from upstairs, and Ye Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, it seemed the current patriarch of the Bai family was on his way down.

Ye Jiu, working in the federal department, didn't know as much about the Bai family as his siblings in business did, especially regarding Bai Qian.

He had only seen Bai Qian on major occasions—during serious negotiations and contract signings where the Bai family undertook large federal government projects.

In his impression, Bai Qian was a cold, meticulous superior, even more grave than the previous head of the Bai family.

Once he came down, surely this weird atmosphere would change, right? And since he had already clearly explained the kindergarten situation to Bai Sheng, Ye Jiu gathered from bits and pieces of what Bai Sheng and Cen Zhi said that this little one was a very focused child. As a cub of the Bai family, Ye Jiu felt he would have a lot of interactions with this child in the future. But he was still too young and in poor health, so he needed to be well taken care of before returning to a normal kid's life.

He figured he could just say a few words and then take off. He looked up, waiting for the stern patriarch of the Bai family to come down the stairs.

At the bend of the stairs.

The stern patriarch of the Bai family was slightly bent over, indulgingly letting the little one in front hold his hand as they came down the stairs.

He was being led down like that?!

Ye Jiu: ...

Ye Jiu's mind went blank for a moment.

Bai Sheng and Cen Zhi were both stunned.

"Ye Jiu, is that you?"

Bai Qian looked over. Ignoring how he was acting right then, he did seem calm and dignified.

"Thank you for making the trip."

"Not at all, Uncle Bai, it's no trouble," Ye Jiu subconsciously stood up, feeling a bit restrained in front of such an imposing figure. "Nothing major. I just wanted to say hello and then I'll head back."

"Ye Jiu, wouldn't you like to stay a bit longer? You can even stay for a meal. The household has recently hired two new cooks," Cen Zhi politely urged him to stay.

"No thanks, Aunt Cen, I still have a lot to handle at work. I'll get in touch when I have time. Bai San, feel free to ask me anytime about the kindergarten matter."

He had to get out of here—go to the hospital and get his head checked to see if something was wrong with his brain. How else could he be having such a delusion—when kindergarten was mentioned, even Bai Qian over there couldn't help but show a worried expression.

Haha, you guys in the Bai family aren't actually like this, are you?

Little Bai Nuo pulled Grandpa to the small fish tank and turned back: "Thanks, Uncle! See ya!"

Ye Jiu, who had already stood up, paused: Okay, actually, I kinda get it. Those kids have all kinds of ways to mess with people. This sweet little guy shouldn't get picked on...

No, brain, snap out of it! Don't let the Bai family vibe get to you!

Ye Jiu scrambled away in a panic.

Meanwhile, the little guy had dragged everyone in the main building to look at his little fish.

Bai Sheng told Assistant Li to go grab some fish food.

The second Assistant Li brought the fish food, the little guy bounced over and pulled Uncle Li over to look at his fish.

These little fish are all over the edge of the reservoir, especially at night, they gather by the shore and make this rippling sound.

Even though they were the most ordinary little fish he'd seen countless times, they actually looked kinda cute to this little guy.

Assistant Li handed the fish food to Little Bai Nuo.

"Little master, one small spoonful like that is enough each time, and once a day is enough."

"Mmm, Uncle Li, are you heading back to work later?"

"Yes."

"Then, Uncle Li, can you tell the aunties and uncles that Nuonuo will come see them tomorrow?"

Li Zhilin's face relaxed a lot. He seemed to think of something, looking a bit helpless.

He remembered how the guys in the assistant office would moan during breaks—"Without Little Master Nuo to restore my HP, I'm toast" and the like.

"Okay, I'll tell them."

"Mm-hmm."

The little guy nodded hard, then looked at the fish food and bent down to sniff it.

"It smells kinda nice, but also kinda gross. Do little fish like this stuff? Nuonuo likes cookies and cake better."

Assistant Li's fingers twitched a little.

This guy, known in the industry as the all-capable cold-faced machine, looked at Little Bai Nuo. He paused for a second, then pulled a small, nicely wrapped pack of cookies out of his pocket.

He said, a bit awkwardly, "I picked these up on a business trip to another province yesterday. They're all in the break room. Little master can take them to the boss to check if they're okay to eat. If they are, give one a try. If they're good, there's a lot more in the break room tomorrow."

"Wow, thank you, Uncle Li!"

Little Bai Nuo's eyes lit up.

For some reason, the little guy had been super hungry after lunch.

He ate the same amount as usual for lunch, but his tummy was still growling. He also ate Grandpa's cookies and some snacks, but it didn't help much.

It was still over an hour until afternoon snack time, but the little guy, who hadn't napped 'cause he was watching the fish, was already thinking about dinner.

He grabbed the cookies and ran to Dad, holding them up high for Dad to see.

Bai Sheng had woken up and, as usual, was keeping an eye on the little guy while working on documents nearby. He had just set up a few urgent meetings. When he saw his kid running over, he bent down, took the cookie wrapper, looked it over, then looked at his kid.

"Didn't you eat a lot at lunch?"

The little guy didn't really seem to know when he was full. If you didn't stop him, he'd keep eating forever. He wasn't picky either—he'd shove anything in his mouth and eat it happily... well, except lemons and sour oranges.

After meals, the little guy usually asked for treats. Today, he'd already sweet-talked Bai Sheng four or five times. Normally, he shouldn't be this eager again.

Bai Sheng couldn't help reaching out to feel the little guy's tummy.

The little guy grabbed Dad's arm and said softly, eyes full of hope: "Dad, Dad."

Bai Sheng: ...

Bai Sheng opened the pack for him and handed the white-iced cookie to the little guy.

"Go ahead. You can only have this one more piece before dinner."

Little Bai Nuo said cheerfully, "Okay!"

The little guy stuffed the cookie in his mouth and chewed with puffed cheeks. He looked at Assistant Li, eyes crinkling, and mumbled, "Good stuff."

Struck by the cuteness, Assistant Li couldn't help a slight curl of his lips as he left.

Bai Sheng couldn't resist either. He reached out and pinched the little guy's chubby cheek, then picked him up and set him beside him, taking a picture book from beside him.

"Do you want to read an old picture book by yourself, or listen to Dou Dou tell you a new one?"

The little guy just swallowed the cookie. He tilted his little head and thought, then stuck close to Dad: "Nuonuo will read by himself!"

Nuonuo can read the old picture book silently, so he can lean against Dad.

Bai Sheng patted the guy's head and handed him an old picture book.

Until dinner time, the little guy still dragged Great-Grandpa to look at the little fish.

At the dinner table that evening, Bai Yan's back was straighter than ever for the first time.

Gone was the humiliation of not catching anything after using dozens of pounds of bait and only catching palm-sized little fish. He was made light-headed by the guy calling him "Great-Grandpa is amazing" over and over, leaving only the pride that Great-Grandpa had caught the fish that this little guy liked.

Big fish—this little guy couldn't even keep them in the fish tank yet. This round was just a warm-up, specifically fishing for the little guy to keep. Later, they could eat fish, but they had to wait and take it step by step.

There was no need to be in such high spirits, right?

Bai Jingyun came home and sat in his seat, looking at Grandpa, then at the little fish that had turned Grandpa's status around.

He should have bought ten or eight from the market earlier.

However—

"Why hasn't that kid Bai Jin come over for dinner?"

Bai Jingyun looked around but didn't find his brother, who he was sure had surpassed the master, so he asked.

Cen Zhi was putting spare ribs into Little Bai Nuo's bowl. Hearing this, she snorted coldly: "He tripped Nuonuo at noon and ran away. That kid escaped too fast and didn't even dare to come for dinner."

To be fair, his danger radar was quite sharp.

"Tripped?"

Bai Jingyun instinctively looked at Xiaobai Nuo.

Bai Yan, who was silently pleased, also looked over.

The little cub, who was earnestly holding a pork chop and gnawing at the meat, had a rare oily face.

After making eye contact with his eldest uncle, his cheeks worked fast as he chewed hard. After about three seconds, he swallowed all the meat in his mouth before clearing his mouth to talk to his uncle: "Nono didn't get hurt from that fall, Uncle."

As he spoke, the little guy continued looking at the pork chop in his hand, licking his lips as if searching for where to bite next, but his babyish voice was serious: "Little uncle, bad!"

Bad little uncle!

His eldest uncle was satisfied.

He even chimed in: "Yeah, little uncle is bad."

Bai Yan glanced at Bai Sheng, who looked displeased, and couldn't help nodding slightly.

"Not showing up for dinner is ridiculous. I'll give him a call later; I have a few school matters to discuss with him."

So when Bai Jin received a call from his grandfather and finally came back to the main house, it was already pretty late.

Bai Jin checked the time and thought that Bai Sheng might have already taken the little guy home.

Of course, he wasn't avoiding it. It was just that when you're in the line of fire, you duck and catch your breath, right?

With that thought, Bai Jin pushed open the door and walked in.

The little guy, who had been watching the housekeeper make juice in the kitchen, was still holding his little strainer.

Actually, the juice didn't need much filtering, and keeping the strainer was only for occasionally skimming off the foam from certain types of juice, but to make Xiaobai Nuo feel more involved, this odd ritual stuck around until now.

The little guy was holding the small strainer when he heard a sound. He blinked his big eyes, said something to Grandpa Butler, and then ran out with Dou Dou, his footsteps pattering.

At the entrance, the little guy cautiously stuck his head out. He spotted his target, and since his little uncle hadn't noticed him, he yanked his head back.

Hmph!

It's little uncle!

Watch Nono do his thing!

So when Bai Jin walked over, he saw a tiny leg sticking out from the door, trying its best to block the doorway.

Bai Jin looked confused and a bit unsure.

The scene before him momentarily made him forget that Xiaobai Nuo was still in the main building.

He thought: Hmm, this little guy... could he be trying to trip me with that little leg of his?

Would that even work?

What if he didn't see and stepped on it?

What's he going to trip me with, that little leg?

Bai Jin got mischievous. He edged along the wall to the door and popped out: "Hey, look what I caught!"

As he said that, he moved to hug Xiaobai Nuo, who was hiding by the door.

Then Bai Jin realized why the little guy dared to stick his leg out.

Behind the little cub, someone had been hanging back a few steps, watching, ready to scoop up his own cub if Bai Jin actually didn't notice the little leg. Also, because of the blind spot, Bai Jin hadn't seen him.

And now, hearing Bai Jin's words, Bai Sheng smiled. He reached out and grabbed Bai Jin by the shirt.

"Look what I caught."

Author's note:

Cub: Nono wants to get him back!

Little uncle: Look what I caught...

Dad: Look what I caught (smiling)