Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Bai Jin, yanked by the scruff of his neck: ...

Are you acting out a horror story here?!

Putting out bait like that, then catching people like a ghost!

"Unfair, this isn't fair!"

With old and new grudges piling up, Bai Jin struggled.

"You can't play like that!"

But Bai Sheng was strong, fast, and the best fighter among the top Alphas of the Bai family, let alone Bai Jin, who was always getting beaten up by his older siblings after causing trouble. Bai Sheng knew every trick he had. He dragged Bai Jin all the way to the activity room in the main building.

The room was padded with soft mats; even if they tumbled and fought, the worst would be some bruises, no broken bones.

What sent a chill down Bai Jin's spine was that when he turned the corner, he saw his parents and eldest brother lined up in the hallway outside the kitchen. Hearing his protests, they looked up, glanced over, and Bai Qian and Bai Jingyun couldn't be bothered to talk to this guy who'd suddenly turned into an idiot.

Only Cen Zhi, who had witnessed the whole process, was laughing silently, doubled over.

She'd thought of many ways to deal with the situation, but Bai Jin had chosen the most comedic approach.

"I can't, my stomach hurts from laughing," Cen Zhi said, leaning against the wall, her shoulders shaking. "Haha, 'Look what I caught!' Haha, Bai Jin, are you stupid? You were so focused on teasing Nono that you completely forgot your brother's been following Nono around all this time, didn't you?"

Normally, Bai Sheng would use the baby monitor to check on the cub's whereabouts, but these past few days, thanks to his PTSD, he had been following Xiaobai Nuo step by step.

But perhaps it was because of Xiaobai Nuo's presence, Bai Sheng's temper had mellowed considerably. He wore that look all day that screamed, "I can tolerate you poor souls who don't have an Omega pup." Unhappy with him? Oh, just jealousy.

Even Bai Sheng's sarcasm felt gentle and warm. His pheromones, which used to be aggressively intense even in tiny amounts, had softened and turned cool.

It made people almost forget how dangerous Bai Sheng could be. It was like that little camera rolling along behind the cub all day, the tall one and the little one wobbling around the house adorably, warming hearts while making it easy to overlook the parent silently observing through that little camera.

The little guy clung to the doorframe and peeked in, watching his dad drag his uncle away.

Xiaobai Nuo looked at his own little leg he'd stretched out, silently pulled it back, and then ran after his dad.

"Daddy, you caught Uncle in one move!"

The little guy raised both hands, his eyes sparkling, as if cheering for his parent's capture of a major 'trophy.'

Bai Jin, already dragged into the activity room: ...Little troublemaker, say less!

"Come here, baby, Grandma will bring you a little stool. You sit at the door and watch, okay?"

Bai Jin, thrown a pair of protective gloves by Bai Sheng: ...Mom, don't make it worse!!!

"His moves are still decent. He just doesn't do morning exercises; he does his own thing, but his skills haven't regressed."

"Bai Jin's reaction time is really slow."

Bai Jin, who was 'blocking' Bai Sheng's attack with his shoulder: ...Dad, Big Brother, are you two seriously commentating like judges in a match?! Isn't this weird?!

The activity room door was open. Inside, Bai Sheng moved swiftly and decisively, his 'exchange' with his younger brother smooth and fast. Bai Jin, caught off guard, scrambled to dodge, occasionally distracted by the commotion outside, looking very reluctant to take part in this 'sparring match.'

"I want to see Grandpa! Grandpa called me! He needs me for something!"

Bai Qian said with a cold face, calmly, "I told your grandpa. He said he'd come down in a bit to watch the show."

Bai Jin: ...Oh wow, that's Grandpa for you. Such a bait master!!

Are you all in on this sting operation?!

Meanwhile, Xiaobai Nuo sat on the light blue plush little stool Grandma had brought him, his round eyes fixed on the action inside.

Sometimes when it got too intense, Cen Zhi would gently cover the little cub's eyes.

Dad moved very fast; Nono didn't really understand what was happening. He hadn't even managed to trip Uncle earlier, and the little cub rubbed his cheek, feeling embarrassed. Now, watching his dad and uncle both wearing partial protective gear, the little guy tilted his head. Were Dad and Uncle having a match?

After watching for a while, Xiaobai Nuo raised his arm and cheered, "Go Daddy! You're the best, Daddy!"

The force of the punches suddenly went up by a lot.

Bai Jin: ...

What, if Uncle doesn't die tonight you can't sleep?

But of course, at this level for alphas—especially top alphas—it was just roughhousing.

A group of adults had no intention of stepping in.

The little guy watched his dad's moves getting slicker and slicker. Bai Sheng's black hair was slightly damp with sweat at his forehead. After all, facing another top alpha, to keep his cool and look graceful in front of the cub, he had to be fully focused.

"Nono's gonna get some juice."

The little guy watched for a moment, then stood up.

"Daddy can drink it soon!"

"Go ahead, go ahead. Walk carefully, don't rush."

Cen Zhi said with a smile, watching the little cub scamper toward the kitchen.

Bai Qian and Bai Jingyun, still watching the 'roughhouse' inside, also glanced over at Xiaobai Nuo.

They both turned back, looking at the room where the situation suddenly became clear after the little one had left.

Bai San, you're really showing off today.

You could have ended it in a few moves, but you had to make it so flashy.

Nono's already your little fanboy—what more do you want?!

Both father and son were thinking the same thing. Meanwhile, the old man had already come downstairs.

The Bait Master had arrived.

The old man, still in his pajamas, took a slow look at the activity room, then glanced around, and finally looked at Cen Zhi.

"One is missing?"

Cen Zhi looked back.

She wanted to laugh.

She'd said it before—the Bai family's pride was incurable. Look at them, each one worse than the last.

If they wanted to ask where Nono was, why not just ask directly? They had to beat around the bush, saying "one is missing."

“Nono picked out a few juice options earlier and is in the kitchen now.”

Today’s juices were selected by the little one. Mentioning juice made Bai Jingyun think of something; his Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed as he swallowed, a subtle look on his face. But he said nothing, his face showing a resigned acceptance.

“Oh.”

The old man responded slowly and deliberately, then headed toward the kitchen.

“Perfect timing. I was just going to check what fruits are in the kitchen. You all stay here and watch.”

Xiaobai Nuo was indeed in the kitchen, carefully studying the finished juices. But there was more to it. Tonight, the little one had been hovering around the adults, asking for all kinds of food. He had eaten Grandpa’s cookies, let Grandma feed him pastries, begged Dad to let him have two more savory mini pastries, and gazed pleadingly at Uncle, who had fed him a small piece of cake.

Now, with no one left to ask, the little cub was beside Grandpa Butler and the other servants, his voice babyish as he begged for a bean paste bun sitting on the counter.

The cub clasped his hands together under his chin, his round little face and big eyes fixed only on the bean bun, and called out softly, “Grandpa Butler, Grandpa Butler...”

The young master is acting cute!! Everyone in the kitchen's hearts melted!

The kitchen staff’s hearts turned to mush. He was indeed incredibly adorable, but Grandpa Butler found himself in a bind. He wasn’t sure how much the cub had eaten tonight. Although the little one had asked separately, and the parents might not have known about each other’s servings, Grandpa Butler, who was overseeing the servants in the main building, had seen him twice tonight.

“If you want to eat, young master, maybe we should ask Third Master first? Grandpa Butler can’t just give it to you directly. I’m sorry.”

The cub, clasping his hands in prayer, wasn’t pretending to be good or throwing a tantrum when he didn’t get his way. Like a little rice cake, the cub was soft inside and out: “It’s okay. Nono really wanted to eat, but it’s not Grandpa Butler’s fault.”

He should behave and not put others in a tough spot, but strangely, no matter how much he ate tonight, he still felt hungry.

The little one tried to cheer himself up.

He still had to bring juice to Dad, as well as Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle!

Would Great-Grandpa want some too?

The cub thought about it.

He obediently held up the strainer, waiting for Grandpa Butler to pour green juice into the cup——

The kitchen servants found it almost unbearable, dying to hand the bean bun on the table to the cub.

Just then, Bai Yan walked in.

The little one had just finished filtering the only cup of that bizarrely colored ‘juice’ when he heard Great-Grandpa ask, puzzled, “What’s this?”

The little one turned to see his great-grandfather and blinked. “It’s Uncle’s juice! Nono picked it for Uncle.”

“Oh...”

Specially for Bai Jingyun?

The old man narrowed his eyes, pondering.

Meanwhile, Xiaobai Nuo seemed to think of something. He reached out, standing on the stool, with a servant beside him watching the counter. Now he gently tugged at his great-grandfather’s sleeve.

The pull was light.

It broke Bai Yan’s train of thought. Bai Yan looked down and heard him say softly, “Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandpa, can Nono have one bean bun?”

Bai Yan: ...

As Bai Yan hesitated, the little one looked up at him pleadingly.

“Just one, just one, Great-Grandpa.”

Eat!

So in the end, Xiaobai Nuo got his bean bun, happily chewing with his cheeks puffed.

Then the cub saw his great-grandfather pick up the cup meant specifically for his uncle.

The cub quickly spoke, his mouth still full: “Great-Grandpa, that’s Uncle’s. You can’t drink it.”

The Bai family isn’t just stubborn in what they say—they’re also full of hard-headed folks.

Bai Yan had only lifted it to take a look, but now he looked over.

“It’s just something young people like. What’s so hard for me to drink?”

He took a sip.

Bai Yan froze slightly, smacking his lips, then thought.

...What is this?

That didn’t taste right, so he took another sip.

“Master, that’s the kale, lemon, celery, and bitter melon juice specially chosen by the young master for the eldest young master.”

The ingredients included whole green lemons, celery, bitter melon, and kale, without sugar. Very healthy, but the king of sourness.

The old butler had been too late to stop him. He smiled helplessly, pointing to the nearby juice recipe book.

Xiaobai Nuo had specially chosen from the sour options for his uncle.

Bai Jingyun had just struggled earlier, seemingly resigning himself.

And now, as it seemed the ‘exchange’ inside had ended, Bai Jingyun walked into the kitchen.

He heard the cub stand on tiptoe and mumble to his great-grandfather, “Great-Grandpa, Uncle has strange tastes, so this is especially for Uncle.”

Bai Jingyun: ...

There were many things Bai Jingyun couldn’t say, but he saw the expression on his grandfather’s face.

Bai Jingyun: ?

Wait, why did he feel like he saw a loading icon spinning on his grandfather’s head???

Author’s Note:

Little cub: Carefully selected to shock Great-Grandpa for a whole year.jpg

Bait Master · Great-Grandpa: Whatever it is, I’ll just step right into it. “Brain loading...”

Uncle: Grandpa, I underestimated you. In this, you’re even better than Bai Jin!

Dad, who uses a hundred fake moves to look impressive and effortless: Done.jpg

Young Uncle: Minimal effort.jpg