Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Listening to the little one's voice, Xu Chuan himself couldn't hold it together.

He could even somewhat imagine how this little cub would beg his parents for food.

"You need to be careful not to let him eat too much hard-to-digest food. The little master seems fine on a daily basis, just like a normal child, but his body is still quite weak and needs extra attention and care. After meals, let him rest a bit and then move around some to help digestion."

After all, Xiaobai Nuo is a very quiet child; his favorite activities are origami, puzzles, and picture books—things that keep him sitting for a long time, which also slows down his digestion.

"Rub his belly a bit more after he takes the medicine. It shouldn't hurt much longer."

Once the doctor left, the Bai family members couldn't help but crowd around.

Under Bai Sheng's stare, they let out guilty grunts.

...Wait! Why are you glaring?! You were the one who gave the little one extra food yesterday too, weren't you?

The Bai family had always been divided internally, and no one expected their first unification to happen at a time like this.

"We should make a spreadsheet on our phones from now on," Bai Qian said with a serious frown.

"Log everything everyone feeds him."

"You think this is a punch card?" Cen Zhi pinched his arm.

"Just ask San'er before feeding him, or ask Nuo Nuo himself. My Nuo Nuo is an honest, good baby—unlike some people who insist they're fine even when they're not feeling well."

Bai Qian: ...

"In my opinion, if we took him out to play and run around more every day, there wouldn't be any problem at all. I can teach him how to fight."

As the one who had given the little one the least extra food, Bai Jin was quite self-righteous.

Cen Zhi's lips twitched slightly: "You and your father can sit at the same table."

Bai Jin: ?

The little one, who had been quiet and well-behaved all along, poked his head out at his uncle's words and spoke weakly: "Uncle, no fighting."

Uncle always ran around everywhere, and that's how he got into trouble.

Bai Jin subconsciously went "ah," and watched as Xiaobai Nuo turned to Ms. Cen Zhi and said softly: "Grandma, don't let uncle fight."

Cen Zhi exchanged a glance with the soft little one and immediately said without hesitation: "Bai Jin, I hope you'll stay at home except for school these few days. If you need to go out for anything, report to me first."

The little one looked at Grandma trustingly, then slowly shrank back into his father's arms.

Bai Jin: ?????

Wait, hold on—is this the treatment I, a normal person who only fed him two gummy candies, deserve?

Is there even a normal person left in this house?!

Bai Jingyun, who had tried to snatch the little one but realized he had also fed him quite a bit of extra food, was now directed by Cen Zhi to drag the protesting Bai Jin away.

Bai Qian cleared his throat and said, "Get some rest."

The old man was also a bit embarrassed, since he hadn't thought about it when he gave the little one the bean bun.

Bai Sheng shooed the group away, and once the room was quiet again, he rubbed his little cub's belly, lowered his head, and exchanged an unreadable look with his little one.

After about ten minutes, he spoke quietly: "Feeling better? Still hurting that much?"

Xiaobai Nuo, who had been buried in his father's arms, was now drowsy from the rubbing.

Whimpering, he revealed his little face, which had finally regained some color, from Bai Sheng's arms. He had been buried there for a long time, his black hair messy, the moistness in his big eyes faded, leaving only a hazy sleepiness.

The little cub's small hands were still tightly clutching his father's clothes as he responded softly: "Daddy, Daddy, don't be angry... Nuo Nuo will know from now on. Nuo Nuo will be good."

From now on, the little cub would know that eating too much at night would give him a stomachache.

How much better could this little one get?

Bai Sheng let out a breath.

"Daddy isn't angry."

Bai Sheng smoothed Xiaobai Nuo's hair, pulled up the blanket, and fashioned a little nest for him.

Alphas do have a nesting instinct during their rut, but with advances in ABO-related technology and a variety of medications available, as long as Bai Sheng wanted and followed the proper medication regimen using approved drugs, he could go from now until the end of his life largely unaffected by his rut, with minimal side effects.

Still, when Bai Sheng was eighteen, his pheromones had been unstable, and these inexplicable actions seemed to be etched into his DNA.

Bai Sheng placed the tiny cub inside and pulled the blanket up.

"Daddy was scared by you."

Words like "am I going to die" or something.

Bai Sheng had never imagined that a single sentence could make his ears ring.

"Little kids aren't allowed to say things like that."

Bai Sheng watched as the little one instinctively curled up and took the warm hot water bottle from his hands, then tapped the little one's head.

The little cub naturally leaned into him, obediently responded, then opened his eyes and looked at his father.

As Bai Sheng got up to go wash up, the little one said: "Nuo Nuo heard what Daddy just called Nuo Nuo."

Daddy also called Nuo Nuo "Little Nuo Nuo."

Bai Sheng turned back to look at the cub, who was still weak but already happy on his own, and softened his gaze.

The little one's joyful trigger was beyond his comprehension, but he was very easy to soothe.

"Yes. Now wait for Daddy for a bit. Daddy is going to wash up."

The next day, Aunt Feng and the others, who had heard about what happened last night, were on high alert. They all gathered in the kitchen to figure out what easy-to-digest food to prepare for the little cub.

For breakfast, Bai Sheng generally didn’t carry the little cub to the main building to eat together. The little one rarely went outside for a run early in the morning; when Bai Sheng got up, he obediently leaned against his side, his attention fixed on the blinking charging bar of Dou Dou’s fully charged device.

Hearing the sound, he looked at Bai Sheng.

“Daddy.”

“Mm.”

Bai Sheng grunted, pushing himself up.

“Still feeling sick?”

“Not sick anymore, Daddy.”

The little cub shook his little head, reaching out his little hands for a hug from Daddy.

“Are we going to play with aunties and uncles today?”

“Mm.”

Bai Sheng responded and picked up the little cub. Still half-asleep, he yawned and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

“We’ll go after breakfast.”

Although Bai Sheng handled work daily and occasionally had impromptu online meetings, there was still plenty of business to attend to at the company.

“Mm-hmm.”

The cub snuggled up, soft and sweetly ingratiating.

It seemed he was a bit guilty for asking for too much food yesterday, causing his parent a false alarm.

“Today, Nono is going to play actively with Dou Dou.”

No more overeating.

After swishing and spitting out the water, the cub lifted his little face.

“Mm.” Bai Sheng responded, squeezing strawberry-flavored toothpaste onto the little one’s toothbrush and handing it to the little one.

He watched as the cub put the toothbrush in his mouth and brushed away.

Bai Sheng picked up his own toothbrush, squeezing out the toothpaste while thinking—this little one clearly had a strong liking for strawberries and cake.

Of course, the cub himself was just like a little sweet pastry.

Bai Sheng squeezed out the minty toothpaste and started brushing as well.

After washing up, Bai Sheng crouched down, holding a soft towel, and dried the little cub’s upturned face.

Breakfast was hearty, with many digestive-friendly foods.

Xiaobai Nuo picked up a small piece of steamed pumpkin, tilting his head to savor it.

Delicious!

As the little one chewed, his eyes lit up, and he munched away with a good appetite.

Seeing that Xiaobai Nuo seemed fine and was still eating enthusiastically, everyone felt relieved.

This time, Bai Sheng learned his lesson, strictly controlling the little one’s portion sizes

and had someone prepare a lunchbox with easy-to-digest, filling foods to tide the cub over if he got hungry again.

Then Bai Sheng carried the little one out and headed to the company.

Today, the cub still felt that hunger pang.

But it wasn’t as strong as yesterday’s.

Xiaobai Nuo didn’t fully understand whether it was because he had changed the fates of his grandmother and cousin, or because he kept dreaming of the villain’s endings.

But it didn’t matter.

The little one leaned against his father as he sat down.

Nono said he would protect his family, and he did, so he was happy.

Meanwhile, Bai Sheng’s car had been gone for a while.

Bai Jin, lurking near the small activity building beside Bai Sheng’s residence, slowly poked his head out.

“Looks like everything’s fine.” Bai Jin rubbed his nose and brushed the leaf fragments off his clothes.

He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, a short-sleeved shirt and jeans—a carefree and unrestrained youth.

He glanced at his phone. On it, his rowdy friends were summoning him.

‘Brother Jin, are you done with the competition? There’s a mountain bike race today—you coming?’ ‘Brother Jin’s gotta come! Someone as versatile as him—after the serious stuff, it’s time to relax. Besides, there’s going to be lots of fun nighttime events soon. Bro, you coming?’

Bai Jin just stared, thinking.

He wasn’t wrong—before Xiaobai Nuo came, this was how his life was.

Taking care of serious matters, then chasing thrills, making trouble for others, and watching their shocked and terrified expressions.

These past few days with that little one had made all that noise seem distant.

Of course, it didn’t mean anything. Right now, he was just taking a look on his way to school.

Bai Jin was thinking this when he heard a sound.

Looking up, he saw Bai Jingyun’s car slowly pulling out from another corner.

The old man jogged past Bai Sheng’s residence.

Bai Qian and Cen Zhi stood not far away. Seeing him, Cen Zhi even waved and made a hand gesture: If you don’t come home after class today, you’re dead meat.

Bai Jin: ...

Hey!!! Did everyone just happen to pass by here at this time?!

And you never cared when I didn’t come home before, right?!

Is the thing that little guy entrusted to you really that important?!

You're all such a problem!

Bai Jin gritted his teeth. He looked down at his phone again, then replied angrily.

"You guys have fun. I'm not coming."

He was furious!

Today, the little young master was very diligent.

That's what everyone working under Bai Sheng at Bai Corporation thought.

They had all greeted Xiaobai Nuo one by one, watching as the little guy busied himself all morning.

Helping the uncles and aunties setting out fruit, and running back and forth when the departments handed out thank-you gifts.

The little guy trotted around the top floor with his mini monitor.

People's hearts were melting at the sight, but they couldn't help wondering—how come after that one outing, he became so hardworking?

Right now, Xiaobai Nuo was holding two slices of cantaloupe, pattering over to Bai Sheng's office door.

Ever since the little one had arrived, except for special online meetings, whenever Bai Sheng was in his office, the door was always left ajar.

Bai Sheng was actually discussing kindergarten matters with Xie Yu and Ye Jiu.

Despite his reluctance, they had settled on a one-day trial at the kindergarten a little over a week from now.

Then Bai Sheng heard a sound. He put down his phone and looked up, seeing the tiny little figure shouldered the office door open. The little guy even politely let the mini monitor go in first, before pattering in, holding up the two slices of cantaloupe.

"Daddy, Daddy, fruit!"

The tiny little one looked up at him.

Bai Sheng took the fruit and gently pinched the little guy's cheek.

"Oh, should Daddy pay you a delivery fee?"

Just then, a group of assistants reporting on their work happened to reach the door and heard the voice inside.

They couldn't help looking over.

They saw the little one, facing the big capitalist, with his eyes sparkling.

"Nono doesn't need money, Daddy. Nono's service today is free!"

The little guy had a habit of collecting metal coins, so after the first time, Bai Sheng had also unknowingly collected various metal coins from different places and kept them in his desk. Occasionally, when the little guy helped out, he'd hand him one coin.

Before, when people saw the little one hopping with joy after getting a coin, they'd secretly complain about the boss being heartless—'service from such a cute baby, and he only gives one coin?!'

And now today?

Baby, how come you're free?

Hearing the word "free," Bai Sheng's expression changed slightly.

"Then Daddy would like a glass of water."

"Nono will get it for Daddy!"

The little guy pattered out and saw the uncles and aunties standing at the door, greeting them politely.

All of them: ...

Then, as they reported work, they watched Bai Sheng direct the little guy to do all sorts of things, back and forth.

The "big capitalist" was now comfortably leaning back in his soft chair, sipping the warm water the little one had brought, with various fruits and snacks arranged beside him. He even had the little guy bring him a fresh cut flower from the break room.

Bai Sheng: His dad instincts kicked in, sorry.

Everyone: You heartless capitalist!

After the reports were finished, Tao Fei finally couldn't resist and asked Xiaobai Nuo, "Why are you so diligent today?"

"Auntie, because Nono is digesting his food."

The little guy looked up, speaking softly and rather mysteriously, holding a picture book, bright-eyed and adorable.

"Nono is going to read a picture book to Daddy later, so Nono will go back first. Nono will play with Auntie later."

With his mini monitor, the little guy walked away obediently.

Leaving everyone speechless.

"We strongly condemn this!"

"Not even paying wages!"

"Vicious capitalist! Such a tiny little one, being used like a beast of burden, boohoo—"

"Wait, that's going a bit far, haha. I just heard from Assistant Li that apparently last night the little young master had indigestion and stomach pain, which scared the boss. So the boss thought of a way to get the little one to move around more."

"Haha, and real worker bees always say—"

Suddenly, a calm voice cut off their conversation. Assistant Li, rushing out with his phone, spoke into the phone.

"Got it, boss."

Everyone couldn't help looking at Assistant Li—real worker bees always say "received."

Li Zhilin felt the silence around him and, in the middle of his busy day, glanced at this group.

He didn't really understand.

"Why's everyone staring at me?"

Over the next few days, Xiaobai Nuo followed his dad to work as usual, playing with his friends in his free time.

His three older brothers all expressed deep concern about what happened last time.

Then he handled the other family members.

These days, the little one had been active and had gradually recovered, without that intense hunger he had before. He had clearly grown a bit since Bai Sheng first brought him home.

But lately, the little one had been keeping a close watch on his uncle. He disliked his uncle, yet he told Grandma not to let his uncle wander outside.

Cen Zhi had dragged Bai Jin back several times. As an adult, he was once again feeling his mother's authority.

Bai Jin: ...That's just mean. Is this little guy getting revenge on me?!

Leaning back on the sofa, chewing gum and casually working on a contest problem set, Bai Jin glanced at Little Bai Nuo, then looked away, then glanced again, and looked away once more—noticeably resentful.

Meanwhile, the little one was video-calling his slightly older brother.

It was a rare day off for everyone.

After finishing lunch in the main building, Little Bai Nuo didn't go out. First came puzzle time for the little cub, followed by picture book time. After the book, he'd move around a bit, then nap, then go play outside.

At that moment, Bai Sheng was sitting behind the little cub, reading a book in a foreign language, while the little guy was holding his phone, talking to Yu Chuyan on the screen.

The kindergarten was also off for the day, so Yu Chen had managed to set aside some time to hang out with his younger brother.

They had already done quite a bit of exercise, but this kid had suddenly taken off to talk to his beloved Little Rice Cake, his younger brother.

Even though he still had his cool, stoic little face on, you'd never guess how much he bugged Yu Chen about when his brother would come to kindergarten.

Yu Chen had a towel draped around his neck. He wiped the sweat from his neck, looked at his kid, then just sat down to rest too.

Yu Chuyan still had that cool, handsome, reliable look.

"I did a ton of training today. My brother said I aced it all, Little Brother Nuo Nuo."

"Dad said Nuo Nuo has to train too later, but because Nuo Nuo's body isn't that strong yet, we have to take it slow."

Little Bai Nuo leaned against his dad and answered Yu Chuyan in a soft, babyish voice.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you're so amazing."

Hearing this, Yu Chuyan immediately lifted his chin with a proud but reserved look.

Yu Chen had to hold back a laugh.

Then the little cub saw him and called out softly, "Hello, Brother Yu Chen."

Yu Chen hummed in acknowledgment, smiled, and looked at the little cub.

Of course, he could understand why his little brother was so taken with him—this kid really was adorable enough.

"Alright, we're about done here, right? Your brother Xiao Yan's training needs to continue."

Yu Chuyan patted his chest.

"Okay. I'll call Nuo Nuo later."

"Mm-hmm, Brother Xiao Yan, good luck with training!"

The two tiny little cubs, both talking in a serious but babyish tone, were way too cute.

Yu Chen watched for a good while before snatching the phone from his brother's hand.

"Alright. You wait till the Xie brothers find out—they'll say you were playing with your little brother behind their backs."

"They can call him too if they want."

"But better if they don't."

After chatting with the soft, sticky Little Rice Cake, Yu Chuyan stood up in a great mood and looked toward the climbing equipment.

"Bro, again!"

A bit later.

The little cub who'd been all ambition and cool bravado was now hanging up there.

He was dodging sandbags and climbing all over the place, panting heavily. Even for a super energetic alpha cub, this was too much to keep up all day. He couldn't help looking at his brother: "Bro, I can't—"

"And Nuo Nuo was cheering for you."

Yu Chen was keeping an eye on his brother and said that.

He didn't really want to push him too hard, but his dad had been causing trouble lately, so Yu Chen hoped his brother could grow up fast while still having a real childhood.

He was just saying that, though; he was actually about to catch Yu Chuyan.

But Yu Chuyan didn't hesitate at all.

"Bro, I can still do it!"

Yu Chen: ...?

Huh? Yu Chen was a little uncertain—could it be that he had found a subtle way to handle his wild brat of an alpha cub?

"So easy to talk to today?"

"Um... Bro, I have to confess something."

Yu Chuyan's little voice came through, breathing a bit heavily, blinking as he bravely admitted.

"This morning, I wanted to make some tea eggs, and I accidentally used up all the tea leaves you had on the shelf."

Yu Chen: ...?

Yu Chen: ???

So THAT'S why you were so easy to talk to today!

Nice try, kid—looks like you want to up the intensity!!

Damn little alpha brat!!

Meanwhile, it was peaceful on the other side.

Little Bai Nuo handed the phone back to his father after the call, then hugged his picture book and said in a soft, milky voice, "Daddy, Daddy, Nuo Nuo wants to hear this one today."

"Hmm, this one?"

Bai Sheng responded and opened the picture book.

Bai Jin had been watching from the sofa. He moved from one end to the other, craning his neck to look over.

The little cub sat

He snorted and kept chewing his gum. He glanced at the picture book ahead of time, then stood up thoughtfully.

"Little uncle?"

The little cub watched him warily.

"Going upstairs."

Bai Jin waved a hand without looking back.

Bai Sheng glanced in Bai Jin's direction, totally spoiling his little one, and said casually, "Ignore him. If he dares to go out and cause trouble, I'll break his legs."

The cub froze for a moment, looking up at his dad.

Then Bai Sheng smiled and ruffled the cub's curly hair: "Daddy's just joking."

Bai Jin: Hey! Are you saying a joke but meaning it for real?!

Bai Jin disappeared up the stairs.

The cub looked down at the picture book in his hands.

Today's picture book was about a group of small animals who each contributed something and worked together to beat a big white monster.

"This monster is covered in a white cloth. It always steals the small animals' food and destroys their houses."

Bai Sheng read slowly, giving the little one time to read the words and see the pictures.

"See, it looks like this."

Bai Sheng pointed at a picture in the book, drawn in a very childish style—a ghost-like monster that didn't look scary at all.

Bai Sheng checked the cub to make sure he wasn't scared, and asked, "Are you afraid of the big monster?"

The little cub shook his little head.

"Nono's not scared, and Daddy doesn't have to be scared either. Big monsters are all fake; they're just bad guys in disguise. Daddy, look, its tail is showing. There aren't any monsters here. And even if there were, Nono would protect Daddy."

Even if he encountered the mutant monsters from the apocalypse, Nono would protect Daddy.

The little one said in a baby voice, patting his own chest.

Bai Sheng was about to smile when he heard footsteps. He looked up.

What was Bai Jin up to... what is that thing?

The little cub looked up with his father.

A huge figure draped in a white bedsheet rushed over, making a spooky "woo-ah" sound.

The little cub who'd just bravely said there were no monsters instantly jumped up and hugged his dad's neck.

"Daddy! Daddy! Big monster—"

Bai Sheng: ...

Bai Jin laughed as he lifted a corner of the sheet.

He stood in the sunlight, grinning: "The big monster is here!"

At the same time, the sound startled Cen Zhi, who was monitoring a class from a distance. Bai Sheng suddenly laughed: "Come on, Nono, open your eyes. The big monster—is gonna die."

Author's note:

Nono: No monster here—waah!!!

Little uncle: Ha ha

Dad: Yep, the big monster here is gonna die.

Grandma: Agreed.

Little uncle: ???