Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Bai Liang picked up the picture book that Little Bai Nuo had given him, stood up, and looked at Bai Sheng. He had just heard Bai Sheng discussing the night market with someone on the phone.

After a moment of thought, Bai Liang simply said, "Is it the night market on the road near Sheng'ang University in a few days? I saw their promotional posters."

When Bai Sheng glanced over, Bai Liang smiled and said, "I'll tag along and see the fun."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and shook his phone in his hand, giving a laugh that didn't reach his eyes.

"Some schools' management systems are really mind-boggling. By the time they're done investigating, who knows how long that'll be."

Since he was already free, one more night wouldn't make a difference.

Bai Sheng had no objection. Carrying the cub, he prepared to put away the finished bookmark: "Up to you."

"An evening activity?"

Bai Jin, having finally untangled himself from the bedsheet while dodging his mom, burst in and only caught a snippet.

Lately, aside from going to class and normal activities, he hadn't gone out at night at all; Cen Zhi kept a tight watch on him.

As soon as he heard about an evening activity, regardless of what they were talking about, he immediately butted in.

"Count me in. This kind of activity should let me out, right?"

Behind him, Cen Zhi, chasing after him, raised a metal pot she had grabbed from the kitchen and plopped it onto Bai Jin's head.

Seeing the 'metal hat' on Bai Jin's head, Cen Zhi felt satisfied. She let out a breath.

"That felt good."

It reminded her of when she used to smack these troublemaking Alphas when they were kids.

"Mom."

Bai Jin took off the pot and looked at her with annoyance.

He was already an adult, a fully differentiated alpha.

And maybe he should even thank her—his dear mother hadn't actually whacked him with the metal pot.

"Nono told you not to go out and fight. I'm just asking you to cool it for a while," Cen Zhi said.

"But if it's the night market, then go ahead. Just come back early, and you, Bai Jin, don't cause trouble outside."

It was one thing if Bai Jin caused trouble on his own, but with Little Bai Nuo around, starting trouble would be plain stupid.

Actually, Cen Zhi didn't really want to control Bai Jin.

Who still needs a parent hovering over them after they've presented?

But Cen Zhi couldn't help recalling the recent accident. The cub's attitude before the accident gave her the impression that Little Bai Nuo might be able to sense danger.

Her restrictions on Bai Jin during this period were partly influenced by that incident—or rather, she still had some lingering fear.

In any case, keeping him in line was the safe bet. Since when does an eighteen-year-old alpha make you this worried?

Meanwhile, Little Bai Nuo, lying in his father's arms, watched his uncle give in to Grandma's pressure.

The little cub became even more certain of Grandma's status.

So when Grandma looked over, the cub earnestly gave her a thumbs-up.

Bai Jingyun, sitting nearby, silently averted his gaze, while the old man, sipping his tea slowly, let out a quiet chuckle.

Bai Jin: ?

Is there no one to speak up for me?!

Time went by pretty fast.

Basically, taking the cub along for daily routines and to the company for check-ins, soon enough, it was the night market day.

Tomorrow would be the kindergarten trial day. The schedule was half a day in the afternoon, where he would interact with the other children, do a craft class, and have the teacher show them educational images and such.

Bai Sheng had checked with the kindergarten multiple times, but this day had finally arrived.

And with Bai Sheng's steady, sensible feeding and proper exercise routine, the little one had gotten a bit taller and was in much better health than when he was first brought home.

It was then that the Newbie Dad really felt it—his own cub was growing up, little by little.

All at once, that reluctant feeling crept back in.

For Bai Sheng,

having a soft little creature trust him completely was actually very satisfying. The cub called him 'Daddy' and thought he was the best person ever, unconditionally sided with him, and even Grandma, whom the cub adored so much, couldn't knock Dad out of first place.

This really scratched the alpha's control itch, though Bai Sheng knew such control could be harmful to the cub's development, so he tried hard to hold back.

With these thoughts, Bai Sheng was carrying the dressed-up cub out the door when Bai Liang and Bai Jin were already waiting at the entrance.

The cub's soft voice rang in his ear: "Will there be a ton of good food at the night market, Daddy?"

Little Bai Nuo had already heard about this night market from his friends.

At that moment, the cub's head was full of all kinds of yummy food at the night market.

Stuff he had never seen before.

Bai Sheng glanced at his cub, watching as the little one talked himself into getting hungry and swallowed his drool.

The little cub blinked, then snuggled up close.

Having heard there would be lots of good food, the cub even turned down his dad's offer of an extra spoonful at dinner tonight.

He had purposely saved some space.

At this time, the sky wasn't fully dark yet. In early summer, the evening temperature in Ang City wasn't too chilly.

The cub was wearing a rainbow-patterned short-sleeved shirt, carrying a rainbow backpack.

His warm, soft little body pressed against him, and his soft curly hair bobbed gently in the breeze.

It was a really pleasant breeze. The cub, feeling the breeze, couldn't help squinting with pleasure.

"Don't you need a jacket?"

Bai Liang adjusted his glasses and asked with a smile.

Like Bai Jin, he was also dressed casually—a rare sight—which made him look even more scholarly.

Bai Sheng didn’t even pause.

“I brought it. He’ll put it on later. He made plans with his little friends—it’s almost time. Let’s go.”

Bai Jin raised an eyebrow and, never learning his lesson, made a slight funny face when the little one turned around to politely greet them, only for Bai Sheng to slap a hand over his face.

The little one had grown familiar with his uncle by now. Although they seemed to “hate” each other, ever since that trip to Li Mountain when his uncle brought him rice cakes early in the morning, the little one’s wariness around his uncle had faded. He still kept his distance, but now he could speak his mind without hesitation.

Or rather, with Bai Jin’s relentless teasing, the uncle and nephew had developed a unique dynamic that was different from how the rest of the Bai family interacted. Like now, the little one scrunched up his face and tried to make a funny face back at his uncle, then buried his face in his dad’s chest.

This kind of interaction actually comforted the great‑grandfather and the eldest uncle.

They couldn’t help but praise: “Nice! Keep it up.”

The rest of the Bai Family didn’t come along. First of all, it would be quite a crowd if they all showed up, and besides, they had their own things to do. For instance, the great‑grandfather was busy trying to even out the number of fish in the little one’s tank.

They parked the car outside the night market street.

The road was closed to cars, for pedestrians only, and the street was already bustling even before it was fully dark.

As the Bai family was just getting out of the car, Bai Sheng looked toward the meeting spot and pointed it out for the little one.

Xiaobai Nuo had just been put down by his father. He first looked around curiously at the lively scene, then followed his father’s finger.

It was a candied hawthorn stall. Yu Chen was there with Yu Chuyan, and the Xie couple were there with their two Alpha boys.

The Xie twins were mumbling and pushing their dad, demanding he buy them candied hawthorns.

Yu Chuyan, wearing a black-and-gray gradient T-shirt and loose shorts with suspenders dangling, immediately looked over.

Yu Chen was asking him what flavor he wanted. Yu Chen had just been laughing, because his kid, who usually didn’t care much about his appearance, had rummaged through his wardrobe for ages before finally pulling out this cool but somewhat bulky outfit.

After putting it on, he even took a moment to admire himself in the mirror and got annoyed when his brother called him Little Cool Guy, trying to push him out of the room.

Now, as he was about to answer his brother while looking at the candied hawthorns, his little brother had already let go of Yu Chen’s hand and instinctively took a couple of steps in one direction.

Yu Chen was startled and grabbed the kid back.

Then he saw Xiaobai Nuo walking over, and when Xiaobai Nuo noticed him looking, he waved. — It had to be said, the top Alphas of the Bai family had too strong an aura; those three standing there were quite intimidating.

But this little one took a few steps forward and then turned back to check if his parents were following, as if afraid of losing them.

Looking at his own little monkey...

Yu Chen tapped Yu Chuyan on the head.

“Don’t run off. What if you get lost in this crowd?”

Yu Chuyan rubbed his head and spoke like a little adult: “Brother, if you get lost, I won’t give up looking for you. I’ll go to the information desk; they have a loudspeaker there!”

Yu Chen: ...

This kid was going to either make him laugh or get him mad.

Who’s the one who’s going to get lost?!

“Uncle, brother!”

Xiaobai Nuo had already arrived.

The Xie twins leaned in and shoved Yu Chuyan aside, who was about to speak.

“Little Brother Nuo Nuo, what flavor do you want?”

“It’s a candied fruit stick! Sweet on the outside.”

Yu Chuyan pushed the two away again: “There’s strawberry. Nuo Nuo likes strawberry.”

Candied hawthorn?

The little one instinctively looked back at his father.

Bai Sheng frowned slightly at the food from these street stalls, but still bent down and picked up the little one so he could see all the flavors.

In the end, the little one chose strawberry.

Yu Chuyan chose tangerine, Xie Qing chose grape, and Xie Yue chose the original flavor.

These were small skewers of candied hawthorn. Since they were for kids, the vendor had already blunted the sharp tips of the sticks.

The translucent sugar coated the bright red strawberries. The little one’s eyes widened, sparkling, and then he took a big bite.

Delicious! The sugar coating had a hint of caramel aroma, making the already tasty strawberries even better.

The little one ate one, with a few bits of sugar stuck to the corner of his mouth, then looked at Bai Sheng again. He held up the skewer, wanting to share with his dad.

“Dad, yummy!”

Bai Sheng naturally bent down to take a bite.

Over there, the Xie twin Alpha boys started fussing again. Shi Lin separated the two little ones, and Xie Yu exchanged a few words with Bai Liang. For a moment, he didn’t pay attention to what his own kids were fighting about. Catching a glimpse of Bai Sheng and his son’s interaction, he couldn’t help thinking: Although he didn’t like candied hawthorn, look, just look, that little one knows how to share with his dad!

And his own two little rascals had cost him thousands in tea.

Heartbroken—

“Dad, dad!”

Then Xie Yu heard his own kid’s voice.

“Dad, you have some too.”

Xie Yu: ?!

What?! Is my kid actually maturing too? Then Dad will eat it with gratitude!

Xie Yu bent down, deeply moved, and took a bite of the candied hawthorn that Xie Yue was holding up. After a couple of chews, his face immediately scrunched up.

He heard his kid say: “Dad, it’s so sour.”

Author’s note:

Xie Yue: I want the classic flavor! Sour shock [cracked] I want to eat brother’s!

Xie Qing: ? You go give it to Dad.

Yu Chuyan: Don’t worry about losing your parents, I know what to do!

Yu Chen: ...

Nuo Zai: Saving room in his tummy~ Struggling to turn down Dad’s extra helpings at dinner.

Bai Sheng: [Adoring the cuteness]