Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Cen Zhi couldn't bear to watch anymore. She reached out and took the little one, who had finished his ice cream and was licking the spoon, from Bai Sheng's arms.

Consider it confiscated!

"Come here, sweetie, let's stop playing with Dad and do some after-dinner stretching with Grandma instead."

Ever since the little guy's last episode of indigestion had gotten the whole Bai family's attention, the adults had been subtly guiding him to be more active after meals.

Cen Zhi set the little one down on the floor, took the little one's hand, and led him to the yoga mats in the middle of the activity hall.

She pulled out two resistance bands from the side and handed them to Xiaobai Nuo.

The tiny child looked down at what his grandmother had given him. He had seen her use them before and had watched curiously for a long time. Now holding them in his hands, he looked up at her with big, sparkling eyes.

"Come learn with Grandma."

Cen Zhi smiled as she spoke to the little one.

She pinched the folded band, ready to flick it open.

Just then, someone on the nearby staircase bounded down three steps at a time with ease.

It was Bai Jin, who had just gone upstairs to discuss some school-related matters with the old master.

Bai Jin glanced over casually and suddenly asked, "What time are we gathering tomorrow?"

Her focus had been entirely on Xiaobai Nuo. Caught off guard by the sudden question, Cen Zhi startled, and the resistance band flew out of her hand. As luck would have it, just as Bai Jin turned his head to see what was happening, it smacked him right in the face.

The cotton band slid down, and Bai Jin caught it, completely bewildered as he looked down at it.

Bai Jin: ...?

What was this all about?

A surprise attack to the face?

Meanwhile, the little one, who had been watching his grandmother, blinked.

The tiny child looked at Grandma, then at his uncle.

Nono didn't understand. He couldn't figure it out.

But that was okay—whatever Grandma did was right. Just follow along!

But the distance was too far.

So the little guy toddled over to his uncle, and under Bai Jin's confused gaze, tossed the resistance band onto him.

After tossing it, the little one turned back to look at Grandma.

Grandma, did I do it right?

Cen Zhi: ...

Cen Zhi held back a laugh as she watched the little one imitate her, even though he didn't understand, just doing it anyway.

"...Right."

Cen Zhi choked out that single word before finally bursting into laughter.

Seriously, what were the odds of that timing?

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin: "..."

"Mom, what are you teaching him?!"

Don't just teach him random stuff!

Bai Jin said this as he went to grab the little one, who was right next to him.

Xiaobai Nuo let out a small "uh" and immediately turned to run away.

Bai Jin chased after him, determined to give that little head of curls a good ruffle.

Bai Jingyun was standing nearby. The little one dodged and hid behind Bai Jingyun, starting a game of peek-a-boo with his uncle.

His soft, milky voice said, "Uncle, what are you doing? Nono is exercising. Grandma said it was right."

"What kind of exercise is that?"

Bai Jin laughed in exasperation.

This kid was usually smart as a whip—though still a bit naive, he acted like a little adult in some ways. There was no way he didn't realize what was going on. He had just seen an opportunity to hit his uncle and acted without thinking, right?

He was going to mess up that little curly head even more!

"Uncle, Uncle! Isn't Nono exercising?"

Xiaobai Nuo dodged his uncle and looked up at Bai Jingyun, his eyes full of the message "Help Nono." He tried to run toward his dad, but his uncle had blocked all the paths. So the little one just ran in circles with his uncle, with help from his older uncle.

Bai Jingyun took a moment to meet the little one's round, big eyes. Between the adorable little nephew and the annoying brat of a younger brother, Bai Jingyun took only 0.01 seconds to come to the right answer—scoring full marks!

Bai Jin instinctively looked at Bai Jingyun and saw his older brother's expressionless face as he nodded. "Yes."

Bai Jin: ...There's no one normal left in this house!! Accept your uncle's judgment, you little rascal!

Cen Zhi laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She sat back down on the sofa and looked at Bai Sheng, who had sat up slightly, keeping a close eye on the "battle," watching to make sure his kid wasn't getting the short end of the stick.

"How did it just happen to hit Xiao Wu right in the face?"

Cen Zhi brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and wiped away tears of laughter.

Come to think of it, Xiaobai Nuo was usually quiet and gentle with everyone else in the family. But whenever he got together with Bai Jin, it was like some kind of chemical reaction. Of course, that also had a lot to do with Bai Jin's fidgety and cheeky personality.

As she spoke, Cen Zhi turned to look at Bai Sheng.

"Why aren't you going to help now?"

Bai Sheng was propping his chin on his hand. "No rush. Let Nuo get some exercise."

Beating up a little brother—there's no need to rush that. It can be done anytime.

"Though, I thought you wouldn't be too happy about your kid spending so much time with them."

Cen Zhi looked at her third child, the most mischievous and proud one.

Bai Sheng thought for a moment and gave a noncommittal nod.

Actually, he had originally taught the little guy to stay away from the rest of the Bai family.

But ultimately, this arrogant guy never believed things would get out of his hands.

Although he didn’t get along with Bai Jingyun, Bai Sheng didn’t think Bai Jingyun was the kind of big annoyance that made people want to avoid him, and the same went for the others.

And what could they possibly do to a little kid? Bai Sheng still trusted his siblings to have that decency.

Just as he said that, the tiny little kid seized the chance and ran over, diving into his dad's arms, then peeking at his uncle from that safe spot like he'd found an ally.

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin exchanged a glance with Bai Sheng but couldn’t hold back in the end.

“Third Brother, why don't you just frame that cookie? You've held it up all afternoon, careful not to drop it.”

It's just that the kid brought you a cookie from kindergarten, right?

You’ve been showing it off all afternoon—shouldn’t that be enough?

“Others are the 'Pagoda Kings,' but Third Brother, you're turning into the 'Cookie King.'”

This kid gave you that fish-shaped cookie for you to eat, not to show off. If you’re not going to eat it, give it to me.

Bai Sheng: ...

Cen Zhi almost laughed again, so she simply scooped up Xiaobai Nuo and watched the show.

Xiao Wu, bad news: your brother still wants to beat you up. Good news: the beatings are all justified—you earned every one.

Inside the largest laboratory building of Sheng’ang University.

Several floors were still cordoned off, with important experimental areas temporarily sealed, as internal investigators conducted another round of inventory and checks.

Bai Liang hadn’t been home for several days. They were organizing the uncompleted collaborative projects, rerunning data, and preparing to reassign tasks later.

The few graduate students working under Bai Liang were a bit nervous. Sitting at their computers, they couldn’t help glancing at Bai Liang, who was standing in the hallway in a black shirt.

Following Bai Liang indeed meant researching the most cutting-edge technologies and medicines in the whole country. Their benefits, scholarships, and everything were top-notch. Except for Bai Liang’s unpredictable temper and the hyper-competitive lab environment, they didn’t have to do any chores outside their research, allowing them to focus entirely on their work.

But at the same time, it was easy to get frustrated and lose confidence here. They were all ‘geniuses’ from their respective regions, but after entering this place, they had been knocked down more than once or twice.

Those who could make it into Bai Liang’s lab were geniuses among geniuses, let alone Bai Liang himself.

From day one in the lab, he told them there was no time to adapt—if they couldn’t keep up, they’d leave the core lab.

After being in that environment for a while, it was impossible not to be a little scared of that always-smiling professor.

But after working continuously for so long, Bai Liang seemed to be in a decent mood right then.

He was casually holding his phone, chatting with a senior professor about what'd been going on.

Over the past few days, Sheng’ang University had full surveillance coverage, strict records on raw material usage and inventory, and though they'd cooperated with the schools that lost materials, there'd been no recent personnel swaps, so they were basically in the clear. Experimental work would be back to normal soon.

“Have those schools finished their self-inspections?”

Bai Liang leaned against the wall and raised an eyebrow.

“No issues found with any of the researchers? Not their own staff? So that connects everything. With multiple conditions lining up, it should be resolved soon... Yeah... Someone who knows which cameras are broken or have blind spots, knows where those materials are, and isn't from any of those schools—there can't be many who meet the criteria, right?”

Bai Liang thought about it, still smiling as he spoke with the other party.

“Yeah, that’s true. Those are big labs with a lot of come and go of people, so there are indeed some people. But if we screen them for another two days, I think it'll be completely wrapped up... If those things are found in time, the punishment they’ll face should be lighter, and the relevant people probably won’t even go to jail—just suspended or something, which would be a decent resolution. But this has caused quite a commotion, and it might alert the culprit.”

As he spoke, Bai Liang glanced out the window.

The sky outside was dark and overcast.

But inside, it was different from before. Tomorrow was Sheng’ang University’s founding anniversary, so today the whole place was decorated. The school’s establishment date outside was surrounded by little lights, already sparkling.

Bai Liang stared blankly at those little lights, deep in thought.

The college that lost the raw materials first thought researchers were selling them for profit, because the lost materials weren’t cheap, so it was inevitable that someone might try something shady. At first, they didn’t know exactly how many types were lost or what effects they might have, so after reporting, they immediately began an investigation, which caused quite a stir. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the situation escalated with the appearance of simulated pheromone gas bombs, and it was discovered that several other schools had also lost some experimental materials. By then, they realized something was wrong, but trying to pump the brakes was no longer easy.

If the other party really had some purpose like revenge or something, it might push them over the edge.

“Yeah, right. Anyway, it’s just a day or two; we’ll see the public notice then...”

Bai Liang finished speaking, took the phone down from his ear, ended the call decisively, and looked down at the phone screen.

Bai Liang raised a hand to rub his temple wearily and muttered softly.

“Oh right, tomorrow is the anniversary.”

He remembered that kid Bai Jin said he was going to bring the little guy from home to play on campus?

Thinking this, Bai Liang casually scrolled through his Moments.

Then he saw Bai Sheng’s post.

Bai Liang looked down at it. He honestly thought Bai Sheng hadn't been himself since taking in the kid—his emotions were all over the place.

Normally, he wouldn’t update his status even once a year, but now that he was on a roll, this doting dad could post three times a day.

All just to show off his kid, openly and subtly.

“Though he doesn't say much, it's clear he's crazy about the kid...”

Bai Liang mocked Bai Sheng with that remark.

Then he paused, realizing he probably wasn’t in a position to mock Bai Sheng either.

But he remembered that when Bai Sheng was little, he had a phase where he really liked a weapon model. Though he didn’t say it, he took it everywhere, and would subtly pull it out to show them, letting them see where he’d improved it and what functions it had, whether they wanted to listen or look or not.

That guy really hadn’t changed at all from childhood to now.

And when it came to Xiaobai Nuo, Bai Sheng was clearly even more intense than during that period. Unlike the ending where Bai Sheng lost interest in the model, Bai Sheng was only getting more and more obsessed with this kid.

It was like a large beast that didn't know how to dote on its cub, wishing it could just carry it in its mouth.

Bai Liang looked at what Bai Sheng had posted this time.

Bai Sheng: Playing with toys. The cookie from kindergarten. [Picture] [Picture]

The first picture showed the little guy playing with blocks—these were 3D blocks that could be assembled into various foods and little cakes.

In the photo, the tiny kid sat at the very edge of the table, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the row of cake-shaped blocks he had lined up in front of him. Bai Sheng was clearly sitting across from him taking the picture, with that kind of artless photography style. Good thing the little guy was so exquisitely cute that he could even hold up under his dad's terrible angle.

Bai Liang looked at it, clicked his tongue softly, held down on the photo, and saved it.

Then he glanced at the second picture—the cookie one.

Bai Liang downvoted this flashy show-off post and noticed someone had already commented.

Cousin: I want the last little cake in the first picture, the one with the black curly hair. Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me!

Cen Liu seemed completely smitten.

But Bai Sheng replied quickly.

Bai San replying to Cousin: Beat it.

Bai Liang couldn't help but let out a laugh, not a sharp laugh, but a knowing one.

Bai Liang stood up, put away his phone, and stretched his body.

Alright, time to get back to work.

The next morning, Xiaobai Nuo, nestled in his father’s arms, woke up blinking.

The tiny little cub had messy hair from sleep, looked dazed for a few seconds, and then gradually surfaced from his dream.

The little cub was a bit hazy about these dreams. He dreamed about his dad, the whole Bai family, Uncle Xie’s family, and Brother Xiao Yan.

They were all villains, going against the faceless main characters in the dreams for all sorts of reasons.

It seemed like the timing hadn’t come yet—the little one only saw blurry images, not as clear as when he dreamed of Dad or Grandma before.

Xiaobai Nuo had gotten sort of used to these dreams he couldn't talk about. He squirmed out of his dad’s embrace.

Just as the little cub yawned and tried to crawl halfway out, a hand suddenly reached over and gently nudged him. The little one froze—huh? Didn’t Nuo already crawl out?

Back in his dad's arms, Xiaobai Nuo blinked, tilting his head to look at his father’s face.

He called out in his sweet little voice, “Dad, Dad.”

“…The assembly time is still early. Why do you always get up so early?”

Bai Sheng mumbled with his eyes still closed.

“Kids need to catch some extra sleep. Go back to sleep.”

Bai Sheng had gotten some experience from co-sleeping with the cub these days. He swaddled the little cub in a small blanket and tucked him back into his arms.

Xiaobai Nuo struggled to free his little hands from the blanket: “But Nuo is already awake, Dad! You sleep, Nuo will shade Dad's eyes.”

The little cub skillfully put his small hand over his dad’s eyes and said considerately, “When Dad wakes up, then Nuo will get up. Nuo will keep Dad company.”

As if he were the lazy one—needing the cub to watch over him.

Bai Sheng opened one eye, still a bit sleepy, staring at his sweet little omega cub.

Anyway, when it came to waking up, there was no way he could get up before his cub.

In the end, the newbie dad struggled for two seconds, got up with the little cub, washed up, and had breakfast.

It was already the height of summer, and the temperature kept climbing.

The little one’s clothes were now light and breathable.

A panda-themed short-sleeved shirt in cream white, khaki shorts with two little suspenders, and two bear paw prints on the front. Bai Sheng looked, then plopped a little khaki bucket hat onto the little one’s head.

The brim was a bit big for the little cub and quite stiff. The tiny one grabbed the edges with both little hands, trying hard to lift his head to meet his father's gaze. The little curly bangs on his forehead were pressed into a mess under the hat.

The little one wasn’t used to wearing hats and touched his head awkwardly.

But he had little short arms, and now he seemed to be trying to hug his own head, but his little hands couldn’t reach each other above the brim.

“Huh?”

The little one was confused—Nuo can't feel his own hands.

This scene was way too cute. Bai Sheng cleared his throat and patted the little cub’s head through the hat.

“Keep the hat on. Over there has little shade, and the sun’s strong.”

Adults were fine, but kids have delicate skin that burns easily, and they're too young for sunscreen.

“Okay, Dad.”

The little one blinked his big eyes.

“Dad, can we bring Dou Dou today?”

The little one picked up his little monitor from behind and asked Bai Sheng expectantly.

Recently, the little one had been going to kindergarten on time, and there were many adults around him at home, so naturally he played less with the little monitor.

Xiaobai Nuo didn’t see it as a cold machine; he saw Dou Dou as his little buddy, and recently Dou Dou had been ignored, so the little cub tried to make up for it.

Bai Sheng thought for a moment: “Okay, but you have to keep it with you all the time.”

“Yay!”

Xiaobai Nuo cheered, then looked down.

“Hi, Dou Dou.”

“I’m here. I'm listening.”

“Nuo's taking you out to play today.”

“Wow—” The electronic voice's tone was stiff but tried to sound surprised. “It’s my honor. I’ll play a song ‘Good Days’ to express my joy.”

“Hi, Dou Dou. Don't play that.”

Bai Sheng responded instantly, quite familiar.

The little monitor paused for two seconds: “Okay, playback ended.”

Bai Sheng had no clue what this little dummy was storing in its big database and all those old conversation memories.

Bai Sheng carried the cub out.

Bai Jingyun and Bai Jin were already waiting.

Honestly, this combination was weird. Without Xiaobai Nuo, the three of them would be purely here to cause trouble—completely disunited. But with the little cub in the middle, the three managed to swallow their pride and come together.

The little one was full of energy early in the morning. He was holding Dou Dou as his father fastened him into the child seat, stretching out his little arms to help with the seatbelt, then chattered away asking Bai Sheng all kinds of questions.

Bai Jingyun didn't say much, but Bai Jin, sitting in the front, listened for half the ride and couldn't help turning around.

"I say, it was Little Uncle who invited you. Shouldn't you be asking him your questions?"

The little cub, already holding Dou Dou, also had a bucket hat and was trying to keep them both secure. Hearing his uncle, the cub blinked. "Because Dad is the big villain, and Dad knows everything."

Dad is a really awesome big villain, and Nono is the villain's cub.

Bai Sheng, now perfectly calm about accepting the big villain title, kept a straight face and even nodded slightly.

"Huh?"

Bai Jin raised an eyebrow. He thought his third brother was weird—he had accepted the name of the big villain without hesitation. And ever since his third brother had the kid, weren’t his beatings getting more and more painful?

Bai Jin thought about it and glanced at Bai Jingyun.

"You said last time that your eldest uncle is on your side, so is he also a big villain?"

Bai Jingyun looked over, met the little one's bright eyes, and naturally agreed.

"Mm-hmm!" The little one nodded firmly.

Bai Jin laughed, pointed at himself, and said, "Then what is Little Uncle? Is he the protagonist?"

Bai Jin looked at the little cub, who stared back at him in shock.

What's wrong? Was it that shocking for him to claim he was the protagonist? His profile—

But Bai Jin immediately heard the little cub ask this.

"Little Uncle, aren't you on Nono's side?"

Ah...

Bai Jin was slightly stunned, then caught on, and couldn't help but curl his lips.

"If you put it that way, I suppose it's okay."

Nono blinked his eyes.

"But Little Uncle is a bad villain."

...What's a bad villain?

You just want to call him a bad guy in a roundabout way, don't you?!

Bai Jin snorted a laugh. He had wanted to pinch the little cub's cheek, but Bai Sheng was sitting nearby, and he had just been beaten yesterday, so he didn't dare start anything in the car. "Then what about the protagonist? If everyone is a villain, isn't there a protagonist?"

Protagonist?

The little one had never had a clear picture of the protagonist, and he didn't pay much attention.

Perhaps to a story, the protagonist is very important.

But not to the little cub. Around him, what was happening wasn't just a story or a piece of text.

The little one looked at his uncle with a confused expression, then counted on his fingers: "Dad, Grandma, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Aunt, Little Uncle, Cousin Uncle, Big Brother, Uncle... all are villains."

"Nono too," the little one thought for a moment, then said seriously, in that innocent, bright tone unique to a young cub, without any gloom, "Nono doesn't know who the protagonist is. Nono only cares about all of them."

Nono doesn't care about the endings arranged by the story. Nono only cares about his villainous family.

Even if Little Uncle is a bad guy, he's included.

Author's note:

The dad who's given up: Villain? Fine.

The eldest uncle who plays along: Anyway, I'm on Nono's side.

Little uncle, after hearing the cub's villain theory: Am I the protagonist? [?][?][?]

Cub: ? Little Uncle, are you in your right mind?

Please have a little self-awareness, Mr. Villain.