Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Bai Sheng shifted his gaze from the drawing to the little one's face.

Was he a little mushroom?

Bai Sheng, who the little one always lumped into the 'weak group' category, looked at his child.

Then he reached out and gently pinched his baby's cheek.

"Then Daddy will wait."

The tiny kid lifted his head a little, tilted it to press against his dad's hand, and said cheerfully, "Dad doesn't know, but Nono is super awesome."

We're the awesome villain family!

Though Bai Sheng couldn't fully grasp the little one's specific meaning, listening to Nono's words, he was a bit moved.

This was a very perceptive child; he would stay far away from those who were truly troublesome, and if you gave him even a little kindness, he'd want to repay you ten times over, giving off this vibe that he loved the whole world.

Admittedly, this feeling was pretty amazing most of the time.

The Bai family had been strangely peaceful lately. His subordinates were going all out, even poaching a few talented people from rival companies.

If he had to put it into words—

Norman.

Bai Sheng used the hand that the little one was pressing down to pinch his cheek again.

The car drove back to the main building of the Bai family estate.

As soon as the little one got out of the car, seeing Cen Zhi waiting at the door, he grabbed his painting and ran over with a pattering sound to find his grandmother.

He wanted to show her and hear some praise.

Cen Zhi skillfully picked up Nono and, without even looking at the painting, started praising him. Then she carried the child inside, while also instructing the housekeeper to find a frame.

"Did you tell the kids at kindergarten that Nono's bread was a success?"

Cen Zhi smiled and nuzzled her cheek against the little one's.

"Mhm mhm, the older brothers were talking about adding fillings. Grandma, can Nono try again another time?"

"Of course."

Cen Zhi stepped aside so the little one could see Bai Jin, who was slumped on the sofa looking half-dead.

After sleeping all day in his own place and completing his daily check-ups, Bai Jin, having nothing to do, had come to the main building early.

Honestly, Bai Jin thought it was weird—before, he'd rather stay in his own place than come here. But now he oddly felt that a bit of liveliness wasn't so bad, either.

Of course, at the moment, Bai Jin was rather disliked, because his gland was unstable and would occasionally leak a bit of orange-liqueur-scented pheromone, which annoyed the territorial alpha greatly.

Then Cen Zhi ushered him forward. He hadn't been paying attention to the conversation between Nono and his grandmother, and looked up in a daze.

What are you looking at me for again?

The little one blinked, exchanged a glance with his uncle, then looked back at Grandma.

Then he heard Grandma say, "Your uncle's going to have a fever for a few more days, which is good for steady dough proofing."

Bai Jin: ...Huh?

Is that what I'm supposed to be used for?!

Nono looked at him eagerly: "Uncle!"

Bai Jin: You've got it easy, haven't you?

"Am I really that important in your process?"

The little one always provided amazing emotional support, no longer afraid of Bai Jin at all, and even daring to make full use of him. In his grandmother's arms, he said without hesitation, "Uncle, making bread is super important!"

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin: ...

The corners of Bai Jin's mouth lifted despite himself.

"If you snuggle into my arms, do you think I'd just toss you away?"

Bai Jin sank deeper into the sofa, turned his head away, and muttered.

Fine, since Uncle's so important.

Come on.

Yes, I'm that important!

Bai Jin's mood oddly improved again, and Nono was taken by his grandmother to have his painting framed and hung up.

At that moment, another message came in on Bai Jin's phone.

Yu An: ...Bro, how are you feeling now? Can't really explain over the phone. Let's meet up later? I promise I'm sincere.

Apart from always losing to Bai Jin, Yu An usually got praised by everyone. He had never messed up anything significant in his life, but this time he nearly caused a huge disaster. His father had already found out and repeatedly asked about how things were resolved.

What's more, Yu An's rivalry with Bai Jin was purely competitive; he never had any malicious intent, and he'd always considered them friends on another level.

Given that Bai Jin hadn't reacted strongly these past few days, he was already saving face for Yu An. So Yu An naturally humbled himself.

After all, with a good attitude shown and no permanent damage done, things wouldn't get too ugly later.

However, Bai Jin was extremely proud and didn't like to acknowledge people, and Yu An was prepared for him to ignore him completely.

At Yu An's residence.

Yu An rubbed his chin. His half-brother Yu Zai was sitting at a nearby table, quietly doodling, occasionally glancing up at him.

His voice was low, but his eyes showed a hint of reliance as he looked at this rarely seen brother: "Brother, are you in trouble?"

Yu An instinctively looked up, realizing his expression might be too serious and scare Yu Zai. He broke into a cheerful smile, walked over, and patted Yu Zai's head. Watching the ten-year-old boy shyly avoid his touch, Yu An smiled.

"Nothing major. Kids don't need to worry about it."

Yu Zai watched his brother, nodded after a moment, and then bent back over his drawing.

The drawing was genuinely impressive.

Yu An watched and thought: But I heard Little Dad doesn't really like him drawing.

For an alpha, Yu Zai was indeed too quiet.

Yu An thought back to his own wild childhood and rubbed his nose guiltily.

Then his phone vibrated. Yu An looked down, surprise flashing in his eyes.

Bai Jin: In a few days. Don't do anything complicated. I'm annoyed right now.

Yu An: Of course. I learned my lesson.

Then Yu An got a message from his company secretary, saying someone from the Jiang family came to ask if they needed any help.

Yu An was a bit confused.

The Jiang family’s main operations had been abroad, and the Yu family had little business with the Jiang company. Besides, he was too busy now—why were these people coming around?

Yu An narrowed his eyes and quickly replied: Ignore them.

Meanwhile, at the Jiang residence.

"No reaction?"

A boy who looked about seven or eight sat upright and proper on the sofa, a hint of confusion in his expression.

"That's right. But kids don't need to worry about these things. Just focus on studying and working hard now. You got first place in the elementary and middle school group last competition—many uncles and aunts congratulated you."

Ying Yishui had followed her omega grandson’s request to ask his grandfather, and now sat beside the little boy, looking rather proud.

"No other family has a child as smart as ours."

Jiang Liang really didn’t understand.

In the dreams he had, the Yu family meant a lot to him. At this moment, they should be like ants on a hot stove. Even if they didn’t need help, they should at least respond, not stay completely silent like this.

As he was thinking, he heard his grandmother’s words again. He pressed his lips together.

"It's not enough. I should have been even better."

All the attention should have been his. He should have been the one who skyrocketed to fame, not like this—still showered with praise for the Bai family's strength.

Even though he was in a different category, his visibility dropped significantly because of Bai Wu. It was like sports competitions—middle and high school groups never got as much discussion as the adult division, unless the adults didn’t produce impressive results and the junior division had exceptionally talented players. Otherwise, people would still choose to cheer louder for that overwhelming strength.

Ying Yishui didn’t really get it, but she couldn’t help saying it.

"That's already amazing! Your upbringing is almost the same as those alpha kids from the Bai family. Our Xiao Liang sets his standards too high."

Jiang Liang only glanced at his grandmother, then bowed his head and said nothing.

Time flew by. Children's Day was only one day away, and the temperature in Ang City hadn’t yet reached the unbearable heat of summer vacation.

The kindergarten let the children have the day off to prepare.

The little guy had already decided to try other fillings for his small buns that afternoon. But during lunch, after eating his fill, the little guy stared at his grandfather intensely.

Bai Qian was confused, but under the watchful eye of his "little overseer," he finished his meal without complaint. Before leaving for work, Bai Qian scooped the little one up a bit helplessly.

"Grandpa has been eating well lately, hasn't he?"

Xiao Bai Nuo blinked his big eyes twice and nodded.

"Even when Nuo Nuo can't see, Grandpa must eat well, okay?"

The little one had dreamed again last night. Vaguely, he saw Grandpa lying in the hospital, with no one around.

The little cub wasn’t sure if that was Grandpa's original fate.

In his memory, not long after Grandma left, Grandpa had followed soon after.

But not anymore, right?

The little guy looked up at Grandpa.

"Grandma is here, and so is Nuo Nuo, Grandpa."

Bai Qian was stunned. His stern face still showed no expression, but the way he held the cub was very gentle.

He grunted in acknowledgment.

"Grandpa knows."

Bai Qian thought for a moment, then reached out his hand. Awkwardly, he made a pinky promise with the little cub.

"Make sure you eat well during check-ups, eat well, and don't hide anything from Nuo Nuo. This is a promise between Grandpa and Nuo Nuo. Grandpa remembers it."

"Mm!"

Xiao Bai Nuo nodded vigorously, reaching out his small hand to hook pinkies with Grandpa.

"It's a little secret between Grandpa and Nuo Nuo."

"Nuo Nuo? Did your chocolate melt? Aren’t you making chocolate filling?"

Bai Jin’s voice came from the kitchen.

Of course, it wasn’t Bai Jin’s body heat melting the chocolate.

Bai Jin’s low fever wasn’t that powerful.

Bai Jin was holding the box of small buns the little guy had given him, standing at the kitchen door and calling out.

Bai Qian was about to go to work. He set the little cub down, watched him wave goodbye, and trot into the kitchen, then turned and left.

At home, Bai Sheng, unusually, wasn't watching the little cub; he was handling documents. Bai Jingyun had also come home early for once. In the kitchen, Cen Zhi, Bai Jin, and Bai Jingyun were with Xiao Bai Nuo, figuring out the chocolate filling. They finally decided to make the filling and pipe it in after the buns were baked. The buns were almost ready for the oven, and the little one was seriously learning to make the filling.

At that moment, Xiao Bai Nuo was placed on a chair, his little hands resting on the kitchen counter, blinking his big eyes at pictures of chocolate buns.

Bai Jin stood next to the little guy. He looked at the chocolate bun with cat-whisker decorations meant for kids, then down at the fair-skinned, soft little bun in front of him. His fingers itched a little. After a moment,

"Nuo Nuo."

Bai Jin spoke.

"Mm?"

Xiaobai Nuo looked up, and then watched as his little uncle reached over and drew three lines on each cheek with his finger. The touch left his face feeling a bit warm.

The little boy blinked, looking at the chocolate on his little uncle's fingertip.

Xiaobai Nuo's eyes widened!

The little one instinctively turned his head to look for someone.

"Grandma! Grandma! Big Uncle! Dad! Dad!!!"

Cen Zhi was stunned for a moment at the helpless little boy now sporting 'cat whiskers'.

She almost laughed out loud, but had to keep a straight face as she ordered the eager Bai Jingyun to subdue the reckless one.

Ah, Xiao Wu, you know why you have such a bad reputation? The blame falls on you for a reason!