Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Bai Liang was unsure if it was an illusion.

But he felt a little awkward as he reached out his hand and gently patted the little one's back twice.

This was truly a very wonderful experience.

Bai Liang couldn't help but glance at Bai Sheng.

He usually just watched the show, and although he also felt that Bai Sheng had an incredible stroke of luck—where others initially mocked him, only to later turn into envy and jealousy—that was as far as it went. He had always effortlessly kept a safe distance from this little one.

This was probably the first time he truly understood what raising a kid could give back to a parent.

It was just an ordinary little fish.

Yet it turned out Bai Qi was right.

Who knew it could be this joyful?

Xiaobai Nuo let go of his uncle's hand and spoke earnestly to his second uncle again.

"Second uncle, teach Nono. Second uncle is busy, so Nono will take care of the little fish."

Bai Liang snapped out of it a bit and responded with a smile.

"It's this setup. But right now, it's recovering, so it's best to keep it in the dark and let it rest quietly. Don't take it home yet. Since we have all the equipment here, you can come see it."

Bai Liang looked at the little one, whose eyes were red-rimmed but bright.

He was thinking: if it was too far from Bai Sheng's to here, maybe he could buy him a little car to play with?

Xiaobai Nuo instinctively turned to look at his father.

Bai Sheng was also looking at him.

As long as there was no danger, Bai Sheng always indulged his kid.

He nodded slightly.

So the little one nodded firmly at his second uncle.

"Alright, the little fish needs to be fed sparingly and kept quiet. Go eat first."

Bai Sheng stepped forward and scooped up the little one, who had been leaning close to Bai Liang.

The faint scent of medicinal ointment from the little one faded away as Bai Sheng lifted him up.

Bai Liang grinned as he looked up, still crouching while meeting Bai Sheng's gaze.

The little one wrapped his arms around his father's neck and said softly, "Dad, the little fish isn't dead."

Then he turned to look at Great-Grandfather: "Great-Grandpa, the little fish you gave Nono is still here."

The little one was so easily content, so easily delighted, eager to share all his good news with everyone important to him.

And Bai Sheng glanced at Bai Liang, said a quick "Thanks," then carried the little one out.

Of course, Bai Liang understood—it was already time for that little one to be eating breakfast.

Bai Liang, the old fox, still appeared gentle and good-natured, but Bai Liang observed Bai Sheng today and found it quite surprising.

It wasn't that Bai Sheng's "thanks" was particularly rare—though it was somewhat unusual—but aside from Bai Sheng's usual arrogance and disdain for everything around him, he seemed especially angry today…

The kind of anger that couldn't find a target.

Bai Liang, who was adept at stirring things up among his siblings, rubbed his chin. He stood up and turned to ask Bai Jin beside him, "What's wrong with Bai Sheng today?"

"Huh?"

Bai Jin reached out curiously to touch the instruments on his desk, only to have his hand slapped away by Bai Liang. He hissed in pain.

"What could be wrong with him? He couldn't find you and nearly tore you apart?"

Bai Liang: …

"I suddenly recall, I think I have a score to settle with you from yesterday?"

He remembered Bai Jin mocking him yesterday for being a professor who couldn't even save a single fish?

Bai Jin: …

Anyway, early in the morning, the Bai family actually gathered—a rare sight—at the main building's dining table for breakfast.

Bai Jin rubbed his sore shoulder and stuffed a small bun into his mouth.

That's cheating! How could his sister be blocking him from behind too?

Bai Jin thought: he had angered two people yesterday, so he couldn't escape today.

Meanwhile, Xiaobai Nuo was diligently eating.

Grandpa wasn't at breakfast, so with no eating buddy, the little one worked hard to eat on his own, mouthful by mouthful.

After eating until he was sweaty and finishing his breakfast, the little one looked up at his grandma, still thinking about Grandpa who was all alone in the hospital.

"Grandma, when will we go see Grandpa?"

"No rush. We'll go after your nap, Nono."

Cen Zhi smiled, pulled out a handkerchief, wiped the sweat off the little one's forehead, then glanced outside.

"It's a bit muggy today. Think it's going to rain?"

"Probably." Bai Sheng also looked outside, then lifted Xiaobai Nuo down from his chair.

The little one then pattered over to check on his little fish.

Bai Yan was old and ate less, so he had already sat down in front of the little one's fish tank. He just looked at the fish in the tank and fell silent.

Thanks to these guys.

The number of fish in the little one's tank was growing.

Beside it, there was also a new small tank, where the grayish little fish they had brought back yesterday were kept.

The little one peered over the edge of the table for a while, then looked at Great-Grandfather. He turned around, crawled to the side of the sofa where Great-Grandpa was sitting, and looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

"Nono will take good care of the fish this time, Great-Grandpa."

Bai Yan gently touched the little one's head and hummed in response.

He cleared his throat quietly.

"Great-Grandpa's place is almost ready, and there's a whole area just for little animals. Once it's all done, wanna come check it out?"

The Bai family, still at the table, all looked over.

They heard Bai Yan continue, "There will be cats too. You used to like cats, right?"

The little guy blinked his big eyes and repeated, "Cats!"

"Mm."

Seeing the little guy's face, Bai Yan knew he had him hooked. He nodded, all dignified again, and lifted his hand from the little one's head.

"When Great-Grandpa's place is done, I'll tell you."

"Okay!"

The little guy nodded his head over and over.

His mood from this morning shifted fast, and now he was clearly happy.

"Little master, your strawberries."

The old butler had washed the freshly delivered strawberries and handed them to the little one.

Xiaobai Nuo's favorite fruit was pretty much strawberries, but the Bai family worried he might eat too many and skip dinner, or that stale strawberries might give him a tummy ache. They usually limited how many he could have, especially since it wasn't strawberry season and off-season fruit just doesn't taste as good as in-season stuff.

But the small strawberries were bright red and plump-looking, arranged on a cute little cartoon plate, with crystal-clear water droplets still clinging to them, giving off a fruity, slightly floral smell that made you hungry just looking at it.

Xiaobai Nuo held the plate in both hands, first let Great-Grandpa have one, then toddled back to the dining table, stopped next to his dad, and happily held up his little cup.

"Daddy, strawberries!"

He was a pro at sharing what he loved with his dad.

Then Grandma... He had his own ranking system, but it got jumbled sometimes. Bai Liang had noticed this, and he'd also seen that Bai Jingyun occasionally got upset over this ordering.

Thinking of this, Bai Liang finished his meal, wiped his mouth, and smiled dismissively.

Watching the oldest was the best at times like this.

And honestly, it was just the order of handing stuff out. Bai Liang seriously didn't get why Bai Jingyun made such a big deal.

The little one had given strawberries to Dad, Grandma, and Great-Grandpa, then looked up at Second Uncle, Little Uncle, and Auntie. Bai Jin already had his hand on the back of his chair, ready to compete with his siblings for position.

"Second Uncle, do you want some strawberries?"

But today, the little guy paused by Second Uncle, then raised the plate first and asked Bai Liang, his eyes bright with a little bit of admiration—obviously saving the first pick for Bai Liang, who saved the fish.

Bai Jin: Bai Liang gets it today?!

Bai Liang: For me?

Bai Liang was still watching the others' expressions like an outsider, when the little one suddenly stopped beside him and spoke. He reached out on instinct, then stopped and realized.

"...Thank you, Nono."

After he'd gone around, only four or five strawberries were left on his plate, just enough for him.

Xiaobai Nuo was never a greedy cub. Even if only one was left, he could eat it and be totally happy.

He carried his small plate back to his fish tank, carefully plucked the strawberry stems, popped the strawberries into his mouth, and squinted his eyes, looking blissed out.

Meanwhile, at the table, the vibe from before hung in the air.

Bai Sheng and Cen Zhi, who were at the very top of the list, left their seats first.

Leaving the three of them to look at each other.

Bai Qi got up first, not wanting to see Bai Liang's smug face anymore.

Why bother caring about someone so selfish he almost threw out that fish yesterday?

Bai Qi snorted softly.

Bai Jin grumbled as he got up, a little annoyed.

But Bai Liang, for once, wasn't in a hurry to go to the lab.

He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully savoring the 'special treatment' from the kid.

He hadn't paid attention before, but today, when the little one handed him the strawberries, the other people's looks gave him a weird feeling of satisfaction.

How odd.

Bai Liang decided to hide in the lab all day to squash these weird feelings.

He also stood up, his steps feeling unusually light.

Xiaobai Nuo was still watching the fish, giving each one a name one by one.

Clearly, since they were brought back, they all had to be raised.

Bai Sheng was still a bit down because of his nightmare this morning.

He sat behind the little one, chin resting on his hand, watching Xiaobai Nuo's back.

The once frail cub had indeed grown rounder over the past six months, his little arms now adorably chubby.

After naming them all, the little one saw his father, turned around, and burrowed into his arms. Remembering his crying this morning, he felt a bit shy and hid his face.

It was indeed very stuffy today, and Xiaobai Nuo was a bit sweaty.

Bai Sheng took out a handkerchief again to wipe the little one's face. As a parent, he was now a bit triggered by these fish.

He always felt that these fragile little lives might suddenly die if he wasn't careful, making his cub cry again, making him experience the feeling of losing something important again.

If possible, Bai Sheng would of course hope that Xiaobai Nuo would never have such an experience, but that was obviously unrealistic.

"Fish have limited lifespans, and with so many fish, accidents will happen. If something happens again, just tell Daddy directly when you're sad."

The little one lifted his head from Bai Sheng's arms, showing only half his face to look at Bai Sheng, just in time to see Bai Sheng lower his head and gently kiss his forehead again.

Bai Sheng was a bit casual, but he did it and said it: "Daddy knows how to comfort you now, and it's okay not to be brave."

A shimmer of light rippled in the little one's eyes. He glanced at Grandma and Grandpa not far away, still a bit shy, but he climbed up and leaned close to his father's ear.

With a babyish lisp, he told his dad, "Nono knows, but if there's another goodbye, I think, with Dad here, I'll be a little braver every time."

Bai Sheng looked at his little cub, and the lingering gloom seemed to gradually melt away in that soft baby voice.

—Because Dad is here, he will be braver each time.

Everything about this child is irresistible.

The little cub was going to visit grandpa in the afternoon.

So Xiao Bai Nuo's idiom and vocabulary practice was moved to the morning, and as usual, he had a video call with his big brothers.

For the birthday party on July 23rd, Xiao Bai Nuo had already sent out invitations to his big brothers.

The cub, who was good-looking, talented at arts and crafts, and very smart, was also very popular at school. Besides his three closest older brothers, he had also made some friends in kindergarten who would come to the birthday party.

Of course, Xiao Bai Nuo had never celebrated a birthday before.

During the apocalypse, even adults with ample supplies rarely made a big deal of such occasions.

The little one didn't quite understand the meaning of birthday celebrations; he only understood it as eating delicious food, wearing nice clothes, and playing with friends.

Looking at it that way, it did sound really nice.

The cubs had already finished telling each other about the idiom picture books they were reading.

Xiao Bai Nuo told his big brothers in a soft voice about how the fish almost died.

Then he showed them a school of tiny fish behind him.

Yu Chuyan looked at the fish and said, "So that's how the little fish turned into so many?"

Xiao Bai Nuo nodded vigorously.

Yu Chuyan tilted his head and thought.

In the screen, Xie Qing seemed to freeze up for a moment upon hearing the little one's conclusion, then suddenly clapped his hands: "Fish easily float belly-up after eating too much and then soaking up the sun?"

Xie Yue chimed in beside him: "So that's it, it must be that you fed them too much last time, big brother."

Xie Qing: "I only fed five spoonfuls of fish food, which couldn't even fill my rice bowl."

Xie Yue: "Then I only fed one piece of bread, not even enough for a snack."

Xie Qing: "…?"

Xie Qing turned his head: "You secretly took my bread to feed them?"

Xie Yue: "Hehe."

Xie Qing angrily lunged at him: "I'm going to hide your toy horse! Tonight only I can sneak attack on Dad!"

Xie Yue also fought back excitedly: "That's not fair! Last time you clearly ate my snacks!"

The two little ones once again couldn't see eye to eye and started roughhousing.

This left Yu Chuyan thinking for a moment, and he asked Xiao Bai Nuo: "Nono, do you like small fish?"

Xiao Bai Nuo shifted his gaze from the Xie brothers and looked at Yu Chuyan.

The little cub nodded: "Yes, I do."

"Then later when we go out to play, do you want to go to the aquarium?"

Yu Chuyan said.

Huh?

Yu Chuyan still had a cool guy expression, and he motioned with his hands.

"There are tons of fish in the aquarium, all kinds of beautiful little fish in display tanks."

Xiao Bai Nuo looked a little scared. He hugged the idiom picture book and asked: "Will there be super big tanks?"

Nono didn't like getting close to tanks that seemed like they could swallow him up.

The little one was scared of deep water.

The group of cubs also knew this, because there was a small fountain in kindergarten. When it was hot in summer, the cubs would usually try to get close to the small fountain during playtime, feeling the cool spray from the fountain carried by the wind.

Occasionally, some playful ones would deliberately go to get wet when the wind was strong, then roll around in the mud, and soon be found by the teacher and taken to dry off and change clothes.

But Xiao Bai Nuo wasn't like that.

The little one usually avoided that small fountain, surrounded by railings that were too tall for the little ones, and never walked over that way.

Yu Chuyan shook his head and said seriously: "No, we won't go to that kind of large aquarium. I know a children's playground that has a small aquarium inside. It's dim in there, with lights shining on each tank, and each small tank has all kinds of beautiful little fish."

Yu Chuyan had been there once. He wasn't very interested, but he thought Xiao Bai Nuo would definitely like it.

As he spoke, he patted his little chest: "And Nono doesn't need to be afraid, I'll protect you."

The first-time dad sitting not far away looked up from his work and instinctively turned his head to look over. He felt like he had heard something.

Then he saw his own cub holding the idiom picture book, with big sparkling eyes, came over and leaned on his knees asking him: "Dad, Dad, can you take Nono to the aquarium Brother Xiao Yan mentioned?"

After watching a lot of nature shows, the little cub liked regular small animals.

Whether they were cats or fish.

And ever since he started watching kids' nature videos about river fish, he had gotten curious about those pretty little fish.

Bai Sheng came back to his senses and nodded.

"Of course."

"Yay!"

The little one said happily, and ran back, his little feet pattering, to tell the brothers, and then they wanted to set a date.

However, although the little ones had made a plan, the actual arrangements were still up to the parents.

Bai Sheng watched for a while, letting these little cubs play together. When it was almost lunchtime, Xiao Bai Nuo reluctantly said his goodbyes to his big brothers and went to eat with his dad.

Meanwhile, inside the Yu family's small villa.

Yu Chuyan watched the video call end. With a cool-guy expression, he secretly clenched his fist.

A playful voice suddenly spoke up from behind him.

"Yay, I'm going out with Nono!"

Yu Chuyan: ?

Who just said what I was thinking?

Yu Chuyan turned around in shock.

He saw Yu Chen, who had somehow come home without him noticing.

Then he wrinkled his nose in disapproval.

Yu Chen waved his hand with a chuckle: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything."

Saying that, he leaned over to look at the cactus on the windowsill.

"You didn't mess with my plants today, right?"

"Of course not, big brother. I even prepared a gift for you."

Yu Chuyan lifted his chin, said that, then went to get a notebook. With a click, he uncapped a marker, and lay down on the floor to earnestly start writing something.

Of course, a child this age probably recognizes some characters, but when it comes to writing, they can only sketch rough outlines from memory. Most of the time, they use pinyin, and occasionally there are even a couple of made-up symbols.

*Prepared a gift for me?*

Yu Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He picked up the gift bag Yu Chuyan had left nearby and opened it while keeping an eye on his brother.

"What are you writing?"

To be honest, Yu Chen couldn't make sense of it.

The little cub's serious planning looked like hieroglyphics to the adults.

"A plan for the aquarium visit."

Yu Chuyan said seriously.

"I want to be Nono's favorite big brother. I can't lose to Xie Qing and Xie Yue."

Yu Chen: …

*For that Little Rice Cake, you're way too worried for a kid your age.*

Yu Chen opened the package and exclaimed: "Is this a desktop plant?"

Inside a ceramic flowerpot were several cute, plump green succulents, looking healthy.

Yu Chen was pleasantly surprised. *Had his little brother finally stopped messing with his plants? Turned over a new leaf?*

Then he watched Yu Chuyan get up, reached out his little hand, and grabbed one of the succulent leaves.

Yu Chen: … *What are you doing?*

With a firm tug, he yanked the 'succulent' out, showed it to his brother, and then—stuck it back in…

*Stuck it back in???*

Yu Chen: … "This is a fake plastic one?!"

*Who makes a fake plant look so real?!*

Yu Chuyan proudly added: "That way, big brother, you won't kill it."

Yu Chen: …

*He somehow felt like he was being mocked.*

"Where'd you learn to be such a little rascal?"

Yu Chen tapped his little brother's head.

"You taught me. I remember everything you taught me: treat the people who matter well, and don't worry about the ones who don't. The people who don't matter are Yu Chuang, aren't they? Don't worry, brother, when I grow up, they won't be able to bully you anymore."

The young alpha already had the cold demeanor of his future self, but his voice was still soft.

He referred to his biological father directly by name.

Yu Chen paused, thought about what their so-called father had done, and smiled: "You're right. You're so amazing."

Yu Chuyan lifted his chin slightly, nodding in agreement, and proudly went back to making his plan.

"So I'm going to do what you taught me."

*Then I'll become Little Rice Cake's favorite big brother.*

Yu Chen: …

*Something feels off… oh, right. He remembered his little brother always muttering, 'Why can't I bring Little Rice Cake home to keep?'*

Yu Chen: … *That doesn't seem right, little brother, does it?*

"Wait! Don't you dare sneak Nono home! I never taught you that!"

*The most important thing is to stay out of trouble and not become a 'kidnapper'!*

What had been causing the sweltering summer finally descended during Xiaobai Nuo's nap.

With a rumble of thunder, it brought a cool relief to the scorching summer heat in Ang City.

The little one was startled awake by a clap of thunder. Dazed, he got out of bed, grabbed Dou Dou, and padded over to the window.

Xiaobai Nuo first set Dou Dou on the windowsill, then climbed up to the windowsill himself, watching the raindrops the size of beans fall outside. Although the central air conditioning was on, the window was left slightly ajar for ventilation. A cool, damp breeze, distinct from the air conditioning, blew in, making Xiaobai Nuo squint his eyes in pleasure.

A moment later, Bai Sheng opened the bedroom door.

He heard the little one softly telling Dou Dou how nice and cool it was outside.

Hearing him, the little one turned to look at his father.

"Daddy!"

Bai Sheng quickly walked over to the bed and grabbed his little slippers.

"Why aren't you wearing your slippers?"

Xiaobai Nuo curled his little toes.

Why are your feet bare? Because Nono got a bit hot while sleeping.

The little one obediently put on his slippers and spoke again.

"It's raining again, so cool, Dad!"

Bai Sheng responded, then heard the little smart device speak over there.

"Checking the weather forecast: there's a thunderstorm today, wind speed..."

Bai Sheng instinctively reached for Dou Dou's voice switch.

That's enough, you don't need to finish the song.

Then Dou Dou continued, "Based on big data, would you like me to pick a few rainy-day idioms and their meanings?"

Bai Sheng: ...?

You little smarty-pants actually has a big database?

While Dou Dou was reciting idioms, Xiaobai Nuo looked up at his dad.

"Daddy, Daddy, can we go see Grandpa now?"

The little one was still worried about Grandpa being all alone in the hospital.

Bai Sheng said yes and glanced out the window.

"Umbrella or raincoat?"

A moment later, Cen Zhi arrived after receiving Bai Sheng's message. She checked the time, then looked at the chat history with Bai Qian.

She hadn't told Bai Qian that the little cub had found out about his hospital visit for treatment.

Bai Qian was still at the hospital, probably thinking he was being clever and hadn't made the little one worry.

After deflecting the blame, Cen Zhi gestured to her umbrella-holding assistant to wait outside, then pushed the door open. She was a little stunned by what she saw inside.

She saw Bai Sheng squatting in front of the little cub, fastening the buttons on Xiaobai Nuo's brown raincoat. The raincoat was a bit too big; the sleeves were longer than his hands, and his little arms were sticking out sideways.

This children's raincoat was just adorable. When the hood was on, it had two little bear ears on top, still standing up.

But when he heard the door open, Xiaobai Nuo turned to look at Grandma. The breeze that came in when Cen Zhi opened the door made one of the little bear ears on his hood flop down. He looked at Grandma with big eyes, clearly happy with the raincoat he had chosen—his joy was wonderfully simple.

"Grandma, look!"

He pointed to his head, showing her.

"It's a little bear!"