Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Bai Jin was shocked; he couldn't believe it: where did he pick up this bad habit!?

Before, he was just tattling...

Right on cue.

The little guy embellished, lying on the ground and gesturing.

"Uncle tickled Nono, lifted Nono way up high! Then he pressed his face into Nono and held him down so he couldn't move."

After saying that, Nono nodded his little head vigorously, then continued lying flat, looking like a little guy being 'bullied' by his uncle.

Bai Jin: ...He didn't tell a single lie, but just lying down like that is his way of tattling.

"Held you down so you couldn't move?"

Bai Sheng hadn't watched the surveillance feed. He came downstairs when he heard the little guy being teased. As soon as he saw his cub lying on the ground, he heard Ms. Cen Zhi's amused remark.

Then, hearing the little cub's whiny complaint,

Bai Sheng's gaze shifted to behind Bai Jin.

Based on Bai Jin's years of intuition from provoking his older siblings and then fleeing, he felt a chill of danger creeping up behind him.

Trouble is coming!

The little cub probably didn't know what 'playing the victim' meant, but he immediately lay flat, turned his little head, and used his natural talent to choose a 'glorious death' for his uncle.

Bai Jin: ...

This cub is really fun to sniff.

But the cost seems a bit high.

Bai Sheng reached out, ready to grab Bai Jin's clothes and do the same to him—hold him down and not let him move.

But Bai Jin didn't even turn his head; he sidestepped and was about to slip to the window.

This was Bai Jin's usual escape route.

Bai Sheng was prepared; just as he grabbed Bai Jin's clothes, Bai Jin slipped out of his coat, and then in two or three steps rushed to the open-air balcony of the main building. He pushed off with his feet, accelerated his run, and easily vaulted over the wall.

The accumulated rainwater on the wall splashed as he moved.

Bai Jin didn't care whether he was wet or not; he just clung to the top of the wall and laughed silently—wasn't he getting away?

Bai Jin supported himself with one hand and waved to Bai Sheng in a carefree manner: "See you tomorrow, Third Brother."

And he made a reckless gesture: "Third Brother, your kid is great to sniff. Love it. Gonna sniff again next time."

Bai Jin was about to jump down from the wall.

Cen Zhi pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Can't you just go through the door like a normal person, kid?"

Sure, all these alphas used to pop up out of nowhere when they were kids, but none of them liked climbing walls and windows as much as Bai Jin.

"And now you're pulling out military tactics."

Nono got up and watched his uncle leap onto the high wall, eyes wide.

Bai Sheng let out an unexpected laugh: "Was that a challenge?"

That sound sent a shiver down Bai Jin's spine. He looked over suspiciously and saw Bai Sheng casually toss the clothes aside, take off his watch, hand it to his cub, and pat the little guy on the head.

Then he walked out.

...walked out.

Bai Jin: ...

Damn!

Bai Jin, still in his vulnerable period, jumped down in a panic.

Why is he still coming after me? Is he trying to kill me?

Cen Zhi grinned widely.

She came over to Nono.

The little guy was still holding his father's watch. Though he had been 'bullied' by his uncle, watching his uncle jump so high, he gestured to Grandma in amazement: "Uncle can jump so—high."

When he said "so," Nono spread his hands as wide as possible, and his little curls bounced with his gesture.

Cen Zhi looked at the bag of cherries next to Nono and answered with a smile: "Uncle is a rascal; we don't copy uncle."

Usually, Bai Jin's 'run away if you can't win' strategy worked great. If his siblings didn't catch him that day, they let it slide, and most times they wouldn't settle the score the next day.

Bai Sheng was mostly the same, but when his stubborn streak flared, Bai Jin usually couldn't get away. Bai Sheng was the only one in the family who didn't get up early to work out, but that didn't mean he slacked off. Add in his overpowering alpha build and a pheromone level no Bai had ever seen, and he could chase you until you dropped.

And at this moment, Bai Jin was about to get his comeuppance.

Grandma patted Nono's head, glanced at the time, and wasn't sure how long Bai Sheng would need to take care of Bai Jin.

"Want to wash the cherries? Then read a picture book?"

"Yeah, mm hm."

Nono nodded his little head.

"OK, when you eat the cherries, let Grandma feed Nono, okay? Watch out for the pits so you don't choke."

"Okay, thank you, Grandma."

Cen Zhi contentedly 'shooed' her two sons away.

She carried Nono over to wash the cherries.

They usually used an ultrasonic sink at home.

But today, to give the little guy a sense of participation—and since playing with water in summer isn't too cold—

they created a 'special job' for Nono, just like when they made juice.

They had the little guy rinse them first, then pick the cherries from the basin into the ultrasonic sink next to it.

Then he took the little one to watch the fruit get washed.

He leaned over the sink, curiously watching the ripples in the water, reaching out his little hand to touch it again. No matter how many times he saw it, Xiaobai Nuo was still incredibly fascinated.

The first time he saw it, he even inspected the sink thoroughly and asked Dad in a daze if just this one little spot was having an earthquake.

It was adorable.

At this moment, after touching the water surface, he jerked his hand back and turned to tell Grandma.

"It's a little prickly!"

"Oh, the sink pricked our Nono when it was washing the cherries—bad sink!"

In that voice you use to coax a kid when you're melting from cuteness.

Xiaobai Nuo blinked.

Then he shook his head and said happily, "The sink washes the cherries—nice sink. Grandma is nice too."

By the time Bai Sheng finished dealing with Bai Jin and came back,

the little one had already finished his portion of cherries and was sitting beside Grandma, leaning against her, listening to her read a picture book while diligently picking the pits out of the cherries.

He already had two small piles on two plates in front of him. He heard the door, looked up, and his eyes lit up when he saw Dad.

Then he showed Dad the two piles.

"This pile is for Dad, and this pile is for Grandma."

For a little cub, the crunchy, sweet cherries were hard to break open, so he used a small, dull plastic knife to slowly cut them—this was the result of his hard work for quite a while.

Of course, adults wouldn't choke on cherry pits.

But for the tiny cub, he only knew that Dad and Grandma did this for him, so he should do the same for them.

Bai Sheng flexed his wrist, crouched down, glanced at the pile of cherry flesh, then pinched his cub's cheek. The little cub shifted aside to let Dad see the watch hidden underneath him—placed there so Nono wouldn't forget it—and he said, "Dad, the watch."

Bai Sheng grunted in acknowledgment, put the watch on, and feeling satisfied after taking care of his brother, he sat down in front of the little one and ate the pitted cherries.

He ate quickly, polishing off the cub's hard-earned cherry pieces in a few bites, then handed a whole cherry to the cub, looking down as Xiaobai Nuo worked hard with his little child-safe plastic knife, earnestly cutting.

Cen Zhi got her own small plate and watched the father-son interaction with amusement.

She watched the little one finish cutting one and then feed it right into Dad's mouth.

Bai Sheng would eat one and then hand the cub a whole cherry.

Xiaobai Nuo's pace visibly picked up, and he started to get a bit flustered.

"Dad, Dad—wait—wait—"

The little one was like a little chef in a cooking game who hits a hard level and starts scrambling: one moment he's reaching for the plate, the next he's discarding the stem, then finally removing the pit and stuffing the fruit into Dad's mouth.

And Dad was eating too fast—Nono couldn't keep up.

Bai Sheng grinned lazily.

This guy actually had the nerve to lean casually against the little one, waiting for the cub to feed him without a trace of guilt.

But the cub loved his father too much; he worked without complaint, doing free labor for his dad.

If this were Bai Jin, wouldn't the little one mutter 'one cherry for Uncle' with each cut? Yes, this adorable cub would definitely cut cherries for Bai Jin too.

—But he'd chop the cherries as if they were Uncle, just like when he bit into that gummy bear.

Just 'cause Xiaobai Nuo likes you.

You've been loving it these days, haven't you?

Cen Zhi couldn't help pinching Bai Sheng's arm, finding it amusing.

"Alright, stop bullying him."

You're so pleased with yourself—if you make him cry one day, you'll be in for it.

Bai Sheng knew when to quit. After taking the cub's free labor, he nodded.

"The ones Nono cut seem extra delicious."

Xiaobai Nuo looked up, holding a small plastic bag, eyes shining.

"Then Nono will cut some more!"

"Later—if you cut too many, they'll go bad. Your second uncle is back. Go see the fishy—time to sleep soon. Get plenty of sleep these days. Aren't you going to the aquarium in a few days?"

"Mm-hmm, Dad, wait a moment."

Xiaobai Nuo nodded.

Still, he quickly cut several more cherries and asked Grandma to get a small box for him to pack them.

He was almost a pro at pitting cherries now.

Then Dad led Xiaobai Nuo out of the main building.

He had come to see the small fish before.

But now that Bai Liang was back and needed to adjust the fish's medication, the little one offered to help.

Bai Liang had just sent Bai Sheng a message.

He'd been busy all day again, just briefly stopping home before he had to go back to the lab.

Even with top-tier Alpha stamina, this non-stop schedule was wearing him out a bit.

Bai Liang raised his hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

But the good news was,

in the sea of data and experiments,

he felt he was back to normal.

In a few days, when he handed the little fish over to the little one,

they could go back to how they used to interact, right?

Bai Liang thought to himself, just as the servant opened the door.

The originally cold white light in the room seemed to take on a warmer tone when the little one happily greeted uncles, aunties, grandpas and grandmas, and then saw him and called out "Second Uncle" again.

Bai Liang wasn't wearing glasses, but he smiled, softening the aggression in his features.

"Second Uncle has checked, the little fish is doing well. You took good care of it today. I've prepared the new medicine solution but haven't applied it yet. Do you want to put the drops in? You need to apply this once tomorrow during the day, and tomorrow evening I'll check the fish's condition again. At most three more days, and it can go back to the fish tank."

"Yay!"

The little one let out a little cheer and ran over with pitter-patter footsteps, following Second Uncle upstairs to apply the medicine.

After applying, he would also lie down next to the shallow dish and speak earnestly and softly.

"Little fish, you need to get better soon, okay?"

He even gave each little fish a name.

His earnestness was so great that even the adults had to take notice.

Bai Liang watched and thought, then prepared to see the little one out and return to school himself.

This short time could be considered his moment of relaxation.

Then he saw the little one hand him a small box.

Bai Liang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "What's this? A new gift?"

Strawberries? Cake? Or something else?

"It's cherries — Nono cut them and removed the pits."

The little one looked up, standing before his father, his eyes and brows soft and bright.

"Dad says that Nono's cut ones are sweeter."

Nono doesn't know if they're really sweeter, but Nono trusts Dad. So, Nono cut some for Second Uncle too.