Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Fairy Tale World?

Bai Wan really had no idea what a fairy tale world looked like.

And he'd never been interested in finding out before, either.

But Bai Wan looked at the incredibly dreamy decor around him—partly because beyond the window was the old man's farm.

With the wallpaper, the wood accents, and even a wooden cat tunnel outside letting Anu come straight in from the yard, the whole place felt like a little forest cabin.

For a split second, Bai Wan had a sudden realization.

Oh, I see.

So this is what a fairy tale world looks like.

Colorful and dreamy—no wonder the little guy liked it.

After mulling it over, Bai Wan had to admit the little guy had decent taste, but he himself felt totally out of place here.

From start to finish, he didn't belong in this kind of innocent, kid-friendly world.

He really should've just asked how to pet the cat, gotten his answer, and left. No need to stick around for "story time."

But when Xiaobai Nuo ran over, grabbed Great-Grandpa's hand, and dragged him toward the nearest themed area—with Cen Zhi smiling and trailing behind—Bai Wan hesitated for a few seconds, then followed and sat down across from Xiaobai Nuo.

He watched the little guy flip open the storybook.

The little cub probably couldn't write all that well yet, but he'd likely already learned pinyin—some characters had slightly crooked pinyin scribbled above them.

Bai Wan was all too familiar with this. Before he could properly speak the Z-country language, he'd crammed vocabulary, tones, and pronunciation like crazy, determined to nail every tone and sound accent-free.

This wasn't quite like a picture book. Sure, it had illustrations, but the pages were packed with way more text than a typical picture book.

The little guy read the fairy tale out loud, retelling it in his own words.

His little voice brought the simple story to life—weirdly enough, it wasn't boring at all.

When the little cub was doing something he loved, he had endless energy, his little mouth going nonstop for nearly an hour without a break—though Grandma did make him down a big cup of warm water halfway through.

Xiaobai Nuo chugged it down and kept going.

And so Bai Wan ended up staying without even realizing it.

Completely forgetting about his old man waiting for him in another building.

Finally, they made it to the ocean section.

Cen Zhi checked the time and had a servant bring in the strawberry cream scone Bai Wan had given Xiaobai Nuo.

After all that talking, he was probably getting hungry.

This section was modeled after the underwater world from The Little Mermaid.

Xiaobai Nuo opened The Little Mermaid and started again.

"And there's the little mermaid living in the deep sea—this is her home, and that's her bed..."

The little cub explained, his eyes sparkling.

Cen Zhi was actually a little surprised.

After all, the first time the little guy heard The Little Mermaid, he'd almost burst into tears.

Bai Wan kept his face blank. As he listened, he lowered his eyes and scanned the text on the page.

He read incredibly fast and with pinpoint accuracy—one of his specialties. It was a skill that served him well in complex decryption and encryption work, and he was also sharp with all kinds of device data.

So for Bai Wan, one quick glance was enough to "scan" the entire page into his head.

So when the little guy reached the end of the story—

"And in the end, the little mermaid turned into foam in the ocean. In the bright sunlight, the foam drifted back down to the underwater world and turned into the little mermaid again. From then on, she was reunited with her family and friends."

His little milky voice read it out.

Bai Wan was momentarily confused. He lowered his head, doubted his own eyes, glanced at the ending again, and then said very seriously: "The actual ending is that the little mermaid turned into foam and disappeared."

As Bai Wan finished, he noticed Bai Yan and Cen Zhi both staring at him. The little guy also looked up from the storybook, blinking.

Bai Wan's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of confusion in his blue eyes as he tried to drive the point home.

Because that's what the source text said, but the story being told deviated way too much—that kind of discrepancy would compromise analytical accuracy, and Bai Wan couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Nuo drew it."

Xiaobai Nuo suddenly spoke up. He opened his drawing book, where he'd drawn the little mermaid together with her dad, sisters, and friends. Then he tore out the page and taped it right after the ending.

"So Nuo changed it."

It wasn't an ending Nuo liked, so Nuo just changed it.

Nuo was going to give the little mermaid a happy ending.

The little guy held up the modified storybook, showing Bai Wan the ending he'd rewritten.

Bai Wan stared at the childish drawings, his mind going blank for a few seconds.

—Was that allowed?

"Everyone ends up okay in the end. Nuo is really capable—Nuo can change endings. It's called Nuo Has Big Dreams."

Xiaobai Nuo said seriously to his cousin.

Nuo really is capable—Nuo's already changed a lot. It still feels a bit uncomfortable sometimes, but it's getting milder now. Nuo's Villain Family is definitely going to be fine.

When he told stories, his voice was light and soft, full of childlike wonder and imagination. But when he said these words, Xiaobai Nuo's voice took on a certain strength.

His naturally prominent milky voice practically poured into everyone's ears.

At that moment, Anu came back from who-knows-where, nudged open the little cat door on the window, and landed lightly. Spotting Xiaobai Nuo, he rolled over on the spot before even walking over, letting out two soft meows.

It was then that Bai Wan slowly snapped back to reality, instinctively glancing at the cat.

Feeling his own steady, powerful heartbeat, along with an oddly settled feeling.

He thought: Cats really are amazing.

"It's just a storybook; if it's changed, it's changed."

The old patriarch was being his usual family-head self.

He even started thinking about having the publisher and printer swap this story out for the version little Xiaobai Nuo liked.

Cen Zhi: ...

"Dad, you're not really thinking about changing many children's childhoods, are you?"

Bai Yan: ?

How did you know?

But Bai Yan paused for a moment, then cleared his throat lightly: "No, how could that be."

Cen Zhi was skeptical of the old man's words. The Bai family was like that—if they didn't like something, they'd just change it, or become the ones who set the rules in that field.

Cen Zhi realized this a beat late and glanced at the adorable little kid.

Come to think of it, Nono really was a true Bai family member.

But the others were stubborn to a fault; her little one had a cute, stubborn streak.

"Is the story finished?"

Cen Zhi thought, then smiled and asked the little one.

Little Xiaobai Nuo hummed and nodded in agreement, his eyes bright as he met his grandma's gaze.

Then he watched his grandma hand him the strawberry cream scone.

"Eat up. I had them pop it in the fridge earlier; it's warmed up a bit now, but still a little cool—just right for this weather."

Cen Zhi smiled and passed the little one a fork.

Bai Wan also looked away from the cat, his eyes landing on little Xiaobai Nuo to study him. He even glanced at Dou Dou, not feeling he had anything in common with that mindless surveillance device.

But as the little one forked a soft bite of scone and cream into his mouth, his big eyes lighting up as he mumbled "so good," there was a light knock on the door, twice.

Cen Zhi turned around.

"Who is it?"

The door was pushed open, and Bai Jingyun appeared at the entrance.

The ever-stone-faced man scanned the room with no expression: "Grandpa, Mom, Nono."

Finally, his gaze landed on Bai Wan's face. He noticed Bai Wan was watching little Xiaobai Nuo, and only when he heard the voice did he lightly turn his head to glance over, then lower his head again.

Bai Jingyun frowned almost invisibly.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of wariness in them.

"Why are you back so early today?"

Cen Zhi was a bit surprised.

After all, when they were fighting over who got to watch the little one this afternoon, Bai Jingyun shouldn't have had time—he was supposed to work overtime.

"Because a joint project wrapped up smoothly, and I finished the afternoon stuff early. The departments are having a celebration, so I headed back early."

Bai Jingyun said quickly, walking over to stand by little Xiaobai Nuo, watching the little kid puff out his cheeks as he chewed and swallowed the scone.

Then he said lightly, "Uncle, you're really early today."

Bai Jingyun gave a slight smile and nodded.

"It is a bit early."

He had his own plans, glancing at the little one, then at Cen Zhi.

Finally, he met Bai Wan's gaze again.

At that moment, Bai Wan had already sensed the stare and looked up.

The humanoid and the ice cube faced off in silence.

Bai Wan had already quickly calculated—if it came to a fight, his chances of coming out on top against Bai Jingyun weren't bad either.

He could take him.

Bai Wan's slightly tense back loosened a bit.

Then he watched Bai Jingyun walk up to him.

Bai Wan was still thinking: Should he make a move?

Here? Why? He didn't think he'd done anything provocative.

But the next second, Bai Jingyun sat down, forcibly shoving him aside, successfully taking the spot directly across from little Xiaobai Nuo, and then didn't look at him again.

Bai Wan: ?

Bai Jingyun shoved the annoying guy aside, looked at the storybook and drawing pad the little one had spread out, and asked.

"What are you doing?"

"Telling fairy tales. Nono finished them before Uncle got here. This is Nono's fairy tale house."

After greeting his uncle, the little one swung his feet, the plate balanced on his knees. He lowered his head and seriously stuffed strawberry cream scone into his mouth. It was clear the little one loved soft stuff like this—in the blink of an eye, a third of the scone was gone.

He mumbled vaguely, clearly distracted by the scone, and took a few seconds to respond.

"Yeah, Uncle can read it on his own later."

Bai Jingyun dodged the old man who tried to shove him aside too, and said expressionlessly.

Cen Zhi found their little power play amusing.

Grandma firmly held the spot closest to the little one. Probably because from the start, Cen Zhi had shown nothing but kindness to little Xiaobai Nuo, so the little one was also really close to his grandma, naturally leaning against her at that moment.

Until the video call ringtone went off.

The little one, who'd been totally into the scone, instantly looked up.

"Grandma, Grandma, is that Dad?"

The little cub set his plate aside, tumbled up in one quick motion, and grabbed hold of Grandma's clothes, looking up at her expectantly.

The cub reacted so quickly that Cen Zhi hadn't even gotten a good look at the caller ID before the little one was already squeezing in, hovering around Grandma, craning his neck.

The cub who used to get distracted by little cakes even while talking to his dad had instantly ditched the scone, his gaze entirely on his dad.

The little guy really missed his dad.

Cen Zhi gave the cub's cheek a little pinch and opened the video call.

Bai Sheng's face popped up on the other side of the screen.

Bai Sheng and Bai Liang had already returned to the hotel, with the floor-to-ceiling window as their backdrop, the scene looking peaceful and serene.

Bai Sheng was about to speak when he saw his cub press up against the screen.

Xiaobai Nuo hadn't quite registered what was happening. The moment he saw his dad on the other side, he instinctively leaned in, just like before.

"Daddy!"

He smooshed his face against the phone screen.

A second later, he looked up, and his little face popped back into view on the screen.

Bai Sheng, who had just been wondering if his cub really missed him that much, was momentarily struck speechless. Then he cleared his throat, shifted slightly to the side, making sure nothing was showing.

"Yeah, whatcha up to?"

"Nono is telling fairy tales to Great-Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle. Daddy, there are also scones—Uncle brought Nono some scones."

The little cub couldn't wait to share, turning to pick up the plate and show his dad.

Hearing this, Bai Sheng, Bai Liang, and Bai Jingyun sitting nearby all instinctively turned to look at Bai Wan.

Bai Wan: ...

Bai Wan was a bit bewildered. He tried to work it out, but he couldn't.

He was still thinking about how the crazy stuff people said online about kittens actually had some truth to it, when he realized all his older cousins were staring at him. Being stared down by this group of Bai family alphas sent a chill creeping up Bai Wan's spine.

Bai Wan silently scooted back, moving slightly away from the little cub.

That should do it, right?

Bai Wan thought.

But weirdly—he didn't feel all that happy about it.

"Daddy, is work going well? Are you coming back soon?"

The little cub held the phone, gazing at the screen with hopeful eyes.

The little guy hadn't seen his dad in three or four days.

He'd been finding different people to eat, nap, and rest with every day, so he'd been hiding how much he missed his dad pretty well.

"Yeah, work's going well. Almost wrapped up."

Bai Sheng said, glancing at Bai Liang, who had been smiling stiffly and not saying a word the whole time, and added with a bit of mischief.

"Ask your Second Uncle if you don't believe me."

Bai Liang: ...

Jerk!

"Second Uncle, good afternoon. Did your work go well too?"

The little cub couldn't pick up on his dad's "passing the buck." He held the phone, swinging his little legs, his small body rocking back and forth happily as he asked.

"...Yeah, it went fine. Don't worry, Nono. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon or evening."

They still needed to stay to check on the condition of the guy who got blown up. If he made it, they'd transfer him back to Ang City and wait for him to wake up.

But the chances were slim. He was still being resuscitated, and most likely wouldn't make it. Even if they saved him, with the brain damage, he might never wake up.

They'd stick around to make sure, then head back to analyze the intel they'd gotten from him.

The little cub chattered on, spilling everything about his day to his dad.

The vibe around him was too weird, and Bai Wan couldn't help but retreat again. He didn't even want to look at the cat anymore—he was ready to bail.

But before he quietly slipped away, he couldn't help glancing at the half-eaten strawberry cream scone, then at the little cub holding the phone.

He quickly came to a conclusion: although the cub seemed to like strawberries, Bai Sheng's place in his heart was more important than the strawberry cream scone. And probably because the cub liked them, the Bai family always made sure he had plenty, so they didn't seem like anything special.

Bai Wan: Defeated.

Maybe he should try bringing something different next time?

He'd figure it out piece by piece later. For now, he needed to leave and figure out what this weird feeling was. Even if he left this place eventually, he was still going to get a cat.

Bai Wan left so quickly that no one noticed. The old man also took a call, said a quick goodbye, and got up to leave.

The little cub talked to Bai Sheng on the phone for over half an hour before reluctantly handing the phone back to Grandma.

"All done talking?"

Cen Zhi glanced at the screen and caught Bai Sheng's eye.

A mother knows her own son best—Cen Zhi thought Bai Sheng seemed a little off today.

Bai Liang was also strange, like he was overdoing it.

Bai Jingyun sensed it too. He narrowed his eyes and spoke up out of nowhere.

"Once you're just about done over there, you should be able to take Nono out like normal, right?"

Bai Sheng looked over and sneered: "Didn't you take him out to buy toys just the day before yesterday?"

Bai Jingyun's expression didn't change at all. He even went a step further: "You should know—the Yu and Liu families together landed a big project in that area. They're going to celebrate. Your assistant should have told you."

Cen Zhi was a bit surprised. Those two were cooperating now? Since when did pigs fly?

Bai Sheng raised an eyebrow.

Xiaobai Nuo blinked and looked at his eldest uncle.

“I’m free in the evening. Grandpa has something to do, Dad has a business dinner, and Mom is heading out to a gathering later. I can take Nuo Nuo to play and let Mom leave a bit earlier.”

Bai Jingyun calmly ignored the one who was still in school.

“He probably hasn’t seen the people at your company in a long time.”

Bai Jingyun looked down, meeting Nuo Nuo’s gaze: “Want to go? There’s lots of good food, an indoor mini amusement park with a carousel.”

The uncles and aunties, huh?

The little guy blinked. Since Dad left, it really had been a while since he’d seen the uncles and aunties at Dad’s company. Plus, there was an amusement park, and the carousel he missed last time when Uncle was sick.

The little guy instinctively looked at Dad.

Bai Sheng’s first instinct was to refuse. Even though the big trouble in Country Z had been resolved, the organization behind it hadn’t been fully dealt with, and the new dad was still struggling to hide his irritation, only letting out a small sigh of relief. Let alone letting someone else take him out.

Bai Sheng wasn’t comfortable with it.

But he couldn’t keep that up forever. A healthy, growing cub should be able to do whatever they want when away from their guardians and thrive.

Plus, before leaving, Bai Sheng had made a pinky promise with the little cub, and the dull ache in his shoulder made him lean back.

He locked eyes with Bai Jingyun for a few seconds. These two alphas, who had spent the past decade or so at odds, now had a different kind of dynamic. Bai Sheng looked back at his little cub and said.

“Go have fun. Dad’ll be back tomorrow.”

The little guy pressed closer to the phone: “Tomorrow Nuo Nuo will pick Dad up. Dad, come back early.”

“Mm.”

Bai Sheng nodded.

Bai Jingyun was truly shocked.

It was rare to see such obvious surprise on his icy face.

After all, he’d come back early and hadn’t planned to go to that kind of gathering anyway. The two companies had been rivals for so long, and many departments hated each other. This time, they were probably all going just to one-up each other. Bai Sheng agreed that easily?

Why was he being so agreeable today?

Bai Jingyun narrowed his eyes.

It’s true what they say: your opponent knows you best.

He looked at Bai Sheng, almost blurting out: What did you do? Why do you seem a bit guilty toward Nuo Nuo?

But the uncle, who had gotten permission to take him out, paused and held his tongue.

Forget it, guilty or not, as long as he could take the kid with him.

Bai Jingyun patiently waited as the little guy kept chatting with Bai Sheng, his mood even lifting a bit.

Don’t think he didn’t know those guys were in the company group chats questioning whether such an adorable cub really existed.

He really did exist.

Just wait until he brought him over to show them.

...

Not long after, Bai Wan made it back to his residence.

He walked in, exhaled, and heard a light cough.

Bai Wan looked up and saw Bai Zhize with a dark face, looking like he’d been upset for a while, holding a bowl of soup, gritting his teeth: “Where did you go off to this time?”

Bai Wan: ...

Bai Wan coughed too.

“I went to research and analyze the impact cats have on human emotions. I came to some pretty startling conclusions and answers.”

Bai Zhize: ...

“I told you to contact people so we can find a chance to get out of here, and you went off to study cats?!”

Bai Zhize stomped his feet in anger, trying to throw the soup bowl at Bai Wan’s head, but he couldn’t bear to waste the soup. He carefully set the bowl down, then jumped up and down in frustration.

Bai Wan: ...

“The contacts went smoothly, Dad, no need to worry. As for the requests from several overseas organizations, I’ve also written them all down.”

But Bai Wan’s voice trailed off as he spoke.

Bai Zhize listened to Bai Wan’s tone—yeah, that stiff, formal tone—and could still tell something was off. He looked at Bai Wan in confusion: “...Was the green pepper bad today?”

Bai Wan: “Based on a comprehensive analysis of weather, temperature, and other factors, the green pepper couldn’t have been bad today.”

“Then what’s with that look? What, don’t tell me you’re getting comfortable here and don’t want to leave? And the cats—don’t tell me you want to stay because of them.”

Bai Zhize let out a cold laugh, then immediately wiped the smile off his face.

This was just too absurd, my foolish eldest son.

Bai Wan thought for a moment.

“The soup dumplings were really good.”

And that soft little bun was also strange—he hadn’t figured it out.

He wasn’t sure if it was the cats’ effect or the little bun’s.

But if he thought about it carefully—it was probably the effect of fairy tales.

Bai Wan seemed to suddenly have a realization, looking up at the ceiling, raising his hand, and striking his palm with his fist in an “aha” gesture.

What it all came down to was fairy tales!

So he should really read more fairy tales.

But just as he figured it out, Bai Wan immediately got confused again... No, wait, hold on—was he just going to read fairy tales by himself? That feeling seemed to come from the little bun reading them.

Bai Wan had no experience in this area, and no one before him had described these things. His strong logical thinking, built on all kinds of data, momentarily couldn’t wrap around it. He looked up, confused, pressing his brow, trying hard to correct his thoughts.

Bai Wan’s reaction was too strange, and Bai Zhize couldn’t help glancing over again and again.

“What did you do this afternoon?”

Finally, Bai Zhize stood up and walked over to Bai Wan. He usually sat when with Bai Wan, but now he stood, squinting slightly. Though a bit shorter than Bai Wan, his presence was stronger.

"Go talk to Xiaolongbao and analyze how to pet the cat."

Bai Wan spoke seriously, then pondered his own reaction for a moment. He wasn't sure why he'd said that, but he declared firmly.

"I must have caught a virus."

Yes, that had to be it—that was why his data was so messed up, giving him such scrambled answers.

Oh, a virus, huh...

Bai Zhize, who had been thinking about finding a chance to see that kid, suddenly whipped his head around: "...?"

What? You caught what?

"Are you an idiot??? A virus? You're a human, not an actual machine!! Shake that virus off right now!!!!"