Chapter 141

Chapter 141

About an hour later, at the main building of the Bai family's old residence.

Bai Sheng had taken the little one to wash up first and arrived a bit later; Bai Liang had already finished cleaning and reached the main building ahead of time.

Today, unusually, all the Bai family members were present.

Although they could be stubborn with their words, when it came to matters and topics they genuinely cared about, these top-tier Alphas of the Bai family rarely missed a chance to show up.

When Bai Nuo was carried in, the room was a bit noisy.

The source of the noise was obviously Bai Jin, who had recently become suddenly busy.

Though he had just come of age, he had already spent a few years in the accelerated program at Sheng'ang University. He was graduating this year and planning to continue his studies, while portions of the family business were being handed over to him—he had to start figuring out his next move.

And so, having had little time to spend with little Bai Nuo while Bai Sheng was away these past few days, the guy was still a bit out of it.

"These days just flew by? Third brother even came back early—I didn't even notice. How many days has it been? I remember telling him we should play games together—"

Bai Jin muttered while scrolling through his phone.

"Still playing games?"

Cen Zhi snatched his phone away, annoyed.

"Earlier, Nuo Nuo had a nightmare—dreaming a big monster ate San'er—and that was because of you two gaming together."

Bai Jin: ...?

A big monster ate Bai Sheng.

And that's supposed to be a bad thing?

Bai Nuo was being held in his father's one arm, his little hands resting on his dad's uninjured shoulder. Once inside, Bai Sheng stayed quiet, so Bai Nuo just craned his neck to listen.

Bai Nuo had just been cleaned up by his dad and changed into fresh clothes—a light gray little shirt with sleeves loosely rolled up, revealing skin so pale it was almost blindingly white. His curly hair had just been washed and dried, looking fluffier than before.

As for why the light gray shirt—Bai Sheng, wearing the same one, was tilting his head slightly, staring at Bai Jin, who had his back turned.

The whole Bai family had gathered, and with so many of them packed in, they'd spread out across the room.

Bai Qian held a teacup, taking slow sips. Bai Jingyun sat on a sofa further off, with a smiling Bai Liang standing next to him. On a wooden chair at the other end, Bai Qi propped an elbow on the table, fist against her temple, looking icy.

When Bai Sheng walked in, they'd already noticed—each one looked up, and amid the undercurrents and lingering chatter, it felt like a pod of orcas gathering before a deep-sea hunt.

Bai Liang stepped forward, let out a light laugh, and struck first: "Honestly, Xiao Wu, even if you wished San'er wouldn't come back, you can't just say it out loud."

Bai Nuo blinked instinctively and looked at his little uncle.

Hm?

Bai Jin whipped his head around to glare at Bai Liang: What?

Coming back and starting a fight right away?

And it wasn't just his imagination, right? He really felt like his second brother had turned into such a... tea!

Your pheromone smells like white tea—don't become a tea yourself!

Besides, his pheromones had stabilized—if they fought now, who knew who'd win!

"I didn't say that."

Bai Jin scoffed, one hand on the back of the sofa as he pushed himself up, looking at Bai Liang challengingly.

"Then you've never thought it'd be great if a big monster ate San'er?"

Bai Liang said with a smile, finally saying what he really wanted to say.

Bai Jin: ...

The direct hit left Bai Jin speechless for a second. He stared at Bai Liang, dazed, not saying a word—but that silence said it all.

"Little uncle?"

Little Bai Nuo's confused voice came from behind Bai Jin.

Bai Jin: ...

Having successfully stirred up trouble and shifted all of Bai Nuo's attention onto Bai Jin, Bai Liang retreated in triumph, keeping his victory quiet and blending into the background.

Bai Jin stood up and backed off, as if scared of Bai Liang, putting distance between them.

Are you a water ghost? You come home just to drag people down with you?

Bai Sheng set little Bai Nuo down on the floor.

He really didn't pay attention to Bai Liang's earlier talk about everything going smoothly.

Instead, he thought for a moment, then said seriously.

"Nuo Nuo, go beat the big monster."

Bai Nuo's cheeks were round, his lashes fluttering slightly, and he clenched his little fist determinedly.

"That way, nobody gets eaten."

His voice reached everyone's ears, and the group instinctively looked at him.

Bai Nuo had already pattered over to his little uncle, tugged at his clothes, then grabbed the sofa armrest and looked up.

"Little uncle, little uncle, let's fight the big monster together."

It had been a while since they last played—they still hadn't cleared that level.

However, the other Bai family members didn't object.

Bai Sheng didn't either.

Clearly, the next part of the conversation wasn't suitable for a little kid to hear.

But then—was he unsuitable to be there either?

Bai Jin, melted by little Bai Nuo's cuteness, went quiet for a moment.

He looked down at the little one's face.

He finally got up: "Okay, okay, let's go take on the big monster."

Bai Jin had never been one for proper posture, but now he bent down, took Bai Nuo's little hand, and led him out—and somehow it didn't look awkward at all.

Watching the 'little brave warrior' drag his uncle off to fight the big monster, the others finally turned their attention back.

Bai Qi stood up, walked a couple of steps to the door, and clicked it shut. Then she turned, her straight black hair swinging behind her, and finally looked at Bai Liang. It was rare for her to speak to him this calmly: "What did you find?"

Bai Qi thought: this was how she should ask. As a proper aunt, the kids in the family weren't going to be bullied by anyone.

Bai Liang took out the relevant materials.

"Some broad research findings and conclusions. The person we captured goes by the code name H. He should be an operative within The Saviors Organization. The data and intel he has access to are pretty general, with the focus being on certain drugs related to the mission targets. I also found the kind of anesthetic Nono was so sensitive to before. Besides that, there are a few other drugs he's not sensitive to."

Bai Liang took a deep breath and glanced at Bai Sheng, who remained silent.

"Nono has built up a resistance to these painkillers. I'll send you the follow-up report later. Make sure you tell your hospitals clearly what's okay to use and what isn't."

Resistance to painkillers?

That was something you couldn't think too hard about.

"Also, there's a short video clip, probably from when he was about two years old. I found that the person recording likely had a bionic arm installed, but the details are unclear. As for what these people are after, their mission targets include a lot of high-level alphas and omegas. They seem to believe that if they can cultivate a top-tier alpha or omega, their pheromones and blood would contain substances that drastically affect all ABO types. Of course, that's just my guess. The intel is incomplete, so I don't know what actual results they've gotten."

"They're still too quick to go underground. At the slightest sign of trouble, they bolt."

Bai Qian said.

"A bunch of rats hiding in the sewers."

Bai Jingyun also spoke coldly.

Bai Sheng stayed silent the whole time, just flipping through the materials casually before closing them again.

"It'll be taken care of afterward."

He said quietly.

"Soon."

Little Bai Nuo was playing a game with his uncle.

The little cub, as always, was leaning against his uncle—soft, tiny, swinging his little feet.

Bai Jin let the little one lean against him while he leaned back on the small sofa, playing the game but unable to stop glancing toward the door.

He wanted to know what was going on too.

Even though Bai Jin was a little distracted, his hands were still quick.

The big boss they hadn't been able to beat last time due to time constraints finally went down with a crash.

Bai Nuo let out a little cheer and turned to look at his uncle.

Then he watched as the sofa his uncle was leaning on slowly slid backward. Before Bai Jin could react, the sofa slid out from under him, and he went from leaning back to flat on the floor.

Little Bai Nuo: ...

Bai Nuo's eyes widened a little, like he was holding back a laugh.

Then, under his uncle's stare, he quietly looked away and covered his eyes with his hands.

Nono didn't see a thing.

Bai Jin: ?

Bai Jin lay on the floor, grinding his teeth a little, staring at this kid, and reached out his sneaky hand again.

"What are you doing? Pretending you didn't see that?"

The cub said in his baby voice: "Nono didn't see, so uncle didn't embarrass himself."

Oh, so you're a smart one, huh? And where exactly did uncle embarrass himself?

Bai Jin reached out and tickled him.

The little one laughed, scrambled up, and ran out to find his dad.

The Bai family's conversation had already wrapped up. When the little one pushed the door open, they all turned to look, watching Bai Jin chase him inside. The tiny cub quickly hid behind his dad, hugging his leg, and poked just his little head out to look.

"Are you picking on him again?"

Cen Zhi whipped around and grabbed Bai Jin by the clothes.

Bai Jin raised his hands in surrender: "We just finished playing, okay? Are you guys done talking?"

Having escaped his uncle, Bai Nuo got picked up by his dad.

The little one wrapped his arms around his dad's neck and rubbed his cheek against his dad's.

"Dad, are you upset?"

"Hm?"

Bai Sheng held the cub with one arm and looked down at his kid.

"What makes you say that?"

"Nono can feel it. When dad is upset, there's a bitter feeling."

Little Bai Nuo couldn't quite describe the feeling.

He softly hugged his dad's neck.

"Dad, don't be upset. Dad is at the very tip-top of Nono's heart. If dad is upset, Nono gets upset too."

Tip-top of the heart?

"Where did you learn that from?"

Bai Sheng asked with amusement.

"Teacher Xiaoxue taught me. She said the people who matter most are kept at the very tip of your heart. She said Nono is the treasure dad keeps at the tip of his heart."

He was a little shy saying it, and Bai Nuo buried himself in his dad's arms.

"Dad is at the tip of Nono's heart too."

Nearby, Cen Zhi, who was busy 'disciplining' Bai Jin, overheard and looked over. Her eyes were soft but held a barely visible anger as she spoke.

Only Daddy is at the very tip-top of Nono's heart?

Grandma won't stand for that!

Little Xiaobai Nuo blinks.

"Grandma's right up there on Nono's heart too."

Bai Qian coughs off to the side and looks over.

Little Xiaobai Nuo picks up on Grandpa's signal, pauses for a moment, and speaks again: "Grandpa's right up there on Nono's heart too."

Bai Jingyun is a beat behind and tries to move forward, but is nudged aside by Bai Liang, who never misses a chance to stir the pot.

But before Bai Liang can get close, Bai Jin, stuck at the back, reaches out and grabs both of them by the clothes with one hand each, letting Bai Qi, who steps in from the side, take the lead.

In the end, the ever-patient little Xiaobai Nuo counts on his fingers.

Bai Jin, listening from the back, can't help but speak up: "Is your heart a durian? You've got people packed all over it."

Cen Zhi shoves him back—if you don't want to listen, then scram and stop causing trouble.

But little Xiaobai Nuo clearly heard his uncle's words, and he looks a bit confused: "What is a durian?"

Nono's never seen one before.

Bai Jin: ...!

Mischief brewing.JPG

"Uncle'll bring you one later."

The little one looks at his uncle for a moment, then turns to his father: "Uncle is teasing Nono."

This time, the assessment is stated with certainty.

His reputation speaks for itself.