Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Perhaps intimidated by Bai Sheng's decisive and swift methods, or perhaps because members who could be given code names within the organization had stumbled, The Saviors Organization, which had been wary but not yet tense, suddenly fell silent and still, like small animals hiding from large predators, curling up in a safe place without daring to move.

In Country J, October weather was much colder than in Country Z.

In this rather run-down small town, only this one street had a few essential shops. The country was sparsely populated with vast land, residences scattered widely, and few entertainment options. After work, most people gathered at the tavern on this street to drink and chat.

The tavern connected to a small shop selling cigarettes, alcohol, and all sorts of cheap odds and ends.

At that moment, the shop door swung open, pushed by a gloved hand. The shopkeeper glanced over and said with a smile, "Hey, sir, long time no see. The usual?"

Bai Ye was a regular. He looked up, grunted a casual reply, and sat down, staring silently at one corner of the shop.

He was mulling over the new message the institute had sent him.

Country Z had tightened its border controls. Even though his cover had nothing to do with the institute, it was safer to lay low for a while before heading over.

Bai Ye wasn't surprised by the Bai family's moves.

They'd been slow to bring the little brat back, but at least they had their uses.

"Here's your wine—and we've switched cigarette suppliers. Want to try the new ones? Of course, for a regular like you, we've kept some of your usual stash, my friend."

The shopkeeper's voice snapped Bai Ye out of his thoughts.

Bai Ye blinked back to reality, the noise around him shifting into the foreign language he'd gotten used to.

Bai Ye finally looked up. "Sure, just leave it here."

The scar on his cheek was a bit intimidating but didn't ruin his looks—it just added a rough edge to the Bai family's usual good looks.

"Oh, Mr. Shen, are you eyeing that rabbit plush?"

The shopkeeper said with a smile.

"I've known you for over two years now, but I never really asked about your home life. Got kids at home? That rabbit plush is handmade, from the next city over. Jenny next door asked me to grab one for her—her kid's turning four soon—so I brought back two. One's left over, just sitting there. You always seem to sneak a look at it when you come in. Want me to hold it for you? You can pay whenever you've got the cash. No shame in it—everyone around here does it that way."

Bai Ye usually bought cheap smokes and booze here, same as the regular dockworkers and freight guys. Nothing about him stood out. He kept to himself. Rumor had it he messed around with some old-school machinery stuff—nothing that seemed to pay well.

The shopkeeper smiled warmly.

Bai Ye answered quickly: "No, that's not it. I'm alone—no kids."

"Oh, got it. Just curious. This kind of fancy plush doesn't exactly fly off the shelf around here. I keep hoping to find it a home before it collects more dust. It's meant to be hugged by a kid, not just sit on display. Hope I didn't step on any toes?"

"...No, you're good."

But after speaking, Bai Ye went quiet for a beat. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out some crumpled bills and coins, and set them on the table.

"That's way more than enough, Mr. Shen."

The shopkeeper counted it and couldn't help but say.

"...For the plush—I'll owe you the rest."

Bai Ye lowered his voice, almost mumbling.

"But it's fine. Don't worry about it. Just leave it where it is. Let it stay there."

"Oh, is that right?"

The shopkeeper figured he'd hit a nerve—maybe a kid who died young, or something else entirely. He wisely dropped it and just said.

"Alright, this is enough anyway. It's been sitting here so long I can give you a discount, no problem. Well then, enjoy."

The shopkeeper left.

Bai Ye took a sip of his drink, used to the taste by now.

And as if to avoid it, he didn't look at the rabbit plush he'd just bought again.

Bai Ye's thoughts drifted again.

Was he staring at that rabbit plush? He didn't know.

But he remembered—once, a 'rabbit plush' had shown up at the institute.

That lab ran in Country Z's gray zone, and every so often, curious 'international scholars' would drop by through back channels.

Once, they'd brought along an arrogant little brat clutching a rabbit toy.

Bai Ye remembered that little useless kid—spacey as ever—kept glancing over there, and sometimes turned to look at him with big, dull eyes, completely lifeless.

Was it fondness? Bai Ye didn't know, but it better not have been, because the next few years would only disappoint—the kid wasn't even picked up by the Bai family until he was almost five.

A bunch of useless bastards.

Bai Ye reached up and rubbed his brow.

He wasn't one for reminiscing.

Just a month or two—he'd survived years of this. Why would he care now?

Let the rabbit plush stay here. At least it'd have a home in this shop.

And right now, he just wanted to drag everything that pissed him off—straight to hell.

By late November in Ang City, the temperature had been dropping steadily. A few rains had wiped out whatever heat summer had left behind.

Bai Nuo was already bundled up in a little fleece-lined jacket.

His kindergarten let out early that afternoon, and for once he had free time while waiting for his dad to pick him up.

His one free uncle had taken him to great-grandpa's place to see the animals—the cats.

Bai Zhize and Bai Wan were being surprisingly well-behaved. If they hadn't gradually 'misplaced' the surveillance gear and the people watching them, Bai Qian might've thought Bai Zhize had calmed down overseas.

Today, having finally found a safe enough window to get close, Bai Zhize had a 'screw it' attitude. He stood outside the wall, half-hidden, watching the little cub play with the cats in the yard with a dark, creepy look—he'd only ever watched from a distance before, but today he was set on figuring out what this little thing was really about.

That stare was way too obvious. Little Bai Nuo kept turning back to look, again and again. His small hand stayed on Anu, and he wanted to say something but held it in, staying quiet.

After two months with Anu, little Bai Nuo had gotten really good at controlling his strength—he could scoop Anu up, bury his face in Anu's fur, and still not make Anu uncomfortable.

But right now, he was genuinely confused, not knowing what Third Great-Uncle was looking at, but Nono still didn't dare to ask.

Just then, Bai Jin came back from the side carrying a bag. He'd just stepped away for two minutes to take a quick call, asking the staff at Bai Yan's place to watch the little one. When he got back, he noticed Bai Zhize and angled his body slightly to block his view.

Then, taking advantage of the moment when he was out with the little one on his own, he slid the bag in front of the little cub.

Little Bai Nuo wrinkled his nose.

He scooted back a little while holding Anu, eyes wide.

"Little Uncle, what's this?"

"Durian."

Bai Jin flashed a 'devilish' smile, opened the bag wide, and shoved the palm-sized durian toward Little Bai Nuo.

Catching an unexpected glimpse of the spiky durian, the little one's first thought was—it looks like a weapon, or a monster!

The little one scrambled to pick up the cat and bolt, but his uncle grabbed him by the little hood.

"What are you running for?"

"Little Uncle must be planning to mess with Nono, so Nono needs to hide first. Nono has a field trip in a few days to go see the maple leaves. Teacher Xiaoxue said the leaves are super red, and there's also the scenic area's livestream promo—Nono has to be in top shape! And and, in a little while we also have a hands-on activity."

So Nono can't get poked by that spiky thing with the weird smell.

The little cub, very concerned about his image, wailed and screamed.

But his uncle still dragged him back.

Bai Jin rubbed his nose, a bit surprised: "Kindergarten's got that many activities?"

"Little Uncle didn't even go to kindergarten properly, and you say Nono's heart is like a durian," Nono doesn't have that many hearts! The little one holding the cat wrinkled his nose at his uncle. "Little Uncle, you're mean."

Bai Jin paused.

Then let out a frustrated laugh.

"What's so great about kindergarten? Sit here, watch, and Little Uncle'll peel it for you."

This kind of small durian wasn't the easy-to-open kind. Bai Jin sat the little one down on the cushion and went to crack the durian open himself.

Even though he'd called his uncle mean, Little Bai Nuo, watching his uncle's movements—especially when Bai Jin got pricked and switched angles—couldn't help but edge closer, little hand reaching out, wanting to help but too scared to touch.

"It's really prickly, huh? Little Uncle, be careful not to get poked, Nono'll help you—"

Bai Jin had already cracked the durian open and took the chance to smear a bit of the flesh on Little Bai Nuo's nose.

The durian's distinctive smell was still way too new for Little Bai Nuo, who was just being introduced to this fruit. His little face immediately scrunched up.

"Little Uncle, Little Uncle, it smells bad... well, maybe not that bad, but it smells bad..."

The little one was torn.

Until Bai Jin scooped up a spoonful of the flesh and popped it into the little one's mouth.

The little one licked his lips.

"So sweet... but why's it still a bit stinky, but it's so sweet."

The tiny cub fell into a stinky-sweet loop, hugging the cat and starting to question his whole cub life.

Meanwhile, Anu was trying hard to curl up his long body, affectionately sniffing around Bai Nuo. Then he looked up, sniffed Bai Nuo's nose, got a whiff of the durian smell, and let out a yowl.

Bai Jin swore it was the first time he'd ever seen a shocked expression on a cat's face.

Then Anu squirmed out of Little Bai Nuo's arms, circled around him once, seemed to hesitate for a bit, then made up his mind and started pawing the ground back and forth around Little Bai Nuo.

This cub smells a bit weird—let's try burying him.

Bai Nuo: ...?

"Anu, Anu, what are you doing?"

Anu didn't meow, just kept his head down and pawed, trying to bury the little one.

Bai Jin burst out laughing.

Bai Zhize laughed along with Bai Jin.

But Bai Zhize's was a slightly airy, cold laugh, still thinking—isn't it just a bit of a dull, silly little cub? He'd been watching for so long and hadn't seen any difference at all.

Over there, Little Bai Nuo, hearing his uncle laugh at him, had already grabbed his uncle's hair in annoyance. Then he heard the sound from Third Great-Uncle's direction, blinked involuntarily, turned to lock eyes with Third Great-Uncle, and as Bai Zhize shot him a somewhat 'provocative' look, the little one turned to his uncle and whispered: "Can Nono talk to Third Great-Uncle?"

Bai Jin held the cub with one arm, glancing quickly at Bai Zhize.

Like the rest of the Bai family, Bai Jin didn't really care whether Bai Zhize was watching.

Hearing the little one ask, he nodded: "Go ahead."

Bai Zhize raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. He was standing a bit farther away, and before the little one could speak, he spoke first, arms crossed, looking moody.

"What do you mean, whether you can talk to me?"

Was he scared of Third Great-Uncle's fierceness?

Ha, yeah, Third Great-Uncle can scare kids to tears even abroad!

The little cub, who had only meant to ask what Third Great-Uncle was looking at, paused, then spoke up very honestly, little hand still clutching his uncle's clothes.

"Because Grandpa won't let Nono talk to Third Great-Uncle. Grandpa says if Nono talks to Third Great-Uncle, Nono'll get dumber."

But just one sentence won't make him too much dumber, right?

Bai Zhize: ...

What?