Chapter 144

Chapter 144

He was still curled up in that little corner, watching his little aunt.

Sharing what he had seemed to bring him joy.

Bai Nuo was still talking: "Can I make a little sign too? Or once they're dried, can I make resin art with them?"

Bai Nuo's voice was soft, drifting to her ears, and Bai Qi unconsciously closed her eyes.

A moment later, the little one's voice stopped. Little Bai Nuo leaned his head forward, glanced at his aunt, who had already dozed off again, then curled back into his little corner and went quiet.

Bai Jin, of course, hadn't managed to get hold of Little Bai Nuo before dinner.

Although Cen Liu's visit hadn't come in handy, Bai Jingyun, who had come home early, had also gotten in on the action.

After dinner, they all turned to look at Little Bai Nuo.

Several people silently took credit for it.

But aside from Cen Zhi, none of them were big talkers.

Of course, there was also the older cousin who felt he'd done his part.

Bai Sheng was tugging at Cen Liu's clothes, keeping him leaning toward Little Bai Nuo.

"Nuo Nuo baby, your cousin held off Bai Wu for you for so long today!"

Bai Jin, trapped in the corner, let out a scoffing laugh.

"You mean getting hit by me twice?"

That still counts as holding him off.

Cen Liu, whose shoulders were aching, didn't want to look at Bai Jin's face.

Little Bai Nuo reached out his little hand and grasped Cen Liu's finger. The little one had just been intently staring at the beautiful cake on the table—thanks to his little uncle's defeat, the entire strawberry cake was his.

"Then Nono will share his strawberry cake with my cousin!"

Cen Liu's puppy-dog eyes instantly crinkled with a smile.

"No need, really."

Cousin doesn't need strawberry cake—cousin just needs one Nuo Nuo.

He just wanted a little Xiaobai Nuo—it's not like he was asking for the moon. Why couldn't he have that?!

He reached out to grab him—

Hey, he missed him.

In the end, Cen Liu—who had grown bold enough to try snatching the little one right under Bai Sheng's nose—was dragged away by Bai Sheng.

From that point on, in Bai Sheng's contacts, Cen Liu's nickname officially became "child snatcher."

Bai Nuo opened the little paper box containing the cake. It was said to be a big piece, but it was only big for a small child. In reality, it was a normal-sized slice of strawberry cake, delicately decorated, custom-ordered from an outside bakery with specific requirements for ingredients and sweetness—exactly the type Little Bai Nuo liked.

The reserved Bai family members were asked by the little one holding the cake. Bai Nuo went around to each adult with his little fork, asking one by one if they wanted a bite.

Of course, he skipped his little uncle at the end.

Except for Bai Sheng, who actually took a bite of his own kid's cake, everyone else basically just squeezed his cheeks or patted his head and moved on. His aunt didn't actually take half his cake either.

It was like a group of apex predators keeping watch over their clan's only precious gem.

Bai Jin pondered for two seconds, then jumped to his feet.

"This isn't fair! You're all ganging up on me!"

If you've got the guts—

Bai Sheng and Bai Jingyun turned to look at him.

What?

Bai Jin held back the "fight me one-on-one" that was about to slip out.

Although his combat ability had improved since his gland had stabilized, he still couldn't beat his eldest and third brothers. How about provoking his older sister instead?

Bai Jin looked at Bai Qi.

Bai Qi was sitting beside the little one, chin resting on her hand, watching Little Bai Nuo. Her black hair cascaded down, her profile was delicate, and her expression was lazy but calm, with a hint of drowsiness.

He felt that if he disturbed her, she might instantly go berserk.

Bai Jin let out a low hum and wisely refrained from provoking her.

The little cub finished the cake, leaving the last strawberry.

The strawberries from this shop were sweet and fragrant, and quite large. The little one held it in his hands, sitting on the sofa, nibbling at it bite by bite.

Bai Nuo squinted his eyes in delight as he ate, his little short legs swinging back and forth.

Until Grandma called out to him from behind.

"Are your things all packed? Put your water bottle here for now—fill it up tomorrow before you leave?"

"Mm-hmm."

Bai Nuo turned his head and nodded repeatedly in response. As he moved, the nearly-finished strawberry slipped from his hand, splatting down onto a coat draped over the back of the sofa.

It left a stain on the coat.

The little one took two seconds to react. Under his aunt's gaze, he instinctively picked up the fallen strawberry and popped it into his mouth, chewing.

Bai Qi was a beat too slow, looking at the little cub's slightly puffed-out cheeks, hesitating for a moment.

Hmm?

What did he just do so quickly?

Did he just pick up the strawberry that fell and shove it back into his mouth?

Bai Qi hadn't quite processed it.

Meanwhile, Bai Jin was already walking over.

Little Bai Nuo finally realized whose coat this was. The little one looked up at the direction his uncle was coming from, quickly shuffled his little body, and plopped himself down over the spot where he'd left the mark.

So when Bai Jin came over, he saw Little Bai Nuo sprawled across his jacket in a rather peculiar position.

"Uncle."

Bai Jin narrowed his eyes.

Something was off. Something was fishy.

"What are you doing?"

The little cub blinked.

Bai Jin thought for a moment: "Did you do something bad?"

He reached out and hoisted the little guy up.

Bai Nuo had just wiped his hands, and now that his uncle was holding him up like he was grabbing him by the 'scruff of the neck,' his little hands instinctively tried to cover the spot he had accidentally dirtied.

It was only when Bai Jin moved the little cub completely aside.

Bai Jin looked down at that pinkish mark, then at the little one trying to bury his head in the sand.

The big one and the little one locked eyes.

Bai Qi had never seen such a show before. She went "hmm," reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and didn't rush to speak—just sat there watching.

Because the one to 'dispense justice' would arrive soon.

"What are you doing?"

Bai Sheng appeared out of nowhere behind Bai Jin and took his cub from Bai Jin's hands.

Bai Jin instinctively took a step back, turned to lock eyes with his third brother, then pointed at the spot the little one had dirtied, letting out a scoffing chuckle: "Keep him in line."

He did something wrong and tried to hide it—he's already turning bad.

Bai Nuo, held in his dad's arms, his eyes downcast as if mulling it over, was about to speak.

Then he heard his father say: "Don't judge without the full picture."

Little Bai Nuo: ? Huh?

Bai Jin: ?

Bai Sheng clearly wasn't there to dispense justice—he was just there to play favorites.

"Who knows if you dirtied it yourself to set up Nuo Nuo."

Bai Jin: ...???!!!

Do you hear yourself?

But Little Bai Nuo looked at his father, then gestured sheepishly.

"It was Nuo Nuo. Nuo Nuo dropped the strawberry, and it fell on uncle's clothes."

Cen Zhi had just put down Little Bai Nuo's cup and glanced over at the commotion.

She saw the little cub clasp his little hands together, serious and sincere: "Sorry, uncle. Nuo Nuo will give you all of Nuo Nuo's candies. Nuo Nuo will wash it for you. Will you forgive Nuo Nuo, please?"

Bai Nuo was a very good cub—sometimes too good, too protective of what he had, and scared of getting into trouble.

So when he realized he had accidentally dirtied his uncle's clothes, his instinct was to sprawl over it to hide it, feeling guilty and flustered.

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin's eye twitched.

The people around them went quiet for a moment.

Even though he was good, it's normal for kids to be mischievous and cause trouble now and then.

Bai Nuo was staring at his uncle with his big, wide eyes, about to climb down from his dad's arms to get his candies for his uncle.

For this little cub, candy was already a big deal as compensation.

"No, it's okay," Bai Jin said, staring at the little one, suddenly feeling a bit carried away. "The jacket belongs on the coat rack, not the sofa."

And kids causing trouble? He'd love to see it. Do more of it. Cause more trouble.

Hm?

Little Bai Nuo looked at his uncle.

He watched his uncle put the jacket on.

"Nice."

He was going to post this in the group chat to brag—this was a special mark.

Little Bai Nuo: ?

Little Bai Nuo didn't get his uncle's whole deal, so he looked at his dad, confused.

Bai Sheng patted his head.

"Ignore him."

Who knew what nerve Bai Jin had hit—he suddenly lost it.

Freshly adult alphas are like that.

Little Bai Nuo nodded with an "oh."

But when Bai Jin actually started bragging in the group chat, he heard the sound of footsteps. Bai Jin, phone in hand, turned around, watching the little one walk over to him, then stand on his tiptoes to put his favorite candy on the table, sliding it toward his uncle, his eyes bright.

The group chat was still blowing up.

'What do you mean your little nephew made that for you? It wasn't an accident, was it? Brother Jin, don't spoil him too much, ha!'

'No wonder Brother Jin spoils him so much. If Brother Jin's little nephew were mine, I'd carry him around all day and never put him down.'

'Yeah, if it's Little Nuo Nuo, it's not surprising at all.'

...

'Where's Brother Jin? He brags and then bails?! He just dips after the flex?! Hey! At least brag properly! Throw in another photo or something.'

'Still prefer Brother Jin who posts photos without a word—I'll save every single one, and whenever I'm feeling down, I'll pull them out for a look, curing my whole day.'

Bai Jin couldn't be bothered with what they were posting right now.

He picked up the candy, shot a glance at Xiaobai Nuo, then looked behind Bai Nuo.

Clearly, the little guy had dug it out of his own backpack again.

It had to be his favorite strawberry milk candy.

Bai Jin tore open the wrapper; the candy was still hard when he took it out, but for an alpha, that wasn't an issue.

With a crisp crack, Bai Jin snapped the rectangular candy in half with one hand. He popped one half into his own mouth and stuffed the other half into the little one's mouth.

With the sweet, fragrant candy suddenly in his mouth, the little cub's eyes squinted into slits as he cupped his cheeks and instinctively started chewing.

Both uncle and nephew gave off a sweet strawberry milk scent.

Bai Jin lowered his head, locking eyes with the cub, and mumbled somewhat indistinctly: "Only half a piece—don't go tattling to your dad, or I'll be accused of feeding you too much sugar."

Without a second thought, lost in the sweet taste, Xiaobai Nuo nodded hard.

"What candy? Don't tattle about what?"

Cen Zhi happened to walk over, overheard that, and asked.

Then she heard the little one blurt out in a rush: "Nono, Nono didn't hide here with Uncle to eat candy."

Realizing his slip, Xiaobai Nuo: ...Huh?

Cen Zhi: ...

"Oh? Sneaking candy, huh? Not telling Bai Sheng?"

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin: ............

No, no, no—wait, you little summoner cub, the big boss you're about to summon is definitely nearby, so why don't you just spit that candy out and give it back to me?

Why do you answer when someone else asks? Isn't that denial basically the same as directly admitting it?!

Bai Jin reached out to pinch his little cheek, gritting his teeth slightly.

You're a little blabbermouth!