Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Bai Nuo stood in place.

He'd rushed out barefoot, not even grabbing his pillow.

The hallway light was on, and he stood there, trying to calm his breathing, but the tears wouldn't stop falling. He looked so alone, sobbing as he reached out to Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng didn't even hesitate.

By the time he snapped back to reality and really thought about why this kid was upset, Bai Nuo was already clinging to him, little hands clutching his clothes, his small body shaking.

The veins on Bai Sheng's hand stood out slightly, but he held Bai Nuo gently. He carried the kid back into the room, asking quietly.

"Nono?"

Upset?

Why the sudden sadness?

Weren't you just asleep?

"Another nightmare?"

Bai Sheng gently patted the child's back, continuing to ask in a low voice.

Bai Nuo kept shaking his head in his arms.

"It's not a nightmare, Daddy... Nono remembered... remembered, wuwu."

"Remembered what?"

Bai Sheng had already carried Bai Nuo back to the study and sat down with him, settling the little one on his lap, watching the child wipe his tears with his hands.

Bai Nuo reached out his little hands from his father's arms, gesturing: "That uncle today, Uncle... Nono's seen him before... at the research institute."

The kid thought for a moment, then added: "At the research institute here... a long time ago... it's been so long, but Nono remembered."

When Bai Sheng heard the words "research institute," he paused, then continued looking at Bai Nuo, as if steadying his breathing.

That uncle today? Which uncle?

Although the Bai family had done a lot against the Saviors Organization, the kid didn't know a thing about it. Everyone in the Bai family deliberately kept those two words from ever reaching his ears again.

And after waking from nightmares, Bai Nuo rarely talked about what he'd dreamed, so Bai Sheng rarely heard the kid mention the research institute these days.

Bai Sheng had already grabbed his phone and texted the intelligence department, asking them to pull up all of the kid's footage from school today.

Bai Nuo was still sobbing, his words all jumbled and incoherent.

Bai Sheng put his phone down and asked again: "At the research institute, did that uncle hurt Nono?"

For his kid to remember him this vividly—this didn't sound like the kid was bullied—it sounded like something else.

But... was that even possible?

In that research institute, were there others who were trapped there too?

That tightly-run Saviors Organization, the ones who'd bolt at the first sign of trouble? Would they dare use someone like that?

—Unless this person's existence meant something special.

Sure enough, Bai Nuo shook his little head hard.

"Uncle helped Nono... Uncle wanted to take Nono away... but he couldn't, he couldn't... and there was candy, the candy was sweet... wuwu, Daddy."

Bai Sheng pieced together what had happened from the kid's fragmented words.

In the Saviors Organization, there was an uncle, trapped by the organization, who had once been part of the experiments on Bai Nuo. In the middle of the experiment, he'd tried to take Bai Nuo away but couldn't, and had vanished ever since—until the little guy ran into him again today and finally remembered. During the experiment, the man had apparently given Bai Nuo a candy.

The kid gestured with his hands, describing the candy.

It sounded like the cheap, plain kind—because he had to sneak it in, it was tiny, maybe not even the size of a soybean, so it probably wasn't even that sweet.

But to the kid, it was the first bit of sweetness he'd ever tasted here.

Bai Nuo cried so sadly.

He buried himself in his father's arms, his little body shaking with sobs.

"Nono, Nono didn't remember before... the pain and the fuzzy stuff, Nono couldn't remember it clearly... Uncle, wuwu, Nono couldn't remember Uncle either... Nono forgot, and didn't remember today either... he'll be mad at Nono... he'll be mad at Nono, wuwu... Nono should've remembered, but Nono didn't, wuwu."

He was really, truly sad.

This kid had always been like this.

When he cried for himself, he always kept his voice low and tried hard to hold it in.

But when he cried for others, all the hurt and sadness would just spill out.

He always wanted to do his best, to live up to everyone's expectations.

That wasn't right.

Bai Sheng had always known this, and he'd been trying hard to fix that mindset.

But first, he needed to give him a sense of security. Over the past year, it was finally starting to work—just like right now.

He wasn't hiding in his room crying by himself.

He looked up and opened his mouth.

"Daddy, can you help Nono? Uncle, Uncle was covered in blood back then... Uncle also has one hand that's cold, different—touching it feels like Dou Dou... Nono doesn't want Uncle to be disappointed in Nono... Nono wants to tell Uncle that Nono still remembers. Nono doesn't know what to do now, Daddy. Nono doesn't know what to do, wuwu. Daddy, help Nono."

Daddy, save that uncle.

That uncle seems like he's about to die. After that dream, Nono thinks something bad might happen soon.

Just like Daddy, Big Uncle, Little Uncle, Second Uncle...

Grandma—maybe because she wasn't a villain—Bai Nuo hadn't actually had a dream about her. He'd just stuck close to Grandma for a long time based on the original story, avoiding that ending.

But Nono can't save Uncle.

Nono can't save him now, wuwuwu.

The words from his earlier dreams still wouldn't come out. The kid cried until his eyes were red, instinctively asking for help.

He didn't know if Daddy would help him.

But his dad was the only one he could talk to.

The cub cried so hard his soft little curls got a bit damp.

His body was warm, but his hands and feet were freezing.

Bai Sheng had already grabbed the little blanket off the chair back and wrapped it snugly around the cub.

"Don't worry, Daddy'll help you find that uncle."

"Mm, mm-hmm."

The cub nodded hard, then added.

"Today, I saw him, and it was in the notebook... Uncle wrote, 'Hope Nono's happy,' but Nono didn't recognize him..."

He was so sad he felt guilty.

The cub even wondered if that uncle had something he wanted to tell Nono, but since Nono didn't recognize him, he didn't say it.

To the cub, the lab uncle was different too, but not in the same way his dad was.

Some of the pain came from that uncle, but so did the only bit of warmth and kindness.

If he had to say what was different—his dad was his one and only dad, the most amazing, all-powerful person in the world to Nono—but that uncle... Bai Nuo truly hoped that uncle could be free too, just like Nono had "flown" out of the institute.

The cub cried himself out and lay in his dad's arms, but he couldn't fall asleep. He just kept his eyes open, watching his dad handle stuff while texting the rest of the family.

Bai Sheng caught some key details from the little guy's words.

Some really subtle, really coincidental details.

Before, these pieces of info had no connection, so they couldn't be linked—until now.

It wasn't that late when the cub went to bed.

Most of the Bai family at the old house were still up, and since the little guy had his social activity today, a bunch of them had been keeping an eye out nearby, so tonight everyone happened to be around.

Bai Liang and Bai Jin were the first to show up.

They lived pretty close, so they came together.

Bai Jin had been cracking jokes, but the second he walked in and saw the cub lying there pitifully in Bai Sheng's arms, Bai Sheng not moving an inch while comforting him, his face went dark.

What's wrong?

The others trickled in. The mood at the old house had been nice tonight, but the little guy's crying instantly killed it.

Cen Zhi was already heartbroken, annoyed that Bai Sheng wasn't patting him right. She took the hiccup-sobbing cub from Bai Sheng's arms and gently shushed him.

Bai Sheng straightened up a bit and gave a quick rundown.

"There are actually good people in that institute?"

Bai Jin raised a brow.

"This sounds... kinda off?"

Bai Liang pushed up his glasses, grabbed a pen, and started sketching.

"Being controlled? A bionic hand? Trying to take Nono away? ...And actually, thinking about it, the institute got found out because of leftover issues from their past—the Federation traced it and followed the clues. I checked the records—the timing lines up with about two or three years ago."

"Coincidence?"

Bai Qi muttered.

"Doesn't feel like it. From that H we ran into before, that person's built their own whole ideology and has everyone in that org on a tight leash—mentally or physically."

Bai Liang went on.

"But a bionic hand... isn't that weird?"

Bai Jingyun cut in.

"Dad."

Bai Jingyun gave Bai Qian a blank look, glanced at Cen Zhi holding the cub and soothing him, then lowered his voice.

"I remember, the only biological sample Bai Ye left at the scene was one arm? And it was wrecked—they figured he was at the explosion's core. Besides that arm getting blown clear by the blast, nothing else could be collected—just some related samples near the center. After all, Uncle's body was already partially gone."

Bai Jingyun and Bai Ye were born the same year, Bai Jingyun a few months older. When Bai Kun and Bai Ye had their accident, Bai Jingyun was already a pretty mature little ice cube, so unlike the rest of the family, he knew Bai Ye better.

Once he said those connected clues out loud, even though it seemed super unlikely, Bai Jingyun couldn't help but say it.

Could it actually be possible?

Bai Qian remembered the kid who always stood in the corner.

But he didn't really know Bai Ye. Same as now, he'd always held that internal Bai family fights shouldn't hurt the kids.

During that accident, Bai Qian tried to save Bai Ye but failed, and the evidence at the scene pointed to the worst.

And now... could it be?

Bai Qian tapped the documents lightly: "Look into this. Send me a copy of Nono's video from today."

Bai Sheng gave a tiny nod.

Exactly what he was thinking.

The youngest, Bai Jin, let out an "ooh" and, hearing them bring up that cousin he barely remembered, rested his chin on his hand and said casually.

"Could anyone survive that? No way, right?"

Isn't this all way too optimistic?

"Bai Jin!"

Cen Zhi muttered in annoyance from over there.

The Bai family members instinctively turned to look at Cen Zhi.

Then they watched the cub in Cen Zhi's arms, still waiting for his dad, get red-eyed again.

Nono hadn't caught what the adults were saying before, but he'd heard his uncle's words.

The cub had only one thought: ...Someone on Nono's villain team is gonna die.

Bai Jin instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth.

Bai Qi, standing beside him, gave him a shove, Bai Liang casually pulled out the cushion he was sitting on, Bai Jingyun pulled him aside and added a kick, Bai Sheng dragged the table back, and Bai Qian casually let go of the documents in his hand, piling on with a round of "finishing blows."

Bai Jin stumbled and fell.

"I just said that offhandedly, didn't mean it."

This had practically become second nature for the Bai Family.

Whenever Nono cried, the family would take it out on Bai Jin, and no need to worry—Bai Jin would manage to land on his feet somehow.

Bai Jin: ?