Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Unlike the Bai family, who had a bit more free time, Cen Liu, the boss of the country's largest entertainment platform company, was busier than ever during the holiday season.

With all sorts of New Year promotions and events rolling out across the internet, Cen Liu was drowning in overtime work. It had indeed been days since he'd last seen little Bai Nuo, and he'd only managed to arrange a snowman-building date with the little one through their phones.

Today, he finally had a bit of free time, and he was practically buzzing with excitement.

Watching Cen Liu burst through the door, shake off the snow in one smooth motion, his eyes full of excitement like a puppy's—for a split second, you could almost see him as a giant golden retriever.

And the moment he spotted his target, he charged over without hesitation, clearly intending to scoop up little Bai Nuo for kisses, cuddles, and tossing him up high, complete with the whole "sucking his little curls straight" move.

Bai Ye reached out and scooped little Bai Nuo up. He angled his body slightly, narrowing his eyes, staring at Cen Liu, who had just missed his grab.

Bai Ye and Cen Liu had only seen each other as kids—never really interacted, so they were total strangers.

As the stranger approached, Bai Ye's muscles tensed and his pupils constricted slightly, as if gauging how dangerous this person was.

Even though he looked pretty harmless, based on what he'd just yelled at the top of his lungs, this was clearly a dangerous character.

Little Bai Nuo, now lifted up, squirmed a little in discomfort, but still put his little hands on his uncle's arm and obediently let himself be carried.

Of course, that didn't mean his paternal uncle was better than his maternal uncle—it was mainly about that whole "sucked into a mango pit" business... The little cub's eyes widened a bit, startled by Cen Liu.

Cen Liu, who missed his grab: ?

Hey! When Bai Sheng was here, he couldn't hold the kid, and when Bai Sheng wasn't here, why the heck couldn't he?!

So Bai Liang, standing off to the side, watched Cen Liu reach out while Bai Ye dodged with little Bai Nuo, going back and forth several rounds. Cen Liu couldn't get the advantage, and Bai Ye's breathing was getting heavier because of his health issues.

Bai Ye finally took a few quick steps back, staring at Cen Liu warily.

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

"Please, I've been working overtime so much I'm about to keel over—you're Bai Ye, right? We probably met when we were kids—I finally caught this window when Bai Sheng's not around, so just hand Nuo Nuo over! I need to recharge, please!"

Cen Liu said it all in one breath without pausing, nearly passing out from lack of air. He slapped his hands together in a prayer pose, looking super devout.

Of course, Cen Liu would've loved to just grab the kid by force, but these Bai family members really had something engraved in their DNA. Everyone else was manageable, but when it came to Bai Ye, Cen Liu didn't even want to put up a fight—he had absolutely no desire to mess with Bai Ye.

Even though Bai Ye looked frail right now, Cen Liu was certain this guy had seen blood overseas before.

Better to stay away from dangerous people like that—that's what Cen Liu thought, but unfortunately, little Bai Nuo was in Bai Ye's arms.

Bai Ye was caught off guard, stepping back two steps. He was a bit thrown off by Cen Liu's devout clasped-hands deep bow begging posture, and the dark, fierce look on his face eased a bit.

Bai Ye looked down at little Bai Nuo, only then realizing that the little thing he'd scooped up was so light and soft, bundled up thick, like a little puffball.

The little one thought for a moment.

"Then, then uncle can't suck Nuo Nuo into a mango pit."

Bai Nuo emphasized, then reached out toward his uncle.

Cen Liu let out a "woohoo," scooped little Bai Nuo up, and pressed his cheek against the little cub's, rubbing affectionately back and forth.

Bai Ye's arms suddenly felt empty. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, watching Bai Nuo with an inexplicable feeling that there was a long road ahead.

Especially when Cen Liu got addicted to the nuzzling and was about to start planting kisses on little Bai Nuo's cheeks.

Bai Liang had been trying to step in from the side, but he quickly let out a low chuckle and said, "Oh well, nothing we can do—we can't outdo Cen Liu. Cousin, you're fast. Respect."

Cen Liu: Of course, I'm super fast!... Wait, who are you talking to?

The squeak of the glass door sliding shut came from behind. Cen Liu hadn't gotten to smooch yet, nor had he turned around, when his collar was yanked. And worst of all, the little one in his arms started calling out in a babyish voice: "Daddy!"

Cen Liu: ...

Bai Sheng stood behind Cen Liu, holding his phone, playing a video. The audio from the video came through—'...let uncle suck you into a mango pit, hahaha!!!'

Bai Sheng: "Suck into a mango pit?"

Cen Liu: ...

Sweat started pouring out in droves.

Slowly and very smartly, Cen Liu set the little cub down on the ground, even flattening the little curls he'd messed up from all the rubbing.

"Haha, haha—that's called hyperbole, haha... Hey, where are you dragging me?! I'm your older cousin! A cousin is still an older brother!"

Cen Liu realized in horror that the force behind him wasn't letting up at all—in fact, it was dragging him away.

"Come on, didn't you want to build snowmen and have a snowball fight? Come on, cousin, let's make up for our childhood regrets."

Bai Sheng emphasized the words "snowball fight."

Bai Liang watched the commotion from the side, not forgetting to stoke the fire.

"Even if your real brother showed up, he'd still get a beating for this, right? I can't even imagine—if San'er hadn't arrived in time, who knows what state Nuo Nuo would've been sucked into."

Cen Liu: !

Slander! This is pure slander!

Bai Liang, you blood-sucking bastard!!

"Oh, right."

Bai Sheng dragged Cen Liu halfway, then turned to look back.

Cen Liu: Could it be... there's a twist?!

Bai Sheng and Bai Ye locked eyes for two seconds, then he looked away, meeting his own child's gaze.

"The new yarn has arrived."

Of course, this wasn't a nag, nor was it him feeling annoyed at seeing Bai Ye wearing that scarf all day.

He was just conveying a very basic message in a declarative sentence.

"Really? Then Nuo Nuo will go check it out later. Daddy, Daddy, Nuo Nuo wants to build snowmen and have a snowball fight too!"

Bai Nuo walked forward a few steps, looking up as he spoke.

"Mm, I'll play with you after Daddy finishes playing with cousin. You can go build a snowman first."

Bai Sheng said, then glanced at Bai Ye once more. Without another word, he dragged Cen Liu away.

Cen Liu: ...No plot twist! Help!!!!

The snowball fight over there was intense. Bai Liang had been stirring the pot for a while, but after getting hit square on the head with a snowball from Cen Liu, he couldn't help but get swept up and join the brutal snowball fight. Cen Liu quickly found himself at a disadvantage, getting his face plastered with snow by Bai Sheng and Bai Liang until he could barely open his eyes. He was already calling in reinforcements—the only one in the family who was just as much of a troublemaker was probably Bai Jin, who seemed to be on his way.

The little one, who had been pushing his small snowball, got distracted by the commotion and stared off at the scene.

Beside him, Bai Ye, pushing a larger snowball, walked past without a flicker of emotion.

Of course, the "battle" over there wasn't nearly intense enough to draw his attention.

Bai Ye secured the big snowball with surrounding snow, then helped Xiao Bai Nuo move his smaller snowball on top of the larger one, patting it firm.

Bai Ye thought blankly: So why the heck did I suddenly end up building a snowman with this little kid?

"Carrot, carrot... Nono wants to find a carrot for the snowman's nose."

Bai Nuo had left Dou Dou inside the glass room. The little camera was now pressed up against the glass, watching with big, eager eyes toward the little one. Bai Nuo turned back and waved at Dou Dou before speaking to Bai Ye.

"There are some in the greenhouse—I know where they are. I'll go grab one for you."

Bai Ye let out a breath and stood up, preparing to fetch a carrot for Xiao Bai Nuo.

Bai Nuo nodded, watching his uncle head back toward the glass greenhouse. The little one glanced at the lucky money in his pocket, thought for a moment, then got up and picked out some black stones suitable for the eyes from the nearby gravel path.

Before long, Bai Ye returned.

He still wasn't dressed all that warmly—only adding an extra down jacket because Xiao Bai Nuo insisted. Because he was so slender, even with plenty of layers, he still looked tall and lanky.

The little one had already set the snowman's eyes in place.

The snowman wasn't built tall—about the same height as the little one—with a pair of round black stone eyes that made it look kind of goofy. Bai Ye crouched down and handed the carrot to the little one, waiting for him to stick it on as well.

Bai Nuo took the carrot, tucked it in, then glanced over at where his dad was—seemed like that wouldn't be wrapping up anytime soon.

The little one thought for a moment, then looked at his uncle.

"Uncle, you're not allowed to have a snowball fight, okay? Uncle Doctor said if you get wet, you'll get sick really easily."

Bai Ye: ...

"Got it."

"Uncle doesn't like origami, huh?"

Bai Nuo answered, crouching down with his little shovel, touching up the little snowman here and there, mumbling the question softly.

"...It's okay, I guess."

"Uncle doesn't like drawing, or reading, and you're not interested in those toys either..."

Bai Nuo had clearly tried everything he could think of to get Bai Ye to try something over the past few days. He counted off on his little fingers.

Bai Ye felt a little amused.

Yeah, these all sounded like things little kids would love—probably things Xiao Bai Nuo liked himself.

So that's what he'd been up to all this time—trying to figure out what he liked?

Honestly, he didn't like anything.

Liking something was a luxury for him.

The little one let out a soft, gentle sigh and looked up at Bai Ye again.

Bai Nuo looked at the scars on his uncle's face and the way his face showed he didn't care at all. His little mouth turned down, and after a long moment, he spoke: "Uncle Doctor said you can get better."

Bai Ye didn't say anything.

He just thought to himself: The doctor lied to you—to make you feel better.

That was only natural, of course. Facing that little face, he couldn't bring himself to say anything that would crush Bai Nuo's hopes.

After speaking, Bai Nuo patted the little snowman with his shovel again, then finally made up his mind and looked up at Bai Ye.

"Uncle, Nono heard you like those really complicated toys... like old watches or something? Nono doesn't know where to get them, but now that Uncle's back home, how about Nono invests in you? Dad told Nono before that you can invest in projects you believe in."

The little one stood up, took the lucky money he'd just gotten from his other uncle out of the red envelope, pressed it into Bai Ye's hand, then carefully tucked the empty red envelope back into his pocket.

While Bai Ye was stunned, Bai Nuo reached out and used his hands to draw the shapes of the strawberry jar and strawberry piggy bank in the air.

"Nono also has a big strawberry jar and a piggy bank, and there's still a lot in them. If that's not enough, Nono will keep saving up."

Bai Nuo looked at Bai Ye with bright, hopeful eyes. The little one's attitude was completely at ease, without a hint of hesitation—he only worried if bringing it up like this might seem out of nowhere, since he'd been saving those coins in the first place to have the Bai family's back.

And now he was thinking: Is there something that could make Uncle start to love this world?

He wasn't sure if the money Nono had saved would be enough.