Chapter 167

Chapter 167

The bills from Country Z, still warm from the child's body, were stuffed into Bai Ye's left hand. It was a thick stack, actually, tucked inside that delicate little red envelope.

Clearly, the stack was only as thick as the envelope allowed, not as generous as the giver could have been.

Even though the New Year was still a ways off, was this really lucky money?

Bai Ye had no idea what expression was on his face. He simply stared at the little cub for a few seconds, then said abruptly: "Are you really not bothered at all about how you were treated back then?"

The cub was confused for a moment, looking at Bai Ye as if he didn't quite get what Bai Ye meant, but still said: "Nono already said that Uncle wasn't bullying Nono back then."

Bai Ye exhaled. He felt his old wounds ache faintly with each breath. He muttered softly, "Oh, I didn't expect you to remember that clearly anyway."

The things he'd been so bitter about didn't mean much to the cub. He'd been too young then, and mostly in a dazed state from the sedatives. And given how things were now, those infuriating memories were better left forgotten.

Bai Ye crouched in front of Bai Nuo, tucking the lucky money back into the cub's pocket, like a leopard settling down. He reached out with his other hand and gently touched the cub's cheek.

His right hand—the bionic one—had gotten even colder after building the snowman. It was so cold that Bai Nuo tucked his neck into his clothes, his eyes went wide, and he let out a soft whimper.

The way he flinched was exactly like back at the research institute.

But also totally different.

Bai Ye was about to say something when he heard someone approaching fast. A hand reached out from behind the cub, and Bai Ye instinctively blocked it.

"Hm?"

The person made a puzzled sound, then quickly reached out with their other hand to touch the cub's neck, making Bai Nuo yelp loudly from the cold.

The cub turned and saw Bai Jin crouching behind him with a triumphant grin, the hand that had been dodged still reaching for him.

Bai Nuo got up to run, shouting as he dodged: "Uncle, you're a bad guy!"

"You're full of openings just begging to be exploited. When we played games before, weren't you the one obsessed with perfect scores?"

Bai Jin laughed, his sharp canines peeking out from the corner of his mouth, instantly drawing the cub's attention.

Bai Ye looked up and met Bai Jin's eyes.

Bai Ye and Bai Jin really weren't familiar with each other at all. Bai Ye had barely seen him before being taken away, and after coming back, they'd interacted even less.

But there was no hostility in the way they looked at each other.

Bai Ye vaguely noticed something. He tilted his head a bit, showing the scarf around his neck more fully to Bai Jin.

Bai Jin: ... What? So what if you've got a scarf?!

Before Bai Jin and Bai Ye could interact further, Cen Liu had already hit his limit.

"Wuer! Jin'er! Don't just stand there! I'm getting elbowed to death!"

Cen Liu was being double-teamed by Bai Sheng and Bai Liang, barely hanging on. He watched with wide eyes as Bai Jin came over, only to head straight for little Bai Nuo without even glancing his way after greeting. He finally couldn't hold it in and shouted out a 'passionate call' of his own.

"Can you not be so sappy with those nicknames?"

Bai Jin shuddered, turned to look at Cen Liu scrambling on the ground, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Then the Bai family, always eager to challenge authority, started getting restless again.

Bai Jin watched Bai Sheng pack a huge snowball and nail Cen Liu dead-on, then laughed: "I'm coming!"

Then Bai Jin watched Bai Sheng squint at him, pack another snowball, and start pouring water over it.

Bai Jin, watching an ice ball being formed right before his eyes: ...

Is this a snowball fight? Anyone would think you're trying to send your little brother to the next life!

Bai Liang also went "whoa," taking two steps back to give Bai Sheng plenty of room.

Cen Liu, finally catching his breath, scrambled out of the battle zone and frantically texted the other Bai family members to 'attack' Bai Sheng.

The Bai family usually didn't listen to their cousin Cen Liu, but when it came to 'attacking' Bai Sheng?

In the past year, plenty of Bai family members had gotten fed up with Bai Sheng.

So, 'attacking' Bai Sheng? Bai Jingyun: Coming. Bai Qi: Home in fifteen.

It was predictable that this would turn into a full-blown free-for-all.

It ended with Bai Sheng, Bai Liang, Bai Jingyun, Bai Qi, and Bai Jin fighting to a draw. Everyone was soaked, and Cen Zhi, who had rushed over, ordered them all to go change.

As for Cen Liu? The mastermind was clearly the weakest link in the Bai family.

Lying in the snow, almost completely buried, Cen Liu looked like his soul was about to leave his body.

After the chaos broke out outside, Nono, who had been brought back to the warm room by Grandma and Uncle, came back out with a little shovel to dig out his cousin.

Cen Liu, who had the worst stamina and couldn't beat anyone in the Bai family, was so moved he wanted to hug the cub and give him a few more kisses, but Cen Zhi arrived with an amused look and shooed him off to change clothes too.

And that was how the Bai family's chaotic snowball fight came to an end.

...

Before they knew it, Country Z's New Year was right around the corner.

On New Year's Eve, the cub tried his best to stay up watching TV, but his biological clock was too strong, and before long he'd fallen asleep in Bai Sheng's arms.

The Bai family rarely gathered like this at night, so they kept their voices low as they talked.

In the past, the Bai family's New Year had never felt particularly festive. Those focused on overseas business might be on trips abroad, and even those who weren't traveling had no sense of ceremony, never gathering at the old estate on this day.

But this year was different.

Except for Bai Wan, the Bai family was truly all present, and no one showed any sign of leaving just yet.

The old master sat with Bai Ye and Bai Zhize.

Bai Zhize stood with his arms crossed, watching the cub sleep in his father's arms.

The clock had already hit midnight, and the TV was turned down low. Nobody was watching it; they were all talking quietly among themselves.

Bai Liang reached out to touch the cub's cheek, but Bai Sheng stopped him and said casually, "There's a lot of fireworks going off outside, but they're far enough away that they shouldn't wake him."

"This year they've got a designated area for fireworks, and it's a good ways from the old house, so no worries there."

Bai Qi added.

"Actually, shouldn't we let him go out and play with sparklers or something? I even got him a bunch."

Bai Jin glanced at the door.

"Don't look at me—I only got him some small stuff, nothing loud that'd scare him."

If he actually tried to pull a prank like that on this kid... did he have a death wish or something?

"It's good for him to experience all kinds of New Years—this year he's happy to sit in front of the TV, next year he'll probably be more into going out to set off fireworks," Bai Jingyun said, his face still blank. "Besides, it's pretty cold this year. Even though we've been taking care of him for a year, he's still not as sturdy as a normal kid."

"Yeah, he still needs more time to build up his strength."

Cen Zhi sat next to Bai Sheng and gently reached out to stroke the cub's round chin and chubby cheeks.

The old man sat nearby, watching with an air of authority.

Bai Qian turned off the TV and set the remote down. "It's getting late—everyone should head back and get some rest."

Bai Ye had been sitting off to the side the whole time, a bit out of place, but he'd been taking everything in.

As far as Bai Ye could remember, the Bai family had never spent a New Year like this.

But surprisingly, it didn't feel weird at all.

Bai Ye thought to himself as he followed the old man out.

Once outside, he looked up at the moon and stars and couldn't help thinking—even though the New Year vibe in Z country had faded a lot, it still felt way more real than abroad. It made him feel like he was truly standing on home soil.

Meanwhile, overseas—

The Farrell family's latest round of purges was done, and Leon was happy with how things turned out.

He fired off order after order.

Until he overheard his men talking about Z country's New Year.

"New Year?"

Leon Farrell said offhandedly.

"It's not exactly a big deal for us, is it?"

"True, but the young master's settled in Z country. Want me to send something over every year on our end?"

His subordinate said without thinking.

Leon took a second to figure out who the "young master" was, then waved his hand dismissively.

"Since the Bai family doesn't want anything to do with us, there's no point forcing it. It's not important anyway."

The seventeen-year-old who'd completely reshuffled his family's power structure now had total control—cocky, calm, and arrogant.

"But I should send some acknowledgment to the talents in Z country who're part of our plans. The family business needs to grow and expand, eventually becoming like the Bai family in Z country. Though right now, I still don't have enough capable people."

Ambition gleamed in the young man's eyes. He smiled, then glanced at the file cabinet beside him—at the dossier he'd never once opened.

"And as the family grows, I don't need relatives. And I never will."

Bai Nuo also woke up early on New Year's Day.

The cub groggily crawled out from under the covers, tilting his little head, trying to remember what happened last night or how he'd ended up in bed.

He only remembered being in his dad's arms watching TV one second.

The cub climbed up, stood on the bed, and pressed his little hands against the window to peek outside.

A fresh layer of snow had fallen on An City before the New Year, and light snowflakes were still drifting down this morning. The treetops and rooftops were dusted white, and in the distance, you could hear bursts of firecrackers.

Xiaobai Nuo had never seen a New Year like this, but he'd read about it in books and heard his dad talk about it, so he wasn't scared—just curious as he watched outside.

Dou Dou noticed the little one was awake, and the smart device lit up automatically with a crisp chime.

"Good morning. It's 6:15 AM. Today's the first day of the new year. Happy New Year—hope all your wishes come true this year."

The cub turned around, his eyes crinkling into little crescents.

"Thanks, Dou Dou."

The little one remembered the New Year greeting tradition. He picked up Dou Dou, washed up on his own, then rummaged through his little box for a bit before grabbing a bag he found and running out with Dou Dou in tow.

There were only a few servants in the house today—most had gone home for the New Year. Only a handful were left: those whose parents were gone, those with no elders at home, or those who hadn't started their own families.

The cub went downstairs first to wish everyone a happy New Year, fed the fish, checked on the strawberries, grabbed two pieces of candy from the table, and when he figured the time was about right, pattered back upstairs to find his dad.

Bai Sheng had just finished washing up and opened the door, and saw his cub running toward him.

He instinctively crouched down and opened his arms, catching his little one in a big hug.

"Daddy, Daddy, Happy New Year!"

The cub chirped happily in his arms like a little bird up early.

"Happy New Year."

Bai Sheng lowered his head to rub cheeks with him, speaking softly, then pulled a beautiful red envelope from his pocket—inside was just a thin card.

"Lucky money," Bai Sheng said. "You're a year older now."

The cub took it and shook it curiously, hearing the card rattle inside.

For someone who cared about tradition, a red envelope was supposed to be a token of good luck—just handing over a bank card felt tacky. But Bai Sheng had thought long and hard, and couldn't find a way to fit the amount of money he wanted to give his cub into an envelope, so he finally picked a pretty red packet and slipped the card inside.

The cub had no idea how much money was on that little card, but he loved the envelope's design, and besides, anything from his dad was something he adored. The cub tucked the red envelope into his pocket, then pulled out the bag he'd been hiding behind his back and handed it to his dad.

"What is it?" Bai Sheng asked, opening the bag and pausing a moment at the warm gray fabric inside.

"It's a scarf."

Bai Nuo felt a bit shy, burying his little face into his father's chest, and even made a little gesture.

"Nono only knows how to make this one."

Actually, the little cub had wanted to make something special for his father, but after looking around, this simple back-and-forth knitting pattern was the only thing suitable for him. If he tried to learn anything fancier, he wouldn't be able to give his father a New Year's gift in time.

The little one popped his head out from his father's embrace: "It's a New Year's gift, a surprise."

...

About half an hour later, after breakfast, Bai Sheng, who was already wearing the scarf at home, set up a video call for little Bai Nuo.

The Xie family was still vacationing at the southern seaside, barely dressed in the early morning, having breakfast at their seaside vacation villa.

Yu Chen had brought Yu Chuyan back to the Yu family's old residence, but the two brothers were clearly out and about, not with the others. From what Yu Chen said, they'd headed out straight to pay respects to their elders.

After exchanging New Year's greetings, the four little ones chatted over the screen for a while. There was still a lot to do on New Year's Day, so it wasn't long before they had to end the call.

Just as Yu Chuyan was about to end the call, he heard Yu Chen shouting from the other end.

"Yu Chuyan!! What the heck did you bring over here?"

Yu Chuyan turned back with confidence: "Sparklers, big brother. I'll show Grandpa and Grandma something cool—way better than incense."

He'd gone out with Yu Chen yesterday to light fireworks. Being the mischievous type of Alpha, he loved the unexpected kinds of fireworks, so the sparklers were what was left over the most. This morning when he got up, Yu Chen had been wondering where all the leftover sparklers from yesterday went.

—What? Was he planning to serve them a 'pretty meal'?

Yu Chen, holding a bundle of sparklers: ...

He was spent. Completely spent.

"Damn... no, no, no, can't yell at the kid on New Year's Day, can't hit the kid..."

Yu Chen muttered under his breath, gripping the sparklers, veins popping on his forehead, but still smiling. He smiled, said goodbye to everyone, scooped up Yu Chuyan, and hung up.

So the video call was left with just the Bai and Xie families.

Xie Yu, who had been quiet the whole time, finally couldn't hold it in and cracked up.

"Hahaha, sparklers, hahaha..."

But midway through his laugh, he realized something was off.

He saw his two kids looking like they'd just gotten an idea, deep in thought.

Xie Yu: ...

Xie Yu quickly stifled his laughter and told Shi Lin to hurry up and drag the two kids away to scold them, before they do something crazy like whipping out sparklers during ancestor worship.

When Xie Yu let out a sigh of relief and looked back, he noticed something was off with Bai Sheng.

"It's warm in here—aren't you hot in that scarf?"

Bai Sheng: "Nono made it. I just tried it on and forgot to take it off."

Xie Yu, who had only casually changed the subject to end the call: ...

Yeah, sure, you 'forgot' :）

My damn mouth. I should've just kept it shut.

Xie Yu hung up in a huff, wanting to ask the heavens why Bai Sheng's kid had to be such a sweet little angel. It was so unfair!

Bai Sheng, after showing off to Xie Yu, still wasn't satisfied. With a smug look on his handsome face, he showed off his new scarf to everyone on the way to the main house with Bai Nuo.

The little one had, of course, prepared New Year's gifts for everyone else, but obviously, it wasn't practical to give everyone a scarf. Even the one around Bai Sheng's neck wasn't as long as store-bought scarves, and the stitching was a bit rough.

But when you think about it—made by a five-year-old—there were no flaws to be found.

It just made Bai Sheng come out on top on the very first day of the new year.

Even Cen Zhi couldn't take Bai Sheng's smug look anymore.

Cen Liu, who had come to pay New Year's greetings, once again tried to snatch the kid and bolt, only to get caught by Bai Sheng.

But this time, Bai Sheng had brought the 'wrath of the crowd' upon himself. A bunch of the Bai family tried to gang up on him, causing a ruckus in the open courtyard of the main house.

Cen Zhi held little Bai Nuo in her arms, watching the chaos from a distance.

Bai Ye arrived at that moment. He walked in and saw Cen Zhi and little Bai Nuo first. He paused for a moment before greeting, "Aunt-in-law."

Bai Ye was respectful toward Cen Zhi. The Bai family was generally cold when it came to family ties, and Bai Ye's family was especially so. When he was very young, Cen Zhi had been kind to him. It was only later, after his uncle's father got into trouble, that they completely drifted apart.

"Ah, you're here? Happy New Year."

Cen Zhi looked over and smiled.

The little one sitting in Cen Zhi's arms also looked over: "Uncle, Happy New Year."

"...Happy New Year."

Bai Ye said, watching Cen Zhi stand up with little Bai Nuo in her arms and pull out a red envelope from her pocket, handing it to him.

Bai Ye was stunned for a moment.

"Take it, it's lucky money."

Cen Zhi smiled, pointing at the group causing chaos in the courtyard.

"They've all gotten theirs. Go on, take it."

Bai Ye finally took the red envelope stiffly: ... "Mm."

"And Nono has a New Year's gift for Uncle too!"

The little one said, asking Grandma to bring over the little box that had been shipped from overseas, and handed it to Bai Ye.

Bai Ye hesitated, opened the box to take a look, then seemed startled by what was inside and instinctively shut it.

The little one continued.

"Nono didn't know where to find stuff Uncle likes, but Nono heard from the uncle who visited before that Uncle's stuff was all overseas, but Uncle can't go overseas now, and the stuff would get thrown away. So Nono asked that uncle to help bring them back. Uncle, see if they're yours."

Sure enough, they were the vintage mechanical items Bai Ye had collected overseas. When Bai Ye left Country J, he'd basically abandoned these things, leaving them with someone else.

He just hadn't expected to live this long, let alone see these things again.

He opened his mouth, then finally answered, and closed the small box. When he looked up again, his expression remained the same: "Is Bai Liang here? I need to talk to him about something."

Bai Liang, whose head was still buzzing from being hit by Bai Sheng's ice puck, withdrew from the fray. The normally mild-mannered professor of Sheng'ang University patted his head and shook the snow off himself: "What is it?"

Bai Ye stepped aside, signaling Bai Liang to follow him.

"I've noticed you all might not have the full picture."

Bai Ye walked to a corner, small box in hand, and turned to face Bai Liang, his face pale.

"What do you mean?"

Bai Liang said with a smile.

"The Saviors."

Bai Ye had only just realized this in the past few days.

"K has a secret kid, did you know?"

Bai Liang's brow furrowed slightly.

"The lab's records only have experiment-related stuff, nothing else."

"...He hid it well. I doubt the kid is even under his name, and they probably barely have contact. You could say the kid is one of the few people he actually cares about. I've only seen the kid a few times, never clearly—and the last time was when they were really young... But he picked on Bai Nuo."

Bai Ye said it all in one go.

"Can't find any trace of the guy."

Haven't been able to find him anywhere all these years.

Bai Liang: "...Alright, got it."

"And one more thing."

Bai Ye looked up again.

"Give me the location of that lab you talked about."

Bai Liang quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't overthink it. I'm not looking for a cure or trying to live longer. I just think that before everything ends, I need to stay alive and keep an eye out, to make sure you all don't miss anything. That's all."

Bai Ye could hear Cen Liu's voice in the background too.

Bai Ye's eye twitched.

Yeah, and also to keep an eye out for weirdos like that.

"Of course, I'll send you the address."

Bai Liang stood up, gave Bai Ye's shoulder a gentle pat, and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he stopped and turned around with a smile.

"If you've already taken painkillers, you should still find somewhere to rest properly. If you want to live longer, that attitude of yours won't cut it."

Bai Ye didn't say a word. He waited until Bai Liang was gone, then his already pale face went even paler, and his body curled up on its own. He held back the taste of blood rising from the back of his throat, his fingers gripping the nearby furniture. The furniture creaked under the strain before he suddenly snapped out of it and let go.

Bai Ye stood there for a long moment, then let out a long breath. He picked up the small box and pushed the door open—then froze.

The tiny little one was standing at the doorway, having shown up at some point, looking up at him when he heard the sound.

The ruckus outside had clearly died down. Bai Ye could hear Cen Liu whining in dissatisfaction, going on about wanting Little Nuo Nuo's scarf too.

Bai Ye's gaze swept over, taking a quick look at the warm gray scarf around Bai Sheng's neck, then he looked down at the little one, his voice oddly cold and hard: "What do you want?"

The little one puffed out his lips.

"Uncle... you can be cured, right?"

The doctor is really good, right? You can be cured, right?

Still worried about that, huh?

Bai Ye crouched down, about to give the kid the answer he wanted—after all, that would make him happy, wouldn't it?

But before he could say anything, he heard the little one continue: "If there really isn't anything here that Uncle likes, if it's really, really, really painful and miserable... Uncle, whatever you do, Nono will support you."

Whether you want to stay here, or want to leave here.

"Uncle, do what's best for yourself."

Don't do it just to make Nono feel better.

The little one wanted everyone to be here, but he'd also seen a lot of painful goodbyes. In all kinds of situations, whether you hold on or let go, neither is wrong.

It's just... just that Nono would be a little sad... would be really, really sad.

Bai Ye: ......

Bai Ye glanced at the box. For himself? Well, since he'd brought all this stuff over, there was no helping it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red envelope. It wasn't fancy—probably bought on the spot nearby, the most basic kind. It wasn't very thick either; compared to what Bai Nuo had gotten today, it was pretty thin.

But Bai Ye pressed the red envelope into Xiaobai Nuo's hand.

"New Year's money. I didn't work this year, so this is all I've got."

Bai Nuo blinked, staring at the red envelope in his hand. Just as he was about to say something, he heard his uncle continue.

"Next year there'll be more."

...Next year?

The little one's thoughts were way too easy to read.

Hearing Bai Ye's words, Bai Nuo's eyes lit up right away.