Chapter 102

Chapter 102

He really is like a Little Rice Cake, all soft and clingy, sticking to you like glue.

Your little one comes to tell you it's bedtime.

He'd already been put to bed, but he wandered all the way back and peeked at you from the doorway—now that's some top-tier dad energy, right? Any dad would understand.

Bai Sheng almost answered him and, with absolutely no professionalism, ditched his business partner.

But in the end, he managed to hold back.

He looked at the little one standing at the door, those big eyes staring back at him.

"Nuonuo, go sleep first. Daddy still has a meeting in a little while—as soon as it's done, I'll come to bed."

The little one blinked, clearly not wanting to.

The tiny cub thought for a moment, clutching his little pillow and not budging, then timidly asked, "Can Nuonuo wait here for Daddy?"

It was already getting pretty late.

Bai Sheng couldn't help glancing at his watch.

The little one should've been asleep a long time ago.

But he'd already turned him down once, and Bai Sheng just couldn't refuse him again.

So Bai Sheng gently nodded, deciding to cut the meeting as short as possible.

He patted the chair next to him.

"You wanna sit here and wait, or play with your toys on the floor?"

Xiao Bainuo's eyes immediately lit up.

"Nuonuo's gonna go get the toy box!"

Ever since the little one came to the Bai family, he had his own little toy box—whether here or at the main house.

This tidy little one would even reorganize his toys by size every couple of days.

But that toy box wasn't exactly light, was it? Usually, the staff would help him move it.

But the attendant on duty wouldn't come upstairs during his meeting.

Could the little guy even lift it?

Just as he was thinking that, before Bai Sheng could even get up—

He heard a faint scraping sound.

Like the edge of something plastic scraping against the floor or glass, but not that sharp—muffled, like it was wrapped in something.

The door was pushed open once more.

Xiao Bainuo had gathered the toys and books he wanted into the little box. The box was a bit heavy, so he couldn't carry it all the way. Instead, he'd spread a small towel underneath and pushed the corner of the box, struggling to shove it into Daddy's study.

He barely made a peep the whole way.

The little one looked up at his dad and pointed to the spot next to him.

"Can Nuonuo play here, Daddy?"

"Yes."

Bai Sheng had just joined the meeting when he glanced at his little one.

He watched his cub instantly go quiet, sit down on the carpet, and even make a little "shh" gesture over his mouth.

Bai Sheng smiled before turning back to the screen.

He greeted the person on the other end in another language.

The person on the other end was actually someone he knew.

Halle, who'd come to China for talks before, had already flown back home. Now he sat in front of the camera, his sapphire-blue eyes giving off that shrewd but warm businessman vibe.

"Long time no see, Mr. Bai. How's it going with your little cutie?"

"Great, nothing to worry about," Bai Sheng replied casually, quickly flipping through his documents. "Let's cut the small talk and get down to business."

...

Xiao Bainuo played with his toys for a bit, then worried the noise might bother Daddy, so he finally pulled out the picture book he'd picked and lowered his head to read.

Bai Sheng was speaking another language—Xiao Bainuo couldn't understand a word, and he looked a little confused.

But that didn't stop the little one from thinking his daddy was super amazing.

Xiao Bainuo opened the picture book.

He usually didn't show off, and the adults hadn't really noticed, just thinking their kid was smart.

In reality, when Xiao Bainuo actually focused, his memory was so strong even his parents might not believe it.

He already recognized a ton of characters. He'd barely practiced writing them—he just memorized them from the shapes, the straight lines and curves.

And so, quietly, Xiao Bainuo had learned a large number of characters and began stumbling through reading new picture books without Dou Dou's help.

This picture book was a story about love and goodnight kisses—a big rabbit and a little rabbit competing over who loved the other more.

They compared from the branches to the river, from the hills to the moon, and finally, when the little rabbit grew sleepy, the big rabbit kissed the little rabbit's forehead and said goodnight.

It was a goodnight kiss—also a blessing and a protection.

The big rabbit was good, the little rabbit was good, Nuonuo's villain family was good too, Nuonuo's brothers were good, and Nuonuo's friends...

The tiny cub was already drowsy and hazy. He hugged the plush bear his eldest uncle had given him to his chest, placed the woven bear from his little uncle on his little cart, yawned again, and his eyelids grew heavy, drooping lower and lower.

Beside him, Bai Sheng had already finalized the matters to be discussed, wrapping up quickly.

Halle, ever efficient, was as unused to it as always.

The others in the meeting had already left, leaving only Bai Sheng and Halle.

A strand of Halle's brown hair fell across his forehead. He smiled elegantly, his sapphire-blue eyes carrying a hint of amazement.

"Mr. Bai, doing business with you Z people always exceeds my expectations. Though I sometimes wonder if it lacks romance, now that I think about it—this kind of efficient, fast-paced operation is itself a unique art. But really, isn't today a bit too rushed? Are you compressing the meeting schedule?"

Halle really didn't get it.

After all, Bai Sheng, though efficiency-oriented, hadn't been in this much of a hurry during their last collaboration.

"And I still have something important to say."

"What is it? Go ahead."

Bai Sheng, who'd been about to wrap up the meeting with a few throwaway lines, looked up and shot the other man a glance.

"In the areas where we work together, there's another family with a lot of pull—the Farrell family. I'm sure you've heard of them—an old-money aristocratic family from M-country. They'll occasionally stick their noses into projects that catch their interest, and they love investing in talent wherever they go. In Z country, they've probably got a fair number of investments too—mostly gifted kids. That said, their family's been going through some rough patches lately—the main branch is down to just a fifteen-year-old young master, and the branch families are circling like vultures. So what I'm saying is, if anything related to them comes up during our work together, to avoid trouble, it's best to steer clear of them entirely."

Halle said this with a smile on his face.

"You know, laws and morals abroad aren't like Z country's—our legal system serves money."

Honestly, Halle figured a top-tier family like the Bai family, if they were overseas, might cut loose a bit more—be freer, more unrestrained. But sure enough, the ancient traditions of a major Z country family were something he just couldn't wrap his head around.

They preferred to build their influence within a stable social framework like this.

Of course, Halle also figured that had its own unique charm and mystery.

Bai Sheng gave a noncommittal hum in acknowledgment. He had no reason to refuse.

With everything that needed saying out of the way, Halle was about to say his goodbyes.

Then he heard a faint sound—like something hitting the floor.

Bai Sheng had already turned his head.

Halle froze. Was there someone else over on Bai Sheng's end?

Then he heard Bai Sheng speak: "Nuonuo?"

It took Halle a second to process the language switch, and then he realized it was that little one. All of a sudden, he wasn't in any rush to end the call—he wished he could shove his head right through the screen.

Meanwhile, Bai Sheng watched with amusement as Xiao Bainuo tried hard to read the book in his hands—but the book had already gone *thump* and hit the floor.

The little cub was so sleepy he couldn't keep his eyes open—his big eyes were half-closed, still fighting to focus on the pages in front of him. But he was too tired; even when the book dropped, he didn't react, his little hands still frozen in the shape of holding it.

He did, though, hear his daddy calling him.

He let out a confused little baby noise from his nose: "Hm?"

Bai Sheng got up and walked over, moving the hard toys next to the little one to the other side. He looked at the cub all curled up in drowsiness, crouched down, and asked, "Getting sleepy?"

A shadow fell over him. Xiao Bainuo, leaning against the soft corner of the sofa by the rug, looked up, as if responding.

"Mmm..."

"Want Daddy to carry you to bed first? Daddy will finish up and come right away."

The little cub's brain had completely shut down from exhaustion. He stared blankly, fighting to keep his eyes open, looking at his daddy.

"Hm?"

He managed to respond to every sentence, but none of his answers actually lined up.

Bai Sheng looked at the cub in front of him with amusement, reached out, and scooped him up.

At that, Xiao Bainuo perked up a little.

The little one fought to open his eyes, cupped his daddy's face, and looked at him carefully.

Then, in a sleepy voice still laced with obvious joy:

"It's Daddy."

He wrapped his arms around his daddy's neck, nuzzling his fuzzy little head into his daddy's chest, and kept talking softly.

"Nuonuo... Nuonuo thinks he saw a big monster..."

Xiao Bainuo mumbled sleepily.

Half-asleep, people still dream—fleeting images drifting through their minds.

The little cub perked up a bit now, leaning against his daddy's chest and gesturing.

"But Daddy appeared right away."

Daddy was amazing even in his dreams.

How could he dream of a big monster?

Bai Sheng couldn't help but stroke the little one's head. Only after confirming the cub hadn't been scared by his own dream did Bai Sheng let out a breath—and decided this was definitely Bai Jin's fault.

"Still need to check that it's Daddy?"

Bai Sheng said softly.

"Daddy's not going anywhere."

Bai Sheng set Xiao Bainuo down on the sofa, no longer in the mood to clean up.

The little one was still clutching his clothes. When he was set down, he blinked dazedly.

"Nuonuo, let go. Daddy's going to turn off the computer, then take you to bed."

Bai Sheng said, waiting patiently, looking at the little hand gripping his clothes.

—The scars on it had faded to almost invisible after half a year of applying medicine.

"...Okay."

The little one's reactions were a few beats slow. Only now did he slowly let go, but as Daddy walked toward the computer, he sat up, finally processing things in his soft, drowsy state.

Responding to Daddy's words, "Daddy's not going anywhere"—

"Nuonuo knows... family doesn't go away. Nuonuo won't go away either."

Bai Sheng glanced back at the cub, let out a soft laugh. "Right."

Then Bai Sheng turned and met the "big head" on the video call screen.

Bai Sheng: ...

Halle was practically pressing his face against the screen, with none of his aristocratic poise. When he was caught, he even grinned.

"Oh, Mr. Bai—he's such a little sweetie. Was he there the whole time during the meeting? So adorable! So considerate, not making a peep."

Bai Sheng: "No gifts, no farewells, no godfather needed—if you want to get ahead, you'll have to get past me first."

Halle: ...?

"Is there anything else?"

The new dad had seen too many 'kidnappers' lately, and was especially on guard at that moment.

When Halle nodded, he briskly exited the meeting room.

The screen flickered twice, signaling the meeting was over.

Halle: ...

"Did I just trigger some passive ability of Bai Sheng's?"

He rubbed his nose.

"That whole spiel was way too smooth, wasn't it?"

What have you been through to be this slick?!

...

Meanwhile, Bai Sheng had shut down the computer and walked back to the little cub's side.

Xiao Bainuo hadn't managed to hold on after all, and was now sprawled on the sofa, half-asleep.

Bai Sheng looked at him, then glanced at the picture book Xiao Bainuo had been reading earlier.

The little one had apparently finished it, but had stared at the last page for a long, long time.

Bai Sheng looked at the illustration of the big rabbit kissing the little rabbit.

He paused for a moment, then picked up a small light blanket from the side and draped it over Xiao Bainuo before scooping the little one up.

Looking at the small blanket, Bai Sheng couldn't help but recall that dream he'd had back then.

His initially tender mood wavered for just an instant.

Bai Sheng thought: Don't go through those things—kids shouldn't have to go through that.

Just like the Bai family never targeted children.

Children should be born into this world surrounded by love and blessings.

And then there's what parents are supposed to do.

As Xiao Bainuo was picked up, he stirred slightly awake. He opened his eyes and watched as his father lowered his head and pressed another kiss to his forehead.

This time, the meaning was clear—it was the kiss from the picture book: a kiss of blessing, protection, and sweet dreams.

The little cub struggled to reach out his small hands.

Xiao Bainuo, his mind already mush from sleepiness, had no time to think about past scars. His world was filled with good-looking food, lucky four-leaf clovers, and all kinds of toys.

So the little cub thought: Nuonuo is so lucky!

He copied his dad and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Nuonuo also blesses and protects Daddy—he mumbled drowsily: "Even all the way to the moon."

Bai Sheng, on his way carrying the cub back to the bedroom, felt the little one's touch and paused for a moment. He looked down again—the little cub in his arms had already fallen fast asleep.

Bai Sheng lowered his voice, feeling a bit silly for echoing the picture book's words along with the little one, but still added casually: "All the way to the moon—and back again."

The next morning after waking up, Xiao Bainuo lay on his little pillow thinking for a long time, in an excellent mood.

From breakfast to playing with toys, to the usual routine of reading the idiom picture book, to chatting with his older brothers about going to the aquarium tomorrow—his eyes crinkled happily as he said he was very lucky today.

For the little cub, that was certainly true.

The fish was almost better, Uncle and Grandpa were coming home from the hospital today, and Daddy had given Nuonuo a kiss of blessing.

And it was drizzling outside, which was really cool and comfortable.

The little one lay sprawled on the carpet, lifting Dou Dou up high: "Nuonuo is the luckiest kid today!"

Everyone from the Bai family here couldn't help but smile—except Bai Jin, who was holding his game console and had gotten caught by Third Brother again yesterday, looking rather displeased.

Yes, not only had he failed to escape, but his gacha pulls had crashed and burned, and Xiao Bainuo ran away the moment he saw him today.

He was the unluckiest guy in the world today!

The rain outside had completely stopped, with the sky still slightly overcast. Finally, the little one was carried by his father to go pick up Grandpa and Big Uncle.

The rest of the Bai family trailed behind unhurriedly.

Two cars pulled up to the main building, one after the other.

Bai Qian still had people to bring back, so he arrived home a bit earlier than Bai Jingyun. He got out of the car and glanced at the car quite far behind him.

At the same time, the patriarch's motorcade arrived and stopped not far away. The old man had no intention of getting out—the door was opened by the driver, and he looked over coldly.

Right then.

The door of the car behind Bai Qian's opened, and a member of the Bai family who hadn't set foot in the old Bai family estate in nearly twenty years stepped out.

They had their freedom partially restricted and would be staying at the patriarch's place for now.

For the Bai family, this could be considered humiliation.

But he didn't seem to have any right to refuse.

Bai Zhize wore a black trench coat, a cold smirk on his lips, glancing at the Bai family members beside Bai Qian.

Beside him, a tall young man with blue eyes held no emotion in his gaze, slowly looking over as well.

Under the dim sky, Bai Qian stood with his back to them, Cen Zhi smiling as she looped her arm through his. In front of the two, pairs of eyes—some cold, some lazy, some interested—looked over. Against the skyline, their eyes glimmered faintly.

It made you think of a pride of lions or a pack of wolves lounging around at rest.

With all excess emotion stripped away, that was the true form of the Bai family's dangerous members.

And the most dangerous one—the one whose single glance nearly made Bai Wan's pheromones release in defense—was currently holding a tiny cub in his arms.

He was totally relaxed and indifferent, showing zero interest in them, withdrawing his gaze after a single look.

Bai Wan finally made eye contact with the little cub his father had mentioned earlier.

Bai Wan hesitated for a moment, looking uncertainly at Bai Sheng's face, then at Xiao Bainuo's face.

He had the nerve to wonder: ...are they actually related?

Without much back-and-forth, Bai Wan wasn't supposed to linger at the old Bai estate anyway. The old man had squeezed in time to bring them back.

Bai Zhize and Bai Wan turned and got into the car behind the old master.

Bai Zhize heard the little guy's voice from over there: "Great-grandpa!"

He even thought he heard his dad answer, sounding a little too eager.

Bai Zhize: ?

His dad had gone nuts too?

Bai Zhize shut the car door and couldn't help glancing back at the little guy over there, waving like crazy. He crossed his arms and turned to Bai Wan next to him.

"Well?"

Bai Wan said in a slightly rusty Chinese: "If we fought them, especially the guy holding the kid, our odds of winning are basically zero percent."

"No shit."

Bai Zhize grumbled.

Bai Wan probably couldn't even take down Bai Jin in his current weakest state.

Even though Bai Zhize already had a sense of how cutthroat this Bai family competition was, he still couldn't help cursing: What the hell kind of zoo did his big brother round up?

The youngest one looked like he had some potential, but he was just a regular kid.

Anyway, Bai Zhize didn't see anything special about him.

The kid was even pretty timid—after one glance at him, he wouldn't look again.

Bai Zhize snorted.

But there was something else—he turned to Bai Wan.

He was surprised Bai Wan hadn't brought up his 'take them out first' theory today.

Bai Wan's mind quickly filed the Bai family away and moved on to other things. He still spoke in that stiff, robotic way, with a weird trailing lilt and zero expression.

"Dad, I think you had a point today."

Bai Zhize: ...What?

His sky-blue eyes were crystal clear, completely emotionless, which somehow made them look weirdly sincere. This big guy tilted his head, staring at his old man, like his tongue was tying itself in knots.

"Better a live dog than a dead lion."

He just barely managed to spit out that string of words.

"...Talk like a normal person."

"Chinese baozi."

Bai Wan finally gave up on his robotic, broken Chinese and switched back to his native language, nodding.

"One hundred percent delicious."

Bai Zhize: ...

Bai Zhize was livid: "...That's what I told you to think about?! You think I don't know baozi are good?!"

...

After Bai Zhize and Bai Wan left, Bai Jin rubbed his chin, a little intrigued by Bai Wan.

They'd only had that brief encounter without saying a word, but he was definitely a bit different.

The heirs of this generation of the Bai family had almost never met any of the branch families.

"Mixed blood? Pretty tall too, staying at great-grandpa's place...? Wonder if he can fight."

Bai Jin flexed his wrist, smiled casually, and reached out to ruffle the little guy's head as he talked.

Xiao Bainuo had already slipped down from his dad's arms and was tugging at his grandpa's clothes. Spotting his uncle's 'attack,' he ducked behind his grandpa, then glanced at his grandma. Finding his protector, he scurried behind her in a flash: "Uncle's all fragile right now, he can't go out fighting. Grandma, look at Uncle."

The little cub of the house looked up expectantly at the 'top of the food chain,' waiting for Grandma to scold Uncle.

Cen Zhi was thrilled, pressing her little heel into Bai Jin's foot, delighted by her Xiao Wu's yelp.

"You hear that? Nuonuo's right."

Bai Jin was about to say something when he suddenly spotted his third brother, just three steps away from Xiao Bainuo, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Bai Jin rubbed his nose awkwardly and muttered: "Isn't third brother a little too attached to his kid?"

And this was after the kid started kindergarten—if he hadn't, wouldn't he have him glued to his side all day?

"Got a problem with that? No worries, tell your second brother."

Second brother will help get the word out.

Bai Liang stayed all smiles, the one who was genuinely indifferent to Bai Zhize and his kid.

He was rarely home these days, and he looked a bit better in color, partly because he'd promised the little guy they'd put that little fish back in the tank together.

He still had to head out later, and though he figured they'd go back to their usual way of interacting afterward.

Bai Liang didn't deny what Bai Sheng had said earlier—they couldn't let a little cub like that worry.

Bai Jin shuddered, clutching his game console and inching away from the Old Fox.

"No thanks. Go find a chance to keep arguing with Sis. You two should coordinate—stop having one come back while the other's gone."

Then he went back to stirring up trouble with everyone else.

Moving farther from Bai Liang.

Bai Jin stayed on the couch, pulling cards, too lazy to get involved in anything else.

He watched the little cub get Grandpa settled, ask when Uncle would be back, then follow Second Uncle to put that lively little fish back in the tank, and finally see Bai Liang off.

Before leaving, the little guy worked up his courage and asked softly—other kids' parents got picked up from school or work, and Nuonuo had Dad to pick him up too, so when Second Uncle got off work on time, did he need Nuonuo to come get him?

Bai Jin hit the draw button.

Tch, who needs someone to pick him up from work anyway? How old is Bai Liang now? If he said he wanted one, that'd be shameless of him. I haven't even said I want a ride.

"...I do."

That was Bai Liang's voice.

See, I told you...

Wait, what the—?

Bai Jin pushed himself up, staring blankly at the doorway.

And Bai Liang himself, the one who'd said it, seemed startled by his own words for a moment.

Bai Liang adjusted his glasses, still smiling, but it wasn't the same smile as usual—there was a flustered, sleepy look in his eyes. But he got up quickly.

"Second Uncle's heading to work."

Bai Liang figured it was just a slip—he'd heard Bai Sheng say it earlier, and it made him zone out and agree by accident.

...He didn't think this was okay. He should stay in the lab longer today.

Bai Liang hurried out of the main building.

Bai Jin continued staring at his stack of common cards, leaning back again, muttering softly: "Man, is my luck really this bad today?"

Xiao Bainuo was doing his usual rounds through the activity hall with Dou Dou, passing by his youngest uncle and overhearing that. The little guy blinked his big eyes and padded over.

Bai Jin instinctively reached out to shield the hard wooden handrail, so the little one wouldn't bump into it. He straightened up and watched the little one approach.

What's up?

You here to gloat, Xiao Nuo?

But it's kinda cute, so it's forgivable.

Bai Jin chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the little one's messy curls.

"It's not raining anymore. Want Uncle to take you out to look at the flowers later?"

"Uncle," the little guy's big eyes lit up, and he was about to nod, but then remembered why he came. He grabbed the edge of the sofa, looked up at Bai Jin, and said seriously, "No fighting, okay?"

"Got it, no fighting," Bai Jin said casually.

Then the little guy went on.

"Uncle, bend down."

What for?

Bai Jin didn't even ask, he just leaned down: "What is it?"

And then the little one cupped Bai Jin's face in his hands.

There was no magic in this world, but somehow the little guy had learned it from those picture books, and was casting it in the adult world.

"Nuonuo's got good luck today, so I'll share some with Uncle."

Having a bad luck day?

No worries, Nuonuo'll share some with you.