Chapter 104

Chapter 104

This guy was already infuriating enough, and he just got a Nuonuo handed to him for free—where's the justice in that?

The more they thought about it, the angrier they got—honestly, that research institute really had no vision! Those escapees had better stay hidden forever and never show their faces again!

The anger they'd built up from Bai Sheng was no joke.

Show up, and they'd be taken out in a second.

Cen Zhi, meanwhile, looked around, and the more she compared, the more depressed she got. She couldn't help stomping on Bai Jin's foot next to her again.

Bai Jin looked down: ?

"...Ow!"

...

Over there, little Bainuo finished his cake, tidied up, and got down from his dad's arms. He held Dou Dou up high and told his first 'little buddy' since arriving that tomorrow they'd go to the aquarium to see fishy.

With this little cub around, the house never seemed to have a quiet moment.

Not that he minded, of course.

Bai Jin picked up his game console and tried out a new character he'd been wanting to play for a while, but it didn't grab him like he thought it would. He set the console down and looked back at the little cub.

"Still going out to see the flowers?"

Little Bainuo, holding Dou Dou, looked over and nodded. "Yeah, wanna see."

"Then let's go."

Bai Jin dropped the game console and noticed Bai Jingyun getting up not far away. He raised an eyebrow, then looked at Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng was in the middle of his next task and paused briefly: "Nuonuo goes ahead—Dad will finish this up and come right over."

Since they were just moving around inside the Bai estate, with people keeping an eye on them, Bai Sheng wasn't particularly worried about anything going wrong—not to mention he could watch on the cameras. Right now, of course, he was trying to get all his work done early so he could take this little one to the aquarium tomorrow.

The little cub thought for a moment, stood on his tiptoes to peek at his busy dad. Then his dad patted his head. The little cub glanced at the orange-red flowers climbing outside the window, and the wisteria trellis in the distance, which had already withered in the peak of summer—but at this temperature, plenty of flowers were still blooming in the courtyard.

So the little cub spoke up.

"Then can Nuonuo pick some flowers and bring them back for Daddy to see?"

Bai Sheng looked over.

"Have someone else pick and trim them for you—don't use scissors yourself."

"Mm-hmm!"

Little Bainuo nodded vigorously.

Sure, little Bainuo often played alone in the front garden in the mornings while waiting for his dad to get up, but for Bai Jingyun and Bai Jin, this was pretty unusual.

Bai Sheng was actually not tagging along with his cub?

Even Grandpa, who'd been sick and had barely said a word from his seat, stood up to go too—and they started squabbling over who got to stand next to the little cub—oh, Cen Zhi had already snagged one side, so there was only one spot left.

Bai Jingyun and Bai Jin kept shoving each other out of the way, trading off that spot, with the quiet grandpa squeezing in between every now and then.

They were so smooth about it that little Bainuo didn't even notice—his attention got pulled away fast.

The Bai estate's garden design was, of course, top-notch.

Besides the usual rock formations, the greenery had been carefully designed and maintained with a ton of effort.

Even though Ang City was up north in country Z, where winters were so cold that almost nothing bloomed, they'd still managed to create an area where flowers bloomed in every season—each one different, with some plants swapped out every year.

After the wisteria trellis withered, the archway of white-and-orange roses next to it was in full, brilliant bloom. Trumpet vines climbed along the walls, and here and there you'd spot walls of pink roses. Further over were big clusters of hydrangeas in all sorts of colors, dahlias, and low-spreading dwarf zinnias covering the ground. In the distance, you could see a small sunflower field—and under the overcast sky, all the colors looked even more vivid.

With the fresh smell of rain in the air and a cool breeze, there was a special kind of comfort that broke the usual routine.

Little Bainuo liked this flower, liked that one too. He tugged on his grandma's clothes and carefully picked out the prettiest flowers for his dad, soon holding a little bunch in his hands.

The adults watched, not feeling anything special about the weather or the view.

But Bai Jin suddenly remembered something.

"You like them a lot? Your great-grandpa's place is almost finished—you can go check it out then. I heard your great-grandpa moved all his plants over too. Oh, and he made a little fish pond, but it's kinda tucked away—if you don't like fish ponds, you don't gotta go."

The little cub was just taking the flowers his grandma handed him.

He blinked.

Fish pond? Nuonuo remembered the grown-ups saying it's easier to catch fish in a pond than in a reservoir.

"Then can Great-Grandpa catch fishy again?"

The little cub clearly wasn't focused on what Bai Jin was getting at—he just spoke up happily.

"Will that make Great-Grandpa happier?"

If Great-Grandpa's in a good mood, won't the chances of something bad happening go down?

Bai Jin froze, staring at the cub: "...I was telling you to focus on that?"

And he also had to squeeze in time to pick up his second brother—who loved nothing more than watching the world burn—from work. He put his hands on his knees, looked at the cub, and muttered under his breath: "Why don't you pick me up from school?"

"Because Little Uncle's on break!"

Little Bainuo blinked and smiled.

"When Little Uncle goes back to school, Nuonuo'll pick him up!"

Trust Nuonuo—Nuonuo gets out super early. Whatever others have, Nuonuo's villain family should have too.

The wind blew, making the pale pink gradient dahlias tremble, and in his arms he mostly held big pinkish-blue hydrangeas, like they were blooming right out of his chest.

Bai Jin: ...

Bai Jin reached out and suddenly hoisted the little cub up like a bouquet.

He grinned, bright and carefree, lifting him slowly this time so the cub could get used to it: "I never said you had to come pick me up."

He just liked doing stuff little Bainuo would never see coming. For him, the thrill and the challenge were what got his blood pumping. Of course, he wouldn't take the cub on anything dangerous, but he wanted the little one to feel what he felt—a little thrill now and then was its own kind of fun.

"Whoa!!"

Little Bainuo hugged his flowers tight, wailing and hollering, but his eyes were sparkling, and he kept yelling.

"Uncle's bad!"

"Be careful not to drop him!"

Cen Zhi was the first to react, reaching out to shield Xiao Bainuo.

Bai Qian didn't say a word, but he'd already lifted his foot, ready to kick once Cen Zhi pulled Xiao Bainuo away.

Bai Jingyun moved aside, gearing up to finish the job.

Anyway, after a team effort, Xiao Bainuo was held by his grandma and put back down on the floor, while Bai Jin successfully face-planted.

—He dodged his old man's kick but not his big brother's.

Having been holed up at home playing games during this rough patch, Bai Jin thought: What is this, some perfectly synchronized combo move?!

Xiao Bainuo peeked over at his little uncle. He thought about reaching out to touch him, but then poked him with a flower stem instead.

Bai Jin didn't mind the dirty ground and simply shifted to get more comfortable. Just then, before he could speak, he spotted Bai Sheng walking out the door.

Oh, the 'big boss' is here.

Bai Jin was thinking this when he suddenly felt confused.

Why did it seem like his third brother was moving faster and faster... like he'd be right in front of him any second?

It wasn't just his imagination.

Because Bai Jin heard another pair of footsteps rapidly approaching behind him.

He turned to look and saw Cen Liu charging over with a creepy uncle smile on his face.

"Nuonuo Nuonuo Nuonuo Nuonuo!!! Your cousin uncle is here!!! Let him hold you—"

Cousin uncle hugged nothing but air.

Bai Sheng, who had scooped up his little one at the last moment, looked relieved.

He looked at Cen Liu, then at the car behind him.

He stared at Cen Liu with a look that said 'You're a child trafficker, aren't you?'

Cen Liu: ... "What's wrong with me holding him?! Do you think I'd grab Nuonuo, jump in the car, and drive off?"

Bai Jin scrambled to his feet and looked at his cousin, speechless.

You actually said that out loud!

So the probability of snatching the kid and jumping in the car and taking off is definitely not zero, right??

The other Bai family members all stared at Cen Liu, and even Cen Zhi couldn't help but crack a smile.

Scary.

They almost ran into a 'child trafficker' at home.

Bai Sheng looked down at his little one, who still had no idea what was going on.

Then he pointed at Cen Liu, getting Nuonuo to identify him.

"Nuonuo, look, who is this?"

"It's cousin uncle!"

The little one answered right away.

Then he saw his dad shake his head.

"He's a bad man who kidnaps kids."

Xiao Bainuo: "Huh?"

Cen Liu: ...

"Don't tell him that!!!"

The adults suddenly got loud and rowdy.

Xiao Bainuo looked around, then broke into a big smile and showed his dad the big bunch of flowers he was holding.

"Daddy, Nuonuo picked the prettiest ones to show you. Grandma said that if we put them in a vase when we get back, they'll last a long time."

Bai Sheng looked at his little one, whose face was partially hidden behind the flowers, making him look even more adorable, with bright, clear eyes.

Bai Sheng couldn't be bothered with the commotion behind him. He said as he carried his little one back inside, "Mm, then we'll have the butler find you a pretty vase when we get back."

...

Cen Liu still didn't manage to hold the little one. It was already after dinner, and night had fallen, as he glared at Bai Sheng through gritted teeth.

Finally, unwilling but knowing he couldn't win a fight, he insisted on pulling out the strategy board game they used to play as kids to settle the score.

Back then, they mostly just settled things with their fists and rarely played such games seriously. As a kid, he'd been beaten up so badly by Bai Sheng that he'd avoided him for a long time, let alone played board games with him.

As for Bai Sheng, although his work was temporarily done and he could focus on reading picture books with his little one in the evening, he didn't want to waste his time on these people. Besides, Cen Liu was the oldest but he was really childish. He tried to refuse, but the others actually looked kind of eager to join in.

Bai Sheng: ?

Are you guys sick?

Bai Jingyun sat down, sharing a look with Cen Liu.

He'd already admitted he wasn't going to fight with Bai Sheng anymore—what was one more admission of being crazy?

Bai Jingyun looked up at Bai Sheng: "Scared to play?"

Bai Sheng: "Ha."

A taunt?

"What is it? Daddy, what is this?"

The little one had spread his flowers out on the mat on the floor, with several vases filled with flower food in front of him, and was now looking over curiously.

Bai Sheng looked at his little one—Daddy is the strongest in a kid's heart.

Even for this slightly complex board game, which involved some calculation and was meant to burn off the energy of energetic kids, the same was true.

Bai Sheng sat down.

"Come."

This board game was still way too complicated for little Nuonuo.

He sat next to Grandma, watching her pluck the petals off the flowers one by one, then handed them to her so she could snip the stems at an angle, then gesturing to put them in the vase, looking totally confused.

Nuonuo had no clue what was going on, but it looked like his little uncle was out.

The little guy clapped his hands excitedly. "So cool!"

He didn't get it, but that didn't stop him from cheering.

Bai Jin, who got eliminated: ...What's so amazing?

Amazing that they all ganged up and took me out first?

I'm not that big a threat, am I? Shouldn't they be teaming up on Third Brother?!

Turns out, compared to someone who was just scary, it was Bai Jin—a "wild card" who acted on a whim—who needed to be taken out first.

Then they all turned their fire on Bai Sheng.

Of course, that gave Bai Sheng a pretty hard time.

Just then, Cen Liu was holding a stack of supply tokens, showing his real face: "Third cousin, hand Nuonuo over to me, and I'll team up with you against the eldest cousin."

Little Nuonuo instinctively stood up, blinking.

But Bai Sheng did the math in his head without even looking up, even smirking: "No. Want one? Go make your own."

Supply tokens or a cub—was there even a choice? Nope.

And he figured he was about to catch a break soon.

Cen Liu: ...

Sure enough, Bai Jingyun turned his head: ?

Weren't we all supposed to be ganging up on Bai Sheng?

Everyone had their own agenda, and the friendly alliance fell apart.

In the end, Bai Sheng outsmarted the broken Cen Liu–Bai Jingyun alliance one by one.

Cen Liu slammed the table, cursing: "What the hell is wrong with your brain?!"

How can one guy have strong pheromones, an annoying personality, a sharp brain, and still end up with such an adorable kid?!

And all he wanted was to invite his dear nephew over—and he couldn't even get that.

God, is this fair?!

Bai Sheng gave a smug, mocking smile and tossed down all the pieces in his hand.

He said if they still weren't satisfied, they could settle it in the training room.

Then he scooped up his little one, glancing at the flowers Nuonuo had arranged. The little guy wrapped his arms around Daddy's neck—he had no idea what just happened, but that didn't stop him from being pumped that Daddy won.

"See, I told you—Daddy is super amazing!"

Nuonuo's daddy is the best daddy in the whole world.

Just like Daddy always said—Daddy can do anything!

Bai Sheng, having successfully kept up his "cool dad" image, was in a good mood.

"Let's go. Gotta get up early tomorrow—time to head home and crash."

"Okay!"

Little Nuonuo replied, hugging Dou Dou and grabbing a little vase to take home. Then the little guy looked around the activity room and said goodbye to everyone, one by one.

Bai Qian was still resting, so he wasn't in the activity room, and Cen Zhi was doing a face mask.

Still in the room were Bai Jingyun, Bai Jin, and Cen Liu.

The three watched Bai Sheng—who had just shown off big time in front of the kid—carry the little one toward the door, and they could still hear the little guy's voice.

"...Why are you so happy? 'Cause Daddy won! And Daddy picked Nuonuo!"

The little cub had rarely been truly chosen by anyone before, so of course he was happy now—even if it was just a game.

"Daddy picked Nuonuo, so Nuonuo can make origami to take care of Daddy and trade it for lots and lots of stuff."

The little guy's voice was all soft and babyish.

But origami... wouldn't they starve? Bai Sheng, how can you let a little kid support you with origami?!

That's what they were all thinking as they watched the father-son duo walk away.

Cen Liu stretched and stood up: "I should head back too—I've got to get up early for work tomorrow."

After getting his Nuonuo fix, he was recharged. He could handle work again.

Meanwhile, Bai Jin suddenly muttered: "I think my sense of entitlement is pretty high too."

He could take care of the kid too!

Cen Zhi: ?

"Aren't you just shameless?"

Bai Jin: ..."Mom!"

The next morning.

The little guy naturally woke up early, and today he had the big job of waking Daddy up. He held Dou Dou, kept an eye on the clock, and started calling for Daddy to get up right on time.

He was a precise little human alarm clock.

Bai Sheng yawned as he got the little guy through their morning routine and dressed him.

Since they were heading to the aquarium, the little guy wore a T-shirt with little fish swimming on it, gray shorts, and sandals. The sky outside was still gray, with light rain possible at any moment, so Bai Sheng had also packed a clear little umbrella for Nuonuo. He also had a little kids' camera hanging around his neck.

After breakfast, the little guy happily said bye to Grandma Feng and tugged on Daddy's clothes as they headed out.

The aquarium was on the edge of Ang City, a good distance from downtown.

They had to leave early, so this wasn't Bai Sheng's usual wake-up-and-eat time.

But since nothing had happened to trigger his alpha instincts, Bai Sheng seemed less than lively—like a big monster roused mid-sleep by his cub, lazily trailing behind the little one to patrol the territory, letting his cub strut around with borrowed authority, like a fox wearing a tiger's skin.

He yawned lazily, looking at Xiao Bainuo, whose eyes sparkled with excitement.

"This excited?"

"Because I haven't seen my big brothers in forever!"

The little guy looked up at his dad, waiting to be picked up and put in the car.

When his dad picked him up, the little guy snuggled into him.

"And I get to go out and play with Daddy again!"

"Yeah, Daddy feels the same way."

Bai Sheng buckled the cub in, only realizing after the words were out—

Some words were getting easier for him to say these days.

The Yu family.

Originally, Yu Chuyan was meant to go with Yu Chen's assistant.

But early that morning, Yu Chen rushed back and hopped in the car with his little brother.

Lately, Yu Chuang had been making a lot of noise, acting like Yu Chuyan was his son and couldn't be kept from him forever.

Yu Chen was afraid something might happen to Yu Chuyan, so he rushed through his work, feeling he had to personally keep an eye on things to be at ease.

Before the car pulled out, Yu Chen buckled Yu Chuyan's seatbelt, then rubbed his temples, looking tired.

He didn't want to admit it, but betas really didn't have the stamina of alphas.

Yu Chuyan looked at his brother, his naturally stoic little face even more tense, clearly upset.

"Didn't you agree to meet Little Nuo? You were so excited when we planned this—why the long face now?"

"Because big brother matters... Brother, did they pick on you?"

Yu Chuyan's cheeks were still baby-soft, but his eyes were ice-cold.

"I hate those guys."

—Because big brother matters.

Yu Chen suddenly felt all that busy work was worth it. He let out a chuckle.

"Adult stuff—kids don't need to worry about that. If the sky falls, Grandpa will catch it first, and if he can't, big brother will."

A five-year-old's job right now was to eat, drink, play, and grow up strong.

Yu Chen ruffled Yu Chuyan's hair.

Only then did Yu Chuyan nod, obediently gripping his seatbelt with both hands. As the car started moving, he saw a maid inside the house carrying out a pot—that flowerpot looked familiar.

Yu Chuyan stared for a moment, then turned to his brother, "Brother, did your cactus die?"

Yu Chen: ...

Little mouth—shut it.

His new plants were coming soon! He was definitely going to break his curse of killing every plant he touched!

But until then—

Yu Chen closed his eyes, grabbed a bottle of water from the side, and smiled at his little brother.

"Here, Yan Yan, take a sip of water and hold it in your mouth so you won't get carsick."

Yu Chuyan took the water skeptically, took a sip, swallowed, then gave his brother a suspicious look.

"Brother, are you tricking me?"

Yu Chen: ...

Ha, this little rascal was getting harder to fool by the day!

In the end, the three families successfully met up outside the aquarium at the kids' playground.

Shi Lin had a work meeting today, so Xie Yu was flying solo with both cubs.

Unlike Bai Sheng's laid-back vibe, Xie Yu was so tired he couldn't stop yawning.

Don't ask—last night there was a "three-way war" at home, and Xie Yu would blame the pillow fight over his sleeping dad's head as the trigger.

And there was "collateral damage" too!

The others looked at Xie Yue, whose one hand was wrapped in bandages.

Yu Chen asked curiously.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Don't feel sorry for him."

Xie Yu smiled wearily.

"Last time they stuffed dried wood ear mushrooms into my tea tin and mixed them in evenly, and I ended up brewing them. This time they messed with my tea again, and following the science book, they picked leaves from outside and tried to stir-fry them to pass off as tea, saying I'd never notice. They ended up with a few burn blisters. I just popped them and wrapped it up—doesn't affect movement."

He just wanted to know—what good was the induction cooktop's child lock against energetic, clever alpha cubs?!

He'd not only told the household staff to put away dangerous items like kitchenware, but also demanded they be locked up—three locks!

Xie Yue patted his chest, looking quite proud: "No problem at all! Brother Yan, Little Nuo!"

He'd do it again next time.

Xie Qing also greeted them, then summarized his brother's behavior on the side.

"I told you it was a stupid idea."

"You're the stupid one! Xie Qing couldn't even come up with one idea!"

"I said it long ago—just throw it away. If Dad can't find it, he'll think he just forgot."

Xie Yu: ...Hey, your old man is right here! You little brats!

Xiao Bainuo pitter-pattered over and stood with the older brothers.

His kindergarten habit had him naturally reaching for Brother Xiaoyan's hand.

Yu Chen watched his kid, who had just said how important his brother was but had now completely forgotten about him, and stroked his chin.

Bai Sheng, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze over the little Alpha cubs, then let his eyes linger on the two kids' clasped hands.

Kindergarten kids holding hands... that's pretty normal, right?

They were about to enter the aquarium theme park, and the Xie twin Alphas were still at it.

And things were heating up.

Plus, the kids had been studying idioms lately, so Xie Yue didn't hesitate to blurt out.

"Don't mess with me, or I'll turn on my own family!"

Xie Yu glanced at Xie Yue, recalling how he'd been "raving" on top of his head last night, and nodded.

Turning on his own family? Yeah, that checks out.

Xie Qing refused to back down: "Well, then I'm a total bully!"

Xie Yu looked at Xie Qing again, thinking of all those lousy ideas and sneaky tricks he'd pulled.

A total bully? Yeah, that fits!

Yu Chuyan joined the "troublemaker squad" formation: "Then I'm an absolute menace."

Yu Chen looked over.

And what's this got to do with you?

You're definitely a menace—just leave your brother's plants alone, please.

Finally, it was Xiao Bainuo's turn. He blinked, looked at his dad, then at his brothers, and said seriously in his soft, milky little voice: "Nuonuo answers to no one."

Nuonuo is the villain kid, the bad guy!

Little Nuo's got free rein to do whatever he wants!

Everyone looked over.

Oh my.

He said it so softly and earnestly—that he answers to no one!