Chapter 105

Chapter 105

The adults following behind the group of kids had just been nodding along approvingly at these little monkeys' "self-criticism."

When they suddenly heard Little Bai Nuo's words, their hearts nearly melted.

"We're all saying the same type of words," the old-timer "kid-napper" Xie Yu said with relative composure, rubbing his chin as he remarked to the assistant beside him. "Why is Little Nuonuo just so adorable?"

In comparison, why did his own two little rascals look so infuriating?

Yes, Shi Lin hadn't come, but Xie Yu knew he couldn't keep an eye on both little monkeys by himself, so he'd asked the assistant to come help.

The assistant was the same one from the last trip to the children's amusement park. Having gotten a raise and promotion after that experience, the working stiff said nothing, just kept snapping photos.

He knew his boss all too well, didn't he?

He talked about the little rascals being little troublemakers, threatening to throw them out, but in reality he treasured and doted on them endlessly.

Of course.

Other people's kids really are adorable.

The assistant couldn't help but steal glance after glance at the little one who'd called himself a little terror.

God, how is he so cute?

Bai Sheng had also brought out a camera, head down as he adjusted the settings. For portability, he'd brought a prime lens best for portraits. Bai Sheng's photography had been pretty bad before—he had no interest in it and never bothered to learn.

But ever since the kid came along and he started posting on his Moments more frequently, he'd found time to skim a few photography books and composition guides.

Now it was finally time to put it into practice. Bai Sheng strolled lazily behind the group, looking to be in a good mood, and chuckled at the comment.

Xie Yu: ...

To stop him from launching into a tangent immediately, he spoke up first.

"I know, I saw your Moments post about Xiao Nuo being so pleased with himself."

Don't tempt me!!!

Little Bai Nuo walked ahead with the older brothers, glancing back at his dad as if afraid he might get lost.

That's just how little kids were. Even though Bai Sheng had plumped him up quite a bit and built up his sense of self-worth, he still carried a faint, lingering unease, mostly surfacing during sleep.

And also at times like this—when Bai Sheng hadn't explicitly told him where he was going, what he'd do, or when he'd come pick him up. If he drifted a bit too far without being told or informed, he'd instinctively look for his dad.

As if afraid happiness might accidentally leave him behind.

He still needed a little more care.

Bai Sheng had only raised the kid for half a year, but he understood more deeply than many parents who'd been at it for years. A child's character and future behavior were built up day by day through careful tending—there was no overnight success, and no instant collapse either.

Bai Sheng nodded at his little one, signaling he could go play with the older brothers without worry—dad was right behind, wouldn't get lost.

Little Bai Nuo held Yu Chuyan's hand with one hand and carried Dou Dou with the other, the light blue leash still wrapped around his wrist. He nodded and followed behind the older brothers.

Xie Yue's right hand was wrapped in bandages but he still wouldn't behave, tugging at Xie Qing's clothes relentlessly: "I saw you hide that candy—hand it over!"

Xie Qing tried to dodge, annoyed, clutching his pocket tightly.

"There's none, and even if there were, I wouldn't give it to you."

The bickering went on over there, practically swirling around Yu Chuyan and Little Bai Nuo.

Yu Chuyan led the little guy toward an exhibition hall.

He lifted his little chin slightly and gently swung Little Bai Nuo's hand back and forth.

"That hall over there has the big fish, and there's a simulated underwater tunnel below, but there's nothing much to see. Let's look at this one instead—the fish here are prettier."

The little cool guy who'd invited Little Bai Nuo out had done his homework thoroughly.

Just then, Xie Qing, unable to take Xie Yue's pestering any longer, pulled a chocolate milk candy from his pocket and thrust it into Little Bai Nuo's hands.

"Little brother, this is for you."

The little one froze for a moment and instinctively looked up.

Xie Qing held his hands out, letting Xie Yue search his pockets.

"See, it's gone."

Xie Yue muttered in his little kid voice: "You should've said you only brought one."

Even so, he nodded matter-of-factly, thinking that if there was only one piece left, and the little brother loved sweets the most, it was no problem to give it to him.

Little Bai Nuo blinked.

"Thank you, big brother."

He said it softly, then let go of Yu Chuyan's hand and reached into his little palm-sized fish-shaped crossbody bag.

The little one pulled out four pieces of original milk candy and handed one to each of the older brothers.

His little bag was too small—four pieces filled it to the brim. He'd planned to share them later anyway, since most of the snacks were with his dad, but now, a few pieces of candy, he could divide them up perfectly.

But now he had one extra.

Little Bai Nuo looked at the two pieces in his hand, then suddenly turned and trotted over to his dad. As Xie Yu instinctively looked down with a smile, the little one raised his hand high and offered the milk candy to him.

"Daddy, share it with Nuonuo."

"Mm."

Bai Sheng acknowledged, taking the candy from the little one's hand. He watched the little guy contentedly run back to the older brothers, unwrap the wrapper, and pop the chocolate-flavored candy into his mouth.

About ten seconds later, all four little ones walking ahead had slightly puffed cheeks, giving off a sweet milky fragrance and a faint hint of chocolate.

The area dimmed as they entered the exhibition hall. There weren't many people here yet, and they could see the first fish tank filled with a school of glowlight tetras, their colors dreamy and beautiful under the overhead fill lights.

Little Bai Nuo's steps unconsciously paused, and Yu Chuyan pulled his little hand again: "It's okay, no need to be scared, Little Nuo, you won't fall in. See, I told you so, right? It's a really small fish tank, isn't it?"

The Xie twins, who'd been curiously looking around and about to wander off from the group, also came over, sandwiching Little Bai Nuo between them. Xie Qing mumbled: "Big brother's blocking you, you won't fall in."

Little Bai Nuo made a small sound in response, looking up at the little fish in the tank, then turned to the older brothers with utter seriousness: "Nuonuo thinks the big brothers are really great, really amazing."

Not only adults can't resist.

Same-age A-class kids also give in without putting up any fight.

But Xie Yue could only manage to nod, then spoke up: "It's fine, if anyone's falling in, it'll be my brother first."

Xie Qing: ... "I'm worried about the future—inheriting the family business and dealing with your dumb self."

Xie Yue: "Huh?"

"What did you say?! You're the idiot!"

Meanwhile, Yu Chuyan was watching Xiao Bainuo, then looked at the row of fish and cleared his throat.

Despite the racket, the four kids huddled together, oohing and aahing at the schools of red and blue fish.

Yu Chuyan had clearly done his prep, memorizing the species and traits of the surrounding small fish, and was gently introducing them to Xiao Bainuo. Though Dou Dou's occasional interjections made him shoot Dou Dou a dissatisfied look.

The little one, holding Dou Dou with one hand, let go of Brother Xiaoyan's hand and seriously snapped photos with his kid-sized camera.

The parents looked on from behind.

Bai Sheng occasionally snapped a few photos.

But anyway—

Xie Yu, who'd been ready to split up with his assistant to wrangle the kids, looked at the scene before him, at the cluster of four kids, and clutched at his chest.

What is this?

What is this?!

Can you believe it? These wild monkeys who usually tear around everywhere actually didn't run off on this outing, no need for the parents to keep reeling them back in?!

What kind of gold standard is this?!

Xie Yu stared at Xiao Bainuo, his creepy-uncle smile almost uncontrollable.

What an adorable, low-maintenance kid? So jealous, so jealous, so jealous.

This setup is unfair!

A top A like Bai Sheng should've been given some high-difficulty wild monkey kids, how does he end up with such a well-behaved one?

So freaking jealous—

But hold on.

Xie Yu had been on high alert since he got out of the car, keeping an eye on his two kids, and it only just hit him.

Why was he the only one feeling jealous?

Where the heck was Yu Chen?

The four kids seemed to be getting along great, and Xie Yu turned to look at Yu Chen.

Yu Chen was alternating between glancing up at his brother and looking down at his phone, his brows furrowing slightly without him realizing.

"What's wrong?"

Xie Yu asked.

He was genuinely a bit surprised.

After all, he'd been told earlier that Yu Chen wouldn't be coming.

Old Master Yu's health wasn't great. Though he still backed the brothers up from behind the scenes, Yu Chen had a lot on his plate to establish a firm foothold. He was already juggling school while learning the ropes of the company. Now that school was out, he was even busier, so logically, he shouldn't have come.

"Hm?"

Yu Chen glanced at Xie Yu in between.

Xie Yu usually looked out for them too and knew the Yu family's situation well, so Yu Chen didn't mind telling him.

"Yu Chuang, he's been acting weird lately, insisting he can raise Yanyan, saying he wants to see him."

Yu Chen spoke to Xie Yu with a touch of respect, but when he mentioned their father, a flash of hostility crossed his eyes, along with plenty of displeasure, especially about what Yu Chuang had said.

"Hm?"

Xie Yu thought for a moment.

"What's that old bastard scheming?"

"Don't know, but there's no way I'm letting him meet Yanyan."

Yu Chen said.

"He has no scruples. I need to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't pull anything behind my back."

Yu Chen was a bit anxious.

He wasn't sure if it was because he was making too many big moves now, or because he'd partnered with the Bai family, someone he'd never worked with before, putting Yu Chuang on alert. Or maybe Yu Chuang thought Yu Chuyan's talent and ability made him look like a top A, making him regret his choice or feel threatened for his other idiot son's position.

Either way, it wasn't good.

Grandpa's health had been off lately too, so he needed to watch things closely and make sure nothing went sideways.

The two of them chatted as they fell to the back of the group. Bai Sheng never paid attention to anyone around him, focused on taking photos of his own kid.

Meanwhile, Xiao Bainuo was gazing up at the colorful fish under the lights. The lights reflected in his eyes like colorful specks, like bubbles floating in his gaze—a different kind of brightness.

Yu Chen had been a bit annoyed looking at his secretary's messages, but now he caught a glimpse of the four kids over there, and then looked at Xiao Bainuo, who was seeing these dreamy things for the first time, eyes wide, profile soft.

Snapping back to reality, Yu Chen: ...

"How is he this cute?"

Xie Yu cracked up.

"Right?!"

Come be jealous with me—I can't be the only one getting outshined by that Bai Sheng!

This aquarium hall mostly had small tropical fish and cold-water ornamental fish. The hall wasn't small, but compared to the ocean hall and big fish hall next door, it was a lot smaller, with way fewer people.

But it was more than enough for the little kid.

The kid wasn't just breezing past the exhibits.

Xiao Bainuo listened and watched very attentively, listening to Yu Chuyan talk, then Dou Dou.

Midway through, he was also drawn to the little shop inside the exhibition hall selling fridge magnets and small hanging ornaments.

He picked out a few fridge magnets to take back, and was wearing finely crafted plush hanging ornaments. The little one loved them so much that he spun in circles to show his dad, the little fish ornaments of all kinds jingling away with each spin.

The little one hugged his dad's leg, pointed at the ornaments, and named them one by one like a proud owner showing off his treasures, telling his dad what each one was.

"So many, so many pretty fishy!"

His big eyes sparkled, and he opened his arms wide to show his dad.

Bai Sheng kept taking photos, raising an eyebrow.

"Do we need to buy some pretty little fish to take home and raise?"

Although Bai Sheng could simply have someone handle it.

He still respected the opinion of this poor little cub who would cry over a single little fish.

Xiao Bainuo went "huh?" and tilted his head to think, like a little fish-spirit child tugging at his dad's clothes, then smiled: "Nuonuo doesn't need to buy pretty little fish, Dad. Nuonuo's little fish are pretty too. Nuonuo can take care of so many. The other little fish should be taken care of by people who can take care of them, okay?"

The little one gestured.

It's okay—the pretty fish outside are just that; they're not Nuonuo's fish.

Nuonuo's fish are all cute and pretty. There are the ones Great-Grandpa caught, the ones Little Uncle caught, and the ones Second Uncle, Auntie, and Little Uncle brought back from everywhere. Nuonuo loves his own fish.

He was never a greedy baby who wanted to take everything good he saw for himself.

"Okay."

Bai Sheng nodded, crouched down to straighten the little one's clothes, and glanced at the time.

It was almost lunchtime, but they'd only visited half the exhibition hall.

But that was fine—this aquarium offered all-day tickets, and given that there were many children, there were also plenty of rest areas.

Because it was on the outskirts of Ang City, quite a few restaurants and B&Bs had been built nearby.

Besides eating, they could also take a nap there and continue the tour in the afternoon.

The four little ones all carried quite a few little fish ornaments and walked out of the exhibition hall together.

Xiao Bainuo turned to glance back at the aquarium, as he walked beside his dad, still holding Dou Dou, talking as he walked.

"Daddy, Dou Dou needs to eat-eat now. We need to find a place to feed Dou Dou—"

Just then, the sound of a huge wave crashing came, accompanied by screams, laughter, and cheers from the crowd—it was the large wave-making facility in the ocean hall.

Xiao Bainuo automatically looked over. He was startled. For a split second, he was hyper-sensitive to those sounds—just hearing them, he seemed to see a towering wave sweeping past not far away, destroying everything, while his head was still aching and dizzy, having just barely escaped.

Xiao Bainuo froze for a moment, as if he were seeing doomsday again, the screams overlapping with those from the past.

The little cub didn't know there would be something like this here.

And the adults only knew he was afraid of deep pools of water, not that he was also affected by these sounds.

The little cub wanted to call for his dad, but his voice caught in his throat and he couldn't get it out.

But he didn't need to call out.

Bai Sheng, walking at the front, had already turned and picked him up.

"What's wrong?"

Everything in front of him dissipated like fog, and the cub blinked.

His little hands clutched his dad's clothes, meeting Bai Sheng's gaze.

"Daddy..."

The other three little ones had just been looking around left and right, and now, a step behind, they all crowded over and looked up at Xiao Bainuo.

"The sound was a bit loud... Nuonuo... was a tiny bit scared."

The little one reached up and wrapped his little arms around his dad's neck. The little fish sachet hanging on him wafted a faint scent of jasmine and gardenia.

In that instant just now, the little one had almost thought they were going to be swallowed by those "sounds," so he wanted to tell his dad to run quickly.

He still remembered how he'd run too hastily last time and bumped his head hard. He didn't want his dad to see that kind of scene either.

Bai Sheng held the cub with one arm and placed his other hand over the little one's head, trying to cover the little cub's ears.

"Are you scared of this sound?"

Bai Sheng's expression turned slightly grim at this moment.

—Because there were always times when this little one was scared and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Mm."

Xiao Bainuo nodded. He was so small, and he tucked himself deeper into his dad's arms, almost curling into a tiny ball.

"What's going on? Did the noise over there scare him? That wave machine is too intense—they usually don't turn it on when there are too many kids. Today there must be a lot of adults in the ocean hall who want to join in the activity, but it's only for the morning. It'll be quiet in the afternoon."

Xie Yu and Yu Chen also leaned over to look.

"Don't stay here. The reservation is set over there—let's hurry over. It'll be quiet there."

Bai Sheng nodded. He carried Xiao Bainuo and walked quickly toward the reserved restaurant.

Halfway there, Xiao Bainuo had already calmed down and was looking up at his dad's chin.

"Daddy, Daddy."

"Still scared?"

The little one's eyes had already regained their brightness. He shook his head: "Daddy covered Nuonuo's ears, so Nuonuo can't hear it anymore."

"It's okay for kids to cry when they're scared."

Bai Sheng looked down at the little one who seemed to have bounced back like a little adult, and couldn't help saying it.

Huh?

Xiao Bainuo met his dad's gaze. He was still lying in his dad's arms, as if holding a whole school of little fish.

He blinked.

“Nuonuo knows Daddy is here, so Nuonuo isn’t that scared—just a little bit.”

The little guy said, gesturing with his little hands as he snuggled into his dad’s arms.

“Because Daddy picked Nuonuo up right away.”

So the little cub still had some stress reactions to the scenes and sounds from the apocalypse, but he didn’t curl up in a corner all by himself like a scared little cub anymore, needing forever to get past that fear and terror.

“So, Nuonuo loves Daddy the *most*.”

The little guy nuzzled his cheek against his dad’s.

Xie Yu, who’d just opened the door up ahead, turned to look.

What did this little guy just say?

Haha, there’s no way that was “I love Daddy the most,” right?!

...No kid could say something that soft and sweet—he didn’t buy it!!

Meanwhile, Yu Chen was dragging Yu Chuyan along—Little Cool Guy had practically been glued to the other dad a second ago—and he also turned to look.

The Yu brothers looked at each other.

Yu Chen shot his little brother a look—learn from that kid.

Yu Chuyan thought about it, then it clicked. He waved his brother over, and when his brother crouched down, he heard him whisper.

“If I become Little Nuo’s favorite brother, can I get cheek presses too?”

He was eyeing that cheek-pressing action.

Yu Chen snapped his head up, looked at the kid, then glanced at the Bai father-and-son duo who’d already gone inside.

Yu Chen pinched his brother’s cheek and gave it a good rub.

Without changing his expression, he said, “Why don’t you just take a sip of water and hold it in your mouth.”

Big dreamer.

The homestay room was on the second floor, super spacious, with a big open balcony that had a full view of the aquarium park.

The host had hosted tons of kids before. She asked about allergies, let the parents look over the menu, and soon started getting the food ready.

Xiao Bainuo was trailing behind his dad, watching him set up Dou Dou’s charging station. The little guy put the mini monitor inside and said in his soft little voice, “Hi, Dou Dou, you gotta eat well, okay? Nuonuo will come pick you up in a little bit.”

“Got it, working hard on charging. You eat well too, little one.”

Bai Sheng watched from the side, thinking: Well, at least that’s something a person would say.

Even if the mini monitor wasn’t a person.

Xie Yu still thought he was hallucinating from not sleeping well last night. He poured himself a cup of coffee, blocked his two cubs’ curious stares at the drink in his hand, and put the coffee pot up high, saying kids can’t drink coffee, before walking over looking satisfied.

Hearing that, he looked over with a fond, indulgent expression.

“Aww, he really likes that mini monitor. My kids had a few before, but they broke them all.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty into that mini monitor.”

Bai Sheng chimed in from the side.

“But his favorite is still Daddy.”

Xie Yu turned to stare at Bai Sheng.

After all his precautions, he still hadn’t managed to prevent it!

Bai Sheng smiled at him, then turned and pointed behind himself.

“You gonna deal with that?”

Handle what?

Xie Yu turned to look on instinct.

What could those two little rascals possibly pull? He’d even put the coffee pot up that high...

Then Xie Yu watched as Xie Yue dropped to the ground without a second’s hesitation, Xie Qing got a running start, used his brother as a springboard, got an extra boost from Yu Chuyan, leaped up to the high counter, and grabbed for the coffee pot.

Xie Yu: ...

AAAAAAAH!!!!!

How come you two work together perfectly when it comes to causing trouble?!

Xie Yu grumbled as he went to haul down his cubs who were about to taste the coffee, planning to lock the coffee pot in the cabinet.

The food started coming out one dish after another.

Xiao Bainuo was carried over by his dad to eat.

With four cubs around, especially three A-type cubs, they’d compete and scramble for food, making the meal loud and lively.

Xiao Bainuo sat beside his father. All the plates, spoons, and bowls on the table were shaped like little fish. The little guy gripped his fish-shaped spoon, diligently stirring his bowl, mixing all the ingredients and sauce together, then took a bite. His big eyes instantly lit up.

He ate with such gusto and grace.

Xie Yu, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but praise, “He really knows how to eat.”

Unlike his own cubs, who all ate like little savages.

A new dish arrived—a bunch of different veggies stuffed with meat, wrapped in egg skin on the outside. You couldn’t tell what veggie was inside, like opening a little mystery box, which made it fun.

Xiao Bainuo picked his own, and got delicious tomato-stuffed meat and mushroom-stuffed meat.

By this point in the meal, the little cub’s food intake had already hit the target. Bai Sheng was about to wipe the little one’s mouth, but the cub was eating with stars in his eyes, wanting one more. The tiny cub looked up at his dad with pleading eyes.

“Daddy, please.”

Xie Yu was already reaching for the food, and even Yu Chen couldn’t help but mutter, “Give him one.”

The Three Kids were even ready to share food from their own bowls.

That’s really not necessary.

Bai Sheng looked into his little cub’s eyes and gave in.

“...Just one more.”

He was always giving in to this little guy.

But he was pretty happy about giving in, too.

Bai Sheng picked up another piece and put it in the little one's bowl.

Xiao Bainuo gave a little cheer, took a bite, then blinked in confusion and stuck out his little tongue.

The little cub seemed to have eaten something weird and looked down to see what it was.

...It was a green pepper.

The little one instinctively looked at his dad, wanting to give it to him to eat.

Then he saw a whole table of uncles and brothers all watching him eat.

Why's everyone staring at Nuonuo?

Bai Sheng still hadn't realized what he'd just fed his little one.

And the little guy, who was about to secretly slip the egg-wrapped green pepper stuffed meat to his dad, hesitated for a second.

Xiao Bainuo: ...

The little cub shyly lowered his head, then tried hard and took another bite—it must've been the way Nuonuo bit into it before that was wrong!

...

Wuwu, green pepper, Nuonuo can't handle it.

Bai Sheng heard the little one making a sound like he'd been beaten by the food, snapped out of it, and turned to look.

Bai Sheng: ?

There he saw the little one holding his baby chopsticks, looking up at his dad with pitiful eyes, and softly calling out, "Dad, Dad, don't like green pepper... help Nuonuo eat the green pepper, Dad..."

Please, Daddy.