Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Bai Nuo's eyes drifted back to Yu Chuyan's lips again.

Yu Chuyan's lips were on the thinner side, not very full, but they had a healthy color—and possibly because his body temperature had been a bit higher lately, they were even redder than usual.

Bai Nuo still remembered how they felt.

And how soft they were.

...Actually, he liked every single thing about them.

Bai Nuo snapped out of it, pushing up the safety bar as they neared the disembarking platform. Holding Yu Chuyan's hand, they stepped off together at the stop and jogged a few steps forward to get clear of the exit area. The Xie Twins were still back there, waiting for them to catch up.

Bai Nuo caught Yu Chuyan's eye.

"Wasn't thinking about anything."

He was just thinking—wouldn't it be wonderful to be childhood sweethearts for life? It seemed like they were even closer than actual couples.

Of course, Bai Nuo hadn't completely ruled out romance.

But the Bai family was naturally slow on the uptake in that department—they were a reserved bunch. The only ones in the family who were openly and often affectionate were his grandparents, but at their age, they didn't show that kind of passion in front of the kids, especially not Bai Nuo. The only ones with any hint of romance were his eldest uncle and Uncle Lin Ren, and those two probably hadn't held hands more than a couple times. When they went out, at least when Bai Nuo was around, they were always polite and kept their distance.

And he didn't know many people who were dating either. The lab personnel who were in relationships didn't act like those sweet, lovey-dovey campus couples—everyone was busy, extremely busy, going from one project to the next. They might not even have time to see each other, hug, or talk. Everyone was used to it.

Growing up in that kind of environment, and having been swayed by Yu Chuyan's earlier talk about being childhood sweethearts for life, Bai Nuo had no idea how different being childhood sweethearts was from being lovers.

Just like his brother said—couples break up all the time, but childhood sweethearts are the most stable, right?

Anyway, they held hands and hugged even more than couples did.

The stuff in their fridge at home was all ingredients Yu Chuyan brought over to try making new foods for Bai Nuo.

And Yu Chuyan's pheromone scent was something Bai Nuo really loved. As a childhood sweetheart, even if Bai Nuo climbed all over him to sniff, Yu Chuyan wouldn't find it offensive—he'd even hold his waist and tell him to be careful not to fall.

So he was going to be Yu Chuyan's childhood sweetheart forever!

Bai Nuo tugged Yu Chuyan's hand, watching the flock of birds take flight in the distance. His eyes widened, and without thinking, he stepped forward a couple of steps.

Yu Chuyan watched Bai Nuo, unable to resist pulling out his phone. After a new photo appeared in his gallery, he paused, then scrolled back through the older ones.

Without exception, they were all of Bai Nuo.

He'd been stubborn about it before, but now it was almost like he'd given up and stopped hiding it.

No matter how you looked at it, wasn't it super obvious?

—The distance between them now, the closeness they had, wasn't enough anymore.

It was leaving him wanting more.

So all those feelings from the first moment he'd found Bai Nuo adorable had now grown into something huge—something Yu Chuyan hadn't dared to admit before.

When Xie Qing came down, he gave Yu Chuyan a slightly confused look.

He wasn't quite sure what it was.

Because Yu Chuyan seemed to be getting a bit... bold about it now.

Before, he'd unconsciously glance at Bai Nuo all the time, watching his every move. Now he wasn't even bothering to hide it—his eyes were practically trailing after him.

Xie Qing found it subtle. He felt like something about Yu Chuyan had changed slightly.

But he couldn't quite figure out where that feeling was coming from.

He also wanted to ask Xie Yue if he'd noticed that Yu Chuyan seemed a little off—like he was holding something back.

But when Xie Qing looked over at Xie Yue, he saw him yelling excitedly, "Peacocks can fly that high? Oh, that one's spreading its tail over there—wait, why is it facing that way? Let me change my angle to get a better shot..."

Chattering away like a total tourist.

Even though he was already an adult, and even though Bai Nuo looked the youngest among their group, personality-wise, Xie Yue was the one who never noticed anything.

Xie Qing: ...

Completely ignoring the fact that he himself had only realized something was off after hearing plenty of "gossip," Xie Qing now felt a weird sense of superiority over this "clueless" brother of his.

The group went into the park.

There were pheasants running around in flocks everywhere, mandarin ducks and black swans swimming in the lake.

High up on the netting, a peacock had somehow gotten up there, dragging its long tail as it elegantly walked its "tightrope" step by step. After a moment, it found a suitable spot, spread its wings wide, and glided down with a loud rustling sound, occasionally letting out its distinctive call.

A few baby peacocks followed behind a drab gray peahen. When they saw people approaching, the little round fluffballs scrambled and tumbled up a small dirt slope, making everyone want to give their fuzzy little butts a little boost.

Bai Nuo was also snapping photos with his phone, occasionally turning to share them with the others, then sending them to the family chat.

They made it to Pigeon Square.

The weather had warmed up. Groups of pigeons weren't afraid of people at all—they didn't fly, just cooed and huddled in the shade under the trees, scurrying away from people's feet on their little "toothpick" legs. Only if you had pigeon feed in hand would these lucky pigeons—who didn't have to work or go to school and got fed by visitors all day—bother to come near.

"Wanna feed them?"

Yu Chuyan had already spotted the guy selling pigeon feed. He turned to ask Bai Nuo, and after Bai Nuo nodded, he went over to buy some.

But after paying and just about to turn around, Yu Chuyan stopped mid-step.

He glanced over at Xie Qing, who was standing two steps away.

Xie Qing was looking at him curiously.

Their eyes met. Yu Chuyan didn't say a word, but Xie Qing seemed to catch on—he suddenly blinked.

"You finally realized you've been the fox guarding the henhouse?"

If it weren't for the risk of Yu Chuyan slamming him down and beating the crap out of him, Xie Qing would have started reciting Yu Chuyan's classic quotes in that mocking tone.

"We're just purely—

~

definitely not dating early, don't worry, Uncle Bai~"

Ooh, ooh, ooh~

Yu Chuyan: ...

As it turned out, just hearing that one line was enough to make his hands itch.

Amidst the sudden rush of pigeons taking flight behind them, Yu Chuyan said grumpily, "So what if I realized I don't want to be his childhood sweetheart anymore, or his brother anymore?"

You've been watching the show this long—if you're not convinced, let's settle it one-on-one.

Xie Qing: …

Xie Qing was caught off guard by Yu Chuyan's sudden nerve.

Being stubborn and being shameless really do go hand in hand.

Earlier, he kept saying "just a brother, just a childhood friend," and now he's smoothly switched to not wanting to be a brother or a childhood friend.

Alright, then.

Xie Qing shrugged.

Then he asked, curious, "So when are you planning to tell him? Nuonuo's really bought into it."

The whole "childhood friends" thing had not only fooled Yu Chuyan himself, but Bai Nuo was fully convinced too.

Yu Chuyan thought for a moment. "It's gotta be on his birthday..."

Otherwise, wouldn't that be like dating before they're ready?

Even if thinking that now isn't exactly fair.

But, Uncle Bai.

He hasn't started anything with Nuonuo.

Yu Chuyan kept his cool-guy face on, feeling a rare twinge of guilt.

But as soon as he said it, he realized—what was there to even talk about with Xie Qing?

Seeing it was about time, Yu Chuyan turned to ask a nearby staff member what food was worth trying here.

Since it was close to Ang City, the food was mostly Ang City style.

But since it was a small mountain with plenty of local produce, there were some mushrooms, free-range livestock, and wild veggies and fruits that were pretty good.

Yu Chuyan made a mental note of it all and thanked them.

Then he headed back quickly with the pigeon feed.

Bai Nuo stood at the edge of the shade, not looking at the birds or pigeons around him, just staring off a little.

He only snapped back to reality when Yu Chuyan handed him the pigeon feed.

Seeing Yu Chuyan, Bai Nuo opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Yu Chuyan thought it was a little weird and reached out to touch Bai Nuo's face.

It had probably drizzled in the middle of the night, and being up on the mountain, it was naturally cooler, so even near noon, the wind still had a chill to it—not too warm.

Bai Nuo's face was a little cool too, with just a faint sheen of sweat.

"What's wrong?"

Bai Nuo instinctively pulled his head back a bit, then quickly recovered, took the pigeon feed, and shook his head. "Nothing."

He started tearing open the packaging.

Yu Chuyan glanced at the hand that had been dodged, then quietly pulled it back.

He told Bai Nuo he'd asked the staff where they should go to eat.

Bai Nuo hummed in response, watching as pigeons noticed him and flew over, gathering around his hand to peck at the feed in his palm.

These pigeons were probably well-fed, so they cooed gently, and even when they accidentally pecked the soft part of his palm, it didn't hurt.

Bai Nuo crouched on the ground, and Yu Chuyan adjusted his hat before standing nearby, looking down at him feeding the pigeons.

Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Nuo looked up through the gaps to catch a glimpse of Yu Chuyan's expression.

Earlier, while he was taking photos, other tourists had opened feed under another patch of shade, and a bunch of pigeons flapped their wings and took off, making a racket as they flew out of the shade.

Most of the pigeons here were white, and their glossy feathers, as they flew from the shade into the sunlight, looked especially beautiful—like they were glowing.

Bai Nuo had followed a few steps while taking photos, and through the wind, he'd only caught bits and pieces of the conversation between Yu Chuyan and Xie Qing.

—Doesn't want to be a childhood friend, doesn't want to be a brother.

—Gonna tell him on his birthday.

By the time Bai Nuo realized what he'd heard, he was already back in the shade.

Over there, Xie Yue was cluelessly chasing one of the few spotted pigeons in the flock, annoying the poor thing to no end, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

How can he be so carefree?

Bai Nuo, feeling a weird knot in his chest, blamed him in his head.

He waited for Yu Chuyan to come back and say something to him.

But whether it was his attitude, his actions, or his tone, it was all clearly the same as before.

So did he hear wrong?

Bai Nuo watched the pigeons pecking at the feed in his hand, pressing his lips together slightly.

He must've heard wrong, right?

Didn't his brother say they'd be childhood friends forever, the best friends in the whole world, the most favorite playmates?

They'd promised it wouldn't change, right?

When other people pinky-swore with him, that's how they said it.

...But if his brother changed.

Then he wouldn't like his brother anymore.

Holding his breath, Bai Nuo unconsciously started watching what Yu Chuyan was doing.

And every time he looked over, his gaze met Yu Chuyan's, who was already looking back at him.

It wasn't until after the meal, when they were about to go rafting, that Bai Nuo was still confused and unsure.

Maybe he really had heard wrong?

Because from what Bai Nuo knew of Yu Chuyan.

Yu Chuyan did everything with genuine sincerity these days, and nothing seemed off.

However, it was probably Yu Chuyan's subsequent attitude that put Bai Nuo somewhat at ease, and this little odd thought was quickly swept away by the excitement of the rafting.

Although it wasn't natural river rafting, there were many sharp turns, making it more like a kayak water slide. Every time they hit a big turn, water splashed up, drenching both him and Yu Chuyan head-on.

By the time they reached the end, Bai Nuo let out a long breath, his eyes shining with delight, having a blast, and turned to look at Yu Chuyan.

Seeing Yu Chuyan stand up, water droplets streaming down his disposable raincoat, his hair soaked despite the hood, dripping wet like a pitiful little creature, Bai Nuo laughed.

Yu Chuyan also noticed the stubborn strand of hair poking out from under Bai Nuo's hat, that little curl stubbornly refusing to droop even when wet, gathered into a single lock, swaying adorably as he laughed. A smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his lips, and he reached out his hand.

"Hurry up, they'll be coming down soon, or you'll get knocked flying."

Each kayak held two people. Bai Nuo and Yu Chuyan sat together, while the Xie Twins sat together behind them. They hadn't cleared off the slide yet, and the staff nearby was already urging them to move.

Bai Nuo responded, reaching out to take Yu Chuyan's hand.

But this time was a bit different.

After being pulled along, Bai Nuo glanced at their clasped hands.

Just now, Yu Chuyan had naturally opened his hand, sliding his fingers between Bai Nuo's, interlocking them tightly.

So their hands fit together even tighter, and the warmth from Yu Chuyan's hand spread over faster.

It was still just holding hands, after all.

Bai Nuo raised his other hand and touched his cheek.

The pretty young boy touched his cheek, then looked up at the sun overhead.

It really was too hot to be up in the mountains in July or August.

Meanwhile, Yu Chuyan watched Bai Nuo's calm expression, tightened his grip a little more and unconsciously gave their hands a gentle swing.

He forgot where he'd seen it, forgot who it was who'd said longingly to their lover—'I like you so much, want to hold hands, interlocking fingers would be even better, and if I could hug you, that would be perfect.'

Yu Chuyan forced it to fit... interlocking fingers, see, simple as that.

After they finished sightseeing and came down the mountain, they each headed home.

Bai Nuo made the rounds at the Bai family's old residence, greeting everyone, and also video-called to check on his juniors' questions.

His dad hadn't come home from work yet. When the surroundings quieted down again, the 'lab big shot' with the handsome face propped one hand on the table, then turned to look at his bed and flopped his whole body onto the soft bedding.

Bai Nuo buried his head in the blanket for a while, then lifted it, hair all messy, revealing those beautiful eyes.

He looked at Dou Dou sitting on the headboard.

The little monitor that used to follow him around had actually become quite different from the Dou Dou that first came to him, thanks to over a decade of data iterations and hardware-software upgrades.

And because he'd grown up and gotten taller, he often went places and walked paths that Dou Dou could no longer keep up with.

So this round little monitor would always wait for him back in the room.

Bai Nuo picked up Dou Dou, held it above his head, and met the gaze of the virtual vertical-bar eyes on the screen.

"Hello, Dou Dou."

"Go ahead, I'm listening. Whether it's trouble with studies or problems in social life, you can tell me."

The little monitor's screen changed to wavy lines, and it began to listen.

Bai Nuo finally couldn't help but ask: "Dou Dou, if a person's childhood brother tells someone else he doesn't want to be childhood brothers anymore, doesn't want to be a brother anymore, what does that mean?"

Dou Dou: "Based on a search of a hundred sources, this is the prelude and preparation for cutting ties."

Bai Nuo: ?

Dou Dou: "Do you need me to provide help on how to handle it?"

Bai Nuo: ???

"It's not cutting ties."

Bai Nuo flipped over and sat up, grabbing Dou Dou and almost pressing it against his face, and said firmly.

"Brother's been really good to me, his attitude hasn't changed at all since, maybe I misheard."

"Okay."

The little monitor went along with it.

"Based on your analysis that his attitude hasn't changed and he's still good to you, you might have misheard. You're right, this isn't a prelude to cutting ties, but a sign of a phase ending. Perhaps you're about to enter a new phase. Of course, mishearing is also very possible, so there's no need to worry at all."

Bai Nuo stared at Dou Dou, then let out a "hmph" and rolled himself and Dou Dou up in the summer blanket.

So when Bai Sheng came home and heard some strange noise, he knocked and pushed open the door, only to see his kid curled up in bed in a ball, just a little head sticking out, with music playing from somewhere around Bai Nuo's chest, which was bulging—clearly wrapped around a little artificial idiot that had started playing music on its own.

Only two 'idiots' in the house played music freely and at random.

One was Dou Dou, and the other was Bai Qian. Even though Dou Dou's database had been updated and it hadn't played music randomly in a long time, Bai Qian had successfully gotten Dou Dou back into that habit.

Bai Sheng: ?

What was this all about?

His kid's occasional baffling behavior left the old father confused.

But Bai Nuo blinked and said a simple "Dad, welcome home," which smoothly made the old father brush off the confusion.

Bai Sheng walked in, 'rescued' his kid, and turned off Dou Dou's voice button before he spoke.

"Your cousin uncle will be able to come back before your birthday."

He said they'd found some clues.

Bai Nuo blinked his eyes.

"Then after cousin uncle comes back, I'm going to check whether he's taken good care of himself. If he hasn't, I'll hold him accountable, and second uncle too."

Thinking of how Bai Liang looked so grim and burdened after being put in charge of Bai Ye, Bai Sheng sat on the edge of the bed and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This joint accountability thing was good.

After thinking that, Bai Sheng remembered something else.

"The one from Country M came earlier, but he's been busy with company matters. He'll come see you in the next few days. Before your coming-of-age ceremony, aren't you guys supposed to hang out? You want to bring him along? Weren't you planning to stay out late? Past midnight? Don't have Dad pick you up—have him drive you home."

Leon has followed all the rules perfectly all these years.

None of the Farrell family's various troubles have ever reached Bai Nuo.

This made Bai Sheng, who had initially been extremely wary of and disliked Leon Farrell, relax a little.

Being friends isn't a bad idea, and sometimes this identity comes in handy.

Moreover, in this world, aside from a few insiders in the Bai family, only Leon Farrell and his butler know about this—since the only others who knew, the high-ranking members of the Saviors Organization, have already gone to hell.

Unless something unexpected happens, this secret will never come out in their lifetime.

As for his kid?

Bai Sheng glanced at Bai Nuo, who had stood up and looked calm, at least on the surface.

The little bean who could once be held in one hand had grown so big.

Bai Sheng didn't doubt Bai Nuo's sharpness; he even thought Bai Nuo might have figured out his blood relation to Leon when he was very young.

But that was okay—his baby knew that keeping this kind of distance was good for both him and Leon.

Actually, Bai Nuo also thought Leon wasn't the best person to tag along, even though he did call him "brother."

Still, hearing his dad say that, Bai Nuo nodded obediently.

"I'll let them know."

Another two days went by.

Tomorrow was July 23rd, Bai Nuo's eighteenth birthday.

Yu Chuyan didn't really like big crowds, and besides the three of them, he didn't want to hang out with anyone else before the coming-of-age ceremony. Basically, he just invited everyone to the ceremony itself, so they'd only gotten together for a meal, singing happy birthday and eating cake.

Bai Nuo, on the other hand, knew a ton of people—friends from kindergarten, middle school, and college. He was way more diligent than the other three about mentoring underclassmen and always happy to help, so he was pretty popular. He also liked a lively scene.

So he invited a bunch of people, especially schoolmates who were too scared to come to the Bai family's ceremony. They were meeting at a fancy club, basically a whole entertainment venue booked out, with an e-sports room, gym, KTV room, and more. There were three different buffet stations with all kinds of food, and they even set up a big live-action combat simulation game for groups.

People were already showing up before the food was even served. For such a big deal as the coming-of-age ceremony, even Qiu Yu, who was studying abroad, had taken a few days off from his busy summer to fly back. He'd just gotten there and was chatting with Bai Nuo's three childhood friends, looking equal parts amused and exasperated.

Bai Nuo sat off to the side, occasionally saying hi to people as they came in, with Leon, who'd already arrived, sitting next to him. Norton sat beside Leon so he wouldn't stick out.

Bai Nuo rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, a little distracted.

It wasn't that anything here felt off—it was just that he hadn't had a dream like that in a long time. Last night, he'd had one again—but this time, he dreamed of himself. First, he saw the past apocalypse, then he dreamed of those around him calling out to him while he lay on a hospital bed, completely unresponsive.

Was it just a dream?

Bai Nuo rubbed his eyes uncertainly.

Beside Bai Nuo, Leon was staring at the few people.

Yu Chuyan and the Xie Twins were also watching Leon warily, eyeing this guy who had naturally taken the spot right next to Bai Nuo.

Yu Chuyan thought: This is a war between the childhood friend and future lover versus the "wild brother"!

And Leon thought: This is a war between the cousin and these "wild brothers"!