Chapter 242

Chapter 242

The atmosphere turned weirdly tense out of nowhere.

Bai Nuo was still zoned out.

Because there was another thing he couldn't pin down—he'd never been able to talk about future events since he was a kid, and last night's dream? No way he could tell anyone about that.

So that meant it was for real?

But this dream was extra hazy—Bai Nuo couldn't make anything out. Actually, ever since he'd saved his uncle, Bai Nuo had a nagging feeling his dreams were getting less and less clear and detailed. It was like a movie director who couldn't nail the big climaxes, so the highs never hit, the story kept going off the rails, and even the creator only had a vague idea of where things were headed.

Bai Nuo couldn't figure out why, but one thing was for sure—they were a villain family, sort of. Because the so-called protagonist had never shown up in his world when he was supposed to be the villain, and now all the villains were doing just fine, living their own lives as the main characters.

That was definitely a good thing.

He'd worry about the rest later.

But just to be safe, he'd keep his guard up a little more.

When Bai Nuo finally finished mulling all that over and looked up, he glanced around and realized, at some point, the group had split into two sides with him right in the middle.

Where their eyes met, it looked like sparks were flying.

Bai Nuo: ?

Bai Nuo looked around, confused, first at Yu Chuyan on one side, then at Leon on the other.

Leon always made a point of keeping his temper in check around Bai Nuo, trying his best to come off as the gentle type.

But that was only in front of Bai Nuo. Around these "wild boys" he'd never liked, Leon was all sneers and arrogance—not a single ounce of "respect your elders" in him.

Catching Bai Nuo's look, Norton, sitting on Leon's other side, gave him a professional smile, like, "Nothing I can do here."

I mean, he was just a butler, a retainer—how could he possibly give his own master advice? All he could do was follow orders.

So, yeah.

Norton couldn't help glancing at Yu Chuyan, who was practically glued to their young master.

He was also thinking—the young master had a point. Why was this guy sticking so close to their Farrell family's little master?

Sure, Bai Nuo was a young master the Farrell family couldn't openly claim, and aside from Leon and Norton, nobody knew what was in those classified files. But the core members all knew how much Bai Nuo meant to Leon. Even if they couldn't say it out loud, they never failed to show Bai Nuo the respect he deserved.

But stuff like this wasn't theirs to question.

Still, Norton was honestly confused.

In country M, stuff like this was pretty open, especially alpha-omega stuff—that was always a little romantic.

But why was it so different in country Z? Everyone here was basically over eighteen, and their young master would be past his eighteenth birthday tomorrow, yet they all still had this innocent, kid-like vibe.

The Bai family didn't seem to care much either.

Norton couldn't wrap his head around it. He figured someone like Bai Sheng wouldn't be the type to let their young master start dating the moment he turned eighteen, right?

Growing up together as kids was one thing, but now that they were adults, shouldn't they be a little more careful about boundaries?

Yu Chuyan checked the time, stood up first, and held out a hand to Bai Nuo.

"It's about that time—let's go blow out the candles first, yeah? What do you want to eat? The restaurant over there has ingredients and a self-serve cooking station. I'll cook for you."

Before Bai Nuo could even try to break the tension, he heard those words, and his eyes automatically followed Yu Chuyan, his hand reaching out on instinct to grab his.

Probably because Bai Nuo was such a foodie, back in middle school, Yu Chuyan had already shown off his insane cooking skills. Fried stuff that even adults couldn't handle when they were new to it was a piece of cake for Yu Chuyan. Now he knew a little of almost every cuisine from every country, understood how different ingredients worked, and even knew the best way to cook stuff from specific regions.

Bai Nuo always thought his brother was amazing and was dying to know how Yu Chuyan pulled it off.

Yu Chuyan always brushed it off, but Yu Chen, in his home office, would stare at a whole wall of cookbooks and ingredient notes, plus the rare ingredients that kept showing up in the fridge.

Yu Chen would say: nothing special, just practice.

Yu Chuyan was totally whipped for Bai Nuo.

They were both busy, but Bai Nuo usually spent his free time on stuff he liked, while Yu Chuyan put all his time into cooking. Imagining all the faces Bai Nuo would make when eating his food? That was his happy place.

Yu Chen sometimes thought his brother was going a little overboard, but after gaining ten pounds from his little brother's cooking and tasting all kinds of delicacies thanks to Bai Nuo, he figured it was worth it.

The only rough part was hitting the gym afterward.

But even as Bai Nuo automatically started to follow Yu Chuyan, he remembered Leon was still back there.

Leon was a good bit older than everyone else, so they probably didn't have much to talk about.

"Bro, it's about time—let's go eat."

Leon was usually easygoing with Bai Nuo, so he just shot Yu Chuyan a look before getting up to follow.

The group got ready to head to the main hall.

Qiu Yu brought up the rear, squinting as he watched for a while.

He had no clue what the deal was between Leon and Bai Nuo; he just found it weird that the supposedly scary Farrell family was so chill around Bai Nuo.

And judging by the Bai family's track record with partners—

Qiu Yu had a ridiculous thought: this couldn't be Bai Nuo's arranged marriage match, right?

So that's why Yu Chuyan was freaking out?

But that didn't make sense either. No way the Bai family would set up a marriage for Bai Nuo, and he didn't even have any rivals right now. Taking over the Bai family later was basically a sure thing for him.

Still, Yu Chuyan was freaking out?

The eighteen-year-old had already gone through his differentiation overseas. He was tall now, and the roundish eyes of his childhood had gradually become fox-like as he grew up, always lazily half-lidded. His black hair stuck up messily, and he was propped up on one side, his large frame curled into the corner of the sofa. His demeanor had changed from before he went abroad, and a faint scent of lavender lingered around him.

Qiu Yu glanced at Xie Qing, who was sitting off to the side and hadn't followed.

He spoke abruptly: "Brother Yan's finally figured it out?"

Qiu Yu admitted that with Bai Nuo being the way he was, no one could help but like him. But back when Yu Chuyan had targeted him, Yu Chuyan's attitude had clearly been that of a protective childhood friend and older brother.

Not like now—like someone had taken food from his bowl, and he was starting to guard it defensively.

Fierce as hell.

Xie Qing had been about to stand up when he heard that. He turned to look at Qiu Yu, not particularly surprised by the comment. If one thought back carefully, Yu Chuyan had always been on guard against Qiu Yu in the past, and also against Qiu Ding, that distant relative of Qiu Yu's who was obsessed with academics and often came to discuss questions with Bai Nuo.

But Xie Qing wasn't familiar with Qiu Yu, and he couldn't be bothered to answer. He was just about to stand and follow when he heard his younger brother ask Qiu Yu curiously from behind: "Figured what out?"

What's there to be curious about?

What the hell happened during this time that I, Xie Yue, don't know about?!

Qiu Yu: ...

Qiu Yu took a couple of seconds to process, then burst out laughing.

Xie Qing: ...

Xie Qing felt that Xie Yue had made him look like a fool in front of everyone. He grabbed the collar of 'curious little' Xie Yue and dragged him toward the main hall.

"Xie Qing!"

Xie Yue twisted away effortlessly, slipping out of Xie Qing's grip. He stared at Xie Qing, his face full of indignation.

"You're gonna strangle me!"

"You won't die—just suffocate for one night, you'll be fine."

Xie Qing nodded.

"Isn't that still dying?!"

"Oh, why didn't you say that earlier?"

The Xie twins started bickering again.

Both were equally mischievous—one more blunt with a higher destruction rate, the other sneakier and full of bad ideas. They'd often argue and then team up to pull some 'prank.'

Qiu Yu was done with them. He stood up and headed toward the main venue, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire if those two kept arguing.

But it was fine, honestly.

Qiu Yu had spent a few years abroad and had felt a bit stifled and out of place. After coming back, though—

This kind of lively, simple vibe was pretty relaxing.

But Qiu Yu felt relaxed—Bai Nuo, though, didn't seem to be.

Singing happy birthday and cutting the cake went off without a hitch. Once everyone sat down, the tension between Yu Chuyan and Leon was impossible to miss.

When one side slid perfectly grilled foie gras onto Bai Nuo's plate, the other would hand over a light music album made just for him.

Funny thing was, whether it was cooking or music, both were Bai Nuo's weak spots, so in his eyes, both brothers were equally impressive.

Then came the gifts—one side gave a custom lab model with matching decor, the other a specially customized Rubik's cube and rare metal ores.

The two sides were evenly matched, and the air was thick with tension.

For a moment, it was honestly hard to tell who was winning.

Yu Chuyan was especially pissed.

He couldn't understand why Bai Nuo would rely on some alpha he barely saw a few times a year, some guy from abroad. How could Uncle Bai let this dangerous guy get close to Nuonuo?

Meanwhile, Bai Nuo looked from one side to the other—an omega usually good at keeping the peace, but right now he felt a bit overwhelmed trying to balance it all.

Bai Nuo was honestly confused.

Because whether it was Yu Chuyan or Leon, when around him or others, they both acted calm and friendly. But the moment those two were together, they got super aggressive.

Leon was easier to handle.

But Bai Nuo really had no clue what Yu Chuyan was thinking.

Biting into a strawberry, Bai Nuo dropped his gaze, lost in thought.

It was so weird.

Ever since his brother's coming-of-age ceremony, he'd gotten really weird. Bai Nuo couldn't figure out what Yu Chuyan was actually thinking.

And last time, he'd even said he didn't want to be his brother or childhood friend.

Bai Nuo had been holding it in, not asking.

Could it be he thought Bai Nuo was too childish? But he acted different outside than he did in front of his brother. Besides, he'd been taking good care of his brother lately, but he hadn't seen him look any happier.

He didn't get it, and he didn't want to ask.

That wasn't Bai Nuo's style, but as long as he didn't ask, he'd never get a straight answer.

Bai Nuo silently stuffed a whole strawberry in his mouth, cheeks puffed out, chewing with a hint of frustration and anxiety.

But tomorrow was his birthday—did adults really have this many worries?

After that, Bai Nuo kept an eye on the two, making sure they didn't egg each other on.

This went on until they played games together that evening.

As luck would have it, in this game where each person had their own console and simulated battlefield combat, when the teams were split, the system automatically put Bai Nuo and Leon on the same side, directly against Yu Chuyan's group.

Xie Qing sat next to Yu Chuyan, watching Bai Nuo take his seat at the console across the room, occasionally turning to chat with Leon next to him.

Xie Qing: ...

Xie Qing turned back and looked at Yu Chuyan's blank face.

Could that really be called blank?

Xie Qing wasn't so sure.

But he was sure Yu Chuyan was absolutely pissed right now.

Especially after realizing he didn't seem all that 'special' in Bai Nuo's eyes.

He was restless and agitated, his words and actions getting childish.

"Beat him so bad he never dares to play this game again."

Yu Chuyan said in a low, sinister voice.

Xie Qing watched.

See, just like this—his Brother Yan had lost it, only wanting to snatch his precious treasure back from someone else's hands.

But it really was strange.

Xie Qing couldn't help but look at Bai Nuo too.

Bai Nuo is pretty direct—he just says whatever's on his mind, and he's really good at keeping the right distance with people. He never gives Yu Chuyan a reason to get this worked up.

So what's going on this time?

It's just that ever since Yu Chuyan ran that fever last time, Bai Nuo's been acting a little weird around him.

But before Xie Qing could say anything, Xie Yue beside him jumped in, pouring gasoline on the fire: "Yeah, when we get in there, let's find that Leon first, pin down his location, and corner him. I just heard Leon say he's gonna give Nuo Nuo a mansion overseas—is he trying to talk Nuo Nuo into moving abroad?! What a shady move!"

Xie Qing: ...

Hey, don't start running your mouth... but when did you even hear that?

Okay, that's not the point right now. Xie Qing slowly turned his head to glance at Yu Chuyan again.

Ha, great. Brother Yan's about to blow his top.

Meanwhile, Bai Nuo and the others were hanging out.

Ang City Airport.

The plane touched down, and the crowd shuffled toward the exit.

Bai Ye dragged his suitcase, wearing a light trench coat despite the weather, his expression grim, standing out like a sore thumb in the crowd.

This time, however, his right hand holding the suitcase wasn't gloved—the sleek black mechanical hand was matte-finished, gripping the suitcase handle so smoothly you'd never guess it was a prosthetic.

Bai Ye had only taken a few steps when he felt someone's eyes on him. He raised an eyebrow, turned to look, and froze for a second before changing course and heading for that exit.

Bai Liang stood nearby with a smile, raising a hand in greeting.

Bai Ye looked totally confused.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Picking you up, obviously."

Bai Liang had zero respect for his elders, so of course he wasn't about to help Bai Ye with his suitcase. After saying hi, he shoved his hands into his pockets. With his glasses and bookish vibe, he looked even more refined and laid-back—real good at hiding the danger underneath.

"Come on, let's go."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"So picking you up makes me crazy?"

Bai Liang gave Bai Ye a 'shocked' look, like he'd been falsely accused.

"Say that again—I'll record it and snitch to Nuo Nuo."

Bai Ye: ...

Bai Ye: ....

Bai Ye irritably reached out and swatted away Bai Liang's phone-holding hand.

"Thanks for the pickup, I'm so honored. Happy now? Scram."

Bai Ye shoved Bai Liang aside and followed him as he led the way.

The driver was already waiting by the car. When he saw them coming, he loaded Bai Ye's suitcase, then got in and drove off.

The rear partition slid up, and Bai Liang and Bai Ye sat in the back.

Bai Ye furrowed his brow slightly. "Why are we going to the hospital? If you need a checkup, why drag me along?"

Bai Ye really couldn't figure out why Bai Liang wasn't doing his experiments and had shown up here instead. Was he that bored?

"It's not for me, it's for you."

Bai Liang said casually, taking off his glasses and grinning at Bai Ye.

"...?"

"You think I want this? Nuo Nuo said if you don't take care of yourself out there and he catches anything off, he'll hold both of us responsible."

Bai Liang said it half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"Might as well get you checked out now—catch any issues early and fix them early, so I don't get caught in the crossfire."

Bai Ye: ...

"Where'd he pick that up from?"

Bai Liang: "Probably picked it up from Bai Sheng."

Bai Ye: "Can Bai Sheng teach him something actually useful for once?"

Bai Liang burst out laughing. "I'll agree with that."

"But you didn't come all the way here just for this, right?"

Bai Ye said, glancing at the raised partition before turning back to Bai Liang.

"Is it that obvious?"

Bai Liang smiled.

"Well, I was just curious how the investigation's going—whether you found who you were looking for."

"It's indeed hard to find. K's illegitimate child wasn't sent out when the Saviors Organization was dismantled—he was shipped off two years earlier, with many decoy locations. The place I checked this time was a war-torn area years ago, where the Farrell family funded and took in some orphans. I did find a few suspects—severely injured, disfigured, and treated again. If someone wanted to hide, it's not impossible they're among them."

Bai Ye said coldly.

If it were the old Bai Ye, using these resources to investigate and find a possible lead on K's illegitimate child, he might have eliminated all of them without a second thought to prevent future trouble.

But times had changed.

Maybe it was because he'd spent so long in the National Security Department, but Bai Ye genuinely felt that beyond revenge, he had many, many other things to do.

"That's certainly cunning enough..."

Bai Liang rubbed his chin.

"So what are you two suddenly up to? Bai Sheng's been busy with Nuo Nuo's coming-of-age ceremony these past two days, so he couldn't come, right? Did he send you?"

Bai Ye asked again.

"Haha, I knew you'd figure it out the moment I showed up—you've been in national security work for so long, after all."

Bai Liang laughed, then his smile faded, looking somewhat dangerous.

"San'er rushed to add extra people around Nuonuo today."

"Makes sense, since they're going out and coming back so late..."

"Because Nuonuo was back in that restless state he used to get into."

Bai Liang went on, noticing Bai Ye suddenly turn his head to look at him.

"But this time, he wasn't focusing on anyone in particular."

For Bai Nuo, that was impossible.

So that meant—

That weird feeling Bai Nuo got when someone was about to get hurt... this time it was about him?

The party spot: the arcade.

Game over.

Yu Chuyan pressed his lips together, staring at the "DEFEAT" on the screen, then glanced at Bai Nuo and Leon. His teammates behind Bai Nuo were all laughing and chatting in celebration.

Yu Chuyan picked up the cup beside him and took a sip of water, his brow furrowed. His calm expression seemed like the lull before a storm.

"That final gunfight—Brother Yan, you didn't pull the trigger? Nuonuo wasn't holding back on you at all," Xie Yue asked from the side.

"But seriously, though he kept targeting Leon the whole time, the guy's actually pretty good at the game—he almost couldn't pin him down. And Nuonuo when he's really into it is just way too overpowered."

Bai Nuo was crazy good at games like this.

Not just these, but also a lot of luck-based games—like Monopoly and stuff. When rolling dice, Bai Nuo could land on whatever he wanted.

They'd been playing all night, and it was already late—almost midnight. Time to pack up and head home.

Bai Nuo stood up first, said something to Leon with a smile, then stretched and flexed his wrists. He planned to head out to the balcony in the hallway for some air.

And he needed to figure out how to smooth things over with his brother.

Bai Nuo hid his face in his hand as he walked out.

At the end, he remembered Yu Chuyan saying he didn't want to be his childhood brother anymore. His finger moved before his brain could catch up, and he'd already hit the attack button. Bai Nuo stole a glance at his brother's face—it looked black as ink.

But was that really his fault?

No way!

And his brother was going after Leon, wasn't he?

What grudge did those two have, anyway? What was this, some petty elementary-school grudge?

Bai Nuo walked all the way to the balcony, where the noise faded. He exhaled and looked up at the sky.

The moon wasn't full tonight, but it was bright, and you could barely see any stars. The evening breeze carried the smell of dirt and grass—fresh and nice—but Bai Nuo still thought freesia and vanilla smelled better.

Bai Nuo: ...

Where was that freesia-and-vanilla smell coming from?

Bai Nuo turned around and saw Yu Chuyan, who had followed him at some point like a little shadow.

"Brother...?"

Bai Nuo blinked, then instinctively started explaining.

"I just got a little carried away with the game earlier, and the system assigned the teams anyway—you gotta play seriously to have fun, right?"

His brother wasn't mad because he wasn't on his team and killed him with one shot, was he?

Before Bai Nuo could finish, Yu Chuyan had already closed the distance. He bent down, bringing his face close to Bai Nuo's, staring straight into his eyes.

Gone was the warm, caring demeanor of the past.

Now it radiated the intense aggression and possessiveness that only an alpha could have.

As Bai Nuo was momentarily stunned, Yu Chuyan pulled him into an embrace—his big frame trying to wrap Bai Nuo entirely in his arms, his chin pressing onto Bai Nuo's shoulder, holding him close and tight.

Yu Chuyan didn't really care where Bai Nuo went in the future. He had no intention of dealing with the Yu family's affairs anyway—his brother could handle that. So wherever Bai Nuo went, he'd follow.

But—

"Is there something I'm still not doing well enough? You seem to not like me much lately. Did Leon do something to make you prefer guys like him?"

His voice came out a bit muffled.

Bai Nuo froze, almost completely enveloped in the scent of freesia and vanilla.

A few seconds later, Bai Nuo felt a little hurt too: "But you said it first, brother..."

Huh?

Yu Chuyan looked down at Bai Nuo's face, which was lifted in grievance.

"You were the one who said you didn't want to be my childhood brother anymore."