Daddy was safe.
The Daddy in the dream was false.
Daddy had not fallen in a pool of blood at the scene of an accident.
Bai Sheng opened his mouth.
The man who was ordinarily eloquent and endlessly capable of cutting mockery suddenly did not know what to say.
And this chaotic environment was clearly unsuitable for a deeper conversation.
He tightened his hold on Bai Nuo and walked toward the vehicles.
Assistant Li and the bodyguards’ cars had trapped the attacker’s vehicle firmly.
The driver tried to escape but could not.
The shriek of tyres grinding against the ground was piercing, and white smoke rose.
Someone had already shattered the window, forced open the door, dragged the man out, and pinned him down.
Bai Sheng looked only once.
The man’s gaze was frantic and hateful. Like a lunatic, he continued shouting, condemning the Bai Corporation and Bai Sheng.
Honestly, Bai Sheng barely recognised him.
He turned toward Assistant Li, who had climbed from the car.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Boss. The customised vehicle was designed with situations like this in mind. The protective measures are comprehensive.”
Assistant Li remained calm. He rolled up his sleeves. His black hair was slightly disordered from the impact, and he looked with complicated eyes at the child in Bai Sheng’s arms.
“To be safe, all of you should undergo hospital examinations afterward. Bonuses will be transferred to your accounts. If you encounter any difficulties, report them to the company promptly.”
Bai Sheng’s voice was icy.
It now contained complete fury, without the lazy trace of teasing and mockery it ordinarily carried.
“Check whether anyone was injured. Find out who else is acting behind him. Investigate everything.”
Bai Sheng naturally remembered Bai Jingyun’s warning.
But based on his understanding of Bai Jingyun, the man would not do anything requiring effort without benefit.
At most, he would reveal a little information about Bai Sheng.
Beyond the attacker’s madness, the true instigators were probably families hoping for the Bai family’s collapse.
They had better pray their actions were flawless and had left no trace.
The sky had just darkened, and police sirens drew closer.
Amid the chaos, Bai Sheng lowered his eyes.
His profile was cold and vicious, but when his gaze touched the cub, it softened slightly.
His hand gently stroked the child’s back.
Watching him, Assistant Li also released a slow breath and looked at their young master.
Previously, Bai Sheng’s attitude toward the child had perhaps been:
He looks pitiful and is obedient. Raising him will not require much effort, so I may as well do it.
But now, the new father had been enraged by his cub’s near accident.
He had completely exposed his concern, tenderness, and vulnerability.
Naturally, that was how it should be.
Assistant Li thought so.
No one could dislike such an obedient cub.
He had expected this.
The boss had merely fallen faster than anticipated.
The federal authorities acted quickly, handcuffing the attacker and taking him to the police station.
The incident still required investigation, and Bai Sheng and the others had to provide statements.
Fortunately, because the response had been effective, almost no one was injured.
The police began investigating, asked several preliminary questions, and arranged for Bai Corporation personnel to assist.
Then they allowed Bai Sheng to take the cub to eat first and return afterward to complete his statement.
Before dinner was finished, Bai Sheng received information.
The man’s identity and motive had been discovered.
He was an obsessive individual with a genetic disorder.
He resembled certain extraordinary people who made bizarre declarations online—except he was genuinely one of them.
Since childhood, he had believed himself unique. He was arrogant, overconfident, and convinced he would effortlessly reach the top of the business world.
He looked down on the Bai family, believing their current strength relied only on the accumulated resources of previous generations.
He attempted to compete with them and invested all the money he had earned in other fields.
The outcome was obvious.
He had tried to stop a carriage with a mantis’s arm.
Bai Sheng did not even remember him, yet the Bai family’s advancing wheels had already crushed him into dust.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the man attacked and slandered Bai Sheng online.
Bai Sheng’s formidable legal team responded with several lawyer’s letters.
Because the man had invested everything and borrowed heavily, he was left unable to repay an enormous debt.
His partner left him, and his family—who had once praised him—changed their attitude.
He then became extreme.
According to surveillance footage, he did possess some intelligence.
He had patiently waited for several weeks at intersections invisible from the Bai Corporation, hoping Bai Sheng would lower his guard.
But during the last few days, the security around Bai Sheng had continuously increased.
His schedule was easy to learn if one made an effort, but he no longer travelled in a single vehicle.
After waiting for weeks and finding it increasingly difficult to act, the man finally took the risk.
He decided to attack as Bai Sheng left the company building before entering his car.
“Lunatic.”
Bai Sheng had encountered too many schemes.
Faced with such simple, direct, and unpredictable violence, he pulled at his lips and cursed quietly.
Two seconds later, he remembered that his cub was beside him and frowned.
Perhaps cursing in front of a child was inappropriate.
He looked at the cub, who was eating obediently.
Assistant Li remained somewhat shaken.
No matter how many precautions one took, a direct method like this could still cause disaster.
He also knew that Bai Sheng’s previous security had been relatively weak.
As a top-tier Alpha, Bai Sheng could defeat almost anyone in close combat.
But after bringing the child home, his schedule changed.
If the young master had not insisted on accompanying Bai Sheng to work, causing Bai Sheng to increase security for the cub’s sake, today’s incident would have been extremely difficult to control.
The attacker’s vehicle had been modified.
It possessed great power and a hard body. An ordinary car might not have stopped it.
Assistant Li also looked at the child.
Bai Nuo’s tense emotions had gradually eased, but he had clearly been frightened.
He ordinarily loved eating more than anything.
Now he showed little enthusiasm, merely holding his spoon and slowly pushing grains of rice into his mouth.
“If you can’t eat, don’t force yourself.”
Bai Sheng lifted the child into his arms and lowered his head.
“Should Daddy take you home first?”
“No.”
The cub instinctively glanced at the food remaining in his bowl.
Then he shook his head and wrapped his arms around Bai Sheng’s neck.
“Nuo Nuo will stay with Daddy.”
“Young Master, Boss needs to give a statement and handle several matters. Let me take you home first.”
Assistant Li spoke.
Bai Nuo blinked.
His little hands loosened.
Daddy had work to do, so—
The child almost instinctively prepared to suppress his own feelings.
He was accustomed to doing so.
Those exceptionally obedient words were about to leave his mouth again.
But Bai Sheng stopped him.
“Book a room at a nearby Bai-owned hotel.”
Assistant Li froze.
“One room?”
“Mm.”
Bai Sheng nodded and lifted the cub.
He ignored messages from the Bai family appearing on his phone and spoke only to the child.
“Would it be all right if Daddy asks Aunt Feng to stay with you? The hotel is close to where Daddy will be. You can rest there. If I finish early, I’ll take you home. If I finish late, we’ll stay outside for the night.”
The cub blinked again, then nodded vigorously.
Bai Sheng laughed softly.
In his ordinary tone, as though the previous incident had never happened, he tapped the child’s cheek and said lazily, “Clingy little thing.”
Aunt Feng had already heard the news and arrived quickly.
Bai Sheng went to handle the remaining matters.
Aunt Feng watched the child eat two pieces of fruit. Perhaps frightened, perhaps exhausted, he went to bed early.
Before Bai Sheng returned to the hotel room, he continuously watched the child through the monitor.
Before Bai Sheng arrived—
Bai Nuo had a nightmare.
He dreamed of himself living miserably and alone during the apocalypse.
People called him a little burden.
Some regarded him as stored food.
Even temporary kindness was never safe.
He had to remain completely vigilant at every moment and constantly endure the knowledge that he was always alone.
He also dreamed of the researchers casually discussing the Bai family’s destruction and Bai Sheng’s early death.
Sweat covered the little fellow.
Then Bai Sheng woke him.
“Nuo Nuo?”
Bai Sheng knew the child had nightmares.
After the day’s shock, he had prepared himself for it.
The cub had looked fine through the monitor, but less than a minute after Bai Sheng sat beside him, the child’s expression began struggling.
Bai Sheng was still startled.
The cub opened his eyes and looked hazily at Bai Sheng’s face.
For an instant, he could not distinguish dream from reality.
He had not cried even after being frightened earlier.
Now he burst into tears and stretched out his arms.
“Daddy, Daddy—”
Bai Sheng bent down so the child could wrap his arms around his neck.
Before he could become flustered, he heard the cub sob:
“Villain…Daddy, don’t die…sob…Nuo Nuo doesn’t want…”
He did not want to be alone again.
Nuo Nuo was actually just a little…
Afraid of loneliness.
Bai Sheng: …What?
Although I’m a capitalist, I’m still technically a human being.
Surely I haven’t reached the classification of villain?
Bai Sheng was both amused and helpless.
He was about to ask what nightmare the child had experienced.
He also thought that he would probably have to sleep beside this frightened cub tonight.
What could he do? The child was simply too clingy.
But the next instant, his cheek touched the cub’s forehead.
The rapidly rising heat startled him.
He lifted the child and spoke quickly under Aunt Feng’s alarmed gaze.
“Hurry. Bring his clothes. We’re going to the hospital.”
A child who had suffered a fright could develop a fever.
And a child’s fever could become serious.
More than ten minutes later, the Bai family hospital’s nighttime calm was broken instantly.
Meanwhile, inside a room containing specialised instruments—
Determining a cub’s future pheromone characteristics was complex and rigorous.
Doctor Xu Chuan wore full protective equipment while operating the instruments.
This was the final procedure.
The machine chimed.
A moment later, he left the inner room.
Hearing the machine stop, Xu Chuan removed his mask and cap and spoke to the nurse beside him.
“Are the results ready? Transfer them to the computer and bring me the printed version as well.”
Author’s Note:
Cub Nuo: Daddy, great villain! Sob, sob.
Daddy: ??? You truly are a devoted son!