This time, Bai Sheng was certain he had not misheard.
Holding little Bai Nuo in his arms, he looked at the married couple who had suddenly become rather unreliable.
“You heard wrong! Bai San, you definitely heard wrong.”
Xie Yu waved his hands repeatedly.
He also tried to shake Shi Lin awake, suspecting that their own cubs had driven her out of her mind.
You just reached out and asked for the child?! Do you have a death wish?!
Although he himself had once lost his senses and done exactly the same thing.
The cub tilted his head slightly and rested obediently in Daddy’s arms. Then he asked in a small voice:
“Daddy, Nuo Nuo only had one handkerchief. Was it not enough for Auntie?”
But Nuo Nuo did not have another one now.
Shi Lin, critically struck by a single handkerchief from Bai Nuo, clutched it while her husband shook her back and forth. She finally recovered enough to maintain an adult’s dignity and pulled Xie Yu’s hand away.
“It’s enough. Auntie has enough. Thank you, Nuo Nuo.”
“Then Auntie should wipe quickly. Nuo Nuo has water too.”
The little fellow stretched with effort, reached into Daddy’s suit pocket, and pulled out his small water bottle. He offered it to them and smiled at the couple with curved eyes.
Bai Sheng now understood what had happened, but he said nothing while holding his cub. The parent still wore his usual casual, indolent expression.
He was thinking: It could not be helped. After all, he had an adorable little Omega.
By then, teachers had urgently cleaned Xie Qing’s and Xie Yue’s faces and hands and led the two cubs back to Xie Yu and Shi Lin.
Both children looked at the little fellow curiously.
They were in a small ten-child middle class at Canghua Kindergarten. Based on Bai Nuo’s age, he would also enter the middle class, though Xie Qing and Xie Yue were slightly older.
Bai Sheng looked at the two young Alpha cubs gazing up at his child with shining curiosity. He set the little fellow down so the children could meet.
Xie Yu nudged his two cubs forward.
“Introduce yourselves to little brother Bai Nuo. You’ll be in the same class from now on.”
After pushing his two mischievous monkeys forward, Xie Yu did not even dare tell them to take the little fellow along when they played.
Play what? Roll in the mud together?!
My sons, you are about to destroy your old father’s lifelong reputation!
As Xie Yu thought this, he felt something rub against his clothes.
He lowered his head and saw that Xie Yue had discovered a speck of mud still clinging to his elbow. The child naturally wiped it clean on his father’s clothes.
Xie Yu: …You brat!!! I will endure this!
“I’m Xie Qing.”
The elder twin Alpha cub smiled brightly and held out his hand.
Having cleaned his own hands, Xie Yue hurriedly spoke too.
“I’m Xie Yue. From now on at kindergarten, I’ll protect you!”
The five-year-old patted his chest.
He did not appear to be joking.
Only when the three cubs stood on the ground together could their difference in size be clearly seen. The normally raised, rapidly developing Alpha cubs were healthy and strong, like little calves with inexhaustible energy. Even their skin had been tanned into a different shade.
Bai Nuo was considerably shorter. Apart from his plump baby cheeks, he was actually very thin and almost weightless. His skin was extremely fair, with even a sickly pallor. Surrounded curiously by the others, he looked like a beautiful little white bird with soft curls.
The little fellow had naturally met very few children his own age. In truth, the fact that he had survived alone in the apocalypse—collecting rubbish while constantly avoiding danger—was itself a miracle.
The cub shyly held out his hand.
“I’m Bai Nuo. Hello, big brothers.”
After speaking, he raised his head to look at Daddy, wanting to know whether he had said it correctly.
Daddy ruffled his curls.
Xie Yue grasped the cub’s hand before his older brother could. Laughing familiarly, he shook Bai Nuo’s hand.
“Little brother, when are you coming to school? We can do so many, many things!”
Xie Yue had discovered that he had wiped dirt on Daddy’s clothes without being hit!
As expected, if they brought little brother along, they could do anything they wanted. Wonderful! Next time, he would build a sandcastle on the bed!
Xie Yu, currently enduring everything: …You had better not.
Bai Sheng watched his cub’s hand being shaken back and forth. The old father’s eyelid twitched. Bai Sheng, who never doubted his own decisions, experienced a rare moment of uncertainty.
Was it truly correct to let the little fellow make friends like this right now?
“Oh, right! There’s also Brother Yan—Yu Chuyan!”
Xie Yue released Bai Nuo’s hand, looked behind him, and jumped while waving at Yu Chuyan, who was watching from a distance.
It was the person Bai Nuo had seen earlier.
Bai Nuo looked over too. In truth, he felt that the names Yu Chuyan, Xie Qing, and Xie Yue were strangely familiar, but he could not yet remember why.
So he merely looked at the cool-looking boy and smiled with curved eyes. Because they were far apart, the little fellow did not greet him aloud.
Yu Chuyan, however, appeared startled. He shifted his gaze away awkwardly, but looked back less than two seconds later.
At that moment, the person collecting Yu Chuyan arrived.
Bai Sheng picked the cub up again. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Xie Yu and Shi Lin, he prepared to leave with the little fellow, as they still had plans that evening.
More importantly, although the Yu family was wealthy and powerful enough to rival the Bai family, its disorder was far more visible than the Bai family’s temporarily hidden internal crisis. The mother of the Yu family’s two heirs had died. A stepmother had taken her place and brought in an illegitimate son. The current head of the Yu family clearly favoured the stepmother’s side, and there would be many battles ahead. Bai Sheng had no desire to become involved with the Yu family.
Only after Daddy carried him into the car did Bai Nuo ask in confusion:
“Daddy, why did Uncle and Auntie come to collect the Xie big brothers?”
The cub still did not understand. Many things at the kindergarten were new and interesting, and there were many children his age who were friendly to Nuo Nuo. But were they not things he would do together with Daddy?
The little fellow had previously played alone in the garden while Daddy slept. In Bai Nuo’s understanding, attending kindergarten should be similar.
Bai Sheng clearly did not understand what confused him. The old father was carefully fastening the child-seat belt and answered casually.
“Because kindergarten has ended for the day, so the parents come to collect their children.”
After speaking, Bai Sheng touched the cub’s hand. Bai Nuo was physically weak and had not fully recovered. A little extra exposure to the wind easily made his small hands cold. The old father took the new children’s bottle Assistant Li passed from the front seat. It was filled with warm water, and he placed it in the cub’s hands.
“Don’t drink it in the car. Hold it to warm your hands. Understand?”
Bai Nuo’s attention was immediately diverted. He stopped considering what kindergarten truly meant and hugged the warm bottle obediently, nodding.
At the same time, in another car passing the Bai family’s vehicle—
“Sit properly.”
A boy who appeared sixteen or seventeen frowned slightly at his restless younger brother.
“What are you doing? Why do you keep staring out the window?”
This was Yu Chuyan’s biological older brother, Yu Chen, who had just turned sixteen.
The Yu family’s circumstances were indeed unusual. Father Yu’s first wife—the mother of both boys—had died from a sudden illness while Yu Chuyan was still being gestated through reproductive technology. Immediately afterward, Father Yu married his mistress and brought home an illegitimate son older than Yu Chuyan.
Yu Chen was a Beta. Because he did not satisfy his father, he had always been raised by his grandfather. The matter had caused several years of conflict, and the boys and Father Yu now behaved almost like complete strangers. Yu Chuyan was born into that environment and was likewise raised by their grandfather.
The absurdities Father Yu had created made Old Master Yu unwilling to hand full control of the family companies to him. Thus, although Father Yu was nominally in charge, he was restricted at every turn, which made him resent Yu Chen and Yu Chuyan even more.
Now that Yu Chen had turned sixteen, the old master was gradually transferring some authority to him. The covert and open struggle between father and son was nearing its most intense point.
What troubled Yu Chen most?
His younger Alpha brother looked cool, handsome, and dependable, but was actually a little demon king who caused chaos everywhere. Could you believe that brat committed mischief with a perfectly solemn face?!
Watching Yu Chuyan twist around in his child seat, Yu Chen sensed trouble. He held the child down while asking, glancing outside but seeing nothing.
“A new child is transferring into our class.”
Yu Chuyan had stared through the window for a long time without finding the soft, pale little bundle he wanted to see. Finally, he sat properly with obvious reluctance.
“Oh? And?”
Yu Chen looked at his brother.
He only hoped this boy would cause fewer problems and not play tricks on the newcomer.
“He looks white and soft, like the rice cake I ate yesterday!”
Yu Chuyan gestured with his hands. Barely concealed curiosity showed on his cool little face.
“And he’s as pretty as the dolls in the display cabinet.”
He did not enjoy playing with dolls, but Yu Chuyan had to admit they were beautiful. Even so, none seemed as pretty as that little rice cake.
Yu Chen had never heard his brother describe anyone this way. He raised an eyebrow. He did not yet know the Bai family had acquired a cub and simply looked at his brother curiously.
“You’re that excited? You only saw him once, yet you already like the new friend so much?”
Yu Chuyan immediately sat upright. His small face became solemn and serious, hiding his anticipation and curiosity.
“No. I’m only curious. He’s just ordinary.”
Soft Alpha cubs with baby fat were extremely deceptive, but Yu Chen had to admit that such a little thing acting stubborn was also amusing.
He laughed.
“Brother,” Yu Chuyan said after discussing Bai Nuo. Then he looked his older brother up and down. “Nobody bullied you, right? If someone bullies you, tell me. I’ll beat them up for you.”
Yu Chuyan patted his small chest.
“Who could bully your brother?”
Yu Chen tapped him on the head.
“Sit properly. There’s a gathering tomorrow at noon. Do you want to go to the old residence or kindergarten?”
Yu Chuyan clenched a fist without hesitation.
“Kindergarten!”
Protect your brother? What brother are you protecting at kindergarten?
Yu Chen thought, having been instantly thrown to the back of his younger brother’s mind.
—Brat, aren’t you simply excited for that little rice cake to attend kindergarten?!
Meanwhile, Bai Sheng had already returned to the Bai family’s old residence with the child.
He had changed clothes and dressed the cub in a comfortable, casual, adorable outfit.
Naturally, all kinds of clothes had been custom-made after the child arrived. But since the charity banquet was hosted by one of Madam Cen Zhi’s close friends, there was no need for anything overly formal.
Bai Sheng carried the little fellow to the main building.
The old master was still there. He seemed to have arranged a meeting with old friends in Ang City and was preparing to go out.
Sharp-eyed Bai Nuo spotted Great-Grandpa. His eyes widened reflexively, and he moved in front of Daddy.
The tiny cub could not block anything, but the gesture brought inexplicable warmth to the heart. In the end, the old master said nothing and left with a stubbornly dark expression, clearly still angry about the earlier incident.
So Bai Nuo did not like his great-grandfather?
Bai Sheng thought: Wasn’t that exactly what he deserved?
Even Bai Jingyun knew enough to apologise after tricking the little fellow into tasting lemon.
Bai Sheng carried Bai Nuo inside.
Bai Qian had already changed and prepared. He was watching a financial news broadcast on television and raised his eyes when he heard them enter.
“Sit there and wait. Your mother isn’t ready yet. If he’s hungry, give him a small snack. There will also be lightly seasoned food at the banquet. Keep an eye on him when you arrive.”
Bai Qian looked at the cub, who still stared alertly toward the door as though his fur had bristled.
He ignored the “special treatment” his own father received from Bai Nuo.
Bai Nuo was placed on the soft sofa, and Daddy put a small piece of egg pancake in his hands.
Whenever he held food, the cub treated it with absolute reverence. He ate with intense, happy concentration.
Not long afterward, the makeup artist hurried downstairs carrying her case.
Cen Zhi followed closely behind.
Time had left few visible marks on her. Compared with the youthful pride of her younger years, she now possessed greater maturity and composure. The instant she looked over, Cen Zhi smiled.
“The baby is home? How was kindergarten? Was it nice?”
The little fellow nodded seriously and hurriedly swallowed the last piece of pancake in his mouth. His eyes shone.
“Kindergarten was very good. Will Grandma go there and play with Nuo Nuo in the future too?”
“Of course.”
Cen Zhi smiled as she came downstairs.
She watched Bai Sheng lift the cub out of the sofa and set him on the floor. Bai Qian also stood.
The cub circled Cen Zhi twice, released two little sounds of wonder, and raised his head with absolute sincerity.
“Grandma is so pretty. Sparkly.”
Cen Zhi unconsciously raised her chin slightly.
Listen to that. Listen. Having an adorable little grandson was truly comforting.
Expecting the Bai family’s tight-lipped men to say such words? You could wait forever.
Before Cen Zhi could answer, however, the child looked up at Grandpa, then pattered behind him.
His entire small body hid behind Bai Qian.
Before anyone understood what he was thinking, the little fellow spoke softly.
“Grandma is so pretty.”
Cen Zhi paused.
Hadn’t he already said that? Why repeat it?
She looked over and saw the little fellow peeking out from behind the utterly confused Bai Qian.
“Nuo Nuo is saying it for Grandpa.”
Grandpa had been staring at Grandma from the beginning. And Grandma absolutely must not encounter danger. Grandpa needed to watch Grandma carefully.
Saying it for Grandpa?
In other words, he was praising Grandma on Grandpa’s behalf.
Cen Zhi froze and involuntarily glanced at Bai Qian. Bai Qian slowly recovered, seeming only then to understand what the child had said. His habitually stern face showed shock as he looked down.
“I…”
Bai Qian instinctively tried to say something, but Cen Zhi interrupted him and crouched down.
“Baby, we won’t speak for him. Why can’t he say what he wants himself?”
She was the most beautiful. Did she need someone to tell her?
Bai Qian: …
Bai Qian ground his back teeth. Finally, he bent down, pinched the child’s cheeks, and rubbed them.
What did he mean, speaking for Grandpa? Grandpa did not need it. He did not!
Tsk… the little face was so soft.
Then the cub whose cheeks had been pinched was snatched away by his father, and Grandpa received a smack from Grandma.
Cen Zhi widened her eyes.
“Let go of the baby!”
“Ahem.”
Bai Qian finally withdrew his hand. Although his face remained stern, he clearly followed Cen Zhi with a slightly subdued air.
Everyone entered the cars.
Only when they arrived at the banquet and Bai Qian opened Cen Zhi’s car door did she link her arm through his and hear his extremely quiet voice.
“The little thing wasn’t entirely wrong.”
Cen Zhi turned her head, then looked away again.
Hmph. She had always said it—if the sky collapsed, the Bai family’s stubborn mouths would hold it up!
Many of Ang City’s elite families had been invited to the banquet.
The host stood smiling in the main reception area. When she saw Cen Zhi, her eyes clearly brightened. Then she noticed Bai Sheng beside her.
Chu Meng paused.
The younger members of the Bai family were each more difficult to invite than the last, and Bai Sheng was the most individualistic. You normally had no chance of seeing him at such a banquet. What had happened today? Had the sun risen in the west? She had sent him an invitation but never expected him to come, much less carrying… a cub?
While she was still thinking, they reached her.
After exchanging greetings, Chu Meng hugged Cen Zhi.
“I didn’t expect you to return today. Everyone inside is waiting for you. And this is?”
Bai Nuo had never seen such a magnificent banquet hall. His round eyes could hardly take everything in. He looked at the chocolate fountain, then the tower of champagne glasses, then the colourful and beautiful dessert area. The sweet, fragrant scents were even more overpowering than the smell of the main dishes.
Bai Nuo reluctantly pulled his gaze back—was this heaven?!
“Nuo Nuo, greet Grandma Chu.”
Bai Sheng spoke casually, entirely unconcerned by the covert and open gazes around them.
“Hello, Grandma Chu.”
The cub greeted her in his milky voice, blinking his large eyes and obediently hugging Daddy’s neck.
“Oh, hello.”
Chu Meng was struck by cuteness and quickly answered. She looked at Cen Zhi and received a confirming gaze.
“This is your third son’s child? He’s so adorable. He looks so much like Bai Sheng.”
“Nuo Nuo’s appearance was a little unexpected, but he is still our family’s child. We’ll have to trouble everyone to look after him in the future,” Cen Zhi said with a smile.
“My third son only recently acquired a cub and treasures him terribly. He carries him around all day. I said he should bring him out so his aunties could have a look and recognise him.”
“Very good, very good.” Chu Meng smiled. “Aunt Chu thinks your little treasure is much cuter than you were as a child. Are you hungry? Go and eat something.”
“Thank you, Grandma Chu.”
The little fellow was always polite. Hugging Daddy’s neck, he spoke as sweetly as a piece of honey.
“Grandma is very pretty too.”
He offered sweet words to everyone he met, yet only two sentences were enough to make adults smile until their eyes narrowed. Bai Sheng pinched his cub’s cheek. He glanced at the people his own age and had little interest in speaking with them. After greeting Aunt Chu, he took the little fellow to find food he liked.
Only after Bai Sheng carried the child away did Chu Meng recover slightly.
“Quite a few younger members of your Bai family came today.”
“Who else is here?”
Bai Qian looked over.
Cen Zhi took a glass of champagne from a nearby server and looked curiously in the same direction.
“Your fourth child, Bai Qi. She’s over there with members of the Liu family. Be careful. I don’t know what those Lius are planning. Don’t let your fourth child fall into their trap.”
Bai Qi was the fourth-ranked child of the Bai family and the only female top Alpha of her generation. She was distant from the rest of the Bai family but had maintained a relatively good relationship with the Lius because of an earlier accident.
Cen Zhi took a sip of champagne.
“It’s fine. Fourth isn’t that foolish.”
“I’m only letting you know.”
As Chu Meng spoke, she looked over again. Bai Nuo was obediently eating while Daddy held him. Whenever he tasted something delicious, his eyes lit up and he raised the utensil high to feed Daddy. He even took out a little handkerchief and clumsily but thoughtfully wiped Daddy’s mouth.
Oh, where had this adorable baby come from?
“Did your Alpha genes mutate? How did you produce such an obedient Alpha?”
Yes, Chu Meng also naturally assumed that Bai Sheng’s cub had to be an Alpha.
This was the moment. This exact moment.
Cen Zhi became excited merely thinking of what she was about to say.
After watching others show off their cubs for so long, it was finally her turn!
Pretending to be surprised, Cen Zhi smiled and linked arms with her close friend.
“Oh, Xiaomeng, didn’t I tell you?”
What?
“Our baby Nuo Nuo is a little Omega.”
Chu Meng: …
“…The Bai family actually has an Omega? Hadn’t you already accepted your fate?”
But he was merely another little Omega cub.
Chu Meng withdrew her gaze.
It was nothing special.
Yet while thinking that, she could not help looking at Bai Nuo again. Daddy had placed a mandarin in the child’s hands. He was now blinking as he worked hard to peel it, feeding the first segment to his father.
Chu Meng had met Omega cubs and had raised children herself, but she had never seen one so obedient.
She told herself he was simply another young Omega, yet kept glancing over. Finally, she spoke again in disbelief.
“No, wait. You’re saying that little fellow belongs to Bai Sheng? Why does that boy deserve him?”
How could an arrogant brat like Bai Sheng possess an obedient little Omega who fed his father, peeled mandarins for him, and was as sweet as honey?
Look at the atmosphere in your Bai family. Does it match that little darling at all?!
Meanwhile, the cub who had placed one segment in Daddy’s mouth also put one into his own.
The sourness instantly scrunched up his entire face. He stared at the mandarin in disbelief. It could not compare with the lemon that “hit people,” but it still had far too strong a flavour. Last time, Eldest Uncle had tried to use this to apologise to Nuo Nuo. Nuo Nuo had known Eldest Uncle’s sense of taste was strange and that he was trying to trick him again!
The child’s cheeks puffed.
Bai Sheng, whose eyes had also narrowed from the sourness, looked down and met his cub’s gaze. The old father who had selected a sour mandarin felt slightly guilty.
“Don’t eat it. Put it aside.”
The cub held the mandarin. Since he treasured food, he instinctively shook his head, then lowered his gaze and stared at it with a troubled expression on his delicate face.
But the cub soon found a target.
Many members of the Bai family’s younger generation truly had attended that evening.
Entering the banquet hall one after the other were Bai Jingyun and Bai Liang.
The cub’s eyes lit up.
“Daddy, it’s Eldest Uncle!”
Author’s Note:
Why does everyone question how Daddy could possibly have such an obedient cub? Reflect on yourself.
Bai Sheng: So what?
Nuo Nuo: [eats sour mandarin] As expected, Eldest Uncle was trying to trick Nuo Nuo again last time! …Ah! Nuo Nuo sees Eldest Uncle!
Eldest Uncle: …? [innocently struck while lying down]
Second Uncle: This is fine. I don’t even have a title in the little thing’s mouth.
