Chapter 32
He Renyuan proposed a second possibility: “I don’t think the mark is due to bloodline awakening, I’m no different from ordinary people. It’s more likely that you saved me and left a mark on me.”
Bai Qingyu had no such memory. He had been dormant in the divine realm for over a hundred years after exhausting his divine power. After waking up, he was busy raising Cha Bao, he had no time to save anyone, “Impossible, I would know if I did a good deed.”
He Renyuan brought up the suspicious points about himself, “The doctor said it was a medical miracle that I only suffered minor injuries after falling from such a height, my organs and bones were intact.”
Bai Qingyu, “That means you’re naturally blessed, protected by your ancestors. Well, I’m your grand-uncle, so if you insist that I saved you, I guess so.”
He Renyuan was speechless, “Not that kind of saving, I saw you.”
Bai Qingyu knelt on the bed, putting himself higher than He Renyuan, folded his arms, and looked down, “Are you questioning the tea deity’s memory? I remember everything from the past two hundred years clearly.”
He Renyuan: “…”
Bai Qingyu, “Besides, if I saved you, why would I leave a tea leaf mark? Do you humans need to leave your names when doing good deeds?”
He Renyuan struggled to explain, “It’s hard not to leave your name when you’re a lawyer doing good deeds.”
Bai Qingyu, “I can’t think of any motive for me to leave my name.”
He Renyuan couldn’t think of one either, so he could only give up. Bai Qingyu, a half-baked tea deity, had the sole right of interpretation, and he couldn’t even question it. It was like a lawyer encountering an illiterate judge, unable to find another immortal as a witness, he could only accept whatever Bai Qingyu said.
Bai Qingyu convinced He Renyuan and was as happy as if he had won a lawsuit. He sat on his heels, played with Cha Bao’s hair, and checked if he was sweating.
He Renyuan, “Has Cha Bao ever disguised himself? Your hair is quite different.”
One long, one short, one dark green, one black.
Bai Qingyu, “No, he can’t disguise himself, he only has two forms, tea tree and Cha Bao.”
To protect the cub’s hair, Bai Qingyu wasn’t going to tell He Renyuan the source of the tea leaves.
He Renyuan remembered the photo of two tea trees, one big and one small, that he saw on Bai Qingyu’s phone, and the cute little tea tree transplanted in front of his house. So he hadn’t been moved away, Cha Bao had always been by his side.
“Can you let me see that photo of the tea trees again?”
“It’s gone.”
“Hmm?”
“Didn’t you give me a work phone? Then my phone wouldn’t turn on after being off for a day.”
“Didn’t you back up the photos?”
“How do I back them up?”
He Renyuan, “Give me the phone, I’ll have it repaired.”
Bai Qingyu was very cautious, “Old Man Deng said, when you’re away from home, you can’t give your phone and ID card to others casually.”
He Renyuan, “…Then use this face from tomorrow onwards, I’ll explain for you. It’s best to disguise your hair.”
Bai Qingyu, “I understand, I’ll transform into short black hair like Cha Bao!” Let’s see who else would say he and Cha Bao didn’t look alike, they looked exactly alike!
He couldn’t wait to sleep until tomorrow, so he urged He Renyuan to leave, “I’m going to sleep.”
He Renyuan could only get out of bed.
Bai Qingyu saw him to the door, then suddenly remembered something and asked awkwardly, “How did you recognize me? Did I have any flaws?”
He Renyuan’s gaze fell on his hand on the doorknob, “Flaws everywhere.”
Bai Qingyu closed the door. If he didn’t want to say it, he wouldn’t say it. What “everywhere”? He wasn’t that careless.
Bai Qingyu went to sleep contentedly, without a trace of worry about being exposed.
The next day, Bai Xiaocha opened his eyes and found himself sleeping on his dad’s hair. The long, dark green hair spread out on the bed, it was Cha Bao’s sweetest dreamland.
He rolled around in his dad’s hair like a giant panda cub rolling in the snow.
Bai Qingyu woke up, transformed his hair into short black hair, finished washing up, and went downstairs holding the little one. As soon as they walked out of the room, Cha Bao reminded him, “Dad’s face hasn’t changed yet.”
Bai Qingyu, “I’ll go out with Baby like this from now on. Uncle Boss knows that you are a tea tree baby, but others don’t, we can’t be exposed.”
Bai Xiaocha nodded, “Can Baby shake milk tea in front of Uncle Boss now?”
Bai Qingyu felt a little ashamed. They ate with He Renyuan most often, and Cha Bao was always restricted. Now that everything was out in the open, there were both risks and benefits. The good thing was that Cha Bao would be more comfortable and wouldn’t have to pretend in front of Uncle Boss.
First floor.
He Renyuan woke up early and held a morning meeting. All the housekeepers received a notice last night that they had to attend, except for Bai Qingyu and his son.
Morning meetings, he had only heard of bosses holding them at the company. According to the housekeeper, the atmosphere of the meetings was usually very serious.
He Renyuan had a stack of A4 documents in front of him. Everyone sat nervously. Could the documents be their attendance records and layoff list? But they didn’t seem to have a time clock.
He Renyuan, “Just one thing, it will take five minutes of your time.”
He Renyuan briefly explained the reason and method of Bai Qingyu’s disguise, and that he removed the disguise because he trusted them. He demanded that no one inquire about Bai Qingyu’s privacy, and anyone who was too curious would be fired.
Bai Qingyu was so stupid, if so many people kept asking him questions, he would probably be exposed.
He could only nip this possibility in the bud.
The people below had mixed feelings.
[That’s it? It delayed me steaming little pig buns for Cha Bao.]
[So Bai Qingyu was wearing makeup to work. The young master said he was afraid of being harassed, so he disguised himself. Now it’s because he trusts us and treats us like family, so he removed the disguise. Wuwu, I also treat you like family, but I don’t dare to say it.]
[How good-looking is he? The young master is being so serious, isn’t he as beautiful as a fairy?]
[Shipping them again.]
[Even more now.]
[No wonder the young master has been putting off arranging for the little young master to meet his grandparents, he was waiting for Bai Qingyu to reveal his true appearance.]
“Meeting adjourned.” He Renyuan said, picking up the documents and waiting for breakfast while reading them.
Just as everyone was about to disperse, Bai Qingyu came downstairs holding Bai Xiaocha.
The boss had already set the atmosphere, so everyone turned their heads to look—
There were gasps in the room, and things clattered to the floor.
They looked at Bai Qingyu, then at the calm young master. No, young master, you described him so modestly? What disguise? He was clearly a celestial being descending to earth!
“As beautiful as a celestial being” was actually such a realistic idiom.
Everyone had more or less thought that Bai Xiaocha had won the genetic lottery to be so cute. It turned out it wasn’t by chance, but by necessity. With such a good-looking father, it was reasonable for Cha Bao to be so cute.
“Qing, Qingyu.” Auntie Liu tentatively called out.
Bai Qingyu, “Good morning, Auntie Liu.”
Bai Xiaocha hugged his father’s neck, “Good morning, Grandma Liu, this is my dad!”
“It really is Qingyu! The same voice, everything is the same except for the face!” Everyone gathered around, but due to the rule He Renyuan had just set, they didn’t ask any questions, only exclaiming, “You were right to disguise yourself, otherwise you would have been tricked by someone before meeting District Mayor He!”
Only the housekeeper froze in place, his heart slightly shaken – this wasn’t logical!
Cha Bao was clearly Bai Qingyu’s biological son, their eyes and skin color were exactly the same! If Cha Bao only had one father, and he had to choose between He Renyuan and Bai Qingyu, he would choose Bai Qingyu, because the indescribable aura on Cha Bao clearly leaned towards Bai Qingyu.
Sorry, Chairman, he was switching sides. The resemblance between Cha Bao and the young master must be a coincidence.
He had said that the young master couldn’t give birth to such a cute Cha Bao, and based on Cha Bao’s age, it was impossible for the young master to have a relationship with anyone during that time.
The housekeeper broke out in a cold sweat, remembering the 70% guarantee he gave the chairman. It was him who misled the chairman.
He nervously left the crowd and stood beside He Renyuan, ready to confess this blunder, so that the chairman wouldn’t be unable to handle it when he came.
When subordinates messed up, only the boss could resolve it.
The housekeeper said solemnly, “Young master, I made a mistake.”
He Renyuan was reading documents and said casually, “What mistake?”
The housekeeper, “Because of some of my actions, the chairman thinks that Cha Bao is his grandson, and he even did a paternity test.”
When subordinates messed up, He Renyuan only looked at the results, not the explanations. The housekeeper wisely didn’t try to excuse himself.
He Renyuan’s heart pounded. He glanced at Bai Qingyu, who was surrounded by people, his Adam’s apple bobbing, “Are the results out?”
The housekeeper, “Yes, only 70% genetic similarity, the sample must have been contaminated.”
He Renyuan paused for a second, then lowered his head and continued reading the documents, “Oh.”
Cha Bao was only one and a half years old, what could he have to do with him?
The housekeeper followed his gaze and saw that it wasn’t the “** Product Market Report,” but “Asexual Reproduction Techniques of Tea Trees.”
Was the young master planning to farm?
“But the chairman insists that Cha Bao is his grandson and doesn’t want to do a second test.”
He Renyuan tapped the table and said, “I’ll take the blame, let him misunderstand.”
The housekeeper: ?
So filial.
Bai Qingyu was praised by everyone that he and Cha Bao clearly looked like father and son, and he couldn’t stop smiling. Although his appearance was otherworldly, the father and son had such good temperaments that everyone was chatting and laughing as usual in no time.
He held Cha Bao and sat next to He Renyuan, whispering, “Thank you, young master.”
Cha Bao followed suit, “Thank you, Uncle Boss!”
He Renyuan, “Mm-hmm.”
Breakfast was served: oatmeal with milk, raisins, cranberries, and banana slices porridge. Such a complex dish must be for Cha Bao.
Bai Xiaocha held a spoon and drank the porridge, each spoonful lowering the porridge level by half a centimeter.
Bai Qingyu tore off a steamed bun and ate it with soy milk, asking the others, “Why aren’t you sitting here to eat?”
He Renyuan now turned a blind eye to eating with everyone. In order to watch Cha Bao’s eating broadcast, everyone tried their best to overcome their fear of the boss and brought their bowls to the table.
Why did they regress today?
“No, no, no, I like to squat at the door and eat.” The gatekeeper was the first to retreat. Bai Qingyu had changed his face, this table’s average attractiveness was too high, he was ugly, and he was embarrassed to sit at the table.
He Renyuan stared at Bai Qingyu’s hand, combined with the “Asexual Reproduction Techniques of Tea Trees,” and tried to explain theology with science – he couldn’t just accept everything Bai Qingyu said without question.
Cuttings, grafting, layering, division, tissue culture.
Which method did Bai Qingyu use to give birth to Cha Bao? Grafting and tissue culture were ruled out first.
He Renyuan couldn’t sleep last night and watched many videos. Cuttings required cutting a small branch from a large tea tree and planting it in the soil. Layering required cutting a circle of bark from a branch near the root, wrapping it with soil, waiting for it to root, and then cutting and replanting it.
All these methods required Bai Qingyu to be “injured” first.
Did tea trees feel pain when transformed?
He Renyuan suddenly felt a pang in his heart and asked Bai Qingyu, “How did you give birth to Cha Bao?”
Bai Qingyu, “Didn’t I say, from the roots…”
He Renyuan, “I’m asking how Cha Bao grew from the roots, were you injured? Was there a wound? How were you injured?”
Bai Qingyu prevaricated, “Tea deities naturally have their ways.”
He Renyuan, “What ways?”
Bai Qingyu had never thought about this question. A flash of inspiration struck him, “Tea trees grow tea seeds, and they naturally sprout when they fall to the ground.”
He must have bloomed and grown tea seeds during his dormancy.
He Renyuan gritted his teeth, “That’s called sexual reproduction.”
Wait… he looked down at the glaring line on the paper: [The advantage of asexual reproduction is that it inherits all the genes of the mother tree, and the genetic traits remain consistent].
If Cha Bao was asexually reproduced, his hair color should be the same as Bai Qingyu’s.
He Renyuan immediately questioned the tea deity’s authority.
“Cough, cough…” Bai Qingyu almost choked on the steamed bun.
That was because Bai Xiaocha ate too much human food, from the moment he was born. At first, he couldn’t eat anything too complex, only water. When he grew older, he could eat plant-based foods like rice cereal, peanut milk, and soy milk. So Bai Xiaocha didn’t drink milk when he was little, only water and rice cereal.
He couldn’t eat animal products, meat, eggs, and milk, he couldn’t digest them. He could only eat them after he turned one year old, and after that, he ate them every day, black beans, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame seeds, of course his hair would turn black.
He Renyuan’s heart ached. Reason told him not to ask any more questions. Tea trees were cross-pollinated. If Cha Bao sprouted from a tea seed, he should have someone else’s genes.
This “someone else,” was it a tree, a human, or an immortal?
Bai Qingyu pinched the steamed bun in his hand, then pinched Cha Bao’s cheek, a series of small actions to cover up his thoughts.
Humans often said, when you’re away from home, your identity is what you make it.
He was too honest, holding Cha Bao back. His attempt to create an unreasonable uncle image for Cha Bao also ended in failure.
He might as well say that Cha Bao had a very powerful mother goddess! That way, He Renyuan wouldn’t underestimate him.
Bai Qingyu swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun and said, “Yes, Cha Bao has another parent.”
He looked at He Renyuan, “He’s super powerful, no less tall than you, no less knowledgeable about law than you, and his bad temper is no less than yours, that’s why we couldn’t make it work.”
“But, he will come to see Cha Bao from time to time. If Cha Bao is bullied, he will retaliate tenfold, a hundredfold.”
Bai Qingyu added, “He would occasionally stand up for me too.”
For some reason, he said these words with genuine emotion, as if such a person really existed.
He Renyuan: “…” Bai Qingyu could change his story three times a day just about Cha Bao’s origin, he wouldn’t believe him even if he was a ghost.
He silently took the “Asexual Reproduction Techniques of Tea Trees” and went out, rolled it up tightly at the door, and threw it in the trash can.
He was an idiot for trying to verify theology with science.
The most important thing in life was not to make things difficult for yourself.
Monkeys could pop out of stones, so what was wrong with Cha Bao only having one dad?
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No less than = equal to = the person himself.
Note: Reproduction techniques are from research materials.
