Chapter 6
Shen Baizhou trailed behind Xing Nuo in a daze, his gaze fixed on his little brother’s round, fluffy head.
Xing Nuo, noticing his brother’s stare, blinked his watery eyes and suddenly turned his face.
Seeing his brother startled, Xing Nuo’s eyes crinkled happily into crescent moons.
“Big brother, silly!”
Seeing that his little brother was truly alright, Shen Baizhou breathed a sigh of relief and pinched his cheek.
“You’re silly!”
You almost died, you know!
Shen Baizhou sighed softly, kneading his brother’s soft, delicate cheek, a look of satisfaction on his face.
“Time for lunch. It’s almost one o’clock.”
Shen Wen put down the takeout he had bought and glanced at him, finally understanding Shen Baizhou’s apprehension.
The first time Shen Baizhou had come to the castle to look after Xing Nuo, Shen Wen, worried he would miss the cub’s mealtimes, had told him:
“The documentaries are right. Human cubs can’t miss their three meals a day. Make sure Xing Nuo eats properly.”
Shen Baizhou knew very little about humans and, seeing them as fragile as glass dolls, tended to overthink things.
This led to his current anxiety whenever Xing Nuo didn’t eat on time.
Fortunately, before one o’clock, Xing Nuo obediently finished his lunch.
Xing Nuo had a small appetite and was full after just a few bites.
The moment Xing Nuo turned away, Shen Baizhou scooped up the remaining food and dumped it into his gaping maw.
Like a bottomless pit, the food vanished instantly.
Shen Baizhou narrowed his eyes, chewing, thinking that human food was quite tasty.
Seeing this, Shen Wen lowered his hand from his chin, his expression turning cold. He smacked the back of Shen Baizhou’s head.
“How are you eating?”
What if Xing Nuo realized he was a monster?
Xing Nuo was a human, fragile and easily frightened.
Shen Wen had repeatedly warned Shen Baizhou not to reveal his monstrous instincts in front of Xing Nuo.
“If you don’t learn your lesson, you’ll end up like those other monsters.”
Shen Wen was cold and heartless towards these monsters he had created, his eyes devoid of warmth.
This time, Shen Baizhou finally behaved.
He huddled in his chair, head down, his large frame looking rather pathetic.
Shen Baizhou nodded vigorously, his silver-white hair falling over his eyes, and whispered:
“I won’t eat like that next time.”
Shen Wen looked at Shen Baizhou and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
It was only his immense power that kept him alive; with his intelligence, he would have been torn to shreds among the other monsters long ago.
Why couldn’t he be more like Shen Yan?
Shen Wen sighed, stood up, and picked up the little cub who was fiddling with the TV.
“Xing Nuo, how about going out with Daddy to buy clothes this afternoon?”
The clothes they were wearing were the ones they had brought from the castle.
Shen Wen at least had a set of silver-trimmed clothes. Although the style was unusual, it wasn’t too conspicuous among humans.
Xing Nuo, on the other hand, only had robes.
Several of them were elaborate and intricate, layered and requiring a matching small crown and agate rings.
In comparison, the clothes in this world were much simpler and more comfortable.
Xing Nuo wasn’t picky about clothes. Being with his dad made him happy, and he cheerfully squinted his eyes, nodding.
“Okay.”
Before leaving, Shen Wen looked at himself in the mirror, then at Shen Baizhou standing beside him, and suddenly said:
“Your hair needs to be dyed black too.”
Their whole family couldn’t have multicolored hair.
Shen Baizhou looked at his silver hair in the mirror, tugged at it, and said “Oh.”
Xing Nuo also looked at his now curly hair, mimicking his brother by tugging at it, and nodded twice.
“Dye black.”
Shen Wen smiled and tapped Xing Nuo’s nose. “Not Zaizai.”
Xing Nuo was still small, and Shen Wen had seen other children with blond hair, presumably of foreign descent, in the complex.
Shen Baizhou’s hair, however, was too unusual. Dyeing it was a must.
So, they split into two groups.
Shen Wen took Zaizai to the mall to buy clothes, while Shen Baizhou sat in the hair salon, saying expressionlessly:
“Dye my hair black.”
The hairdresser looked at Shen Baizhou’s hair and exclaimed:
“Dude, you managed to dye your hair such a pure silver-white! Must have taken a lot of effort.”
The dye job was flawless. This salon must be quite skilled!
Shen Baizhou didn’t bother responding, just lifting his eyelids slightly in acknowledgment.
It was Xing Nuo’s first time in a large shopping mall.
It being Saturday, the mall was bustling with young couples arm in arm, families with children, and groups of giggling girls.
Xing Nuo’s eyes couldn’t keep up. Nestled in his dad’s arms, his dark eyes reflecting the mall lights, he turned his head this way and that, taking everything in.
“So many!”
Shen Wen, also rarely seeing so many humans, raised an eyebrow and nodded.
“Indeed, there are a lot of people. This is a mall. Daddy will bring Zaizai here often, okay?”
Xing Nuo didn’t understand and repeated innocently: “Mall? What’s ‘at?”
Shen Wen’s hair fell smoothly over his shoulder, his light-colored eyes shimmering like a galaxy in the mall lights, his voice gentle:
“A mall is a place where they sell lots of things. The clothes we’re buying today are here.”
Saying this, Shen Wen carried Zaizai upstairs.
Behind them, a group of girls giggled and nudged each other.
“That baby is so cute!”
“Is he a celebrity’s child? I’m so jealous of his hair!”
“Blond hair actually looks so good! I used to think it was tacky!”
“Ahhh, the little one looked at me!”
Oblivious to the commotion they were causing, Shen Wen and his son headed straight for the clothing stores.
The third floor of the mall was almost entirely dedicated to children’s clothing, with prices on the higher side. Only a few parents with children were browsing.
Shen Wen held a black card, and whenever he saw something he liked, he simply had the staff pack it up and deliver it to their home.
In one store, Xing Nuo spotted a set of sunflower-printed clothes and was instantly captivated, touching them repeatedly.
Seeing how much he liked them, Shen Wen took him to try them on.
With his new favorite outfit, the sunflower-trimmed robe was ruthlessly discarded.
After changing, Xing Nuo ran to the mirror.
The child in the mirror, with his three-head proportions, curly hair, and casual light beige sweatshirt, matching pants, and shoes, looked even tinier.
Imitating the other children, Xing Nuo turned around, stood on tiptoe, and looked up at his dad.
“Clothes~”
The outfit was designed as a parent-child set, and Shen Wen had also changed into the same style.
He was tall and slender, his smooth golden hair reaching almost to his waist. His features were sharp, his skin fair, giving him an androgynous beauty.
However, upon closer inspection, his prominent Adam’s apple and high nose bridge left no room for misunderstanding his gender.
Wearing the sweatshirt with a small sunflower print on the chest, Shen Wen’s aura seemed to soften.
He stood next to Xing Nuo, looking at their matching outfits, and nodded in satisfaction.
“It does look good.”
At the checkout, the staff showered them with genuine compliments:
“This outfit suits you both so well! We’ll be getting more sunflower-themed clothing soon. Would you like to sign up for a membership? We’ll notify you about any promotions!”
This immediately piqued Shen Wen’s interest.
Xing Nuo loved sunflowers, those vibrant and cheerful flowers.
Just like Xing Nuo, they were bright and eye-catching at first glance.
Shen Wen loved that his cub had such vibrant energy, not sickly and weak, bringing joy just by being there.
Shen Wen took out his phone and, somewhat clumsily, scanned the membership QR code.
Passing another clothing store, they also picked out a few items for Shen Baizhou.
After finishing their shopping, Shen Wen took Xing Nuo back downstairs to the hair salon.
Upon arriving, Xing Nuo wriggled down and ran straight towards his brother.
“Big brother!”
Reaching the silver-haired teenager, Xing Nuo was about to bury his face in his arms when he froze, looking up.
The other person chuckled and teased Xing Nuo, rubbing his little face.
“Whose little one is this, calling me Big Brother?”
Meanwhile, Shen Baizhou, his hair now dyed black, scowled and glanced at the white-haired teenager.
“Xing Nuo, come here. Big Brother is over here.”
Xing Nuo’s face was flushed from being rubbed, and he looked utterly bewildered. He took a couple of steps back and looked up at Shen Baizhou with the black hair.
“Big brother?”
Xing Nuo scratched his cheek in confusion, tilting his head, unsure.
Shen Baizhou hummed, then forced a smile, afraid his usual expression would frighten Xing Nuo.
“Big Brother dyed his hair. Didn’t we talk about dyeing it black before we left?”
Xing Nuo remembered, but he was still young and didn’t have a clear understanding of hair dye.
Seeing his brother’s drastically changed hair, Xing Nuo hesitated to recognize him.
He slowly shuffled over and reached out his small hand.
Shen Baizhou understandingly bent down on one knee, crouching in front of the little cub.
He lowered his head, exposing his newly dyed black hair for Xing Nuo to touch.
Xing Nuo touched his brother’s fresh, black hair, his bright eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Black?”
Shen Baizhou hummed. Seeing that Zaizai wasn’t averse to it, he picked him up.
“Don’t recognize Big Brother anymore?”
Xing Nuo, embarrassed about mistaking someone else for his brother, blushed and shook his head vigorously.
“Recognize.”
Xing Nuo then nuzzled his nose against Shen Baizhou’s neck like a puppy, sniffing.
As if confirming something, Xing Nuo nodded firmly.
“Is Big Brother.”
Xing Nuo recognized the scent.
Cold, with a hint of salty sea air.
Shen Wen walked over, ruffled Zaizai’s hair, and smiled.
“Zaizai is so smart, recognizing Big Brother right away.”
Xing Nuo covered his messy hair, babbling, and hid his face against his brother’s shoulder, ignoring his dad for the moment.
Shen Baizhou spoke seriously:
“Xing Nuo isn’t used to the dyed hair, so please don’t ruffle his hair too much.”
Shen Wen, still smiling, let out a cold chuckle.
“Understood.”
Anyone would think this was your child, Shen Baizhou.
So protective.
