Due to long hours of flight and the after-effects of the pheromone relaxant, Shen Yuan inevitably felt sleepy. The moment he hit the seat of their bullet-proofed black SUV, he unceremoniously closed his eyes and drifted off.
Bai TIngfeng speechlessly looked at the bobbing head of Shen Yuan and couldn't help himself but ask if this was the same omega who'd been raised to be prim by the illustrious Shen family. The same omega was conveniently fixed to him because, in all aspects, their social status is neck and neck with each other.
"Just how could someone change so much after losing his memories?" Bai Tingfeng murmured as he watched the sleeping Shen Yuan instinctively lean on the car window to stabilize his moving head.
Su Yifan, who is behind the wheel, sighed in disappointment. He was expecting his boss to offer his shoulder to be Master Shen's pillow, just like how it goes to dramas, but that didn't happen. Here, he thought that since the two had let out their pheromones earlier, the two would finally patch up their relationship, but he was wrong.
He sighed once again. He guessed he was still bound to have a rough job from now on.
"Assistant Su," Su Yifan jolted on his seat and stiffly directed his eyes on the road, fearing that his S-Class Awakener boss would find out that he was watching them with gossipy eyes.
"Wa-what is it, Guildmaster?"
"Yanyan is currently at the Shen's, right?"
"Yes, Master Bai Weishing asked Old Master Shen to babysit the young master before they left last night for the yearly luncheon of the fourth-generation masters," The alpha assistant affirmatively answered. His father, Bai Weisheng, is one of the fourth-generation S-Class awakeners, and annually, these retired powerful masters of the previous generations would have a luncheon party to maintain positive relationships with other S-Class awakeners from different countries.
His father inevitably has no choice but to go for the sake of their country's political and economic interests. Also, given his father's clinginess to his dad, it is natural that Rong Suyin, his omega father, would tag along.
"The Shen's, huh?" Bai TIngfeng's eyes landed on the omega on the other side of the back seat. It is a bit problematic to think that "this" careless Shen Yuan will meet his
authoritative Father Shen, who values status and elegance above all.
"They will clash. That is for sure," Bai Tingfeng murmured.
"I don't even know why I am stressing myself with this," After a deep sigh, he fished his phone from his pocket and called Nanny Lin, Yanyan's personal nanny. He intends to know if Shen Zhaozui, his father-in-law, was in the Shen estate. If he is, he would drop off Shen Yuan at their home first before picking up his son.
He already has an excuse if he was asked where Shen Yuan was.
Bai Tingfeng glanced at the omega enjoying himself in the dreamland.
"Hello, Nanny Lin?" the alpha male politely greeted once his call connected.
"Papa?"
"Huh?" Bai Tingfeng was surprised to hear that the one who answered him was not a middle-aged woman's voice but the feathery sound of a child.
"Yanyan, is that you?"
The imposing alpha's creased forehead instantly relaxed, and like when the cloud-filled sky cleared up, Bai Tingfeng's air shifted into a lighter and gentler atmosphere.
He tapped on his phone to turn their call into a video call.
"Papa!" The beaming face of a fair little boy who looks about five years old.
Bai Shengyan, the prince of the Bai Family and the only son of Bai Tingfeng and Shen Yuan, excitedly waved his hands in front of the phone. The platinum blonde hair he inherited from Shen Yuan danced side to side due to his energetic movement.
"How are you, Yanyan? Do you enjoy staying there at your Granpa Shen?" Bai Tingfeng's current expression is entirely different from the one he makes when interacting with Shen Yuan.
He was gentle and full of forbearance. Meanwhile, Shen Yuan…
It is best that the prideful celestial fox spirit is deep in his slumber, or else someone will be throwing Heavenly Foxfires.
The cute little son of Bai Tingfeng pouted his lips and twiddled his thumbs.
On the other line, the alpha father knew this expression very well and gently asked what was wrong.
"Nothing, it's just I feel bored here. Grandpa and Uncle Linyu are both out to their work, so I-"
Bai Tingfeng felt a pang in his chest, seeing that his son was craving company. He was also an only child, so he knew the feeling of loneliness best.
That is why…
If he can help it, he wants to keep Shen Yuan in this convenient marriage. It doesn't matter to him if they are loveless as long as they can get along well for Yanyan's sake. But if not, he could offer a divorce with an agreement that Shen Yuan will regularly communicate with their son and foster a healthy father-and-son relationship.
"Yanyan," he called his son. The child must have sensed his seriousness, so the bubbly little boy stopped his babble and stared at him with hopeful dark eyes. The arch on Bai Tingfeng's lips almost reached both of his ears, seeing the adorableness of his son.
He didn't hold his son in suspense and faced the front camera to the sleeping Shen Yuan. Instead of the high-pitched reaction that he was expecting, Yanyan's voice was almost inaudible when he called Shen Yuan, "Daddy."
"The young master was too excited to see his daddy," A female spoke from the background. Bai TIngfeng knew that it was Nanny Lin, so he faced the phone back to him and saw that his poor little son was rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Yanyan, aren't you thrilled that I fulfilled my promise to you? I bring back your daddy now."
"No! I am happy! Thank you, Papa," little Yanyan blinked his eyes. It is evident that the child on the other end of the call was holding back his tears.
Just how could a five-year-old boy be sensible enough to hold back his tears?
"What if Daddy hates me because I brought him back against his will?"
Bai Tingfeng's forehead creased, "What? Where did you hear that?"
But the little boy only shook his head, totally refusing to answer. The concerned father unknotted his brows and faked his cool.
'I will see the bottom of this,' Bai Tingfeng promised himself. He remembered that before he left, his little boy was still optimistic about seeing his daddy, and now this? No parent will sit comfortably knowing that someone is feeding his son with information that may hurt his young heart, whether true or not.
"How could he hate you? No one forced him to come home, Yanyan. I just talked to him about you, and he agreed to accompany me. Did you know that he hurriedly took the flight home right after he was discharged? He was as excited as you to your meeting!"
"Really?" Yanyan looked at his father with his dark beady eyes.
Bai Tingfeng nodded his head.
"Then that was the reason why Daddy looked tired and sleeping?"
"Indeed," Bai Tingfeng answered. It is an amalgamation of various factors, but that is the bottom line of everything.
And it's not like he is lying when he implies that he didn't force Shen Yuan to go with him. The omega was the one who willingly walked himself to the parking lot and waited for him. Actually, he was already present when Shen Yuan waited in the parking lot.
It was some sort of a test
if Shen Yuan will slap him in the face with the reasoning that he is unwilling to see their son.
But the omega didn't; instead, he was clapped back by Shen Yuan because of the platform boots.
"Don't worry, we are already on our way to pick you up."
"No, Papa!" the little boy waved his tiny hands to express his adamant disapproval.
"Daddy needed rest. I will just go home on my own!" Yanyan energetically hit his chest. Bai Tingfeng would have thought he was speaking to an adult if it weren't for Yanyan's kiddie voice.
"I have Nanny Lin and the other Brother Bodyguards with me so that I can travel on my own!"
Bai Tingfeng laughed. His handsome danfeng eyes became smaller, making him ten times more attractive.
'He can travel on his own he says…' it is simply a funny thing that his son thought the definition of traveling alone is having a nanny and bodyguards by his side.
"Really? But don't you want to see your Daddy earlier?"
He pressed on to tease his child.
But Yanyan only shook his platinum blonde head. "Daddy should rest first. I will nurse Daddy back to health once we are finally home."
That is the exact words that Yanyan said before he flew to A country to drag Shen Yuan back.
"Okay, then." Bai Tingfeng finally agreed since it was the first time his son reacted enthusiastically like this.
"Yes!" the child energetically handed the phone back to his Nanny.
"Where are you going, young master?" Bai Tingfeng heard the nanny ask.
"I will shower first, Nanny Lin!"
Bai Tingfeng laughed for the last time before returning to his serious self. "We need to talk later, Nanny Lin. I am expecting an explanation."
After that video call, Bai Tingfeng relaxed and commanded Su Yifan to change their route per his son's instance. The traffic in the metropolitan area near the airport is quite heavy, so it took them a while to hit the road back home.
An hour passed, and they were finally halfway home, but Shen Yuan was still deep in his slumber.
"Is it not painful to be in that same position for a long time?" Bai Tingfeng scooted over and touched Shen Yuan's sleeping head.
'Fine, just this once,' he murmured to himself. Su Yifan watched in bated breath through the rearview mirror how his boss was silently and slowly lowering his spouse's head to his broad shoulder.
'This is what I am talking about, boss!' the alpha assistant cheered while gripping the stirring wheel harder and harder.
Kring!!
Bai Tingfeng stopped whatever he was doing– to Su Yifan's disappointment.
The alpha fished out his phone and answered the incoming video call.
It is from Nanny Lin.
"Papa! We are already on the highway! Where are you now?"
'Look at this excited kid,' Bai Tingfeng isn't sure if he should be jealous knowing that his little son liked his daddy this much.
"We are halfway now."
"Okay! Great!" The boy on the phone smiled wide, revealing his dimples on the right cheek.
Yanyan held a stuffed orange fox in front of the camera and said enthusiastically, "I brought Huhu the Fox with me to make him see that I take care of his gift for me!"
"Is Daddy still sleeping?"
Bai Tingfeng made a low laugh. It seemed like he needed to reaffirm his position in his son's tiny heart now that Shen Yuan was here.
Without saying anything, he moved the camera to Shen Yuan's face.
Crash! Blag! Boom!
Chaos was suddenly heard from the background of the opposite line.
"Yanyan!" Bai Tingfeng's roar sounded inside the car as he watched in horror how the phone, which his son initially held, tumbled in the air and recorded how the inside of the vehicle became in total disarray.
"Assistant Su! Contact all the bodyguards following my son! They had a car accident!"
"Yes! I am on it, Guildmaster!" Su Yifan skillfully tapped on his phone without letting go of the steering wheel or the accelerator. "Squad 2! Immediately send help to young master-"
A series of commands spew from the calm Su Yifan.
On the contrary of that., Bai Tingfeng's hands were shaking hard. He wanted to throw away his phone in frustration. The phone on the other side landed just below his son. He saw that Nanny Lin used her body to protect Yanyan.
Bai Tingfeng's heart was racing fast.
This is the only time that he felt fear this great. No monster or dangerous dungeon made him this shaken.
"Yanyan.." Bai Tingfeng uttered nervously, his eyes never left his son's figure.
Clang!
A loud noise of ripping metals was heard on the video. Bai Tingfeng's intuition immediately says that this is a good thing.
Their car accelerated under Su Yifan's hand.
"Guildmaster, we are in trouble. There is an unknown group attacking the young master's convoy!"
At the same time, Bai Tingfeng saw a heteromorph awakener with a body full of scales take Yanyan away from his unconscious nanny's arm.