Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 24.4 – It’s Time to Take Down Zhang Qiming! (IV)

Zhang Qiming’s warm gaze and gentle attitude made Xia Mian feel uneasy, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

“Well, I’m off to work. You and Xiao Feng should stay at home. Oh, by the way,” Zhang Qiming said, pulling out a wad of money from his pocket, roughly two hundred yuan. “Use this for household expenses; buy food, or whatever else you need. If there’s anything more you need, let me know when I get back in the evening.”

Xia Mian was left extremely uneasy by this sudden change in demeanor. She couldn’t tell whether Zhang Qiming was truly giving up on Huang Xiaojuan or just trying to play her using the emotional cards, hoping to catch her off guard so that he could start on Xiao Feng.

She kept a close eye, ready to see if Zhang Qiming was truly playing on her emotions. If so, he didn’t have much time left. She knew it wouldn’t take long before Huang Xiaojuan would face formal charges, and unless she retracted her statement, Huang Xiaojuan would surely end up in prison for several years.

This situation was a key factor in the power struggle between her and Zhang Qiming, so she remained a silent observer, waiting for him to make his move first. With Zhang Qiming’s cunning nature, she had to hijack his plan in advance and catch him off guard to prevent complications from arising.

However, Zhang Qiming seemed to forget about Huang Xiaojuan altogether. These days, he diligently took care of Xia Mian and Xiao Feng while also going to work every day. The Zhang family appeared to return to its previous harmony, and Zhang Qiming even managed to recover some of his reputation. Many people believed that Zhang Qiming’s dedication to work had allowed Huang Xiaojuan to deceive him, thus gaining sympathy. Huang Xiaojuan’s already stinky reputation fell to another level, with people now regard her as a scourge who dragged down a good family. She should stay in jail to reflect on her actions!

Xia Mian finally saw through Zhang Qiming’s intentions. He was trying to regain his reputation by stepping on Huang Xiaojuan!

Tsk, what a good idea — but of course, she wouldn’t let this slide!

So Xia Mian went downstairs to wait for Ning Shaobai, ready to use her ‘savior’ status. Ning Shaobai hadn’t finished work yet, so she squatted by a stone table in the common courtyard, watching Xiao Feng and Chenchen playing chess. Their tiny hands moved the miniature black and white pieces back and forth, occasionally pausing to think with furrowed brows, their serious expressions were positively cute.

Aunt Liu sighed, “Those two really got into the game. Yesterday, when my Zhuangzhuang played with Chenchen, he kept using the pieces as soldiers and made them run all over the board, driving Chenchen mad.”

Everyone laughed when they recalled Chenchen and Zhuangzhuang’s dispute yesterday.

Xia Mian felt proud, thinking, “My Xiao Feng is a genius!”

Her laugh hadn’t stopped when she felt something on her head. Looking up, she saw two adult men’s hands, one pale and one tanned, tangled together.

!!!

Xia Mian stood up, pretending to be nonchalant, but her eyes widened at the sight: Ning Shaobai and Zhang Qiming?!

What the hell is happening here?!

Shocked, Xia Mian jumped up on her feet, staring at Ning Shaobai in horror. Was Dr. Ning’s judgment really so poor that he even fell for Zhang Qiming? When and how did this happen?!

Her mind raced, making up a story between them, and at the same time, reconsidering her original plan. If these two really hooked up together, she certainly couldn’t ask Dr. Ning to help her deal with Zhang Qiming!

Xia Mian’s strange gaze went unnoticed by Ning Shaobai, who had no idea about the whirlwind of thoughts brewing in her mind. He shook off Zhang Qiming’s wrist and said coldly, “What are you doing?”

Zhang Qiming seemed a little confused, smiling, “Xia Mian’s hair keeps sticking up, quite intriguing. No wonder Dr. Ning always wants to touch it.”

Ning Shaobai gave him a disgusted look, as if looking at a pile of garbage, and didn’t mince his words, “Don’t use me as an excuse for your indecent thoughts. Which eye saw me wanting to touch her hair?”

Xia Mian blinked, realizing that Zhang Qiming had intended to touch her hair.

What the f**k?! She immediately exploded. Who gave him the nerve?!

The thought of almost being touched by him made her skin crawl, and she took a step back in disgust, her voice sharp, “Men and women shouldn’t touch. Show some respect.”

In this era, male-female relationships were still a sensitive topic. Girls were particularly so, and thus Xia Mian’s over-the-top reaction caused all gazes to shift to Zhang Qiming, with a clear hint of suspicion.

Zhang Qiming’s dirty thoughts were publicly exposed. He certainly wouldn’t admit it, putting on a surprised and embarrassed expression, helplessly saying, “Xia Mian, what kind of misunderstanding is that? I’m your brother-in-law.”

But this wasn’t a good argument. Since time immemorial, there have been countless stories, real and made-up, featuring brother-in-law and sister-in-law. The neighbors’ suspicion did not diminish, and one of them, a man known for his candidness, suddenly spoke up, “No wonder Qiming wants Xiaojuan to be jailed, and he even sent Xuanxuan away…”

“Watch your tongue!” someone scolded. “What are you saying? There are so many children here.”

The children might be ignorant, but the adults understood the implication and began speculating—their gazes shifted around as they exchanged knowing looks with one another. No wonder Zhang Qiming neglected Huang Xiaojuan but was very attentive to Xia Mian and Xiao Feng. There was a new explanation behind his behavior!

Xia Mian didn’t expect this unintentional move to have such an effect. Seizing the moment, she acted quickly. Looking as if she suddenly remembered something, she exclaimed, “No wonder you yesterday!!!”

The crowd’s expressions changed when they saw this.

Teacher Mi thoughtfully said, “Stay at my house tonight. Chenchen would love to have a sleepover with Xiao Feng.”

“I will, thank you,” Xia Mian shot a disgusted look at Zhang Qiming and angrily said, “We will return to our hometown first thing tomorrow morning.”

Zhang Qiming’s face turned grim as well. “Mianmian! What did I do yesterday? Speak up! Don’t frame me like this!”

“Why would I frame you?” Xia Mian snapped. “From the very beginning until now, it’s been you framing me! Dare you say that you didn’t find those thugs to harass me?!”

Indeed, everyone knew about this. The crowd nodded.

“What thugs?” Zhang Qiming naturally did not admit it, but the reaction of the neighbors made him uneasy, so he hurriedly changed the topic, “I have always regarded you as just a child. Didn’t Dr. Ning touch your head too?”

Xia Mian blurted out, “Can Dr. Ning be the same?” Ning Shaobai likes men!

After the words left her mouth, Xia Mian felt a bit awkward at the puzzled looks from the crowd. After all, this wasn’t the future era where liking the same sex was a common occurrence, and joking about it wouldn’t cause harm. In this era, if she dared to tell the truth about Dr. Ning’s orientation, both of them would be doomed.

In her case, she would be silenced by Dr. Ning.

Ning Shaobai had been curious about what Xia Mian meant by ‘not the same,’ but her expression of “Oh no, I almost gave it away” made him suddenly realize what she meant…

Ning Shaobai gritted his teeth, shooting her a fierce glare.

Feeling guilty under his gaze, Xia Mian immediately gave him a reassuring look: I won’t let you get exposed!