Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 53.3 – A Harbor Called Home (III)

“Come on, especially you two,” she poured a glass each for the Ning siblings. “You’ve both been exhausted lately. Eat this good meal your aunt made, get a good night’s sleep, and from now on, things will only get better.”

Ning Shaoyun paused for a moment, then looked up to meet Xia Wenyue’s bright gaze, full of affection, sympathy, and encouragement.

There were no flowery words, but Ning Shaoyun understood exactly what Xia Wenyue meant. A warmth rose in her chest like never before, flooding her entire body with a quiet but powerful strength.

At that moment, Ning Shaoyun suddenly understood where the confidence and fearlessness of the Mao sisters came from. The steadfast and gentle protection of their parents gave them the certainty that no matter how fierce the storms or how dark the swamps they walked through, once they returned home, there would always be sunshine and calm waters to heal every wound. The warm harbor would always be there for them, waiting for their return, allowing them to set sail again without any fear as they sought more beauty in the world.

She suddenly smiled—a radiant smile that broke through lingering gloom, just like when she had first picked up her paintbrush again.

Xia Wenyue’s smile turned tender as she reached out and patted Ning Shaoyun’s head. “Good girl, you’ve been through a lot.”

Tears welled up in Ning Shaoyun’s eyes. Ning Shaobai raised his glass to Xia Wenyue. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Xia Wenyue ruffled his hair too. “You’re a good boy as well. Looks like you’ve lost weight lately—eat more.”

Ning Shaobai’s body tensed up. Rong Xin, noticing, widened his eyes in surprise and leaned in. “Second Aunt, touch me too—do your hands have some kind of magic? You made Brother Bai shy!”

Ning Shaobai kicked him. Xia Wenyue laughed and gave Rong Xin’s head a good rub. “You silly child.”

Rong Xin protested loudly, “Why are they good kids and I’m just a silly one?!”

Ning Shaobai stuffed a piece of ginger in his mouth. “Shut up.”

The fiery sting made Rong Xin grimace, while laughter bubbled around the dinner table.

The tension that had gripped Xia Mian all day began to ease. Her stomach growled, finally relaxed enough to feel hungry again. That lavish banquet and glittery guests from earlier already felt like a dream, and the humble warmth in the house was far more comforting.

Xia Mian chuckled as she watched Ning Shaobai messing around with Rong Xin. Suddenly, she felt someone hugging and shaking her calf under the table. Thinking it was Mao Huizhu being mischievous, she lifted the tablecloth—only to meet Xiao Feng’s bright, sparkling eyes.

“Xiao Feng?”

Xiao Feng happily clung to her leg and shouted, “Auntie!” Then for some reason, he burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

Xia Mian was amused and reached out to pick him up. “What’s got you so happy?”

Usually, the little guy would jump into her arms, but today he let out a shriek and dodged her, scrambling out from under the table and dashing away.

As he ran, he giggled in his soft little voice, “Auntie, you can’t catch me!”

“…” Xia Mian was baffled. ‘What’s going on with him? Is Mao Huizhu’s spirit possessing him now?’

Suddenly, she heard Mao Huilan shriek, “Mao Huizhu! Where did you get that red wine?!”

Everyone turned to see Mao Huizhu sitting at the little table meant for the kids, holding a juice cup filled with red wine. The other two cups on the table also had red remnants on the bottom.

Chenchen, sitting proudly on his little chair, pointed at Mao Huilan and declared, “The three of us are now sworn brothers of the Peach Garden!”

Great. Here’s another one!

Ning Shaoyun hurried over and scooped her son up. “Chenchen?”

The boy wriggled, refusing to be held. “I’m Zhao Zilong of Changshan!”

Xia Wenyue reached under the table—and sure enough, the wine bottle was gone.

Seeing that the grown-ups had caught on, Mao Huizhu quickly tilted her head back and downed the rest of her wine before anyone could stop her.

Xia Wenyue was so furious she was about to give this rascal a good spanking, but then the girl smiled at her mother, tilted her head—and promptly closed her eyes.

Xia Wenyue panicked. “Huizhu!”

Ning Shaobai rushed over, pried open her eyelids, and listened at her chest for a bit. Finally, he let out a sigh of relief. “She’s fine—just fell asleep.”

“How much did they drink?” Ning Shaoyun hurriedly asked.

Xia Wenyue held up the bottle. “I poured it all out—should’ve only been what settled at the bottom. They didn’t get into our wine, did they?”

Ning Shaobai picked up the three tiny cups and inspected them one by one. “It’s diluted with water. They didn’t drink much.”

Still, it was enough to get these kindergarteners drunk.

“Xiao Feng, come here. Let Auntie hug you.” Xia Mian hadn’t expected Xiao Feng’s drunk state to be like this. She tried to get him, but the little guy sprinted away on his short legs, shrieking with laughter. He ran into a side room, slammed the door, and then peeked out through the crack. “Auntie, I’m heeree!”

She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or taunting her.

Xia Mian, both exasperated and amused, finally managed to catch the runaway drunkard. He immediately scrambled onto her with all fours, giggling, “Haha, Auntie!”

After checking on Chenchen, Ning Shaobai came over and took Xiao Feng from Xia Mian’s arms, pressing his ear to the boy’s chest to listen for a while.

Xiao Feng happily hugged Ning Shaobai’s head, rubbing it around playfully. “Uncle Ning!”

Bold beyond belief—Chenchen wouldn’t even dare try that.

Ning Shaobai gave the boy a good rub in return, then handed him back to Xia Mian. “Shouldn’t be anything serious. He’ll be fine after some sleep.”

As he tidied his hair, he added, “But just to be safe, let the kids sleep together tonight. I’ll stay with them in case anything comes up during the night.”

There was no better option. The adults scrambled to get the three little drunkards washed up and into bed.

Mao Huizhu had already passed out like a little piglet. Zhao “Chenchen” Zilong, after causing a lot of ruckus, also finally fell asleep.

Only Xiao Feng was still wide awake—alarmingly energetic. He rolled all over the bed, teasing Xia Mian into chasing him. She figured he’d settle down once she left, but this usually gentle and quiet child turned out to be shockingly agile.

The moment Xia Mian turned her back, he slipped off the bed.

“You little rascal…” Xia Mian said, half exasperated, half amused. “You’d make a great martial artist.”

In the end, she had to hold him firmly in her arms and pace the floor a few times before he finally drifted off.

After carefully tucking the kids under their blankets, she turned around to see Ning Shaobai asleep on the sofa, his face still carrying an undeniable exhaustion.

Xia Mian suddenly realized: no matter how strong he seemed, he was still just human. In order to keep the Ning and Huo families from disrupting their lives, he’d spent the last two months utterly drained, mentally and physically.

So many things happened today, but of course, nothing was as simple as it looked—he had meticulously planned them all.

She sighed and gently draped a blanket over him.

Ning Shaobai woke instantly, his voice groggy, “Xiao Feng’s asleep?”

“Yeah,” Xia Mian replied. “Why don’t you go sleep next door? I’ll keep an eye on them and wake you if anything happens.”

“It’s okay, go to sleep.” Ning Shaobai said, “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor, I’m more alert than you.”

“You may be, but you’re also way more exhausted than me…” Xia Mian hesitated, then couldn’t help asking, “What happened in Hainan—how did it just happen to be today? Did you get some inside info?”

If the real estate market in Hainan hadn’t collapsed today of all days, Fang Xiuzhi’s business partners wouldn’t have panicked like that, and the Ning family wouldn’t have ended up in such a mess.

Ning Shaobai didn’t expect her to ask, but he wasn’t stingy with an answer. “That market was already warped. A collapse was inevitable. All it took was a few major sell-offs, and panic would snowball like an avalanche.”

“So… you have an accomplice over there?”

Ning Shaobai yawned. “Chenchen’s not just my sister’s son.”

Xia Mian’s eyes widened. “Huo Xuewen?”

Ning Shaobai took the blanket from her hands. “Mm.”

“Then he and Sister Ning…”

Ning Shaobai pushed her toward the door. “Little girl, go to sleep. Grown-up matters are none of your business.”