Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 64 – How to Dispel Rumors

The boys, seeing her completely clueless expression, quickly realized that the rumor was probably false. If this transfer student had been in juvie, she’d be scared and avoiding them, not boldly coming up to ask. The boy in the middle gave an awkward smile. “We just heard it from someone else. It’s probably not true.”

Xia Mian tilted her head thoughtfully. “I don’t think it’s likely either. You all know how hard it is to get into this school—would they accept a student with a criminal history? If something like that happened, wouldn’t the school know before the students did?”

“That makes sense.” Someone who knew the three boys joined the conversation. “If someone had been expelled for that reason, it would show up in their academic record. No way our school would admit them.”

Xia Mian immediately nodded in admiration. “Wow, you’re so smart! You hit the nail on the head!”

That student instantly puffed up with pride and began passionately analyzing how ridiculous the whole thing was.

“Right, right,” Xia Mian kept nodding. “We all sat together during the exams. Everyone seemed nice. Plus, we’re all from other cities. We don’t know anyone at this school. How could such a rumor suddenly start? Could it be that some people don’t welcome transfer students and don’t want us here?”

Nearby students, transfer or not, were already curious about this pretty girl who had drawn such a big rumor before her first day. Now that she had stopped to talk with them, quite a few others, driven by curiosity or interest, began to gather around via their friends.

So, when they heard Xia Mian’s words, they all spoke up at once to deny it.

“Of course not! Our school welcomes new students.”

“Yeah, it’s not like we have the power to stop anyone from coming here.”

“Then why would a rumor like this start?” Xia Mian asked with a confused expression. “Could it be that one of us somehow offended someone?”

“But except for me, who met Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen at the tutoring center, the other transfer students have just moved in and don’t know anyone.”

“Why would someone make up such a rumor?” Then she suddenly acted like something had occurred to her, slapped her palm, and exclaimed, “After all that, who exactly is the transfer student that supposedly went to juvie?”

Facing her big, genuinely curious eyes, everyone went silent. At that moment, they were all convinced the juvie rumor had to be fake.

“Li Ming, Hu Ye, Ma Jianhua.” A sweet voice drifted in from nearby, tinged with a smile. “So many people gathered—what are you all talking about?”

The three boys who first talked to Xia Mian turned immediately.

Xia Mian also peeked over and greeted her warmly. “Tian Xueya, what a coincidence! We meet again!”

Tian Xueya’s smile froze slightly, and she asked hesitantly, “Why are you all together?”

“Oh, this?” Xia Mian explained, “I overheard them saying that one of us transfer students had been in juvie, so I asked out of curiosity. Then we just started chatting.”

Sun Yuexin jumped in gleefully, “We all agreed it’s probably a rumor. After all, the school wouldn’t admit a student with a criminal record, would they? And since the transfer students are all from out of town, no one here would know any dirt on them anyway.”

“Ah!” Xia Mian suddenly exclaimed. “I think I’m the most suspicious one!”

Everyone was startled.

Xia Mian grinned and said jokingly, “I’m the only one among us who knows people at this school, remember? There are Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen from the tutoring center, and also Tian Xueya and Gu Zhou, whom I know through them.”

She raised a hand and pointed at Sun Yuexin, Li Lizhen, and finally at Tian Xueya. “Could it be that you girls started the rumor about me? Haha. Oh, and let’s not forget Gu Zhou, the campus prince.”

Sun Yuexin played along, “Oh!!! Yeah, yeah, it must be my doing. I’m jealous of your looks, jealous of your brains, and terrified you’ll steal my spotlight!”

Li Lizhen rolled her eyes. “Must not be Gu Zhou. Why would he spread a rumor about you?”

Xia Mian snatched, “Duh, of course he’s afraid I’ll take his top student spot!”

Though her tone was serious, everyone could tell she was joking.

Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen snorted in amusement. Xia Mian laughed heartily, as if she hadn’t noticed Tian Xueya’s stiff expression. Many of the other students smiled along, but their expressions were nuanced. Teenage girls weren’t the best at hiding things, and Tian Xueya’s eagerness to spread the rumor earlier had been heard by quite a few students.

Someone asked Xia Mian, “Hey, how do you know Tian Xueya?”

Xia Mian honestly replied, “We ran into each other at the temple fair during the New Year—I was hanging out with Sun Yuexin and the others, and she showed up with Gu Zhou to say hi. That’s how we met.”

Several girls cast odd glances at Tian Xueya. Just judging by Sun Yuexin’s and Li Lizhen’s attitudes, Tian Xueya obviously wasn’t doing a great job of concealing her two-faced nature. Most of the girls didn’t like her—and in situations like this, girls were especially quick to draw conclusions.

“Tian Xueya,” Xia Mian asked with concern, “you look so pale. Are you feeling unwell? You should go rest.”

But Tian Xueya didn’t dare leave—she was terrified they’d badmouth her the second she left and she wouldn’t even be able to defend herself. She forced a stiff smile. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I think you need a good rest.” Xia Mian gave her a thoughtful reminder, then turned to the others. “I should get going too. It was real fun chatting with you all—hope we can be classmates soon. Bye!”

She had left a good impression on the crowd, who waved her goodbye.

“Ah,” Xia Mian suddenly stopped a few steps away, still arm in arm with Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen.

“Rumors stop with the wise. Although we don’t know who spread the rumor or who it was aimed at, just imagine—someone transfers to a new school and gets accused of being a criminal. Who could take that?”

“Spreading rumors makes you part of the harm. I prefer classmates who are smart and kind.” Xia Mian gave everyone a playful wink, then finally turned and walked away.

“Wow, she has such a great personality.”

“And she’s a total pretty.”

“Who even started that rumor? Would someone who’s been in juvie act like that?”

“Heh, probably someone’s just jealous—as we see, she’s beautiful and kind.”

“Didn’t she say it herself? She only knows Sun Yuexin, Li Zhenzhen, Tian Xueya, and Gu Zhou.”

“Tian Xueya, I heard you this afternoon saying she’d been in juvie—who told you that?”

“Yeah, you only know her through Sun Yuexin, and even Sun Yuexin didn’t know. How come you did?”

“Also, don’t you usually look down on Sun Yuexin? And yet you went and said hi to her. Was it just to show off your thing with Gu Zhou?”

Xia Mian didn’t bother with whatever Tian Xueya was trying to explain. High schoolers were already grown-up enough to bear legal responsibility, and everyone had to deal with the consequences of what they did. What Xia Mian cared about more now was when she’d officially start school and which class she’d be assigned to.

The results of the transfer exam came quickly. The next day, Xia Wenyue received the school’s notice: Xia Mian had earned her transfer spot with excellent scores. Of the six who took the exam, only two passed, and Xia Mian was one of them.

Only two students were admitted to the junior division as well. Mao Huilan, though her foundation was weak, had dropped a grade and studied hard in tutoring. She barely passed the cutoff line.

Either way, getting in was a victory. That very day, Xia Wenyue happily cooked up a feast to celebrate Xia Mian and Mao Huilan’s successful admissions.

Both the junior and senior divisions had early morning self-study classes, so Xia Mian had to be up by 6:30 at the latest. Before the sun even rose, she had to drag herself out of her warm bed.

Xiao Feng turned over and rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Auntie?”

“Mm, Auntie’s here.” Xia Mian got dressed, picked him up in his blanket, and carried him to the west room. “Remember what Auntie told you yesterday?”

Xiao Feng rested his head on her neck, still drowsy, his baby voice soft. “Remember. In the morning, I’ll go to kindergarten with Auntie Huizhu, and when we go home, I’ll see you again.”

Kindergarten had also started, but it began much later than compulsory and high schools. For the next two years, their schedules would completely misalign. “Good boy,” Xia Mian patted his head.

In the west room, Xia Wenyue was already up, making breakfast with her daughters. Only little Huizhu was still sleeping like a log.

Xia Mian placed Xiao Feng next to Huizhu, kissed his forehead, and said, “Sleep a little more and wake up with Auntie Huizhu.”

Xiao Feng reached out reluctantly to touch her face. “Auntie, study hard and listen to your teachers.”

“I will!” Xia Mian gave him a big kiss. “See you at noon.”

As they left, Xia Wenyue stuffed a sesame cake, a boiled egg, and a bottle of milk into both Xia Mian and Mao Huilan’s backpacks. “Be careful on the road and don’t be late.”

As they walked, Xia Mian realized how lively the streets were at dawn. Everywhere she looked were students in blue-and-white uniforms. The feeling of returning to high school was so fresh—she hadn’t studied with this kind of early-to-late grind in a long time.

That morning when she woke up, she desperately wished she had transmigrated into an older body—how nice would it be if she was already in college? High school life was too brutal! Still, a high school also had its own kind of charm, and not everyone got to live through it again. With this mindset, Xia Mian felt very content.

Her homeroom teacher was a tall, slender young man surnamed Mi. He was probably new to teaching, still full of energy and enthusiasm—definitely the kind who could blend right in with students. When he saw Xia Mian, he grinned and said, “Whoa, you’re my lucky draw jackpot!”

At this time, even prestigious schools like Yan University Affiliated didn’t yet divide students into key or experimental classes. There were eight classes per grade, distributed evenly based on entrance exam scores.

Only Xia Mian and one other boy passed the transfer exam. Xia Mian nearly scored full marks in everything except the humanities, while the other boy just scraped by. All eight homeroom teachers wanted Xia Mian, so the grade director had them draw lots.

Hearing Mr. Mi talk about his “luck,” Xia Mian smiled and said, “I think it’s my honor to be chosen by Mr. Mi.”

That made the young teacher laugh even more. Today’s early morning self study was for his English class. As he led Xia Mian into the classroom, there was a brief silence—then a burst of cheers.

Xia Mian scanned the room and spotted several familiar faces: Sun Yuexin, Li Lizhen, Gu Zhou, Tian Xueya, and a few of the boys who had joined the rumor-busting discussion. She gave everyone a smile.

“Your homeroom teacher has used up a whole year of good luck to bring you this beautiful classmate,” he joked. “You’d better get along well.”

The class erupted in applause—except for Tian Xueya, who sat there pale as if deeply wronged. After a quick self-introduction, Mr. Mi assigned Xia Mian to an empty seat in the last row.

“Our class seats are based on grades, so you will have to sit here for now. We’ll reshuffle after the next exam, okay?”

Seeing that Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen were in the row ahead, Xia Mian was very pleased. “No problem. Thank you, Mr. Mi.”

Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen were overjoyed.

“Oh my god, you got put in our class. Old Mi, we love you!”

“My prayers are finally answered!”

“Hey, listen,” once they calmed down, Sun Yuexin leaned over to share gossip. “Tian Xueya’s been super quiet the last two days. Everyone knows she started the rumor.”

“But you still need to be careful,” Li Lizhen warned with a slight frown. “There are still some idiots who don’t believe it was fake—especially the delinquents. They might come looking for trouble.”

“Like that bastard Hao Jian,” Sun Yuexin added.

Xia Mian had mentally prepared for this. Sometimes, people didn’t believe lies because they were dumb, but because lies were more entertaining than truth.

“Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “I’m hoping they come.”

There’s more than one way to kill a rumor—not just by clearing your name, but by legally slapping them in the face. If they dared come after her, she dared to use the Criminal Law and beat them with it till they bled!