Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 66 – Snatch the Role of White Lotus

After P.E. class, Sun Yuexin immediately went to find Zhao Cheng to discuss countermeasures. Xia Mian stayed at her desk, chin resting on her hand, contemplating how to gracefully maintain her angelic image during the planned showdown.

But before Hao Jian could make his move, unexpectedly, Tian Xueya struck first.

As the bell rang for the final self-study period, Xia Mian and the others were still waiting to see when Hao Jian might show up. Just then, Tian Xueya suddenly walked from the second row to the back, eyes brimming with tears, and stopped in front of them.

“I’m sorry, Xia Mian,” she said, crying miserably. “I shouldn’t have said those things about you. I really am sorry.”

Xia Mian looked up, calmly taking in her tearful display, while the rest of the class turned their attention to the unfolding scene.

Through her sobs, Tian Xueya said, “I’ve been taking piano lessons for six months now, and I used to see you at the tutoring center next door. Then I noticed you hanging around with Sun Yuexin and the others, and you seemed close to Hao Jian, so I misunderstood…”

“When I ran into you at the temple fair, you said yourself that your transfer was connected to a criminal case…” She turned toward Gu Zhou. “Gu Zhou, you heard it too, didn’t you?”

The boy nodded without hesitation. Tian Xueya’s lips curved into a sweet, tear-dappled smile. Under the light, her shimmering eyes made her look heartbreakingly fragile, and Gu Zhou’s expression visibly softened at the sight.

Seemingly gaining some courage, she turned back to Xia Mian. “Then I heard Hao Jian say you’d been arrested and sent to the juvenile center, so I believed it.”

Xia Mian tilted her head slightly. ‘Oh~? Trying to pin it all on Hao Jian now, are you?’

“I’m sorry, I know I was wrong,” Tian Xueya cried harder, tears streaming down like rain. “Please stop isolating me. I promise I won’t offend you again.”

“F*** this!” Sun Yuexin slammed her desk and shot to her feet, seething with anger. “Tian Xueya, what the hell are you even saying? Who’s isolating you?!”

A boy immediately piped up, “Sun Yuexin, that’s enough. Can’t you see Tian Xueya is crying?”

Xia Mian quickly pressed down on the fuming Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen and said gently, “She didn’t mean anything by it. No need to get worked up.”

Li Lizhen snapped, “No f**ing way! She started the rumor and now acting like you bullied her!”

“Alright, calm down,” Xia Mian soothed the two, then pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and reached out to wipe Tian Xueya’s tears.

Tian Xueya instinctively backed away, either out of guilt or fear.

Unbothered, Xia Mian simply smiled and handed her the handkerchief, saying gently, “Don’t cry—seeing you like this, people might actually think I’m the one bullying you.”

Tian Xueya accepted the handkerchief, but unease still churned in her stomach. She kept crying. “I’m sorry… I—I really won’t do it again.”

“You still haven’t learned your damn lesson, have you?!” Sun Yuexin snapped, fury boiling over. She and Li Lizhen had already been preparing for a serious confrontation that night, and with Tian Xueya now stirring the pot, all her pent-up frustration burst loose. Recalling what they’d overheard in the restroom earlier, she was convinced—‘This two-faced b**h is doing this deliberately!’

“Come on now,” Xia Mian pressed her down again and said sweetly, “I told you, Tian Xueya didn’t mean any harm.” Then, in that soft, almost innocent tone, she continued, “Let me summarize what Tian Xueya just said: she had her reasons for spreading the rumor.”

“First, she saw me at the tutoring center for half a semester, so she assumed I had poor grades.”

“Second, she saw me hanging out with you and Lizhen, and based on the social rule of ‘birds of a feather flocking together,’ figured I couldn’t be any good either.”

“Third, she saw me getting blocked by Hao Jian and thought I had a thing with him.”

“Fourth, I personally said I was involved in a criminal case, and since she’s friends with Hao Jian—and he told her I’d been in juvie—of course she believed him.”

At first, the class listened seriously. But as she continued, everyone started to realize something wasn’t right.

Tian Xueya panicked. “No, I—”

“It’s alright,” Xia Mian cut in gently. “Since your apology was so sincere, of course I’ve forgiven you. That’s why I’m trying to understand your side of the story.”

“So, summing it all up, you evaluated the situation based on your judgment and your trust in your good friend Hao Jian, and that’s why you told everyone I’d been in juvie.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Tian Xueya snapped, a trace of anger slipping out of her facade.

Xia Mian tilted her head. “Then what did you mean? Which part did I get wrong?”

“I don’t even know Hao Jian,” Tian Xueya retorted.

Li Lizhen mocked, “Yet you seemed to believe what he said pretty easily.”

Xia Mian nodded, “Exactly. If you don’t even know him, why believe his words?” Then, with a soft and sincere tone, she offered some advice. “Honestly, Xueya, you should keep your distance from Hao Jian. Don’t trust a single thing he says. He’s got a terrible reputation—I’ve been blocked by him a few times, and he’s nothing but a creep.”

Tian Xueya was at a loss for words. Surrounded by sarcastic, critical eyes, her mind went completely blank. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think of a way to shift the blame onto Hao Jian!

But Xia Mian still didn’t finish, “As for this whole ‘isolating’ thing… I really didn’t do that! In my opinion… maybe it’s just because you’re a little—just a tiny bit, really!—too quick to judge others, and that’s what made people hesitant to approach you.”

She went on, “Take that rumor, for example. At our school, there must be hundreds of students with worse grades than you. Among them, how many hang around with people like Sun Yuexin, have been blocked by Hao Jian, or exchanged a few words with him? Xueya, I bet you’ve been blocked by him before too, right? Otherwise, how would a top student like you even know someone like Hao Jian?”

“If we follow your logic, doesn’t that make most of the students here society’s trash? Are we still a top school, or just a prep center for future criminals?”

Her analogy left the class stunned. The students in the back rows—often labeled as the ones with poor grades—couldn’t help but applaud.

“Haha, exactly! So being bad at studying makes you a criminal now?”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Tian Xueya’s voice rose shrilly. “I never thought that way!”

“Yes, yes, I know you didn’t mean to,” Xia Mian’s voice grew even softer, more tender. “You were just following common logic, but you see, people often get nervous when they feel misunderstood.”

“Just like now. I don’t even know what I did, yet suddenly I’m the bad guy isolating you.” Her eyes drooped slightly, looking aggrieved, “I have feelings too, you know.”

“Yeah,” the same boy who’d defended Tian Xueya earlier now chimed in, “Xueya, Xia Mian didn’t isolate you. You jumped to conclusions too fast.”

But that kind of naively stu—ahem, earnest type was rare. Most of the students, having heard Xia Mian’s breakdown, could clearly tell Tian Xueya’s so-called ‘apology’ wasn’t sincere. After all, Xia Mian hadn’t said a single bad word about her since arriving, yet Tian Xueya cried and begged for forgiveness like she was the one being bullied.

Someone muttered, “Tian Xueya, Xia Mian’s never said anything bad about you. Anyone here ever hears her say anything?”

Heads shook all around.

Feeling the accusatory gazes closing in, Tian Xueya burned with shame and wished the earth would swallow her whole.

Still, Xia Mian remained gracious. “I accept your apology. In fact, I’ve never blamed you—and please don’t feel too bad either. I understand. Maybe my arrival took away some attention you were used to, and that upset you.”

“But people are just curious because I am new. You’re excellent, so they’ll come back to you soon enough.”

‘No wonder people love playing the white lotus! It feels pretty great, I almost couldn’t stop myself!’

Turning to the class, she added sweetly, “You all shouldn’t talk to me so much anymore. Please give Tian Xueya more attention.”

The room erupted in groans and teasing boos.

Tian Xueya hadn’t expected this to backfire so badly. Instead of shifting the blame, things had only gotten worse for her! She clenched her fists, now genuinely on the verge of tears.

“It’s not like that! That’s not what I meant at all!” she cried, eyes darting repeatedly to the back door—clearly waiting for something.

A cold glint flashed in Xia Mian’s eyes. It was obvious now—this girl had heard about Hao Jian’s plan and calculated the timing. If she hadn’t been quick with her words, if she’d been less articulate… then once she got cornered by Hao Jian right after being guilt-tripped in public, Tian Xueya might’ve successfully flipped the narrative.

Whether this girl simply wanted to clear her reputation or wanted to retaliate, she hadn’t spared a thought for what kind of situation Xia Mian might face next. That level of selfishness was either naive or vicious.

And her timing was… perfect.

Right as Tian Xueya fumbled for an explanation, the back door to Class 1-3 creaked open.

“Well, well, Xia Mian, you are as beautiful as always. Long time no see, did you miss me?” Hao Jian strolled in, legs spread in a swaggering stride. Two men in their early twenties followed him, wearing the school uniform but clearly not fitting in. Street thugs, no question.

Tian Xueya’s eyes lit up for a moment, and like a startled rabbit, she backed into her seat.

Xia Mian gave her a glance before calmly turning her gaze to Hao Jian.

“You’re Xia Mian?” The round-faced, husky-voiced thug’s eyes gleamed with the same slimy look as Hao Jian’s.

The scrawny one beside him wasn’t any better. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw her. “Damn, you really are hot. Schoolgirls just hit different.” As he spoke, he started walking toward her.

The crowd couldn’t quite grasp what was happening, but everyone instinctively stepped back from the thugs.

Except for Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen, who immediately stood up and called out, “Everyone moves back—leave them to us.”

Hao Jian chuckled. “Sun Yuexin, you planning to throw hands?”

“You got it,” came Zhao Cheng’s voice as he entered through the front door with seven or eight tall, sturdy guys. He turned to the boys near the front, “Block the main door—don’t let them get out.”

Then he sneered at Hao Jian, “If I don’t send you crawling out of here today, I, Zhao Cheng, will take your surname!”

Author’s Note:

Zhao Cheng: “If I don’t send you crawling out of here today, I, Zhao Cheng, will take your surname!”

Xia Mian: “And what if I’m the one who sends him crawling out?”