Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 87.2 – Who Is The Hunter? (II)

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All afternoon, Xia Mian was preoccupied. What had happened today had been a wake-up call for her, and she began carefully thinking back over all her interactions with others, trying to see if she’d ever unintentionally offended anyone because of the novel’s misinformation.

In the end, she realized the only person she might have offended… was actually Ning Shaobai.

The villains didn’t count—those bad people couldn’t be “offended” no matter what she did. Xiao Feng and Chenchen, although she’d initially treated them as book characters, she had always approached them with care. Same with Ning Shaoyun. As for Huo Xuewen, she’d never had much contact with him. That left Ning Shaobai, with whom she had the most “love-hate” interactions.

So Xia Mian carefully went over the process of how she’d come to treat him like a sister, and the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.

He always looked like he disliked her and found her annoying, yet every time she had trouble, he was right there by her side. Like that time at the police station, or when Hao Jian’s father and Tian Xueya’s mother came to school to cause trouble—he had been the first to arrive.

Even when she was in a bad mood, he would always find a way to comfort her. Just like when she had received Zhang Qiming’s court verdict…

As she thought about it, Xia Mian began to sense something was off.

She suddenly sprang up.

The movement woke Xiao Feng, who was napping beside her. “Auntie?” he mumbled groggily.

“It’s nothing.” Xia Mian lay back down, patting his little belly, letting her thoughts slowly unravel into a clear line.

Was it even possible for someone as meticulous and peculiar as Ning Shaobai to forget to close the door while changing?

Her eyes narrowed, various thoughts swirling in her mind—

He seemed oddly interested in her love letters. The wooden box he’d given her now sat on the display shelf, holding more than two hundred of them.

He clearly disapproved of her getting them, yet had gone out of his way to give her the box. Once, he’d even said that every love letter she received would have to be repaid double in the future… So it hadn’t been a birthday gift at all—it was a debt collector’s box, wasn’t it?

And there was no reason anywhere that a nineteenth birthday should be more important than an eighteenth—why did he have such a strange rule?

The difference between her last birthday and the next was that, by then, she would have already graduated from high school.

Then there was his strange reaction yesterday to Han Haoyan and the plush bear. She’d initially thought it was out of concern for her, worrying she might start dating when she was supposed to study. However…

Would worrying about her study be enough to make him that angry?

Especially that moment when she’d blurted out those words in the heat of the moment… When she’d guessed he liked someone, he hadn’t denied it, staring straight at her, waiting for her to say the name.

That gritted-out “I like you”—was that just sarcastic anger?

Xia Mian sat up again, shaking her head hard. “Probably not, right? Could I be imagining things?”

“Someone like Ning Shaobai would probably prefer gentle, quiet girls, wouldn’t he?”

The him in the novel had always been single….

No, no, she’d already decided not to rely on the novel’s information anymore.

She would see with her own eyes, feel with her own heart, and make her own judgement.

Her hands subconsciously caressed her earring. When she’d left at noon yesterday, he’d even made a point of reapplying iodine for her…

Her gaze shifted back to the wooden box on the shelf, and she narrowed her eyes slowly.

…

The next day, Xia Mian got up early again to prepare breakfast for Ning Shaobai.

As always, he was in the training room, sweating through his workout. When she tried to hand him a towel, his voice held the same note of disdain as ever. “Keep your distance, please. No need for you to do this.”

Normally, Xia Mian would grin and pounce on him anyway, but this time, she obediently stood to the side.

Ning Shaobai, already waiting, froze for a moment, then walked over and slowly took the towel himself.

He tried wiping his back, but the hard-to-reach spots, he could only manage awkwardly before giving up. All the while, Xia Mian acted as though she hadn’t noticed, remaining completely still.

He hesitated, then reached out to feel her forehead. “What’s the matter today? Are you feeling sick?”

She brushed his hand aside. “No, it’s not that. I was reflecting on myself yesterday and realized how rude I’ve been toward you—always joking without respecting boundaries.”

Full of sincerity, she declared, “From now on, I’m going to respect you like an older brother. No more mischief.”

Ning Shaobai: “!!!” There’s really no need to go that far!!

When Xia Mian reached the door, she secretly glanced back—only to see Ning Shaobai standing still, looking utterly baffled, wearing the expression of someone wondering where exactly things had gone wrong.

She pressed her lips tightly together to stop herself from laughing out loud.

…

After Ning Shaobai left for work, Xia Mian prepared his lunch.

Late in the morning, Rong Xin happened to drop off Mao Zhishan, who had just finished filming. Xia Mian’s gaze immediately landed on the sparkling earring on his right ear. If she wasn’t mistaken, although it was a simple round stud, its make was exactly the same as the one in her own ear.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, and sure enough, Rong Xin’s eyes were drawn to the object there. It was an earring he’d instantly liked when he saw it, so he remembered it clearly. “Hey, why is that in your ear? Did Brother Bai pierce yours too?”

“Didn’t hurt at all, right?”

“Yeah, Dr. Ning did it for me,” Xia Mian said casually. “It really didn’t hurt a bit. He’s amazing at it.”

“Of course,” Rong Xin said proudly. “You don’t know how much trouble he went through—these earrings of ours, he had them custom-made, just so they could be worn right after piercing. Otherwise, using a tea stem to keep the hole open would look awful.”

“Brother Rong, what made you decide to get your ears pierced?” Xia Mian asked. “When was it?”

“After I saw a photo of a Hong Kong actor wearing earrings at Brother Bai’s place—looked cool, so I thought I’d try. Almost everyone opposed it, but Brother Bai had my back. Without saying a word, he just pierced it for me.”

“It’s been over a week now.” Rong Xin sighed. “Brother Bai’s great at everything, except patience—he only did one for me before quitting. Can you believe that?”

Xia Mian laughed. “That’s still pretty cool.”

Seeing her earrings, Rong Xin complained, “Brother Bai’s too biased! I wanted these snowflake ones too, but he ignored me and just gave me the most basic studs.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re a guy—simpler styles are better for men,” Xia Mian said to comfort him.

Rong Xin reluctantly accepted that, but soon grumbled again, “And you got two done?! I only have one.”

Xia Mian pouted. “You don’t know how long I begged him! Last week I begged again, but he pierced yours first.”

Now Rong Xin felt better. “So you just got yours done?”

“Yep,” Xia Mian said. “Got them as my eighteenth birthday present.”

“He gave you ear piercings as an eighteenth birthday gift?” Rong Xin said in surprise.

“And a big bag of tutoring books,” Xia Mian added with a pout.

“Cruel, that’s just cruel!” Rong Xin said with sympathy.

“Isn’t it?” Xia Mian agreed indignantly.

Rong Xin’s eyes lit up. “Maybe I’ll ask for the same thing on my birthday. I want four piercings—he’s so good it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“He almost ran out of patience after doing my two,” Xia Mian said. “Looked ready to just stab through with a needle.”

Knowing it was something Ning Shaobai could do, Rong Xin shivered. “Forget it, I’ll find someone who’s good at this. Besides, my birthday’s still a long way off.”

After Rong Xin left, Xia Mian stood in front of the wooden box of love letters on the display shelf, dazed.

Then another thought occurred to her—just yesterday, Rong Xin had mentioned over the phone that ever since starting junior high, Ning Shaobai had never gone a single day without receiving at least two love letters.

By that count, Ning Shaobai had several times more letters than she did.

That’s a pot calling a kettle black, isn’t it?

As Xia Mian hesitated between “hurting the enemy by a thousand and injuring herself by eight hundred” or “avoiding all damage entirely,” she clapped her hands, clicked her tongue, and chuckled. “Right, I can’t date until after I graduate high school!”

Otherwise, I might never get married in this lifetime. Hmph!

At noon, she still delivered a lavish four-dish, one-soup lunch to Ning Shaobai. She quickly set the food on the table, plugged in the electric fan, and stood far away. “Dr. Ning, please eat while it’s hot.”

Ning Shaobai slowly picked up some food and looked at her. “Let’s eat together.”

“No, thank you. I’m here to bring you food. Eating with you would defeat the point,” Xia Mian said, shaking her head politely. “I told you—starting today, I’ll respect you like an elder brother. No more casualness!”

Ning Shaobai choked, coughing violently.

A glimmer of amusement flashed in Xia Mian’s eyes, but she quickly went over to pat his back. He seemed like he wanted to brush her hand away like usual, but paused, as if afraid of another backfire, and instead placed his hand casually back on his leg.

Once he caught his breath, Xia Mian didn’t linger. “Dr. Ning, enjoy your lunch. I’ll get you some water, and I can clear the dishes when I get back.”

“No—”

Before he could finish stopping her, she was already gone with the thermos. The water room was far and crowded at midday, so by the time she returned, he had finished eating…

Looking at the closed door, Ning Shaobai rubbed his temples in frustration.

This… this isn’t how it is supposed to go.

Author’s Note:

Xia Mian: “Now that I’ve lost my blind trust in the big boss, my IQ’s back online.”