Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 102 Part 2 – She Just Got Lucky and Saved a Rich Person (II)

After that, whenever it was around Ma Lili’s off-hours, Xia Mian made sure to be out, usually taking Xiao Feng and Qiangqiang to the stream to learn how to swim.

But she ran into Ma Wenwu again—well, not “ran into.” He clearly came looking for her.

“Xia Mian, you’re here! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Ma Wenwu came running up, excited.

To be fair, Ma Wenwu wasn’t bad-looking. But that smug, entitled air of someone who’d been spoiled rotten by his parents was seriously off-putting—like he thought every woman in the world should be his mom and everything should go his way just because he said so.

“Oh, right, when are you going back to Yan City? I’ll come see you off.”

“Who are you?” Xia Mian rolled her eyes. “Do I know you? Get lost.”

“You’re so funny,” Ma Wenwu said with a greasy grin as he walked closer. “When my sister marries your cousin, I’ll come to see you in Yan City.”

“I mean, I didn’t do well in school, but that’s just ’cause I didn’t want to. I’m really smart, I pick things up fast. Office job? Totally no problem.”

This delusional, self-important attitude—he really was Ma Lili’s brother, through and through.

Apparently, the Ma family hadn’t given up yet, or maybe they just had that much confidence in Ma Lili?

Either way, Xia Mian no longer had to worry about saving face for her uncle and had no intention of wasting time on playing courtesy.

When it came to pests like this, she always used the same simple, effective method: swat them.

She bent down and picked up a handful of stones by the stream.

Ma Wenwu was completely oblivious of the danger, grinning, “I really like you… Ah!”

He clutched his nose in shock and mumbled, “Xia Mian, what are you doing?”

Xia Mian tossed a stone up and down in her hand and said, “You leaving on your own, or do I have to beat you off?”

“I-I’m bleeding—” Ma Wenwu cried out in panic, pointing at her. “You—you actually hit me!”

Xia Mian threw another stone, hitting his shoulder. “Damn right I hit you. Come near me again, and I’ll hit you every time. Now get lost!”

Ma Wenwu covered his shoulder with his other hand. Seeing Xia Mian meant it, he didn’t dare keep pestering her and turned to run—though not before throwing out a threat: “You just wait!”

Xia Mian hurled another handful of stones at him, hitting him all over his head and back. “Come on then, you damn fly! See what happens!”

After driving him off, Xia Mian decided to go talk to her uncle. Ma Wenwu had sounded way too confident; the Ma family might be hiding some tricks, and it was better to be prepared.

But she didn’t even make it halfway before the truth revealed itself.

Of course, it’s not like these were powerful people. What kind of tricks could they possibly have? It was just the usual: exploiting Xia Chuan’s feelings for Ma Lili.

As Xia Mian took a shortcut, she stumbled right onto the scene of the two arguing. Normally, she wouldn’t eavesdrop, but since it involved her, she didn’t hesitate to duck behind a mud wall.

“…As long as you agree to take my brother to Yan City, my parents will agree to lower the bride price.”

“No way. We all know exactly what your parents are scheming. Mianmian’s preparing for her college entrance exam—we’re absolutely not letting Ma Wenwu go mess with her. And your brother—no offense—is just…” Xia Chuan looked completely disgusted.

Ma Lili’s face didn’t look good. “Don’t worry, I know Ma Wenwu. Once we’re in Yan City, I’ll keep him in check. He won’t bother Xia Mian. Just let us fool my parents for now.”

Xia Chuan frowned. “You’ll keep him in check? He’s out there in the faraway city. How are you going to do that?”

Ma Lili replied as if it were obvious, “Of course we’ll go to Yan City too. If we stay here, even if we get married, my parents will keep controlling us. They’ll never leave us alone.”

“But if we move to Yan City, they won’t be able to reach us. Don’t you want to go out into the world too?”

“We can find jobs there and even help take care of Xia Mian and Xiao Feng.”

“No way!” Xia Chuan rejected firmly. “My parents would never agree to that.”

“Mianmian and Xiao Feng are already living under someone else’s roof in Yan City. If we show up empty-handed, what are we doing? Just freeloading on them?”

“Who says we’d be freeloading?!” Ma Lili snapped. “You think I’d go begging her to find me a job?”

“I was top of my class every year at the nursing school, and I got into the county hospital easily. Even though Yan City’s a big city, I’m confident I can get into a good hospital there too. Why would I need Xia Mian?”

“You actually look down on me, do you?”

Xia Chuan quickly apologized, “That’s not what I meant, Lili. It’s just… jobs out there aren’t easy to come by. If we go, where would we even stay?”

“Can’t we rent a place?” Ma Lili said. “Is renting that hard? What, just by living in Yan City, we become a burden to Xia Mian?”

“You didn’t even ask—how do you know she’d be unwilling?” she added. “Didn’t you say she’s living under someone else’s roof? She’s probably having a hard time. If you’re that close to her, maybe she’d be happy to have some family nearby.”

“If you’re worried about Ma Wenwu, tell her not to be. I can handle him. If he causes trouble, I’ll kick him back home in a few months. We’ll live peacefully in Yan City.”

Xia Mian almost laughed out loud. She couldn’t tell if this girl was really that naïve or just pretending to be confident. Did Ma Lili seriously think she would watch her cousin go homeless in Yan City and do nothing?

With all that scheming, Ma Lili and her parents were indeed one family.

Thankfully, Xia Chuan’s brain wasn’t completely offline. He still refused, “Drop it. I’ll talk to my parents about the bride price myself. Don’t worry—I’ll marry you.”

“And we don’t need to worry about Ma Wenwu,” Xia Chuan tried to lighten the mood. “Mianmian may look sweet, but she’s tough. Ten Ma Wenwus wouldn’t be enough for her.”

“My dad even said, in our generation, we’re really counting on Mianmian.”

But that line was like kicking a hornet’s nest. Ma Lili’s voice suddenly rose, “Of course! Your cousin is the most amazing!”

“She’s a celestial being from heaven—no one’s worthy of her!”

“What, just because she left this little county, she’s suddenly better than everyone?”

“She just got lucky and saved a rich person! Anyone would’ve stepped up in that situation! If it had been me, I’d have done the same!”

“If I didn’t have deadweight parents holding me back, if I were an orphan like her, I’d be way better than she is now!”

Xia Chuan’s face turned red. “Lili, do you even hear yourself right now?!”

“What? What did I say wrong?” Ma Lili snapped. “Yeah, I wasn’t born lucky. But I’m not just going to sit back and accept my fate—I want to fight for a better life. What’s wrong with that?”

“If you look down on me and want to stay stuck where you are, then forget it. We’re not the same kind of people!”

With that, she turned and ran.