Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 106 Part 2 – Whoever Loses Doesn’t Need to Restrain Themselves (II)

Xiao Feng did get a little carsick, while Xia Mian herself hadn’t slept well for two days. Holding the child, drowsiness hit her quickly.

She vaguely felt someone take Xiao Feng from her arms. Knowing it was Ning Shaobai, she simply adjusted into a more comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep.

She was awakened by a disturbance near her head—someone was playing with her hair.

Xia Mian opened her eyes and saw Xiao Feng carefully parting the strands of hair covering her face with his little hands. Seeing her awake, he smiled and said, “Auntie, Mei Chaofeng.”

Lately, The Legend of the Condor Heroes had been airing, and Mei Chaofeng’s messy-haired image had become a pre-internet meme. Anyone with a tangled head of hair was called that.

Xia Mian reached up and felt her hair—she must have untied her ponytail half-asleep to rest more comfortably. After sleeping the whole way like that, it was now a total mess.

From above her head came Ning Shaobai’s voice: “If you’re awake, get up. We’re almost there.”

Startled, Xia Mian suddenly realized she hadn’t just been leaning on Ning Shaobai’s shoulder—she was practically curled up in his arms, with Xiao Feng nestled on one side and herself on the other.

No wonder I’d slept so well…

She scrambled to sit up, only to hear Ning Shaobai let out a soft hiss.

“What’s wrong?” She hurriedly asked.

“Arm cramp.”

Xia Mian quickly grabbed his wrist and helped stretch and massage his arm. As she worked, she saw Ning Shaobai start to laugh, and only then realized he was teasing her again.

She flung his hand away angrily. “Dr. Ning, didn’t you say you were going to restrain yourself? What happened to your self-control?”

Ning Shaobai chuckled, “Seeing you’re doing such a good job restraining yourself, I figured I didn’t have to.”

“Much appreciated, kind benefactor. That makes things so much easier for me.”

Xia Mian was fuming. What a devious man!

She raised her hand to swat at the arm he stretched out again. “What now?”

Ning Shaobai looked at her head and smiled. “Not going to tie your hair up, Mei Chaofeng?”

Xiao Feng burst into giggles.

Only then did Xia Mian notice a colorful hair tie looped around his wrist, which was hers.

She didn’t even want to think about how her hair tie ended up on Ning Shaobai’s wrist. Touching her now wild, puffed-up hair, she was in a hurry to find a comb.

Watching her scramble, Ning Shaobai teased, “Need help?”

Xia Mian snapped, “Stay away from me! And turn around! Don’t you dare look!”

Ning Shaobai laughed out loud.

Then, from the front seat, Ma Lili suddenly turned around and said enviously, “Dr. Ning, you’re so gentle. Xia Mian is really lucky to have met someone like you.”

Damn, I completely forgot this person is also here!

Ma Lili kept sighing, “If I had even half of Xia Mian’s luck, I wouldn’t be in the mess I’m in.”

The car slowed down. Xiao Liu said, “Mr. Ning, we’re at the train station.”

“Pull up to the ticket hall entrance,” Ning Shaobai said.

Xiao Liu hesitated for a second, glanced at Ma Lili, then drove a bit further and stopped.

Ning Shaobai turned to her. “Alright, time to get out.”

“Okay!” Ma Lili was ecstatic. She quickly grabbed her bag and got out of the car, afraid they’d change their minds and leave her behind.

But once she was outside, she realized no one else was getting out—not the three in the backseat, not even the driver.

“Dr. Ning?”

The rear window rolled down, revealing Ning Shaobai’s cold face, “That’s the ticket hall over there. Miss Ma, a top student at her nursing school, should be able to read, right?”

He paused for emphasis. “Then again, Miss Ma is a capable girl determined to fight her horrible fate. My bad for making jokes.”

“In that case, I’ll wish you success in advance.” Then he turned to Xiao Liu. “Let’s go.”

Ma Lili finally realized what was going on. Panicked, she rushed to the window. “Dr. Ning, what do you mean? Aren’t we going together?”

Xiao Liu laughed. “Miss, Mr. Ning and the others are going to Yan City. Their tickets were bought ages ago. Why would they be going with you?”

Ma Lili couldn’t believe it. “Then what am I supposed to do? You’re just leaving me here?”

Ning Shaobai looked genuinely confused. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t trouble me, that you just needed a way out of Mingxi County?”

Ma Lili was speechless—that was indeed what she had said.

As if knowing what she was about to argue, Ning Shaobai cut her off, “Don’t worry, Hao Xufeng won’t chase you this far.”

“Miss Ma, you said it yourself—as long as you are given the opportunity, you’d achieve great success. This is the start of your new life. With your top marks from nursing school, I’m sure you’ll find a nursing job soon. Next time we meet, you might be quite the accomplished professional.”

Just as he was about to roll up the window, Ma Lili dropped the act. “Wait, you can’t just leave me here! I’ve never been this far from home. I don’t even have a ticket. Where am I supposed to go?!”

Ning Shaobai frowned. “Are you joking? A capable person fighting against her fate doesn’t even have a plan?”

“You’re supposedly someone who can get into a big hospital with ease, yet buying a train ticket is too much?”

“Is this what you meant by an ‘opportunity’? That someone has to pave the entire road and lay it out in front of you?”

“Maybe those opportunities do exist,” Ning Shaobai continued, voice cooling. “You could wait here—this station’s full of pickpockets, kidnappers, and human traffickers. If you throw yourself in harm’s way a few times, you might meet someone willing to do all that for you.”

Ma Lili was completely silenced.

Xia Mian finally understood why Ning Shaobai had let Ma Lili come along—it was to teach her a lesson.

Ning Shaobai ignored her hands still resting on the window and raised the glass without hesitation. Ma Lili, afraid of getting her fingers caught, had no choice but to let go. Just before the window sealed shut, she heard that heartless voice say, “If you truly don’t know how to buy a train ticket, go find the police. Let them escort you back. Maybe you can report Hao Xufeng for coercion while you’re at it—they can save you too.”

Then he told Xiao Liu, “If she tries to stop the car, run her over. If she breaks a bone or something, just take her to the hospital. I’ll cover the medical bills.”

“Got it!” Xiao Liu was clearly fed up as well. With a hard crank of the wheel, he turned the car around. Ma Lili didn’t dare call the bluff and quickly jumped back several steps.

In the rearview mirror, Xia Mian watched Ma Lili’s pitiful figure shrinking in the distance and burst out laughing.

Ning Shaobai patted her head. “What’s so funny?”

Xia Mian grinned. “Just surprised. Didn’t expect Dr. Ning to sweat the small stuff.”

This petty, vindictive side of him was completely to her liking.

Ning Shaobai glanced at her and smiled. “How could my benefactor’s problem be a small matter?”

Xia Mian laughed, then glanced back at the still-stunned Ma Lili. “She’ll be okay, right?”

“I already warned her there are bad people around. She’s not stupid—quite the opposite, actually, very alert. Besides, she’s in her twenties. Don’t tell me she can’t even figure out how to get from Ming City back to Mingxi.”

Xia Mian pondered for a second and agreed. They even told her to find the police if needed. With the wits she used to play Xia Chuan, there really wasn’t anything to worry about.

With the external problem resolved, it was time to deal with the issue between the two of them. After checking in their luggage and seeing Xiao Liu off, only the three of them remained. Xia Mian began strictly enforcing her personal policy of “stay far away from Ning Shaobai.”

Aside from when Ning Shaobai stepped in to shield her and Xiao Feng during the walk from the station entrance to the ticket check, she made sure to keep at least a one-meter distance from him the entire time.

She wasn’t being dramatic, no—this guy was simply too infuriating!

The sleeper train platform wasn’t too crowded. As Xia Mian walked with Xiao Feng in her arms, she suddenly heard Ning Shaobai call out, “Watch out!”

Before she could react, she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. Her balance tipped, and she stumbled a few steps sideways, ending up leaning against him.

Startled, she asked, “What happened?”

Ning Shaobai was staring dead serious at something on the ground. “Be careful, don’t trip.”

She followed his gaze and saw… an almond shell. She burst out laughing in disbelief. “Dr. Ning, you think I’d trip over that? You’re more dangerous than it is!”

She shoved him to arm’s length. “Didn’t you say I should stay away from you?”

Ning Shaobai easily pushed her hand down. “That’s only if my benefactor’s safety can be guaranteed.”

“And besides—” he smiled slyly, “your staying away from me is enough. I don’t really need to stay away from you.”

Xia Mian laughed in anger. “You always have a way of twisting things your way, huh?”

Ning Shaobai said with total sincerity, “It’s all thanks to my benefactor’s teachings. Everything I know, I learned from you.”

“Speak for yourself!” She snapped, then stomped onto the train.

The cabin was still empty. Just like last time, Ning Shaobai was busy arranging things. But the more Xia Mian looked at his figure, the more annoyed she became.

The guy even dared to ask, “What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t hold it in anymore. As he walked over, she stuck out her leg to trip him, then pretended to catch him with mock concern. “Careful, Dr. Ning!”

She just wanted to mimic his fake, scheming little act from earlier. But she hadn’t expected him to actually fall into it.

This tall man—well over 1.8 m—demonstrated exactly how easily toppled he could be. Xia Mian nearly knocked her own head into the wall behind, but he caught her just in time, practically enveloping her in his arms.

And of course, he had to take advantage of the moment. Flashing a smug grin that Xia Mian found extremely infuriating, he said, “Benefactor, weren’t you holding up so well earlier? Come on, keep it up! I believe in your self-control!”

Xia Mian was about to lose it. “Why the hell am I the one who has to restrain myself?!”

Ning Shaobai’s eyes softened, full of meaning. “Because you won,” he said gently. “The one with stronger self-control should be the one to restrain. Isn’t that fair?”

Her mind instantly flashed back to their rooftop bet. Her cheeks turned crimson. The more she realized what he meant, the more infuriated she got.

Damn it! How did he twist this so that losing made him sound better? I lost too, alright? Why on earth am I the one suffering?!

Just then, Xiao Feng crawled over from the other side of the bed. “Auntie?”

Ning Shaobai patted his head. “Your auntie’s fine. Just needs a little practice in self-control.” Then he added with a smile, “Want me to help you?”

Xia Mian snapped, “Stay the hell away from me!”

Just then, a vendor’s voice floated in from outside, selling popsicles. Ning Shaobai paused and immediately looked at Xia Mian with that teasing glint in his eyes.

She blurted out, “I’m not eating any!”

He burst into laughter, his eyes nearly disappearing into crescents. Ruffling Xiao Feng’s hair, he said, “Then Xiao Feng and I will have some.”

He leaned out and came back with two popsicles. He handed one to Xiao Feng and unwrapped the other for himself.

Xia Mian threw herself onto the bed, covering her face. Out of sight, out of mind!

But a moment later, she felt the bed dip next to her, followed by cold against her face.

She opened her eyes to see a popsicle bar being held in front of her. “Eat it before it melts.”

Seeing that she wasn’t about to take it and was clearly still mad, Ning Shaobai laughed softly. “Or do you prefer it melted?”

He waved the back of his hand as he said so.

Xia Mian shot up, grabbed the popsicle, and took a huge bite with a glare. “You are so annoying! Get away from me!”

“Seriously, though,” she added, grumbling, “why did your car break down at just the right time? I could’ve driven myself!”

Thinking of having to spend an entire day and night on the train with him, she suddenly felt like his coming to pick her up wasn’t such a great thing after all. Her heart was constantly either exploding with anger or being stirred up. What a dangerous man!

Ning Shaobai looked at her red, flustered face, lowered his eyes slightly, and hid the smile in them.

He secretly made a mental note, removing the dead target on Rong Xin’s hand.

Well, that guy’s useful for once.

Author’s Note:

Ning Shaobai: “Whoever loses doesn’t need to restrain themselves.”

Xia Mian: “I lost too!”

Ning Shaobai: “No, I lost first.”

Xia Mian: “Get away from me!”