Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 111 Part 1 – Give Her A Taste Of Her Own Medicine (I)

As the last year of high school began, the atmosphere became noticeably tense. Many classes, like physical education and music, were canceled and replaced with core academic subjects.

Amid the monotonous studying, the biggest source of entertainment came from gossip: who was dating whom, who broke up, and so on. Among these stories, the one about the school heartthrob Han Haoyan and his supposed relationship was the most widely spread, with none other than Tian Xueya as the rumored heroine.

Just as Sun Yuexin had guessed, Tian Xueya had entangled herself with Han Haoyan for most of the summer, so there was no way she hadn’t pulled some tricks:

“Um, I got cornered by some thugs, and Han Haoyan saved me.”

“I was bedridden for a week, and he came to see me every day.”

“He took me to the library, shopping for clothes and school supplies… He’s such a gentleman…”

Almost as soon as the semester began, the students all knew the summer love story between Han Haoyan and Tian Xueya—the classic “hero saves beauty” tale.

The rumor spread mainly because Han Haoyan wasn’t the kind of guy who would go out of his way to humiliate a girl in public. On top of that, everything Tian Xueya said was technically true, which left him no actual way to refute it. If he tried, people would just assume he was either feeling embarrassed or being a jerk—denying their “relationship” just to keep his options open with other girls.

Zhao Cheng was outraged on his friend’s behalf, and even Han Haoyan, usually calm, looked genuinely unsettled. But before they could figure out how to deal with the rumors, the so-called Summer Love Story was quickly overshadowed. Word spread that Hao Jian had been officially arrested for assault and extortion, setting off a wave of shock across nearby schools, especially No. 14 High and Yan University Affiliated High School.

At the time of his arrest, Hao Jian was still enrolled at No. 14 High, and he had previously attended Yan Affiliated, so the news caused a huge commotion in both. For many students, it was the first time someone they actually knew had committed such serious crimes. Naturally, the story spread like wildfire.

Xia Mian and her group were also closely following the case’s progress.

“It’s already been submitted to the prosecutor’s office,” reported Sun Yuexin. “My dad said the police found a lot of evidence. That beast is looking at a minimum of seven or eight years, possibly more than ten.”

Since their daughters had nearly become victims, both Mr. Sun and Mr. Li were heavily invested in the case and used all their connections to push for a severe sentence.

“Apparently, Hao Jian’s dad tried to pull some strings, but he only showed up once and never came back,” Sun Yuexin continued. “Seems like he ran into some business trouble.”

“His mom didn’t want to give up, but she ended up too busy to deal with it.”

“What happened?” Zhao Cheng asked.

“Hao Jian’s dad had a mistress outside—and even had a son with her. His mom’s been busy dealing with that mess.”

In other words, Hao Jianguo had completely abandoned this son. Even if Hao Jian got out in seven or eight years, he probably wouldn’t have a place in the Hao family anymore. His life was essentially over.

Li Lizhen snarled, “Serves him right!”

Sun Yuexin sighed, “Half of the Thirteen Protectors have been locked up. The rest who helped him got at least a year.”

Zhao Cheng scoffed, “Didn’t they think Hao Jian was hot shit? Now they’re hot shit too.”

Then he couldn’t help but add with a bit of irony, “The Thirteen Protectors are pretty hilarious—half of them caused trouble and went to jail, the other half are out here doing good deeds.”

Sun Yuexin nodded, “Who would’ve thought Fan Xiaoman would turn out to be such a decent person?”

After the charges against Hao Jian made headlines, many girls at No. 14 High became extremely anxious. Rumors flew across campus, and any girl who had even interacted with Hao Jian was suspected of having been assaulted by him.

In today’s more open-minded society, girls who had been victimized were still often harshly judged, let alone in a conservative environment where dating was practically equivalent to marriage. Victims faced far worse social pressure than perpetrators. That’s part of why Hao Jian was able to manipulate and coerce his victims so brazenly.

Evidence wasn’t even necessary—just a rumor could ruin a girl’s life, leaving her unable to ever lift her head again.

In less than a week, several pretty girls at 14 High were already being bullied because of it.

But no one expected Fan Xiaoman to step in. She issued a strict order forbidding anyone from spreading such talk. Anyone caught doing it was promptly dealt with. On one occasion, she even cracked open the head of the leader of the Eight Vajras. Basically, it was thanks to her and the remaining members of the Thirteen Protectors that the situation was suppressed.

When they got to the part about Fan Xiaoman cracking open the Vajra leader’s head, Zhao Cheng kept sneaking glances at Xia Mian.

Xia Mian said flatly, “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

“It’s nothing,” the guy grinned. “I just thought you’d be saying something like ‘violence should never be the answer.ʼ”

Han Haoyan, who had barely spoken until now, chimed in, “Yeah, don’t you dislike violence?”

Zhao Cheng then sighed with melancholy, “Big Sis, you really kept it hidden well. You’re obviously great at fighting, but you went around telling everyone you believe in solving things with reason.”

“I honestly thought I was dreaming that day.”

Xia Mian chuckled. “Not about being good at fighting, no—it’s just a more effective way to reason with people. Sometimes you run into people like Hao Jian who don’t understand basic human language, so the only way to make them understand is to beat some sense into them.”

“Most of the students at No. 14 High are like that. Since they don’t understand human language, Fan Xiaoman teaching them some discipline isn’t wrong either.”

“So, violence for you is just for the sake of better reasoning?”

It was the first time the others had heard anything like that. Sun Yuexin and Li Lizhen gave Xia Mian a thumbs-up. “Awesome!”

Zhao Cheng and Han Haoyan couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sun Yuexin sighed. “Honestly, our school really does have a good atmosphere. At most, people will be surprised for a while, then they’ll go right back to gossiping about our handsome guy here. No messy drama or anything.”

Li Lizhen nodded in agreement. “I really don’t get how students at No. 14 High even manage to study. It’s always either you’re bullying me, or I’m bullying you.”

But not long after they said that, reality slapped them in the face. And not only that—the person being gossiped about this time was none other than Xia Mian.

The person behind the latest wave of rumors was a familiar face: Tian Xueya, once again resorting to her same old tactics.

The reason? Of course, it was over her “summer boyfriend” Han Haoyan. Just like Sun Yuexin had said, Hao Jian had been expelled for over a year now, and people’s interest in that story had died down. In comparison, the love drama between Han Haoyan and Tian Xueya was far more entertaining.

Tian Xueya had painted their summer break as romantic and sweet, but in truth, while Han Haoyan hadn’t explained anything publicly, he barely spoke to her and treated her more coldly than he did other girls. During breaks or any time outside of class, Han Haoyan would run off to Class 3-3 with Zhao Cheng to see Xia Mian. Tian Xueya didn’t even get close enough to touch the hem of his shirt.

Ever since they’d gone through that fight together, even the usually sharp-tongued Sun Yuexin had stopped disliking Han Haoyan. He’d clearly been willing to put himself on the line to protect them, and the girls respected that. On top of it, they all shared a certain secret about Xia Mian now, something that naturally brought them closer.

So gradually, rumors began to spread that Han Haoyan had betrayed Tian Xueya and was now pursuing Xia Mian. Rumors like that popped up now and then, so Xia Mian didn’t pay them any mind. Han Haoyan, as always, simply ignored them.

Neither of the two involved said a word; yet unexpectedly, Tian Xueya jumped out to clarify things on their behalf.

“Xia Mian was cornered by Hao Jian’s gang, and it was Han Haoyan and Zhao Cheng who came to her rescue.”

“Han Haoyan isn’t pursuing her—he’s just worried about her. You all know how kind he is.”

“Zhao Cheng and Li Lizhen go see Xia Mian whenever they can too, don’t they? They’re all just concerned about her.”

With those half-truths thrown out there—and Hao Jian’s charges confirmed—it was only natural for the listeners to start filling in the blanks with their own assumptions.

Those who knew Xia Mian well weren’t too affected, but others who didn’t know her as closely had no hesitation in jumping to conclusions. The story just seemed far too plausible: Hao Jian had tried to accost Xia Mian back in their first year, and she was the one who got him sent to the police station. Of course, he held a grudge. Given the chance, it made perfect sense that he’d try to get back at her.

Putting all the pieces together, it seemed perfectly reasonable to conclude that Xia Mian had been one of Hao Jian’s victims.

Although the Affiliated High didn’t have bullying incidents like No. 14 High, many students still looked at Xia Mian with strange expressions. Some filled with sympathy or pity, others with disdain or mockery. When Xia Mian went to the restroom, she even overheard regretful chatter coming from the boys’ side: “Xia Mian was so so pitiful”, “Her life is ruined”, “What will her future husband think of her?” and so on.

Since the rumors had already reached Xia Mian, it was no surprise that Sun Yuexin and the others had heard even more. Someone even tried to probe them—Zhao Cheng was so furious, he ended up beating the guy up.

Sun Yuexin pounded the table. “Can I go and beat her to death?!”

Zhao Cheng swore, “Damn it! If Tian Xueya keeps this up, she might be the one to make me break my rule about not hitting girls!” Even as he said it, he couldn’t drop it. “No, I’m going to give her a lesson today!”

For the first time since they knew him, Han Haoyan’s sunny, handsome face turned dark and frightening. “I’ll take care of this,” he said seriously.

Sun Yuexin didn’t buy it. “You sure you can handle it? Tian Xueya’s not easy to deal with, and you’ve got that soft spot for pretty girls.”

Xia Mian didn’t hold much trust in him either. “Don’t make things hard for yourself,” she said with a smile. “I’ll handle this myself.”

She clenched her fists and stood up, looking at Han Haoyan. “But I might need some help from our school heartthrob.”

Han Haoyan looked at Xia Mian, suddenly feeling a pang of discomfort. Was he really that unreliable in her eyes?

Zhao Cheng had no idea what his good friend was feeling inside—he just looked excited. “Big Sis, what’re you planning to do?”

Xia Mian casually stuffed her hands into her pockets and strolled toward Class 3-6. “People who don’t understand the rules need to be taught the rules. And the best way to do that… is to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Sun Yuexin giddily followed. “Exactly! We let her off the hook too many times, and she just keeps pushing. She really thinks we’re easy to mess with! This time, we’ll make sure she learns her lesson.”

Li Lizhen and Han Haoyan also trailed behind. None of them knew what Xia Mian had in mind, but they all trusted she’d handle it.

The group showed up in full force at the doorway of Class 3-6. It was the break before evening self-study, and the classroom buzzed with activity. Some students were buried in their books, others were chatting, tossing balls around, or goofing off. The whole room was alive with energy.

But the moment Xia Mian and the others appeared at the door, the room fell silent. Only two boys, who were chasing each other, didn’t notice and kept running. The one in front was heading straight for Xia Mian.

“Hey!”

“Watch out!”

“Wu Fei! Look out!”

Just as everyone thought Xia Mian was about to get knocked over, she nimbly sidestepped, reached out, grabbed the boy’s arm, and quickly redirected his momentum—in an instant, she had him standing upright, facing the classroom.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The boy himself was still dazed, but some of the Class 3-6 students were clearly impressed. A guy in the back even whistled.

Zhao Cheng shouted, “Whoa! That move was awesome! Xia Mian, teach me that!”

“How are you so good at so many things?”

Sun Yuexin snorted. “Seriously, is there anything she’s not good at?”

“Not good at?” Xia Mian laughed, then tilted her head with a smile. “Well, there is one thing… I’ve got a short fuse. I’m really bad at ignoring disgusting things, especially when they’re directed at me.”

As she spoke, her eyes locked on Tian Xueya, who was sitting in the front row.