Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 138 – Happy Birthday

Xia Mian was exasperatedly amused by Ning Shaobai. She pushed him to the passenger seat and said, “Stop dreaming! You can’t skip grades in college.”

The best she could do was graduate early, but she would need to consult this matter first, since there weren’t any clear precedents yet.

Once Ning Shaobai had buckled his seatbelt, Xia Mian started the car and asked, “Chinese or Western food?”

This time, Ning Shaobai decided to play it safe and chose the opposite. “Western.”

Xia Mian grinned. “Alrighty, birthday boy gets to choose.”

Ning Shaobai: “…”

Xia Mian burst out laughing.

Ning Shaobai was exasperated. Was she celebrating his birthday or just messing with him? If she weren’t driving, she would’ve been giving her a lesson already!

Xia Mian pulled the car into the parking lot of the Imperial International Hotel. The rotating restaurant on the top floor of this place was especially breathtaking at sunset, famous as one of the best scenic spots in all of Yan City.

Thanks to the reputation, however, reservations were hard to get, requiring people to book a month or two in advance.

Ning Shaobai looked at her. “When did you start planning this?”

Xia Mian put a finger to her lips. “Shh. Don’t ask so many questions. You’re the birthday boy today. Just sit back and enjoy!”

“Relax and leave everything to me, OK?”

Ning Shaobai let out a helpless laugh. Since she’d said that, he decided to stop overthinking and simply enjoy the evening for once.

They arrived at the perfect time. The orange sunset spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting golden light across the entire restaurant and over the young man sitting by the window, adding a glowing filter to his already stunning features. He looked absolutely breathtaking.

As Ning Shaobai gazed out at the view, he suddenly heard the sound of a camera shutter. He turned and, sure enough, saw Xia Mian had taken out her instant camera at some point and was snapping photos of him.

The moment he looked at her, she clicked the shutter again.

“Into photography now?” Ning Shaobai smiled. “You’d get better results with a DSLR, you know. This thing barely captures anything.”

Xia Mian raised her chin slightly. “A true artist doesn’t blame the brush.”

Ning Shaobai thought she was going to praise her own skills—but then she added, “No camera is bad enough to hide how handsome you are, Dr. Ning.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, holding out a hand. “Let me see how it turned out.”

Xia Mian quickly hid the photo behind her back. “Eat first. You can look later.”

Ning Shaobai shook his head, amused. “So secretive.”

Xia Mian scrunched her nose, glancing at her picture with satisfaction.

Sure, Dr. Ning was undeniably super handsome, but her superb photography skills were honed through the age of smartphones and selfies!

With gentle music playing in the background and the sunset glowing outside, they finished dinner at a leisurely pace, soaking in both the view and the moment.

When night fell, Xia Mian went to settle the bill, then took Ning Shaobai’s hand and led him to the hotel’s accommodation floor.

As she pulled out a room card, Ning Shaobai paused instinctively. “Why are we going up here?”

Xia Mian looped her arm through his and gave him a teasing wink, her face all shyness and charm. “To give myself to you, of course~”

Ning Shaobai: “…”

Even though he knew she was joking, he was still caught off guard. With this mischievous, unpredictable girl, there was just no telling what she might actually do!

Watching him freeze, Xia Mian widened her eyes accusingly. “What, don’t you like your gift?”

Ning Shaobai caught her shoulders, speaking with exaggerated seriousness. “Did you forget we’re supposed to go watch a movie?”

“Oh, that’s what you’re worried about.” Xia Mian clung to his arm again, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered her voice mysteriously. “Don’t worry, we are going to watch a movie.”

“The…film I got isn’t something that can be shown in theaters, so I’ll accompany you to watch it secretly in the room.”

“You can enjoy the movie and your birthday gift… in total privacy.”

“…” Ning Shaobai didn’t feel reassured at all. In fact, he felt a bit hopeless.

“Can you at least tell me the title of the movie?”

But Xia Mian had already swiped the room card and shot him a mischievous, knowing smile. “You’ll know when you see it.”

Ning Shaobai closed his eyes. No, I don’t “know.”

He was still trying to calm himself by silently reviewing lab data in his head when Xia Mian suddenly reached back, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him into the room.

She had booked a business suite. Once inside, Ning Shaobai found the living room festively decorated. Xia Mian pushed him down onto a couch covered with heart-shaped pillows and beamed, “Dr. Ning, happy birthday!”

Then she grabbed the TV remote, sat down close beside him, and said cheerfully, “Dr. Ning, please get ready. The film’s about to begin!”

She even patted his leg, which made Ning Shaobai go completely stiff. He didn’t even dare lift his arm to hug her…

Suppressing her laughter, Xia Mian pressed the power button, and soon the screen displayed exactly what she’d prepared.

The view of Ning Shaoyun’s courtyard.

So it wasn’t some kind of indecent film… Ning Shaobai let out a discreet breath of relief, only to realize it was a camcorder record.

Xia Mian collapsed against him, laughing. “Dr. Ning, what on earth were you imagining? You looked terrified!”

Ning Shaobai wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her head a thorough, messy rub. “All you do is bully me!”

Xia Mian giggled as she grabbed his hand, holding it in hers.

On the screen, the first person appeared. Ning Shaoyun smiled gently. “Xiao Bai, happy birthday.”

At this point, she seemed hesitant to continue, but whoever was behind the camera was clearly urging her on. After a pause, she finally spoke again. “Thank you for taking care of me all these years. You’re the best little brother in the world.” She ended with a bright smile.

Then the video cut to Zhou Xuewen. He was even worse at expressing emotions than Ning Shaoyun. Over the years, the only people he could openly show love and concern for were Ning Shaoyun and Chenchen. With others, he was still the same awkward self.

So, when it was his turn, his whole body was stiff, and he couldn’t get the words out. Then, like someone had forced him at gunpoint, he finally said in a completely flat voice, “Xiao Bai, happy birthday. Um… you’re the best brother-in-law in the world.”

Watching him like that, Ning Shaobai couldn’t help but laugh until his whole body shook. He lowered his head and asked Xia Mian, “How’d you get him to say something like that?”

He imagined himself saying those words to Zhou Xuewen and immediately shivered.

Xia Mian grinned. “I asked Sister Ning for help. Easy peasy.”

Ning Shaobai couldn’t stop laughing.

The screen on the TV shifted to Chenchen next. The little guy looked coolly into the camera and said, “Uncle, happy birthday. You’re the best uncle in the world!”

Then he turned the camera toward Xiao Feng, who gazed into the lens with big, gentle eyes and said sweetly, “Uncle Ning, happy birthday. You’re the best Uncle Ning in the world.”

Next was Mao Huizhu. She eagerly grabbed the camera and shouted, “Brother Ning, you’re the best Brother Ning!”

“Oopsie, forgot to say happy birthday.” Then she turned back to the camera and shouted, “Brother Ning, happy birthday!”

The scene switched again, this time to Rong Xin’s house. The fully grown guy waved enthusiastically like a hyperactive kid and shouted, “Brother Bai, happy birthday! You’re the best Brother Bai in the world. I’m sticking with you for life!”

After that came several friends—people Rong Xin had helped contact, both in and outside the country. Many of them Xia Mian didn’t even know.

At some point, the smile on Ning Shaobai’s face had faded. He was quietly, intently watching the screen, watching all those friends.

He’d never realized that a string of “happy birthdays” and “you’re the best” could make him feel so rich, so lucky. The emotion and contentment swelled in his chest until his nose stung.

He looked down at Xia Mian. She had long stopped smiling too. Her eyes glistening slightly, she sat up and gently cupped his face in both hands. “This is your first birthday since we’ve been together,” she said seriously. “I wanted to give you the most beautiful thing in the world.”

“But the more I thought about it, the more I realized—the best thing in the world is you.”

“So, I had to get all these people to help me tell you that.”

She leaned in and kissed him on the eyes, then smiled. “Dr. Ning, happy birthday. You’re the best boyfriend in the world.”

“…Mianmian…”

Ning Shaobai grabbed her chin and suddenly kissed her hard, feeling like he had to consume her, take her into his body, or he’d burst from the emotions overwhelming his chest.

Only when Xia Mian was nearly out of breath did they finally pull apart. Without another word, she got up and dragged him toward the bedroom.

Ning Shaobai followed her all the way to the door before he managed to regain a bit of clarity and tried to stop her. “Mianmian…”

She looked back at him, eyes seductive and soft. “What? You really don’t want my gift?”

Her eyes still shimmered, her lips red and dewy. Ning Shaobai’s throat bobbed involuntarily. But before he could say anything else, Xia Mian yanked him into the bedroom and grinned. “Even if you don’t want it, you’re getting it!”

Ning Shaobai stumbled into a cascade of colorful ribbons and stared in shock.

The room wasn’t at all what he’d imagined. Dozens of helium balloons floated at the ceiling, their dangling strings clipped with photos. Beneath each photo hung folded letters in various shapes and bright colors.

Something stirred in Ning Shaobai’s chest. He lifted his gaze to Xia Mian, who tilted her head and grinned mischievously. “Dr. Ning, what naughty thoughts were you just having?”

Ning Shaobai reached out with his long arms, trying to catch the little troublemaker who kept messing with him—but before he could, Xia Mian pushed a red string toward him.

He paused.

Attached to it was a photo of him holding his violin, while she was behind him at her drum set. The two of them were looking at each other and laughing brightly.

It was taken on Old Master Rong’s birthday, probably by the event photographer. He had no idea when Xia Mian had gotten it.

Ning Shaobai stared at the version of himself in the photo. He hadn’t realized he could smile with such unguarded joy.

Without thinking, he untied the pink letter paper hanging beneath the photo. On it was written: “Like red rubs off on you when you’re near vermilion, sweetness clings when I’m near you. Dr. Ning, you’re the sweetest honey in the rest of my life!”

A smile tugged uncontrollably at Ning Shaobai’s lips. He looked at the girl in front of him like he didn’t quite know what to do with her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed the top of her head—then began going through the rest, one by one.

Each letter and photo revealed a different side of him, seen through Xia Mian’s eyes.

One showed him in his white coat, walking down the hospital corridor, followed by a few fellow doctors and nurses. His expression was cold and detached, but the sunlight streaming through the window outlined him in a warm golden glow. To the photographer Xia Mian, this was another kind of charm.

—”Dr. Ning, thank you for showing up and making my world so beautiful.”

Ning Shaobai couldn’t help but reach out and pat her head, his voice soft. “You too.”

Xia Mian, for once, looked a little shy as she smiled.

With a quiet chuckle, he pulled the yellow string next, which held a photo of him driving.

He remembered this one clearly. He had gone to pick her up from campus. When they passed the police station, she suddenly joked, “I wonder if you’ll ever have to come here to bail me out someday.”

He had laughed and turned to look at her, and she took that instant to snap the photo.

—”You sentenced me to life imprisonment. I accept the ruling, Warden Ning! (Salute)”

Ning Shaobai gently pinched her shoulder, his voice low and slightly hoarse. “Then you must behave.”

Xia Mian grinned up at him. “Do I look like someone who would behave?”

He leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “Whether you behave or not, you’re mine.”

In the glow of the setting sun, a photo showed him in a trench coat at the far end of a narrow alley, looking toward the camera with soft eyes.

Ning Shaobai also remembered that moment well. He’d been looking at her as she stood smiling at the door of her home—and in that instant, all the exhaustion of his day had vanished.

—“I hope that when I’m old and gray, I can still welcome you like this.”

The photos were warm and touching. But of course, Xia Mian being Xia Mian, she’d slipped in a few special shots.

This one, for instance, had been taken in the scorching heat of midsummer: a shot of him dozing in a lounge chair by the entrance to his house.

Ning Shaobai lowered his head, casting a half-smile, half-amused glance at Xia Mian.

He couldn’t figure out how she’d managed to take such a photo. He was clearly wearing a buttoned-up shirt, lying in a completely decent sleeping posture—yet somehow, through the photographer’s lens, it felt like her focus was all on his chest and abdomen, as if she had mentally stripped him bare.

Xia Mian grinned. “Dr. Ning’s beauty includes everything. I love everything about you.”

Shameless, and so confidently so. Classic Xia Mian.

Ning Shaobai opened the folded letter beneath the photo: “Dr. Ning, you’re mine and mine alone!”

He froze, then suddenly bent down and kissed her. The kiss was gentle, not forceful, but enough to steal her breath and soul all the same.

After a long moment, he finally let her go, lightly brushing her dazed eyes and whispering, “As you command.”

Fifty photos, fifty love letters.

At last, they reached the bedside where a beautifully wrapped sandalwood box sat, larger than the one Ning Shaobai had once given Xia Mian.

Ning Shaobai looked at her.

Xia Mian was still holding his arm, tilting her head up to smile at him. “This box contains my debts of love. Dr. Ning. Please take good care of it.”

A smile spread across Ning Shaobai’s face. “Didn’t you say you didn’t believe in this stuff?”

“That was before,” Xia Mian said brightly. “Now you’re my boyfriend. Everything you say, I believe.”

“And besides…” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin. “I used to think it’d be hard. But as it turns out, writing to you doesn’t feel hard at all, even if I had to do it ten times over.”

As if to prove she meant every word, Xia Mian took out the photo she’d snapped in the restaurant earlier.

Ning Shaobai finally saw it for himself. Somehow, she’d made an instant camera shot look like a movie poster—he even had to admit, he looked ridiculously handsome.

Xia Mian took out fresh paper and pen, glanced up at him, and with a smile, wrote: “I love all the beautiful things in this world. Especially you, Dr. Ning!”

She placed the new letter into the sandalwood box, then turned and smiled at him, tilting her head. “Life is long, and I’ll repay every debt of love you ever gave me twice over. It’s my blessing for our future.”

Author’s Note:

Xia Mian: “What, you think you’re the only one who can do this? Please—I’m great at it too, okay?”

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