Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 1 – Transmigrated Into the Book

In a remote corner of the cemetery, a middle-aged woman bent over to pull the weeds around, revealing a rough tombstone. On the tombstone was a yellowed old photo of a three- or four-year-old boy with delicate facial features, his lips pursed in a light smile and his clear gaze seeming to pierce through those difficult years, persistently telling the world of his love for it.

The woman caressed the photo on the tombstone and burst into tears, “This is the only photo I found in my hometown.” Her fingers trace over the old photo, eventually resting on the epitaph: [My name is Zhang Yufeng, and I want to tell the world that I was here.]

“When sorting through his belongings, I found this sentence written in every book. I think he must have really liked it, so I had it carved on his tombstone.”

…

Xia Mian angrily throws her phone away. She had been eagerly waiting to see her least favorite villain in the novel ‘Paranoid Love’ to get his justified ending, only to find the villain’s backstory of success even more infuriating.

This cannon fodder character named Zhang Yufeng had the most tragic story. His was a life that should have shone brightly but was destroyed by the selfishness and greed of a family of villains.

Zhang Yufeng was the half-brother of the villain Zhang Yuxuan, sharing the same father. After discovering his father’s affair, his mother died in a car accident a few months after giving birth to him while on her way to catch the cheating couple. The mistress then took her place, happily living off his mother’s compensation money with his father while subjecting him to cruel abuse.

After trying to calm down, Xia Mian picked up her phone to continue reading.

“He looked a lot like his mother, very beautiful as a child, especially when he smiled, it melted hearts.” Zhang Yufeng’s aunt almost faints from crying. “But when I saw him again, he was so thin, only skins over bones.”

“They forced him to paint, but when he refused to allow his paintings to be taken away by them, he was starved to death by those beasts.”

After discovering Zhang Yufeng’s genius talent in painting, the cruel Zhang couple had him declared mentally ill and imprisoned him, exploiting the boy ruthlessly. They credited all his paintings to his half-brother, the villain Zhang Yuxuan, who thus gained fame as a genius painter by sucking on the blood of his elder brother.

“I regret, I truly regret it. I should have noticed sooner. But by the time I knew, they had become influential people, and I couldn’t fight them!” The woman wailed, “Even if they’re in prison now, what use is it? Our Xiao Feng can’t come back…”

That’s it?! Xia Mian, infuriated, slapped her phone twice. How infuriating! This character shared the same name with her, and yet only knew how to cry. Xia Mian was frustrated to no end. If she were Zhang Yufeng’s aunt, she would definitely grind those beasts into the ground and show them the true hell!

Xia Mian went to bed in a foul mood. Perhaps the resentment was too strong, but she actually dreamt of Zhang Yufeng that night.

Opening the half-railing security door, she saw a living room with distinctive features: a dark brown cabinet combination, a solid wood coffee table, and prominently, an old-fashioned TV with a big backside, similar to the one she’d seen at her grandmother’s house when she was very young.

Behind a door comes a rustling noise. Xia Mian pushed the door open to see a small, not spacious bathroom, where a three- or four-year-old child was squatting in front of a large aluminum tub big enough for him, washing clothes. The child, dirty all over, wore only a man’s tattered work vest, torn and full of holes at the hem. The oversized vest barely covered his thin, fragile legs, making him look like a little beggar.

Xia Mian noticed several purple bruises on the child’s lower legs, clearly from the heavy aluminum tub. The edges of such tubs were thin and sharp, and bumping into them was very painful. She knew this too well from playing and fighting with her two elder brothers at her grandmother’s house as a child — she could still vividly remember the pain even decades later.

Startled by her presence, the child abruptly looked up, his eyes widened with full panic as his body tensed, “Auntie.” He timidly uttered.

For some reason, Xia Mian knows this child was Zhang Yufeng. His situation was clearly not good, and Xia Mian felt heartbroken. She wanted to approach, but she couldn’t control her own body and found herself saying with a smile, “Xiao Feng can wash clothes by himself? That’s great!” before turning and walking away!

She actually turned and walked away!

Turned and walked away?!

Walked away?!!

What the hell is going on?!

Cursing furiously inside, Xia Mian watched as her body returned to the guest room to rest. She finally realized that she seemed to be in the body of Zhang Yufeng’s maternal aunt — the novel Xia Mian who only knew how to cry and wail.

Xia Mian was furious. No wonder this aunt later cried about how she didn’t notice the child’s abuse earlier. The child’s condition was obviously not normal, and she only thought he was well-behaved and diligent?!

How thick were her rose-tainted glasses?!

Forced to lie down and stare at the ceiling, Xia Mian ground her teeth in anger. Damn it! Such a small child was forced to wash clothes, and you don’t know how to help?! What are you sleeping for? Get up!

As Xia Mian scolded herself, she heard the sound of a door opening outside.

“I’m exhausted.” The woman had a gentle voice, but her words were the total opposite, “Where’s that bastard? Go get me a glass of water! Hurry up!”

It’s that vicious stepmother, Huang Xiaojuan, returning! Xia Mian was even more anxious. Although the novel didn’t go into detail, knowing Zhang Yufeng’s end was enough to understand the extent of her evil!

The sound of a child’s panicked footsteps could be heard, clearly in fear. After a moment of silence, suddenly there was a crisp sound, followed by the woman’s shrill curses, “Ah! My cup! You useless little bastard! Money waster! What else can you do, ah?! Useless!!”

The words that followed were accompanied by the sound of slaps, obviously hitting the child. The child’s cries of pain elicit even more vicious scolding from the woman, “You dare to cry? Shut up! Cry again and I’ll prick your mouth!”

Then, only her curses and the sound of hitting the child remain.

Aaaargh!!! In a fit of rage, Xia Mian somehow managed to control her body and charged out.

Next to a black leather sofa, a woman was furiously beating a child with a feather duster. The frail child was held by the arm, with nowhere to hide, unable even to curl up, just having to endure the thin bamboo stick whipping his back and buttocks. The child’s face was filled with fear and panic, his tender teeth biting his lips, trying hard not to make any sound. He dared not even cry out loud, only tears kept falling like beads from his wide-open eyes.

“Stop!” Xia Mian yelled. She hurried forward to snatch the weapon from the woman’s hand. “What are you doing?!”

The woman had a curly perm that was currently fashionable. At one glance, she also had a bright and gentle appearance. After glancing at the feather duster Xia Mian snatched from her, she squinted her eyes and asked with concern, “Why are you here, Xiao Mian? Aren’t you feeling unwell from the heat? Go rest; I’ve already arranged for your school, and later I’ll take you to meet the principal.”

After saying this, she tried to pull the feather duster back.

Xia Mian recalled why Huang Xiaojuan said what she did: Huang Xiaojuan worked at Huagang Junior High School, and the original ‘Xia Mian,’ having moved from a small county town to the city to continue her education, wanted to rely on Huang Xiaojuan’s connections to transfer to a better school. Therefore, it was not that the aunt didn’t notice her sister’s child being abused; she was simply selfish!

And Huang Xiaojuan therefore acted with impunity, perhaps to establish her absolute position in this family, hence her brazenness. Watching Xia Mian holding the feather duster, she smiled, “Don’t take it to heart, his auntie. This little bastard was spoiled by his grandma. I just asked him to bring me some water, and he broke my cup. I think he did it on purpose. While he’s still young, I must straighten his character!” Glancing at the broken porcelain cup on the floor, Huang Xiaojuan appeared distressed, “This white porcelain cup was expensive!”

Seeing she couldn’t pull the feather duster from Xia Mian’s hand, she let go, ready to slap directly.

Xia Mian grabbed her wrist angrily, “You come back from shopping and boss around such a small child to pour water; you really have the nerve. How come I never see you bossing around your own little bastard?!”

“Who are you calling a little bastard?” Huang Xiaojuan glared.

“And who are you calling a little bastard?” Xia Mian retorts angrily, “My sister’s child, since when is it your place to beat him?!”

This statement somehow hit a nerve with Huang Xiaojuan, and her voice became shrill, “What your sister’s child! I treat him as my own, that’s why I discipline him. If I didn’t care, why would I bother hitting him?!” Trying to pull her wrist away unsuccessfully, she then kicked towards the child, saying, “This is for you, you little bastard, not learning well…”

The child, obviously scared from the beating, didn’t know where to run during their argument and got directly kicked.

Xia Mian was caught off guard. Seeing the child with a dirt mark on his face, too scared to even cry, curled up into a ball, she was furious. She raised the feather duster and hit Huang Xiaojuan just as she had done to the child.

“Ah!” Huang Xiaojuan’s scream echoed as she clumsily dodged, “Xia Mian, you dare to hit me! Do you still want to go to school?”

Looking at Huang Xiaojuan grimacing in pain, Xia Mian sighed in happiness. To maintain her ‘little angel’ image, it had been a long time since she last loosened up. Since she was just dreaming anyway, she might as well enjoy it!

Xia Mian flexed her wrist.

Seeing the gleam in her eyes, Huang Xiaojuan felt a great sense of danger and screamed in terror, “What are you going to do?!”

“What am I going to do?” Xia Mian sneered, “Imitating you!” Saying so, she twisted Huang Xiaojuan’s arm, pinned her on the sofa, and lashed out fiercely at her buttocks and back.

“Ah!… It hurts! You lunatic, stop—” Huang Xiaojuan cried out in pain.

Remembering the child’s miserable life, Xia Mian’s anger flared up even more, striking even harder, “You’re crying? What for? Didn’t you forbid the child from crying? You better endure it! Cry again, and I’ll prick your mouth!”

“Xia Mian! You’re crazy!” Huang Xiaojuan, after all, was an adult and managed to break free after much struggle, dodging haphazardly, “I won’t find you a school anymore!”

“I don’t care!” Xia Mian relentlessly pursued her like a mad dog, “Even if I don’t go to school, I’d still beat to death someone as vile as you, a devil in human skin!”

Thinking about how this woman abused the child, Xia Mian’s anger was like oil poured on fire. She was thankful for this dream that allowed her to personally deal with this beast!

And the best part was that nobody would know her little angel image had collapsed!

Xia Mian swung her arms excitedly; the feather duster quickly fell apart from her thrashing, and the flying feathers landed on her nose. Xia Mian couldn’t help but sneeze, and Huang Xiaojuan seized the chance to dash out the door.

Breathless, Xia Mian realized the body of this ‘Xia Mian’ was somewhat weak, not quite matching her fiery spirit. Had it been her own body, Huang Xiaojuan would have been beaten down long ago.

Thinking the opportunity was too good to miss, Xia Mian was wondering whether to chase after and continue the beating when she heard a voice from the corner, trembling with fear and crying, “Auntie.”

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Translator’s Note:

Hello, everyone! This is my new project, Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt. My Son is a Reborn Villain is nearing ending, so this is the replacement. For this week only, there will be daily updates, and then it would follow MSRV’s schedule: Monday and Wednesday.

Enjoy~