Chapter 112 – Xiao Feng’s Tooth Fell Out
Chapter 112 – Xiao Feng’s Tooth Fell Out
Tu Xingsun’s confession to Tian Xueya did indeed cause quite a stir at school. After that, whether it was just for fun or genuine feelings, many boys started confessing to Tian Xueya as well. It was said that she had an emotional breakdown and eventually took a leave of absence and stopped going to school.
Things gradually quieted down afterward. Plus, with the final exams approaching, everyone’s attention turned back to studying, and the school returned to its usual calm.
Even after the finals, the third-year student still had to attend classes as usual and only went on break right before the New Year.
On the last day of school, Xia Mian went directly to Ning Shaobai’s house to pick up Xiao Feng. School let out early today—it was just after 4 p.m.—and the kids were probably in the training room.
When she got there, Ning Shaobai was also present. He was holding Xiao Feng, watching something. Chenchen and Mao Huizhu were giggling nearby, enjoying the show.
Xia Mian’s eyes lit up. She set down her backpack and crept up to them quietly.
The training room wasn’t very big; how could Ning Shaobai not notice her? He immediately stood up warily and backed away.
“Kids, grab him! Don’t let him get away!” Xia Mian gave the order and pounced at once.
Now, their roles had reversed again: she was in invincible mode, while Ning Shaobai had to struggle to fend her off!
Xia Mian hadn’t expected that the Ning Shaobai who took every chance to flirt with her over the summer would suddenly become all proper and well-behaved once school started.
It was as if they had gone back to how things were in the first semester of her second year: steady and dependable, with just the right level of closeness, maintaining an incredibly comfortable distance.
Of course, that’s assuming he hadn’t been so shamelessly flirty over the summer!
At first, Xia Mian didn’t think much of it. She just assumed it was because they didn’t see each other much after school started. After all, the third-year schedule was insane—she got home at 10:30 p.m. and had to leave by 6 in the morning.
Xia Wenyue, being considerate, had Mao Huilan take over the job of picking up Xiao Feng and Mao Huizhu in the evenings. As a result, she and Ning Shaobai barely saw each other.
It wasn’t until the first weekend that Xia Mian got out of school early and went to pick up Xiao Feng at Ning Shaobai’s house.
She rarely had any free time nowadays, so Xiao Feng was delighted to see her. The kids had just started learning basic moves, and the three of them ended up roughhousing around her.
During the commotion, Mao Huizhu lost her balance and happened to fall right in front of Xia Mian, who still had Chenchen and Xiao Feng hanging from both legs. She braced herself, ready to fall forward.
But then someone grabbed the back of her school uniform and pulled her upright. “Careful.”
Of course, this person was none other than her Dr. Ning.
After that, he leaned quietly against the wall and watched them play. It was hard to tell whether he was lost in thought or just zoning out.
At the time, Xia Mian only felt that something seemed a bit off. It wasn’t until she was walking home with Xiao Feng and Mao Huizhu that she realized: they had played in the training room for almost an hour, and Ning Shaobai hadn’t made any physical contact with her.
Compared to the way he had flirted every chance he got over the summer, this was definitely strange.
Xia Mian tested it a few more times and confirmed that it wasn’t just her imagination. Ning Shaobai really was avoiding physical closeness. More precisely, he was holding himself back.
Though he tried to act normal—still pulling her tuft, tapping her on the head—if Xia Mian grabbed his arm or wrist, he’d just look helpless and stay perfectly still until she let go on her own.
This completely disarmed her rebellious streak. After a while, it just stopped being fun, and she’d let go.
When Xia Mian finally figured out why, she was thrilled again.
That weekend, she ran next door first thing in the morning. Sure enough, Ning Shaobai was in the training room. He was doing pull-ups when she walked in and froze for a second. Then, acting totally natural, he jumped down from the bar, grabbed a jacket from nearby, and put it on to cover his muscles like it was no big deal.
But when Xia Mian moved closer, he started retreating cautiously, step by step.
With his intelligence, of course he’d figured out she was testing him. He could see she was up to no good!
Seeing how on guard he was, Xia Mian laughed gleefully. “Dr. Ning, how come you suddenly don’t want my life anymore? I’m not used to it.”
Ning Shaobai subtly turned toward a more open area where he’d have room to dodge. While wiping sweat with a towel, he replied, “I thought about it. You’re my benefactor, after all. I should be more considerate. You’ll need your life to study, at least for now.”
Xia Mian stepped across the room to block his path, smiling sweetly. “Then I should properly thank Dr. Ning, shouldn’t I?”
Ning Shaobai calmly edged toward the door again. “No need to be so polite. You’re my benefactor, remember? This is only right.”
“Really?” Xia Mian blocked him again and grinned widely. “Then you’d better hold on tight, Dr. Ning!”
Now it’s my turn to come for your life!
With an invincibility buff on, how could she waste such a perfect chance for revenge?
Ning Shaobai, having already seen through her evil intention, weakly pointed on, “Benefactor, this isn’t appropriate, is it?”
“Haha, what’s inappropriate about it?” Xia Mian burst out laughing. “Didn’t you say it yourself? Your life is mine too.”
With that, she lunged at him.
Ning Shaobai dodged agilely, and the two of them started chasing each other.
But the room wasn’t big, and with all his concerns, Ning Shaobai eventually got cornered against the wall.
Xia Mian stood there, hands on her hips, laughing wildly. “Now let’s see where you run!”
Ning Shaobai looked at her and couldn’t help but chuckle. He relaxed and leaned back against the wall, spreading his arms. “Alright, I give up. Do what you want…. if you can.”
“Really?” Xia Mian narrowed her eyes with a wicked grin and stepped in slowly. Only two fists’ width separated them.
And that wasn’t even the end of it. She stared into Ning Shaobai’s eyes and leaned in even closer, as if about to kiss his neck. She only stopped when her face was nearly pressed against his chest.
There was no change in Ning Shaobai’s expression. He still looked completely relaxed, as if saying, ‘What can you do to me?’
Xia Mian suddenly laughed. “Dr. Ning, why aren’t you breathing?”
Ning Shaobai stiffened slightly, just as Xia Mian pressed her hand against his chest.
Feeling the rapid pounding of his heart under her palm, her eyes curved with mirth. “I knew it. Your face really cannot be trusted, huh? I actually thought you were calm.”
Ning Shaobai remained motionless, leaning against the wall. After a moment, he sighed and said, “I was wrong. Mercy, dear benefactor?”
Xia Mian couldn’t help laughing. Just when Ning Shaobai thought she was going to let him off, she suddenly moved to hug him.
Ning Shaobai quickly braced his hand against her shoulder. Xia Mian could feel the sudden spike in his heartbeat and chuckled. “Feeling the thrill, Dr. Ning?”
Ning Shaobai took a deep breath and sincerely advised, “Benefactor, let’s not burn all bridges, alright? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take revenge after this?”
He calculated. “It’s only about half a year away.”
Xia Mian tilted her head thoughtfully. “Even if I don’t treat you like this today, would you really let me off the hook later?”
Ning Shaobai smiled with innocent sincerity. “I would.”
Xia Mian’s smile was even more innocent than his. “I don’t believe you.”
“So, let’s just call this my revenge in advance!”
And so, relying on her invincibility buff, Xia Mian launched a merciless revenge campaign against Dr. Ning.
Of course, that’s what she said, but in reality, she didn’t get many chances to tease him. A high schooler’s life was simply too busy. Her weekend, which was one and a half days, was cut short to just one day in the third year, and that included time needed for homework.
Besides, Ning Shaobai was always highly alert, making it harder for Xia Mian to succeed.
So, when she finally got the chance, there was no way she was letting it go!
Just as she was about to pounce, Ning Shaobai quickly lifted Xiao Feng and said, “Xiao Feng’s tooth fell out!”
“Ah!” Xia Mian immediately forgot about anything else and bent down to look at the boy. “It finally came out?”
Xiao Feng’s front teeth had been wobbly since his seventh birthday, but they’d stubbornly stayed in place. He wasn’t too bothered by it—after all, he’d witnessed Chenchen’s whole chaotic tooth-losing process from start to finish.
Xia Mian still found Chenchen’s tooth incident funny. Back then, his front teeth had been loose for a long time but wouldn’t come out, and Chenchen kept fussing with them uncomfortably.
Aunt Wei brought out some thread and suggested Ning Shaoyun pull the tooth.
But Ning Shaoyun only managed to loop the thread around the tooth. Unable to go through with pulling it, she ended up passing the critical step to Zhou Xuewen.
Even though Zhou Xuewen had picked up a lot of domestic skills by then, this was his first time pulling a tooth, let alone his own son’s. The thread in his hand was like a grenade pin to him, and he looked even more nervous than Chenchen.
“What if I can’t pull it out?”
“Will it hurt?”
“Will it bleed? Should we prepare the first-aid kit?”
“Maybe we should just go to the hospital…”
Seeing his father so nervous weakened Chenchen’s resolve. Just as they were about to give up, Mao Huizhu—ever the fierce little tiger—suddenly yanked the thread without warning.
The tooth popped out. Everyone was stunned for a moment before they realized what had happened.
Aunt Wei still couldn’t stop laughing whenever she talked about it.
Xiao Feng, on the other hand, hadn’t even needed the thread—his fell out on its own.
“Open up. Let Auntie have a look.”
Xiao Feng obediently opened his mouth, showing his row of tiny millet-like teeth. His two front teeth were gone, leaving a big black gap. He even went “sss” on purpose, speaking with a heavy lisp to prove to Xia Mian that his tooth really had fallen out.
Mao Huizhu and Chenchen burst into loud laughter.
Mao Huizhu held onto Xiao Feng’s arm and coached him, “Xiao Feng, say ‘F’.”
Xiao Feng obediently gave it a try, and sure enough, it was all breath and no sound, completely airy and leaking.
Chenchen joined in the fun too. He had started losing teeth earlier in the year—his upper and lower front teeth were already gone, and now he was losing his canines, which gave a similar leaky effect.
So the two kids competed to see who could speak more airily, and after each round, they both broke into silly laughter.
Xia Mian couldn’t stop laughing while watching them.
Even during dinner, Mao Huizhu kept teasing Xiao Feng into talking. Xiao Feng was chewing on a mouthful of rice and tried to say “F” as instructed—and two grains of rice shot right out through the gap in his teeth and hit Mao Huizhu in the face.
Xiao Feng immediately covered his mouth, while Mao Huizhu was still a little stunned.
Xia Mian and Mao Huimei both started coughing from laughter, setting their bowls down as they choked. Mao Huilan straight-up spat out her food. She was sitting diagonally across from Mao Huizhu and sprayed rice all over the girl. Xiao Feng got hit with a few grains too.
Xia Wenyue had been about to say something, but when she saw her youngest daughter’s face covered in rice, all her words turned into uncontrollable laughter.
It was Mao Zhishan who finally brought over towels and helped wipe down the kids’ faces.
Xiao Feng kept his mouth tightly shut, afraid of spitting out more rice, but when he looked at Mao Huizhu, he couldn’t help but giggle.
Holding her belly and trying not to laugh, Xia Wenyue said to Mao Huizhu, “Let’s see if you dare tease Xiao Feng again.”
And just like that, Xia Mian’s last semester in high school passed by with Xiao Feng speaking in a leaky lisp. In the blink of an eye, she was about to take the college entrance exam.
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