Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 85.2 – Dr. Ning’s Tragic Crush (II)

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What on earth is this girl talking about?

The shock was so great that Ning Shaobai’s mind went blank for a moment. Seeing his bewildered expression, Xia Mian instantly filled in the blanks herself, mentally crafting a grand drama of love and hate between Ning Shaobai and Zhou Xuewen. No wonder the big boss had stayed single in the novel! Even by the time Chenchen was married with children, he’d never been in a relationship. It wasn’t societal judgment that kept him alone, no. Someone like Ning Shaobai would never be swayed by that.

The real reason was that he had fallen in love with someone he shouldn’t have…

All his strange behavior today suddenly made sense. At noon, he must have seen his sister holding hands with Zhou Xuewen…

So it wasn’t dissatisfaction with Zhou Xuewen that had soured his mood; it was longing unfulfilled…

Heavens, what a hopeless, desperate, tragic crush! And when she came in earlier, she’d even stabbed right into his bleeding heart!

“Stop.” Ning Shaobai saw the sorrowful, almost tearful look on Xia Mian’s face and felt his head buzzing.

“Xia Mian!” He clamped a hand around the back of the wretched girl’s neck, feeling his blood pressure spike. “Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

“Dr. Ning, brother, big brother—calm down, calm down!” Xia Mian was so startled she spoke without thinking. “This is a law-abiding society; you can’t just kill me to shut me up. I—I support you.”

Ning Shaobai gritted his teeth, “Support what? Support me strangling you?”

“T-that’s not okay,” Xia Mian stammered. “But you really need to calm down. Come on—deep breaths, deep breaths…”

Ning Shaobai exhaled deeply a few times, silently reminding himself: Hold it in. Hold it in. She’s the wife you chose—strangle her, and she’s gone.

“Calmed down yet?” Xia Mian quickly ran to the main room to fetch him a glass of water. “I—”

“Stop!” Ning Shaobai cut her off before he did something irreversible. Rubbing his temple, he spoke through gritted teeth, “Xia Mian, what on earth do you keep in that head of yours?”

“I’m sorry, I was wrong,” Xia Mian said in a small voice, feeling genuinely guilty. “I even rubbed salt into your wound.”

Ning Shaobai froze. His head throbbed—No, this is my fault, why on earth do I like such an infuriating creature?!

“Right now! Immediately! Throw out every ridiculous thought in your head!” In the end, he couldn’t hold back—he yanked her into an arm-lock around her neck and messed up her hair. “If you dare imagine such a messed-out thing again, I will strangle you to death!”

Xia Mian didn’t even bother to fix her hair. She turned slowly, trying to gauge his reaction, “You really don’t like Mr. Zh—”

“No!” Ning Shaobai felt his blood boil. He wasn’t sure he could hear the name “Zhou Xuewen” again anytime soon.

“Really?”

He grabbed her ear. “Ask again and see what happens.”

“Ow, ow, ow!” Xia Mian yelped. “I won’t ask, I won’t ask!”

With a snort, Ning Shaobai let her go. She quickly tidied her hair, sighing in relief. “That’s great, that’s great.”

If Ning Shaobai’s love life was troubled, that would be one thing. After uncovering such a secret, she could never face Ning Shaoyun again…

One look at her expression, and Ning Shaobai knew exactly what she was thinking. The urge to silence her rose again.

Xia Mian shrank her neck. “Well, you did get moody after I mentioned Sister Ning and Mr. Zhou—like you’d just had your heart broken…”

“Who’s heartbroken?”

Not even dating yet, and you’re already driving me crazy!

Seeing the dangerous look in Ning Shaobai’s eyes, Xia Mian realized she had genuinely misunderstood. She hurried forward, patting his back ingratiatingly to soothe him. “Dr. Ning, you’re magnanimous—don’t hold a grudge against a nobody like me. I was wrong.”

“Since it’s not a heartbreak, then what were you angry about earlier?”

Seeing the murderous glint return to Ning Shaobai’s eyes, Xia Mian quickly said, “I won’t ask, I won’t ask.”

Then she started in with her usual reasoning. “I was just fighting poison with poison.”

Ning Shaobai glanced at her sullenly, waiting for the nonsense she would spin this time.

Xia Mian said, “See, I used every trick I had and you still wouldn’t cheer up—so I had no choice, right?”

Ning Shaobai snorted coldly. “So I should be thanking you?”

“No need, no need,” she said ingratiatingly, handing him a glass of water. “How do you feel? Cooled off now? Compared to this big burst of anger, doesn’t your earlier anger seem like nothing?”

Rubbing his forehead, Ning Shaobai said, “Yes. I’ve been so angry at you, I’ve run out of anger—how could I have any left?”

His logic made Xia Mian burst into laughter. Ning Shaobai narrowed his eyes at her, and she sheepishly rubbed her nose before continuing to smooth things over. “I was wrong, I was wrong. I’ll never dare again—please forgive me, Dr. Ning…”

But the aftershocks of Xia Mian’s mental bombshell were too much. Just looking at her made Ning Shaobai’s head hurt. He leaned back in his chair and asked weakly, “What did you come to me for?”

Xia Mian decided not to make small talk. Patting his chest cautiously, she said, “I wanted to ask how much money I have with you.”

Ning Shaobai caught her wrist and sat up. “You need money?”

Xia Mian didn’t dare pull her hand back, so she relaxed her arm and let him hold it. “It’s not urgent. I just want to watch for opportunities to buy houses, so I need to know how much I have to work with.”

Ning Shaobai asked curiously, “Why do you need so many houses?”

“To wait for demolition compensation, of course. I’m going to be a teacher, so I’ll live off rental income. If I collect thirty houses and rent them out, I’ll have rent coming in every day.”

Ning Shaobai looked at her wordlessly. “That’s all you aspire to?”

Xia Mian’s eyes went wide. “That’s already pretty ambitious, okay!” She couldn’t compare herself to the big boss.

Ning Shaobai didn’t comment further, only saying, “I haven’t calculated exactly—it’ll take some time. Have you found a place already? When do you need the cash?”

“Not yet, no rush.” Xia Mian waved her hand. “I can wait until I get back from my hometown.”

Ning Shaobai paused. “You’re going back?”

“Mm. Taking Xiao Feng for a visit to clean my sister’s grave. We also need to show our faces to my eldest uncle’s family. We took a big gamble leaving home, and they’ve been worried about us ever since.”

She then sighed. “How long does it take to get a driver’s license? Could I do it in a week?”

Ning Shaobai asked, “Why do you suddenly want to get a license?”

“Because I don’t want to take the train.” Xia Mian’s face turned bitter. The green trains of this era were simply too terrible, she found herself longing for high-speed rail again. Driving would be tiring, but still better than the train.

“You know the roads?” Ning Shaobai asked.

Oh, right—in this era, drivers have to rely on paper maps and memory.

Now I also miss GPS!

Ning Shaobai quietly noted her expression. Expecting house prices to rise was one thing, but going out without a driver? What would she rely on?

The slender wrist in his hand twitched, pulling him out of his thoughts. He loosened his grip, and the lingering delicate sensation in his palm finally calmed him down.

Xia Mian hesitated, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Dr. Ning, do you have someone you like? Who is it?”

Ning Shaobai stared at her as if she were his mortal enemy and ground out three words through clenched teeth: “I like you.”

“Sorry, my bad!” Xia Mian yelped, bolting away in a flash.

Ning Shaobai: “…”