After Transmigrating As The Mother Of The Pitiful Female Supporting Character in a Campus Novel - Chapter 38

The fact that President Xia had poor sleep was not a secret in the business world. After all, people who don’t sleep well tend to have bad tempers. This was especially true given the vivid rumors about her innate character flaws; everyone brought forward “evidence” to prove that the Xia parents neglected this younger daughter specifically because of her personality defects.

“I heard that when President Xia was born, a wandering fortune-teller knocked on the Xia family’s door and said she was born missing a soul and a spirit. The parts governing the ability to love and joy weren’t in her body; she was a natural-born cold-blooded seed. That’s why the Xia parents don’t care about their younger daughter.”

“That’s not it. I heard the younger daughter was adopted, and they weren’t told she had mental issues before the adoption. Who knew the eldest daughter would die in childbirth? The old couple didn’t want the family fortune to go to outsiders, so they could only grit their teeth and push the younger daughter forward. But she was unruly, so the old couple couldn’t be bothered to stay in the country—it was too distressing to look at her.”

There were too many such rumors. Even if Xia Shibai wanted to clarify things, she didn’t know where to start. Her poor relationship with her parents was due to her sister’s death; to a certain extent, they were to blame.

If they hadn’t forced her to marry and have a child, perhaps the subsequent events wouldn’t have happened. As for her sister falling for a scumbag, that was another matter entirely.

The outside world thought President Xia was cold, aloof, and only cared about business.

Every time Xia Shibai heard Yao Yao report this to her, her mind was full of question marks. “If I don’t talk business with them, am I supposed to talk about feelings? Their planning proposals are a mess, and they expect me to give them a pleasant face? Is my time not money? If the money I invest is wasted, am I just supposed to take it?”

As for being naturally cold, President Xia was born not liking to be close to others. With her elder sister passing away unexpectedly, her parents becoming distant and resentful, plus long-term poor sleep quality, it would be a miracle if she had a good temper.

There were many reasons why President Xia ignored Xia Yaozhou, who was left in the Xia residence. The most important point was that when she looked at Xia Yaozhou’s face, she would be reminded of that scumbag who had fled abroad to live a carefree life. It was hard to convince herself to set aside her prejudice and accept such a child.

Incense smoke coiled and lingered in the air above the temple for a long time.

President Xia knelt on a futon, eyes closed, shaking the fortune sticks. She didn’t care much for the commentary on the stick that fell to the ground, but when she saw it was a “Lowest Grade” (extreme bad luck) stick, she couldn’t help but frown.

What had she just prayed for?

A “Lowest Grade” stick…

The stick cylinder was placed back in its spot.

President Xia didn’t even bother to look at the verdict on the stick; she walked straight to the recycling box, intending to throw it back in.

She had never believed in ghosts, gods, or supernatural tales.

“Since the benefactor has drawn it and bowed, why not try to have it interpreted? See when you might break through the predicament.” The monk guarding the sticks looked at President Xia peacefully and spoke calmly, as if merely offering a suggestion without any other motive.

“No need, I don’t really believe in these things.” President Xia tossed the stick back into the box and left the smoke-filled main hall. Once outside, she could clearly feel the comfort of the high oxygen levels.

She looked around the temple; everyone was devoutly praying for something. Only she stood among them like a mere passerby.

Yao Yao had been picking out safety amulets. Catching a glimpse of her boss coming out of the main hall, she didn’t dare delay for a second. She randomly pointed at a few amulets with intact packaging, paid the money, walked quickly, and handed two to her boss.

“Why did you buy so many?”

“Shao Qing and the others were clamoring in the group chat for me to buy some, saying these are quite effective.” Yao Yao pushed the amulets toward Xia Shibai. “Are you going back to the Xia residence later? Perfect, help me give this to Zhouzhou.”

“Probably…” President Xia knit her brows slightly as she looked at Yao Yao. “She hasn’t caused any trouble lately, has she?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t received any complaint calls or texts from the teachers lately.”

As Yao Yao spoke, she pulled another phone out of her bag. This was her personal/life phone, kept on twenty-four hours a day. To avoid incidents like the Auntie Lin situation, the contact info she gave Big Yaozhou was for this phone.

Upon taking it out, Yao Yao realized the phone was on silent. There were many missed calls and message notifications. Seeing that the calls had regional codes, she didn’t want to call back blindly. Yao Yao hesitated and jumped to the message interface, finding the messages Big Yaozhou had left for her.

The beginning mentioned being kidnapped and being in the hospital now.

Yao Yao: “…?!”

“Boss…” Yao Yao pondered for a moment and seriously stuffed one more safety amulet into President Xia’s hand.

President Xia: “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to tell you, but don’t panic first. If you’re really worried, buy two more amulets.” Yao Yao felt that Big Yaozhou was somewhat cursed with bad luck; otherwise, it really wouldn’t have come to this. The security configuration of that neighborhood was already very strict—how could incidents keep happening one after another?

Even though Yao Yao had given President Xia a heads-up, it still didn’t stop President Xia from sprinting down the mountain.

Sometimes, Yao Yao couldn’t understand—”What exactly is the cold-hearted President Xia’s attitude toward Xia Yaozhou? It’s impossible to figure out.”

President Chen, who had been praying hard before the gods for the success of this cooperation, drew a “Top Grade” (extreme good luck) stick. He spent 50 yuan in a frenzy of joy to have a monk interpret it, but when he came out, there was no sign of President Xia.

When he asked Yao Yao, she only gave a light smile: “President Xia has her own important itinerary and cannot disclose it.”

President Chen: “…” So in the end, my business just isn’t important.

Finished.

When Xia Yaozhou woke up, she instinctively reached out to feel her surroundings. Her nose twitched; she didn’t smell the disinfectant of the hospital, nor did she feel the stiff bedding. Opening her eyes, she saw the familiar ceiling.

Except for her eyes being a bit hard to open and the soles of her feet hurting, she didn’t seem to have any other problems.

“Mommy…” Xia Yaozhou wiggled her head out of the blanket. Before she could brush away the stray hairs on her face, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

“Awake?”

“Mhmm.” Xia Yaozhou rubbed her eyes, resting one hand on Xia Shibai’s shoulder. Looking at her mother, who was clearly younger than the Auntie Qin in her dream, she still felt a vague sense of worry. It wasn’t until Xia Shibai carried her down to the dining table, where familiar restaurant takeout was laid out, that Xia Yaozhou felt at ease letting Xia Shibai wipe her hands.

Xia Yaozhou gripped the edge of the bowl with her hands, stuffing rice into her mouth spoonful by spoonful, letting out an uncontrollable “Ow.”

“Did you not eat in your dream this time?” Xia Shibai helped tuck the stray hairs behind her ear to prevent them from falling into the food.

Last time Xia Yaozhou woke up, she rambled for days about the late-night snack Big Yaozhou gave her. After Xia Shibai rejected her on the grounds of her being too young, the child even clamored to take money to find Big Yaozhou for a meal.

“No!” Xia Yaozhou automatically omitted her full afternoon tea, aggrievedly sticking out the foot that had been injured in the dream for her mother to see. She told Xia Shibai what she had experienced. “It hurt so much in the dream. Auntie Qin was lying on the hospital bed, looking so pitiful.”

Xia Shibai had been listening seriously to the little cub’s story, wondering how Dr. Qin ten-plus years in the future had acquired a hobby of growing flowers, when she hadn’t even been interested when asked to pick two pots for her room that day.

Before she could recover, she heard about the kidnapping. The more she listened, the darker her expression became. She reached out to squeeze Xia Yaozhou’s fleshy sole, finding no residual scars. However, even with a light press, Xia Yaozhou would wince and pull back, swatting Xia Shibai’s hand and crying out “It hurts.”

“Alright, alright, keep eating.” Xia Shibai was a bit worried that Xia Yaozhou couldn’t distinguish between reality and the “dream,” thus feeling the pain of being “truly” injured.

But then she thought about how these magical things could happen. It was possible Xia Yaozhou’s feelings were real. Compared to abstract things like the soul, text, drawings, pain, and physical objects were easier to pass down accurately.

Xia Shibai thought for a moment and asked, “The note Mommy gave you last time, did you give it to Big Sister?”

“Yes, but Big Sister only answered the questions related to Auntie Lin.” Xia Yaozhou reported the original words. As for Big Yaozhou’s attitude toward the subsequent questions, Xia Yaozhou silently put down her spoon, stood up from the child’s dining chair, turned slightly, and pointed at the front door with great momentum.

Xia Yaozhou shouted “Get out!” and then sat back down with Xia Shibai’s help. “Big Sister had this attitude!”

“…” Xia Shibai raised an eyebrow slightly, staring at the little ball for a long time. “Then… is that Auntie Qin okay?”

“Big Sister said she’s fine. Auntie Qin is just tired and needs good rest; she’ll wake up after a while.”

“Okay.” Xia Shibai relaxed a little. “As long as she’s fine.”

As for who the perpetrator was, Xia Shibai had already speculated from Xia Yaozhou’s snippets of information. Ten-plus years later, Auntie Lin’s grandson would only be in his teens, yet he already dared to go this far—kidnapping an outsider and breaking in to kill. Her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

Then Xia Shibai thought about the case summary of that family’s “toxic internals,” and it felt normal again.

It seemed she really had to find someone to give him a good “lesson” from time to time. Otherwise, if he went down the wrong path at such a young age, he would end up harming his second aunt (by marriage) later. Xia Shibai’s cooperation with the second aunt was indeed intended to wear him down, but she didn’t want to throw a lamb to the slaughter or let such a bold little pervert do evil things beyond common human sense.

Xia Shibai made a silent decision and had her bodyguard look for children around the same age as the chubby kid in that area. “As soon as he gets a crooked thought, give him a good education. After that, put him on the high-priority watch list.”

Looking at Xia Yaozhou eating happily and seriously, Xia Shibai couldn’t help but feel fortunate that her first time crossing over was at the right time, changing Big Yaozhou’s fate. Otherwise, that night, that teenage perpetrator who dared to play with knives might have stabbed Big Yaozhou to death at home.

So, it was very likely that in that world, Big Yaozhou’s story would have stopped right there.

She would never have had the chance to move forward.

Xia Shibai suddenly thought of something, hurriedly stood up from her seat, told Xia Yaozhou to eat well, and walked quickly outside to find Qin Zhijin living next door.

Dr. Qin was looking at mint in the garden, wanting to pick a few leaves to soak in sugar water. Just as she stood up and walked a few steps around the mint bush, she saw Xia Shibai come out from the house next door, prop her hands on the railing (which offered little protection), and vault over from the side.

Qin Zhijin: “?”

Although I know this railing is a decoration, please give it some corresponding dignity.

“Why the sudden change from the front door to vaulting the railing?”

“Does your lower back hurt?” Xia Shibai reached out and lightly touched Qin Zhijin’s lower back, one hand gripping her arm to hold her in place, not letting her move.

With the sensitive spot on her lower back being lightly touched back and forth, Qin Zhijin instinctively wanted to dodge to the side, but she couldn’t escape completely—it only caused the range of Xia Shibai’s exploration on her back to widen.

The knuckles of Qin Zhijin’s tightly gripped hand curved slightly. she turned her head to look at the person standing behind her with a serious face. “It doesn’t hurt. No problem at all…”

“Why would you think my back would hurt?”

Xia Shibai looked at the Qin Zhijin standing before her with a puzzled frown, beginning to doubt if her guess was wrong again—could it really be that Zhouzhou confused reality with the dream?

Aside from this explanation, Xia Shibai couldn’t find a more suitable reason to explain the situation.

“Nothing, just…” Xia Shibai bit her lip, lamenting her impulsiveness which led to her now having to find various excuses to cover this up.

Xia Shibai made up a ridiculous excuse. Just looking at Qin Zhijin’s slightly tilted head, she knew the person before her didn’t believe a word of it.

Since Xia Shibai was unwilling to talk, Dr. Qin was happy to pretend she didn’t know, conveniently picking the well-grown mint leaves into her arms and telling Xia Shibai to bring Xia Yaozhou over to her house for dinner later.

“Today? I probably can’t make it today.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Today is the day the final cast list and the teaser for that variety show are confirmed. I have to rush to the company for a meeting.” Xia Shibai wanted to leave Xia Yaozhou with Qin Zhijin, but the thought of how long Xia Yaozhou had slept made her realize the child’s energy would likely be abundant today—put her anywhere, and she could dig a hundred-meter hole.

Throwing her to Qin Zhijin might cause the currently fine Dr. Qin to fall ill.

Thinking this, Xia Shibai rejected Qin Zhijin. While rejecting her, she felt guilty in her heart, cautiously observing Qin Zhijin’s expression.

Even if the other person wasn’t angry or frowning, Xia Shibai still wanted to take back the words she had already spoken.

Little President Xia indeed had no decisions she regretted.

But as the time spent with Dr. Qin continued to grow, she actually began to hesitate over every decision she made, especially when facing Dr. Qin.

“Okay. Be safe on the road, go and come back early.”

Qin Zhijin didn’t think nearly as much as Xia Shibai. After a moment’s hesitation, she waved her hand and kicked her slippers off by the steps at the entrance to avoid bringing mud into the house.

Her fair, beautiful feet landed on the marble tiles. Holding a handful of mint, she looked like she had just returned from a walk in the fields, yet her calm and noble aura was completely out of place with a rural scene.

Like a gentle breeze, impossible to catch.

Xia Shibai’s mind unconsciously recalled the woman in the qipao holding an umbrella on that rainy night again. From top to bottom, she became increasingly distant.

“Ding-ling-ling—”

Xia Shibai seemed to hear an unusual ringing sound from the rainy night. She tried hard to remember if there was anything on the woman she saw that day that could make a noise.

Finally, she was jolted awake from her fantasy.

The series of rings was just a neighborhood child ringing a bicycle bell. Xia Shibai shook her head and looked up at Qin Zhijin, who was standing on the steps looking back at her.

“Why are you still standing there?” Xia Shibai gave a soft tsk. “Standing barefoot on marble, aren’t you afraid of the cold?”

“Autumn isn’t even over yet, how could it be cold?” Qin Zhijin dismissed it. “What are you thinking about?”

Hearing this, the tips of Xia Shibai’s ears turned slightly red. She hurriedly waved her hand, turned, walked quickly, and vaulted back over the railing to her own home, leaving Qin Zhijin’s second question unanswered.

After all…

Xia Shibai couldn’t exactly say she was thinking about a woman who looked a lot like her but appeared completely different, just to know if she had a beautiful ornament on her ankle.

A jingling ornament.

Qin Zhijin watched Xia Shibai’s almost fleeing back and pursed her lips in a light smile, gently shaking the mint in her hand. Her mood brightened quite a bit.

She didn’t know what the “blockhead” was thinking, but for a blockhead with expensive long legs to run so fast—there must be something fishy.

There were only two of them here. If Xia Shibai were thinking of other things, she would have said so openly when asked.

The answer that couldn’t be said was obvious what she was thinking about.

Gu Mingyi, sitting on the sofa and talking to her mother on the phone, caught a glimpse of Qin Zhijin’s pleasant expression and couldn’t help but look twice with curiosity.

It wasn’t until Song Ling called her name several times from the other side that Gu Mingyi focused back on the video call.

“Baby, things on Mommy’s end aren’t resolved yet. You might have to spend this year there with your Godmother.” Song Ling looked at Gu Mingyi apologetically.

Initially, she had planned well and wasn’t stingy with money, hiring a lawyer at a high price. Seeing that the lawyer hired by Gu Chen was so easy to talk to, she and her lawyer thought the divorce and custody battle would end quickly.

Who knew the other side’s behavior was all bullsh*t. Gu Chen intended to fight her in court to the very end.

The “easy-to-talk-to” demeanor at the beginning was only because Gu Chen’s initial attitude was ambiguous, and the lawyer couldn’t grasp the client’s intentions.

Once Gu Chen gave the order, wouldn’t the lawyer take the money and strike wherever told?

Gu Mingyi didn’t care if she had to keep living with Qin Zhijin. She nodded sensibly. “Then Mommy needs to take care of her health abroad. I’m doing quite well here; Godmother’s cooking is delicious.”

Hearing this, Song Ling was stunned for a moment. She opened her mouth, but the sentimental words she wanted to say got stuck and she couldn’t get them out.

Clearly, Gu Mingyi living by Qin Zhijin’s side was better than being with her.

Qin Zhijin was currently on unpaid leave. She had to wait for that matter to settle down and be unaffected before she could be recalled to her position. She had plenty of time every day to accompany Gu Mingyi everywhere. They even had a variety show coming up soon specifically for taking kids out to play.

And what about herself? Song Ling looked up at her private apartment. Although there was an hourly worker who came to clean, everything she ate and drank was the simplest boiled vegetables.

She had zero survival skills herself; Gu Mingyi coming to the US to follow her would just be suffering.

Gu Mingyi keenly noticed the change in her mother’s emotions and took the initiative to steer the conversation, telling her about going to the Lan Sui building sweep with Xia Yaozhou. She repeated all the small legal safety tips she had heard at the lecture to Song Ling.

Qin Zhijin walked out of the kitchen carrying sweet water, filled a small pot for Gu Mingyi, and placed it lightly on the table without interrupting the mother-daughter chat.

But she couldn’t help but sigh—if Song Ling and Gu Mingyi’s roles were reversed, there wouldn’t even be a debate.

The variety show’s plans were modified again and again. As for the teaser Xia Shibai and the others filmed first, it had been edited into something spectacular by the program team. They were just waiting for today’s meeting to be finalized so they could find a good time to release the official announcement and teaser and start preparing other things.

“So in the end, it’s confirmed to be four families?” Xia Shibai sat in front of the computer, a pen spinning lightly between her fingers. “Isn’t that a bit too few?”

“Four groups is just right. Otherwise, it’s too complicated, and with too many people, it’s hard to manage the correct operation of rules between each group.”

“Fair enough. Are the final candidates confirmed?”

Yao Yao hurriedly said, “Confirmed. I’ve already sent them to you on WeChat.”

“Besides the two groups with you and Dr. Qin, there’s also President Sheng and her daughter, plus the rising starlet from Xingkong Pictures; she’s bringing her younger sister.”

“She’s already working, so her sister shouldn’t be that young, right? Isn’t this a variety show about taking kids out to play?” Xia Shibai was stunned for a moment and then asked, “Which one is President Sheng?”

“There’s an eighteen-year gap. Her sister is a second child born during the second-child wave a few years ago.” Yao Yao left it at that to avoid gossiping too much in the meeting. “Sheng Liu, President Sheng. You’ve seen her child; she often brings her to the office to work.”

Xia Shibai tried hard to pull some memories from the original host’s mind and finally found the name and appearance of Sheng Liu’s daughter in a dusty corner.

“Sheng… Huaixing?”

“Sheng Huaixing?!”

The moment the name came out, Xia Shibai’s back slammed away from the office chair backrest. Her brain was like a machine with a jammed key part, failing to function.

Sheng Huaixing…

Isn’t that the female lead of the book she read? That straight-A student eldest miss?

No, no, no? Why is there such a layer of connection between them? Xia Shibai had never seen this described in the novel; it didn’t even say there was a relationship between the Sheng family and Lan Sui.

The novel only said the status of the Sheng family and Lan Sui was comparable—the two families were equally matched.

“Yes, President Sheng’s daughter is named Sheng Huaixing. Little President Xia? Is there a problem?”

Xia Shibai likely realized her gaffe, cleared her throat, and held a fist to her lips. “Didn’t we say to consider artists first? Now this show has four families: two company executives, one commoner, and one artist who isn’t very famous…”

No matter how she looked at it, it felt like a recipe for a flop.

“Let’s not give people something to talk about later, saying we intentionally arranged it this way just for a company-funded vacation.”

Everyone in the online meeting room: “…”

Don’t dare speak, truly don’t dare speak.

But Little President Xia, do you dare say you didn’t think that from the beginning?

Yao Yao said, “President Sheng didn’t agree before, but later her mother put pressure on her, so she agreed. Chairman Sheng also had a friendly chat with us, feeling that our show is very educational. Plus, with you being there, he hopes President Sheng can learn from Little President Xia how to manage both family and career.”

Yao Yao emphasized every word of the last sentence heavily, highlighting that this matter really wasn’t decided by them, but by the upper management, and they had no choice.

“That is indeed quite troublesome.”

Just listening to the sarcastic tone, Xia Shibai knew Sheng Liu’s mother was also not an easy person to deal with.

Helplessly, Xia Shibai could only compromise with this lineup. She didn’t even want to spend much effort on promotion. If they could get good results and chemistry after filming the first episode, it would truly be a blessing from God.

Once Xia Shibai tapped the table to confirm things, her subordinates quickly got busy with their respective tasks.

After exiting the meeting room, her head was full of nothing but the “female lead” from the original work who had suddenly appeared.

Even if the female lead was young, she was still the female lead.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xia Shibai decided she had to thoroughly brainwash Xia Yaozhou during this period—”Stay far away from anyone with ‘Sheng’, ‘Huai’, or ‘Xing’ in their name!”

Don’t even stand next to her!

To prevent bad luck.

Author’s Note:

Xia Shibai: Stay far away from anyone with “Sheng,” “Huai,” or “Xing” in their name!

Sheng Huaixing (0.0): Auntie Xia, why don’t you just say my name?