After Transmigrating As The Mother Of The Pitiful Female Supporting Character in a Campus Novel - Chapter 42.2

After she touched the envelope, the staff suddenly spoke: “Actually, we have one more small question that will be taken into consideration for the grouping. President Sheng, would you like to answer it?”

“What question?”

“Among the four families, who are you more inclined to have as a teammate?”

Sheng Liu paused. Playing with the envelope in her hand, the first face that appeared in her mind was Xia Shibai’s expressionless, frowning face during meetings.

She and Xia Shibai had entered Lan Sui one after the other. At that time, something had happened to the Xia family, which significantly affected Lan Sui’s stock price. Other shareholders were watching from the sidelines, wanting to see how the Xia family would resolve the crisis; if they couldn’t, they would push someone they trusted into the position of CEO.

After all, the elder President Xia was semi-paralyzed and couldn’t return to take charge.

At that time, Sheng Liu was still applying for schools to study abroad. During meals, she occasionally heard her eldest sister mention that the Xia family’s youngest daughter had stepped forward to take over the company.

At the dinner table, Sheng’s mother didn’t have a good evaluation of Xia Shibai. Sheng Liu, who always thought her mother was a bit eccentric, only remembered one sentence—”A person destined for misfortune cannot break the deadlock no matter what they do.”

Sheng Liu thought at the time that this sentence was an evaluation of Xia Shibai’s work ability. She felt regret in her heart that Lan Sui might go downhill for a year or two. Who knew that after she went abroad for her master’s degree, Xia Shibai would instead shoulder Lan Sui all by herself.

After Sheng Liu entered the company, although it was painful to clock in for work every day doing a job completely unrelated to her major, she could still feel that Lan Sui was more professional than before. Everyone performed their duties, and efficiency was very high.

It was just that Xia Shibai always had a cold face. If a data point in a report was wrong, she didn’t even need to speak—she would just press her pen once, and the person reporting would tremblingly say they had calculated it wrong and would send a correct copy to the Little President Xia later.

“If I want to win, I’ll definitely choose Xia Shibai,” Sheng Liu said firmly. “She is very capable, has a strong desire to win, and she only pushes herself, not others.”

After all, the person with the highest overtime hours in Lan Sui over the past few years was the CEO, Little President Xia. Meanwhile, the people in the CEO’s secretary office didn’t work overtime often; many times, Xia Shibai would even help them finish the work they needed to handle.

Whether as a boss or a teammate, as long as you could withstand the psychological pressure, Xia Shibai would only be a great help.

The staff member was stunned, seemingly not expecting Sheng Liu to give this answer. “Can you give a reason?”

After all, there were often rumors in the company that Sheng Liu and Xia Shibai were at odds.

—After all, if Little President Xia hadn’t stepped up to take the shares and take charge back then, the current CEO would be President Sheng. Who wants to be a subordinate and take orders? They aren’t fools.

“No specific reason. To win, just pick Xia Shibai. She is very strong.”

Sheng Liu, who was always a “salted fish” (laid back), clearly didn’t know what her company employees were imagining in private. For her, what mattered was when she could break away from the company and lie at home.

The same question was asked to Jin Minxi, and her answer was the same.

“Pick Little President Xia,” Jin Minxi analyzed one by one. “I’m not very familiar with Qin Zhijin or President Sheng, but Xingkong Pictures was acquired specifically because Little President Xia named it. I’ve met her and had a meal with her; it’s definitely better to pick her.”

Finally, Jin Minxi asked, “So does asking this question mean I’ve been drawn into a team with Little President Xia?”

The staff member tried hard to make their expression not look so stiff. “…”

“Guess.”

Jin Minxi: “I don’t want to guess.”

She pulled a piece of unopened medical tape from her pocket. “I have another piece of medical tape in my hand.”

This job truly couldn’t be done for even one more day!

After all four interviews were finished, they were led through the VIP channel to check-in. When passing through the boarding gate, Jin Minna kicked the corner of Jin Minxi’s clothes, constantly fussing to be let down.

Jin Minna’s manager was worried about passersby calling the police, so the medical tape had been removed. Who knew that as soon as Jin Minna reached a crowded place, she would start making a scene again.

The second she started wailing, Jin Minxi quickly stuffed the balled-up silk scarf into Jin Minna’s arms, then used the “toddler leash” she carried to tie Jin Minna’s hands and feet. Holding the rope in both hands, she prepared to board the plane.

At this moment, the electronic advertising screen next to the plane suddenly made a sound: “When the flowers bloom, you come to see me…”

Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn over.

The electronic advertising screen was displaying the promotional video that the program’s promotion team had spent less than ten minutes editing.

As the sound rang out, even the program team people were startled.

Almost everyone who saw the video “cracked.” Qin Zhijin looked at the bright red screen and felt her eyes go dark.

She learned for the first time that a doctor could actually be faint at the sight of blood.

Xia Shibai turned her head to look at the staff standing nearby, only to find them shaking their heads frantically, indicating this had nothing to do with them.

Just as everyone was being struck in the heart and soul by this tacky video, a even tackier support video emerged from behind—”Jin Minxi will definitely be ‘red enough to turn purple’ (very famous)! Wishing Jin Minxi a successful recording of the new variety show!”

Jin Minxi: “…”

She tremblingly glanced at President Sheng and Little President Xia, who were implicated by her. She felt that both of their expressions were not very good, and a sense of desolation involuntarily welled up in her heart.

Could this be her last activity before she ended up “picking her feet” (unemployed) at home?

Sheng Liu was silent for a moment, her brow furrowed. “It’s… quite creative?”

It almost “crashed” her to death.

Xia Shibai pushed Qin Zhijin in front of her, isolating and shielding her from the passengers nearby who still had to wait a while to board.

Xia Shibai: “If all else fails, let’s sign the promotion team up for a class to learn. It’s true we want to ‘sink into the market,’ but not so deep that we’re merging with the aunts and uncles.”

“It’s too avant-garde.”

“Okay… we definitely will.”

Qin Zhijin, who was “charred on the outside and tender on the inside” from the shock of the video, covered her face and boarded the plane quickly. By the time she found her seat, her face was already burning red.

The two children sat together to make it easier for them to play.

Xia Shibai and Qin Zhijin sat in the row next to them. Once the people in first class were all present, the flight attendant pulled the curtain shut, separating the front and back cabins.

Qin Zhijin recalled the video from just now, and the redness on her face still hadn’t faded; instead, it grew even more intense.

A flight attendant appeared nearby and thoughtfully asked if she needed something to cool down.

Qin Zhijin: “…”

It wasn’t a question of cooling down or not; it was whether someone could delete that memory from her mind. It was truly too terrifying.

Xia Shibai declined the flight attendant, asking instead for blankets, neck pillows, and eye masks.

Soon the flight attendant pushed the items over and even gave them specially made toys.

Sheng Huaixing looked at the plush toy in her hand and happily held it up for Sheng Liu to see. “Mommy, it’s a panda.”

“Mm-hmm, it’s a panda.” Sheng Liu placed her phone in front of Sheng Huaixing and said softly, “Does Luna want to talk to Mama?”

Luna, who was happy holding the plush toy earlier, lost her smile. She lowered her eyes, looking somewhat afraid. She pursed her lips and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, leaning in toward Sheng Liu and whispering: “But Mama is still angry; she won’t like me calling at this time.”

“She won’t…” Sheng Liu really wanted to give Sheng Huaixing a definitive answer, but at the thought that the core of the argument with her spouse was about Sheng Huaixing, she pulled the phone back uncertainly.

Sheng Liu knew how big her wife’s temper was. It was possible she would humiliate her directly in front of the live room, or even not answer the phone and block her.

After all, this had happened more than once.

Sheng Huaixing bit her lip hard, her hands uneasily squeezing her plush toy. Seeing Sheng Liu sigh softly, she whispered: “If Mommy wants me to call, I can call Mama.”

“No need, you go ahead and play.” Sheng Liu shook her head with a smile, reached out to pinch the plush toy in Sheng Huaixing’s hands, and chuckled: “This toy is quite well-made. It even has a little flower; it’s very cute, just like Luna.”

“Yeah, cute and soft.”

Compared to the motherly love and daughterly piety on Sheng Liu’s side, Jin Minxi was truly about to lose her self-control and throw Jin Minna off the plane. It could only be said that human reason made Jin Minxi stop her hand.

Jin Minxi untied the rope and warned her over and over again. Finally, seeing Jin Minna imitating her own mother and scolding her, even stuttering out, “Once I become a big star, I won’t need you to support the family. You can just cook and wash dishes at home,” Jin Minxi instantly felt her temper was too good. She was too lazy to talk to her; treating Jin Minna as she had in the lounge, she even asked the stunned flight attendant for an eye mask. “I have two neck pillows and blankets here too.”

The eye mask covered Jin Minna’s eyes, and the blanket covered her. Out of sight, out of mind.

Jin Minxi instantly felt the world went quiet. She opened an offline novel she had bought long ago and started reading. She no longer cared if her reputation would plummet after appearing in this variety show.

When faced with a sister like this, no matter how much money she earned, it was just to fill the holes in this broken home.

Instead of that, she might as well take the money and be happy and free. Once this recording was over, she would immediately go to another province to buy a house, move away, and not stay for even one second longer.

Compared to the chaos in the back two groups, the ones sitting in front were noticeably quieter.

The tablet in business class was playing cartoons. Xia Yaozhou held the drink the flight attendant poured for her, wrapped in a small blanket, and rested her feet comfortably. Occasionally remembering something, she would turn to look at the two adults sitting beside her.

She found that Xia Shibai was still awake, her eyes fixed on the tablet playing a movie, though it was unclear how much she was actually taking in.

Qin Zhijin, sitting next to Xia Shibai, had gone through a lot of commotion and had woken up early this morning. She was already forcing herself to stay spirited in the lounge; after the shock at the boarding gate earlier, she was now exhausted to the extreme.

Putting on the eye mask, the world went dark, and she began to feel drowsy. Not long after sitting down, she leaned against her neck pillow, prepared to sleep.

Just as she moved, the hand resting on the armrest was gently squeezed.

Qin Zhijin’s eyelashes flickered, but she didn’t move; her hand remained relaxed on the armrest.

A second later, it was gently squeezed again.

Qin Zhijin was about to reach out and take off the eye mask to ask Xia Shibai if she needed something—otherwise, why keep squeezing her finger? She had just raised her hand and hadn’t moved when Xia Shibai spoke.

“I told you you’d be sleepy. Sleeping like this isn’t comfortable. How about I lend you my shoulder to lean on?”

Qin Zhijin’s hand pinched the edge of the eye mask.

The air conditioning in business class was very strong, making one feel a bit cold, but Qin Zhijin felt that familiar warm temperature rising to her face again. The movement to take off her eye mask was now frozen mid-air.

The soft touch on her fingertip didn’t disappear. Qin Zhijin could even feel the gaze of the person sitting beside her.

Qin Zhijin pursed her lips slightly and turned her head a little, lowering the hand that wanted to remove the eye mask. “I can’t see right now; how do I lean?”

Xia Shibai understandingly guided the person to lean on her shoulder. To make Qin Zhijin more comfortable, she sat up straight. “Sleep. I’ll call you when we arrive.”

Their flight time this trip was over three hours—enough for a long sleep.

Qin Zhijin gave a soft hum. Much of the pressure on her previously heavy head and neck was now distributed. The fingertips on the armrest were still being lightly squeezed.

Previously she was quite sleepy, but with her finger pads being squeezed every now and then, who could actually sleep?

Yet she couldn’t sit up—wouldn’t the shoulder she had finally leaned on be for nothing? Regardless, the damage brought by that tacky video had to be wiped clean.

Xia Shibai, however, was thinking about something else—”If Qin Zhijin doesn’t like flowers, the first time I bought flowers could be considered an apology, and she accepted. But why did she also accept the second, third, fourth… times I bought flowers?”

If she didn’t like them but was willing to accept fresh flowers and fill the whole house with them, what did it mean?

Given Qin Zhijin’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t settle; if she didn’t like or wasn’t happy about something, she would say it directly. If she didn’t like flowers, being sent them one after another like that, one of those times surely would have been rejected outright.

It couldn’t be that she accepted them just for the sake of the two children who also liked flowers, right?

Thinking of this, “Little President Xia” couldn’t help but feel a bit sour. she reached out, picked up her drink, and took a sip.

Even more sour. The drink was so sour.

Thinking of the children, Xia Shibai remembered she had a “cheap daughter.” Just as she turned to look, she found the two little rascals peeking their heads over, looking at the two of them with curiosity.

Mother and daughter’s gazes met. Xia Yaozhou mischievously placed her pillow on the armrest, her body delicately resting on it. She blinked at Xia Shibai and waved at Gu Mingyi, asking her to lie on the armrest with her.

The seatbelts couldn’t completely restrain the two children; sitting in their seats was no different from being in bed.

Xia Shibai: “…”

Her fists tightened; she wanted to hit the kids.

With these two bratty children, whoever wanted them could take them.

Dr. Qin definitely couldn’t be willing to accept her flowers just because of these two stinky kids.

Xia Shibai nodded with certainty; it must be because the flowers she chose were all very beautiful!

A flight attendant standing at the front preparing to distribute snacks witnessed the whole scene. It was a bit strange—strange in a “ship-worthy” way.

Jin Minxi’s initial public opinion was indeed very poor. A large portion of people were saying what kind of sister she was, how could she treat a child almost four years old like that? Some even said that it was no wonder Jin Minxi’s parents wanted to have a second child; with a personality like hers, they might as well discard the “main account” and train a new one.

“Please, when Jin Minna was born, Jin Minxi had just become an adult. A sister with an eighteen-year age gap—who could accept that? Originally an only child, you come home after the college entrance exam to find an extra ‘burden’; not throwing her out is already giving the parents face.”

“Very speechless. It couldn’t be that they wanted to have a son, right?”

“She mentioned in a previous interview that her mother was a teacher. Looking back at that era, it was indeed impossible to have a second child; she would lose her job. Hmm, looking at it this way, they were really chasing a ‘precious boy’.”

“Don’t maliciously speculate about people’s families, okay? After the second-child policy opened up, a whole bunch of people had second children. Can’t you allow that they just really like kids?”

As Jin Minna’s performance was gradually revealed to the audience over time, the public instantly began to feel pity for Jin Minxi.

“Help, having a second child just to drain the elder child… Should Jin Minxi go get a DNA test quickly to see if she was adopted?”

“Such an outrageous sister. I can only say the way she handled it really satisfied me. Compared to the other three groups, I really hate this child.”

“Aside from everything else, if there wasn’t an adult who taught her the things her sister says, I’ll eat five pedagogy textbooks.”

Jin Minxi’s manager grit their teeth. Thinking that her relationship with her family wasn’t very good—or rather, before the second child was born and when Jin Minxi could make money, the relationship was okay. Ever since the second child was born and looked similar to Jin Minxi as a child, the relationship had soured.

Compared to the eldest daughter who had strong wings and questioned everything when money was taken, they wanted an ATM that would voluntarily let them drain it.

The manager decisively let the internet trolls enter the fray. “Who cares if their family lives or dies? Save Xiao Xi first—she’s my ‘money tree’!”

The controversy on Jin Minxi’s side was intense, hitting four hot searches in one day. One of them was the fans’ support video; clicking in, one could hear that extremely tacky promotional song. Many people came because of the fame, and suddenly the heat of this variety show went up another level.

The program team “rose from their deathbed” and directly placed advertisements from various sponsors in the live rooms.

It’s a hit, it’s a hit! It’s going to be a hit.

Amidst a pile of hot searches, there were also Lan Sui executives and a mysteriously rising CP Fan shipper base.

“I haven’t found a CP that trusts each other this much in eight hundred years. This is the ‘Neighbor CP,’ it’s so ship-worthy. They’ve been stuck together since the broadcast started this morning. When choosing teammates, they were determined to pick each other. Little President Xia’s face even went black when she couldn’t pick her. Ahhhh, thank you, I’m dying from the sweetness.”

“Ah, but Little President Xia already has a daughter… Everyone, is the lower limit for shipping CPs at this level now?”

“What’s wrong with having a daughter? Dr. Qin: I like your wife very much. Even more ship-worthy!”

“Waaaah, can’t Little President Xia like a girl? Dr. Qin just wants to join this family—what’s wrong with that? Looking at this face, tell me, is there anything wrong with it?”

“Aside from everything else, Little President Xia isn’t wearing a ring. I feel like the possibility of divorce is quite high…”

“Internal staff slacking off at work here—everyone, feel free to ship. Little President Xia isn’t married!”

“??? Not married but has a cute daughter and a beautiful neighbor. Damn, jealousy has made me unrecognizable.”

“Spitting blood. Is there really such a perfect life? I don’t believe it unless I become Little President Xia.”

“Forcing an explanation for ‘lending you my shoulder to lean on’ and the little movement of squeezing fingers. I just want to ask Xingkong, when will this VIP edited version be brought up? Can it be tonight? I’m at the Black Diamond Annual Meeting; am I not standing high enough?”

“Waaaah, it’s so good. At the age when I should be dating, I’ve shipped another couple.”

“LMAO, does anyone still remember this variety show is a survival point challenge for kids? On President Sheng’s side, it’s like a mother taking a child on an outing; Jin Minxi is an observation of original family pain; and over here it has turned into ‘After my very familiar neighbor and I joined a dating show.’ Good grief, as expected of a Xingkong production. Everyone can find their own exclusive script, and every viewer can find something they love to eat.”

“Let’s Les?”

Upon arrival, the program team had dedicated cars to pick them up.

Qin Zhijin was incredibly sleepy. She slept again after getting on the bus. The two children were awake for a moment before also sleeping haphazardly.

After getting off the bus, Xia Shibai opened a bottle of mineral water to dampen some tissues for Xia Yaozhou and Gu Mingyi, letting them wipe their own faces to wake up, and then pulled hats out of her backpack to put on the two children.

As for Qin Zhijin standing beside her with sleepy eyes—although she was drowsy, her sense of self-care was still there. She reached out and tugged Xia Shibai’s clothes. Just as she was about to speak, she felt the touch of cool water on her face.

“Close your eyes.”

Hearing this, her aching eyes subconsciously closed. Xia Shibai gently helped Qin Zhijin wipe her face clean, then pulled out another tissue to clear away the excess water.

“Drink some water.” Xia Shibai opened a new bottle of water and handed it to Qin Zhijin.

“Thank you.” Qin Zhijin looked down at the mineral water bottle in her hand. For a moment, she felt everyone was looking at her.

She really wasn’t a useless person…

She was probably just sleepy, right? Why did it feel like while she was sleeping, she had traveled to another world?

The mineral water went down her throat. The chilled water cleared Qin Zhijin’s mind. Her gaze landed on Xia Shibai, and she thought with certainty—”She should be awake.”

It couldn’t be that the plane also provided alcoholic drinks and Xia Shibai was drunk, could it?