After Transmigrating As The Mother Of The Pitiful Female Supporting Character in a Campus Novel - Chapter 43

Once everyone was standing still at the foot of the mountain, the directing team did a headcount. After confirming there were no issues, the director cleared his throat twice. “Hello everyone, welcome to our show, and welcome to Ping’ao Village.”

“At the airport, you all completed a grouping test. Based on your answers and the envelopes you drew, we have assigned the teams for the first competition phase. Those who drew cotton with seeds will be one team, and those who drew seedless cotton will be the other.”

Xia Shibai and Qin Zhijin had already torn open their cotton to check, so upon hearing the director, they naturally formed a team.

Xia Yaozhou was standing in the middle of the path, still fidgeting with a wet tissue, trying to tear it into thin strips. When she looked up, she realized the adults around her had vanished.

Xia Shibai reached out and plucked her over.

Jin Minxi glanced at the situation and quickly reacted. “Then for the next half month, I suppose I’ll be in a group with President Sheng?”

“I’ll have to trouble President Sheng then. If there’s anything I don’t do well, please bear with me.”

“Mm, it’s fine. I’m not very good at this either,” Sheng Liu said truthfully.

Sheng Huaixing clung tightly to Sheng Liu’s leg, clutching the panda plushie given by the airline. She looked up and saw Jin Minna standing aside with a fierce expression. Her little reddish-brown head shifted slightly in the sunlight as she turned away, wanting neither to make eye contact with Jin Minna nor to be on her team.

Sheng Huaixing’s gaze landed on Xia Yaozhou and Gu Mingyi standing nearby. She couldn’t help but feel a bit aggrieved and tugged on the hem of Sheng Liu’s clothes.

Sheng Liu sighed lightly and rubbed Sheng Huaixing’s head helplessly. She knew her girl wasn’t brave enough and didn’t like joining in the fun; encountering a spoiled, rowdy child like Jin Minna was truly a thorny situation.

Among the three families, Sheng Liu had hoped most not to be paired with Jin Minxi’s, but…

Sheng Liu glanced at Xia Shibai. Seeing her constantly leaning over to talk with Qin Zhijin, she guessed that unless the directing team forced a change, the grouping for the first phase would basically remain the same for the rest of the episodes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jin Minxi spotted the frightened Sheng Huaixing. She squatted down expressionlessly and reached out to warn Jin Minna. “I’ve tolerated you the whole way today. If you dare look at others with that expression again, I’ll fetch a tree branch to ‘serve’ you immediately.”

“Your parents aren’t here right now. Let’s see who can protect you.”

“If you don’t like being here, then get lost and go back. We’ll swap someone else in for the next episode.”

Jin Minxi had always been too lazy to spoil this sister. Or rather, when Jin Minna was first born, she was willing to spoil her, but as her mother sowed discord in between, Jin Minna’s personality became increasingly arrogant and domineering. At only three years old, she had no respect for her elder sister.

When Jin Minxi dealt with Jin Minna, she only felt a headache and had zero patience left. Aside from forceful suppression, she couldn’t think of any other method.

Jin Minna flopped onto the ground, shouting that if Jin Minxi dared to hit her, she would have Grandma beat her to death.

Jin Minxi counted to three in her head and realized her anger simply couldn’t be suppressed. She waved a hand toward the director. “Wait a moment, I need to educate the child.”

“Ah, okay.” The director was also seeing such an annoying brat for the first time. Hearing Jin Minxi say this, he didn’t stop her.

For a moment, the eyes of everyone on set were drawn to the two Jin sisters.

Xia Shibai narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the pond not far away, instantly understanding what Jin Minxi was about to do.

This artist was truly bold.

Qin Zhijin watched Jin Minxi dragging Jin Minna toward the pond and frowned slightly. “Is it really okay for her to discipline the child like that?”

“If she doesn’t discipline her like that, there’s no other way. Her status at home is likely very low, and that little kid has zero respect for her. If she doesn’t do this and let the child learn a lesson, the coming days will probably be incredibly miserable.”

Moreover, their show lasted for half a month; the conflicts between the Jin sisters would surely be many.

Xia Shibai only hoped no one would actually die, as the show had only just begun.

The program staff, seeing the situation, made a move to surround them, ready to rush in at any moment to snatch the child from Jin Minxi’s hands.

Gu Mingyi glanced over indifferently twice and then retracted her gaze.

She didn’t like loud, noisy idiots who were impolite; just looking at them was annoying.

Seeing this, Xia Yaozhou reached out to hug Xia Shibai’s thigh and whispered, “Mommy, I’ll be good. Don’t throw me down there.”

“…” Xia Shibai poked her head speechlessly. “When has your mom ever been that mean to you?”

Forget getting physical—Xia Shibai rarely even spoke harshly to Xia Yaozhou.

Judging by how Xia Yaozhou “pushed her luck,” one could tell how good Xia Shibai’s temper usually was.

Jin Minna was tied up and struggling desperately. A stream of adult-like curses and insults kept pouring out of her mouth, even cursing Jin Minxi to be hit by a car.

Jin Minxi walked to the edge of the pond and directly threw the cursing Jin Minna in. In less than a second, she fished her back out.

“Are you still going to act up? If you do, I’ll throw you in again.”

Jin Minxi’s tone was very calm as she looked coldly at the soaked child in front of her.

Jin Minna coughed from the pond water and began to cry non-stop at the top of her lungs.

While she was crying, Jin Minxi repeatedly pressed on her stomach to make her spit out the dirty water she’d swallowed. Then, she carried her back to the luggage and asked the staff to bring out a warm adult windbreaker to wrap around Jin Minna. Her wet hair was covered with a hood to prevent her from catching a cold from the wind.

As for the soaked sneakers and socks, they were basically unwearable. Jin Minxi packed them all in storage bags and tied them to the side of the suitcase.

Once everything was done, she nodded to the director. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused everyone.”

The director waved his hand hurriedly. “Alright, let’s talk about the distribution of housing. We have provided two large houses in total. You should have already had an idea while answering questions at the airport.”

“One is a Flower House near the fields, and the other is a Treehouse near the fruit forest. The selection principle is: the team that arrives at Gathering Point A first gets first pick.”

The staff distributed maps to each family.

“Please follow the map to Gathering Point A to obtain the right to choose your house.”

Before the map in Qin Zhijin’s hand could be unfolded, Gu Mingyi requested that the two children use one map and the two adults use another.

As Qin Zhijin moved closer, she could still smell the scent of body wash on Xia Shibai. Her body stiffened slightly; she wanted to straighten up and lean back, but she was caught by Xia Shibai just as she moved.

“Can you see the markings on the map from standing that far away?”

“I can’t… but it’s fine. Aren’t you guys here? If you’re here, we won’t get lost.” Qin Zhijin smiled with curved eyes, using the chance to move slightly to the side.

If she stayed too close, she would constantly find herself unable to stop looking at Xia Shibai’s face.

Under the cameras, Qin Zhijin didn’t know how to hide; being too direct would make it easy to be “exposed” later.

Hearing this, Xia Shibai didn’t say anything.

She was comparing each route marked by the program team and found that from their starting point to Gathering Point A, it would take at least over an hour of walking.

It didn’t matter for the adults, but the kids probably wouldn’t be able to take it.

Not to mention the luggage.

Xia Shibai could only be thankful they had brought very few things—unlike the Jin sisters, who had brought four or five suitcases; climbing the slopes would likely be very difficult for them.

“Please, every family, put your electronic devices and snacks into the basket in front and hand them over to the program team. We will return them to you after this episode ends.”

This stage went quickly. Aside from the Jin sisters, the other three families focused on simplicity and convenience, bringing few electronics and snacks.

After being thrown into the pond, Jin Minna was much more subdued, sitting obediently nearby wrapped in warm clothes. Once she quieted down, she actually looked a bit pitiful.

Jin Minxi looked at the four suitcases and one large backpack. Almost three of the suitcases belonged to Jin Minna. When she opened one, it was full of snacks; she handed it over directly, too lazy to even look at it.

The remaining two suitcases were filled with a mess of little dresses. Jin Minxi frowned slightly. She didn’t bother asking Jin Minna; she just packed a few sets of sportswear, undergarments, warm clothes, and pajamas, then handed the rest to the program team.

“My lit—”

“What?”

Jin Minxi heard her sister speak and turned to look.

The child, who had just been taught a lesson, was so scared she curled into a ball, wishing she could minimize her presence. She shook her head and refused to speak.

Since she didn’t speak, Jin Minxi was too lazy to ask.

If you can avoid looking for trouble, don’t look for it; it’s a waste of time.

After everything was prepared, all the groups set off together.

Only after they started did they realize the slope was very steep, basically close to 50°. Climbing it was no simple feat.

Xia Shibai tested the soil on the slope. For an adult, the firmness was okay. She took a suitcase and hopped heavily twice on the ground above; aside from some loose soil falling, there wasn’t much of an issue.

“We can go up, but you must step firmly into the dirt hollows. Don’t step on the rocks to avoid them loosening and making you slide down.”

Qin Zhijin stood below watching Xia Shibai hop twice; her heart was nearly in her throat. She gave an unapproving “tsk.” “We don’t know if this dirt slope has been soaked by rain recently. Jumping like that—aren’t you afraid of falling down?”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Xia Shibai was pondering how to get both adults and children up safely, not taking Qin Zhijin’s words to heart at all.

However, after a while, Xia Shibai stopped hearing Qin Zhijin speak. Sensing something was wrong, she hurriedly looked over and found Qin Zhijin standing before her with a serious expression, lips pressed tight, saying nothing and staring straight at her.

Xia Shibai was startled into coughing twice and scratched her head. “I know, I’ll be careful. I only did that because I stepped on it just now and felt that jumping was no problem.”

“I’m not a fool. If something were truly dangerous, would I rush to do it?”

Qin Zhijin shot her a look and said crossly, “You’d better not be. Don’t just open your mouth and talk nonsense.”

“I don’t have the energy to take care of an extra adult on this show.” Qin Zhijin pointed at the two children who were already using their hands and feet to crawl up the dirt slope. “Look, those two little ancestors are much braver than us. They can’t be bothered with strategies; they just charge.”

Xia Shibai was helpless and could only let Qin Zhijin go first to protect the two children from behind. As for herself, she had to find a way to get the suitcases and backpacks up.

Once they crossed this slope, the road behind would be easier to walk, though it would take much longer.

Qin Zhijin was pushed to climb the slope. She couldn’t help grabbing Xia Shibai’s wrist and saying, “Give one backpack to me. Otherwise, how are you going to bring all this stuff up alone?”

Xia Shibai patted Qin Zhijin’s shoulder back indifferently and pointed at the two children who were already cheering each other on high up. “It’s fine, this little bit of stuff is quick. Your biggest ‘backpack’ is those two little ancestors; just protect them on the way up, and I’ll handle the rest.”

Xia Shibai looked at the slope. The further up you went, the harder it got; she might even need to grab the ground to move up. Naturally, the lighter and simpler the luggage, the easier the climb.

Qin Zhijin’s hands were very beautiful. Carrying a backpack would surely take a toll on them. It was better to let her go up easily; at worst, Xia Shibai would just make a couple more trips.

Seeing Qin Zhijin wasn’t moving, Xia Shibai pushed her gently twice more. “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m fast alone. Besides, we’re a team now; is there any need to push back and forth like this?”

Qin Zhijin naturally understood the logic, but this wasn’t how tasks should be divided. It was clearly Xia Shibai taking the brunt of the hardship.

Qin Zhijin looked up at a relatively flat section of the dirt slope without many pits. Given the durability of their backpacks and suitcases, it would be no problem.

“Wait, I have an idea.” Qin Zhijin turned to tell the children to climb slowly and be careful. Then, she pulled Xia Shibai over to the suitcase to take out the rope they had prepared. “We can just use the rope to pull these things up. You won’t have to make extra trips, and it’s safer.”

“Alright, then I’ll take you guys up first.”

Xia Shibai gripped the rope and had Qin Zhijin follow behind her. “Step where I step. If anything feels wrong or doesn’t work, tell me. Don’t force yourself.”

“Okay.”

Qin Zhijin nodded and followed Xia Shibai up.

Although the two children lacked arm strength, they benefited from their small size. It was just a bit hard on their clothes and hands. By the time they reached the top, the two were almost using all fours, rubbing against the dirt pile to reach the summit.

Xia Yaozhou shook her body, calmly stood up from the ground, and used her dirty hands to pull Gu Mingyi up. Then, she peeked slightly down the slope and found their speed was the fastest. She couldn’t help but howl at the top of her lungs, “Mommy, hurry up! We’re in first place! We were the fastest to come up!”

“Yes, Zhouzhou and Xiaoyi are wonderful.”

With every step Xia Shibai took into a pit, she used her foot to stomp the dirt firm, ensuring Qin Zhijin could walk more steadily without worrying about sliding down.

Xia Shibai waved to the two children, signaling them to move to the side. “Don’t peek out like that. You might fall down by accident. Go back quickly; we’ll be up soon.”

“Okay.” Hearing this, Gu Mingyi obediently pulled Xia Yaozhou aside and reached out to pat the dirt off both of them. She said slowly, “Don’t get close to the edge. Godmother and Auntie Xia will be up in a moment. We need to stay safe too.”

“But Mommy and Auntie Qin are so slow.”

Xia Yaozhou clapped her hands and sat on the ground. She pulled Gu Mingyi down with her. Since her clothes were already dirty, Mommy wouldn’t be able to scold her for sitting like this anyway.

Xia Shibai moved quickly. Although she had rarely had time for exercise or hiking after becoming a “corporate animal,” she benefited from her youth in the orphanage. Back then, she followed teachers to the back mountain to pick wild mushrooms and bamboo shoots. She instinctively stepped into every solid pit, leading Qin Zhijin up.

As soon as Xia Shibai reached the summit, she knelt by the slope and reached out to Qin Zhijin, who was still a short distance away. She gripped her hand to pull her up from below, and to help Qin Zhijin stabilize herself after coming up, she instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist.

Only after most of her body was at the top did Xia Shibai feel a bit more at ease.

Releasing the hand around her waist, the two sat side-by-side on the slope watching the other two families still struggling. They couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It really is exhausting. Going up is easy, but going down is hard. If we do this a few more times, I probably won’t be able to get up tomorrow morning.” Qin Zhijin felt a faint trembling in her calves, but once her breathing steadied, it was okay.

She didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just because she’d been too idle at home lately and hadn’t exercised.

Xia Shibai nodded and stood up, helping Qin Zhijin up as she did. She gripped the rope and scouted the surroundings. She found she could tie one end of the rope to a large tree nearby and then have Qin Zhijin and the two children use some strength to pull the luggage up.

Once the plan was set, Xia Shibai went to work.

One end of the rope was tied tightly to the tree. She leaned back and walked down the dirt slope from the top, slowly increasing the tilt angle and pulling the rope with force. When there was no sign of loosening, she returned to the high ground and handed the rope to Qin Zhijin.

Unexpectedly, Qin Zhijin didn’t take the rope, and her expression didn’t look good.

Xia Shibai was baffled. She turned to look at the two children sitting nearby.

Receiving her mother’s gaze, Xia Yaozhou stiffly tilted her neck high and stared intently at the sky, even though not a single cloud or bird could be seen.

Gu Mingyi, on the other hand, looked back with a face full of confusion.

“…” Xia Shibai: Well, it seems it’s my problem.

But she was also completely in the dark.

What could she have done wrong? Hadn’t she done quite well just now?

Seeing Xia Shibai’s bewilderment, Qin Zhijin licked her lower lip slightly and took the rope from her. “Be careful when you go down.”

“Alright. You stay safe up here. If you can’t pull it, call me. I’ll come back up from below.”

After giving the rope to Qin Zhijin, Xia Shibai felt something was wrong. She touched the texture of the rope and thought that if this kind of rope were used for tug-of-war, it would probably rub a layer of skin off one’s hands.

If it were a thick-skinned person pulling the rope, Xia Shibai wouldn’t have bothered saying anything—she would have gone down, hauled the luggage, and told them to use more strength.

But her teammate was Qin Zhijin.

Her hands absolutely couldn’t be rubbed raw and covered in dirt. At best, it would hurt for days; at worst, the wound would get infected, and she might even have to go to the hospital for anti-inflammatory shots.

Too torturous.

Xia Shibai gave a “tsk,” frowned at the four large pieces of luggage at the bottom, then looked back at the rope with steel wire inside.

It was a difficult choice.

Whichever way Qin Zhijin chose, it looked exhausting.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Zhijin looked at the motionless Xia Shibai, thinking there was a flaw in the method again.

“Nothing, let me think.”

Xia Shibai was still debating. Finally, she sighed, took off her own jacket, and asked Qin Zhijin to unroll the rope. She wrapped the jacket around the rope, winding it several times.

“When you pull, just hold this section with the jacket. Don’t pull anywhere else. Otherwise, the direct friction will be too much, and the rope will eat a small chunk of your flesh.”

Even more painful would be the inability to bend her fingers.

Dr. Qin’s hands were for healing people; getting injured would be too unworthy.

“Mm, okay.”

Qin Zhijin nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m an adult after all, you don’t need to…”

You don’t need to act as if I’m a child.

The remaining words weren’t spoken, but both understood perfectly.

Xia Shibai raised her hand and used the cuff of her short-sleeved shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. She said carelessly, “Since there are already two children anyway, one more isn’t a big deal.”

Besides, Xia Shibai’s age across two lifetimes was indeed quite a bit older than Qin Zhijin’s.

What was the problem with treating her like a child?

Xia Shibai waved to the two children, telling them to stand aside—not to wander and not to peek out.

She then leaned against the dirt slope, lowered her body, and slid down from the top in a semi-squat.

Fortunately, her shoes were durable. Aside from her arms occasionally getting scratched by stones hidden in the dirt, there was no substantial injury.

Xia Shibai tied the rope to a suitcase and placed it on the incline.

As soon as the rope had weight, Qin Zhijin pulled it up.

It was much lighter than she’d imagined.

Once the two suitcases were pulled up, Xia Shibai put on a backpack and carried the other bag in her hand. As she climbed, she brought the backpacks up with her.

After leaving the two suitcases for the children to watch, Qin Zhijin leaned forward slightly. It wasn’t hard to see Xia Shibai climbing alone with two backpacks.

Qin Zhijin shouted, “Why didn’t you tie the backpacks to the rope? They’re so light; wouldn’t it be faster for me to pull them up?”

“No need, I can carry them up.” Xia Shibai happened to be halfway up, her cheeks flushed. Due to the intense back-and-forth movement, her short-sleeved shirt was soaked with sweat and clinging to her body.

“Stay back, don’t fall. I’ll be up soon.”

As she spoke, Xia Shibai glanced to the side.

Even with all their tinkering, they were still the fastest.

Sheng Liu had initially thought of bringing the luggage and Sheng Huaixing up all at once, but later found it too difficult and had to give up on the idea.

Sheng Liu and Jin Minxi could reach a consensus, but not with Jin Minna.

Thus, the method of having one person watch two children while climbing was rejected again.

Jin Minxi pulled out the toddler leash she’d used to tie Jin Minna earlier and strapped her sister directly to her chest.

Just like when Jin Minna was a baby, she carried her up the slope.

Perhaps after all the shouting and screaming, the child had entered a period of fatigue. Jin Minxi’s method was quite successful, but climbing the slope with a child on her chest was still very difficult.

After a short distance, Jin Minxi was already too tired to speak and wanted to stop for a good rest.

Sheng Liu protected her daughter on the way up first, intending to come back down for the luggage later.

But getting the suitcases and backpacks up alone was clearly not going to be easy.

Xia Shibai was the first to reach the summit. She threw the backpacks down and collapsed on the ground, completely drained of strength. She didn’t bother checking if the ground was dirty or if it would ruin her clothes.

She lay flat with her hand over her eyes, panting.

Half her life was almost gone from exhaustion.

Clearly, before coming, she had underestimated the physical exertion of this show.

Even though Qin Zhijin felt irritable and looked unwell, she still asked the program team for mineral water and tissues to help clean Xia Shibai’s exposed, dirty arms.

Then, her face.

The water landed on her face and eyes.

Xia Shibai instinctively closed her eyes.

She could feel the trail of the tissue passing over her face.

“I helped wipe your face too,” Qin Zhijin said. “We’re even.”

Xia Shibai gave a soft hum. As her brain slowly started working again, she felt something was off.

What do you mean “even”? Is face-wiping a competitive sport now?