After Transmigrating As The Mother Of The Pitiful Female Supporting Character in a Campus Novel - Chapter 7

Old Wu arrived quickly. Xia Shibai carried the little one into the car and used wet wipes to clean Xia Yaozhou’s exposed skin, especially her feet which had touched the ground.

For a long time afterward, Xia Shibai kept holding Xia Yaozhou. After finishing their shopping, she and Old Wu carried a pile of bags to the trunk, and then Xia Shibai took Xia Yaozhou to get her hair cut.

The barbershop had a dedicated area for children, but too many people crowded around at once. Their overwhelming enthusiasm frightened Xia Yaozhou, who clung to Xia Shibai and refused to let go, burying her head in the crook of her mother’s neck with her eyes squeezed shut in total resistance.

“We don’t need this many people, just one is fine. The child is shy,” Xia Shibai pointed decisively, choosing a girl who looked less intimidating. “You come and cut it. Don’t cut it too short—just trim off the messy, knotted ends, give her a wash, and shape it a little.”

The stylist nodded understandingly. “Does the little one need bangs? Maybe something light and thin?”

“No,” Xia Shibai placed little Yaozhou into the special car-shaped barber chair, smoothing her hair. “She still has fine baby hair growing on her forehead and sides. There’s no need for bangs; they’ll just get dirty and stick to her face when she sweats.”

“Understood.”

Sitting in the high chair, Yaozhou felt the barber’s cape constrict her limbs. She moved her neck uncomfortably and tried to tear the cloth away, but the stylist gently caught her hand. “We can’t take it off yet, or the tiny hairs will fall into your clothes and make you very itchy.”

Yaozhou looked at the smiling stylist and immediately searched for Xia Shibai. Seeing her standing nearby, the girl clenched her small hands and whispered, “Mommy.”

Xia Shibai’s ears perked up at the sound. She saw Yaozhou sitting stiffly on the stool; though she wasn’t as terrified as when they first entered, she looked so pitiful, as if Xia Shibai might vanish the moment she looked away.

Feeling helpless under that gaze, Xia Shibai thought: Well, building a sense of security isn’t an overnight job. Currently, she was the only “safety signal transmitter” for the kid; she either had to stand right next to her or hold her.

With Xia Shibai beside her, Yaozhou’s courage did grow a bit—but only a bit.

The stylist was experienced with children and knew that with a kid like Yaozhou, speed was key to minimize the contact time. Since Xia Shibai didn’t want anything fancy, the stylist gave her a simple shoulder-length bob. With the knots gone and the ends layered to add some texture, it would look much better when tied up. Once finished, she used a soft scrunchie the girl liked to tie it back.

With the messy hair handled and her features revealed, the thinness of the girl’s face became even more apparent.

Xia Shibai checked the girl’s neck for stray hairs, then picked up Yaozhou—who was still tilting her head left and right at her reflection—and walked to the counter. She pointed to the stylist: “Zhouzhou, what do you think of the haircut? Can we come back to her next time?”

Yaozhou looked over, saw the stylist smiling at her, and shyly twisted away. She nodded slowly without saying a word, her eyes fixed on Xia Shibai.

“Oh? If you don’t speak, does that mean you don’t like it?” Xia Shibai had already placed her card on the counter but decided to tease her. Panicked, the girl leaned over the counter to grab the card.

“Want! Want that sister!”

“Alright. Top up the card to the highest membership tier under that girl’s name.”

The card was a children’s membership card featuring a cartoon bear on a spring outing. The employee didn’t hand the card to Xia Shibai but put it in a lanyard sleeve for Yaozhou to keep. Yaozhou touched her card and instinctively tried to give it to Xia Shibai, but was carried out instead.

“This is your thing; keep it safe yourself,” Xia Shibai said, thinking of the “idiot daughter” in the original novel who gave the female leads whatever they asked for. She warned gently: “Your things belong to you. You can give them away if you want, but you don’t have to. Sharing isn’t a requirement; it’s a social courtesy. The premise of sharing is that the other person gives you the same feedback.”

“If there’s nothing in return, just one-sided giving, then we don’t share our things with them.”

Yaozhou clutched the card with both hands, giggling at the bear on the front. She wasn’t really listening. When she realized Xia Shibai had stopped talking, she pulled the card close, looked up cautiously, and bit her lip. “What did Mommy say just now?”

“…” Xia Shibai felt a slight headache. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”

“The house will take a while to clean. I’ll take you to the office to shower and change, and we’ll head back after dinner.”

“Okay.” Yaozhou put the lanyard around her wrist and let Xia Shibai carry her to the car.

After Xia Shibai helped Yaozhou bathe and change, she freshened up herself. Emerging from the office rest area with dry hair, she found her assistant, Yao Yao, helping Yaozhou with a yogurt. The big screen, usually reserved for video conferences, was currently playing the timeless classic: Ultraman Tiga.

Yao Yao handed the yogurt to Yaozhou and received a soft, sweet “thank you.” The assistant was mentally doing backflips of joy. If she weren’t afraid of scaring the child, she really wanted to flip up the cat-ear hood on the girl’s onesie and give her a big squeeze.

Before Yao Yao could pull her thoughts back, Xia Shibai walked over. Ignoring the fact that the kid was staring at Ultraman without blinking while biting her straw, Xia Shibai leaned down and planted a kiss on her daughter’s cheek.

Mmph! The kid’s face was so soft! She just needed to be a bit chubbier; right now she was so thin there wasn’t much meat to kiss.

“…” Snap.

Yao Yao heard the sound of her own heart breaking. She even saw her usually silent, seasoned boss flash a smug smile. She’s definitely mocking me, knowing a lowly worker doesn’t dare lay a hand on the boss’s daughter, so she’s showing off! This is definitely revenge!

Satisfied, Xia Shibai patted Yaozhou’s head and let her keep watching cartoons while gesturing for Yao Yao to follow her to the other side of the room.

In just a few steps, Yao Yao reverted to a professional assistant. She was about to open her itinerary to discuss work when Xia Shibai held up a hand.

“The company is on the right track, and I haven’t taken a vacation in a long time.” In the original owner’s memories, Xia Shibai found that she hadn’t stopped for three and a half years—it was either business trips or meetings. She had experienced enough of this “Iron Man” work life before her transmigration.

After all, she was a veteran of the “996” grind. Now that she had transmigrated into a third-generation tycoon in power, why not just hire a professional manager to keep an eye on things while she checked in occasionally? The company wouldn’t stop spinning without her!

Yao Yao understood. “You want to take your accumulated leave and annual leave all at once?”

“No,” Xia Shibai leaned forward slightly, turning over her nameplate on the desk. “I mean, I’m taking a long vacation.”

Yao Yao: “?” She suddenly had a bad feeling.

Xia Shibai smiled. “A long vacation means I’ll be in a ‘short-term’ leave state this week, next month, and next year. I’ll still attend major strategic meetings, but small details will be handled by a manager. I’ll only review weekly, monthly, and quarterly summaries.”

“A professional manager will report directly to me.” Xia Shibai stretched lazily. “Your job will be to lead the secretarial department and cooperate with them. We’ll have a meeting to discuss the handover.”

Yao Yao was so shocked her eyes widened. If the person in front of her weren’t her boss, she would have blurted out: “Are you crazy?” Was this really the workaholic boss who stayed on the job 365 days a year like an untiring worker bee?

Xia Shibai leaned back, relaxing. “Honestly, sometimes you can’t push yourself too hard. In these three years, the company has grown under my hand, but I’ve missed too much. I missed my child’s growth, left her in the hands of a bad person, and almost got her killed.” She clicked her tongue. “I’m not leaving the company; I’m just decentralizing power and cutting unnecessary workflows so I can step out of the center of this non-stop circle.”

Yao Yao understood. Her gaze drifted to the small figure on the sofa. If you didn’t know she was three, you’d never guess; she was so small and thin. Comparing her to her own nephew, Yao Yao felt a surge of pity.

Word of Auntie Lin’s abuse had spread through the company groups yesterday. They had guessed the boss might take a short leave, but they hadn’t expected a “long” one—it seemed she wouldn’t come back to the grind until the child was properly raised. Although there were rumors the child wasn’t hers, Yao Yao knew Xia Shibai was a shrewd businesswoman; she would never raise someone else’s child for no reason. If Yaozhou was a Xia, she would likely be the next boss.

While looking for a manager, Xia Shibai began handing over projects to Yao Yao. Her own work ability was solid; after a quick look at the original owner’s notes, she grasped the situation, pulling out the “must-complete” projects for the year and designating the rest as secondary goals for the next two years.

By the time she finished, night had fallen. Massaging her aching neck, she told Yao Yao to organize the files for the future manager.

As Yao Yao walked out with the documents, Xia Shibai stood up to go get the kid. But as she took a small step, her foot hit something soft.

Looking down, she found that Yaozhou had somehow moved from the sofa to the floor by her feet. Wearing her black-and-white cat hood as a pillow, she had curled into a ball and fallen asleep on the floor.

Perhaps out of insecurity, her head and face were pressed as close to Xia Shibai as possible. Even in sleep, the girl’s brow remained furrowed. Fortunately, the office was set to a comfortable 27°C.

Xia Shibai carefully pushed her chair away and knelt beside the girl. She gently touched the child’s cheek, brushing away a stray hair. She was as devoted as she had been when she was just a reader spending money to support her “daughter” in the book.

That Yaozhou grows up happy and healthy, completely different from the original story—that was the greatest meaning of her coming to this world. It was her destiny after “dying” and arriving here.