After Transmigrating Into A Cannon Fodder Character, I Only Want To Survive - Chapter 35

The meal ended quickly. As Fang Bai got up to clear the table, a pair of hands moved even faster than hers.

“I’ll do it.”

Fang Bai was momentarily dazed; Ji Yuning was already in the kitchen with the bowls.

Ten seconds later, Fang Bai glanced sideways.

Ji Yuning’s hair was casually spread around her shoulders and neck. When she lowered her head to wash the dishes, the nape of her neck was exposed, pale and slender. Her clothes were loose-fitting, completely obscuring how thin the person underneath was.

Her shoulders swayed slightly with the movement of her hands, but her back remained straight, as if nothing could crush her. She was like grass growing in a crack in the rocks, never complaining about her growing environment, but tenaciously growing by borrowing light and rainwater.

Ji Yuning took the initiative to wash the dishes, and Fang Bai didn’t stand idle. She collected the plates from the table one by one.

When Ji Yuning turned around, she saw Fang Bai carefully wiping the table with a wet wipe.

Seeing Ji Yuning walk towards her, Fang Bai said, “I’ve already wiped the table. You can continue doing your homework here.”

“No need,” Ji Yuning walked past Fang Bai, picked up her backpack from the chair, “I’ll go upstairs to do it.”

The act was over; she didn’t need to stay any longer.

Fang Bai responded with an “Okay.”

After Ji Yuning went upstairs, Fang Bai turned to the kitchen and saw the neatly cleaned counter. She felt a sense of comfort in her heart. Although it was very likely that Ji Yuning did it out of instinct, not because of her, Fang Bai still felt that her efforts had not been wasted.

If Fang Bai’s previous kindness to Ji Yuning was all for the sake of surviving later, today she had interacted with Ji Yuning very naturally, not a deliberate approach with an ulterior motive.

Nearly two months of living together, aside from the initial heartache for Ji Yuning, it was impossible to say that no other emotions had crept in. And the emotion that had crept in, Fang Bai clearly knew, was the care one would have for a close family member.

She had already… started raising Ji Yuning like her own child.

So when Fang Bai took the clothes to be washed to the laundry room and saw the school uniform in the laundry basket, Fang Bai didn’t think twice before picking it up to put it in the washing machine with her own clothes.

Hu City No. 1 High School’s autumn uniform was the same color as the summer uniform, blue and white. Fang Bai’s high school uniform was also this color. Every time she picked up Ji Yuning after school and saw students wearing the autumn uniform, occasional memories of her high school days would surface in Fang Bai’s mind.

Driven by the nostalgia of her youth, Fang Bai unconsciously spread open the school uniform jacket.

Fang Bai liked clothes that were relatively fitted and restrictive because she was already very thin, so even ordering a size smaller for her school uniform wasn’t a problem. This resulted in Fang Bai’s school uniform, unlike her classmates’ whose sleeves could cover their hands, neatly and properly restricting her wrists.

When Fang Bai put on the school uniform and looked down, the clothes hung loosely on her, completely different from what she remembered. However, the fresh scent of laundry detergent on the clothes had a hint of youthful fragrance.

Just reminiscing was enough, Fang Bai thought to herself while pulling at the clothes.

Just as the clothes slipped off her shoulder and were about to be taken off, an empty voice suddenly sounded behind Fang Bai, “What are you doing?”

It wasn’t a question, but a soft scoff.

Caught red-handed by the owner of the clothes, Fang Bai paused in the act of taking off the clothes, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face.

However, when Fang Bai took off the clothes and turned to look at the person standing at the laundry room door, she said without any hint of shame, “Washing your clothes.”

Washing clothes… and ending up wearing them herself?

Ji Yuning stepped forward and took the school uniform from Fang Bai’s hand. “I can wash it myself, no need to trouble Aunt Fang.”

“…” Fang Bai felt she needed to explain, otherwise Ji Yuning might easily see her as a pervert. “My high school uniform was also blue and white. Seeing your uniform reminded me of my high school days, and then I subconsciously put it on.”

Fang Bai had attended Hu City No. 1 High School, Ji Yuning knew that.

But why did Fang Bai use “also”?

Fang Bai didn’t notice the flaw in her words. To divert Ji Yuning’s attention, she cleared her throat and said, “You just saw it, right? What do you think? Does Auntie look like your classmate in the school uniform?”

Fang Bai had been wearing the clothes with her back to the door, so Ji Yuning hadn’t seen Fang Bai’s front.

Ji Yuning walked to the laundry room door and saw a person standing in the room wearing a school uniform. Ji Yuning’s expression froze for a few seconds before she realized it was Fang Bai.

Ji Yuning preferred to buy clothes a size larger. The loose fit gave Ji Yuning a sense of security. The school uniform looked very baggy on Fang Bai, the hem reaching down to her upper thighs, completely covering the shorts Fang Bai was wearing underneath.

The upper body looked like a well-behaved student adhering to school rules, but the lower body only had two fair and slender legs exposed to the air.

The visual impact was too strong, so much so that even though Ji Yuning had arrived at the laundry room while Fang Bai was wearing the uniform, she only spoke when Fang Bai was about to take it off.

Ji Yuning pursed her thin lips. “No.”

Fang Bai hadn’t expected Ji Yuning to say she looked like one; she was just making conversation.

Ji Yuning was going to hand-wash the clothes. When she went to get a basin, the clothes in her arms were snatched away by Fang Bai again.

Fang Bai said, “I’ll wash the clothes, you go do your homework.”

Ji Yuning was about to refuse when she saw Fang Bai already stuffing the clothes into the washing machine, followed by her own clothes.

Ji Yuning couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart. Clearly, having her clothes washed together with Fang Bai’s should have made her feel disgusted, disgusted by such close contact with Fang Bai’s things. But before that disgust could even arise, Ji Yuning suddenly remembered that she and Fang Bai had had more than just clothing contact—while cooking, Fang Bai had held her hand.

“…”

Seeing Ji Yuning standing still and not saying anything, Fang Bai asked, “What’s wrong? Is there anything else you need to wash?”

Ji Yuning suppressed the emotions in her heart and coldly said “No” before turning and leaving.

Fang Bai didn’t understand Ji Yuning’s sudden cold attitude, assuming it was because Ji Yuning still minded her wearing her school uniform.

The second day of the holiday, Fang Bai woke up early.

After a simple wash-up, Fang Bai thought of going to the second-floor side bedroom to check on Beibei. But when she reached the door, she saw Ji Yuning sitting on the bed holding Beibei, with an extracurricular book in her hand.

Morning light shone through the window into the room, triangular orange-yellow warm light printed on the wall, adding a touch of warmth to the otherwise cool-toned decor. Besides that, the person and the cat on the bed looked extremely cozy.

Fang Bai stepped into the room, her footsteps surprising the purring Beibei. Ji Yuning half-lifted her eyelids to glance at Fang Bai, then lowered her eyes, her hand covering Beibei’s head, silently comforting it.

But Beibei was no longer sleepy. It stood up from Ji Yuning’s arms, shook its body, jumped off the bed, and squatted down beside Fang Bai.

Fang Bai bent down to pick up Beibei, stroking its fur while glancing at the litter box. “Have you already cleaned it?”

“Mmm.”

There was still some cat food left in the cat bowl in the distance, so it seemed it had also been fed.

…Quite good at taking care of cats.

Beibei’s breakfast was settled, but theirs wasn’t.

Fang Bai asked, “What do you want for breakfast?”

Ji Yuning closed the book and got up to leave.

Fang Bai followed behind Ji Yuning, holding the cat.

Ji Yuning glanced at Fang Bai’s actions, her eyes slightly narrowed. “Anything.”

“Then let’s make porridge,” the two of them left the side bedroom one after the other, Fang Bai said, “with last night’s leftover rice.”

After breakfast, Ji Yuning again washed the dishes first.

Fang Bai was afraid of triggering unpleasant memories for Ji Yuning and had originally wanted Ji Yuning to use the dishwasher. But after thinking about it, how could Ji Yuning forget? Her willingness to do it proactively might be a good thing.

Fang Bai thought that with such a good holiday, she should take Ji Yuning out to play for a while. Just as she was thinking about how to bring it up with Ji Yuning, Ji Yuning went downstairs with her backpack, seemingly not seeing Fang Bai on the sofa, and walked straight towards the entryway.

“Xiao Ning.” Fang Bai called out.

Ji Yuning paused and turned sideways to look at Fang Bai.

She had thought the woman would ignore her.

Fang Bai asked knowingly, “Are you going out?”

Ji Yuning: “Mmm.”

Fang Bai continued, “Going to study? Or will you be back tonight?”

Ji Yuning nodded.

“What about me?”

“?”

Fang Bai also realized how easily her outburst could cause misunderstanding, and after a moment, she said, “…I mean, if you go to study, I’ll be the only one left at home.”

She had already thought about where to take Ji Yuning.

Ji Yuning wanted to say it was none of her business, but the words changed at the tip of her tongue. “There’s also Beibei.”

Did she really treat Beibei like a person?

Fang Bai put down the pillow she was holding. “Where are you going? I’ll take you.”

Without waiting for Ji Yuning’s refusal, Fang Bai said, “The person behind the last incident hasn’t been found yet. It’s safer if I take you.”

The person hadn’t indeed been found, but how could Fang Bai not know who had done it?

The day after the incident, Fang Bai anonymously sent that person an email, which only vaguely mentioned a few of the person’s shady dealings.

Compared to Ji Yuning, the anonymous sender was more important to that person. That person was busy trying to figure out who sent the email and had no time to pay attention to Ji Yuning, who, in their eyes, didn’t pose a threat for the time being.

Ji Yuning didn’t refuse again because Fang Bai added, “If you don’t let me take you, then you’ll have to video chat with me the whole time until you reach your destination.”

Ji Yuning: “…”

Fang Bai changed her clothes and walked ahead of Ji Yuning into the garage.

The damaged car had long been sent back by Fang Maozhou’s people. When they went to the station to pick up Ji Yuning yesterday, they had driven the original car.

After getting in the car, Fang Bai asked Ji Yuning for her destination. After Ji Yuning told her, neither of them spoke again.

The whole way was quiet.

Thirty-five minutes later, the car stopped in front of the city library.

Fang Bai saw Mu Xuerou standing by the roadside from afar and asked softly, “Are you meeting student Mu?”

Ji Yuning looked towards the roadside and also saw Mu Xuerou. “Mmm.”

An ambiguous smile flashed in Fang Bai’s eyes. “Next time, you can ask student Mu to study at home.”

Ji Yuning didn’t reply, only saying, “I’m getting out,” as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

Fang Bai raised an eyebrow. “Okay, bye~”

After Ji Yuning closed the car door, a soft chuckle suddenly echoed in the small car compartment.

Little kid, actually finding someone to lie to her.

Carrying a backpack, but was “studying” really referring to this kind of studying?

Fang Bai’s lips curved into a smile as she withdrew her gaze from Ji Yuning’s back.

Seeing Ji Yuning, Mu Xuerou waved at her, only lowering her hand when Ji Yuning was about to reach her.

Mu Xuerou looked at the car behind Ji Yuning. “Yuning, did Fang… Aunt Fang bring you here?”

Mu Xuerou had initially wanted to call her Fang Bai, but then changed her mind and called her Aunt Fang.

Ji Yuning nodded. “Mmm.”

“Your relationship with Aunt Fang has become so much better now.” After Mu Xuerou said this, she saw Ji Yuning frown.

Afraid of upsetting Ji Yuning, Mu Xuerou quickly changed the subject. “Why did you suddenly ask me to come to the library? And you made me wait outside for you.”

Mu Xuerou had received a text message from Ji Yuning while doing her homework, saying she needed her help and asking her to come to the city library.

Ji Yuning rarely chatted with Mu Xuerou. Besides asking about homework, this was the first time she had asked for her help. Mu Xuerou agreed without hesitation.

“I have something to do, but I don’t want Fang Bai to know.” Ji Yuning glanced at the departing car. “So I told Fang Bai I was meeting you at the library to study.”

Mu Xuerou’s gaze followed the departing car. She remembered the injuries Ji Yuning had suffered before and said uneasily, “Yuning, isn’t it bad to lie to your guardian like this?”

If Fang Bai found out that Ji Yuning had lied to her, would she…?

Guardian?

Ji Yuning’s eyes darkened.

Author’s Note:

How could she possibly fool Aunt Fang? Humph~