TGCF Ch 17 Part 3 – Trying to Steal the Chicken but Losing the Rice (III)

“Baby, Auntie’s back,” Xia Mian called out at the door before parting the curtain to Teacher Mi’s house.

With the hot weather, the security door to Teacher Mi’s house was open, only covered by a mesh curtain for ventilation. Xia Mian could see Xiao Feng sitting obediently at a small table, watching Dr. Ning and Engineer Chen play chess.

Hearing Xia Mian’s voice, Xiao Feng immediately turned around, his eyes sparkling as if filled with dazzling stars, “Auntie!” Even his hair tuft stood up in excitement.

“This little guy’s had a day,” Engineer Chen laughed. He was Dr. Ning’s grandfather, a senior engineer at Huagang. His personality was as gentle and amiable as Teacher Mi, just like a spring breeze.

“Hello, Mr. Chen,” Xia Mian said. “Thank you for your trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Engineer Chen seemed to really like Xiao Feng. “This child is smart. Xiao Feng, come visit Grandpa again when you have time.”

Holding onto Xia Mian’s skirt, Xiao Feng nodded obediently, “Okay.”

Xia Mian looked at the man who had been casually observing the chessboard and said with a smile, “I also want to thank you for today, Dr. Ning.”

Ning Shaobai finally looked up, his gaze drifting over the two big bags in her hands, and said with a meaningful smile, “So, your robbery was a success?”

Seeing Engineer Chen’s surprised expression, Xia Mian closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and maintained her smile as she spoke softly and gently, “It’s a fair compensation for the emotional damage they inflicted on me.” Don’t you dare ruin her image!

“Oh?” Ning Shaobai imitated her tone and said softly, “Those thugs are quite conscientious then.”

Xia Mian took another deep breath. She had reasons to believe that besides Zhang Qiming and Huang Xiaojuan, this man might be a major obstacle to her achieving success as a little angel in this world!

In order not to break her persona further, Xia Mian was about to leave with Xiao Feng when she suddenly heard a familiar, sickly sweet voice outside, “Hello, Teacher Mi, is Dr. Ning at home?”

Before Xia Mian could recall who it was, Xiao Feng’s tight grip on her leg reminded her.

When Xia Mian looked back at Ning Shaobai, all the anger she had just now had turned into pity. Why bother with someone who had eyes but no good sight? After all, having such a girlfriend was already pitiful enough.

As she was about to leave, Xia Mian couldn’t help but give him a piece of advice, “Well, Dr. Ning, it’s always good for young people to consider the elders’ opinions when making friends.”

She believed that with the wisdom of Engineer Chen and Teacher Mi, they could hopefully protect their grandson from his poor judgment, right?

Ning Shaobai: “…”

Incredibly, this girl was now even insulting his taste.

“I’m Huang Xiaojuan’s sister, Huang Xiaoxia. You can just call me Xiaoxia,” the sickly sweet voice said with an obvious flattery. “I heard Dr. Ning was beaten by that thug from my brother-in-law’s previous wife’s family, so I came to apologize.”

Xia Mian: “???”

Ning Shaobai chuckled, “A thug?”

Xia Mian glared, “You were beaten?”

Ning Shaobai rubbed his lower back and winced, “It hurts so much, might be a fracture. I should go to the hospital tomorrow…”

Xia Mian, feeling guilty, mumbled, “It’s your fault for not seeing clearly…”

The conversation outside continued, so Xia Mian silenced herself, curious to hear what kind of story Huang Xiaoxia was going to spin.

Teacher Mi politely said, “That’s not possible. How could Xiao Bai be beaten? When he was young, his dad sent him to train with the army. He’s quite skilled in fighting.”

“Ah, then I must have misspoke.” Huang Xiaoxia conceded gracefully, “It was that thug who offended Dr. Ning. Ultimately, it’s still her fault. We also bear responsibility. I’m here today on behalf of my sister to apologize to Dr. Ning.”

Aunt Liu couldn’t stand it any longer and chuckled, “Why are you the one coming forward? Where are your sister and brother-in-law? We’re neighbors from the same building; there’s no need for you to step in.”

Huang Xiaoxia was taken aback and immediately explained, “My brother-in-law had to leave on a sudden business trip, and my sister was scared away by the people that thug called over.”

“I heard they were going to teach my sister a lesson and even take away Xuanxuan. My sister got scared and ran away,” Huang Xiaoxia sighed, “Xuanxuan is such a small child, what’s his fault? How could they lay a hand on a child?”

Aunt Liu scoffed, “What about Xiao Feng? Your sister was quite harsh on him.”

Huang Xiaoxia immediately put on a sorrowful look, “I never thought my sister would do such a thing… Alas, she told me she just can’t control herself. I asked a doctor, and was told she might be suffering from postpartum depression.”

Xia Mian glared. Huang Xiaoxia had obviously come prepared, and… isn’t postpartum depression considered a mental illness? Xia Mian frowned. Was Huang Xiaojuan planning to use this as a legal defense?

“Haha, abusing a child because she can’t control herself? Are you saying she’s gone mad?” Aunt Liu had never heard of postpartum depression and took it as an excuse, firing back, “Why is it only Xiao Feng she can’t control herself around, not Xuanxuan? Stop making excuses here. We’ve seen what your sister is like!”

Huang Xiaoxia’s eyes immediately reddened, “She’s my sister, what can I do? Besides, whenever I was around, my sister was quite good to Xiao Feng. I even held him once. The child is actually very obedient. I feel sorry for him… I’m willing to properly compensate him on behalf of my sister…” As she said this, she started to sob.

This girl was ruthless enough, willing to throw her sister under the bus to make herself look good… Still, it worked. When a young woman was crying, what else could the crowd say?

Ning Shaobai suddenly stood up and walked outside. When passing by the door, he reached out to Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng raised his head and glanced at Xia Mian. Seeing her nod, he obediently raised his arm.

Ning Shaobai smiled softly and bent down to pick up the child. Xia Mian followed, curious about what he was up to.

Huang Xiaoxia dared to use Xiao Feng to garner sympathy, but Xia Mian wouldn’t let her off the hook!

Huang Xiaoxia managed to silence Aunt Liu with her move, continuing to look tearful as she turned to Teacher Mi, “Is Dr. Ning here? I just came to see him.” Then, she showed off the things she brought, which was quite a lot, expressing sincerity.

Teacher Mi was also a bit troubled. She didn’t like this scheming girl, but directly stopping her didn’t fit her demeanor.

“Grandma,” Ning Shaobai walked out of the corridor, followed by Xia Mian. When the neighbors saw the child in his arms, their gaze fell on Huang Xiaoxia. Now there was going to be more drama!

Huang Xiaoxia didn’t notice the crowd’s gaze; her eyes had no one else but one person at this moment. Her face brightened, and she briskly approached Ning Shaobai, “Dr. Ning, you’re finally here.” Her tone was as if she was someone special to Ning Shaobai, especially with a sob in her voice, as if she had been greatly wronged.

Xia Mian sighed; no matter which era, there’s never a shortage of white lotuses!

Ning Shaobai ignored her and carried the child toward Teacher Mi, “Grandma, dinner’s ready. Let’s eat.”

Huang Xiaoxia wasn’t embarrassed; she quickly found a topic and set her eyes on the child in Ning Shaobai’s arms, “Isn’t this the cute baby from yesterday? So, he’s actually Dr. Ning’s relative! Hello there, baby, what’s your name…”

The onlookers: “…”

Xia Mian couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

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