[NW] Baobei Baobei Chapter 1

What kind of girl is Xia Baobei?

Father: “Our Baobei is my precious darling”.

Mother: “Our Baobei is my sweetie”.

Sister: “Baobei is a lucky child”.

Brother: “Xia Baobei is an idiot”.

Male Student A: “Xia Baobei is the girl that all of us male students will protect!”

Male Student B: “Xia Baobei is a girl who is unpredictable like the wind.”

Female Student A: “Xia Baobei too funny”.

Female Student B: “That’s a demon.”

In the end, Mr Jiang clenched his fist and coughed, “This girl is just reckless…”

Xia Baobei was born in Boston, where her mother was a student at Harvard University, and her father, a lecturer there. Xia Baobei always found it strange - weren’t her parents busy with their careers, how did they have two kids over two years? Xia Baobei was the elder sister, and Xia Tian, the younger brother.

It was only during a particular Christmas Day that their drunk mother shared the “secret” of their birth. In their mother’s words, “It’s all your father’s fault! He said that for the pride of Chinese men, he should only buy condoms of extra large size! Why buy a big hat for a small head?!”

Therefore, Xia Baobei and Xia Tian were the “successful escapees”.

Before Baobei and Xia Tian, the Xia couple actually had another daughter, Xia Xu. Xia Xu lived in China with her grandparents, and was the pride of the Xia family. On the other hand, Baobei and Xia Tian stayed with their parents in Boston. When they were born, Mother Xia insisted on breastfeeding them; later, they continued staying with their parents as they were well-behaved, and only returned with the couple.

The Xia family was an affluent and wealthy family that managed a famous private high school in China, and Xia Wenjin was the sole heir to the Xia family. Hence, while they were not extravagant, they led comfortable lives in Boston.

They lived in a three-storey terrace, a common sight in the United States. However, their neighbourhood was a safe place, as there were strict visitation policies.

Among the Xia family’s neighbours were a pair of brothers. The elder brother, Moxiu, was eight, while the younger brother Mojie was only a one-year old toddler. Jiang Moxiu had instantly felt attached to the Xia couple when they first arrived, as he seldom had the chance to meet Chinese people. Therefore, he witnessed Xia Baobei’s conception, birth and growth.

The little Jiang Moxiu had unconsciously started his “wife-raising plan” from a young age. Unfortunately, while he was Mojie and Xia Tian’s role model, Baobei never really cared about him.

This situation continued, until Baobei was scheduled to return to China.

The night before their departure, the fourteen year-old Mr Jiang brought the six year-old Baobei out for a stroll. The two of them spent a long time playing at the community park. The young Mr Jiang brought Baobei to play on the slides, the swings, and even baseball.

Perhaps Baobei might have long forgotten about this moment. She was sitting on the swing, her small legs swaying in the air. At that time, she told the young Mr Jiang, “Brother Moxiu, I don’t know if I will ever find a playmate like you when I return to China. I will miss you!”

This rare memory stuck in little Jiang’s mind.

That night, it was little Jiang who piggybacked Baobei home, as she was exhausted from playing. The little girl slept comfortably on the young man’s back without reservations, and even snored a little, her saliva soaking up a large part of Jiang Moxiu’s shirt. Even though he took a slow and long walk back, in Jiang Moxiu’s eyes, this journey was still too short.

Baobei was only six years old then; she forgot about her words soon after she said them.

Afterwards, Baobei returned to China. As her life in China was also very exciting, her memories of Brother Moxiu became a distant memory, fading into oblivion.

Xia Baobei was considered a talented and hardworking student. However, her bubbly and carefree temperament, which was unlike that of an elite student, made her appear less hardworking than she actually was.

Of course, Xia Baobei studied in her family’s high school. As a member of the Xia family, not only was she given free access to the principal’s office, she also had a popular brother. Hence, her years in high school were well-spent.

Xia Baobei performed well for her university entrance examinations, at least in the eyes of the common folk.

Her mother wanted to send her to Columbia University, but this wretched girl did not want to study overseas, and intentionally screwed up her examinations, a feat that was harder than doing well in the examinations.

As an important figure in the education world, Mother Xia used her contacts to get Baobei’s examination scripts. She did not believe that her daughter was only qualified to attend Qinghua university. She almost fainted from anger when she saw the scripts.

The answers that were deliberately answered wrongly fully corroborated Mr Jiang’s evaluation of this younger Ms Xia.

For example, for a literature question:

The mountains said to the seas, “You are vast! Boundless! Passionate! Surging!”

The seas said to the mountains, “(____________________)”

Candidate Xia’s answer was, “(Thanks for the compliments!)”

When Baobei’s literature teacher later saw the same paper, she could only cry.

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Our story starts from Baobei’s time in university.

Leaving her parents and going up north alone, Xia Baobei, free from all restraint, started doing crazy things. Fortunately, the only person who could rein her in, her elder sister Xia Xu, had also started her own family in Beijing.