Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Dinner time came, and Xue Yuantong still had fish on her plate.

Because she had made the fish with Aunt Gu, she believed she contributed and thus ate only a little bit—as she deserved.

After dinner, Xue Chuchu and her mother stayed for a while.

Xue Chuchu needed to attend the evening self-study at Yu Zhou Second Middle School, where time was of the essence, so Hua Fengmei took her to school.

Before leaving, Aunt Gu looked at the mother and daughter: "Chuchu, come and visit often, I'll make delicious food for you."

"Thank you, Aunt Gu," Xue Chuchu replied politely.

"Look how sensible this girl is," Aunt Gu praised.

Xue Yuantong stuck close by Jiang Ning's side, and owing to the height difference, she appeared like a buy-one-get-one-free bonus.

She waved her little hand: "Chuchu, goodbye!"

"You too, Tongtong."

Xue Yuantong had intended to add QQ, but alas, Chuchu didn't have a mobile phone, so she had no choice but to give up the idea.

"Let's get together more often in the future," Aunt Gu said again.

"Yes, Aunt Gu." In fact, Xue Chuchu herself didn't believe in these words.

Her mother was usually so busy with work that sometimes she couldn't even exchange a few words with her in a whole day.

Her mother had two days off a month, and whenever she finally had time to rest, she just wanted to relax and recuperate or clean the house, with no plans to go out for fun.

Xue Chuchu thought to herself, 'When will I visit here again? Not for several months, perhaps?'

After all, everyone was so busy now that it was simply impossible to find the time to gather.

Sitting in the back seat of the black electric bicycle as she prepared to leave, she looked back at Xue Yuantong's family.

She had a great day today; Xue Yuantong's house faced south, with plenty of sunshine, making it warm and cozy.

While the house Xue Chuchu's family rented, though located in the urban area, was on the seventh floor of an old building with no elevator, and climbing home after school was exhausting.

Moreover, the house faced east on the top floor, where sunlight wasn't great; it was cold in winter and scorching in summer.

Thinking of that house, her first impression was always its chilliness.

It was somewhat oppressive to live in, unlike Xue Yuantong's home nestled below the river dam with endless fields in front, which expanded one's view and seemed to broaden one's chest as well.

Also, she really liked the atmosphere at Xue Yuantong's family's place—even envied it; at her own home, she always felt a heavy sensation, as if she was carrying some sort of burden.

Xue Chuchu pursed her lips and waved gently to Xue Yuantong and her family, saying goodbye to all the loveliness for now.

'It's okay, everything will get better after I graduate.'

Someday, Xue Chuchu would live under the 'sunshine', and she wouldn't be defeated by life!

...

Not long after Xue Chuchu left, Jiang Ning pushed out their mountain bike to leave.

Aunt Gu sat at the door on a stool, knitting wool with needles, seemingly creating a winter hat.

Jiang Ning watched for a while; the fabric Aunt Gu chose was of very nice color, and her knitting technique was quite skillful.

"Does it look good?" Xue Yuantong came over to ask.

"Can't really tell right now," Jiang Ning responded.

"My mom's craftsmanship is super good; once she's finished, it will definitely surprise you," Xue Yuantong boasted.

"Then do you know how to knit?" Jiang Ning asked her.

"Hmph, of course I do. The scarf around your neck was knitted by me," she declared.

Jiang Ning said, "Knitting a hat is harder, right?"

"A mere hat, it's a piece of cake. When I have time, I'll show you!"

She straightened Jiang Ning's scarf, which had become a little crooked earlier.

Jiang Ning always felt she was bluffing; judging by Xue Yuantong's character that nearly drove her mad when fishing, the act of knitting a scarf seemed out of character—it was hard to imagine her sitting still for days on end to knit a scarf.

If it weren't for the traces of Xue Yuantong's presence that Jiang Ning detected on the scarf, it would indeed be hard to believe.

...

Evening self-study at Fourth Middle School.

Class 8.

When Jiang Ning arrived at the classroom, there were about fifteen minutes left before class.

In front, Bai Yuxia was studying at her seat; next to her, Dan Kaiquan's spot was empty. He wasn't there, but there was a box of milk on the desk.

Before coming to class, Dan Kaiquan had specifically bought a box of milk, and although Bai Yuxia didn't accept it, he insisted on the purchase.

He wanted Bai Yuxia to witness his perseverance!

After buying the milk today, he hadn't delivered it yet. He felt very upset after his confession failed last night.

He and Guo Kunnan ran laps on the sports field all night, but even after several rounds, the pain in his heart persisted.

He decided to be cold towards Bai Yuxia for a day—to show her that he was a man with a temper!

Walking down the classroom aisle towards the back row, Dan Kaiquan first glanced towards the center of the classroom, where Dong Qingfeng and Chen Qian were studying seriously, his mouth curling in disdain.

Then Dan Kaiquan made his way to the world of joy—the back row of four conjoined seats.

Only Guo Kunnan greeted him; the warm welcome from before was no longer there.

Dan Kaiquan felt desolate. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind; ever since he withdrew from 'Jianghu', the legends of the back row about him had dwindled.

At the moment, Cui Yu was chatting with a few others, excitement for gossip clear on his slim face.

"Guys, my pen ran out of ink, and I can't always rely on your support, so I went out to buy one today," he said.

The small supermarket inside Fourth Middle School sold stationery, but many students found the external stationery store more economical and generally went outside the school to buy their supplies.

"Guess who I ran into?" Cui Yu teased.

Several people urged, "If you've got something to say, spit it out."

"You guys know Shen Xu, right? He's that vendor from class 9, selling seat cushions and hand warmers in our class."

When talking about Shen Xu, Cui Yu had some disdain. He was outside eating spicy hotpot one day and overheard Shen Xu bragging to a couple of thugs about how much money he'd made, as well as boasting about his girlfriend from the experimental class.

No matter how Cui Yu listened, it didn't sit right with him.

"Of course, we know him. Brother Quan even bought from him," Hu Jun responded.

Wang Longlong said, "Brother Quan really has money, huh? I can't afford any of that stuff."

Dan Kaiquan felt uncomfortable hearing this and made an excuse,

"I just get cold easily."

"Is Brother Quan really that fragile?" Cui Yu added.

Unable to explain himself properly, Dan Kaiquan let them believe he was just wealthy. He'd originally bought those items for Bai Yuxia, but she already had her own and didn't use his at all.

Cui Yu continued the previous topic, "I saw his girlfriend today."

At those words, the few boys present became interested, all turning to look at him.

Seeing their eager faces, Cui Yu felt smug inside. Everyone only knew that Shen Xu's girlfriend was from the experimental class, but they hadn't seen her. Today, he had fortuitously caught a glimpse.

"How does she look?" asked Dan Kaiquan. High schoolers are like this; upon hearing someone has a partner, they immediately want to know if they're pretty.

Although Cui Yu looked down on Shen Xu a bit, he still replied:

"She's pretty good-looking. You know Dong Jiayi from class 1? Only slightly less pretty than her, but definitely the good-looking type."

'Dong Jiayi'—the corner of Dan Kaiquan's mouth twitched. He was now allergic to that name; it gave him a headache every time he heard it.

Wang Longlong exclaimed, "She is quite pretty."

Sitting beside them, Ma Shicheng looked up at them once, then submerged back into his game.

Hu Jun's lips curled into a proud arc: 'What do these little brats know about beauty? True beauty should be plump, mature, voluptuous, not some yellow-haired girl.'

He inwardly sighed, missing his math teacher's class during the evening self-study—it was truly hard to endure!

Cui Yu, observing everything, noticed Ma Shicheng and Hu Jun's expressions and sneered inwardly.

"Shen Xu's girlfriend likes playing games. They were sitting on a bench outside Yucai Store, gaming, and I saw everything clearly. She was playing Subway Surfers, which I've seen Brother Ma play."

Upon hearing this, Ma Shicheng lifted his head and looked over again.

Then Cui Yu added, "Whose mother takes her daughter to school every day, dropping her off right at the school gates? Her mom looks..."

Hu Jun's expression changed, his gaze fixating:

"What does she look like?"

"Damn it!" Dan Kaiquan glanced at Hu Jun, aware of Hu Jun's unique taste. He remembered vividly, at the beginning of the school year, when they asked Hu Jun to rate the girls in class 8, Hu Jun rated them all very low.

It turns out his preference was for women over thirty-five, quite an unusual taste.

While Dan Kaiquan harbored contempt for Hu Jun internally, he also felt a sense of superiority. Although his pursuit of Bai Yuxia had been thwarted, at least his aesthetic sense hadn't gone awry.

Unlike Hu Jun, who had strayed down the wrong path from the start.

"Why the hell are you interested in her mom? What's wrong with you, man? Can't you pick up some good habits?" Guo Kunnan scolded him.

Knowing they didn't understand true beauty, Hu Jun didn't argue further.

Cui Yu cunningly drew the attention of Ma Shicheng and Hu Jun back.

He felt superior, a sense of intellectual triumph.

Seeing that he'd reclaimed their attention, Cui Yu steered the conversation in his desired direction:

"Do you think Shen Xu is a good match for that girl? As far as I know, Shen Xu used to slack off—a bottom twenty rank in the last exam, but his girlfriend is from the experimental class and pretty good-looking."

Cui Yu spurred on hatred, ready to have the brothers verbally assault Shen Xu to keep him from doing business with Class 8 and prevent him from showing off outside the school.

Dan Kaiquan took the lead, "Match? Bullshit. All he does is suck up to girls, and that's how he landed one."

"I despise people like that!"

Dan Kaiquan was jealous that Shen Xu had a good-looking girlfriend.

Guo Kunnan chimed in, "Shen Xu looks all smiley when selling stuff, but he's not that great. Last time we played basketball on the field, when Shen Xu got the ball, he hogged it and didn't pass; his sportsmanship is even worse than Wu Xiaoqi's."

Cui Yu nodded, "Next time he comes to our class, Kaiquan, don't buy anything from him. Think about it—his dating expenses come from the money you give him. Does that sit well with you?"

"Not at all!" Dan Kaiquan replied. He'd learned his lesson and truly wouldn't buy from Shen Xu again.

Cui Yu, seeing his success in riling up hostility, went on:

"Guys, I've got a secret for you. Shen Xu rented a place outside the school. He and his girlfriend hung out for a while, and then went back to the rental together."

Cui Yu's eyes were peculiar, the implication clear to the others.

"Times have changed," muttered Dan Kaiquan. Although he chased girls, he never thought about going that far.

"There's nothing we can do. All the good students like that kind of guy, right? Shen Xu is wild, looks decent, makes some money from selling stuff, and he's quite eloquent," said Guo Kunnan, as if it were nothing new.

He went to school in the town during junior high, and there, junior high and high school were the same institution; a lot of the high school students played hard, much more than those at Fourth Middle School.

He was lucky to have good grades in junior high, always in the top five, which got him a spot at Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School.

Wang Longlong also sighed. He felt regret upon hearing this.

Ma Shicheng had been interested in the girl who played games, but now he kept quiet.

Only Hu Jun remained unfazed, his face showing no sign of dejection, rather a touch of delight—for him, those things were inconsequential; he liked them even more!

After a while, led by Cui Yu's topics, the boys, if not outright enemies of Shen Xu, certainly had an extremely poor impression of him.

Cui Yu cursed inwardly, 'Shen Xu, you idiot dog, showing off in front of me. I'll mess up your business!'

One, he disliked Shen Xu, and two, because Shen Xu's girlfriend was from the same junior high as him and was quite popular at school, the kind of good student type.

Even though he didn't like the girl—he had his sights set on Jiang Yanan from his class—he couldn't contain his anger when he thought about an innocent girl being seduced by Shen Xu, who then bragged about it to the thugs outside.

He was determined to mess with Shen Xu!