Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Xue Yuantong insisted she wanted to buy rabbits.

Jiang Ning kept biking on his own, while Xue Yuantong clung to the back seat, hustling her little legs, running along as if she was a child being a sore loser.

The mountain bike grew increasingly distant from the rabbits, and Xue Yuantong realized Jiang Ning definitely wasn't going to buy one for her.

She was full of regret, why had she carelessly blurted out about eating rabbits?

Was she stupid?

No, it must be Jiang Ning who was too cunning!

To actually trick her, so pure and simple, it was too hateful.

She really wanted to let go of the bike seat and go buy a little rabbit on her own.

But she didn't have any money, she was being lazy, and had given all her money to Jiang Ning, so when they were out shopping, she could simply choose what she wanted and let Jiang Ning pay for it.

Wasn't it just like an ancient Miss?

But now, Xue Yuantong tasted the bitter fruit; she wanted to have control over the money, but she needed Jiang Ning's consent.

Xue Yuantong was getting tired from running, she pressed on the back seat, took a deep breath, and suddenly hopped on with very skilled and professional technique.

"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning," Xue Yuantong twisted her body, adjusting her sitting position.

"You're so disappointing," she sighed, resenting his indifference.

Jiang Ning paid her no attention; over the past six months, he had let her down many times, and each time Xue Yuantong was disappointed, she always turned her disappointment into appetite and ate heartily.

He was contemplating; his stock of Elixir Pills was running low, and he would go to Hu Qi Mountain tonight to make a batch, ensuring his routine Cultivation.

After all, at any time, Cultivation was the guarantee for Jiang Ning to maintain his leisurely life now.

As long as he had Cultivation, no one would dare disturb him.

Xue Yuantong didn't care whether Jiang Ning responded or not, all the way she kept talking non-stop, pointing out the very serious mistakes Jiang Ning had made, where he was wrong, and how he should improve in the future.

She also stated that at today's midday, Jiang Ning must listen to her, helping her wash and cut vegetables, or else she would give him a very, very cruel punishment.

This way, Jiang Ning remained silent, with Xue Yuantong behind him, a hand tugging at the corner of his clothes to keep balance, all the while muttering threats to him.

Finally, the mountain bike made a turn and descended from the river dam.

Xue Yuantong, seeing that Jiang Ning kept ignoring her, thought she was being underestimated, the mere Jiang Ning actually disregarding her so.

Spare the rod, spoil the child!

Xue Yuantong was angry, but she was a patient girl; she specifically waited until the mountain bike reached the door of the house before sliding off.

"Hmph, you're ignoring me, huh?"

"You dare not eat the meal I cook at noon!"

Xue Yuantong crossed her arms and glared at Jiang Ning with her head tilted back, but the bag of celery in her hand diminished her aura, adding a homely touch.

Jiang Ning took off the bags hanging from the bike one by one, and said,

"Stingy, are you holding a grudge because I won't let you eat rabbit?"

Xue Yuantong: "This isn't about the rabbit, it's about your attitude."

"It's exactly about the rabbit."

Jiang Ning carried the bags toward Xue Yuantong's house; he usually didn't cook at his own place, he did all his cooking at Xue Yuantong's house, even the induction cooker that his aunt had gifted when he had just moved in was placed in Xue Yuantong's house.

Xue Yuantong, seeing Jiang Ning ignoring her and walking forward,

He was too arrogant!

Xue Yuantong quickly followed with a brisk walk, her size 33 little shoes stepping forcefully on Jiang Ning's Shadow.

It made a 'thump' against the ground.

Jiang Ning kept walking forward, Xue Yuantong swayed around him, continuously assaulting his shadow.

This was the first time Jiang Ning had seen such retaliation, and it made him laugh:

"Are you being silly?"

Xue Yuantong also felt she was being silly, she held her face taut, intending to look serious, but couldn't keep it and ended up smiling, with her eyes and mouth curving up together, she laughed out loud.

"Hahaha."

After she finished laughing, Xue Yuantong realized that she was there to teach Jiang Ning a lesson, and she shouldn't be so frivolous.

She went back to putting on a serious and cold face, but there was still a hint of a smile that couldn't be wiped away from her small face.

"Jiang Ning, do you realize your mistake?"

Jiang Ning said, "I think we're missing a dish for lunch."

Xue Yuantong's attention immediately shifted, "What dish?"

"A fish."

"But we didn't buy fish today," Xue Yuantong said, then paused for a second before asking sneakily,

"Don't tell me… you're going to use that move?"

Jiang Ning snapped his fingers, "That's right."

"Yay!" Xue Yuantong was so happy, her previous dissatisfaction with Jiang Ning instantly evaporated.

She diligently took the vegetables Jiang Ning was holding inside to the kitchen and placed them using a large circular plastic frame.

She kept on looking for the fishing rod.

Yes, Jiang Ning was going to fish.

Jiang Ning watched Xue Yuantong gather the fishing gear and chuckled softly; during the New Year, Xue Yuantong had wanted to eat fried small fish, but he hadn't been able to catch them due to being busy at that time.

Now that school had started and he had more leisure time, he planned to catch fish.

Xue Yuantong came out holding the fishing rod.

"It's only just ten o'clock," Xue Yuantong had eaten a piece of bread in the morning and could still hold on.

After leaving the house, Xue Yuantong locked the door since Aunt Gu was off today.

But she went back to her hometown, so today it was only Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong.

Aunt Gu was never worried about her daughter going hungry; other things aside, she knew very well how eager Xue Yuantong was to eat.

The fishing gear was mostly carried by Xue Yuantong, resembling an ancient page boy in attendance.

Jiang Ning didn't put on the airs of a young master; he carried a bucket meant for holding water from home, and the bucket looked like it could hold a lot.

The two strolled leisurely towards the river dam.

The river dam offered a sweeping view, and the air was fresh.

Whenever the sunshine was good, the tarmac road on the dam would always be bustling with all sorts of people, and over the past six months, Jiang Ning even saw several wedding photography teams several times.

A voice came from the river dam, "Hello, everyone, I'm Geek Yangyang, and today I bring you the flagship phone showdown for the year 2013."

"Next, I will demonstrate a detailed comparative review from aspects such as appearance, performance, photography, battery life, and system experience."

"Looking for phone reviews? Stick with Geek Yangyang."

A tall and robust man, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with a friendly face, leaned against a sedan and energetically introduced something to the camera.

Just then, a small truck came driving over the river dam. The road on the dam was not very broad, and Geek Yangyang's car was blocking the way.

The truck honked its horn, signaling him to adjust the car's position.

Geek Yangyang gestured to the cameraman, indicating to pause for a moment.

He shouted to a young man in his early twenties nearby, "Mingming, I remember you have a driver's license, right? Move the car a little, and then I'll check the script again."

Brother Yang spoke with the same friendly charm that felt like a breath of spring.

The young man known as 'Mingming' was new to the team. He was not from Yuzhou. He had seen Brother Yang's videos online and had traveled to Yuzhou to join the team, firmly believing that Brother Yang would make it big in the future.

Mingming had only recently gotten his driver's license, and his driving skills were rusty; he rarely drove normally.

As a newcomer, he was still in the learning stage and could only take on miscellaneous tasks. Now that Brother Yang had given an order, he would certainly not refuse.

Mingming took the car keys, got into the vehicle, started it up, and moved the car slightly towards the edge of the river dam.

The small truck seized the opportunity to drive past.

Mingming stuck his head out of the car window, carefully watching the edge of the dam. His inexperienced driving led to poor distance control, and as he reversed, the car suddenly became unstable and rolled down the river dam.

"Fuck!" the cameraman exclaimed.

The sedan went careening down the steep slope, rolling over dry grass, and rushed down the dam.

On the southern side of the dam was a small rivulet with some shallow water.

The car crashed wildly down; thankfully, the slope eased a bit just before the rivulet, otherwise, the sedan might have plunged straight into it.

Geek Yangyang and the cameraman hurried down to check on things.

"Mingming, are you okay?" Yangyang, upon seeing his car rush down, cared not for the car first but for the person.

"I'm okay." Mingming pushed open the car door, his expression apologetic.

"Sorry, Brother Yang, I didn't drive well." He felt relieved inside; thankfully, the car had not gone into the ditch, otherwise it might have been a disaster.

Yangyang came over and patted his shoulder, "As long as you're okay, that's what counts."

After saying this, Yangyang looked at the car stopped below the dam, and then at the steep slope.

"I'll try to see if I can drive it back up."

He got into the car and started it, but the slope he was on was not an ordinary incline; the slope was covered with grass, slippery, and incredibly steep.

He tried various gears but still couldn't drive up.

Seeing this, Mingming and the cameraman ran to the back of the car to push. They managed to move it a bit, but the car still lacked the power to climb up.

Geek Yangyang got out of the car and, smiling, took out his phone:

"No worries, I'll call for a tow truck."

Hearing this, Mingming felt guilty. Calling for a tow truck would certainly cost a good sum, and although Brother Yang, being who he was, wouldn't let him pay, the loss would undoubtedly fall on Brother Yang.

Brother Yang was just starting out with his social media reviews and wasn't making much money; every cent was being stretched as far as possible.

Mingming said, "Brother Yang, wait on the tow truck for now; let me see if I can think of a solution."

River dam.

Jiang Ning took the fishing rod from Xue Yuantong and in a few steps, he reached the river dam.

Yuanchong followed swiftly.

As they went up the slope, Xue Yuantong noticed the car by the edge of the ditch.

"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, that car almost fell into the ditch."

Jiang Ning glanced that way.

Based on his guess, that car probably wouldn't be able to get out any time soon.

Jiang Ning carried the bucket, with Xue Yuantong hurrying to the riverbank with him.

A young man ran over to him. Facing Jiang Ning, who was younger than himself, he put a smile on his face and took the initiative to show weakness:

"Bro, could you do me a favor? My car's gone down there, and I need a push; thanks a lot, man!"

Xue Yuantong stood prettily by Jiang Ning's side.

Jiang Ning nodded; he didn't mind giving a hand for something so trivial:

"Sure."

"Thank you! Just wait for me, I'll find a few more people; be right back."

"No problem, go ahead," Jiang Ning said. He could easily move the car, but always preferred to keep a low profile.

There were still others on the river dam, and most people would lend a hand when they saw someone in trouble.

Soon, five or six men had been gathered.

Xue Yuantong followed Jiang Ning, and before he helped, he handed her the bucket:

"I'll be back soon."

"Be careful, okay?" Xue Yuantong worried he might fall into the ditch.

"Don't worry," he said.

The men nearby saw this and teased with a smile, "Kid, is she your sister?"

"Neighbor," Jiang Ning said.

"Nice to have such neighbors."

The group made their way to the side of the rivulet, laid hands on the car body, and with the car started, a coordinated effort finally pushed the car up the river dam.

Geek Yangyang got out from the car and handed out cigarettes to everyone. Jiang Ning declined.

Geek Yangyang, getting an idea, called out to the people who had helped:

"Gentlemen, I work in social media and usually post videos online. You guys have helped me out today; would you like to come and join in my video?"

He took out his phone, opened the Youku app for everyone to see, and the view counts and comments were impressive.

In those days, unlike the later proliferation of short videos, appearing in a video was quite intriguing to people, especially since Geek Yangyang had a cameraman, which demonstrated professionalism.

Therefore, the men who helped out all responded eagerly.

Jiang Ning said, "I'll pass. I'm off to fish."

Geek Yangyang tried to retain him, thinking the guy and girl, both good-looking, would be photogenic, and their presence in the video might even boost the view count.

Yet Jiang Ning declined; he had little interest in appearing in videos.

Geek Yangyang inwardly lamented the loss but looked at Xue Yuantong's fishing rod:

"Wish you a big haul today, brother."