Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Geng Lu cradled the phone in her hands and placed it in front of Jiang Ning:

"Tiantian Kupao, do you play it? Can you help me get a high score? You guys must be great at playing games."

Jiang Ning had played this game before and was quite skilled. Now he couldn't help feeling a bit of an itch:

"Sure, I'll give it a try."

He took Geng Lu's phone and glanced at it; the screen was a whole size bigger than his iPhone 5, an Oppo Find 5, another popular model.

Before Jiang Ning launched the game, he released his Divine Sense.

Within a hundred-meter range, any movement from the teachers wouldn't escape his notice.

He started a game and began to play.

He played right up until the class bell rang.

Geng Lu watched with a racing heart, sweating bullets for Jiang Ning. She had played 'Tiantian Kupao' herself, and while the early stages were manageable, the later stages demanded quick reflexes that she simply couldn't keep up with.

Several times she thought Jiang Ning was done for, but each time, Jiang Ning managed to continue on with superb gameplay.

Jiang Ning no longer wanted to play; he was bored, finding absolutely no challenge in it.

He laid the phone on the table, and as the game character lost control, it instantly fell into a pit.

The game screen tallied up a ridiculously high score, Geng Lu looked on admiringly.

Jiang Ning handed the phone back to her, reminding her:

"Don't play with the phone anymore, the class teacher is coming."

He had sensed the teacher's approach with his Divine Sense.

Geng Lu was puzzled as to how Jiang Ning knew, but she trusted him and obediently put her phone away.

Ma Shicheng returned with a smile on his face; he had just added several girls on QQ, like Chen Siyu and others, the prettier girls in class.

He had thought about adding Yang Sheng but decided against it in the end.

To defeat a gaming girl, one had to beat her at what she does best. Once his 'Tiantian Kupao' score was number one in the class, then he would add Yang Sheng as a friend from a position of strength.

Despite their quarrel, Yang Sheng's gaming prowess had earned a great deal of respect from Ma Shicheng. If previously Yang Sheng's score was an eight, now it had jumped to 9.9.

"Little Yang Sheng, I will conquer you sooner or later," Ma Shicheng mused arrogantly to himself, always considering himself top-notch when it came to gaming.

He opened the game rankings and was about to send hearts and stamina to his newly added friends.

Jiang Ning tapped him: "Put away your phone, the class teacher is here."

Like a mouse who had seen a cat, Ma Shicheng stashed his phone away in a flash and watched the doorway warily.

The next second, Shan Qingrong stepped into the classroom, his piercing gaze sweeping over everyone, and the noisy chatter in the room instantly ceased.

Then, Shan Qingrong walked straight to a corner of the classroom.

This corner was dubbed the "Dark Corner" by the boys of class 8, simply because the students who sat there were quite an odd bunch.

A pair of desks was pushed against the left wall; Miao Zhe sat by the window, while his deskmate was a thin, unattractive girl. Each of their adjacent desks was occupied by two girls, equally awkward in appearance—describing them in words was challenging.

Privately, some boys joked that Miao Zhe, sandwiched between five unattractive girls, must have reversed fortunes.

Cui Yu even claimed that if he sat there, it would surely shorten his life.

Whenever Miao Zhe had conflicts with others, people would mock him about that spot and ask if he had unusual tastes.

In this era of high school, students were not as tactful as adults; those considered ugly often became the subject of nasty behind-the-back comments.

Shan Qingrong stood next to the Dark Corner's aisle and held out his hand:

"Give it here."

Miao Zhe looked at him but said nothing.

Shan Qingrong's face hardened as he commanded, "Give it here."

His tone was already edged with irritation.

Miao Zhe's mouth twitched and he handed over his phone obediently.

"Come get it before the vacation."

Shan Qingrong went to the podium and scanned the students in the class:

"From now on, anyone who plays with their phone during class, this will be the consequence."

A few boys in the back row wilted for three seconds at his words, then immediately reassured themselves, believing they would not get caught.

After speaking a few words, Shan Qingrong left the class in the charge of Huang Zhongfei and departed.

Ma Shicheng gloated, "That idiot, daring to play with his phone by the window, deserved to have it confiscated."

Given Miao Zhe's usual antics, no one in the class felt sorry for him; Cui Yu and Wang Longlong broke into laughter.

Miao Zhe sat at his desk with a dark expression, silent, with a ball of fury festering inside.

The class quieted down for a bit before the sound of chatting picked up again from all corners. Returning from the short holiday, students just couldn't settle down to study.

Huang Zhongfei reminded them a few times but to no use, so he told everyone that they could chat but to keep their voices down.

Sitting in front of Miao Zhe was a girl who was both dark and plump, with a face covered in pockmarks. She turned her head to chat with Miao Zhe's desk mate.

Miao Zhe knew the girl's name was Pang Jiao, and indeed she was "delicate", just in the sense of "an ugly person being overly sensitive."

When Pang Jiao chatted and laughed from time to time, her rough voice combined with her big, dark face and the odd smell from her mouth nearly suffocated Miao Zhe. Why did God have to torture him like this?

Holding a small mirror, Pang Jiao secretly applied something to her face and asked Miao Zhe's desk mate, Wang Yanyan:

"Do you think I've lost weight over the holiday?"

Miao Zhe thought to himself, 'You're just a big black pig.'

Wang Yanyan flattered, "I think you have slimmed down, a lot actually."

Pang Jiao was delighted, truly believing she had lost weight.

Wang Yanyan said, "Wow, Jiaojiao, you actually have quite nice features; once you slim down, you'll definitely be pretty."

Beside them, Miao Zhe felt sick. Even if Pang Jiao slimmed down, with that big face of hers, she'd still be ugly.

Pang Jiao also believed she had potential and took it seriously:

"Hey, once I slim down, I'm definitely gonna get myself a boyfriend."

She rested her hand on the edge of Miao Zhe's desk, and as he glanced at her fingers, his eyelid twitched. What kind of fingers were those?

As thick and short as pig trotters, complete with dark hairs.

Miao Zhe's eyelids kept jumping.

"Yanyan, I think you're pretty good-looking. In high school, someone will definitely chase after you," Pang Jiao praised Wang Yanyan.

Miao Zhe almost threw up. Wang Yanyan had a lopsided mouth, and her eyes were set far apart on her very strange-looking face.

Even if Wang Yanyan chased after him, he would disdain her!

"Yanyan, let me tell you, if someone chases after you in the future, don't agree so easily. You need to choose carefully and find a handsome boy to be your boyfriend."

"Why does it have to be a handsome one?"

"Because with a handsome guy, you feel comfortable even when just eating together; everything is more appetizing."

"Hahaha!" Pang Jiao laughed with what she thought was humor, her monster-like chuckles and bad breath overwhelming Miao Zhe's senses.

A surge of evil fire erupted within Miao Zhe; having just had his phone confiscated and then witnessing this scene, he could no longer hold back his impulsive nature.

Miao Zhe blurted out ruthlessly, "Pang Jiao, have you ever considered how your boyfriend would feel? Don't you think about whether he could stomach his meal when he sees your face?"

The once cheerful atmosphere suddenly froze, and then turned agitated.

Ma Shicheng was playing with his phone, trying to beat his high score when he suddenly heard the commotion.

"They're fighting! They've started fighting!"

"Miao Zhe and Pang Jiao are fighting!"

Cui Yu was excited; a boy and a girl were fighting!

He hadn't seen something like this since elementary school!

"My gosh, Pang Jiao is fierce!" Hu Jun exclaimed in shock.

Pang Jiao stood at one meter sixty-five and weighed one hundred and sixty pounds.

Miao Zhe was slightly taller than her, but he weighed at most a hundred pounds. Despite the significant difference in strength between men and women, Pang Jiao, with her weight, used her sharp claws to randomly scratch and was unexpectedly suppressing Miao Zhe.

However, Miao Zhe fought without any sense of martial honor; he didn't care that the other was a girl at all. He grabbed Pang Jiao's hair and yanked it hard, his claw scratching across Pang Jiao's face.

Their fight grew fiercer until they were grappling with each other.

Ma Shicheng watched, dumbfounded, yet worried:

"Will they be alright, fighting like this?"

Class monitor Huang Zhongfei ran over, trying to break it up, "Stop it, stop fighting!"

The two kept clawing at each other, completely ignoring him as if he didn't exist.

Huang Zhongfei stood by awkwardly; one of them was a girl, so it wasn't right for him to intervene physically.

He looked to Bai Yuxia.

Bai Yuxia was equally at a loss; Huang Zhongfei's words had no effect, and hers would surely be futile as well.

As for breaking up the fight?

She wasn't a fool; there was no way she would step in now. She had heard of Miao Zhe's temperament; after a month of school, most of the boys in the class despised him.

Miao Zhe was petty and aggressive; that was the general consensus.

If she went to intervene, she'd likely get caught in the crossfire.

Bai Yuxia glanced unconsciously at Jiang Ning, hoping he would step in again.