Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Several days later, in the morning.

At half-past ten, the sky outside the classroom gradually darkened, and soon, rain began to fall from the heavens.

The east wind carried droplets that pattered against the glass, creating a dense, ticking sound.

The rain was urgent, making the students in the class anxious, as the downpour had caught everyone off guard.

"Jiang Ning, did you bring an umbrella?" Geng Lu turned to speak before class started.

"I did." Jiang Ning had observed the weather last night and, predicting rain today, had deliberately brought a black umbrella.

In truth, he didn't need to, for with just a simple use of the "Rain Avoidance Technique," he could open a spiritual power around himself, forming something akin to a raincoat effect, preventing the rain from soaking his clothes.

He had brought the umbrella solely for Xue Yuantong.

Before leaving the house, Xue Yuantong had declared that it definitely would not rain today, since she had checked the weather forecast on her phone and refused to take an umbrella.

Geng Lu was slightly disappointed to hear that Jiang Ning had brought an umbrella; if he hadn't, then she could have shared one with him.

"Are you going home for lunch?" she asked.

"No, the rain outside is heavy." Jiang Ning said, as his classmates were still praying for the rain to stop; however, from his perspective, it seemed this rain was likely to continue until the evening without pause.

Geng Lu replied, "Okay." She also felt less inclined to go home for lunch now.

By noon, when school let out, the rain showed no sign of stopping.

Classmates stepped out of the classroom, clustering in the corridor, watching the rain outside.

Class 1, next to Class 8 on the left, also had some students standing in the corridor, but more of them were reading books inside the classroom.

To the right of Class 8, Grade 11, was the stairwell, where students from the floors above gathered, slowly increasing in number; the sounds of idle chatter and complaints spread, filling the atmosphere with restlessness.

The autumn rain had come so suddenly that few students had brought umbrellas.

Xue Yuantong came to the back of the class; she had tied her hair in a high ponytail today, emanating full vitality.

"Jiang Ning, I'm not going home for lunch," she said.

"I'm not going home either; let's wait for the rain to lighten up and then go out to eat," Jiang Ning proposed.

"Okay, get me a portion too," Xue Yuantong would rather not go out.

Jiang Ning responded, "I won't. You'll come with me."

"Fine then." Xue Yuantong ran back to her seat.

Jiang Ning noticed that Xue Yuantong was incredibly lazy during school hours, preferring to lie down whenever possible, and she never fetched her own dinner—it was always Jiang Ning who bought it for her.

Jiang Ning reminisced; it seemed that in his past life, Xue Yuantong had been just the same, always lying on her desk, not socializing with anyone.

She seemed to have no friends and lived in her own world.

He remembered one winter afternoon, after school, he had bought dinner for Shen Qing'e and saw Xue Yuantong eating bread and drinking water from the water dispenser.

Why did he particularly remember that time?

Because that day, Shen Qing'e had a craving for squid roll pancakes, and Jiang Ning had bought her a deluxe version that cost thirteen yuan, leaving only one yuan left for his own dinner, which is why he bought the same kind of bread as Xue Yuantong had.

The bread was very dry. He had taken the freshly boiled hot water, and Xue Yuantong, not waiting for the next cycle to boil, settled for drinking cold water.

The winters in Hui Province were cold, with temperatures dropping to minus seven or eight degrees Celsius.

At that time, Jiang Ning had even thought that Xue Yuantong was quite a strange person.

...

The rain was still falling.

Ten minutes had passed, and many had grown impatient from waiting.

One could occasionally see students braving the rain alone; some with backpacks overhead, sprinting quickly, while others strolled through it at a leisurely pace, presenting a figure that was both dashing and bedraggled.

Wang Longlong stood in the corridor, facing the rain, hands clasped behind his back, his slightly plump body exuding a solitary pride, starkly different from the restless students around him.

He chanted indifferently, "Good rain knows its season, it comes when spring arrives."

The sudden voice resonated through the crowd, drawing people's attention.

Bai Yuxia quietly distanced herself several steps, thinking the person beside her might just be an idiot.

Ma Shicheng, ever so supportive, clapped his hands:

"Fine poem, fine poem, Brother Long is a real talent!"

Wang Longlong showed a modest smile on his face.

Geng Lu said, "What about the rest? Do you know it?"

Wang Longlong immediately felt embarrassed; it was a line that had just popped into his head, how could he remember the rest?

Geng Lu scoffed,

"Autumn's here, and you're still caught in spring rains?"

After another seven or eight minutes, the rain finally began to let up, and students gradually started heading outside.

Jiang Ning, holding an umbrella, walked to Xue Yuantong's side and knocked on her desk,

"Get up, let's go eat."

"No, no, I'm not getting up, can you just bring me back a takeout~"

Jiang Ning picked her up by the collar gently, lifting her away from the desk.

"You eat so much and don't exercise, you'll get fat," he patiently advised.

Xue Yuantong adjusted her collar and complained,

"You nag just like my mother."

Nevertheless, she still followed Jiang Ning out of the classroom.

Jiang Ning popped open the umbrella, and Xue Yuantong huddled underneath.

The umbrella was large enough to cover both of them with no problem.

As they walked to the school gates, the rain had become much lighter, but Jiang Ning still kept the umbrella up.

Xue Yuantong looked back and saw a dense crowd of students hustling out in a wave.

This time, there weren't many street food stalls by the school gates; the earlier rain had been too heavy, deterring many stall owners from setting up.

Some food stalls had erected rainproof shelters.

"Jiang Ning, what should we have for lunch?"

"I know a restaurant with pretty good food," Jiang Ning said, noting that the owner's cooking was decent and the place was hygienic.

"Follow me," he said.

The street wasn't too crowded, and Xue Yuantong kept close behind Jiang Ning, as if seeking some sense of security.

Whenever they approached crowded areas, she felt a sense of disconnection from the world, instinctively disliking being in crowded places.

They had walked about a hundred meters when the streets began to get busier. Up ahead, there was a small intersection with alleys on both sides.

A large wolfhound darted out from an alley, followed by a corpulent man in a tank top.

Balding, beer-bellied, fake gold chain, fake gold watch.

Jiang Ning's sharp eyes took it all in clearly.

The fat man paid no heed to the wolfhound's reckless charge ahead, just strolling down the street.

Jiang Ning could tell that Xue Yuantong, beside him, tensed up, a shiver running through her.

He glanced at Xue Yuantong and saw her eyes fixed on the wolfhound.

'She's afraid of dogs?'

It made sense; the wolfhound was a massive beast that even most adults might find intimidating.

The fat man's wolfhound, still ferocious, strutted down the street with its nose extended, sniffing at some of the students, who hurriedly moved away.

Some of the more timid girls didn't dare walk on the street; instead, they stuck to the stores lining either side.

Meanwhile, the fat man seemed to wear a smile of pride, not caring in the least.

The wolfhound roamed about, brushing up against food stalls. Some students standing and waiting for the stall owners to prepare snacks jumped back as the dog approached, opened its mouth, and, baring its ferocious teeth, began to gnaw at the students' trousers.

Paralyzed with fear, the students didn't dare resist. They just stared at the wolfhound, allowing it to bite, fearful of provoking it further.

Onlookers cast disdainful glances at the fat man.

The fat man didn't seem to mind at all, walking along as if nothing was happening, letting his wolfhound bite people.

Xue Yuantong quickened her pace, eager to hurry past this section of the street.

But dogs have a way of sensing fear, the more you're scared, the more they approach, as though they can smell human fear.

The wolfhound left the student at the food stall and ran towards Xue Yuantong.

By its running speed, it looked as though it was about to pounce on her.

Xue Yuantong trembled inwardly and couldn't help wanting to dodge.

Suddenly, warmth came over her shoulder.

Jiang Ning's hand was resting there.