Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

The snow continued to fall, and according to Jiang Ning's judgment, it was likely to fall all night.

The bell for the end of evening self-study had just rung, and within two seconds, Dan Kaiquan darted out of the classroom.

Jiang Ning stood up, went to the shed to find his mountain bike, and pushed it as he and Xue Yuantong walked out of the school.

Rain and snow are different. Rain is uncomfortable on the skin and makes one want to avoid it, but snowflakes rarely disgust people, and many enjoy walking in the snow.

As soon as they walked out of the school gate, they saw Guo Kunnan, Dan Kaiquan, and Hu Jun, facing the snow and walking back with plastic bags.

"You guys are quick," Jiang Ning said.

Dan Kaiquan patted the plastic bag, which contained greaseproof paper bags:

"In the dead of winter, we bought an egg pancake outside. We'll go back and soak in a pot of instant noodles. It's really refreshing."

"Then shouldn't you have a cup of milk tea, too?" Jiang Ning asked.

Guo Kunnan said, "I still have a box of sour milk in my dormitory. I'll go to the water room later, heat up a pot of water, warm it, and it will taste great."

Actually, he wanted to buy milk tea, but a cup cost several yuan. If he bought milk tea, he wouldn't be able to afford chicken strips and grilled sausages in his egg pancake, so it was better to drink sour milk.

One good thing about high school students: they eat four to five meals a day without worrying about gaining weight, unlike later when they enter society. As they get older and have more money, drinking a cup of milk tea or eating a cake becomes fraught with concerns about weight gain, high blood pressure, and so on.

"We're heading off first!" Guo Kunnan called out and hurriedly left, worried that if they returned to the dorm late, the pancakes would cool down and not taste as good.

Jiang Ning continued to push the bike out, and suddenly Xue Yuantong yelled:

"Jiang Ning, I want to drink milk tea and eat an egg pancake too."

"Then go buy it," Jiang Ning said.

"But I don't have any money. Can you lend me twenty yuan? I'll pay you back when I get home." Since his mother had been hospitalized, Xue Yuantong had given all her scholarship money to her, and it had been nearly a month since she had an extra meal.

Jiang Ning pulled out a twenty-yuan note and handed it to her.

Xue Yuantong flicked the bill, making a 'da-da' sound, and generously said, "Jiang Ning, I'll treat you to something tasty today!"

"What do you want in your pancake?"

"Add some chicken strips and some chili sauce."

"Alright!"

Xue Yuantong was quite efficient, and soon came back carrying two cups of milk tea and the pancakes.

"You still have to push the bike, you won't have hands free to eat, right?" Xue Yuantong said.

"It is a bit difficult," Jiang Ning admitted. Although he could use Spiritual Power to control the mountain bike to move forward automatically, he couldn't do that in front of Xue Yuantong, otherwise, she would definitely freak out and might even have nightmares about it when she got home.

Jiang Ning knew all too well how timid Xue Yuantong was, so he had to free one hand to push the bike, which meant he could only use one hand to eat.

Xue Yuantong handed Jiang Ning only the pancake, keeping the hot milk tea in her palms. She inserted straws into the two cups:

"Since you lent me the money, I'll help you out. If you want to drink milk tea, just call me."

Jiang Ning pushed the bike forward. Under the night sky, the streetlights struggled to shine brightly, the snowflakes fell onto the asphalt road, quickly melting into water. More snowflakes followed, continuously falling and covering the ground.

The road to the suburbs grew less crowded, with only the occasional car passing by on the roadside and the lights from Yuzhou Fourth Middle School in the distance.

Heaven and earth, wind and snow, merged into a boundless solitude, with only two people and one mountain bike slowly moving forward.

"I want to drink milk tea," Jiang Ning said.

Xue Yuantong immediately tiptoed and held up the cup of milk tea to Jiang Ning's mouth.

Jiang Ning took a sip, "That's enough."

Xue Yuantong stepped back, hopping in the darkness ahead like a little elf.

Jiang Ning followed with the bike, looking out at the dark river dam, suddenly wondering: 'In my previous life, Xue Yuantong only stopped attending evening self-study in 11th grade. How did she manage to get home every evening back then?'

'Being so timid, and with it snowing outside, wouldn't she be too scared to stay in the classroom?'

'Perhaps Aunt Gu would pick her up, but sometimes Aunt Gu worked late. Xue Yuantong must have had to wait until very late, and I'm not sure if Aunt Gu had broken her arm during this time in my previous life.'

Because back then, Xue Yuantong was just a dazzling star in his life.

Jiang Ning thought over these questions, feeling a bit depressed.

Then he smiled gently, dispersing those thoughts.

At least Xue Yuantong was still here, making the most of this life was enough.

"Jiang Ning, I'm done eating," Xue Yuantong said after quickly finishing his milk tea.

"Me too."

Xue Yuantong picked up the plastic bag and ran to throw it in the roadside trash can, then ran back.

Jiang Ning brushed his hand over the seat of the mountain bike, evaporating the snow water:

"Hop on."

"Alright!"

Xue Yuantong hopped nimbly onto the seat.

Cycling in the snow could be slippery, especially since the road back was by the river dam, which might be dangerous, but that bit of trouble wasn't a problem for him. In terms of cycling skills, Jiang Ning thought he had reached perfection.

Jiang Ning took Xue Yuantong, crossing through the snowstorm, and safely made it home.

A row of bungalows, one of them brightly lighted by a gentle lamp, Aunt Gu waiting at the door.

"Mom, I'm back!" Xue Yuantong called.

Aunt Gu's previously worried heart relaxed, but then she chided:

"Keep it down, you'll disturb the grandparents next door."

Xue Yuantong unconcernedly replied, "No way, they stay up later than me!"

...

Monday morning,

Jiang Ning woke up promptly at 6:30, the world silent around him. He opened the door, and all he could see was a vast expanse of white.

It had snowed all night, the snow piling up on the yard wall, seven or eight centimeters thick.

Jiang Ning reached towards the kitchen with his palm, Spiritual Power activated, the door opened, the bucket lid lifted, and a round block of ice mixed with water surged towards him.

A Spiritual Fire flew out, instantly melting the ice, heating it to fifty degrees.

Jiang Ning drank water, cleaned his teeth.

Then a water sphere hit Jiang Ning, cleaning him.

Jiang Ning stepped forward towards Xue Yuantong's house, every step he took, lots of steam rose from his body, nearly enveloping him completely. Five steps later, the steam dissipated, revealing Jiang Ning's figure, his skin and clothes spotless.

He waved the door open and walked to Xue Yuantong's doorstep, her door ajar, likely left open by Xue Yuantong when she got up this morning.

Jiang Ning walked straight in, his Divine Sense sweeping around, Xue Yuantong was cooking.

She was using a hive stove, which was very practical in their area. During winter, a few coal balls could last a day, saving money and hassle.

At night, they would block the air vent, put a kettle on the stove, and there would always be hot water available in the morning.

When it was time to stir fry, they'd open the vent, making the flames bigger, ready for cooking.

Xue Yuantong was stir-frying snow vegetable and shredded meat, a dish made from snow vegetables pickled by Aunt Gu, much more hygienic than those from outside and very tasty, especially when stir-fried with dried chili and shredded meat, spicy and flavorful, a perfect accompaniment to rice.

Seeing Jiang Ning, Xue Yuantong said, "You fold out the small table and bring over the pot. I'll have the food ready soon."

After Jiang Ning set up the table, he spread a cloth over it, then placed the pot on it, lifting the lid, white steam rising, a sweet smell wafting up.

On a aluminum steamer tray above the pot were five rolls, three eggs. While Xue Yuantong wasn't paying attention, Jiang Ning used his Mana to pull out the steamer tray along with the rolls and eggs, then placed them into a basket and covered them with cloth to keep warm.

Underneath the steamer tray, there was porridge made of red taro being cooked. Jiang Ning didn't use a spoon, his Spiritual Power scooped up two bowls.

Xue Yuantong came over with the dishes.

She tentatively asked, "Are you going to wash the dishes later?"

"No problem."

It was too cold in winter, and instead of letting Xue Yuantong suffer washing dishes, he'd rather use a little magic to clean up the pots and utensils.