Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1617 - 883: Competition (2)

Spotting the cunning gleam in Li Qingyang’s gaze, Yao Yiyao advanced two paces to obstruct their view.

Jiang Ning had saved her life after all, and now she was guarding it in return.

A smugger curl formed on Li Qingyang’s lips.

Yao Yiyao called out to the boys trailing her: "Hey, which one of you is the shampoo’s boyfriend? Hurry and cover her up."

Li Han quickly replied: "Not me, not me."

Li Qingyang: "Sorry, I don’t have a boyfriend."

Li Han: "Isn’t that sports student from our high school..."

Li Qingyang stayed composed and declared: "I now announce, we’re breaking up."

Li Han: "Sister Qing, awesome."

Li Qingyang shifted aside, dodging Yao Yiyao, and positioned herself before Jiang Ning again: "Hello, I’m Li Qingyang, want to be friends?"

Jiang Ning glanced down at her; Li Qingyang was rather attractive and full of character. His Divine Sense swept over her, and despite Yao Yiyao’s warning of mischief, he sensed she was truly pure.

Thus, he responded: "Jiang Ning."

From nearby, Yao Yiyao dramatically interjected: "Jiang Ning, she just thinks you’re handsome."

Li Qingyang, unfazed by her exposed motives, replied brightly: "Whether you’re handsome or not really doesn’t matter; the main thing is you seem polite, I want to be friends with you."

Yao Yiyao: ’Thick-skinned!’

Displaying great boldness without a hint of shyness, Li Qingyang soon fired off various questions. Jiang Ning answered now and then.

Yao Yiyao held no fear that Li Qingyang might steal Jiang Ning away; in jest, Xue Chuchu back home outshone her in beauty any time, and she excelled at cooking too!

Still, for complete certainty, Yao Yiyao lingered close by to watch over things.

Observing Jiang Ning hemmed in by two girls, Li Han attempted to chime in several times, only for Yao Yiyao to brush him off.

Li Han’s cheeks flushed deeply, leaving him utterly mortified.

Catching sight of Li Han’s uncomfortable predicament, Jiang Ning found it strangely novel.

Back in his previous life, upon entering that private firm in Yuzhou as a fresh junior, Li Han—two years his senior—had already risen to department manager. Freshly engaged to the boss’s daughter, he was set to inherit a billion-yuan enterprise, his path gleaming with promise, their statuses worlds apart, with Li Han forever eyeing him from above.

He recalled one instance when the firm onboarded an ’impressive’ new female staffer, an Ancheng University grad, stunningly beautiful, boasting eight properties worth millions in Yuzhou—quite the fortune for regular folks.

Plenty of guys in the department found pretexts to offer her treats and drinks, but she scarcely acknowledged them, save around Li Han, where she fawned over his elite grid family ties, all while he chose to strike out independently without relying on kin...

At his life’s zenith, Li Han openly ridiculed those male underlings: "Before pursuing anyone, assess your family’s status; she owns seven homes, you barely scrape one or two. I respect your boldness?"

Numerous male coworkers felt humiliated by his taunt.

Jiang Ning felt no such shame, owning not even a single dwelling.

These days, the tables had turned.

Jiang Ning mused inwardly: ’Fine.’

Frustrated, Li Han snatched a rock near the riverbank and hurled it forcefully into the waves, as though releasing his pent-up anger.

His stone-skipping prowess left much to be desired, achieving merely two bounces.

The resulting clamor caught attention; a distant fishing elder turned, brow furrowing briefly before easing, reassuring himself: ’Ah, that explains my fishless day—folks skipping stones close by.’

With that thought, the old angler’s spirits lifted unexpectedly. True fishermen stay serene no matter what.

Li Han kept at the stone-skipping for some time, and oddly, the longer he went, the more enjoyable it became, his irritation slowly dissolving.

He started hunting for rocks along the edge; as all know, selecting the right stone counts—flatter and glossier ones yield more skips.

Li Han’s splashes evolved from two to three, then four, and even five bounces.

Xue Yuantong perched neatly, triggering her summoning ability: "Jiang Ning, help me find some stones, and I’ll put on a show for you!"

At her words, Jiang Ning nodded to the girls and headed toward the water’s edge.

Li Qingyang peeked over and exclaimed: "Who’s that mascot?"

"?" Yao Yiyao gaped at her, a touch stunned, then intoned seriously: "Mascot? That’s Jiang Ning’s best buddy, a master chef, top citywide exam topper, and Valor Award winner!"

Sadly, Yao Yiyao didn’t know her thoroughly yet. Had it been Chen Siyu, she’d pile on labels like ’pro gamer’ ’global fishing expert’ ’cosmic nap king,’ and more.

Li Qingyang took her over-the-top face as kidding, so she dismissed it: "Just a young kid, right?"

...

"Where’s the stone?" Xue Yuantong’s small face brimmed with anticipation.

Jiang Ning stayed silent, merely positioning himself calmly by the bank.

Moments later, Xue Yuantong’s rod twitched suddenly, prompting her joyful cry: "I’ve caught something!"

The announcement drew all eyes, with Yao Yiyao pondering: ’For real? Can she actually hook a fish?’

The angler some ten meters off reeled inwardly: ’No way!’

Before the group, Xue Yuantong raised her pole, and a plump brownish form pierced the surface, hooked and wriggling wildly on the line.

As the motion slowed, the crowd clustered near, revealing a tiny turtle!

Yao Yiyao blurted first: "Don’t turtles hibernate during winter? How’d it get caught?"

One massive word dominated Li Qingyang’s thoughts: ’Fake!’

Indeed, the turtle was in deep slumber, eyes sealed shut, still as death.

The angler drew nearer for a peek, relief washing over him: ’Good, not a fish after all!’

Witnessing the youths’ fuss, he chimed in: "We hook all sorts here, wild ducks, artifacts, huge serpents, grenades, even bodies..."

He trailed off, but the implication hung clear.

Xue Yuantong remarked: "So basically can’t catch fish, right?"

The angler snapped: "Nonsense!"

He yearned to flaunt his haul and counter the girl with her plaything rod, yet doubt gnawed at him!

Xue Yuantong eyed the turtle, then Jiang Ning: "I don’t eat turtles, what should I do?"

Jiang Ning suggested: "Use it as a skipping stone?"

Xue Yuantong loved the notion, seized the dormant turtle, dashed a couple steps to the brink, and flung it with might, yelling: "Let your turtle grandpa go free!"

The small turtle whirled airborne, its form prime for skipping; utterly perfect. Tongtong had mastered stone-skipping young. This launch sparked a mesmerizing ripple chain across the serene, broad, glittering waters, a sight of breathtaking allure.

Jiang Ning clapped: "Amazing!"

Yao Yiyao deemed it wildly peculiar, yet regarded her with fresh admiration.

Li Qingyang struggled to judge this outlandish display.

Meanwhile, Li Han—who’d been enjoying his solo play—sensed his Dao Heart waver slightly against such stone-skipping skill.

These young river pals belittle my efforts!

Li Han bowed low to scour for rocks, seeking the ideal, only to spot a cracked phone with a busted display amid the bankside weeds, figuring it junk from another.

He grabbed the device, approached the group, flashed it briefly, then "whoosh" launched it, producing "splash splash splash" in multiple bursts, surpassing his prior throws.

The angler witnessed it and tutted approvingly: "Kid’s got style, skipping with his own phone!"

He hadn’t encountered such an eccentric youth in ages.

Li Han grinned and brushed it off: "Hey, how could it be mine? I just picked it up randomly by the river."

The angler paused, then bolted to his spot, peered down, and horror struck—his phone was gone.

He bellowed: "Damn! That’s my phone!"