Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1700 - 926: Power Struggle (Part 2)

After ten minutes, Zhang Chi brushed the dirt from his body, exited the classroom, and got ready to find some food.

"Zhang Chi, there's something I need to discuss with you." Xin Youling turned back.

Zhang Chi eyed the class monitor; she had requested his help previously: "What's up, class monitor? You know I charge for my services."

Xin Youling replied calmly, "Truth is, I planned to join the bidding tonight, but I backed out."

Zhang Chi's face shifted. Mentioning the bidding wasn't good news for him, since it had tanked his value big time.

He responded warily, "Don't assume that because I went cheap at auction, I'm a bargain! For any task from me, it's minimum..."

Here, Zhang Chi stopped short. He'd been sold for seven yuan, seven tasks total, like one yuan per command—such a steal!

Right then, Zhang Chi resolved to hike his rate: "Anything I do starts at two yuan at least!"

Xin Youling observed his lowly attitude, staying utterly poised; hands tucked in her jacket pockets, her lovely oval face radiated captivating allure. She spoke earnestly, "Zhang Chi, I won't allow you to treat yourself like an object."

Zhang Chi felt a brief surge of emotion, grasping at last why Class Monitor Xin Youling skipped the bidding.

Zhang Chi offered, "Honestly, though you didn't buy me, I can stick to the auction rate—one yuan per task."

Xin Youling lifted two fingers, her nails gleaming milky white, polished to perfection.

Zhang Chi ignored the nails, fixating on those two fingers, his expression growing sheepish: "Twenty cents? Class monitor, that's way too low..."

Xin Youling stated softly, "Twenty."

Zhang Chi froze in shock, hardly believing it, blurting out, "Why? They barely ponied up seven yuan for me, but you..."

Xin Youling pulled back her hand, staring at the starry Yuzhou night sky afar, and murmured, "Your true value isn't what others peg it at, but what I see in you."

With those words, Xin Youling departed without a backward glance, graceful and unburdened.

Quite some time passed before Zhang Chi snapped out of it, but Xin Youling had vanished from sight; he fretted:

"Wait, Class Monitor, what did you actually want me to do?"

...

March nights in Yuzhou streets felt remarkably serene.

Jiang Ning zipped along on his titanium gray electric scooter, heading back to the Fourth Middle School entrance to fetch Geng Lu.

"Head south and keep going; I'll guide you at the junction." Geng Lu perched on the rear seat, brimming with joy.

"Got it."

Nighttime left the roads deserted. Roughly twelve minutes in, Jiang Ning veered onto an east-west street lined with stalls hawking fried skewers, pancake rolls, and milk tea.

Geng Lu instructed, "Just a bit more up ahead."

At last, they pulled up before a noodle joint with a worn-out signboard.

Geng Lu hopped off the scooter and gestured west: "See, deeper in there's a high school—a private one."

She flushed slightly: "I flunked middle school bad and worried about public high schools, so Mom shelled out big bucks to enroll me in private."

Jiang Ning's eyes settled on the private high school structure, where classroom lamps glowed steadily for self-study: "When do they wrap up school?"

Geng Lu answered, "10:50."

"That explains why vendors are still open instead of closing shop," Jiang Ning noted.

"Yep, good thing school's not out yet, or we'd be lining up for eats." Saying so, Geng Lu ushered him inside the noodle shop.

The shop owners, a kindly old couple, recognized Geng Lu right away and welcomed her heartily: "Here you are—what'll it be, the regular?"

"Mine's the usual..." Geng Lu specified, "For him, throw in two stewed pork ribs, two ham sausages, two slices of dried tofu, and one stewed egg."

"That's a ton—total feast mode." Jiang Ning laughed lightly.

Back in his school days, Jiang Ning had dreamed of chow like this, but poverty kept him from splurging.

Geng Lu grinned, "You're still in your growth spurt—eat up plenty."

Jiang Ning shot back, "And you? Still growing too?"

Geng Lu wiped down the table using a napkin.

"Coming right up!" The couple worked fast, swiftly serving the steaming noodle bowls.

Jiang Ning took a quick look: the noodles swam in a signature sauce topped with red oil sheen, dotted with vivid crimson dried chilies.

He grabbed his chopsticks for a bite; spicy, crisp, and bursting with taste.

Geng Lu skipped her chopsticks; she observed him in silence, eyes brimming with tender warmth:

"Tasty, huh? I figured I’d attend that private high school, so during summer break I scouted the area, stumbled upon this shop, befriended the owners, but ultimately..."

Savoring the noodles, Jiang Ning commented, "What an unexpected twist."

Noticing how much he enjoyed it, Geng Lu grabbed some dried tofu from her bowl and handed it over for him to try.

Laughing and chatting away, the pair swiftly devoured their bowls of noodles.

With such a rare chance to hang out, Geng Lu wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet, so she suggested heading to the bookstore alongside Jiang Ning to browse colored ink pens.

Minutes later, right outside the shop, Jiang Ning questioned her, "How come you didn’t pick up anything?"

Geng Lu murmured softly, "Way too pricey—one pen goes for two or even five yuan."

They roamed a couple more stores, lingering for almost twenty minutes, until Geng Lu spotted a place with pens priced at two yuan and bought three of them.

Jiang Ning let out a chuckle—the girl sure knew how to pinch pennies, all that effort just to save 1.5 yuan...

As they prepared to leave, Geng Lu noticed a stall with iced sugar pears. The fruits looked incredibly fresh, so she promptly shelled out five yuan for one to give Jiang Ning, complete with a whole pear in the cup.

Suddenly, Jiang Ning no longer found it amusing.

...

By the river dam, in the bungalow, Tongtong’s bedroom, on the little bed.

Fresh from washing up, she burrowed under the cozy quilt, her soft little face the only thing peeking out.

Xue Chuchu lingered bedside, observing it all.

That night, Jiang Ning had brought Tongtong home but didn’t linger, riding off once more, which left her feeling so downcast.

Pursing her lips, she urged, "Tongtong, no sleeping—get up and let’s play."

Xue Yuantong replied, "No way, I’m off to sleep."

Xue Chuchu stated coldly, "Sleeping won’t bring Jiang Ning back, you know."

Xue Yuantong silently tugged the quilt higher to hide her little face.

"I’m only a tad weary." Her words came out muffled through the fabric.

Xue Chuchu pressed, "You think dozing off fixes everything?"

Xue Yuantong answered, "I know it doesn’t, but sleep lets me escape my worries for a bit."

Xue Chuchu gazed at the quilt lump in silence.

She recalled how Tongtong hadn’t been such a sleep lover as a kid—when did that change?

Faintly, she remembered Aunt Gu griping about it starting after Tongtong relocated to the river dam in middle school.

Xue Chuchu could picture the tough spot Tongtong had been in back then.

With that in mind, her resolve softened—she yearned to lift Tongtong’s spirits.

Xue Chuchu coaxed, "Come on, rise and let’s game, Tongtong."

"No thanks."

Xue Chuchu unleashed her ultimate friendship tactic, "Forgot already? I game with you weekly, on breaks, even during New Year—don’t you see?"

Xue Yuantong muttered, "I see, you’re totally hooked on games."

Xue Chuchu: "..."

Tongtong, utterly incorrigible.

Right as she worried, footsteps she knew well echoed from outside—Xue Chuchu exclaimed in surprise, "Jiang Ning’s returned!"

The bed’s quilt trembled thrice abruptly, as if itching to flip but held back.

Though thrilled, Xue Yuantong felt a spark of defiance too—she’d teach Jiang Ning a unforgettable lesson, showing him she wasn’t someone to mess with!

She refused to be anyone’s easy target!

Jiang Ning’s figure showed up at the bedroom entrance, grinning as he said, "Hey, Chuchu’s here too? Where’s Tongtong hiding?"

Xue Chuchu gestured toward the bed.

Jiang Ning tsked in wonder, "Hitting the hay this early? Sun’s gotta be coming up in the west."

Tongtong feigned frailty on purpose, "I’m low on energy, totally wiped out."

Jiang Ning declared, "Easy fix—I’m a Divine Doctor, after all."

Xue Chuchu inquired with curiosity, "And what’s your cure?"

Jiang Ning stated firmly, "Acupuncture’s the way—needles heal all ills."

From beneath the quilt, Tongtong whined, "No acupuncture for me, it stings!"

Jiang Ning opened the thermal bag he held, releasing the savory barbecue scent, then teased, "Still sure you don’t want these as needles? Succulent lamb skewers and beef skewers for your acupuncture session?"