Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1710 - 933: Technology and Ruthlessness

Though Jiang Ning had just landed a punch, the shop's interior stayed perfectly tidy. The single eyesore was the beaten man sprawled on the floor, gasping raggedly with tears and snot all over his face.

That earlier kick had slammed into his lung with real power, leaving his breathing all messed up and uneven.

The suited man stood there in shock; he hadn't even started collecting the debt!

Xue Yuantong murmured softly, "He got beaten to tears."

Jiang Ning showed no surprise: "Who’d have thought he’d be so fragile?"

Jiang Ning ignored the guy on the ground completely; he called out like always, "Boss, we’re ready to order."

The Boss Lady, doubling as waitress, glanced at the man on the floor, then at the suited man, but brought the menu over anyway.

Jiang Yanan, who moments ago had urged Dong Qingfeng to drop it, now saw that Dong Qingfeng hadn't fully backed off, but the crazy guy was already taken down.

Shen Qing’e felt confused: ’Still eating?’

When Dong Qingfeng had kicked off the trouble earlier, Shen Qing’e had already planned a quick exit despite unfinished food, fearing more chaos.

Now she realized, yep, the trouble vanished—it got resolved...

Jiang Ning claimed a sunny spot, pen in hand, marking off menu items casually, while Xue Yuantong huddled close like a pro food planner.

As if the prior brawl was no big deal at all.

She gazed at Jiang Ning, sensing an enigmatic vibe of relaxed poise around him.

That same unflappable coolness reminded her of early days with Cao Kun during purchases.

Meng Zi Yun mused: ’Really so cool...’

Though the suited man thought it bizarre, the man named Wu still owed him tens of thousands. He'd tracked him via surveillance and finally cornered him.

He signaled, and several burly thugs marched in right away, hauling the beaten man to his feet.

"Owe money and refuse to pay, now pulling stunts?" the suited man waved his phone, "Take him."

The beaten man instantly forgot his fresh thrashing; he knew these debt collectors' brutal tricks all too well.

He struggled with all his might but couldn't escape, reduced to begging, "Bro, I’m calling you bro, if I had money, I’d definitely pay you first thing!"

The suited man sneered, "Oh, you’ve got quite some ideas."

As he spoke, sharp lung pain stabbed again, nearly bringing tears.

The suited man taunted, "Then why are you crying?"

Xue Yuantong whispered, "Isn’t it because he’s broke?"

After that, she noticed these guys were dangerous, so she clamped her mouth shut fast.

The suited man dragged the man named Wu outside before the crowd, warning everyone: "No pictures, phones down."

Then Dong Qingfeng and the others watched the madman get shoved into a minivan.

From the minivan's front, Zhuang Jianhui in his Mercedes spotted a familiar silhouette through the tinted glass but stayed put due to his position.

Once inside the car, the suited man noted, "The guy named Wu got thrashed in the shop, saved us effort."

Lin Zida from the back seat asked, confused, "He got beaten?"

Zhuang Jianhui confirmed, "Probably Jiang Ning—I glimpsed him earlier."

Lin Zida chuckled lightly, "Of all people, they pick Jiang Ning to mess with?"

But Gong Jin next to him inquired innocently, "Jiang Ning—from Class 8?"

Lin Zida nodded, "Yeah, Shanshan even chased after him once."

"Wei Zishan did?"

Zhuang Jianhui chipped in, "Didn’t work out."

Now Gong Jin looked puzzled; since arriving in Yuzhou, even in a place where Zhuang Jianhui held sway, he'd kept things low-key.

Lin Zida pondered briefly, then added, "His family links to Evergreen Liquid—not ordinary status."

He stopped there.

Gong Jin noted it mentally, saying nothing further.

.....

"Three dishes, can we polish them off?"

"With you here, it’s impossible not to." Jiang Ning replied.

Xue Yuantong straightened up, "I definitely won’t let your trust down!"

The earlier drama clearly hadn't touched their hunger one bit.

"Hello, here’s your corn pancake," the Boss Lady said warmly, knowing this patron was no ordinary one, careful not to slight him.

The dish came out crispy and sugary, filling Xue Yuantong with joyful surprise.

The Boss Lady eyed Xue Yuantong, commenting, "Kids love it."

A bit miffed but won over by the tasty bite, she let it slide reluctantly.

As the duo savored their meal, Shen Qing’e sneaked furtive glances from the corner of her eye, terrified of being spotted, only to notice that Jiang Yanan, Meng Zi Yun, and even Dong Qingfeng were fixated on Jiang Ning as well.

Shen Qing’e at last abandoned restraint, locking eyes with Jiang Ning like she yearned to mend the long decades of distance between them.

Dong Qingfeng went quiet, his feelings a whirlwind too intricate, rendering him incapable of taking a single bite.

Jiang Yanan thumped her chest, exclaiming, "Qing E, it’s lucky you dissuaded them timely; otherwise, I dare not imagine the consequences."

Shen Qing’e answered, "I felt there’s no need to clash, we’re still students."

As she talked, Shen Qing’e watched the pair munching away, evoking memories of their middle school times.

She had dined in town with Jiang Ning before too, back when money was scarce for him, yet he scraped together his sole living stipend to stubbornly order three dishes.

Truth be told, she detested two of those dishes and hardly laid a finger on them.

Digging into her memories, she shockingly recalled the exact orders from Jiang Ning that day: hot pot beef with cabbage, tile fish, three fresh ingredients.

To her surprise, they perfectly aligned with the ones Xue Yuantong had clamorously demanded today.

At present, Shen Qing’e riveted her stare on the serene Jiang Ning and the flirtatiously enchanting Xue Yuantong next to him, abruptly struck by a timeless tremor.

The dishes stayed identical, but the companions had utterly shifted.