Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1772 - 975: Ruthless Methods

The dying embers in the stove still offered a faint warmth. Under the glow of the energy-saving lamp, Jiang Ning leisurely peeled shrimp, while Tongtong and Chen Siyu engaged in what seemed like a strategic debate, discussing the wider world.

"I recall hearing tales in my youth about prodigious talents, children who achieved flawless academic records at the tender age of seven, their brilliance unmatched," Tongtong mused.

Chen Siyu prompted, "And then?"

Tongtong replied, "Later, with a bit of dedicated effort, I consistently secured the top position."

Chen Siyu clicked her tongue in disbelief. "Does that not make you the fabled child from other families we always hear about?"

Chen Siqing chimed in, "Facing you must be quite the challenge."

Xue Chuchu unexpectedly interjected, "Not really."

Chen Siyu retorted vehemently, "Absolutely impossible! My parents constantly use other people's children as examples to spur me on, and I genuinely detest such comparisons!"

She felt she had a hundred valid reasons to dispute Chuchu's assertion!

Xue Chuchu clarified, "I am the original 'failed child' from those other families."

The twins immediately fell silent.

"Chuchu, have some shrimp," Tongtong, in a sudden display of generosity, peeled a shrimp for her.

Chen Siyu, after consuming a bun, once again offered praise. "Simply delicious."

Then, she posed a riddle: "Do you know what can be consumed without oil or salt, yet one can still enjoy it after more than ten years without tiring of it?"

Chen Siqing mused internally, 'Sister, are you boasting about your life experiences again?'

Xue Yuantong scoffed, "What's so difficult about that? Isn't it just a bun?"

Chen Siyu nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Indeed, you remain unaffected by oil and salt."

After dinner, it was already past eight o'clock.

The group took a brief stroll in the open space before the entrance. Unfortunately, their 'Black Slave Dongdong' and 'Little Black Slave Xingxing' were at school, meaning there were no oxen or horses available to pull any carts.

Tongtong and Chuchu, having been busy selling fish in the afternoon, decided to shower first, leaving only the twins in Jiang Ning's modest room, observing him as he tinkered with the game console.

A solitary man sharing a room with two women. A silent understanding seemed to pass between the sisters.

The humiliation they had endured from Geng Lu that morning still stung, and failing to retaliate would be a grave insult to their deep-seated pride.

At this precise moment, Tongtong was showering next door—a heaven-sent opportunity not to be squandered!

'Using my sister as a decoy, who could possibly see this coming!'

'Geng Lu, you will pay for your arrogance!'

Chen Siyu declared inwardly, then instructed her sister to switch off the lights.

Chen Siqing acted swiftly, flipping the switch. The brightly lit room was instantly plunged into darkness.

Silence descended upon the world.

But within Chen Siyu's eyes, a predatory glint ignited—the hunt had begun!

Jiang Ning paused his actions. "A power outage?"

In the ensuing darkness, he feigned reaching for his phone.

Chen Siyu exclaimed, "Don't turn on the light, it's me, your sister!"

Jiang Ning inquired, "What's wrong?"

"My sister's eyes are sensitive to light; no lights allowed," Chen Siyu fabricated an excuse.

Hearing this flimsy reason, Jiang Ning was momentarily at a loss for words.

Nevertheless, the ruse proved remarkably effective.

He pondered for a moment before asking, "And what about the sister then?"

Chen Siyu responded without hesitation, "Do you know hypnosis? My sister requires your immediate rescue!"

Jiang Ning acknowledged, "I understand, but whose sister are we talking about?"

Chen Siyu, exasperated by his denseness, quickly clarified, "She's my sister, it's me!"

Chen Siqing could no longer contain herself, her mouth agape as she uttered, "Abba, Abba."

Jiang Ning suddenly seemed to comprehend. "Ah, yes, a truly significant affliction."

"Indeed, she requires your awakening!"

Jiang Ning deliberately stated, "No issue, I possess a technique that can comprehensively break her, both mentally and physically."

Chen Siyu's thighs trembled, her heart silently praying for her sister's well-being, as she realized Jiang Ning was an entirely unexpected sort of individual!

She had underestimated him!

Her voice quivered as she cautioned, "But... try not to get too carried away."

In the very next second, a beam of light pierced the darkness; Jiang Ning had activated his phone's flashlight.

Chen Siqing braced herself for the impending ordeal, a wave of intense fear washing over her. Yet, the greater her fear, the more resolute she had to be. Facing the light, Chen Siqing adopted a look of 'scornful defiance,' and though she remained silent, her expression conveyed a potent message.

Chen Siyu clenched her fist discreetly. 'Excellent, excellent! This proud demeanor is precisely what will make one want to utterly humiliate her. No man could possibly resist!'

'Come on, Jiang Ning, please be fiercely ruthless with her!' She could hardly contain her anticipation.

Jiang Ning moved, picking up a piece of paper from the desk. "I am now supervising your math exam."

Chen Siqing's expression immediately faltered, turning blank.

Chen Siyu stood dumbfounded. 'Huh?'

Later.

Chen Siyu sent messages to Geng Lu and Bai Yuxia: "Jiang Ning has already tortured my sister to the brink of collapse; his methods are simply too brutal."

Geng Lu replied, "Tutoring you all, I presume."

Bai Yuxia, with pure innocence, inquired, "What are you doing??"

Two minutes slipped by, and Bai Yuxia inquired, "Why the silence?"

...

It was Sunday afternoon, and Jiang Ning was escorting Tongtong to school on his bicycle.

The river dam remained a hive of activity. Someone spotted the pair and called out, "No fish today?"

Jiang Ning replied, "School’s starting today; we have a five-day break."

The customer seemed perplexed, asking, "You're still students?"

Xue Yuantong chirped, "Part-time students."

Once they moved past the bustling stretch of road, the number of pedestrians dwindled, and a gentle afternoon breeze playfully ruffled Tongtong’s bangs.

"Jiang Ning, we have a new classmate today," Tongtong announced.

Jiang Ning noted, "There are six empty seats now."

"Why would they agree to come to a new school? If it were me, I’d definitely avoid transferring and meeting a whole new group of classmates."

Jiang Ning teased, "Even if you transferred, new classmates wouldn’t matter to you, seeing as you sleep through everything anyway."

Xue Yuantong felt an instinctive urge to retort.

That wasn't true; back in middle school, she hadn't dared to sleep at all!

Yet, she quickly realized the reason she felt comfortable sleeping in high school was entirely due to Jiang Ning’s presence, and that realization stole her confidence to argue.

As the bicycle reached the junction of the river dam and Nanhong Road, a black Mercedes-Benz appeared, its speed moderating slightly as the window slid down.

The usually shy Shang Caiwei waved from within the car, calling out, "Xue Yuantong, Jiang Ning!"

Xue Yuantong impulsively proposed, "Caiwei, want to race?"

Shang Caiwei hastily declined, "No, no Jiang."

Xue Yuantong beamed with a triumphant smile.

Jiang Ning’s Divine Sense swept over her expression, a fleeting thought crossing his mind that despite her small stature, she possessed an excellent knack for playful races.

The driver, Shang Zhengyu, questioned with a cold tone, "Why refuse?"

Even though it was a modest Mercedes, it was at least a 3.0T; surely it could outrun an electric bike?

Last time it hadn't been able to, owing to the icy road conditions, but there was no rain this time.

Shang Caiwei chimed in with a complaint, "Brother, why are you still so competitive like before?"

Shang Zhengyu immediately relented, "Alright, alright, I absolutely won’t next time."

He needed to drive normally, and Jiang Ning was casually cruising down the non-motorized lane.

Shang Zhengyu understood that his priority was to get his sister to school safely, so he maintained a non-competitive driving style, refraining from changing lanes to overtake. Suddenly, a small child darted out from the nearby greenery.

Shang Zhengyu stomped on the brakes, narrowly avoiding a collision. The child glanced back at the car before scampering away with a laugh.

Furious, Shang Zhengyu cursed under his breath within the car.

Such unpredictable darting out was exceedingly dangerous, and even he couldn’t do anything about a child’s erratic behavior.

The child proceeded to stop two more cars before successfully dashing across to the non-motorized lane, running directly into the path of Jiang Ning’s approaching electric bike.

The very next second, the front of the electric bike collided with the child, emitting a loud "Bang!" sending the youngster flying and tumbling several times across the concrete.

Xue Yuantong gasped in shock, "Jiang Ning, why didn’t you swerve?"

Jiang Ning calmly responded, "No worries, kids have tough skin and are resilient to crashes."

The child lay sprawled on the concrete, crying loudly, arms and legs scraped, a truly pathetic sight.

Without even a glance, Jiang Ning leisurely rode his electric bike away from the scene.

From the motorized lane, Shang Zhengyu witnessed the entire event, a flicker of surprise on his face, "Did he just leave like that?"

What struck him most was the sheer confidence and lack of hesitation with which Jiang Ning departed; one wouldn't even hit a stray dog with such nonchalance.

"Weiwei, your classmate is a hit-and-run offender," Shang Zhengyu remarked to his sister, "At the very least, he’d lose his license."

Shang Caiwei replied, "No, Jiang Ning doesn’t even have a license."

Shang Zhengyu faltered, realizing the truth of her statement...

He continued, "He'll be caught for sure."

Shang Caiwei peered out the car window, observing, "Look at that kid, he’s already gotten up; he should be alright, right?"

Shang Zhengyu added, "There’s the traffic police."

"The kid will probably say he fell by himself when he gets home," Shang Caiwei mused aloud.

Shang Zhengyu considered this, finding it quite plausible. Unless a witness came forward to report it, but how could he possibly report it himself?

"Invincible."

Shang Zhengyu pressed the accelerator and continued driving, a realization dawning upon him after all these years of striving: in some respects, he wasn't as carefree as he had been in his younger days.

After dropping his sister off at the intersection for Fourth Middle School, Shang Zhengyu proceeded towards the 'Boundless Fighting' sign.

Having parked his car, he walked directly into the club.

The young lady at the front desk immediately set down her bubble tea straw, greeting him with the sweetest smile, "Brother Yu! You’re here, just leave your card here!"

Donning a black suit meticulously tailored for a sharp, refined look, Shang Zhengyu projected an imposing aura, his presence amplified by the sleek Mercedes S he drove, an undeniable symbol of his CEO status.

The young woman at the front desk found herself daydreaming: if faced with a choice between the sophisticated CEO and the charming puppy-like Dong Qingfeng, both vying for her affection, whom would she pick? The mere fantasy sent a delightful flutter through her heart.

Regrettably for her romantic notions, Shang Zhengyu's focus was far from ordinary women. "Where is your boss?" he inquired.

As if summoned, a robust man emerged, extending a hearty welcome. "President Shang, you've arrived! Are we ready for some live-action combat today?"

Shang Zhengyu simply replied, "Yes."

Meanwhile, Dong Qingfeng approached the front desk, his request direct. "A bottle of water, please."

The burly man turned his attention to Dong Qingfeng. "Qingfeng, aren't you keen on real combat? You can watch President Shang and me go head-to-head later!"