Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Inside Classroom Eight.

Wu Xiaoqi, cradling a basketball, leaned against the wall, coolly observing his classmates.

He already knew his scores, third in his class, eighteenth in the entire grade.

The results were good, however, Wu Xiaoqi was both elated and irritated.

Elated because, with the new term next year, the class seating arrangement would change, and Song Sheng couldn't escape his grasping Five Finger Mountain. Song Sheng only managed to place ninth, whereas he was the powerful third.

He had the right to choose his seat before Song Sheng and after Song Sheng.

How could he escape?

Wu Xiaoqi was irritated because he'd copied the answers with all his might, only to rank eighteenth in the grade.

It made Wu Xiaoqi wonder, was he just not cut out for studying?

Why couldn't he outscore others even when he copied the answers?

...

Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong were chatting at their desks when Bai Yuxia walked in. She looked at them and excitedly said,

"Xue Yuantong, you're first in the whole city!"

"Not a single person from Second Middle School or Tu County No.1 High School got a better score than you!"

Bai Yuxia spoke rapidly, betraying her current agitation.

The weight of becoming first in the city's unified examination was self-evident, Xue Yuantong had even left the second-placer behind by dozens of points.

If this continued, she could definitely compete for the provincial top scholar!

Bai Yuxia looked at Xue Yuantong as if she were seeing a study deity.

Xue Yuantong felt extremely happy inside, but she remained modest outwardly:

"It was alright, just a normal performance."

"And Jiang Ning, humph, you didn't let down my training, improving to second in the grade, though you're still a bit away from me."

Jiang Ning just smiled and said nothing.

Xue Yuantong asked quietly, "How much is the scholarship this time?"

Jiang Ning did some quick calculations: "Definitely more than the last monthly exam."

Normally, for a city-wide joint exam, considering Fourth Middle School's student quality, being in the top ten was unlikely if everyone performed as usual, not to mention coming first. Principal Yu must be in a good mood, and the reward wouldn't be small.

Xue Yuantong was still rejoicing when Dan Kaiquan burst into the classroom. He originally wanted to mock Brother Ma, but hesitated. Bai Yuxia was more important, after all.

He ran over: "Bai Yuxia, you ranked fifth in class but jumped to thirty-sixth in the entire grade, a huge leap of several dozen places!"

Bai Yuxia nodded: "I have to thank Xue Yuantong for her help, and..."

Mid-sentence, Dan Kaiquan thought she would also mention his care.

"...and Jiang Ning for explaining the problems."

Dan Kaiquan couldn't help himself and chimed in, "And when you were explaining questions to me, it helped consolidate my knowledge."

Jiang Ning: 'I underestimated you.'

Dan Kaiquan added, "Thanks to your help, Bai Yuxia, I ranked twenty-second in the class this time, a big improvement from last time."

Bai Yuxia didn't take credit: "It's because you were willing to work hard."

Dan Kaiquan almost blurted, 'For you, I am willing to strive!'

But he didn't say it. Instead, he pondered how he could invite Bai Yuxia to a restaurant outside, under the pretense of gratitude. He had saved eighty yuan recently, which should be enough for a meal.

After courtin Bai Yuxia attentively, Dan Kaiquan ran to the back of the room.

He tiptoed around Bai Yuxia, but in the back, he strutted as if returning to his hometown in glory.

"Ah, if it isn't Brother Ma? You did quite well this time."

Ma Shicheng, head down, playing with his phone, ignored his sarcastic tone.

Ma Shicheng bounced back quickly, a temporary setback signified nothing, like in his video games: if one round went bad, just start another.

Come sophomore year, he would make a comeback; the mockery and cold looks of today were merely sharpening his stone!

The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitterness of winter, a sword's edge emerges sharp from the whetstone!

Basking in his performance, Dan Kaiquan flaunted his scores to the back row, now the leader among the four major rows, the strongest presence.

Dan Kaiquan was triumphant.

...

Song Sheng entered the classroom with a dark expression, specifically looking for Wu Xiaoqi's score. He hoped to see him as the last in the class.

But the title of last place had been taken by Ma Shicheng.

Wu Xiaoqi, like he'd taken a powerful tonic, shot up to third in the class.

This result was completely at odds with his usual careless demeanor.

Song Sheng asked forcefully, "How did you manage to get third?"

Wu Xiaoqi, with his basketball: "Why do you look at me like that? I earned that score myself."

"You, get third? You couldn't even cheat your way to third!" Song Sheng didn't believe it at all.

Wu Xiaoqi was first startled: 'He's quite accurate, he actually guessed I cheated!'

Then indignant: 'Isn't he underestimating me a bit too much? I truly achieved third place with my own skills!'

Wu Xiaoqi originally wanted to argue with Song Sheng and change his impression of him, but at the last moment, Wu Xiaoqi restrained himself.

His parents had instructed him beforehand, regarding his grades, to keep a very low profile, silently take advantage but not to make it common knowledge.

Wu Xiaoqi wasn't a fool, to him, this issue was non-trivial, and he definitely wouldn't admit to it.

He ignored Song Sheng and kept playing with his ball.

Unsuccessful in his probing, Song Sheng sat at his desk, eyes wandering.

Until the class life committee member Hu Jun walked into the classroom.

Cui Yu shouted, "Look, look, everyone check out Hu Jun."

"Holy shit, is that a real bird, and it's alive!"

Cui Yu quickly ran over and saw on Hu Jun's shoulder a colorful parrot standing still obediently.

"Will it fly away?" asked Guo Kunnan.

Hu Jun replied indifferently, "Of course not. This parrot has developed its own spiritual awareness. I often take it out to play."

"Typical cool Brother Jun," praised Guo Kunnan.

Rubbing his hands together, Cui Yu next to them said, "Brother Jun, your bird is really cool, can I play with it?"

Hu Jun hesitated, conflicted, as that was his treasured parrot, usually only to be looked at, not touched.

Seeing Hu Jun hesitate, Cui Yu leaned in and whispered,

"Brother Jun, I know an ice skating rink."

Hu Jun replied, "Ice skating rinks are outdated, only little kids go there these days."

Cui Yu pulled out the big guns, "There's a boss lady at the skating rink who personally teaches the students how to skate."

Hu Jun, the righteous and great committee member, declared forthrightly,

"Take my parrot then, play with it however you want!"

He placed the parrot onto Cui Yu's shoulder, only to hear the parrot exclaim,

"Boss lady! Boss lady!"

Hu Jun quickly covered the bird's beak.

...

The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is traditionally known as 'Little New Year'.

For the past several days, there had been nothing but clear skies.

Xue Yuantong got up at half-past eight. She reheated the leftovers from last night, along with five large steamed buns her mom had made. She ate two, and Jiang Ning ate three.

After reheating the food, Xue Yuantong took out two boxes of milk and placed them in hot water to warm them up.

By the time she was done with all this, it was almost nine o'clock. Xue Yuantong called out for Jiang Ning to get up.

After breakfast, Xue Yuantong suddenly asked,

"Do you think I've grown taller?"

Jiang Ning was quite aware of it. He often scanned Xue Yuantong with his Divine Sense and knew that, over half a year, she had grown a little bit.

"Let's measure our heights!" Xue Yuantong grabbed the tape measure and headed to the door.

She also brought a thin mat with her.

Even though it was winter, the wall wasn't too cold thanks to the somewhat decent sunlight.

Xue Yuantong took off her cotton shoes, stepped on the mat with her socks, and stood against the wall.

"Jiang Ning, come quick and help me measure!"

Jiang Ning didn't rush. He first looked at the chalk marks on the wall.

He said, "Are these the heights you measured before?"

Xue Yuantong replied, "Yes, they witnessed the process of me growing into a giant."

Jiang Ning ran his hand through her hair, flicked a piece of chalk, and added a new mark on the wall.

Xue Yuantong put her shoes back on and they looked together.

"153, three centimeters taller than before."

For a woman, 153 was still on the short side. Jiang Ning knew that Xue Yuantong, in her senior year at about seventeen years of age, would grow to 160 cm, but it was uncertain how much taller she could get in the future—she might stay at 160 cm, or perhaps she could reach 170 cm.

"Woohoo, I've finally grown taller!" Xue Yuantong was overjoyed.

After her moment of joy, she suddenly asked, "Jiang Ning, do you think I treat you well?"

Jiang Ning said, "Pretty well, I guess."

Xue Yuantong said, "I even rolled a water pancake for you to eat yesterday, didn't I?"

"That's right."

"So, could you, perhaps, repay me a little bit?"

Jiang Ning, puzzled, asked, "How would I repay you?"

Xue Yuantong hemmed and hawed, "Just, go to your room, and that."

"Which that?" This time Jiang Ning was genuinely confused, unclear what she wanted.

Finding Jiang Ning didn't catch her drift, Xue Yuantong boldly blurted out,

"Lend me your computer to play with!"

Jiang Ning replied, "...go ahead and play."

His computer was an extra one bought by Shao Shuangshuang's company, and they had given it to him. Its performance was still top-notch in today's standards.

"Yay!"

Xue Yuantong ran to Jiang Ning's room to play games.

She sat in Jiang Ning's executive chair, which was so wide that her feet couldn't touch the floor when she sat down.

She didn't want to lower the chair either.

Some time ago, Jiang Ning cut some tree roots at the river dam and used his Spiritual Power to fuse them into a wooden board. After shaping it, it fit perfectly under the chair, acting as a footrest.

Initially, Xue Yuantong's feet would dangle and get numb since they couldn't reach the floor, but now she rested them comfortably on the footrest.

Yet, most of the time, she curled up in the chair and covered herself with a small blanket.

Xue Yuantong played LOL, maneuvering the mouse and keyboard with one hand each.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ning ate an Elixir Pill and sat next to her, refining it and cultivating.

The medicinal herbs he had planted were about to mature, so he could start harvesting them for medicine in the next couple of days. For the next batch, he planned to plant the seeds for Essence Building Pills.

Essence Building Pills were slightly higher in quality than Qi Gathering Pills and worked a bit better for Cultivators in the middle and later stages of Qi Cultivation.

While he was considering this, Xue Yuantong on the chair complained to him,

"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, someone on the other side is calling me a grade schooler."

"You gotta help me beat them up!"