Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 248 - 214 Quietly Concealed

The last group preferred to stay in the classroom, like the studious Chen Qian and the often desk-bound sleeper Xue Yuantong.

However, today Xue Yuantong wasn’t lounging on the desk; she had actually stood up.

“Jiang Ning, take me to get some food.”

Xue Yuantong looked straight ahead toward the classroom door as she gave her casual command.

She did not face Jiang Ning directly. Given their closeness and Jiang Ning’s height, it was uncomfortable to always look up at him.

Besides, Xue Yuantong felt that looking straight ahead better emphasized her unique sense of style.

And she wouldn’t lose any imposing air.

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“I plan to have noodles,”

said Jiang Ning without inquiring what Xue Yuantong wanted to eat, having already decided.

In truth, he didn’t eat noodles all that often, but recently a new and special dry-stirred noodle shop had opened near the school gate, and its taste was exceptionally good.

Seeing his nonchalant reaction, Xue Yuantong huffed. She rarely went out, and here Jiang Ning was acting so detached.

Shouldn’t he be more concerned and inquire about the reason for her initiative? He really wasn’t giving her the attention she deserved.

Well, considering his usually diligent nature, she magnanimously decided not to hold it against him.

Thus, Xue Yuantong followed Jiang Ning out.

Geng Lu hadn’t left yet; she was waiting for her best friends to come find her.

Her friends, whom she had known since elementary school, had been together for several years. Although they weren’t placed in the same class after the middle school exams, their bond remained strong, exceeding ordinary classmate relations.

Geng Lu treasured this friendship and was determined to maintain it, even planning to be each other’s bridesmaids in the future.

Actually, she had planned to dine with Jiang Ning after school because she was a bit worried about senior Li San from second year.

That guy was definitely trouble.

At lunch, he’d been persistent in trying to contact her, incessantly having his friends add her on QQ with all sorts of self-absorbed messages and had even inquired about her personal affairs.

What’s more, he even showed up at the entrance of Class 8 during lunch, shouting her name.

Such behavior indicated some level of mental instability. Geng Lu would avoid him if she could.

Since he had been quiet all afternoon—Geng Lu guessed it was because of classes, hearing that Li San was a student from the Experimental Class 1 and therefore busy with schoolwork—she was concerned he might seek her out now after school.

Luckily, with her friends by her side, even someone like Li San wouldn’t dare misbehave.

Otherwise, she might not have had the courage to leave the school gates.

Geng Lu might have a fiery personality, but she wasn’t naive; she knew full well how to protect herself as a girl.

…

Xue Yuantong left the school gates with Jiang Ning, not clinging to his arm but nonetheless closely walking beside him.

With a slight turn of his head, Jiang Ning could see her hair tied up in a bun.

The street at the school entrance was crowded with food stalls and students, bustling and brimming with life.

Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School didn’t have many students: about 600 in the first year with 12 classes, around the same number in the second year, and a bit more in the third year due to extra classes for students re-taking the year.

Altogether, Fourth Middle School had just over 2000 students, not quite reaching 2500.

Compared to the 4000 students of Yu Zhou Second Middle School, the 3000 of Yu Zhou First Middle School, and the 4000 of Tu County No.1 High School, it seemed quite few.

“Hey, Jiang Ning, off to grab a bite?”

On the way, they ran into Lin Zida from Experimental Class 1, who greeted them and glanced at Xue Yuantong, who was tagging along with Jiang Ning.

“Yes, what about you?” Jiang Ning asked.

“I’m heading to the city later.” Today his aunt Lin Han had asked him for something, and the car was waiting at the intersection.

Lin Zida didn’t concern himself too much; he was just looking to mooch a meal.

Passing through the bustling crowd, Jiang Ning quickly reached the noodle shop by the school gates, with a braised chicken rice shop next door.

He scanned the area with Divine Sense and noticed Guo Kunnan and a few others from the class inside dining. Recalling that he had sensed Guo Kunnan there during lunchtime, it seemed they genuinely enjoyed eating there.

Just as Jiang Ning stepped into the noodle shop, Xue Yuantong, with small steps, moved in front of him, stood before the counter, and quickly scanned the menu on the wall.

After making her choice, she ordered: “Two bowls of shredded chicken noodles, thank you, boss.”

“That’ll be 16 in total,” the auntie said.

“Jiang Ning, pay the bill,” Xue Yuantong commanded with confidence.

Jiang Ning took out the money she had kept and handed it to the owner.

The two sat down to wait for their meal. The restaurants near the school gate were generally not too fancy, but this noodle shop was not only decorated with a simple and rustic style, but it was also clean. The tables were meticulously wiped, showing no trace of grease.

Printed on the surface of the plastic tissue box on the table was the wifi password.

Back in 2014, having wifi in a restaurant near the school was definitely an added bonus for the business.

Xue Yuantong had planned to connect to the wifi but then thought better of it and gave up.

At home, the once unreachable wifi she had longed for had been at her fingertips for half a year now, allowing her to watch movies and TV shows whenever she wanted.

Xue Yuantong had grown so accustomed to it that she didn’t need to use her phone to watch TV shows anymore.

The day before yesterday, Jiang Ning had brought back a tablet with a much larger screen than a phone and was especially easy to hold, making it perfect for Xue Yuantong.

She was so enamored with it, that after seeing Jiang Ning’s lack of interest and using the excuse of a trial run, she played with it for a whole day before reluctantly giving it back to him.

Xue Yuantong planned that after the next test, when she received her scholarship, she would discuss with her mom the possibility of buying one.

Of course, it would still pain her heart because, as Jiang Ning said, it cost nearly three thousand.

Xue Yuantong was torn but felt it was still worth the purchase.

Buying a tablet, she could go to school during the day and leave it at home for her mom to watch TV dramas, and then she could use it herself on weekends.

For this reason, Xue Yuantong secretly decided to start a savings plan.

She had been spending too much money lately, sometimes even spending 12 yuan on a single meal in the afternoon!

If she went home for lunch, then the cost of dinner could be reduced to under 4 yuan, saving 8 yuan a day.

In a 30-day month, that’s a saving of 240 yuan, and by cutting down on snacks, it would roughly amount to 3000 yuan a year!

In just one year, she, Xue Yuantong, could save up enough to buy a tablet.

Of course, saving money wasn’t the only reason Xue Yuantong wanted to go home for meals.

Another reason was that her mom now had a stable job, finishing work on time at four o’clock every day.

Her mom usually ate alone at home, reluctant to treat herself to anything good, but if Xue Yuantong went home for lunch, her mom would have someone to eat with, hehe.

As for how to get home, Xue Yuantong glanced at Jiang Ning, but this time she didn’t need his help.

She had arranged with her mom to have lunch ready before school ended, keeping it warm, then her mom would pick her up on an electric scooter at the school gate, take her home for the meal, and then bring her back to school for evening self-study.

The interval between the end of school and the start of evening self-study wasn’t long, but it was definitely enough time to eat.

Today was Thursday, and it would be Xue Yuantong’s last time eating at the school.

That’s why she unusually chose to eat out today.

She glanced at Jiang Ning, who was out of the loop, feeling proud:

‘No need to have Jiang Ning bring meals anymore, let’s see if he dares to complain about me again, though I must say, I’ll kind of miss it!’

While waiting for their meal, a few more students entered the noodle shop.

“I told you a new noodle shop opened up here,” Yang Sheng’s voice rang out.

Chen Siyu said, “Every time a new place opens, you’re never the last to know.”

“Of course,” Yang Sheng and his group were about to go up front to order when they suddenly spotted Jiang Ning.

“You guys are here too,” Bai Yuxia greeted them.

“Mhm,” Jiang Ning put down his phone.

With the several restaurants at the Fourth Middle School gate and because they came out to eat at the same time, the odds of running into each other were pretty high.

Bai Yuxia took a look at Xue Yuantong sitting opposite him, wanting to say:

‘Every time I see you, you’re with a different girl.’

The first time it was Geng Lu, then she saw Jiang Ning with Teacher Guo Ran, and now it was Xue Yuantong, you’re quite something!

Bai Yuxia didn’t say it out loud but chuckled quietly to herself.

After ordering their meals, they sat down at the table opposite, with she and Yang Sheng on one side and the twins on the other.

Four people, three different looks, all strikingly attractive.

All the customers in the restaurant were students, who frequently glanced over at their table.

Some boys, dazzled by the beauty, pondered over the strange choice: if they could only pick two girls from one side, which side would it be?

While Bai Yuxia was attracting attention, she was also paying attention to Xue Yuantong’s table.

The noodles arrived, and Xue Yuantong went ahead to the disinfection cabinet to get spoons and chopsticks while Jiang Ning brought the soup over.

Without consulting Jiang Ning, Xue Yuantong added some chili to his bowl.

She moved Jiang Ning’s bowl closer to her and mixed it with her chopsticks to even out the seasoning before doing the same for her own bowl.

Her actions were so natural, without any hint of awkwardness, as if she had repeated them many times and it was just the way things should be.

Bai Yuxia remembered the scene of Geng Lu and Jiang Ning having a meal together in another noodle shop and thought that this scene before her was far more harmonious and natural.

“Enough with the phone, let’s eat,” Xue Yuantong urged.

“Oh,” responded Jiang Ning, he put his phone away and picked up his chopsticks.