Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 649 - 403: The Desire for Knowledge

After evening self-study, River Dam Bungalow.

Xue Yuantong hopped off the car with a flourish, and dashed into the living room.

Under Aunt Gu’s "affectionate" gaze, Xue Yuantong indulgently opened the refrigerator and took two green bean popsicles.

She made them herself with the mung beans she cooked, clean and delicious.

Generously, she handed one to Jiang Ning, and the two leaned against the door to eat their popsicles.

The rural summer night was extremely quiet; hardly any noise could be heard, and the bright clear moonlight poured down, gentle and serene.

In the distance, the wheat fields had been harvested, leaving bare patches on the ground like plucked skin.

In such a tranquil atmosphere, Xue Yuantong bit into her popsicle, her little tongue dodging the cold, she said in a muffled voice,

"Vacation’s coming up soon."

Jiang Ning gave a soft "mhmm."

Then, silence fell between the two.

Xue Yuantong slowly savored her popsicle, contemplating how to spend the full two months of summer vacation ahead.

She knew some classmates who would go out into the world during the vacation, taking many pretty pictures.

Xue Yuantong never went out to play; she wasn’t envious of others because, for her, just being on vacation was the greatest joy.

Many previous summer vacations were spent this way: her mother went to work, and she stayed home to housekeep, washing clothes and cleaning, and watching cartoons on the television.

Her home had a satellite dish, which received animation channels like Kaku Animation and Golden Eagle Animation.

These channels had countless interesting cartoons.

If there was a cartoon she didn’t like, she would switch off the TV, go outdoors to pick wildflowers and grass, or catch cicadas to play with.

At the end of the day, before her mother returned, she would have dinner ready to eat together.

If her mother could bring home a side dish in the evening, such as a cold dish from the street, or braised meat, or fried skewers, Xue Yuantong would be so happy she could die.

One summer vacation, a scrap collector came by, and Xue Yuantong sold a bunch of old cardboard and plastic bottles, earning a whole ten yuan.

Later, her mother returned with a handheld Tetris game with a black-and-white screen.

The game contained a tank game, which Xue Yuantong played daily, killing endlessly, and when a boss appeared, she just exerted a little effort and the boss was blown away.

Unfortunately, later on, the game’s batteries ran out, and she was reluctant to buy more.

It wasn’t until she got a smartphone that she opened up a new world once again.

After playing with it for a year, Xue Yuantong still hadn’t had her fill of the phone, let alone being able to go to Jiang Ning’s house for games and movies; in her contemplation, she had roughly decided on her vacation life.

As for going out to play, Xue Yuantong had indeed considered it after broadening her horizons at Chuchu Research.

However, going out was just too expensive, with transport and accommodation costs; Xue Yuantong only needed to think slightly to know how terrifying those were!

After finishing the green bean popsicle, a translucent grey cloud drifted across the night sky, momentarily making the bright moonlight hazy; soon, the cloud dissipated, and the warm moonlight sprinkled down once again.

Jiang Ning returned to his room.

As for Xue Yuantong, she took a bath, then changed into a loose nightgown, her slippers clacking "clack clack" as she walked, accompanied by the moonlight, she made her usual visit to Jiang Ning’s room.

Even though most of the time, she would play games on her own, having Jiang Ning by her side made her feel very secure.

Previously when she got tired of playing games, she could only talk to the flowers on the windowsill, but now she had not only flowers but also Jiang Ning.

Today, Xue Yuantong wasn’t playing games; she found a piece of packing foam, sat on the sofa, and played with it, popping one bubble after another, making a "pop pop" sound, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Jiang Ning glanced at her, then extended his hand, "Let me try."

Xue Yuantong tore off a small piece.

Jiang Ning pinched it into nothing in two tries.

Xue Yuantong said, "You should listen to me pop it."

With that, she kept pressing it incessantly, elated beyond words.

Halfway through popping, Xue Yuantong suddenly said, "Jiang Ning, what do you think Chuchu is doing right now?"

Jiang Ning extended his Divine Sense, circled around Xue Chuchu’s house, and answered, "She’s wasting time."

"That’s wrong!" Xue Yuantong calculated with her fingers, "Based on my understanding, Chuchu must be studying!"

It used to be like this, she would be eating, and Chuchu was studying; she watched TV, and Chuchu was still studying; come the final exam, she was first, and Chuchu second.

Jiang Ning replied, "You’re wrong."

"Hmph, you think you know Chuchu better than I do?" Xue Yuantong was confident, "Watch with me, and if I lose, I’ll give you the packing foam."

After settling the bet unilaterally, Yuantong led the way out of Ning’s room. She ought to have headed to Chuchu’s house, but instead, she turned heel and first fetched an ice cream bar from her own home.

Aunt Gu: "You can’t eat anymore at night."

Yuantong, righteous and confident, "I’m getting it for Chuchu. She must be tired from studying so much, I want to reward her."

The layout of Chuchu’s house was not much different from Tongtong’s. Upon entering, the room seemed much brighter and cleaner than it used to be.

Hua Fengmei and her daughter were keen on cleanliness, so the house was much better kept than the previous owners.

Hua Fengmei was tidying up a cabinet in the parlor when she saw Tongtong and Jiang Ning arrive. She greeted them with a warm smile, "Chuchu is inside."

Although Fengmei valued her daughter’s academic performance, she never resented Sister Gu’s family for potentially disrupting her studies.

After all, she owed her job at the Changqing Liquid Company to Sister Gu’s introduction, and she was not about to bite the hand that fed her.

As for Jiang Ning, Fengmei could tell that Sister Gu was probably considering him as a son-in-law.

After moving to this place, she noticed Sister Gu even began to mildly discipline Tongtong, something utterly unthinkable in the past.

"Chuchu, we’re here!"

Yuantong pushed open the door where a chilly breeze met them. The air conditioning was blowing cool air, but it was nothing compared to the natural coolness in Ning’s room.

"Chuchu, what’s wrong?" Yuantong asked, puzzled.

Chuchu was leaning on a wooden chair, her normally fair complexion now even paler, with a slight furrow to her brow, indicating pain as she held her belly.

Yuantong: "Did you eat something bad?"

"Mm." It really did hurt quite badly, Chuchu answered briefly.

Yuantong felt disappointed in her heart; she had lost her bubble wrap to Jiang Ning.

They say you win some, you lose some. The ice cream originally meant for Chuchu now became her own treat.

Savoring the ice cream, she asked, "Have you taken any medicine?"

"I have."

"Does it still hurt?"

Chuchu didn’t speak, but her expression conveyed that the pain was too much for her to continue studying.

Yuantong sat on the bed, pondering, "I remember you had a piece of bread this morning, which was bought on Friday. Could it have been the bread?"

Chuchu didn’t know, she just wished her stomach ache would go away soon.

Seeing Chuchu in such pain, Yuantong recalled how she had relieved her own stomach pain before—oh right, Jiang Ning had massaged her belly.

Yuantong, wanting to help her friend feel better quickly, let slip:

"Chuchu, let Jiang Ning help you, he’s really good at massaging your belly!"

At those words, Chuchu stared blankly, a rush of red spreading across her pale face. How could she let that happen?

Her cool eyes were filled with embarrassment as she quickly shook her hands in refusal, "No, no need."

...

The next morning.

Yuantong got up a bit later than usual because she signed up for the small meal plan and didn’t need to cook for herself.

After brushing her teeth, she ran over to Chuchu’s house.

Chuchu got up very early; she didn’t need to attend school for morning self-study but she held one at home. She had strong self-discipline, maintaining her routine through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

"Chuchu, is your stomach still hurting?" Yuantong asked with concern.

"Mm, it’s not hurting anymore." Chuchu replied. She hadn’t believed Tongtong’s nonsense about letting Jiang Ning massage her belly. To Chuchu, that kind of intimacy was only for married couples.

Last night she relied solely on her willpower to endure the pain, something she had done often before.

"It’s good that it’s not hurting anymore." Yuantong was happy for her.

Chuchu felt equally relieved inwardly. Although Tongtong could be very erratic at times, she still cared about her.

"So, Chuchu, did you figure out what caused your stomach pain?"

"Not yet."

Chuchu had just prepared breakfast—a bowl of noodle soup with greens and eggs, sprinkled with fragrant sesame oil, looking very appetizing.

Yuantong swallowed quietly, then suggested, "Oh, why don’t you try eating some bread again to see if that’s the culprit?"

She added, "We need to find and eliminate the perpetrator."

Chuchu: "...Tongtong, I’ve decided to have noodles for breakfast."