Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 658 - 408: As You Wish_2

Mom scorned her for not being sensible.

Xue Yuantong found herself between a rock and a hard place, should she put the chicken leg back, revealing her stupidity?

Eating it herself would upset Mom.

What should she do?

Just then, inspiration struck, her chopsticks twirled, and she placed the chicken leg into Jiang Ning’s bowl.

Her heart bled even as she feigned generosity, "Jiang Ning, thanks for letting me use the computer, you have it!"

At that moment, Xue Yuantong felt her mother’s loving gaze.

Jiang Ning had already sensed the tumultuous undercurrents at the dining table, and he accepted the offering with a surprised, "Then, shall I eat it?"

Xue Yuantong forced a cheerful smile, "Go ahead, go ahead, the chicken leg is really tasty."

Then Jiang Ning, right in front of her, blissfully ate the entire chicken leg.

Having a gluttonous little girl eyeing you only doubles the joy of eating.

Xue Chuchu picked up a piece of candied banana, Aunt Gu’s culinary skills were top-notch, the sliced bananas glimmering and connected by delicate threads.

She tasted it, the exterior was crispy while the interior was tender, sweet and chewy, irresistible, she kept shoveling piece after piece into her mouth with a clatter.

Xue Yuantong’s chicken leg was gone, and she was heartbroken, teary-eyed she turned her attention to the candied bananas as well. Seeing Chuchu’s relentless chopsticks, she contentedly said,

"Chuchu, I can make this dish too, it’s really tasty."

Jiang Ning said, "I can vouch for that, she can make it."

Xue Yuantong’s lips curved, she beamed a smile, her sacrifice of the chicken leg to Jiang Ning hadn’t been in vain, see, he knew how to play up to her now.

Only proficient in home cooking, Xue Chuchu expressed surprise, "Really? I’ve never seen you make it before?"

Jiang Ning said, "She’s tried twice, each time the bananas barely make it home, she eats them as soon as the peel is off."

Xue Yuantong felt like biting him, "!"

...

June 30th, Monday.

Class 8 of the first year in high school was much quieter than usual, not only was there no sound of morning reading, even the desks piled high with books had disappeared.

After the final exam, summer vacation started and everyone took their textbooks home.

Moreover, when school starts in September, the second year will move to a new teaching building, so they might never come back to this classroom again.

However, most of the students weren’t thinking that far. What they were looking forward to were the days in the second year, surely more exciting, meeting new classmates, and the new juniors.

Ah, one step closer to the wonderful college life.

Wang Longlong didn’t forget his intentions, sitting beside Brother Ma, he watched him play games.

Before the exams, the two of them always went to Class 1, breathed the air of the top students’ class right in front of them, and joyfully played their games.

Today, Wang Longlong didn’t bring that up.

He watched quietly for a while, then said, "Brother Ma, we now have over 200 people in our new students’ group."

Ma Shicheng remarked, "Efficient."

Wang Longlong calculated, "This year, the first year expanded enrolment, we had 12 classes, the new first years will probably have 25 classes, over a thousand students. I reckon there would be at least 500 in the group by the start of school."

Ma Shicheng instructed, "You handle it, take some campus photos, introduce some tasty restaurants near the school gate, and don’t let Brother Nan use it just to pick up girls."

Saying so, he rubbed his eye, puzzled, "Why does my left eyelid keep twitching?"

Wang Longlong celebrated, "It’s a sign of good fortune, Brother Ma, left eye for wealth."

"My right eye is twitching too."

Wang Longlong, "Misfortune may be an actual blessing, Brother Ma, seize the opportunity."

Yu Wen up front scoffed with the air of a top student, "Aren’t exams like a disaster for you? Just wait to mess up your summer!"

Ma Shicheng stiffened.

When one is in trouble, help comes from all sides. Cui Yu couldn’t stand by and targeted her, "You’re strong, how come I’ve never seen you score that well?"

Yu Wen rolled her eyes, laughed disdainfully, laughed sarcastically, she laughed at the world, laughed at humanity.

"I’m not better than you?" She used four words, along with that strange laugh, and completely conveyed a blend of mockery and pride.

"Better than me?" Cui Yu burst into laughter, "Can you really be better? This time I’ll crush you underfoot."

His good friend Meng Gui stepped up, chest out, head high, a sweep of his hair revealing unbridled confidence.

Yu Wen couldn’t help but retreat, and by retreating, she lost momentum.

Cui Yu was contemptuous, "Hiding your true skills, you really thought you were better than me?"

Yu Wen, with her fiery temper, shouted, "Don’t agree? How about we compete?"

Cui Yu: "You’re not worthy!"

Having said that, he turned and left Classroom 8, leaving only his retreating figure.

Yu Wen wished she could strangle Cui Yu to death, she stomped away to find Dong Qingfeng outside.

...

The morning Chinese exam.

Mr. Gao, carrying the examination papers, headed to the last examination room.

At Fourth Middle School, examination rooms were assigned based on academic performance, and the students seated here were all outliers from their respective classes.

Among them, Ma Shicheng firmly occupied the very last seat.

Due to seating arrangements, he was in the front row, clenching his fists and resolving in his heart, that today would be the last time he would rank last.

After months of English language study, Ma Shicheng had made significant progress; he often competed in vocabulary on a word-learning app and had captured first place several times.

The second to last seat was held by Wu Xiaoqi, who sat with a basketball cradled in his arms, resting with closed eyes; exams meant little to him.

His path wasn’t at Fourth Middle School, his future lay in a much broader world.

The flame of basketball, fiercely eternal!

In the third to last seat sat Zhao Xiaofeng, who also possessed his own unique path.

The fourth to last was Qi Tianheng, dressed in trendy brands, with a touch of nobility and a rebellious air in his brows.

Counting backwards in succession were Pang Jiao, Duan Shigang, Deng Xiang, Ge Hao, some girl from Class 5, Zhang Yifei.

Out of the bottom ten, a mere Classroom 8 had taken up five seats!

Mr. Gao faced this group of underachievers with an undisguised look of disgust on his face.

In his mind, high school was a place where success or failure was determined by academic grades; if your grades were good, you enjoyed special privileges, even if you slept in class or played on your phone every day, Mr. Gao wouldn’t bother you.

But if your grades were poor, Mr. Gao, who detested incompetence, had very little patience.

Before the exam, he coldly gave a mocking smile.

Although he was just a proctor and not a homeroom teacher, he still shook his head in ridicule:

"Study hard, if you don’t study now, what will you do later, carry bricks on a construction site? With the way you’re high-minded but unskilled, I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it."

As he spoke, his condescension almost spilled over.

The students in the classroom, instead of taking it as an insult, were indifferent—after all, which high school student didn’t believe that with just a little effort they could rise above others?

What right did a mere teacher have to lecture them?

The students in the last examination room also displayed their impatience openly on their faces.

Mr. Gao, having been through his own high school days, knew what students this age were thinking. He bluntly said, "If you don’t study well now, you’ll realize how hard it is to make money later."

"What can you do if you don’t study? Pick up trash?"

Mr. Gao delivered his remarks with demeaning gusto.

At that moment, a faint voice sounded in the classroom: "My family has invested in factories in Yanjing, employing hundreds of people, and we own ten apartments within the Third Ring Road, and that’s just a fraction of our assets."

"Mr. Gao, can you tell me what I’ll be able to do in the future?"

Qi Tianheng leaned lazily against the table, looking up and asking.

Seeing someone speak out, the students couldn’t help but laugh heartily in support of Qi Tianheng!

Someone laughed and shouted, "Well said!"

Ma Shicheng also laughed, not at Mr. Gao but at the laughing students; it was just too ridiculous.

Mr. Gao’s face darkened, at a loss for words.

After years of teaching and saving, his money was only enough to make a down payment on a car in Yuzhou City.

Qi Tianheng snickered; their lifetime of struggle couldn’t match what he was born into.

Qi Tianheng turned to look out the window, where the gentle sunlight fell on the sill, and his mind conjured images of all the countries, cities, mountains, and seas he had visited. He murmured to himself:

"This splendid era is just as I wish."

Then, he settled back even more comfortably in his seat.

Pang Jiao, unable to tolerate his showoff attitude, abruptly pulled the desk.

Qi Tianheng, losing his support, suddenly trembled and fell backward with a crash.

He ended up under the desk—his body twisted into an inverted bow, pinned by the chair.

He pressed his hands against the ground but couldn’t push himself back up.

Qi Tianheng lost all traces of his previous nonchalance; he cursed aloud, "Are you fucking sick?"