Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 675 - 417 Like-minded Good Friends

Jiang Ning supported the unconscious Yao Yiyao, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, jostling each other and chattering noisily.

An expert uncle in the crowd shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Let’s make some room here, folks, the poor girl has fainted! Clear out to let the air circulate!"

He yelled several times, and people, showing decent manners, worried about affecting the rescue, stepped back to create a large open space.

In the now empty space, Jiang Ning was propping up the Kumamoto Bear mascot, along with Xue Yuantong who stood aside, holding a cloth bag.

A girl with braided pigtails in the crowd exclaimed with wide eyes, "Kumamoto Bear’s head has fallen off!"

At that moment, Jiang Ning had removed the head of the Kumamoto Bear costume, revealing Yao Yiyao’s beautiful face.

He emitted a wave of spiritual power, with Wood Element Spiritual Power invisibly nourishing the girl’s body.

It was more effective than any emergency first-aid measure; within just three to five seconds, Yao Yiyao’s eyebrows twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The girl with the braided pigtails exclaimed: "Kumamoto Bear has come back to life!"

The onlooking crowd was astounded, witnessing the young man gently press on the girl’s temples, bringing her around in an instant, they couldn’t help being amazed.

Jiang Ning was rather indifferent towards others; he used just enough spiritual power to wake up Yao Yiyao, without wasting any extra.

If he’d left her out in the sun, she might have fainted again.

Seeing that there were too many people gathered, he said, "I’ll take her into the shopping mall; thanks everyone for your concern, human life is of utmost importance."

With those words, he casually tugged at the mascot costume.

Yao Yiyao had just awakened, her consciousness still somewhat hazy, like a doe being led, she instinctively followed Jiang Ning.

Xue Yuantong picked up the mascot head casually and entered the large shopping mall.

A blast of cold air hit them, and Yao Yiyao’s hazy mind suddenly cleared up quite a bit, only then realizing what had happened.

When they reached a secluded emergency exit, she hurriedly thanked him:

"Thank you for saving me, um, you are..."

She recognized Jiang Ning, she had seen him entering the shopping center earlier; due to some emotions stirring in her, she had not handed him a flyer.

Jiang Ning spoke plainly, "Take it off."

Yao Yiyao was momentarily stunned, her mind in turmoil. ’What is he saying? In such a public place, he’s telling her to take off her clothes...’

Xue Yuantong, playing the devil’s advocate, added, "You’ve got heatstroke, if you don’t take it off, you might faint again!"

"Oh, right." Yao Yiyao realized she was still wearing the mascot costume.

She fumbled to remove the costume, laying it on the ground. Underneath, she wore designer clothes that were exquisitely made, but now stuck to her body due to sweat, somewhat unkempt.

Jiang Ning glanced at the mascot costume and remarked playfully, "With the weather at 35 degrees, taking this part-time job without even adding an ice pack, you’re quite something."

Yao Yiyao fell silent at his words.

After a while, she spoke up, "It’s my first time taking a part-time job."

"Your family isn’t doing too badly, are they?" asked Jiang Ning. He had seen her at his uncle’s place before; the subtle air of nobility was unmistakable.

Yao Yiyao, hearing this and facing her rescuer, naturally didn’t hide anything and told him about her family’s situation.

Xue Yuantong listened quietly beside, her gaze on the girl’s expressions as she spoke, suddenly feeling a stir in her heart.

Actually, today wasn’t the first time Xue Yuantong had seen her.

They had encountered each other before at a small temple fair while eating grilled fish. Since it was dark and they were apart from each other, she hadn’t paid her much mind while focusing on her meal, and they hadn’t interacted.

Now, taking a closer look at this girl, Xue Yuantong suddenly felt she looked familiar.

Xue Yuantong was usually cheerful. Unpleasant experiences from the past were mostly buried deep in her mind but now quietly surfaced.

It had been four years ago, just after she finished sixth grade during summer break. Xue Yuantong had accompanied her mother to the urban area; their home situation was tough then, and her mother found work at a large restaurant in the city to maintain their livelihood.

Xue Yuantong was new to the city and found the unfamiliar environment rather scary. Her mother worked during the day, and she was alone at home, feeling even more frightened by a neighbor’s fierce dog that often barked at her.

The first day she cooked lunch by herself, she even forgot to put water in the pot, burning the bottom of the aluminum pot.

Once, her mother couldn’t bear her pleading looks and took her to the restaurant where she worked. While her mother served customers and cleaned, Xue Yuantong played in a corner, waiting for her mother’s shift to end.

The restaurant’s staff meals included the food, which was only available around two o’clock in the afternoon.

With the manager’s permission, she was allowed to eat at the restaurant. However, that meal became the worst Xue Yuantong had ever eaten.

The food provided for the staff, cooked by the Boss Lady herself, was bland cabbage and tasteless shredded potatoes, too salty without any trace of oil, like pig swill.

Even the rice was the worst kind, rough and unpalatable.

To this day, Xue Yuantong still couldn’t understand how someone could cook something so tasteless.

Once it was 9:30 p.m. and her mother still hadn’t finished work; Xue Yuantong’s stomach growled with hunger while waiting on a large private room still having their meal.

As Xue Yuantong passed by the door, taking advantage when the door opened, she saw a lavishly set large round table filled with many delicate dishes. Most eye-catching was a three-tiered large cake on a trolley next to it, surrounded by lots of gift boxes.

A girl in an elegant white dress with a birthday hat, pretty as a princess, was the center of everyone’s attention.

People around her were all smiles, heaping praise, even the restaurant’s Boss Lady had a full smile, handing over a gift box to wish the little princess a happy birthday.

Xue Yuantong watched in a daze, a scene she couldn’t even dream of.

That day she looked down at her pants, embroidered with a little dog patch, where her clothes had worn through and her mother had mended them in the evening.

The little princess was immersed in the merry atmosphere, never once noticing Xue Yuantong outside.freeweɓnovēl.coɱ