Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 701 - 427: Moving with Emotion_2

...

After breakfast, Aunt Gu went to work, and Xue Chuchu returned home to study.

Xue Yuantong glared at Jiang Ning, "I’m not talking to you anymore!"

It was all his fault she ended up with no snacks to eat.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning went home to sleep.

Seeing him leave so nonchalantly, Xue Yuantong got even angrier.

When Jiang Ning got home, he received her ultimatum:

"I cook for you every day, make your bed, do your laundry, train your computer skills... and you go tattling to my mom! Fine, since you’re heartless, don’t blame me for being unrighteous! I’ll make you realize just how wrong your choice was!"

After sending the message, Xue Yuantong immediately turned off the Wi-Fi because she was currently using Jiang Ning’s, and if it was going to be cut off, it should be cut off completely!

Xue Yuantong played games in her room, and as time ticked by, it was 10 o’clock. Usually, at this time, Xue Yuantong would be eating snacks, but now without any snacks, she was miserable.

She went searching for snacks, only to find that there really were none left; a lock barred her monstrous claws from the cupboard.

’Based on my judgment, mom definitely wouldn’t bring the key to the office. She must have hidden it somewhere, and I know every nook and cranny of this house.’

’Especially the places she often hides keys!’

As she said this, Xue Yuantong began tossing the house, determined to find the key.

First, she searched behind the TV, then through the wardrobe, by the bedside, shoe boxes—she checked every imaginable place, yet she couldn’t find the key her mom had hidden.

Instead, all her effort just made Xue Yuantong tired.

Without snacks, her life seemed meaningless, unlike before when she couldn’t afford to buy snacks.

Now, the snacks were in front of her, but out of reach, and that was the greatest tragedy!

Xue Yuantong lay on her bed feeling lifeless, contemplating her dull existence.

Unable to find it, she sent a message to Jiang Ning subconsciously: "Hurry up and help me find the key. If you find it, I won’t hold your mistake against you!"

Jiang Ning replied, "Don’t just think about eating, read more books."

Xue Yuantong: "I won’t!"

Jiang Ning gave up communicating with her and continued to play with the wood. He held a small piece of walnut wood, shaped like a ruler, less than ten centimeters long.

Jiang Ning used a carving knife to meticulously carve the wood, creating patterns on the surface like meridians on a human body.

After a while, Jiang Ning set down the wood and stepped outside; the sun was intense. He looked toward the double row of trees at the south end of the clearing and suddenly had a new idea.

In previous summers, Jiang Ning enjoyed cooling off under the trees; he had always wanted to make a swing that he could sleep on but never managed to do so.

Now with the opportunity, Jiang Ning considered it for a moment, his Divine Sense spread out like a radar scanning wave, sweeping over Xue Yuantong’s house.

He entered Xue Yuantong’s house and called out in the yard, "I’m taking a few of your fertilizer bags and some ropes."

Xue Yuantong, lying on her bed, snorted.

Neither agreeing nor refusing.

Jiang Ning took her non-response as consent and went to the storeroom to take what he needed.

The woven bags of the fertilizer bags were made of PP material, with high tensile strength, commonly used in the countryside to hold wheat, peanuts, corn, and reused for years, very durable.

Usually, there was a liner inside, but it was removed because of chemical residue.

Jiang Ning took four fertilizer bags, perhaps because they had been piled up for too long, their surfaces were covered with dust. He flicked his finger, and a wave of Spiritual Power shot out, clearing all the dust off.

Jiang Ning, carrying the materials, crossed the sun-scorched clearing to the trees.

Looking up into the rustling canopy, the sunlight pierced through the dense leaves, casting a carpet of light spots on the ground below the trees.

Jiang Ning scanned left and right, unobserved; he spread his fingers and solemnly recited,

"If I shall become the Green Emperor in years to come, I will grant the peach blossoms to bloom just for you!"

Instantly, the leaves above trembled; the marked sunlight was obscured by the warm glow, leaving only a few gaps through which dazzling shafts of sunlight poured down.

Jiang Ning chose two large Yang Trees, as thick as water barrels and spaced just right to make a perfect swing.

Before he tied the ropes, he scanned the trees with his Divine Sense. It was summer, and there were many stinging caterpillars on the trees.

This particularly annoying and venomous insect was hideous in its beauty, and if it accidentally fell onto the skin, it would cause pain and itching.

Jiang Ning had been stung by a stinging caterpillar while playing under the trees in the past; it was painfully ’refreshing.’

He later used clear tape to repeatedly peel the tiny stinging hairs from his skin.

Jiang Ning pinpointed the positions of the stinging caterpillars; his initial thought was to shoot a few Sword Qi to kill them all, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

He utilized his Spiritual Power to relocate the stinging caterpillars from several nearby trees to a new home.

Afterwards, Jiang Ning divided the hemp rope into two sections and tied them to the tree trunks, securing them tightly to ensure they wouldn’t come undone.

He then wrapped the ropes with fertilizer bags to create a pouch-shaped fixture and added a bamboo pillow on one end, completing a makeshift swing hammock.

Jiang Ning stretched out, lay down on the hammock, casually set up an Array, and with a wave of his hand, a round wooden stool flew out from the house, topped with a fruit plate, potato chips, and an ice-cold soda.

With his head on the bamboo pillow, he ate fruit, drank iced soda, and swung in the hammock, enjoying the bliss of summer.

...

Xue Yuantong was lying in her home playing on her phone, still mad at Jiang Ning.

Without her, he must be feeling so lonely and desolate.

His room would no longer be filled with laughter, the flowers on his windowsill would cease to bloom, and his days would surely not be easy!

The thought of having successfully punished Jiang Ning brought some comfort to her snack-deprived heart.

"Hmph, with this lesson, let’s see if he dares to snitch to my mom again!"

"I’ll make him realize how important I am!"

The more Xue Yuantong thought about it, the happier she became, unable to hold back a laugh.

With a sneaky giggle, full of self-satisfaction, she strutted out with an unfilial gait, ready to see Jiang Ning’s pitiful state and to have him help find the key to the snack cabinet.

Xue Yuantong stepped outside, stretching with a yawn, her slender waist soft and boneless.

She blinked and suddenly noticed something unusual - why was there an extra hammock hanging from the tree, and someone lying in it?

She moved closer, "Hey, isn’t that our home’s fertilizer bag?"

So, the person lying on top... Jiang Ning?

"Jiang Ning, what are you doing here?!" Xue Yuantong exclaimed with hands on her hips, utterly shocked.

"Ah? I’m sleeping." Jiang Ning took another sip of soda, crisp and refreshing, and grabbed some potato chips, crunching them loudly.

Xue Yuantong’s mouth watered with involuntary envy.

Her trembling finger pointed at Jiang Ning, why didn’t he tell her about the snacks, and why did he make a hammock behind her back!

Jiang Ning swayed the hammock as Xue Yuantong stood by, eyes filled with longing.

She really wanted to lie down, but the hammock was already occupied by Jiang Ning.

In a bittersweet mood, Xue Yuantong ran to fetch Chuchu, but by the time she returned with Chuchu, Jiang Ning was leaning against the tree and the hammock was empty.

Xue Yuantong forgot her previous displeasure and excitedly settled into the hammock, her feet dangling, swinging nonstop.

"Chuchu, come on up, it’s so much fun!"

Xue Chuchu looked at it with anticipation but worriedly said, "Won’t we break the hammock if both of us get on?"

Xue Yuantong replied, "Of course not!"

She weighed a bit over 70 pounds, and Xue Chuchu was just over 90, their combined weight wasn’t much more than Jiang Ning’s.

Seeing Tongtong’s firm tone, Xue Chuchu glanced at Jiang Ning nearby, and, seeing he didn’t object, finally climbed onto the hammock.

The two girls squeezed onto the swing together, a delightfully pleasing sight.

Xue Yuantong picked up Jiang Ning’s cup, savoring the ice-cold soda, not minding that he’d used it before.

She took a big gulp and offered it to Chuchu, "It’s so refreshing, you should try it."

Xue Chuchu politely declined, "No, thanks, I just had some water."

After all, it was a cup that Jiang Ning had used; she was much too embarrassed.

Xue Yuantong persisted, "Chuchu, have you forgotten? Back in our village elementary school, when we bought soda, we’d each drink half."

At their old village elementary school store, they sold soda in bags for ten cents each. Since they only had ten cents each, buying soda meant they couldn’t buy spicy chips, so one would buy spicy chips and the other the soda.

Thinking back to their childhood and sharing soda, Xue Chuchu found it amusing, but then hesitated looking at the cup in front of her, she shyly said:

"It’s different now."

They had grown up, and Xue Chuchu couldn’t help but cast a glance towards Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning casually turned away, gazing at the field view.

"What’s different? We’re still good friends, shared blessings and all!"

With plenty of drink left in the cup, Xue Yuantong generously offered some to Xue Chuchu, feigning annoyance.

Unable to resist her enthusiasm, Xue Chuchu finally took the cup, her brow lowered, cheeks blushed like the pink clouds of early morning, perfectly rosy. She shyly sipped the soda with reddened cheeks.