Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation
Chapter 791 - 471 Waiting for You_2

Chapter 791: Chapter 471 Waiting for You_2

The man stopped in his tracks when he noticed Jiang Ning.

He turned to the side and looked at the woman beside him, and sure enough, just as expected, the woman was looking at the other party.

The kind of look in the woman’s eyes had never appeared in the few times she had met with the man.

The man felt displeased inside. Was it just because the young man was a bit handsome?

What’s the use of being handsome? It can’t be eaten as food. In this day and age, talent is the first priority.

He cleared his throat and smoothly began to introduce the flowers in front of him:

"These are peonies. There is a poem that says ’Since the Tang dynasty, everyone has adored peonies,’ which shows just how much people like them. Look at how noble the flowers are."

"There is a legend that Wu Zetian’s favorite flower was the peony. One winter, a heavy snow fell in Chang’an, and Wu Zetian led the officials to the imperial garden to enjoy the snowy view. However, in the winter, only the plum blossoms were in bloom. Wu Zetian had just ascended the throne and wanted to use the flowers to show her authority, so she ordered the flowers to bloom the next day."

"When Wu Zetian returned to the garden the next day, guess what? All the flowers had bloomed except for the peony, which remained lifeless, not giving her any face."

The man spoke very fluently, and the woman beside him nodded repeatedly, quite astonished:

"How do you know so much? Are you a horticulture major?"

The man replied indifferently, "I just study it more on my own. It’s nothing worth mentioning, really."

The woman exclaimed in admiration, "Amazing!"

After being praised like that, the man was overjoyed and glanced at Jiang Ning with a disdainful, triumphant look, as if he were the victor, and walked on.

"Haha, what’s the use of being handsome? In front of talent, handsomeness is worthless!" he thought, walking away pleased with himself.

Xue Yuantong noticed the man’s inexplicable hostility towards Jiang Ning.

She took a closer look at the ’peony’ in front of her and suddenly called out, "Jiang Ning, this is not a peony, this is a herbaceous peony."

The man halted in disbelief.

Xue Yuantong continued, "Look at the rhizome. Peonies have woody roots, while herbaceous peonies have grass roots. These flowers are herbaceous peonies!"

The man glanced fearfully at the woman beside him. Pretending he hadn’t heard, he quickly walked away.

...

Watching the man’s hasty retreat, Xue Yuantong "hmpf"ed.

Anyone who offends Jiang Ning, she, Xue Yuantong, although far away, will punish!

Jiang Ning, smiling cheerfully, thought to himself that having someone to back him up really did feel comfortable.

He strolled through the park for a while when his phone rang, his cousin Jiang Junlong had arrived.

He walked to an open space outside, where three electric bikes approached from a distance.

It was Jiang Junlong, Shen Qing’e, and an unfamiliar young boy.

Jiang Junlong smiled brilliantly and greeted warmly, "Brother Ningning, you’re back from your trip."

Shen Qing’e, following behind, nodded in greeting as well. She looked at the figure of Jiang Ning. One summer vacation apart, and he still seemed the same as before, calm and unruffled, with an inexplicably detached aura.

Shen Qing’e stared at his face, only able to see a pair of profound eyes.

Ever since she arrived in Yu Zhou City last year, Shen Qing’e, who originally felt she knew Jiang Ning well, could no longer see through him. This uncontrollable feeling was very unsettling.

Numerous times, Shen Qing’e wanted to tell him to his face, let’s make up and be friends again, just like before, I promise to treat you the same as you treat me.

However, as time passed, she found it increasingly difficult to say those words, or perhaps, she had a vague feeling that, even if she did say them, their relationship could not return to how it was before.

Jiang Junlong patted the brand-new large electric bike beside him and introduced, "Brother Ningning, check it out, the electric bike my dad bought. Cool, isn’t it?"

Without needing to be told, Jiang Ning had already noticed. The bike was in titanium gold, with sharp edges, a fierce look, and matched with sturdy, muscular lines. The design was minimalist and atmospheric, exuding a mechanical beauty.

"Check out the LED lights, super bright, and look at the dashboard—mileage, speed, gear, all crystal clear!"

Jiang Junlong, like a salesperson, pitched, "It’s so tech-savvy, and it can run 80 kilometers on a full charge!"

He pulled out the key and tossed it to Jiang Ning, saying generously, "It’s for you."

Jiang Ning looked at him questioningly.

Jiang Junlong explained, "My dad said you’ve been in the city for a year and he hardly bought you anything, so he decided to give you an electric bike, make it easier for you to get to school."

This was indeed an uncle’s gesture. Jiang Ning politely accepted it after a few words.

This relieved Jiang Junlong, who had been worried that Brother Ning might not accept it, especially since he had guaranteed it with his pocket money from his dad.

"I’ll come over to your place in a couple of days and bring you a couple of melons," said Jiang Ning.

"That’s great!"

"Try out the new bike," Jiang Junlong suggested.

Xue Yuantong stepped forward, inspecting her new ride with interest. What a big electric bike! It must be really comfortable to sit on!

She fantasized about the days when Jiang Ning would take her to school on his electric bike; that way, he could ride much more comfortably.

Jiang Ning took Xue Yuantong for a spin on his bike, speeding up to 60 mph, much faster than the usual mountain bike, leaving Xue Yuantong longing for more.

...

Back in front of the park, Jiang Junlong and Shen Qing’e were still there, but the other boy was gone.

"Brother Ning, what are you planning to do now?" Jiang Junlong asked.

"Go home and check in."

"I saw the weather forecast, there’s going to be a heavy rainstorm in a couple of days. I really want to go back to the village and have fun!" Jiang Junlong reminisced, with the flood season approaching, he remembered the times he could catch fish when the waters rose.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option now; his mother simply wouldn’t allow it.

Shen Qing’e came back to her senses and spoke up, "With the flood, you could catch fish at the river dam, right?"

Xue Yuantong saw right through her and said, "I wouldn’t know."

Quickly changing the subject, they rode their bikes home. For a while, they could travel together since they were going in the same direction.

It was just past 9 o’clock, and the streets were completely lively again, with some shops displaying many flower pots, holding opening ceremonies.

At other shopfronts, several young female employees lined up, awkwardly dancing along to the blaring "You Are My Little Apple" music, trying to coax smiles from passersby.

Riding down the street, Jiang Junlong suddenly braked.

Shen Qing’e puzzled, "Is something wrong?"

Jiang Ning also stopped, with Xue Yuantong looking around behind them, popping his head out.

Jiang Junlong got off the bike and walked straight to the curb, calling out to a girl distributing flyers, wearing a baseball cap:

"Hey, Duckbill hat Princess, what are you doing handing out flyers?"

As these words came out.

The girl in the baseball cap slowly raised her head, revealing a delicate face with locks of hair hanging beside her ears.

Jiang Ning’s Divine Sense swept over her; in the heat of summer, her hair hadn’t been washed in at least three days.

Still, the pride that Yao Yiyao carried in her brows couldn’t be concealed, no matter what.

Being caught handing out flyers by acquaintances, Yao Yiyao felt humiliated. With a stone-faced expression, she said, "Do you need something? If not, move along!"

Xue Yuantong recognized the ’Miss’ as well.

Jiang Junlong was in a good mood; he didn’t mind at all, "I heard from my mom that you’ve had another falling out with your family, and you’ve run away from home."

"Uh-huh." When her sorrows were mentioned, Yao Yiyao maintained her aloofness, exhibiting her quality temperament.

Xue Yuantong remembered the last time Yao Yiyao had been handing out flyers in a Kumamoto Bear costume and fainted from the heat, chiming in:

"Hey, did you go to the concert?"

Yao Yiyao glanced towards Jiang Ning, remembering his kindness to her, she replied, "No, I didn’t."

Jiang Junlong advised, "This isn’t a solution, with school about to start soon. Are you going to keep living like this?"

Speaking of school made Yao Yiyao’s heart ache, and she clenched her teeth, "I’m not going back to school anymore."

Her statement was weighty, shocking Jiang Junlong. For their age, dropping out of school was a significant matter.

Shen Qing’e stepped forward; she remembered Yao Yiyao from multiple visits to her sister’s house for meals. Seeing Yao Yiyao’s fall from grace evoked no sympathy in Shen Qing’e.

She was currently dependent on others herself; how could she provide sympathy for a spoiled little Princess?

Jiang Junlong said, "I heard from my mom that even though your mom argues with you, she actually misses you a lot."

Yao Yiyao felt a surge of joy, but her tone remained subdued, "She’ll never understand me."

Jiang Junlong continued, "After you ran away from home, your mom was really anxious. I saw her posting an advertisement on the community board in your neighborhood the last time I passed by; it must have been a missing person notice."

Yao Yiyao exclaimed, "Really?"

Could it be that her defiant departure had softened her relentless mother’s heart?

Jiang Junlong affirmed, "Would I lie? Let me take you to see for yourself. Get on the bike!"

Yao Yiyao mounted Shen Qing’e’s electric scooter, and they headed to her residential complex. Excited, she clumsily got off the scooter, nearly tripping.

She removed the stifling Duckbill hat, and as she ran, her black hair streamed behind her; the radiant sunshine brought out a dazzling golden hue.

Yao Yiyao rushed to the community board, scanning it eagerly, only to see a fresh A4 paper with a few lines of print:

"Unit 1, Building 3, a south-facing bedroom for rent, with a balcony, suitable for drying clothes."

Her shiny locks instantly dulled; Unit 1, Building 3 was her room.