Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 113: The Prime of Youth

No electricity?

Dan Kaiquan was jolted as if struck by lightning. His face, which had borne a hint of smugness, suddenly froze.

He woke up from his daydreams instantly.

Oh, he had forgotten that the hand warmers needed to be charged.

Dan Kaiquan picked up the hand warmer and dashed to the multimedia podium in the classroom.

"Brother, make way for me!"

Shen Xu, dealing with his own customers, gave face and moved aside, carrying on his sales pitch for the hand warmers from a spot unobstructed by the multimedia desks.

Dan Kaiquan saw the only outlet was occupied by a phone charger. At that moment, he didn't care much about anything else, and simply unplugged the charger to free up the spot for his hand warmer.

During this short span, Shen Xu had sold two more hand warmers and left with his bag, the very picture of success.

Although some classmates looked down on him, they envied his ability to make money and fantasized about how prestigious they'd feel if they could earn money themselves.

Guo Kunnan from the back row remarked, "That idiot Kaiquan is buying another hand warmer. I can't even... You can get those things online for less than twenty, and he spends thirty-four yuan."

Wang Longlong inserted unexpectedly, "Is there a chance he spent thirty-five?"

Guo Kunnan, upon hearing that, grew even more infuriated. Seeing Shen Xu make money off his good friend was more painful to him than if he had been killed.

The quality of Shen Xu's hand warmers was actually not bad, and it heated up quickly. Dan Kaiquan, holding the warm device, approached Bai Yuxia:

"Bai Yuxia, use this."

"No need, I asked my dad to bring me one; he'll be at school soon." Bai Yuxia's father was an associate professor and doted on her. Even if she was at school, a simple text message could summon her father to her side.

Dan Kaiquan paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it okay for your dad to come out in this cold weather?"

"It's fine, we have a car. With the heating on inside, it's not cold," Bai Yuxia said.

Hearing this, Dan Kaiquan fell silent. He returned to his seat, holding the hand warmer. The hand warmer was hot, but his heart was chilling.

Bai Yuxia's family had a car...

Although he was aware that Bai Yuxia's family was well-off, it had never been so clear to him until she mentioned that her family had a car. Only then did Dan Kaiquan truly realize the gap between them.

A car, yes. In fact, many people had cars now, but Dan Kaiquan's family did not. In their village, only a few households had cars, owned by people who were doing relatively well.

Every time he came to Fourth Middle School, he had to endure the old, rickety village bus, the odd smell inside, and the exhausting bumpy ride.

Although cars were ubiquitous on the streets, he always felt they were distant from him.

And here was Bai Yuxia, the girl he liked, whose family owned a car, and whose father could drive it to school any time to bring her things.

Suddenly, he felt inferior. Previously, when he saw BMWs and Audis on the road, he was confident that he could one day afford one. But now, he felt unworthy of Bai Yuxia.

He thought about the future—if Bai Yuxia really became his girlfriend and they went back to his hometown together, taking that old, worn-out bus, the thought was unbearable.

Dan Kaiquan lamented in his heart, thinking maybe it was time to give up.

But he couldn't accept defeat. Holding the hand warmer, he approached again and said, "Why not use mine while waiting for your dad to arrive?"

Bai Yuxia declined, "No need."

She was somewhat of a germaphobe. For something like a hand warmer, she had to clean it before using, otherwise, she felt uncomfortable all over.

Bai Yuxia's nonchalant response utterly breached Dan Kaiquan's defenses. His heart soured, and he nearly shed tears.

In the time that had passed, he had tried to please Bai Yuxia countless times with all his enthusiasm, only to be met with indifference.

He felt like he had been played, like a fool who never got a response.

This was not the love he wanted. He dreamed of a relationship like Jiang Ning's and Xue Yuantong's, where they'd happily chat and laugh together every day.

But between Bai Yuxia and him, there was only estrangement.

Dan Kaiquan had had enough. He swore bitterly that he would never pay attention to Bai Yuxia again, or else he would be a dog!

Dan Kaiquan took out his phone and posted a status update:

"Damn love, from now on I'm the guy who's all about video games!"

The accompanying image: a screenshot of game scores.

During evening self-study, many students still played with their phones, and it wasn't long before Dan Kaiquan received a bunch of likes and comments:

Guo Kun Nan: Good brother, who needs women? I'll take you to play basketball tomorrow.

Wu Xiao Qi: You must bring me for basketball!

Ma Shicheng: Brother Quan, is the hand warmer any good? (Sent by Wang Longlong)

Looking at these comments, Dan Kaiquan felt a sense of warmth, thinking it was great to have a bunch of brothers, but the only regret about this status was that it lacked a like from one person.

That missing person was Bai Yuxia.

The purpose of posting this status was only to let Bai Yuxia see it, he wanted to tell her, you should treasure me.

But the person he longed for day and night did not see it, so his post was meaningless.

...

During the last period of evening self-study, the class president Huang Zhongfei was studying at the podium, Dong Qingfeng was reviewing exam papers, Ma Shicheng was playing games in the back row, and Wang Longlong was watching Ma Shicheng play.

Bai Yuxia was reading a book, and Dan Kaiquan was stealing glances at her.

Xue Yuantong had solved two problems and pushed her notebook toward Jiang Ning, the cap of her pen lightly tapping on the desk, signaling him to study and not to let slip the cultivation she had given him.

Jiang Ning had no choice but to pick up the examination paper and start working on the problems.

Suddenly, he felt a poke from behind.

Jiang Ning didn't turn around, but with a sweep of his "Divine Sense," he knew it was Geng Lu who had poked him.

He reached back and received two sticks of gum, and gave one to Xue Yuantong.

Xue Yuantong chewed the gum and watched Jiang Ning solve problems, comfortably squinting her eyes.

Xue Yuantong had discovered a big secret: her seat with Jiang Ning was a geomantic treasure. Even in the dead of winter, it was not cold at all, with warm air enveloping her, so she never felt even a hint of chill.

It was unlike previous times in junior high when sometimes the weather was too cold, fingers trembling with freezing, unable to hold a pen; she had to rub her hands warm before she could write.

But now, Xue Yuantong saw Bai Yuxia using a hand warmer, and felt she didn't need one at all.

The day before yesterday, she had quietly shared this secret with Jiang Ning, and with his strong approval, they agreed to aim for the top two places in the class in the next exam, so they could always occupy this geomantic treasure.

Thus, solely for this reason, Xue Yuantong was determined to push Jiang Ning to study and not give anyone else a chance.

Jiang Ning's phone vibrated, facing Xue Yuantong's stern gaze, he opened his phone to find, unexpectedly, a message from Dan Kaiquan.

Jiang Ning was a bit surprised; although he had added his classmates' QQ, it was just to have them added, and rarely chatted with them.

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"Jiang Ning, do you know how to quickly improve your grades?" asked Dan Kaiquan, who had attained a top five rank in the last monthly test for the whole school, different from what he had heard about Xue Yuantong's blank math exam in the middle school entrance examination; Jiang Ning's score had genuinely improved.

After failing to make a good impression on Bai Yuxia, Dan Kaiquan decided to take another approach— he resolved to study hard, to beat Bai Yuxia with his grades, so he could in turn astonish her.

Jiang Ning replied, "There's no shortcut to high school knowledge. Just make sure you have a solid foundation, practice different types of problems, analyze your mistakes, and work hard at your studies."

Dan Kaiquan didn't get the answer he wanted and felt somewhat unhappy, thinking Jiang Ning wasn't all that great, not as good as those top students on the internet.

So he took his phone and searched online for shortcuts to studying, continuing until the end of the period. Dan Kaiquan felt that he had benefited a lot; he learned a "genius study method."

He was to create a library in his mind, categorizing the content he learned, and when he needed it, he would recall it directly.

Dan Kaiquan felt he was back in the game.