Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 116: Exchanging Gifts

In the afternoon, history class.

History teacher Liang Xun, in his fifties, wore black-framed glasses, stood tall and straight, and dressed old-fashionedly, looking like an antique.

But in some ways, he often spoke shocking words, defying heaven and earth.

While he was teaching, Ma Shicheng was playing games behind a pile of books on his desk.

Liang Xun, standing on the podium, could see everything clearly. He had been paying attention to Ma Shicheng for quite some time and glanced over several times.

He hadn't wanted to interfere, but Ma Shicheng was playing his game too brazenly. Not just playing by himself, he had also gotten Wang Longlong next to him involved—was it buy one, get one free?

Was this appropriate?

What kind of student did this? Liang Xun couldn't stand it anymore. It was too much to bear; he felt utterly disrespected as a history teacher.

Ma Shicheng was engrossed in his game, oblivious to the classroom proceedings.

Having nearly finished a semester, the students had a pretty good understanding of the personalities of various teachers: which teachers' classes required serious attention and which could be slacked off in. They knew very well.

And history teacher Liang Xun was on the list of teachers considered "meek and easily bullied."

After all, Ma Shicheng would choose Sciences in the second year of high school. What did history have to do with him?

Playing was the right choice!

Ma Shicheng started another game.

Liang Xun's expression changed, and he stared at Ma Shicheng in silence. The students noticed his expression and, following his gaze, saw Ma Shicheng engrossed in his game.

Wang Longlong nudged Ma Shicheng.

Ma Shicheng instinctively pressed his phone down quickly and looked up.

History teacher Liang Xun spoke out loud, "I don't understand why certain students like to play games, and even more so during class time?"

"Can't you play games at home? Play however you want."

Ma Shicheng thought, the point is to play games during class, it's more thrilling this way.

When not in class, the game somehow doesn't feel quite the same.

Liang Xun, exasperated, said, "Playing games, the students nowadays are all addicted!"

Ma Shicheng mentally retorted that you know nothing.

How fun games are can only be known by those who play them. Stiff old antiques like you will never understand. When I grow up, I'll definitely vouch for gaming!

Of course, these were things Ma Shicheng dared not say in front of Liang Xun, or he would definitely be criticized.

Liang Xun had been lecturing nicely but was so disrupted by Ma Shicheng that he simply stopped.

He started criticizing gaming: "Look at those little cybercafes outside, the students there, playing CrossFire, League of Legends, what's fun about that?"

"They're all addicted!"

"Playing all night long!"

Chen Qian, who didn't play games, jumped in to agree, "Teacher, that's absolutely right, they are night packages, ten yuan for a whole night."

Dong Qingfeng looked at Chen Qian, who was joining in the excitement, speechless.

Dong Qingfeng's grades were good, and he loved playing games in his free time. He had learned English to play games, as many games were available only in English without Chinese versions. You could say that gaming laid the foundation for his love of English.

Regarding gaming, he had mixed feelings—beneficial and harmful. If one didn't play games, what if they ended up doing something more dangerous? Like getting into fights.

But Dong Qingfeng didn't stand up to contradict. Looking at the history teacher's demeanor, his prejudice against gaming seemed deeply ingrained.

Liang Xun said, "I have a nephew who loves playing games. He plays CrossFire, and can go for three days and nights consecutively without rest, with speakers blasting and his head swinging along with the screen. With talent like that, why play games? You should join the army!"

"Ma Shicheng, since you're so good at gaming, why don't you consider joining the army in the future? Staying in class is a waste of your talents."

The class erupted into laughter.

Ma Shicheng wasn't angry; he agreed, "Teacher, absolutely. When I play CrossFire, whether it's individual combat or team operations, I have plenty of experience. You have sharp eyes."

...

The last class of the afternoon ended, and Dan Kaiquan, following a study method he found online the day before called "Mind Palace Library Study Method," had been studying all day and felt numb.

He hadn't absorbed anything and realized something was wrong.

Feeling helpless, Dan Kaiquan sought out Jiang Ning again:

"Can hard work be the only way to improve grades?"

"There are no shortcuts." Jiang Ning repeated.

Dan Kaiquan felt weary, sensing the long road ahead.

After class, he went to find Ma Shicheng and the others.

After setting up an insulating Array for Xue Yuantong, Jiang Ning was about to leave. Since the start of school, every time classes ended in the afternoon, he would go out to buy food and bring back a portion for Xue Yuantong.

She was exceptionally lazy.

"Jiang Ning, let's go out and buy some food," Xue Yuantong said, very rarely propping herself up on her elbows and rising from her desk.

"Wow, is Lady Xue going incognito today?" Jiang Ning teased.

Xue Yuantong stretched and straightened her arms:

"Planning on taking a walk."

Jiang Ning dispelled the Array and left the classroom with her.

Outside, it was still bitterly cold, but unlike usual, the students were holding gift boxes, smiles on their faces.

Today was Christmas Eve.

Just arriving at the school gate, they saw Christmas trees displayed outside the doors of the small supermarkets along the street, adorned with colorful lights that stretched down the entire road, making the whole street festive.

Especially at the Yucai Supermarket entrance, there was a huge Christmas tree, with bright lights making it the brightest spot on the street.

In front of the Christmas tree were many white baskets filled with apples and oranges.

Many students gathered at the store entrance, asking for prices. After making their choices, they would use gift boxes to wrap them up for friends, liked ones, or even secret crushes.

After Jiang Ning bought food, Xue Yuantong led him to Yucai Supermarket.

Wei Xiu Yuan from Experimental Class 1 stood in front of the fruit baskets, looking pleased with himself.

Yucai Supermarket was owned by his family. It was his idea to buy the giant Christmas tree. Although it cost quite a bit, it worked well to attract many students, selling lots of fruit.

Xue Yuantong picked an apple from the basket and packed it into a gift box herself.

Then, holding the gift box, she said, "Jiang Ning, this is for you!"

Jiang Ning accepted it with a laugh, no wonder Xue Yuantong rarely went out today—she wanted to give him a gift.

He also bought an apple and added an orange to it, gifting it to Xue Yuantong.

Xue Yuantong smiled broadly.

Jiang Ning bought a few more pieces of fruit and, having packed them, headed for the classroom.

The classroom was now abuzz with activity. Students were exchanging apples with one another, and the atmosphere was filled with laughter.

Chen Siqing came in from outside, wearing a light blue down jacket, carrying several gift boxes in her hands. She handed them out first to Bai Yuxia and the others around her, then made her way over to Jiang Ning.

She handed over a gift box, saying, "Jiang Ning, as classmates, we're fated to meet. Happy holidays!"

Classmates, who's your classmate?

And you switched with your sister again to deceive people, right?

But Jiang Ning didn't call her out on it. He accepted the gift box and, in keeping with the etiquette of gift-giving, gave her one in return.

Dan Kaiquan, carrying a bag, entered the classroom. Jiang Ning noticed that his eyes darted first towards Bai Yuxia.

True, whenever Dan Kaiquan walked into the classroom, he always looked Bai Yuxia's way immediately, but even when their eyes met, he never dared to hold her gaze.

To hide his ulterior motives, Dan Kaiquan had splurged a whopping thirty yuan to buy six gift box apples. That way, he could give them to his friends first, and when he gave one to Bai Yuxia afterward, no one would suspect anything.

This expenditure, however, pained Dan Kaiquan greatly, almost to the point of bleeding. The price of apples on Christmas Eve was outrageously high; his living expenses were just over one hundred yuan, and he had spent thirty-five yuan on a hand warmer just the other day. Buying the apples for thirty yuan today had completely drained his resources.

For the next several days, he would only be able to afford to eat steamed buns with Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

Dan Kaiquan first rushed to the back of the classroom, took out the gift boxes from his bag, and began giving them to Ma Shicheng, Guo Kunnan, and the rest.

The students occupying the four 'King seats' in the class were pleasantly surprised. They hadn't expected Dan Kaiquan to be so generous as to give them apples on Christmas Eve. They appreciated the gesture, acknowledging him as a true brother.

None of them had prepared gifts in return. After some thought, Ma Shicheng pulled out an Alps candy bar, tore it open, and shared it with Guo Kunnan, Wang Longlong, and Hu Jun.

Wang Longlong was about to open the candy to eat when Ma Shicheng patted him and said,

"What are you eating? Don't eat that. I gave you the candy so you could give something back to Kaiquan!"

"Brother Quan, don't look down on us, the thought is what counts!" he said as he passed the candy to Guo Kunnan and then urged the others to hurry up and give theirs.

So the candy that Wang Longlong and the other two hadn't even warmed yet was passed in unison back to Dan Kai. They did it with full ceremonial zeal:

"Peace and safety to Brother Quan!"

"Great luck and great profit to Brother Quan!"

"May all Brother Quan's wishes come true!"

Dan Kaiquan traded apples worth a total of twenty yuan for candy worth less than two yuan.

Ma Shicheng opened the gift box, took out an apple, rubbed it in his hands and took a big bite:

"Sweet, really sweet. Brother Quan, I didn't expect you to be this generous today. You're a true brother."

"What are you looking at me for? It's Brother Quan's kind thought. Eat it, eat!" Ma Shicheng mumbled, knowing that respecting someone's gift was the best reciprocation.

Many people, upon receiving an apple for Christmas Eve, couldn't bring themselves to eat it, and it would end up going bad.

The three of them took out apples from the boxes and ate them in front of Dan Kaiquan, crunching loudly.

Dan Kaiquan, watching this, felt like he didn't belong.

The crunching sound was constantly in his ears, and he was far from happy.

Although giving gifts to his close friends wasn't as smooth as Dan Kaiquan had anticipated, fortunately, he had successfully handed out the first wave of gifts.

This laid the groundwork for the second wave, ensuring he wouldn't be accused of giving a gift to Bai Yuxia exclusively.

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After the difficulty comes the sweetness; life is always like that.

Dan Kaiquan reassured himself.

He picked up a red gift box of apples and walked to the front of the classroom. Then he saw Bai Yuxia exchanging gift boxes with Chen Qian, Dong Qingfeng, and others.

Dan Kaiquan felt a pang in his heart, followed by a sinking feeling. His complexion changed as dramatically as if in a Sichuan opera face-changing act, a spectacle to behold.

'Bai Yuxia is exchanging gifts with other guys...'

'Does she have someone she likes...'

'What should I do if she has someone she likes?'

Dan Kaiquan was torn, worrying too much about Bai Yuxia dating someone else. He felt like he couldn't live if that happened.

Dan Kaiquan, disheartened, returned to the back row, his eyes gloomy, like a well-behaved dog suddenly kicked while walking by the roadside.

When he got there, Ma Shicheng saw that he looked somewhat off and asked with concern,

"What's wrong, Brother Quan?"

Dan Kaiquan forced a slight smile: "It's nothing. I just got a message from a friend who says he likes a girl who already has a boyfriend and he's not sure if he should pursue her."

Guo Kunnan said, "That's not very good. She has a boyfriend already; it seems a bit unethical."

Clearly, this wasn't the answer Dan Kaiquan was hoping for.

Wang Longlong timely added his two cents, "Afraid of what? If she doesn't have a boyfriend, you have to compete with a bunch of guys; if she has one, you only compete with one. Tell your friend to go for it!"

After hearing this, Dan Kaiquan initially felt it was wrong, but upon reflection, found some sense in it.

His mood rollercoastered, then improved a bit: "Thanks, Brother Long. I'll tell my friend on QQ later."

Having regained his spirits at the back of the classroom, Dan Kaiquan came back to the front.

By this time, Bai Yuxia had finished giving out her gifts and was sitting down.

Dan Kaiquan looked at the several gift boxes on Bai Yuxia's desk, wondering if she had given gifts to Dong Qingfeng and Chen Qian... Would she give me one?

I am her deskmate, after all.

She will, right?

What should I say if she gives me one?

With these thoughts in mind, Dan Kaiquan approached his seat and nodded at Jiang Ning in the back row.

Then, with a burst of courage, Dan Kaiquan tapped Bai Yuxia and said,

"Deskmate, happy Christmas Eve!"

Bai Yuxia turned her head to the side.

Dan Kaiquan thought her profile was really pretty. If she could be his girlfriend, he would be so proud.

With a moment's hesitation, Bai Yuxia accepted the gift box.

Dan Kaiquan was ecstatic—she accepted it, she accepted it.

She finally accepted the gift I gave her!

He was almost moved to tears. There were still a few gift boxes on Bai Yuxia's desk; surely she was going to return the gesture and give him a gift.

That's when Bai Yuxia, with a note of apology, said,

"Sorry, Dan Kaiquan. These are all gifts from other people; I can't reciprocate with another gift."