Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 721 - 436: Departure! _2

She said to Jiang Ning, "So many people from our class are climbing Taishan on the 10th."

Jiang Ning asked, "Do you want to go?"

Xue Yuantong did want to go with Jiang Ning a little bit, but she didn’t have enough money.

"It’s too hot. I really don’t want to," Xue Yuantong flatly denied.

Jiang Ning smiled without a word.

Xue Yuantong felt uneasy under his gaze, so she deliberately moved a distance away, sat up straight, and looked elsewhere.

After a while, she moved closer again.

She liked being close to Jiang Ning; his scent was very fresh.

The computer screen was playing a spy movie where the villains were secretly plotting an evil plan that was about to unfold...

The villains, whispering into each other’s ears, looked perfectly normal, yet Xue Yuantong suddenly burst into laughter.

Jiang Ning asked, "Tongtong, why are you laughing for no reason?"

Xue Yuantong coughed twice and didn’t answer directly.

She was so foolish as a child. Whenever similar scenes appeared on TV, she would get close to the television, pressing her ear against it in an attempt to overhear the conversation.

It wasn’t until she grew up that she finally understood, even turning the volume to the max, she still couldn’t hear the conversation.

Of course, she wouldn’t share such silly stories with Jiang Ning. Wouldn’t it affect her image?

After the movie ended, there was noise from outside. Xue Yuantong immediately got up from the sofa, "Mom’s back!"

She was delighted and rushed out the door.

Aunt Gu was relieved to see her daughter coming to greet her and noticed Jiang Ning following behind.

"Mom, what did you get from the raffle?" Xue Yuantong asked curiously, looking forward to her mom’s prize.

Aunt Gu glanced at her daughter and Jiang Ning and replied, "A travel voucher."

Xue Yuantong was baffled, "What?"

Hua Fengmei added from the side, "It’s a good thing but too bad..."

She felt regretful. The travel voucher had a 30,000 yuan reimbursement allowance, but sadly, it couldn’t be cashed in, and there would be no salary during the travel period. Sister Gu definitely wouldn’t go.

Another reason was that the voucher was only valid for two months... it would expire after that.

In fact, there were better travel prizes at the mid-year meeting, such as a month-long trip to Hainan with the family, complete with a salary during the vacation period.

Unfortunately, Sister Gu had no luck with the raffle and didn’t win that.

Thinking this, Hua Fengmei took out her own prize, an electric pressure cooker worth five to six hundred yuan.

...

Back at home, Xue Yuantong poured water for her mom and Hua Fengmei, brought out some dried fruit and snacks, and they discussed what to do with the travel voucher.

Hua Fengmei said, "The company made it clear, it can’t be resold."

Aunt Gu wondered, "Isn’t that too strict?"

Jiang Ning, observing from the sidelines, thought to himself, ’Of course it’s strict, isn’t it?’

The voucher was specifically customized with restrictions by Shao Shuangshuang to avoid any foreseeable loopholes that ordinary people could exploit. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

As Aunt Gu and Hua Fengmei discussed, Xue Yuantong whispered, "Mom, so many classmates from our class have agreed to climb Taishan together."

She stayed quiet after she finished speaking.

Aunt Gu glanced at Tongtong. Mother knows her daughter best. As they depended on each other, she naturally understood her wishes.

Aunt Gu sighed inwardly. Over the years, busy with life’s demands, she had never really taken her daughter out for fun.

She was all too aware that other people’s children lived well while her own daughter could only stay in the River Dam Bungalow.

Previously constrained by reality without the power of choice, she now maybe had a little ability to change.

Aunt Gu looked at Tongtong and then at Jiang Ning, pushing the travel voucher along with a supplementary bank card towards Jiang Ning.

Hua Fengmei was shocked. She hadn’t expected Sister Gu to think so highly of Jiang Ning.

"Jiang Ning, I know you’re independent because you can rent your own place and last year, you even visited your parents in another province."

"Didn’t your classmates say they’re climbing Taishan? Why don’t you and Tongtong go have some fun," Aunt Gu suggested.

Over the past year, she had observed Jiang Ning’s visits. This child was resolute and responsible. When she was ill, she was grateful for his help. He was good to Tongtong and knew his boundaries.

Jiang Ning pushed back with both hands, "Auntie, I couldn’t possibly!"

Aunt Gu said softly, "I don’t feel comfortable putting it in Tongtong’s hands. You take it, and remember to get receipts for whatever you spend, to give back to the company later."

Finally, Jiang Ning reluctantly accepted Aunt Gu’s kindness after much persuasion and even Hua Fengmei joining in the effort to convince him.

Afterward, Xue Yuantong snuck into his room and asked stealthily, "Jiang Ning, are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Is my mom good to you?"

"Yes."

"Heeheehee." Xue Yuantong was very happy. In the past, when they were out, she often had to reluctantly spend Jiang Ning’s money. Now she could finally repay him and stand tall once more.

"Travel, yeah!" Xue Yuantong sat on the sofa, full of anticipation, looking forward to climbing Taishan with Jiang Ning.

"Life is really magical," Xue Yuantong exclaimed, yesterday she had the idea of taking Jiang Ning on a trip, and who would have thought today the dream actually came true.

A sense of happiness welled up inside her, and the smile on Xue Yuantong’s face lingered for a long time.

It wasn’t until the evening when Xue Chuchu came home that Xue Yuantong, beaming with excitement, shared the news with her, and Xue Chuchu was equally surprised, offering her sincere blessings.

Xue Yuantong, "Don’t worry, Chuchu, I’ll take photos and send them to you. You just focus on your classes at home!"

"Okay, got it."

...

Three days later, on July 10th.

The time agreed upon by the students in class 8 had arrived, 9 o’clock in the morning.

Today, Aunt Gu had requested to go to work late, just so she could help her daughter pack her belongings: ID card, mobile phone, clothes, daily necessities, and so on, stuffing them all into a large bag.

Jiang Ning casually carried it in his hand, while a smaller bag was on Xue Yuantong’s back.

Aunt Gu instructed her daughter to stick with Jiang Ning at all times, to not meddle in others’ affairs, avoid getting into conflicts, and be careful not to catch a cold, among other things.

While Xue Yuantong nodded, her gaze couldn’t help but drift towards their neighbor Dongdong’s house.

Not just her, but nearby residents Uncle Tang, Mr. Qian, and Uncle Zhang were all watching the commotion.

The heavy-set old lady shrieked, "Are you leaving or not? Are you going?"

She hadn’t closed her eyes in three days, her eyes bloodshot and frightening.

Dongdong was sprawled on the ground, crying his heart out, "I won’t leave, I won’t leave!"

The grandfather and grandson had been tormented by the Heavenly Demon Formation over the past two days, and every time they were close to sleeping, a sudden gust of cold wind and ghostly wailing would jolt them awake.

Humans are not made of iron, and the heavy-set old lady, unable to endure the disturbance any longer, decided to move away temporarily, leaving this troubled place.

Dongdong was unwilling, leading to a conflict between the two.

"I’ll beat you to death if you don’t leave!" the old lady grasped a stick, her patience worn thin from several days of torment, and she had no good temper left for her normally beloved grandson.

Dongdong, his voice clear and strong, threatened, "If you dare beat me to death, I’ll beat you too!"

The old lady exploded, shouting, "I’ll beat you to death right now!"

She picked up the stick and struck her grandson’s leg.

Dongdong howled, reaching out to hit the heavy-set old lady.

But he was unarmed, no match for his grandmother, and ended up rolling on the ground crying out like a pig as he was beaten.

Uncle Zhang asked Mr. Qian for some sunflower seeds and started eating them, laughing, "Oh, boy, this is killing me."

He had long been irked by the sight of the two, and the harder they fought, the more he enjoyed it.

"The child is young, stop hitting, stop hitting!" Uncle Tang tried to be the peacemaker but ended up taking a hit himself, nearly striking his nose and cursing out of anger.

Mr. Qian yelled, "There are too many people around, it’s not appropriate to hit the child. Take it inside."

After about five minutes of struggle, Uncle Tang yelled:

"You have to stop now, you’ll kill him!"

Uncle Zhang, "Nonsense, Dongdong has always been tough, even a rolling pin wouldn’t break him!"

Amid the chaos, it took ten minutes before it finally quieted down.

Aunt Gu said, "It’s time to go."

Xue Yuantong still seemed to want more, but Jiang Ning pushed out the mountain bike, "Yes, it’s time to leave."

Jiang Ning fastened the bags to the crossbar of the bike, took Tongtong, and left the bungalow with Aunt Gu.

They cycled all the way to the train station, where Jiang Ning parked the mountain bike.

The two slowly walked towards the train station, Xue Yuantong glancing back every three steps, her face filled with reluctance as she looked towards her mother.

Aunt Gu waved gently, hiding her worries, and called out,

"Have a great time, I’ll be waiting for you at home."

Not until she saw the figures of one tall and one small entering the station did Aunt Gu turn to leave.

On her way to get the electric scooter, Aunt Gu raised her left hand, which was adorned with a green bracelet given to her by her daughter.

At that moment, on the smooth jade surface, a tiny crack had appeared.

Aunt Gu remembered clearly, it wasn’t there before.

...

Yuzhou’s transportation was highly developed, ranking high even among the national railway hubs.

The train station was always bustling with a huge flow of people.

Xue Yuantong clung to Jiang Ning, nervously looking at the unfamiliar passengers around her, timidly asking, "Where’s the ticket machine?"

"Follow me," he said, ready to lead Tong to get tickets.

Suddenly, a cheerful girl’s voice came from behind them,

"Hey, Jiang Ning, you guys are here too?"