NOVPUB
Chapter 347: Chapter 263 Brawl
"Does it look good?"
In all honesty, Pei Yujing was beautiful; Jiang Ning of the past was attracted to her looks whenever they interacted.
She might have seemed cold on the surface, but she was actually approachable.
However, due to certain reasons, Jiang Ning and she remained merely ordinary friends.
There were no further stories.
Jiang Ning’s past life had not been a rollercoaster of youth; he was just an ordinary person, living an ordinary life, adhering strictly to norms, except that his luck had turned sour later on.
Jiang Ning smiled lightly, "Just eat your barbecue."
It was rare for Xue Yuantong to see Jiang Ning staring intently at someone else, and that’s why she asked.
It was the kind where he didn’t have to answer.
Xue Yuantong was busy eating her barbecue, too preoccupied to care about much else.
Jiang Ning also grabbed a skewer of lamb; it tasted all right.
A few minutes later, Pei Yujing came over with another grill tray.
"There’s only one eggplant left to complete the set." She spoke with an expressionless face, as if she was unwelcoming to anyone joining her for the meal.
Over at the side roasting skewers, ’Sister Ma’ looked over briefly, feeling drained. Every time her daughter helped out, it seemed like the business wasn’t as good.
Jiang Ning said, "Add a grilled fish, two chicken wings, and four pork belly skewers."
"Okay," Pei Yujing noted.
After she left, Xue Yuantong inelegantly said,
"Why did you order more? I’m almost full."
Jiang Ning glanced at her; it was doubtful she was full.
"I ordered it for myself."
Xue Yuantong replied, "Okay, if you can’t finish it, I’ll take some off your hands."
Then, she ended up sharing almost half of it with Jiang Ning.
Eating barbecue for Jiang Ning was not just about the food; he rather enjoyed listening to the tall tales of the neighboring table.
In minutes, there were stories of middle-aged men discussing billion-dollar investments, an old man claiming to handcraft bombs, and a young man boasting about being pursued by wealthy girls.
A fascinating diverse mix.
The group at the neighboring table spoke so loudly it was literally a headache.
Jiang Ning set up an array to reduce the noise.
He also isolated the smell of smoke.
In reality, opportunities to use force were exceedingly rare, if not engaged in a specific profession; you might encounter such situations once in years.
Jiang Ning, with his cultivation, mostly used it to improve his daily life.
As for being rusty in fighting skills? That was not a concern for him; previously training in the ruthless path, he was like a live weapon of his sect, experienced in combat, capable of contending with cultivators from Central Province at the same level.
Perhaps because the noise was too obtrusive, patrons at a neighboring table, having a barbecue, furrowed their brows showing signs of aversion.
This particular table had several teenage boys and girls who seemed about high school age.
The guys wore thin clothes, sporting yellow hair, smoking cigarettes.
The girls dressed less like high school students; in April’s weather, pairing short skirts with dark stockings, seemingly eager to display the seductiveness of youth.
One heavily made-up girl had tattooed a broad pattern beneath her neck.
Xue Yuantong noticed that table and somewhat avoided their gaze.
She recognized one of the girls in the middle, called Qiu Die, a ’formidable’ girl from her former middle school class.
Qiu Die, familiar with older boys and those motorbike-riding boys outside school, had quite a "clout."
In the sophomore year, a boy from Xue Yuantong’s class didn’t get along with her, fought against Qiu Die in front of the whole class.
That night, he was summoned outside the school by Qiu Die.
Ever since he returned, he always spoke submissively to Qiu Die, daring not to utter extra words.
Xue Yuantong had always steered clear of people like Qiu Die.
But, since Xue Yuantong performed well academically, Qiu Die would always approach her during exams, demanding answers.
Xue Yuantong heard of a girl who had an argument with Qiu Die and was publicly punished by a group led by Qiu Die to the girls’ dormitory.
Schools had their brighter sides as well as their dark, unseen ones, the worse the school, the more likely such behaviors were to emerge.
Being from a rural area and unknown in the city, Xue Yuantong lacked the confidence.
She didn’t dare to resist, obediently risking being caught by the teacher, delivering answers to Qiu Die.
Perhaps her good conduct earned some favor from Qiu Die, allowing her a peaceful junior high experience.
Later, during the middle school exam, Xue Yuantong left the math section blank, scored a place at Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School, while the uneducated Qiu Die, who failed to score above the 380 mark, went to a vocational school.
After that, Xue Yuantong never saw her again.
Memories of middle school surged in Xue Yuantong’s mind when she saw Qiu Die, filled with immense surprise.
’Why is she here?’
Xue Yuantong felt an inner turmoil, an urge to avoid her and leave the area.
However, when she looked at Jiang Ning, her heart calmed down, and she was no longer afraid.
Xue Yuantong stared intently at Jiang Ning, feeling as though everything had changed since the moment he rented a room from her family.
Jiang Ning had already noticed her unusual behavior, after all, how meticulous was Divine Sense?
Initially, Jiang Ning had no intention of deploying his Divine Sense so casually, but since she was eating fast, Jiang Ning was worried she might hurt her mouth with the skewer sticks, thus he paid more attention and ensured she enjoyed her meal safely.
"What’s wrong?" asked Jiang Ning.
Xue Yuantong didn’t hide it: "Saw someone familiar."
Jiang Ning thought to himself that this so-called familiar person must have a bad relationship with Xue Yuantong; otherwise, she wouldn’t react like this.
"Let’s talk about it on our way back." During rides to and from school, she liked to talk to Jiang Ning.
"Okay," Jiang Ning responded.
At another table, Qiu Die had also noticed Xue Yuantong.
Qiu Die, above average in looks and unlike ordinary girls, carried an air of superiority, having bullied her peers frequently, which nurtured this demeanor.
Qiu Die knew Xue Yuantong well; they were classmates, and she was a good student.
Before every exam, all Qiu Die had to do was speak a couple of words, and Xue Yuantong would dutifully provide the answers, never daring to resist.
