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Chapter 383: Chapter 277: The Mysterious Memory Card
April 17, Thursday.
The school anniversary was drawing ever closer.
The Tai Chi training at school had covered all twelve forms.
In the following days, students repeatedly practiced Tai Chi to refine their skills, preparing to perform in front of various leaders and distinguished alumni.
Xue Yuantong had originally planned to ask Jiang Ning for Tai Chi lessons, and then to impress everyone tremendously, but every time she came to Jiang Ning’s room in the evening, she found all sorts of reasons to back out.
For instance, she had just finished taking a bath and had no energy, or she was tired from studying all day and wanted to play games to relax.
Xue Yuantong used to worry about not being able to learn Tai Chi.
Who would have expected that the day before yesterday, Shan Qingrong told her that she didn’t need to participate in the practice; she was to represent the first year students and give a speech on stage.
Since then, Xue Yuantong had been on cloud nine.
She no longer attended the Tai Chi training, which made her classmates envious.
After school that afternoon, while the other students gathered downstairs to practice Tai Chi, Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong headed to the bike shed, planning to go home for dinner.
Jiang Ning had given the Spirit Rice to Aunt Gu in advance; they were having rice for dinner.
...
The sky in April remained bright late into the evening.
When Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong got home, it was still light.
Aunt Gu didn’t come out to greet them; Jiang Ning swept the area with his Divine Sense and found her cooking in the kitchen.
Jiang Ning parked his mountain bike at the door for an easy getaway when he had to attend night self-study later.
"Mom!" As soon as Xue Yuantong entered the yard, she smelled a sweet fragrance, that unique aroma greatly lifted her spirits.
Xue Yuantong quickened her pace with small steps and swiftly entered the kitchen.
Aunt Gu didn’t stop cooking; she turned to glance at Tongtong and Jiang Ning, who followed in.
Aunt Gu smiled tenderly, "I’ve set the bowls and chopsticks on the table, go wash your hands; the dishes will be ready in a moment."
Xue Yuantong wasn’t listening; she followed the scent to its source and discovered it was actually the rice.
"This rice smells so good!" Xue Yuantong exclaimed.
"Mom, where did you buy this rice?"
Aunt Gu: "Jiang Ning gave it."
Xue Yuantong then turned her questioning gaze toward Jiang Ning.
"I grew it myself," Jiang Ning answered truthfully, from selecting the seeds to cultivating them, and even harvesting, he had done it all on his own.
"Sure, keep boasting~" Xue Yuantong thought Jiang Ning was deceiving her again.
Jiang Ning: "If you dare, don’t eat it."
Xue Yuantong didn’t dare.
The meal today was very simple; the main dish was rice, with only a plate of green pepper and shredded potato.
"I ate at the company already, you two go ahead," Aunt Gu said as she poured two cups of hot water.
Xue Yuantong looked at the rice in her bowl. The grains were slightly larger than usual, white and gleaming like jade, as if they were glowing.
Just the smell alone was enough to be enticing.
For a moment, Xue Yuantong forgot to pick up her chopsticks.
Seeing her daydreaming, Jiang Ning said, "If you’re not going to eat, I’ll take your bowl instead."
Xue Yuantong snapped back to reality, not objecting, and picked up a mouthful of rice with her chopsticks.
One bite, and she found it soft yet not mushy, sticky but not heavy, accompanied by a uniquely distinctive fragrance that filled her mouth with delight.
The taste was so good she almost cried.
Xue Yuantong had never eaten such delicious rice in her life. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Watching her expression, Jiang Ning chuckled to himself; he had had the same reaction when he first tasted Spirit Rice.
He had never imagined that simple rice could be this extraordinary.
The most basic things could also be the ultimate—as would be the case later with Jiang Ning’s path of cultivation.
After taking a bite, Xue Yuantong wasn’t greedy; instead, she brought her bowl to Aunt Gu:
"Mom, you have to try this, it’s super delicious!"
...
Evening self-study.
Before class.
At the back of the classroom, a group huddled together in four adjoining seats, looking out at two figures in the hallway.
"You’re so great, so impressive, but it was still your stupid idea!" Zhang Chi said angrily.
Yan Tianpeng’s expression darkened: "When I brought you along to make money, you were more enthusiastic than anyone."
Zhang Chi deflected blame: "It’s because you scammed people! I can’t understand why I partnered with someone like you!"
Yan Tianpeng retorted, "Ha, you’re blaming me now? Are you not going to ask the school for money? Didn’t I lose money too?"
"It’s no use talking so much, I don’t want much, just give me two hundred," Zhang Chi pleaded, currently having less than twenty yuan, with students who had bought wifi constantly asking him for refunds.
Yan Tianpeng looked to Guo Kunnan and the others and shouted:
"Let’s have everyone judge this, tell me, is what he’s doing right?"
"It’s such a shame that I used to treat you to braised chicken, I should have fed a dog instead!"
As soon as this topic came up, Zhang Chi got infuriated: "You mean the braised chicken we shared between the two of us, right?"
"Who wants your braised chicken, go find a dog to share it with you!"
"Not even a dog would eat it!"
Their argument grew more heated as they talked.
Wang Longlong watched for a while then whispered, "Brother Ma, they’re at each other’s throats!"
Hu Jun: "Feels like they’re going to fight."
Guo Kunnan: "A fight would be too ugly, it would be a joke for our class 8; I’ll go break it up."
Saying that, Guo Kunnan stepped forward to mediate the dispute.
Although Guo Kunnan was often deceived by women, among the boys, he was well-liked for his loyalty and eloquence.
After much persuasion, he finally made peace between the two.
But the struggle between Zhang Chi and Yan Tianpeng was an obvious sign they had reached an irreparable point in their relationship.
Hu Jun remarked, "I’ve heard before that partnerships never work out. Seeing this today, it seems true."
...
Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong arrived at the classroom.
Xue Yuantong expressed her feelings: "Jiang Ning, I’m very satisfied with your rice."
Jiang Ning glanced at her; Xue Yuantong had eaten a bowl and a half that day. If he hadn’t only given Aunt Gu a limited amount of Spirit Rice, she might have eaten three bowls.
Her sister Chen Siqing was puzzled: "Isn’t all rice the same?"
"Is there a difference?"
Bai Yuxia said, "There is. The rice we used to eat at home cost six yuan per half kilo, which is quite expensive."
