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Chapter 456: Chapter 312 Relatives from the Past_2
Women only hinder his ability to cast spells and slow down his work efficiency.
Jiang Ning efficiently washed the pots, pans, and dishes, taking less than five minutes in total, of which four and a half were spent deliberately wasting time.
He moved two cool chairs, which he had purchased specifically for resting.
Jiang Ning picked up the cool chairs and returned to the doorway, where he picked up Xue Yuantong from the stool.
Initially, Xue Yuantong resisted fiercely, struggling desperately, until Jiang Ning placed her on the chair. Xue Yuantong tried the position and was extremely pleased.
"Jiang Ning, I misjudged you, this position is comfortable!"
She sprawled out on the cool chair, enjoying herself.
If she could lie down and play with her cellphone, it would be the ultimate enjoyment.
"Hehe, you kicked me just now," said Jiang Ning.
Xue Yuantong muttered, "It wasn’t on purpose."
After Jiang Ning replaced her chair, Xue Chuchu saw it and went to get another one herself, while the other chair in Jiang Ning’s hands went to Geng Lu.
Geng Lu’s smile was radiant.
Jiang Ning put some pistachios, pumpkin seeds, preserved fruit on the table, and made a pot of jasmine tea, setting everything on the dining table.
The group clustered together to chat.
During the chat, Xue Yuantong fell asleep.
Only three people continued the conversation.
Until four in the afternoon, when the sun began to set.
The snacks on the table had diminished considerably, and the jasmine tea was also all drunk.
"All good things come to an end, even though it’s hard to part," said Geng Lu as she prepared to leave:
"Jiang Ning, my mom has come to pick me up."
As she spoke, she turned back to look at the bungalow, feeling somewhat reluctant.
How nice it would be if she lived here. Then she could hang out with Jiang Ning every weekend.
The taste of parting is unpleasant, leaving her feeling a bit sad and lonely.
Jiang Ning said, "I’ll walk you out."
Geng Lu didn’t refuse; she really wanted Jiang Ning to walk her a bit of the way.
Together, they walked toward the river dam. On either side of the road were tidy fields, where the wheat of April showed a pale yellow hue, the grains growing fuller by the day.
Geng Lu was silent, feeling upset, thinking back to her childhood visits to her grandmother’s house, where she had cousins to run around with.
She usually went to her grandmother’s house on Saturdays and returned home on Sunday afternoons.
However, each time on Sunday afternoon, as she was going home, she felt just like she did now.
As they neared the dam, Geng Lu looked at the sedans on the dam, recognizing her mother’s car.
There were children running back and forth on the dam, and an uncle carrying farming tools, a scene full of life’s hustle and bustle.
Geng Lu suddenly said, "Jiang Ning, we’ll still see each other at school tomorrow night, right?"
Jiang Ning smiled, "Of course."
"Good," Geng Lu confirmed, speaking no more.
Jiang Ning had long noticed her change, his Divine Sense fully aware, he understood Geng Lu’s emotional shifts very well.
Jiang Ning accompanied her all the way to the dam, watching as she got into the car and left.
He returned to the bungalow.
Xue Yuantong had woken up, washed her face, and was now full of energy, playing by the door.
Xue Chuchu said, "I plan to leave now."
She had indulged today.
She had not studied during the day, and being in Second Middle School, the best school in the city, Xue Chuchu felt tremendous pressure. She had to study hard to maintain her grades.
Soon, Xue Chuchu rode her electric bike home.
...
Sunday, 9 a.m.
Xue Yuantong sat in the back seat of Aunt Gu’s electric bike, tilting her head:
"Jiang Ning, we’re off!"
She and her mother were going to the city hospital today to visit their injured next-door neighbor, Xiao Fan.
"Go ahead," Jiang Ning said, having arranged to eat at his uncle’s house today.
Xue Yuantong expressed regret, "I wanted to race you today, but circumstances don’t allow!"
Jiang Ning replied, "Go on then."
Xue Yuantong instructed, "Come back early in the afternoon, I’ll buy you a candied haw."
Jiang Ning requested, "Buy the fruit-flavored ones."
Xue Yuantong assured, "Don’t worry, I know your taste."
Xue Yuantong sat in the back seat of the electric scooter and struck up a conversation with Jiang Ning, while Aunt Gu’s face showed a helpless smile.
They talked for a solid ten minutes before Xue Yuantong realized,
"Mom, why aren’t you riding the bike?" 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Aunt Gu twisted the handle, and the scooter started.
From a distance, Xue Yuantong shouted, "Jiang Ning, please make sure to lock the front door of my house!"
"Okay."
After Xue Yuantong left, the two empty houses were left with only Jiang Ning.
He was already used to being alone, yet when Xue Yuantong’s chattering voice faded away, he still felt a tinge of loneliness.
Jiang Ning returned to his bedroom, lit a Soul Suppressing Fragrance, and began refining his Divine Sense.
A powerful Divine Sense was greatly beneficial for breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Oh, he was a Heavenly Spirit Root; there were no stages involved in the Foundation Establishment for him...
But preparing in advance was still beneficial. It was easy for invincibility in this world to lead to neglecting cultivation, yet Jiang Ning still put in a lot of effort.
It wasn’t until the electronic clock hit 10 p.m. that Jiang Ning finally exited his cultivation state.
With a gentle wave of his hand, all the doors of Xue Yuantong’s house as well as his rented house immediately closed and locked themselves without him having to do anything.
Jiang Ning took out his Flying Boat, activated the Concealing Array, stepped onto the Flying Boat, and flew towards Hu Qi Mountain.
He went to the spirit field on the mountain and picked a watermelon. This watermelon was slightly inferior to the one from yesterday, as it hadn’t been soaked in Spiritual Spring Water, but it was still top-notch for the present world.
Although visiting his uncle didn’t require bringing gifts, considering his aunt’s personality, it was always good to bring something.
Jiang Ning drove the boat near his uncle’s residence and found a deserted alley to land from the Flying Boat, carrying a bag with the watermelon.
The property management of his uncle’s residential area was quite decent; one needed an elevator card to use it.
He had informed his uncle in advance and walked to the entrance of the building, where he saw Shen Qing’e standing in the shade waiting.
Shen Qing’e was dressed appropriately in long pants and a short-sleeve shirt.
In Jiang Ning’s memory, that was how Shen Qing’e dressed at school, but she preferred shorts at home during summer because she had a scar on her knee from a fall during her childhood and didn’t want others to see it.
"It seems the relatives visiting my uncle’s house today are no ordinary people," Jiang Ning thought to himself.
Shen Qing’e received Jiang Ning with a neutral tone, "Let’s go."
Jiang Ning had no particular thoughts about her, so he remained silent as well and entered the elevator with her.
Even in the elevator, Shen Qing’e remained quiet. She wanted to talk to Jiang Ning but wasn’t used to starting conversations.
She wanted to ask about the lobsters Jiang Ning caught yesterday, as he had previously said he would take her lobstering, but she found it too dirty and didn’t go.
She could jest like an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long time, saying, "It was so hot yesterday, how could Geng Lu agree to go lobstering with you?"
Or ask about the watermelon he brought today, "Is this melon ripe?"
It looks a lot like Wu Xiaoqi’s basketball.
Would Wu Xiaoqi notice if you switched the basketball with the melon?
And other such playful remarks.
However, an invisible barrier hindered her, and the naturalness they once had was completely gone.
Far from being smooth, the conversation turned awkward and halted her actions.
In that brief moment, countless thoughts rose in Shen Qing’e’s mind, only to turn into nothing.
The elevator arrived, and the doors opened.
Upon seeing Jiang Ning and the watermelon he was carrying, Aunt warmly exclaimed,
"Jiang Ning, your presence alone is enough, why bring anything else?"
Jiang Ning handed her the watermelon.
Aunt hefted it, "It’s not light!"
Jiang Ning replied, "I bought it on the way."
"You haven’t been here for a month!" came a cheerful voice from Uncle Jiang Qitian inside.
The uncle was genuinely looking forward to his visit, and Jiang Ning joked, "You got it wrong, it hasn’t been a month yet."
Saying this, he switched to slippers and entered the living room.
There, on the sofa, sat two unfamiliar faces.
Both unfamiliar and yet not so.
One was an extraordinary middle-aged man sitting on the sofa.
The other, a teenager wearing designer clothes about eighteen or nineteen years old, was leaning on the edge of the sofa, fiddling with his phone.
The similarity between them was that both were tall and handsome.
Jiang Ning now knew who Shen Qing’e was talking about yesterday; these relatives were from his aunt’s side.
Uncle Jiang Qitian pulled Jiang Ning aside and introduced, "This is your Uncle Ji, and this is your Uncle Ji’s son. Your parents used to work at their factory when they went to Wen City."
As he finished, Uncle Ji’s eyes moved towards him, giving off a spring-like warmth.
Jiang Ning smiled; he remembered clearly that in his past life, the man was not nearly so amiable.
