Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 215 - 190 What Does It Mean to Buy Out the Venue
Chapter 215: Chapter 190: What Does It Mean to Buy Out the Venue?
Chapter 215: Chapter 190: What Does It Mean to Buy Out the Venue?
The bell rang for the end of class.
School was over, and so was the week.
Dan Kaiquan slung his backpack and darted out without looking back.
Xue Yuantong dawdled in her seat for a while before she slowly stood up.
It was their tradition to hang out for a bit after school on Friday afternoons before heading to the snack street together.
“Shall we play some ping pong?” Xue Yuantong patted her paddle, “I’ll tire you out, and then we’ll go eat something delicious.”
“Okay, let’s play.”
…
Outside the school, Guo Kunnan was in a very bad mood carrying his backpack.
He thought he had found peace, but it was shattered again by Manman.
Guo Kunnan felt a blockage in his heart.
His previous surprise had turned into a scare.
Walking next to Hu Jun, he began to drift off again.
Hu Jun’s gaze scanned past countless male and female students, landing on a small pushcart.
It was a skewer snack cart run by a lady in her mid-thirties who still had charm.
The skewer business was just mediocre because the taste was average.
In fact, Hu Jun didn’t really even like these skewers.
There’s a saying that liking something can be simple, like enjoying food made by a person you love.
“Brother Nan, let me treat you to some skewers,” Hu Jun fished in his pocket, where he had ten yuan left after bus fare, which was enough.
Guo Kunnan was already in a bad mood, but hearing Hu Jun’s offer moved him a bit.
He didn’t expect that at his moment of disappointment, the person who hurt him the most was the one he loved the most.
Yet his friend Hu Jun was willing to generously offer him a treat; life’s a funny thing.
“Thanks,” Guo Kunnan sincerely appreciated it.
Hu Jun didn’t mind, “What’s there to thank? You’ve treated me before too.”
When he got to the skewer cart, the charismatic Boss Lady greeted Hu Jun with a smile:
“Here for skewers again?”
The lady had a good impression of the seemingly naive and loyal young man who really enjoyed her skewers.
Particularly fond of her fish balls.
In the bustling crowd, Hu Jun pointed out a few skewers:
“Sister, I want this one, and also those two over there, divide them into two servings for me.”
The Boss Lady bent down to grab the skewers.
Meanwhile, Hu Jun took the chance to take a good look at her.
“All set,” the Boss Lady finished with the sauce and handed two paper cups over.
After paying, Hu Jun and Guo Kunnan walked and ate.
Guo Kunnan felt much better, and they approached the crossroads, where the noise became weaker and the road opened up.
Guo Kunnan glanced at the ES Restaurant on the street corner.
The ES Restaurant by Fourth Middle School was the most upscale restaurant around, with two floors, spacious areas, good environments, wifi, and air conditioning, and a complete menu of Chinese and Western dishes.
Only the wealthy students could afford to eat there every day, like Huang Zhongfei and Dong Qingfeng from his class who often patronized it.
Students like Guo Kunnan could only afford an occasional visit to satiate their cravings.
It wasn’t just the issue of not having enough money, but also because the atmosphere in ES made him feel unworthy to dine there.
So he didn’t dare to enter.
Guo Kunnan found that the ES Restaurant was like Manman’s heart; he wanted to enter but could not.
For kids from ordinary rural families like his, money was always a thorn in his heart.
Guo Kunnan felt stifled.
Yesterday and today, Manman’s rejections had hit him hard, as if he was worthless.
An honest person, when being honest for too long, sometimes becomes dishonest.
A flash of anger crossed Guo Kunnan’s mind: ‘What’s so great about you, Manman?’
‘Does being pretty give you the right to toy with others?’
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
‘Fortune changes over time; never underestimate the poor!’
Today, he, Guo Kunnan, truly wanted to enter the ES Restaurant!
Not too long after the winter vacation, Guo Kunnan had received some red packets, and after these days of spending, he still had seventy to eighty yuan of ‘a large sum of money.’
Guo Kunnan said, “Brother Jun, you treated me to skewers, I’ll treat you to egg tarts. I heard the ones at ES are delicious.”
Hu Jun was eating his skewers, the Boss Lady had been heavy-handed with the spice, and it burned his heart.
“Brother Nan is so generous.”
“Wait here, don’t move, I’ll be right back.”
Guo Kunnan entered the ES Restaurant with his backpack.
Carefully pushing open the glass door, he entered the ES Restaurant’s hall with an inexplicable sense of solemnity.
The décor was simple yet luxurious.
His steps were cautious, as if he were walking in an auditorium, afraid that any improper behavior would disrupt the restaurant atmosphere and draw disdainful looks from the wait staff.
At the front desk of the restaurant, three students were lined up ordering methodically.
Guo Kunnan, of course, did not dare to cut in line. He honestly waited his turn, clenching the money in his pocket, fearing an accident would prevent him from paying and attract scornful glances from other customers.
Finally, it was Guo Kunnan’s turn to order. As he was about to speak, a middle-aged woman squeezed in from behind, not queuing at all. She yelled at the young and beautiful waitress:
“I need four egg tarts, quickly, I’m in a rush!”
Guo Kunnan was furious. What was this?
Was he invisible?
As if anybody could just step all over him!
The waitress politely reminded her:
“Sorry, but this gentleman was here first. Please wait your turn.”
With that, Guo Kunnan felt much more at ease. He used to detest people who cut in line while shopping. Sometimes, the vendors acted as blind, serving whoever was in front, which irritated him to no end.
Before, Guo Kunnan had to raise his voice to make vendors serve him first.
He found that very undignified.
Now at ES, the wait staff was so principled, and he was greatly reassured.
For a high-end restaurant, it sure was busy.
The auntie reluctantly got in line behind Guo Kunnan, and seeing that he was moving slowly, couldn’t help urging him,
“Can you hurry up? I’m waiting to buy egg tarts!”
Hearing this, Guo Kunnan couldn’t take it anymore. What’s the big deal about buying an egg tart that has to involve all this drama?
He felt his anger bubbling up from within. Oh, you want to buy egg tarts?
I’ll let you buy them!
Guo Kunnan, full of confidence, asked loudly, “How many egg tarts are left?”
The waitress checked and replied, “Eighty.”
Guo Kunnan: …
One egg tart costs three yuan, so how much for eighty?
Oh, two hundred forty. No problem then.
He turned around and said, “Did you hear that? There are still eighty left. What’s the rush?”
The auntie looked at him disdainfully, “If you don’t have the money, why are you pretending?”
Guo Kunnan left the ES Restaurant, with his egg tarts in hand, feeling deflated.
…
Dan Xiao left school a bit late; he always went back quite late.
He felt so comfortable at school, probably like a boss likes to stay in his own company because it’s his territory.
The main path through the campus was less crowded; it wasn’t packed at all.
Dan Xiao walked along with a simple smile on his face, and there, lying on the path ahead, was a package.
He took it upon himself to bend down, pick up the package, and throw it in the nearby trash can.
After doing this small good deed, his mood improved even more.
Do good deeds daily, accumulate virtue.
He loved Fourth Middle School so much.
After leaving the school gates, Dan Xiao turned his head to look at the ‘Yucai Supermarket’ on the right, where Ma Shicheng was sitting on a bench, drinking a cola from a glass bottle.
Dan Xiao greeted him warmly.
Looking at the Yucai Mini Store, he was filled with many thoughts; society was changing so quickly.
Dan Xiao still remembered when he was a child, his mom gave him fifty cents, and with that, he could buy three bags of bread, two bottles of milk, two packs of spicy strips, a pack of chips, and a handful of candy.
He missed those times—life was fulfilling, simple, and not restless.
Now it was impossible. Prices had soared, and the purchasing power of money had dropped.
And of course, the main reason was that now the shops had cameras installed.
…
Ma Shicheng’s cola was only half-drunk when he looked outside at the sparse number of students; his home was in the urban area, and he wasn’t in a hurry to go back.
Every holiday, he went to the internet café before heading home.
He took his glass cola bottle and found the owner.
“Two hours on the computer.”
“Alright, there’s still a free PC at the back, go on and have fun.” The boss took down the time with a pen on paper.
These small internet cafés didn’t have timing software on the computers; everything was manually recorded.
Ma Shicheng pushed the partition door open and entered the ‘Yucai Internet Cafe’ at the back.
He picked a PC, booted up, placed his cola bottle on the desk, and began clicking the mouse and keyboard to log into the game LOL.
He jumped right into ranked play, instantly selecting the champion Yasuo.
Before, Ma Shicheng loved playing Sword Saint, but a month ago, the new champion Yasuo came out and instantly replaced Sword Saint in his heart.
The hero Yasuo was very powerful, and it was easy to show off flashy plays with him.
The students in the back leeching wifi saw him pick Yasuo and warned,
“This champion is difficult to play, choosing him is practically feeding kills. Are you sure you can play him well?”
Ma Shicheng smiled. Who did they think he was?
The more complex the champion, the more he loved playing them.
With the demeanor of a true pro, Ma Shicheng said,
“Just watch.”
Sure enough, the champion Yasuo in the hands of Ma Shicheng was performing all sorts of flashy moves, managing one versus two or even one versus three with ease.
“Holy cow, that’s amazing!”
“You’ve really mastered this champion!”
Ma Shicheng basked in the admiration of the audience as he executed graceful plays.
“The last time I saw such amazing play was with our school’s pro Nie Ze!”
Nie Ze was a second-year student and a legend at Fourth Middle School. His LOL skills were extremely formidable, and there were rumors that he made tens of thousands in half a year by boosting accounts for others.
“It’s a pity Nie Ze looks down on the low-key Yucai; he generally plays in the nice internet cafes in the city.”
“You guys don’t know? He doesn’t play in internet cafes now. There’s a club in the city that has professional players, and Nie Ze has become one of the inside circle.”
They spoke of it as if it were some grand mystery. Ma Shicheng just “oh”ed in response.
Nie Ze? Sure, he had heard of him.
But Ma Shicheng never saw him as a threat. If he spent his time playing LOL, he would certainly beat that Nie Ze.
Ma Shicheng took another leisurely sip of his cola when suddenly his phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw it was a call from his mother.
He told the people around him, “Guys, my family is calling, show some understanding, ha!”
He was polite and not overbearing. Plus, having seen his good skills and that he was a pro, everyone gave him some respect and quieted down.
“Chengcheng, school is over, why aren’t you back yet?”
Ma Shicheng blatantly lied: “Mom, didn’t I do poorly on my exams last semester? I’m reviewing in the classroom right now. Just let me finish this exam paper, and I’ll head straight home.”
The few students leeching wifi laughed; it was all too absurd.
Ma Shicheng nonchalantly took another sip of cola, not worrying about heading home.
His mother didn’t believe him at all: “You don’t have to come back, but your little cousin is rummaging through your room right now.”
Hearing this, Ma Shicheng panicked, hurriedly said,
“Mom, don’t let him rummage, I’m going back right now, right this moment!”
He quickly logged out of his game account.
“I’ve still got over an hour of PC time left, you guys decide who gets to use it.”
After giving a brief explanation, he hurriedly left the Yucai Supermarket.
Leaving a few wifi-leeching students looking at each other in confusion.
