Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Jiuyan Barbecue Restaurant.

Under the scorching charcoal fire, palm-sized chunks of pork belly glistened with a golden, appealing hue, sizzling as the fat dripped onto the grill.

Yang Sheng picked up the pork belly with tongs and asked, "Would you like it a bit more charred?"

Jiang Ning: "Sure."

"Alright, let's grill it a bit more." Yang Sheng took out scissors and cut the streaky pork belly into strips.

Before long, the outside of the pork belly became crispier. Yang Sheng picked up a piece that was still dripping with oil, dipped it in dry seasoning, placed it on a lettuce leaf, added half a clove of garlic, and a slice of chili, rolled it up, and handed it directly to Jiang Ning.

She added, "Grilling meat like me, you can get the pork belly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, never too greasy, and paired with lettuce, it's absolutely delicious."

As she spoke, she casually flipped over the other pieces of pork belly.

This made Jiang Ning marvel. Yang Sheng was usually sharp and often got into conflicts with others in the class, being quite fiery. Who would've thought she was also good at taking care of others?

Jiang Ning enjoyed the meat grilled by Yang Sheng and took a sip of grape juice that Tang Fu had bought.

The teriyaki chicken rice bowl was empty, and the considerate Tang Fu even served him more rice, so he didn't have to lift a finger, just enjoyed eating and drinking.

In contrast, at the next table, Wu Yunzhi was sweating profusely grilling meat, occasionally using napkins to wipe his forehead.

He looked up at the ceiling, puzzled: "Is the air conditioning off? Why is it so hot?"

His evaluation of the restaurant plummeted.

Wu Yunzhi's expressions were fully noticed by Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning subtly used his Spiritual Power to raise the temperature of the charcoal in Wu Yunzhi's grill.

Intense heat surged forth, almost roasting Wu Yunzhi.

His lack of grilling experience immediately showed; the raging charcoal fire directly burnt the beef to a crisp.

He sullenly removed the valuable cuts of blackened beef from the grid.

At the next table.

Zhao Xiaofeng was jotting down in his phone notes:

[Wu Yunzhi is a total failure. He and Lan Zichen were grilling meat, but they burnt the meat, huge loss of points. ]

[Whereas Brother Tian, you maintained your calm and let the other side make mistakes, brilliant, absolutely brilliant!]

In fact, Zhao Xiaofeng had another unexpected find: he saw the girl Brother Tian once liked — Yang Sheng.

He was hesitating whether to note it down and report it.

If Brother Tian knew, Yang Sheng and Jiang Ning were together, Brother Tian would surely be furious, possibly leading to the destruction of his phone and tablet in a fit of rage.

'Forget it, Brother Tian only asked me to track Lan Zichen, not meddle with other affairs.'

At this moment, Lan Zichen was feeling quite distressed. She wasn't shamelessly asking for a free meal; she too had to chip in!

The more Wu Yunzhi wasted, the more they might have to order, and the more she would have to contribute.

It's likely the total cost of the meal would run into four or five hundred!

Finally, after Wu Yunzhi charred the lamb chops, Lan Zichen tentatively said, "Shall I take over the grilling?"

Wu Yunzhi was a bit embarrassed, saying confidently: "It's definitely this charcoal that's the problem, it's burning unevenly. You don't know how to grill either, you're definitely going to ruin it."

But he didn't refuse, figuring since he already failed, might as well let Lan Zichen try, so she could realize it wasn't his fault, but the charcoal's.

So Wu Yunzhi relinquished the grilling rights.

Lan Zichen wasn't completely inept; she just wasn't very skilled. She placed a piece of beef on the grid.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning withdrew his Mana.

A few minutes later, Wu Yunzhi silently finished eating the grilled beef, his once sunny demeanor turned gloomy.

Lan Zichen also remained silent, as the current situation was rather awkward.

Wu Yunzhi didn't understand why the whole world seemed against him.

He glanced at Jiang Ning at the adjacent table, who was enjoying being cared for by two pretty girls, feeling so at ease.

Wu Yunzhi's discomfort faded away. Indeed, if Jiang Ning could be attended to by girls, why couldn't he?

'So what's wrong with letting Lan Zichen serve me for once?' Wu Yunzhi's spirits lifted again.

So, moving forward, Lan Zichen took charge of grilling the meat, grilling for three while she herself ate none, flustered as she was not adept at grilling.

While Wu Yunzhi sat there like a lord, not even knowing to offer a napkin.

Worse still, worse to a greater degree, the meat Lan Zichen just finished grilling was gone before she could even taste it, consumed entirely by Wu Yunzhi!!!

Lan Zichen felt slightly aggrieved, her opinion of him lowering significantly.

Though Wu Yunzhi had handsome looks, in the long run, appearance mattered little in relationships. Character was far more crucial, as no one wished to befriend a person of poor character, let alone date them.

No matter how many fans adored the handsome young idol, maintaining a reputation was necessary. Once an incident occurred leading to a loss of image, fans would quickly desert, except for the die-hard fans, who remained unfazed even if their idol committed serious crimes.

Lan Zichen wasn't a die-hard fan; she was a normal girl.

For a normal girl, facing such a situation, her mood would certainly not be pleasant.

Zhao Xiaofeng, the master observer, keenly noted all of this, recording:

[Wu Yunzhi is absolutely hopeless, making Lan Zichen grill for him. Lan Zichen's face doesn't look right anymore. Brother Tian, you're truly insightful, engaging your opponent first while observing from the shadows. It looks like Wu Yunzhi's already out of the game!]

...

In Class 8's group chat, it was the routine weekend food-sharing session.

Guo Kunnan was the first to share, showing off the dried bean curd and chicken stew he was having in his village.