Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Chapter 305: Chapter 245: Is He Alright?_3 Chapter 305: Chapter 245: Is He Alright?_3 As a result, the smile that had just appeared on Yu Wen’s face didn’t last even a second before it froze.

The badminton birdie indeed was knocked down, but the racket got caught up there.

The joyful atmosphere quickly chilled.

This was just ridiculous.

Yu Wen was extremely embarrassed, “What should we do?”

Before, if the birdie was left unretrieved, one could choose to give up on it since it wasn’t expensive.

But now that the racket was caught up there, it was definitely impossible to give up without a significant loss.

Everyone was an ordinary high school student; badminton rackets were not cheap.

Jiang Yanan tentatively suggested, “Why don’t we try again?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Wen hastily refused. She was traumatized and didn’t dare to try again.

What if another racket got stuck up there? Wouldn’t that be even worse?

Over at the sports ground, Zhang Chi walked by holding a table tennis paddle. Jiang Yanan quickly called out as soon as she saw Zhang Chi:

“Zhang Chi, could you give us a hand?”

Zhang Chi was the sports representative in their class. Even though his reputation among the boys wasn’t great, the girls had a different perspective, and having not interacted much, Jiang Yanan felt from their brief past interactions that Zhang Chi was alright, quite responsible.

Zhang Chi followed everyone’s gaze and spotted the badminton racket hanging on the tree.

He volunteered: “I’ll get it down for you.”

He grabbed the table tennis paddle, which was very worn, its surface pad completely gone, leaving only the bare wooden board.

Zhang Chi, holding the paddle, sprinted toward the tree; as he reached it, he pushed off the ground, leapt up fiercely, and reached out for the badminton racket mid-air.

Unfortunately, he fell short of the height by quite a distance.

Yu Wen and several of her friends were disappointed.

Zhang Chi wasn’t willing to give up and jumped a few more times but still couldn’t reach it.

“Maybe you should try with a badminton racket,” Yu Wen suggested.

Zhang Chi took the badminton racket, tried out the feel, and ran into another jumping attempt.

He still fell short.

Resigned, he said, “No use, maybe try with a tree branch.”

He looked around for one.

Yu Wen and her friends were also at a loss, with the exam starting in not too long.

They were anxiously panicked in their hearts.

Suddenly, Shen Qing’e saw Jiang Ning passing by on his mountain bike, followed by their classmate Xue Yuantong.

Looking at this pairing, Shen Qing’e felt a sudden lump in her throat.

She remembered when she first came to Fourth Middle School, one evening after self-study, she saw Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong walking home together and she had been disdainful, because in her view, Jiang Ning moving out of his uncle’s house to rent a room was merely a sign of immaturity.

Back then, she didn’t think much of Xue Yuantong either.

But then Xue Yuantong scored first in the entire city.

Jiang Ning was also becoming excellent.

Did Shen Qing’e regret it?

Maybe a little. In middle school, Jiang Ning had helped her a lot, and she was well aware of his intentions, but she had never liked Jiang Ning, not even once.

She admired the kind of guy who was tall and strong, with good grades, and could play basketball, not the once plain and unremarkable Jiang Ning.

But why then, despite not liking him, was she still affected by it, as if something that had belonged to her was being taken away?

It had been a long time since she had talked to Jiang Ning, though he had gone to his uncle’s house several times, and they had barely acknowledged each other with a nod.

Shen Qing’e took a deep breath to calm the restlessness in her heart and suddenly mustered up the courage to shout:

“Jiang Ning!”

Jiang Ning’s gaze moved over to them, his expression calm.

Shen Qing’e continued to shout, “The badminton racket is stuck in the tree, can you help us get it down?”

Her tone had a hint of pleading.

Yu Wen muttered in a low voice beside her, “Why ask him to do it, it’s too high, if Zhang Chi can’t reach it, Jiang Ning definitely can’t.”

Zhang Chi, being the physical education representative, had a good reputation for physical fitness among the girls. He planned to pursue sports in the future, and his high jump ability was definitely remarkable.

Shen Qing’e’s mind was a bit chaotic; after encountering Jiang Ning, she hadn’t thought much and just instinctively called out to him.

Xue Yuantong spotted the racket in the tree from afar and said to Jiang Ning,

“Are you going to take action?”

“If you don’t take action, then I’m going to have to,” Xue Yuantong declared with a triumphant air, as if the badminton racket hanging high above was but a flick away from falling.

Jiang Ning responded, “I’ll handle it.”

He handed his mountain bike over to Xue Yuantong.

Xue Yuantong steadied the handlebars, slightly out of her element, since she was used to being chauffeured and had never pushed a bike.

Her movements were clumsy as she cautiously pushed the bike to keep up.

When Shen Qing’e saw Jiang Ning coming over, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if reuniting with an old friend after many years, and her facial features softened considerably.

Shen Qing’e was not bad-looking, a graceful girl with a delicate face.

Although Yu Wen didn’t like Jiang Ning very much, she knew better than to mock someone who was there to help.

Nonetheless, she didn’t hold much hope that the problem would be resolved, even with Jiang Ning’s help.

Jiang Yanan then handed a shuttlecock to Jiang Ning, “Will you use this?”

Jiang Ning answered, “No need.”

Zhang Chi, puzzled, asked, “How will you get it down without this?”

Jiang Ning offering his help was irksome to Zhang Chi. As the sports committee member, if he was unable to accomplish the task but Jiang Ning succeeded, wouldn’t that be a blow to his pride?

High school boys cared deeply about saving face.

But he couldn’t intervene outright. He could only watch and wait for Jiang Ning to fail, hoping that would restore some sense of balance.

Huang Zhongfei inquired, “Jiang Ning, do you have a plan?”

Xue Yuantong clenched her little fists tightly yet encouraged him,

“Jiang Ning is super amazing!”

Xue Yuantong believed that Jiang Ning could do anything; to her, he was the most incredible person in the world!

Jiang Ning nodded slightly and made his way towards the cypress tree.

Shen Qing’e couldn’t believe it: ‘Does he… plan to shake the tree?’

Yu Wen and Jiang Yanan next to her were also incredulous.

Zhang Chi watched Jiang Ning’s figure and said quickly, “That method won’t work; it’s a wasted effort.”

Jiang Ning remained silent, continuing on his determined stride.

Behind him, only the surprised gazes of several people remained.

Jiang Yanan asked, “Do you think he can get it down?”

Yu Wen: “Absolutely impossible. Have you seen how thick that tree is?”

Zhang Chi: “I should go find some branches.”

Shen Qing’e had to admit, albeit unwillingly, that Jiang Ning was being rash this time. She wanted to stop him but felt too embarrassed to speak up.

By then, Jiang Ning had approached the large tree.

He looked up at the tree, its trunk almost as thick as a grown man’s waist.

It would be a challenge for any ordinary person to shake it.

Jiang Ning stretched out his hand, transforming it into a palm.

Yu Wen watched the scene, astonished: “Does he really plan to shake it?”

Shen Qing’e also harbored doubts at heart.

However, as Jiang Ning’s palm simply pushed forward—seemingly a gentle, effortless push with no apparent strength—

The moment that hand touched the Big Bai Yang Tree, the trunk shockingly trembled violently.

Dozens of green leaves fell, and the badminton racket, wedged between the branches, jostled twice before dropping to the concrete below.

Yu Wen was in disbelief, mouth agape:

“Is he that strong?”

Just then, a leaf landed on her head, and for a moment she forgot to remove it.

Zhang Chi swallowed hard: “Holy shit!”

Shen Qing’e’s feelings were too complex to describe.

Only Xue Yuantong shook her little fist excitedly, exclaiming,

“See? That’s my Jiang Ning!”