Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Night falls, nine o'clock.

In Yuzhou City, the wind is howling, thunder and lightning roar, and the sky seems to be split with countless cracks, torrents of rain pouring down like a waterfall.

River Dam Bungalow.

Warm yellow light fills every corner of the house, and in a small flower pot on the desk, the heart-shaped green leaves of a pothos hang down.

The standing fan is set to oscillation mode, swinging left and right, delivering a gentle breeze.

The room is filled with the girls' laughter and cheers, brimming with a peaceful atmosphere.

A board is laid on the floor, with Xue Yuantong sitting cross-legged on the mat, playing "Fight the Landlord" with Bai Yuxia and Chen Siyu, the sisters.

Even though there are four people, they're playing the three-player version because the twins are not smart enough and decided to merge as one.

Jiang Ning, holding a tablet, sits at the bedside playing games while spectating.

At this moment, the game has entered the final stage, with the twins as landlords left with only three cards: a 6 and a pair of Qs.

As the farmers, Xue Yuantong and Bai Yuxia each have only one card left.

Chen Siyu holds three cards, and now it's her turn to play.

She cautiously observes the two, while her sister Chen Siqing assists from the side.

Xue Yuantong gives Bai Yuxia a look, signaling that things don't look good, having memorized all the cards already played.

Thus, she calculated what cards everyone was holding.

Her remaining card is a K, and Bai Yuxia's is a 7.

Landlord Chen Siyu plays first, and with a pair in hand... there's no doubt Xue Yuantong will lose.

Bai Yuxia remains composed, giving Xue Yuantong a reassuring look.

Chen Siyu continues to stare seriously at the two, having lost 7 out of the previous 8 games, the sole win due to an excellent hand and clearing all her cards at once.

Xue Yuantong urges, "Hurry up and play!"

Without waiting for her sister's reaction, Chen Siyu throws her card: "Pair of Qs!"

Xue Yuantong, disappointed: "It's over, I've lost!"

Bai Yuxia says, "What a coincidence, I have a small 7."

She plays her last card, winning the game.

Chen Siyu is stunned: "Huh?"

Chen Siqing scolds: "Sister, weren't you going to play a pair of Qs? Why did you throw the 6?"

Chen Siyu is bewildered: "I got too excited just now."

Sister Chen Siqing is exasperated, "From now on, you're not allowed to play cards!"

Chen Siyu: …

Chen Siqing is truly disappointed, thinking her sister is such a fool, what will she do in the future?

She'll definitely be scammed clean!

Given this, as the older sister, she must help her no matter what in the future.

...

After the card game, Xue Yuantong pulls the window, seeing the mist outside.

Thunder roars, clouds and lightning suddenly light up, illuminating a vast gloomy sky, like the end of the world.

Frightened, she quickly closes the window.

"Sister, sister, it's so scary!" Chen Siyu shivers, finding the outside terrifying.

Xue Yuantong picks up her phone and quietly disconnects from the network because she heard that a thunderstorm can easily strike the network.

As a child, each time there was a thunderstorm, she was always the first to unplug the TV at home.

Compared to the extreme weather outside, Chen Siyu feels the house is especially cozy, blissfully enjoying some pistachios from a dish.

With guests at home, Xue Yuantong specially prepared many snacks, even offering her birthday gift, truly a feast.

So, they surround the snack platter, watching the bright flashes of lightning outside the window.

Jiang Ning initially intended to take out a script-killing game to play with them, but instead, they started chatting.

Talking about summer break experiences, pretty clothes, jade pendants, and new classmates after school starts, chattering endlessly as if there's never enough to say.

Though they chat online, staying home like this, face-to-face with immediate feedback, indeed feels very comfortable.

Jiang Ning, browsing her tablet, occasionally joins in with a few words.

As the topic shifts again and again, Xue Yuantong talks about her encounter at the train station, mentioning some stations set up claw machines to make money, and thankfully she had Jiang Ning with her to fiercely grab the dolls.

She opens the wardrobe, showing off a half-full cabinet of brightly colored teddy bears, bunnies, puppies, and kittens… plush toys:

"Look, all of these are my trophies, and I didn't spend much money!"

The twins and Bai Yuxia are very envious; claw machines are incredibly addictive, and even though the toys inside aren't particularly attractive, if asked if they want them, they definitely would.

Chen Siqing, always quick-thinking, ponders in her heart, planning to ask Jiang Ning out next time to get them dolls, hoping Jiang Ning can get them a pair of twin dolls.

By comparison, her sister Chen Siyu prefers to rely on herself, stating that she's bought a dartboard at home to aimlessly throw darts.

Later on, when out on the street, she plans to play darts to pop balloons, making the vendor cry in bitterness.

Xue Yuantong thinks darts are too easy and believes that slingshots are more fun.

Chen Siyu claims her aim has improved significantly and she can now hit whatever she aims at.

Bai Yuxia says, "I heard someone with excellent slingshot skills can open bottle caps."

Pretending, she finishes the last sip of her bottled water.

Jiang Ning magically produces a slingshot, complete with a few yellow soft rubber bullets that have almost no lethality.

Xue Yuantong takes the slingshot, volunteering, "I'll do it!"

Having seen Jiang Ning use a slingshot, she feels that by subtle influence, her skills should be strong enough.

Xue Yuantong's room is quite large, with two beds and a small desk, still leaving a bit of extra space.

Bai Yuxia brought a small stool and placed it behind the door, then loosely screwed off the cap of the water bottle and gently placed it on the lip.

Xue Yuantong: "Watch closely!"

She pulls back the rubber band, shoots, and hits the stool.

Seeing that Tongtong failed, Chen Siyu rolls up her sleeves, "It's my turn to perform!"