People and Things from the Past

Jiang Ning followed her gaze. Across from the train station was a Milk Tea Shop, with several people lined up outside.

In 2013, milk tea shops in China were nowhere near as widespread as they would become later. A few years from now, the Milk Tea Shop across from the train station would also close down under the impact of all kinds of trendy franchise stores.

At the time, a cup of milk tea cost three or four yuan, about the same as a Coke. With Jiang Ning's allowance, he could afford it.

If it had been before, he definitely would have bought one for Shen Qing'e. He had always been generous with her.

"If you're thirsty, drink some water."

Shen Qing'e asked, "Jiang Ning, are you in a bad mood?"

The girl was perceptive and had noticed the change in Jiang Ning. Before, he had indulged her every whim, yet after a single train ride, he seemed like a completely different person.

"Mm." Jiang Ning had no interest in dealing with her.

Now that he had been given another chance, all he could think about was how to live this life.

He still had to continue school. Otherwise, suddenly dropping out would cause his parents a great deal of trouble.

Jiang Ning also wanted to experience that carefree student life once more.

After graduating from university and entering society, he had buried himself in busy work, enduring all sorts of hypocrisy day after day. Countless times, he had dreamed of returning to his youth.

He had to live well this time. He could not let down the past.

To live with dignity in modern society, money was indispensable. Only with money could he move out of Uncle's Home and live better. In this life, he would never again live under someone else's roof and endure their looks.

"Qing'e! Qing'e!"

A voice from afar reached Jiang Ning's ears.

Across the road, a woman around twenty-five or twenty-six stood in front of a sedan and waved at them. She was Cousin's Wife.

"Sis." Shen Qing'e forgot her earlier displeasure. A sweet smile appeared on her face as she carried her suitcase across the crosswalk.

"Ah, if your brother-in-law hadn't been so busy these past few days, I would've had him drive to town to pick you up." Cousin's Wife took Shen Qing'e's hand and spoke affectionately.

Only then did she shift her gaze to examine Jiang Ning.

"You're Jiang Ning, right?"

"Mm. Hello, Cousin's Wife." Jiang Ning nodded, still wearing a faint smile.

In his previous life, when he moved into Uncle's Home, Cousin's Wife had not actually welcomed him. She had even despised him. He simply had not seen it at the time, but having lived through it once already, he understood clearly now.

"Get in."

After putting away their luggage, Jiang Ning sat in the back seat.

The car started, and there were not many vehicles on the road. Traffic jams in downtown Yuzhou City were far less serious now than they would be in the future.

Cousin's Wife had only gotten her driver's license this year. She drove while chatting with Shen Qing'e in the passenger seat, laughing from time to time whenever the conversation grew lively.

Jiang Ning, seated in the back, silently fastened his seat belt.

He had once been an immortal cultivator, but that was in the past. Now, he was ultimately made of flesh and blood. If he got killed in a car accident, that would be quite the joke.

Jiang Ning remembered clearly that next year, Cousin's Wife would hit someone with her car and fracture their bones. She would bear full responsibility for the accident and pay 180,000 yuan in compensation.

Even so, Jiang Ning did not remind Cousin's Wife to drive carefully. It would only create unnecessary resentment.

More than ten minutes later, the car entered a mid-to-high-end residential complex.

Cousin's Wife parked in the underground garage and led them into the elevator, straight up to the ninth floor.

Uncle's family lived in a Large Flat, 180 square meters with five bedrooms and two living rooms. Even with the whole family living together, it still felt spacious.

Uncle ran a restaurant in the city. It was not large, but he had operated it for fifteen years, and it was a well-known old establishment with many regular customers supporting it.

Business had been good in recent years, earning three to four hundred thousand yuan a year. This Large Flat cost little more than two years' worth of the restaurant's profits.

Housing prices in Yuzhou City would not skyrocket until 2017. Right now, this apartment's price would rise from 5,000 yuan per square meter to 8,000 within a year, then continue climbing past 10,000.

"Qing'e and Jiang Ning are here? Come in quickly." Aunt stood at the door and handed them each a pair of slippers.

Jiang Ning changed his shoes and walked inside across the wooden floor.

The decor leaned toward a Chinese style. Uncle had never gone to school and liked to mix Chinese and Western elements, using an old-fashioned decorating scheme. A particularly gaudy Chinese-European chandelier even hung from the ceiling, displaying a truly distinctive sense of taste.

"Put your luggage over here. I'll show you your rooms." Aunt led them along. "Tell me anytime if you need anything, and I'll take you to buy it."

At that moment, Jiang Ning spoke. "Aunt, there's no need to trouble yourself. I'm planning to rent a place nearby so it'll be more convenient for studying."

Aunt froze at his words. Back then, her husband had made the decision without consulting her and agreed to let Jiang Ning move in. She had been extremely unwilling.

Helping out poor relatives from the countryside was one thing, but having someone live in their home directly—and for three years at that—was that reasonable? Yet her husband had already agreed. Though she was upset, she had to consider appearances and could not go back on it.

Now that Jiang Ning had voluntarily said he would not stay, she was astonished.

"You can study at my place!" she tried to persuade him.

Jiang Ning remained firm. "No need. I'll call my parents later and settle this with them. There are still a few days before school starts, so I can use that time to look for a place."

Jiang Ning spoke clearly and logically, so Aunt did not try to dissuade him further. She was afraid that if she kept persuading him, Jiang Ning might change his mind, and she would be the one out of luck.

"Then all right. Discuss it with your parents first. There'll always be a room for you here."

"Okay." Jiang Ning nodded.

After that, Aunt's attitude became much warmer. She cut fruit and fussed over him with concern, her enthusiasm making Jiang Ning somewhat unaccustomed to it.

When he found an opportunity, Jiang Ning went outside.

He took out his phone to check the time. Its 3.5-inch screen showed five in the afternoon.

There were several game icons on the home screen: Temple Run, Fruit Ninja, Where's My Water?, and Inotia 3.

As he touched the smartphone, nostalgia flashed through Jiang Ning's eyes.

It was a knockoff phone. When he was in ninth grade, his father had bought it for three hundred yuan at a mobile service hall. Though cheap, it carried many of his memories.

Even later, after he started working and earned a salary, he had gritted his teeth and bought the latest Apple phone, yet its novelty had lasted only a week.

He called his mother.

Jiang Ning got straight to the point. "Mom, I want to rent a place near No.4 Middle School and live on my own."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a gentle voice. "What's wrong, son? Are you not used to living at Uncle's Home?"

After hundreds of years, hearing his mother's voice again filled Jiang Ning with a thousand complicated feelings.

He took two deep breaths to steady himself before saying, "Mom, Uncle's family is very good to me, but the two families are distant, and no matter what, there'll be some unfamiliarity. If we live together in the future, our habits may differ, and there could be conflicts. That would also make things difficult for Uncle.

"So I want to rent a place myself. It'll be enough to visit Uncle's family often. Isn't that how relatives are? Some of my former classmates rented places outside after starting high school too. As for meals, I can usually eat at the school cafeteria, and on Saturdays and Sundays, I can cook for myself."

In Jiang Ning's heart, his mother, Dong Yun, had always been very gentle with him. From childhood to adulthood, she had never hit him, and she always listened carefully to what he had to say.

"Son, you've grown up. You're someone with your own ideas. Since you've put it that way, that's fine. Mom believes in you."

"I'll talk to your dad for you. Take care of yourself, eat properly, and don't be too competitive. When you rent a place, I'll call your uncle later."

His mother tirelessly reminded him of many things. Listening to her voice, Jiang Ning did not feel impatient in the slightest. Instead, he kept chatting with her until they finally hung up several minutes later.

Not long after, a text message arrived: Dear Jiang Ning, 2,000 yuan has been transferred into your savings account ending in XXXX. Balance: 2,200 yuan.

"Son, look around carefully when renting a place. If it isn't enough, I'll transfer you more money."

"Okay, I'll remember." Jiang Ning turned off the screen, a smile on his lips.

This was wonderful. His parents were healthy, and he was still young.

Nothing was too late.