Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Chapter 1856 - 1025: A Spark of Hope

The fire is out.

Zhang Zhaodi is rescued.

Some perverted male classmates, like Liu Chuandao, ran over from afar and reached out to touch Zhang Zhaodi’s exposed arm:

"Student Zhang, are you alright?"

Zhang Zhaodi held her arm and stepped back half a step, avoiding his assault.

Liu Chuandao was full of regret, judging from his sleazy gaze, he could tell that Zhang Zhaodi’s arm must be incredibly soft, what a pity!

Jiang Yanan handed her two wet wipes, Zhang Zhaodi wiped off the black marks on her shoulder and arm, revealing her rosy skin, trembling slightly with the softness as she wiped.

"Seems like you got a bit burned by the fire," Jiang Yanan said, noticing the bright red skin and a few pea-sized blisters, looking rather alarming.

’It wasn’t just the fire...’ Zhang Zhaodi knew it was actually Zhao Qianqian at the back seat who splashed hot water!

But, after all, she meant well, so what could she say?

She frowned from the pain, her hair slightly messed up due to the recent incident, her plain white outerwear half-burned, revealing a glimpse of her simple, pure shoulder strap tank top, adding a touch of broken beauty to her appearance.

Then, she looked towards Jiang Ning in front.

She knew Jiang Ning, when she first transferred to Class 8, she told her ex-boyfriend Wu Tie about him, but Wu Tie dismissed it saying, ’Just a loser I once beat, doesn’t count as anything!’

Zhang Zhaodi prejudged him, carrying a stereotype.

But later, at the zoo, she found out it wasn’t true; Bai Yuxia gave her a portion of fish while feeding the otters.

And Bai Yuxia, being such a well-mannered girl, playing with Jiang Ning, precisely proved he had redeeming qualities.

This time, after breaking up and returning home, she found an old classmate, Li Jing, to inquire about the reason for that fight back then. Li Jing said it was Wu Tie who actively instigated trouble to attract Shen Qing’e, and Jiang Ning stepped in to help, while Xiao Shaoxiong was there aiding the trouble.

Only then did she understand the truth of the matter.

Zhang Zhaodi took a deep breath and gratefully said, "Thank you, Jiang Ning!"

If it weren’t for Jiang Ning stepping in, the fire would most likely have spread over her entire body, causing large-area burns. Thinking of the burn images she saw online before, she couldn’t help but shiver.

Before Jiang Ning could speak, Xue Yuantong waved indifferently: "No choice, Jiang Ning is just so eager to help!"

Jiang Ning responded flatly: "Hmm, better go to the infirmary to treat the wound."

Jiang Yanan stood up from her seat and considerately said, "Zhang Zhang, come on, I’ll go with you to the infirmary!"

Lu Qiqi wanted to go, but alas, her books were burned too, her desk a total mess.

The two girls soon left the classroom.

Meanwhile, Xiao Shaoxiong’s mood was like riding a roller coaster.

The pride of showing his phone to Lu Qiqi, the panic over the explosion, the terror of Zhang Zhaodi getting burned, and now looking at the charred Samsung phone, his heart felt ice-cold!

’My Samsung phone!’ Xiao Shaoxiong was numbed.

Wang Longlong walked over, coughed, and said, "Xiao, my condolences."

Dan Xiao also walked over, sighing remorsefully, "Classmate, I understand how you’re feeling!"

In a time of adversity, seeing Dan Xiao’s sincere face, Xiao Shaoxiong was moved, not expecting to have such genuine classmates in this class!

Cui Yu gloated: "Da Xiong, don’t forget to pay Zhang Zhaodi’s medical expenses."

Liu Chuandao: "Where’s my power bank?"

He scanned around, following the charging cable, and pulled the power bank from the desk compartment, finding the port completely charred.

Xiao Shaoxiong shifted the blame: "Is your power bank faulty? How else would my phone explode?"

Liu Chuandao was displeased, his face tightened: "I’m telling you, don’t speak nonsense, you were the one who begged me to lend it!"

"You better compensate me!"

Xiao Shaoxiong was left speechless, things were absolutely terrible!

He instinctively wanted to complain to the phone store, but suddenly remembered that his Samsung was bought at a markup from a scalper, without any purchase proof! What’s crucial is that he didn’t have the scalper’s contact!

’Damn it!’ he thought.

In 2015, mobile internet was far less developed than in later years; people’s awareness of consumer rights was similarly not as strong as those in the future.

’How on earth do I file a complaint?’ he pondered.

’Besides, a company as big as Samsung...’

Coming from a small town, Xiao Shaoxiong usually boasted a lot, but in this moment, he was completely at a loss.

He could only admit defeat.

Ma Shicheng had come to the front to watch the scene as well. He had taken out his phone long ago, recording photos and videos of the scene.

He witnessed the changes in Xiao Shaoxiong’s expressions.

Ma Shicheng exchanged a look with Wang Longlong before approaching Xiao Shaoxiong: "The phone is completely trashed, right?"

Lu Qiqi held her Apple phone: "It exploded, of course it’s trashed."

She used a pen to flip over the Samsung, its once exquisite dual-curved design now charred and ruined.

"Xiao Shaoxiong, toss it in the trash, it’s too smelly!" Lu Qiqi pinched her nose.

In his heart, Xiao Shaoxiong thought: ’Wasn’t it because I was showing it to you that the phone exploded?’

But he couldn’t voice it out, saying anything now was pointless.

With a sullen face, Xiao Shaoxiong turned to walk towards the back of the classroom to fetch a broom and dustpan.

Just then, Ma Shicheng said, "How about this, fifty with shipping to relieve your woes?"

Xiao Shaoxiong paused: "Are you sure?"

His phone was completely destroyed, battery, screen, CPU, all charred - it was pure scrap!

Ma Shicheng: "Yeah, I’ll take it for research, selling or not?"

Xiao Shaoxiong carefully gauged Ma Shicheng’s expression, not detecting any hidden motives.

But, driven by an instinctual urge for loss mitigation, he gritted his teeth: "Okay, but I’ll sell it for two hundred!"

Ma Shicheng turned away to leave.

Xiao Shaoxiong panicked: "Wait, one hundred, one hundred, I’ll sell it for just one hundred!"

Ma Shicheng turned back, smiling: "Alright!"

Another mobile enthusiast, Dong Qingfeng, watched their transaction with curiosity: ’Why is Ma Shicheng spending foolishly?’

Could it be... he plans to fight for consumer rights?

Quite amusing, actually. While he knew Samsung’s after-sale service number, they wouldn’t acknowledge it without a purchase proof. Even a third-party test, which only deals with corporate inquiries, isn’t accessible privately.

And even if testing is done, then what? Samsung dares to go to court against Apple, a mere high schooler wouldn’t be spared a swift dismissal.

Dong Qingfeng didn’t understand.

Under the witness of the entire class, Ma Shicheng bought Xiao Shaoxiong’s Samsung S6, infamous for its explosive feel, for one hundred yuan!

Ma Shicheng snapped several more photos before borrowing a sealable bag from Huang Yuzhu to store the S6.

Ma Shicheng shouted: "Brother Nan, do you have cash?"

Guo Kunnan heard, rummaging through his pocket: "No big bills, but I can gather enough change!"

Always watching, Chen Siyu spoke up: "Using cash is such a hassle, why not directly transfer through Alipay? It’s quick and convenient!"

Ma Shicheng expressed surprise.

Xiao Shaoxiong instinctively felt Chen Siyu had a point but then realized his phone had exploded!

Dong Qingfeng laughed out loud, Bai Yuxia felt speechless.

Chen Siyu wondered aloud, "Why are you all looking at me? If Alipay’s out, you can still use WeChat!"

Unfortunately, no one accepted her suggestion.

After paying, Ma Shicheng returned to his seat and called Wang Longlong over, showing him the photos he took earlier, with a serious expression: "Longlong, shall we pull off something big."

Wang Longlong was well-versed in the art of dissemination, he understood.

"Let’s do it!"

With that, disregarding class discipline, he began to narrate the explosion event exaggeratedly.

Before class was even over, he got it done, conveniently assigning tasks to Brother Nan and Brother Quan.

Dan Kaiquan received his message, only to find it was humor:

[Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung met for a card game. Xiaomi: I’ll play 4; Apple: I’ll play 6; Samsung: Me, me, me~~ I explode!]

Guo Kunnan received a message: ["Commander, we’re out of ammo!" "Then throw the Samsung S6edge!" "Let it explode!"]

Cui Yu, Hu Jun, and the rest all received messages from Wang Longlong.

Many replied cheerfully: "Longlong, are you planning to blacken Samsung’s reputation?"

They didn’t take it seriously, thinking mere talk wouldn’t achieve much.

Yet Wang Longlong was keenly aware of the power within.

’Tremble, Samsung! The Dragon and Horse duo has arrived!’