This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 39 This is today's deskmate fee (3800 words)
[Attention all students]
[We just received a notification from the Sports Equipment Management Office that an accident occurred this afternoon at our school's No. 2 basketball court. A student was attempting a dunk when the impact was too great, causing damage to the backboard. The area has been cordoned off, and no injuries have been reported. Please do not panic...]
While basketball can improve physical health, dangerous moves can pose safety hazards. The school reminds all students to prioritize their own safety and the safety of others during physical activities, to consciously abide by sports regulations, and to avoid attempting high-difficulty moves beyond their capabilities…
Regarding the damage to Stadium No. 2, the Logistics Support Department has arranged for maintenance personnel to carry out repairs. The stadium will be temporarily closed for the time being. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding the specific reopening date...
When the school broadcast this announcement, the classrooms, which had been bustling all evening, became noisy again.

Holy crap! Someone actually shattered the backboard with a dunk?

"Which class is it? The announcement didn't say."

"I heard it's from Class 5 of the second year of high school."

"Even the top classes have such hidden talents?!"

"She seems to be a student who just transferred schools..."

"Could it be that Taoist priest? I heard that a real Taoist priest just transferred to their class yesterday!"

"Could he be a Taoist priest with a body full of muscles?"

"If you don't understand Taoist magic, this humble Taoist does know a little about martial arts!"

"Awesome! Do you have a video? This would go viral online!"

If other classes were already discussing this so much, it goes without saying that Class 5 of Grade 11 was even more abuzz with it.

According to Zou Xiaokun, a frontline journalist, the Daoist priest appeared as if he were a divine being descending from the heavens, shattering the basketball hoop with a mere gesture. This was a top-tier news story, and there were four other eyewitnesses besides him!

The boys were full of admiration, and the girls all looked at Chen Shi'an with surprise and doubt.

It's hard to imagine that the seemingly gentle and refined Chen Shi'an has such an explosive side. Could he be the kind of person who looks slim in clothes but has a muscular physique that everyone envies? I really can't tell!

Even Lin Mengqiu, who was usually oblivious to what was going on around her, couldn't help but ask out of curiosity:

"You really shattered the backboard?"

"...It wasn't intentional. Do you want me to pay compensation?"

These were Chen Shi'an's honest thoughts. Xu Zihan and the others kept telling him to dunk, so he did. But who would have thought the backboard was so unreliable? He didn't even dare to use too much force, yet the backboard still shattered...

He didn't know whether he should compensate the school. This thing didn't look cheap, and he didn't have much money on hand, so he really couldn't afford to pay for it.

"Need not."

Lin Mengqiu said casually, she didn't know if other students had to pay for breaking the backboard, but Chen Shi'an definitely didn't have to, didn't she know her father?

"That's good."

Chen Shi'an breathed a sigh of relief and became much more low-key. It was truly unexpected that he would cause such a commotion on the very first day of class...

"If you're injured, you can go to the infirmary." Lin Mengqiu glanced at him, seeing that he seemed fine, but still reminded him.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

"Ah."

Lin Mengqiu stopped talking and turned her head to concentrate on studying.

Due to the class monitor's authority, the group of classmates centered around Lin Mengqiu remained relatively quiet.

Zheng Yining, the girl sitting in front of Chen Shi'an, couldn't resist her curiosity but didn't dare to speak loudly, so she turned around and slipped a note to Chen Shi'an.

Lin Mengqiu stopped writing and glanced sideways at the screen.

Chen Shi'an opened the note and saw a line of neat, small handwriting:
[Chen Shi'an, they say you know Taoist magic, and your dunks look like you're flying.]
Trust science.
Chen Shi'an replied with a note.

The bell rang, and as the vice class monitor, Qiu Yufu, sat down on the podium to lead the evening self-study session, the lively Class 5 finally gradually quieted down...

……

At the beginning of my second year of high school, evening self-study was mainly for independent learning. Everyone read books and did exercises on their own. The only requirement was to follow the self-study rules.

Later in the learning phase, evening self-study sessions will also include lectures. For example, in the senior year of high school, the time for the end of evening self-study is extended from 9:45 pm to 10:30 pm. The first two periods are led by subject teachers who take turns to review with everyone, and the last two periods are self-study sessions.

The hardships and pressures of high school life are evident.

Lin Mengqiu rarely stayed on campus after school in the evening. She would go back to her dormitory to take a shower. She lived in the teachers' dormitory and didn't have to queue up to shower like the girls in the dormitory. After showering and drying her hair, she would go to the cafeteria for dinner.

She always eats alone, not wanting others to wait for her or for others to wait for her. She's fine eating alone, and after finishing her meal, she comes straight to the classroom.

It was usually only 6 p.m., but she arrived at the classroom to study half an hour earlier than the class schedule.

During evening self-study, many students wore regular clothes, but she still wore her summer school uniform, only she changed into a different one. Unlike many students who wore slippers to evening self-study, she wore white sneakers unless it was raining.

The thin summer school uniform sleeves revealed her fair and delicate arms, and a bra strap could be vaguely seen through the thin uniform on her slender shoulders. The classroom light shone on her profile as she looked down at her books and did her homework, as quiet as the deep night outside the glass window.

An untimely mosquito appeared in Chen Shi'an's field of vision.

It flapped its wings, making an annoying buzzing sound.

Unfortunately, Lin Mengqiu, who was focused on doing her homework, didn't notice.

It then brazenly landed on the girl's fair arm, like a sesame seed on tofu, utterly spoiling the scene.

Just as the mosquito was about to burrow into the skin and savor the girl's sweet blood, it suddenly sensed the danger descending from above.

The mosquito flapped its wings, ready to fly, but found itself unable to move!
In its vision, a giant finger descended from the sky, pressing down on it with such force that it could not resist, causing it to sink into the soft skin of the girl's arm. The next second, it was gone...

Lin Mengqiu shuddered instinctively. She shrank her arms, widened her eyes, and looked at Chen Shi'an with a wary expression.

He didn't speak, but his eyes conveyed a clear message: [What are you doing?!]
"There was a mosquito, I killed it for you."

Chen Shi'an stretched out his index finger, and sure enough, there was a mosquito lying on his fingertip, which had been pressed flat.

"This type of tiger mosquito is the most venomous; its bites are extremely itchy."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu was skeptical, but looked at the arm where he had just pressed down. Sure enough, there were still some grayish-black mosquito marks on the fair skin.

She is terrified of mosquitoes and other insects, and because her skin is sensitive, a single bite will always leave a large, itchy welt that lasts for a long time.

"Thanks……"

"You're welcome."

Lin Mengqiu relaxed, grabbed a tissue from the table and handed it to him to wipe his hands, then grabbed one herself to wipe the mosquito marks left on her arm.

Then he threw away the tissue, reached into the drawer, pulled out a bottle of bright green mosquito repellent spray, and sprayed it on his exposed skin, including his arms. He then bent down, pulled up his trouser leg, and sprayed it on his fair calves and ankles as well.

Seeing her so armed to the teeth, Chen Shi'an was dumbfounded.

"Do you want it?"

After all, he had just helped her kill a mosquito, and Lin Mengqiu politely asked Chen Shi'an after spraying him.

"I don't need to. The mosquitoes don't bite me. It's actually okay in the classroom, but there are more mosquitoes in the mountains." "I'm afraid to go."

Lin Mengqiu knew, of course, that there were a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains. She would never go to some remote mountain valley like the Jingchen Temple that Chen Shi'an had mentioned...

……

The fervor surrounding the smashed backboard remained high into the evening, and even seemed to be escalating.

To avoid trouble, Chen Shi'an stayed at his desk and did his homework after evening self-study.

Thanks to Lin Mengqiu, as long as he was in his seat, no one dared to disturb him.

During evening self-study, Lin Mengqiu's concept of class and break time is rather vague. If she gets engrossed in a certain problem, she will stay in her seat even after class is over.

Only when I've finished a problem and feel tired will I unscrew the cap and take a sip of water to rest briefly.

Whenever this happened, she would watch to see what Chen Shi'an was doing.

She had lent him the workbook for most of the day, and he had done quite a few problems, but he still hadn't asked her any questions.

This made Lin Mengqiu very unhappy. Did you really know it all? Or did you not even try? I made so many mistakes back then, and you didn't make any at all?
On second thought, I should be someone who hates being bothered, so shouldn't I be happy that he's not asking me any questions? Why would I want him to ask me questions...?

Perhaps it was that sense of disappointment. Both Teacher Liang and her father said, "Take care of him more," and even she herself thought at the time, "He'll definitely be a burden to me." But in the end, apart from borrowing books from her, he never bothered her even once. She felt a sense of frustration at having misjudged her own worth...

"How's it going?"

Lin Mengqiu couldn't help but ask, and then added, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

Chen Shi'an, who was working on a problem, stopped writing and looked up.

One could vaguely see a certain expectation in the girl's eyes.

He really wanted to say, "If you don't understand something, can you tell me what the [crying little rabbit] you drew means?"

After working through many pages of workbooks, he found a total of three [crying bunnies], which was the only thing he didn't understand in the workbook.

"Have."

Chen Shi'an nodded and casually moved the exercise book in his hand to the middle of the two people's table.

"I'm thinking about this question."

He was honest; he only said he was thinking about it, but didn't say he wouldn't do it.

But Lin Mengqiu heard it and it sounded different.

Her eyes clearly lit up.

She held the water bottle in one hand and the cap in the other. When communicating with people like this, she always felt more comfortable holding something in her hand.

The girl tilted her head slightly, looked at the question Chen Shi'an had pointed to, and then her gaze slid down to see the answer she had written back then.

"Did you see the answer?" she asked.

"not yet."

"Yes, there are three ways to solve this problem. The one I wrote before is the more conventional one, which is also taught in the textbook. You can start by listing a system of inequalities..."

This question had stumped her back then, but years later, the question that once stumped her has become simple, and she can even come up with three solutions at a glance.

She wasn't actually good at teaching math, and fearing that Chen Shi'an wouldn't be able to keep up or understand what she was saying, she broke it down into smaller parts.

Fortunately, he seemed to be able to keep up, listening attentively and occasionally responding with "uh-huh," "ah," or "okay," which made her feel very pleased.

"...This third solution requires you to think more flexibly. Since you're just starting out, focus on mastering the first two conventional methods first."

Are there any other solutions besides these three?

"I haven't thought of that yet."

"Oh--"

"?"

The girl, who was engrossed in crushing her opponents and easily defeating them, suddenly sharpened her gaze.

[Oh!] Again! As if you figured it out! You clearly don't even know the two most basic solutions! One point deducted!
"You know how now, right?"

"I understand. The class monitor explained the three solutions very well."

"~~~"

Lin Mengqiu was in a good mood and stopped talking to him. When the bell rang, she sat up straight and continued her self-study.

She had already explained the first three solutions, so there was no need to write them down again. Chen Shi'an took out the draft and wrote down the fourth solution on it...

He carefully put away the draft paper.

Lin Mengqiu must not see this.

……

The bell rang at 9:45, and the classroom became lively.

Chen Shi'an's first day of high school has ended. Although he is still a little unaccustomed to it, he feels pretty good overall.

He tidied up his things on the table. Lin Mengqiu, who was next to him, showed no sign of leaving self-study, probably wanting to study a little longer.

"Squad leader, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow."

"..."

Knowing your foundation is weak, you still didn't study for long enough and were too playful. I'm deducting one point from your score!
Lin Mengqiu didn't even look up, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stand up, pick up his backpack, and push his chair under the table.

The classroom was noisy, and just as she was about to put on her headphones for some peace and quiet, a large hand reached onto her desk. After the hand was pulled away, there were two lollipops on her desk.

"This is today's fee for sitting next to someone; please have some candy."

"??"

Lin Mengqiu picked up the lollipop, and when she looked up again, Chen Shi'an had already walked away with his bag.

Desk mate fee...

what the hell!

(Still a long chapter of 3,800 words! There will be another 3,600 words tonight! I'd like to ask everyone for a two-cent paragraph reward. It's a new week, and the new book's data is very important. Please read on and vote for the monthly tickets. Thank you all!)
(End of this chapter)