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

Chapter 45: Can't we have a little more teamwork?
Wen Zhixia hadn't experienced such a full and energetic state of mind in a long time.

It felt like waking up naturally after a dreamless sleep, drawing back the curtains to find bright sunshine and a clear view, as if you were embraced by the gentle embrace of the whole world, and feeling refreshed after waking up.

Was it really due to the difference in technique, or was it a wonderful experience brought about by this only intimate act with the opposite sex in her teenage years?
The reserved girl didn't want to admit it, but it was undeniable that ever since Chen Shi'an gently pinched the corner of her eye, her heartbeat had been pounding at a frantic pace. She wasn't actually hot, but she felt like her whole body was burning from the heat pumped out by that little heart...

The two walked and talked, and Wen Zhixia took advantage of the short time on her way to school to teach him to practice his spoken English.

"afternoon, the weather is very nice this afternoon~"

"Afu Tunnen?"

"It's not 'Afu Tu Nen,' it's 'afternoon.' You can break it down into three syllables: af-ter-noon, /a/, // should be pronounced weakly, then /u:/..."

Wen Zhixia teaches very seriously and patiently.

Thankfully, my younger cousin isn't here, otherwise I definitely would have sent my older cousin a question mark.

"afternoon?"

"Yes! Yes, yes! You read it much better this time!"

To be honest, speaking from my own experience, English is indeed simple. After all, it has been included in elementary school textbooks for about twenty years. Except for remote places like islands and mountains where elementary schools don't teach English, students in other schools start learning English in the third grade. Not to mention that we use a few words to listen, speak, see, and read in our daily lives nowadays.

But learning English is like swimming; it's easier to pick it up when you're younger. As you get older, many muscle memory habits for pronunciation become ingrained, making it very difficult to correct your accent. Even Wen Zhixia, who scores over 140 in everyday English, wouldn't dare say her English is 'fluent'.

At the beginning, Chen Shi'an's pronunciation was indeed quite stiff, but his progress was astonishingly fast. This was thanks to his superb control over his mind and body. After a short period of practice, his pronunciation became quite decent.

"You just said this is British English, but is American English pronounced differently?" Chen Shi'an asked curiously.

"Yes, it's different. We mainly learn the British style, but we also incorporate some American elements. Just follow the textbook. I'll recommend some English movies for you to watch later. The more you listen and speak, the better your spoken English and grammar will be."

"I see."

Before they knew it, the two had walked side by side into the campus and into the teaching building.

"I really envy your class. The floor is so low that you don't have to climb stairs. The school should really switch the floors for arts and sciences students."

"Envious of Taoist priests, envious of cats, and now envious of apartment floors?"

Chen Shi'an chuckled, "Our class is on the second floor, but we still have to climb stairs. Your class is on the fourth floor, so it's just two more floors. The classes on the seventh floor might even envy you."

"Oh yeah, this is for you."

Before parting ways at the top of the stairs on the second floor, Wen Zhixia reached into the large bag of breakfast and pulled out a cup of warm soy milk, handing it to him.

"Are you offering me soy milk again?"

"Homemade soy milk, free! Take it! Bye-bye, if you want to have lunch together, wait for me on the first floor!"

After saying that, the girl waved her hand, picked up the big bag of breakfast, and slung her bag over her shoulder as she went upstairs.

……

Chen Shi'an was very punctual, arriving at the classroom three minutes before the allotted time, just like yesterday.

Most of the students in the class had already arrived, just like yesterday. Some were sitting in their seats reading, some were eating breakfast, some were talking, and some were walking around aimlessly.

But there seemed to be more people walking around today—it turned out that the group leaders were distributing test papers within their groups. The papers were blank math papers, not for quizzes, but for homework practice.

Chen Shi'an also had a test paper on his desk. It had just been handed out and was placed rather casually. When a classmate passed by in the aisle, the corner of his clothes brushed against it, and his test paper, like an autumn leaf, fluttered and twirled to the ground.

The test paper didn't lie on the ground for too long.

The girl sitting next to her turned and bent over, her smooth hair falling softly from her shoulder, brushing against her cheek. Then, her small, fair hand reached out and picked up the test paper that had fallen to the ground.

Before she could even straighten up, a pair of familiar black canvas shoes appeared in the aisle.

The girl's gaze narrowed slightly. As she straightened up after picking up the test paper, her eyes swept upwards from the canvas shoes until they lingered on Chen Shi'an's face.

"Thank you monitor."

"Ah."

Since he happened to see it, Lin Mengqiu didn't say anything. It was just a small favor, and she would have picked up the paper even if he wasn't her deskmate.

Lin Mengqiu put the test paper back on his desk, pulled her leg back under the desk, and sat up straight in her seat again.

She held up her own blank math test paper and looked at it, but out of the corner of her eye, she secretly observed Chen Shi'an's actions.

He put down his soy milk, took off his backpack and hung it next to his desk, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

When he wasn't there, the view on that side was quite spacious. But after he sat down, it was as if he had locked her inside. The space felt a bit cramped, but it wasn't as suffocating as it had been at first... She seemed to be gradually getting used to having a deskmate.

"A math test paper..."

Chen Shi'an picked up the exam paper and looked at it.

Lin Mengqiu didn't reply to him; he was probably talking to himself.

Chen Shi'an had already studied half of the seventh-grade math textbook yesterday, but looking at this test paper was still like reading gibberish to him. Just as he was wondering whether he should do the test and hand in his homework like everyone else, the class monitor spoke up—

"You're too late today." "Huh?"

Chen Shi'an was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at her with some confusion. The topic had jumped so fast that he was a little confused. He glanced at the clock hanging at the back of the classroom and realized that there were still two minutes left before the designated time to arrive at the classroom!
"It's our turn to clean today, so you need to come to the classroom early to take out the trash."

"Oh--"

Oh again! Oh again! One point deducted!
After hearing Lin Mengqiu's explanation, Chen Shi'an suddenly realized what was going on.

"Do you have to take out the trash in the morning too?"

"want."

"Sorry, I thought we only needed it after the afternoon cleaning. I'll go now."

School rules must be followed, not to mention that everyone has a duty to do chores. Chen Shi'an put down the test paper in his hand, got up from his seat, and walked to the trash can at the back of the classroom.

The classroom trash cans are huge, those giant white plastic trash cans with a handle on each side.

The student on duty emptied the trash can once yesterday evening, but after evening self-study, the trash can was almost half full again.

It's not heavy, but it's quite large, so it's inconvenient for one person to carry.

Chen Shi'an pulled out the trash can from the corner, and was about to take it out to empty it when he turned around and saw Lin Mengqiu, who had been sitting in her seat, walking over.

"What's wrong, class monitor?"

The girl was stunned when she saw Chen Shi'an lift the giant trash can with both hands. She wasn't surprised by his strength, but rather by the fact that he was thinking of taking out the trash by himself.
They really have no experience with school life at all! Doesn't every family have two students on duty taking out the trash together?

"What are you doing?" Lin Mengqiu didn't answer his question, but instead asked him a question. She felt that she was probably able to say so many lines every day thanks to Chen Shi'an.

"Didn't you just say, class monitor, that we needed to take out the trash?"

"...How can you pour it all by yourself? I didn't ask you to do it all by yourself."

"[Today it's our turn to do chores, so you—you need to come to the classroom early to take out the trash.]" The advantage of a good memory was evident as Chen Shi'an repeated what she had just said, emphasizing and lengthening the key parts.

"..."

That's not what I meant at all! Even if I misspoke, isn't that how it always is when two people take out the trash together?! Idiot!
"I will go with you."

"[It's our turn to clean today, so you need to come to the classroom early; we need to take out the trash.]"

The stinky Taoist priest didn't reply to her, but just said that sentence to himself again.

Just as he was about to chuckle and ask Lin Mengqiu, "Is this a more accurate way to express it?" he was met only by the girl's cold gaze, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back down his throat.

“…Okay, let’s go together then. This bucket is really big and inconvenient to carry.”

As Chen Shi'an spoke, he put down the trash can he was holding with both hands and consciously stood over one of the handles.

Lin Mengqiu reached out her fair and delicate hand, but instead of grabbing the handle, she handed him a tissue.

"Ok?"

"..."

Lin Mengqiu didn't say anything. After giving the tissue to Chen Shi'an, she took another tissue, wrapped it around the handle of the trash can, and then grabbed it with her little hand.

Wow, that's quite sophisticated.

Chen Shi'an knew what the tissues were for, so he copied her, wrapping the tissues around the handle before grabbing his hand.

"So you're leaving?"

"Ah."

The space at the back of the classroom was limited, so the two of them couldn't walk sideways. They carried the trash cans one in front of the other.

But they don't seem to have much in common...

Chen Shi'an walked slowly ahead, while Lin Mengqiu walked quickly behind. This was mainly because some classmates were looking over with gossip, making the girl feel inexplicably uncomfortable, and she just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

So, with one moving slowly and the other fast, the trash can in the middle bumped into Chen Shi'an's heel with a clatter.

We finally reached the classroom door.

The two, completely out of sync, one intended to go left and the other right. With a click, the trash can in the middle tensed up and was suspended in mid-air. If it had been awakened by a spirit, even the trash can seemed to wish it would just rot on the spot!

"Aren't we taking the stairs on the right?"

"The garbage dump is at the back door; it's closer if you go down the stairs on the left."

"Oh--"

Ahhh! The girl is about to have a breakdown...

(End of this chapter)