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

Chapter 94 Let me see your legs

"Psychological counselor? Taoist priest, you've become the psychological counselor!"

While having dinner together in the cafeteria, Wen Zhixia was surprised when Chen Shi'an told her about becoming a class officer.

"Oh, yes."

Chen Shi'an nodded and took the fatty meat that she didn't want to eat from her plate and put it on his side. Wen Zhixia didn't stand on ceremony with him and took a spoon and scooped out a large piece of his steamed egg.

"What does the student counselor do?"

"You've studied for so many years and you're asking me this? Doesn't your class have a class monitor?"

"I don't know who it is!"

"It's about focusing on students' mental health and popularizing psychological knowledge."

Chen Shi'an repeated what Lin Mengqiu had said earlier, and after thinking for a moment, added, "Let everyone learn introspection, cultivate their minds and nourish their hearts, and help them resolve their doubts and questions."

Wen Zhixia laughed as she listened, "I get it, it's like a Taoist version of a psychologist, a confidant, and a secret confessional!"

To be honest, she had always been indifferent to the so-called psychological counselor position, just like other classmates, let alone talk to the classmate who served as the psychological counselor. But when she thought that the psychological counselor was Chen Shi'an, a real Taoist priest, she suddenly became interested.

"If I encounter any problems in my life, can I ask you for help?"

"Well, although I'm not your class's psychology representative, since we're good buddies, you can ask me anything, I won't charge you."

"You still want my money?!"

Wen Zhixia was annoyed and took one of his meatballs away, refusing to give it to him.

"Tell me, what problem has Little Cicada encountered?"

"Hmm, let me think about it."

While the girl tilted her head and pondered, Chen Shi'an had already given his diagnosis.

"That means there are no problems that can be called perplexing. Only problems that are right in front of you and that you can't get past are perplexing. Problems that you figure out after thinking for a long time are not perplexing."

"What's that called?"

"It would be more appropriate to call it 'seeking knowledge'."

"How philosophical! I never think about these things~"

Chen Shi'an nodded in agreement; perhaps this was the reason for her sunny and cheerful personality.

Firstly, the girl had never encountered any major setbacks in her life. Secondly, she never took minor troubles to heart. If she couldn't figure something out, she would read books or do her homework, and then eat when she was hungry. After eating, half of her troubles would be gone. If she still had some, she would forget about them all after a good night's sleep.

"Have it!"

Wen Zhixia's eyes lit up, but she mischievously asked the ultimate philosophical question: "In your opinion, what is the meaning of life?"

She thought Chen Shi'an would think about it for a long time, but to her surprise, he seemed to have already figured it out, and continued her words slowly while eating:
"Between heaven and earth, there is a constant flow of energy. Humans are merely a part of this energy that gathers to form a shape and disperses to return. In my view, the meaning of life is not to seek an external 'standard' to define oneself, but to understand the 'Tao' within, allowing this body and this heart to live in accordance with the natural flow, to become a part of nature."

"……what?"

Hearing his words, the girl looked blank, as if she didn't understand.

“Look at the mountains, they never grow to ‘become peaks,’ but simply follow the texture of the geology and the nourishment of wind and rain, rising high when they should and falling low when they should; look at the water, it never flows to ‘rush to the sea,’ but simply follows the undulations of the terrain and the pull of gravity, meandering when it should and stopping when it should. The mountains are silent, the water is still, yet they both become themselves in ‘non-action,’ this is the way of nature.”

The girl blinked, finally understanding some of what she was saying, and seemed to be deep in thought.

Chen Shi'an put it even more simply: "Life is but a few dozen times when the wheat ripens. Live in accordance with the seasons, make choices according to your heart, and live however you want."

"Oh! I see!"

"Ah."

"Taoist priest, does this count as a discussion on the Tao?"

"..."

Chen Shi'an didn't speak, but just looked at her, a smile that seemed to be barely holding back lingering on his lips.

Wen Zhixia was embarrassed, so she swung her leg under the table and bumped his leg with her knee.

That stinky Taoist priest! He looks down on people!

“Calculate, calculate, you ask the question, I will discuss it, it is indeed a discussion of the Dao.”

"Get out of here!"

That's what she said, but Wen Zhixia actually really admired him.

It's really hard to imagine that this person, who is only a year older than me, has such profound insights into life.

She couldn't help but scrutinize him.

Wearing the same school uniform as me, he sat upright directly opposite me. When he didn't speak, he ate his meal slowly, without glancing around. He didn't even touch the food with his chopsticks. He just picked up whichever dish he wanted to eat. His eyes were as calm as the water in a deep pool. It was as if there was an unimaginably vast and stable inner world in those black pupils.

"Where is your Taoist temple?" Wen Zhixia asked naturally, withdrawing her gaze.

"Xuan Yue Mountain, towards the northern ridge. What, you want to go there?"

His words exposed her thoughts, but the girl didn't argue. She just giggled and said, "Then, can I visit your Jingchen Temple sometime in the future?"

"what are you going to do?"

"Burning incense, you guys always talk about incense and fire."

"That's fine. But the road is difficult to travel."

How difficult is it to walk?

"If you're coming from the city, you'll first take a bus to your county seat, then another bus to our town, and then to the village. From there, it'll be about a two-hour walk along an undeveloped mountain road from the foot of the mountain."

"……go!"

"when?"

"When I have time."

"Ah."

"Hey you!"

Wen Zhixia nudged him again with the leg under the table.

When I looked up again, I saw three familiar figures.

Her good deskmate Yao Jingyan and her two roommates were all Wen Zhixia's best friends in class.

However, because she eats slowly, Wen Zhixia didn't want them to wait for her and waste time. Before she became Chen Shi'an's meal partner, she usually got her food from the cafeteria and ate it in the classroom.

Wen Zhixia saw Xiaoyan and the other two girls, who had seen her much earlier.

When Wen Zhixia and Chen Shi'an sat down with their trays, the three girls were eating at the other table. Now that they had finished eating, instead of going straight to the back door to leave the cafeteria, they laughed and joked and deliberately circled around to Wen Zhixia's side.

Wen Zhixia was quick; when she saw her three best friends' mischievous grins, she swiftly withdrew her leg, which she was about to use to bump Chen Shi'an's leg a second time.

Chen Shi'an seemed to sense something, and following the girl's gaze for a moment, he turned his head to look behind him and saw three familiar figures—it seemed that Xiao Zhi was getting along well with them during PE class.

"Your classmate?"

"Yeah, they're a trio of idiots."

"Didn't I see you four playing together before?"

"Then I must be smarter."

As they were talking, the 'three idiots' that Wen Zhixia had mentioned had already walked to the side of the passageway between the two of them.

Wen Zhixia then seemed to have suddenly noticed them, and asked in surprise, "Xiaoyan, you guys finished eating so quickly?"

The three girls laughed even more mischievously, not exposing her, but just giggling and saying, "Yeah, Zhizhi, we're leaving now, you guys enjoy your meal!"

Although the three of them hadn't said a word, it was as if they had said everything. Wen Zhixia's face turned a little red, and she was too lazy to pay attention to them, so she quickly lowered her head and ate her food.

Seeing that the stinky Taoist priest was still staring at the three people's departing figures, she stretched out her leg and nudged him.

"What are you looking at! Hurry up and eat!" "Why are they smiling so happily when they see you?"

"Who...who knows!"

……

Classes ended at 5:10 PM. Although the two of them ate slowly, they didn't leave the cafeteria until 5:40 PM.

Both of them were day students living off-campus, so they didn't have to rush back to their dorms to shower and do laundry like boarding students. They still had plenty of time before evening self-study started at 6:30.

"Taoist priest, would you like to go for a walk on the playground to aid digestion?"

"Okay."

Chen Shi'an naturally agreed. In fact, after dinner with Wen Zhixia in the evening, she would go back to the classroom to read, while he would take a walk around the school by himself, watching others play ball and run.

In early September, around six o'clock in the evening, the sunset is at its most brilliant.

The two walked out of the back door of the cafeteria and went straight to the track and field. The inner circle was filled with students running, while the outer circle was filled with people like the two taking a walk after their meal.

Chen Shi'an walked at a leisurely pace, while Wen Zhixia chattered beside him. She had somehow found a discarded mineral water bottle cap, and the small blue cap served as a substitute for a pebble, which she kicked around as she walked.

"Ugh, my legs and arms are so sore, they're going to be sore for a few more days."

"What's wrong?"

"It's from playing badminton. I haven't done such intense exercise in a long time."

Thinking about how she lost that crucial point to Lin Mengqiu, Wen Zhixia pouted and was still a little unconvinced. Fortunately, Chen Shi'an helped her get revenge by shaving Lin Mengqiu's head.

Wait a minute... that stinky Taoist priest shaved my head too!!

However, losing to Chen Shi'an was much easier to accept than losing to Lin Mengqiu. She really didn't expect Lin Mengqiu to be so good at badminton.

"Taoist priest, are your legs sore?"

"It's not so bad. I didn't even get to swing the racket a few times before you were all gone."

"...You're not allowed to smash next time!!"

"..."

"How about this? We have plenty of time in the evening, so we can play badminton after class and then go to the cafeteria for dinner, okay?"

"Okay."

"You're a boy, and your stamina is so much better than a girl's. You're not allowed to smash the ball anymore."

"alright."

"Let's go sit on that patch of grass."

"Not leaving?"

"Sit down and rest for a bit."

Chen Shi'an was very easygoing. When he saw that she was going to sit on the grass instead of leaving, he followed her.

Wen Zhixia didn't have a hobby of collecting bottle caps. She picked up the bottle cap that had been kicked around the track and threw it into the trash can next to her. Then she came over to the grass and sat down with Chen Shi'an.

Unlike the artificial turf in the football field, this is real grass, and it's right under the shade of a tree. When you sit down, the coolness from the earth seeps through your school uniform pants and into your skin.

Wen Zhixia stood up again, turned her back to him, touched her buttocks with her hand, and twisted the fabric of her school uniform pants.

"what happened?"

"Hehe, this grass is so cool. I thought it was wet and would get my clothes wet..."

"Looks like you've learned this the hard way."

"That's true. Some grass looks dry, but after sitting for a while, you find that your pants are all wet."

"Don't worry, it won't happen. Please sit down."

Chen Shi'an reached out and patted the grass beside him. He swept his palm across the grass, and the fine, withered leaves and dust were cleaned up.

Wen Zhixia sat down next to him.

Before them was a brilliant sunset. Under the setting sun, a group of people were playing football on the field, and some were running and some were walking slowly on the track. The two of them sat on the grass. Wen Zhixia suddenly felt that time had slowed down and become very leisurely. This was a very rare experience for her in this school where academics were the main focus.

Wen Zhixia turned to look at Chen Shi'an. He was sitting with his hands behind his back, his legs naturally flat on the grass, and his eyes were watching people playing football in the distance. The dappled sunlight cast by the trees fell on his profile. The girl blinked.

She, who was usually so talkative, fell silent like Chen Shi'an and, mimicking his movements, stretched out her little legs.

However, compared to his legs, her calves were noticeably shorter.

Since their buttocks were at the same position, Wen Zhixia realized that her shoes only reached about halfway up his calves.

She grew bolder, bent down, reached out her small hand, and pulled at Chen Shi'an's pants.

Chen Shi'an: "?"

"what."

"Let me see your legs."

"..."

Fortunately, the girl didn't pull his pants down, but rather lifted them up. She moved her fingers and pulled them up, and Chen Shi'an's trouser legs rolled up, revealing his muscular calves.

"Haha, you guys have such long leg hair..."

"Don't you have leg hair?"

"No!"

As she spoke, Wen Zhixia tugged at her trouser leg, revealing her calf to him.

Although the girl was only 1.6 meters tall, her proportions were exceptionally good. Her legs still appeared long and slender. As she rolled up her trousers, her calves, set against the backdrop of the green grass, looked so fair and smooth that they seemed to glow. They were as warm and lustrous as a piece of fine jade. The edges of her white socks carefully hugged her delicate ankles, adding a touch of cuteness and complementing her overall graceful lines.

Just as she said, Chen Shi'an didn't see any obvious leg hair, although there were definitely some fine body hairs on his skin that would be considered undesirable.

As the first girl to so generously invite him to look at her legs, Chen Shi'an didn't hold back in praising her, saying, "Your legs are so beautiful, they make my legs look rough in comparison."

The direct praise, devoid of any eroticism, made Wen Zhixia a little shy.

She was thinking of pulling her trouser legs back up, but when she caught a glimpse of Chen Shi'an watching others play football, she simply gave up.

Chen Shi'an was watching the game, while she played by herself.

The little bottom shuffled forward until the two legs, stretched out on the grass, were level with each other.

Her white sneakers looked exceptionally small compared to Chen Shi'an's black canvas shoes, and the shape and color of their calves were completely different when they pulled up their trouser legs.

Against the backdrop of the grass and the sunset over the campus, Wen Zhixia took out her phone and pointed the camera at the two people's legs and shoes arranged together.

I secretly took a picture.

She didn't know why she was taking the photos.

Anyway, the girl was very satisfied with the photos on the screen.

She stood up, brushed the grass off her bottom, and turned to look at Chen Shi'an, who was still sitting on the grass.

"Let's go! It's almost time for evening self-study; we have a math test later this week!"

……

The news that Chen Shi'an scored 125 points on the weekly Chinese test spread throughout Class 5 and the entire office.

Just when everyone thought that Dao Ye might be a hidden academic genius, pretending to be weak while actually being strong, Chen Shi'an handed in a blank paper on the weekly math test.

The rumor was proven wrong.

Teacher Zhang felt like the sky had fallen...

(End of this chapter)