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

Chapter 98 What did you do to me in your mind?
After two and a half days of rain, the sun finally came out on Friday noon.

This delighted the first-year high school students who happened to be on holiday today. As soon as school was over in the afternoon, a long line of students formed at the school gate.

Chen Shi'an turned his head to look at the line over there.

"Don't first-year high school students need to have extra classes tomorrow?"

"No need. We have weekends off in the first semester of high school, and we only have to make up classes in the second semester. Taoist, where shall we go to play ball?"

The one who replied was Wen Zhixia, who was holding a badminton racket. They had originally planned to play badminton after school that afternoon before going to the cafeteria for lunch, but because of the rain for two or three days, they finally managed to play badminton today.

"You choose."

"Humph."

The girl gave a snort and said meaningfully, "I chose the court that day, but someone still refused to go."

You're bringing up old grievances!

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "The court I chose last time did have good feng shui."

"Not necessarily, I feel like that stadium is my bad luck."

"I meant it's good for my feng shui."

Chen Shi'an wasn't lying. He felt he wouldn't have a good outcome whether he chose Wen Zhixia's court or Lin Mengqiu's court that day.

"Watch me torture you until you cry today—"

Wen Zhixia took out a racket and handed one to Chen Shian.

"Your racket is very good."

Chen Shi'an picked up the racket and played with it for a bit. It was quite light, but its flexibility and strength were by no means lacking. "How much does it cost?"

"It's alright, not too expensive, around 1200."

"One or a pair?"

"One."

"And what about this badminton shuttlecock?"

"Eight yuan each."

Chen Shi'an couldn't help but exclaim in a poor man's voice: "So playing badminton is this expensive?"

"Actually, it's not that bad. The racket won't break easily. The main problem is the shuttlecock. If you don't hit the feathers too often, one shuttlecock is enough for a game. Come on, if you break it, it's on me!"

Wen Zhixia was in high spirits and stood on the opposite half of the court from Chen Shi'an, serving him a high clear first.

Chen Shi'an instinctively wanted to swing his racket and smash, but when he thought about how expensive the ball and racket were, his swift starting motion suddenly softened just before he touched the ball. Using a force similar to Wen Zhixia's, he hit the ball back with a "smack".

When Wen Zhixia saw his smash, she was already tense and ready to lower her racket to receive the ball. But then he feinted, and the ball suddenly slowed down, so much so that she was stunned for a moment and didn't react. The ball flew over her head and then fell to the ground with a thud.

"Seriously? You didn't even catch that ball?"

"You're not allowed to fake anything!!"

"Good good..."

After agreeing to the girl's request not to smash or make feints, the two were finally able to play a normal, proper match.

Chen Shi'an could tell that Wen Zhixia was in a completely different state when playing with him compared to when she played with Lin Mengqiu. She no longer had the determination to win and was simply enjoying the time she spent playing with him.

It must be said that he was an excellent sparring partner. No matter how tricky the girl's ball was, Chen Shi'an could always catch it easily and would never let the ball fall into the scoring area.

Chen Shi'an also went easy on her, not letting her score a single point, and even returning the ball to her in a position where it was easy for her to receive.

But people aren't machines. Even the best badminton players make mistakes, let alone Wen Zhixia. As a result, all of Chen Shi'an's points came from passive play, from the girl hitting the ball over the net, hitting it out of bounds, or slipping and failing to catch it...

"It's 18 to 0," Chen Shi'an reminded him with a smile.

“┗|｀O′|┛Ouch~~”

Wen Zhixia was furious. Heaven knows why Chen Shi'an was so perfect, like a machine, and never made a mistake. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a single point from him.

The girl is self-taught in badminton and has always lacked someone like Chen Shi-an who "never misses a shot or makes a mistake" to practice with her.

Although she still couldn't get a single point from him, Wen Zhixia also found many areas where she needed to improve. This feeling of constantly improving while sweating profusely was really great.

Wen Zhixia was confident that if she trained with Chen Shi'an like this for a while, she would definitely kill Lin Mengqiu without leaving a trace when they met again!
"I can't take it anymore..."

Being a girl, Wen Zhixia had limited stamina. After playing at a high intensity for more than 30 minutes, she was the first to raise her racket and concede defeat.

The outdoor badminton court, which had been baking in the sun all afternoon, was as stuffy and hot as a steamer. After a vigorous workout, Wen Zhixia was soaked in sweat as if she had been pulled out of the water.

Sweat streamed down her smooth forehead, then slid down her cheeks to her jawline. Some drops fell onto the collar of her light-colored summer school uniform, leaving a small, damp patch, while others seeped into her collar, leaving glistening trails. When she raised her hand to wipe the sweat, you could see fine beads of sweat on her forearm, dappled with sunlight. Her skin glowed a healthy pinkish-white in the sunlight, like a freshly peeled lychee, with a dewy sheen.

She tossed her racket to the ground and sat down without any regard for her image, supporting herself with her hands behind her, stretching her legs forward, and pulling up her trouser legs to reveal her sweaty, fair calves to cool off.

"Isn't this possible?"

"Phew, phew, time for a rest!"

Seeing that she was too exhausted to continue, Chen Shi'an also stopped playing and sat down on the ground next to her without any regard for appearances.

Wen Zhixia was quite pleased that he was sitting on the ground with her. If he hadn't sat down, she would have felt embarrassed to sit there and would have stood up in no time.

"Taoist priest, would you like some water?"

"I didn't bring any water."

"I have."

Chen Shi'an turned his head, and Wen Zhixia took out a bottle of mineral water from the bag and handed it to him.

"There's only one bottle. You're not allowed to drink it straight from your mouth. Give it to me when you're done."

"Then I won't be polite."

Chen Shi'an unscrewed the bottle cap, tilted his head back, and poured the water into his mouth while still in mid-air. After taking a few sips, he handed the water back to Wen Zhixia.

The girl was staring blankly at his bobbing Adam's apple when the water was handed to her. She then looked away, put her mouth to the bottle, and drank in large gulps.

As she tilted her head back to drink water, sweat streamed down her neck. Her sweat-soaked school uniform clung to her back, leaving faint marks from the shoulder straps. The evening breeze, carrying the faint scent of her sweat and body fragrance, created a refreshing aroma like iced soda, embodying the unique vibrancy of summer.

Gulu gulu——

Wen Zhixia downed almost half a bottle of water in one go, and because she drank so fast, some water spilled from the corners of her mouth.

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, swung her outstretched legs, took a deep breath, and then a satisfied smile appeared on her face:

"Ah~ That feels so good—"

"It's been so long since I've had this much enjoyable exercise!"

"If you exercise like this every day, you can lose weight easily!"

"Taoist priest, why don't you sweat?"

"You gave up after using less than a tenth of your strength, how can you even break a sweat?"

Chen Shi'an raised his right hand, pinching a tiny bit on his little finger to indicate that this was about all.

"You think you're so great." Wen Zhixia raised her small hand and slapped him.

Although this amount of exercise wasn't enough to make Chen Shi'an sweat, he still had a lot of fun.

He felt like he wasn't playing badminton, but rather teasing Wen Zhixia. He found the girl's frustrated little expressions after each mistake very amusing.

How about I draw these little expressions for her another day?
Or perhaps you could carve a little wooden cicada that looks like it's about to cry from playing badminton and give it to her?
Chen Shi'an turned to look at Wen Zhixia and sized her up.

Wen Zhixia looked wary, pulled her arms back, and pulled down her trouser legs to reveal her calves.

"Your smile is so wicked..."

"...What the hell?"

"You must be thinking something really bad."

"No."

I think I have it!

Okay, I have it.

"See! I knew you did it. Tell me, what did you do to me in your mind?"

"I was thinking of recording your expression when you threw the ball, making it into a little wooden figurine, and then giving it to you."

"I do not want it."

"Then I'll keep it myself."

"Don't do it! Don't accept it!"

……

Occasionally, even Chen Shi'an would wonder why, although he hadn't spent much time at school, he still felt like his mindset had become younger.

Sure enough, I had spent too much time on the mountain, spending every day with that old geezer, Master, and had picked up too much of his senility.

Is this what youth is all about?

It is often said that people in their youth cannot feel youth, but unlike many of his peers, Chen Shian was precocious, so much so that when he returned to his normal life, he felt the so-called youth more than anyone else.

"Little Zhi, are you going home this weekend?"

"I'm not going back. Why? Do you want to ask me out?"

"I was just asking."

Chen Shi'an turned his head, looked at Wen Zhixia's blinking big eyes, and chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I think it's more like you want to ask me out."

"Pooh."

The girl blushed slightly. This stinky Taoist priest was so straightforward and had such sharp eyes; chatting with him was truly nerve-wracking…

Another day she'll be just like Lin Mengqiu, never saying a word, keeping a stern, icy expression, and see how he tries to guess!
However, since he had guessed her thoughts, Wen Zhixia asked frankly:

"So what are you going to do this weekend?"

"I think I should go out for a walk."

Where to go shopping?

"I don't know, we'll see how it goes."

"You don't even make any plans for the weekend, what a waste..."

So you had this planned all along?

"Oh, no, but now that you mention it, I do remember something."

The mischievous girl avoided his eyes, fiddling with her racket, and casually asked, "Did you watch the movie I recommended to you last time?"

"No."

"Hmph, I'm recommending it to you so kindly, and you still won't watch it."

"I'll go see it when I have time. It's called 'The Legend of 1900,' right? I remember it. I'll go see it this weekend. Can I find it online?"

"Well, I happen to have it downloaded on my computer. Why don't you come over to my house and take a look?"

Wen Zhixia spoke in a flat tone, seemingly making a casual invitation, but while waiting for his reply, she spun the badminton racket in her hand faster and faster, and at one moment she even lost her grip and it fell to the ground with a thud.

"When?" Chen Shi'an asked.

"Then, Sunday afternoon?"

"Can't it be in the morning?"

"I need to catch up on sleep in the morning, can't I in the afternoon? What are you going to do in the afternoon?"

"Nothing."

"Then this afternoon, Sunday afternoon!"

"it is good."

Seeing that he agreed, the girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to ask a guy out to do something during her vacation.

She was already prepared that if Chen Shi'an didn't agree, she would never ask him out again!
After a thoroughly enjoyable game of ball and successfully securing an invitation, Wen Zhixia was in a great mood. Even though she usually didn't care much about the campus scenery, she felt that the sunset was particularly beautiful.

"Have you rested enough? It's almost time for dinner."

"Let's go, let's go~ I'm starving~!"

The two dusted themselves off and stood up.

Chen Shian proactively helped her put the racket away.

Wen Zhixia picked up the badminton shuttlecock that she had been playing with for more than half an hour.

Instead of throwing it away, she twirled the scattered feathers between her fingertips, trying to smooth them out again.

"Give it to me, I thought you were going to throw it away."

"How could I possibly lose it? It's eight yuan! Don't waste it. Just comb the feathers and it'll still be usable. That's the fine quality of every badminton player, okay?"

Seeing that Chen Shi'an was going to help her soothe her hair, Wen Zhixia gave him the badminton shuttlecock in her hand.

Generally, as long as the feathers don't fall out, she wouldn't be willing to throw away a shuttlecock that costs eight yuan after only a few hits.

I never imagined that Chen Shi'an's skill in smoothing things over was so remarkable.

He gently stroked the scattered feathers with his fingertips, and they were restored to about 80-90% of their original condition.

"Your fingers are amazing..."

"It's your own fault for being clumsy. If I remember correctly, you should have hit the feather eight times."

"...You hit him! You hit him!"

(End of this chapter)