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

Chapter 12 Shared rent?

After assessing the situation, Teacher Liang gained a preliminary understanding of the young Taoist priest who had transferred to her class.

Chen Shi'an also gained a preliminary understanding of modern high school teaching.

The next step is the standard enrollment procedure.

With Principal Lin taking the lead, all the procedures went very smoothly.

"Our school's teaching pace is quite tight. We are required to be in the classroom before 6:30 in the morning to start morning reading. We finish school at 12:00 noon and have an hour and a half lunch break. Classes in the afternoon end at 5:10, during which we can have free time and eat. Evening self-study starts at 6:45 and continues until 9:45."

"The school implements a semi-closed management system, allowing both boarding and day students. Students must apply for leave to leave during class time. Starting from the second year of high school, classes are held from Monday to Saturday every week, with Sunday as a day off. Students are required to wear school uniforms while on campus, pay attention to their appearance, and are not allowed to dye, perm, or have long hair..."

Teacher Liang spoke from the side, and Chen Shi'an listened attentively. Perhaps this was a rule that was already ingrained in the bones of other students, but it was all new to him.

"Later I'll take you to get your textbooks, school uniform, and class schedule, and then your hair and this Taoist robe..."

"Hey, it's alright. If Shi'an isn't used to it, it's fine to keep your hair in a bun and wear a Taoist robe. Taoists should wear their hair in a bun and wear Taoist robes." Principal Lin waved his hand.

Teacher Liang's eyes widened as she listened, wondering to herself, "Who's the one who usually blocks the school paths to check students' appearance?!"

Did Shi An witness you committing murder, and then condone it like this?

Chen Shi'an smoothed things over, saying with a smile, "Teacher Liang is right. I am a Taoist priest and also a student. I still have to abide by the school rules and pay attention to my appearance."

"Classes don't officially start until tomorrow, so you can relax a bit today, Shi'an. Are you planning to stay at the dormitory or commute?"

"Does accommodation mean living at the school?"

"Yes, we generally encourage students to live in dormitories. The dormitory conditions are quite good, six-person rooms with air conditioning and private bathrooms. However, our class's dormitory is full. I'll see if I can coordinate a bed with the dormitory management center later..."

"Can I commute? It might be inconvenient for me to live in the dorm with this guy around."

Chen Shi'an pointed to the fat cat in the bag.

“Day student is fine too,” Principal Lin asked. “So, Shi’an, where do you plan to stay? You’ve just arrived, so there probably isn’t anywhere to stay nearby, right?”

"I'd like to find a house nearby."

“How about this,” Principal Lin said, “I have an empty apartment nearby. It was originally for rent. It has three bedrooms and two living rooms. Two girls lived there before, but one of them recently moved out. If you don’t mind, you can go and share the apartment.”

"I don't mind at all, but I'm afraid the girl might mind."

"probably not."

Principal Lin laughed and said, "That girl felt a lot of pressure living alone, and she asked me to help her find a roommate a couple of days ago."

"It would be best to ask her."

"That's natural."

Principal Lin picked up his phone, dialed a number, and briefly explained the situation.

A female voice came from the other end of the phone: "...Is it a girl?"

“He’s a high school sophomore at our school. Don’t worry, Li, he’s a good person with a good character. He just has a cat. I don’t know if you mind.”

"Hmm... then that's fine."

The girl paused, then asked cautiously, "Uncle Lin, can I pay my rent a few days later? I haven't received my salary yet, and I don't have enough money on hand..."

"Okay, no problem. Starting next month, you can just pay me half as usual. I'll collect the rest of the rent from the young man."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Lin."

The call was made in the office, and Chen Shi'an overheard the conversation. The girl's voice sounded somewhat familiar, but it had been digitally altered, so he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before. "Alright, Shi'an, you can stay here with me for now."

"Thank you for your help, Principal Lin. How much is the rent for that shared room? I'll transfer it to you."

"Hey, we're family, let's not talk about this. Just stay here and relax."

"Then I'd be too embarrassed to stay at Principal Lin's house."

"...You really are just like your master, so stubborn! Then you can go and discuss with the girl yourself how to split the monthly rent."

"As it should be."

Chen Shi'an was very tactful. Although Principal Lin took good care of him, it was based on the relationship between their master and teacher. If he took it for granted, he would eventually be disliked by others.

"Then Shi'an, you should go with Teacher Liang to get your textbooks and school uniform first, and go to the classroom to tidy up. Come back later and I'll take you to the house. The girl should be off work around six o'clock."

"it is good."

"Oh, right, here you can have this. This is my employee meal card. A fixed meal allowance is deposited into it every month. I don't usually need it, so you can just use it."

This time, Chen Shi'an had no chance to refuse; Principal Lin stuffed it into his pocket.

At school, a meal card is a valuable commodity! Not to mention a faculty meal card like this, which allows you to pick up meals in the faculty cafeteria where the food is even better—a privilege that other students can only envy.

After leaving the cat in the principal's office to enjoy the air conditioning, Chen Shi'an followed Teacher Liang to the academic affairs office to collect school uniforms and textbooks.

We received four sets of school uniforms in total: two sets for summer and two sets for winter, for easy washing and changing.

I also brought back a lot of books and textbooks, including those for my current second year of high school and some for my first year.

If the school hadn't lacked junior high school textbooks, Teacher Liang would have gladly brought him all three years' worth of junior high school books as well.

The diagnostic test also showed that although Chen Shi'an had never attended school, his basic Chinese and math education in elementary school was quite solid, except for his poor English. The main gap was in junior high school. In junior high school, math was not simple, just addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Physics, chemistry and biology were added, which was the foundation that Chen Shi'an lacked the most.

"Our course is currently covering the second semester of the second year of high school. Soon we will begin covering the third year of high school, and then it will be a full-scale review."

As Teacher Liang walked, she said, "Your main problem right now is that you've fallen too far behind in your basic courses. The college entrance exam tests six subjects, and even if others are weak in one, it's still a headache. Shi'an, just being good at Chinese isn't enough. You're already in your second year of high school, and the college entrance exam next year is just around the corner. The class's teaching progress won't stop because of you, so..."

He paused, looking at Chen Shi'an: "Shi'an, your studies are very demanding. You not only need to make up for the gaps in your foundation as soon as possible, but you also need to catch up with the pace of your classmates in the shortest possible time..."

As she spoke, even Teacher Liang herself seemed a little unsure of herself.

This would be like a fantasy for any student—after losing so many years of schoolwork, could he really catch up in the last two years? He didn't expect Chen Shi'an to live up to the title of "Wenquxing" (a legendary scholar), he only hoped that he could keep up with the pace, even if he was at the bottom of Class 5 and got into an ordinary undergraduate university, he would be lucky.

"As for junior high school textbooks, I'll try to borrow some for you, or you can borrow them from your classmates."

"In short, I will try my best to help you fill in the gaps, but it still depends more on your own efforts. And it's not like there's no chance. Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Teacher Liang."

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "Although I am a Taoist practitioner, I do not believe in fate. Don't worry, Teacher Liang, I will work hard."

When the young Taoist priest said this, an almost tangible sense of execution and arrogance emanated from his seemingly humble and composed demeanor.

So much so that Teacher Liang was stunned for a long time, not knowing how to respond, and finally nodded.

"Class 5 is on the second floor of Zhixing Building, let's go up."

"it is good."

As the young Taoist priest entered the teaching building, the atmosphere became lively...

(End of this chapter)