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

Chapter 148 We really are just classmates and good buddies (Thanks to Yunchen Xiatian for the Silver Alliance)

As we were chatting in the living room, we heard the soft sound of a smart lock opening from the entryway.

As the door opened, Li Yilan, carrying two large bags of meat and vegetables, stepped into the house and was immediately greeted by the elegant fragrance wafting through the living room.

She subconsciously took a deep breath, and her shoulders and back, which had been tense all morning, inexplicably felt relaxed.

Looking at the three people on the mahogany sofa in the living room, Li Yilan was stunned when she saw the young man in the Taoist uniform.

Before she could even say hello, Wen Zhixia hopped over from the sofa like a nimble little bird and took the bag of groceries from her mother's hand.

"mom!"

"Zhizhi is back so early? I thought you wouldn't get home until around noon. You didn't even send a message before you got back..."

"Oh, I forgot! Mom, let me introduce you. This is Chen Shi'an, my classmate. He's the one who gave you the wood carving for your birthday last time!"

"Really? Little Chen is here."

Li Yilan had already guessed that the young man in the martial arts uniform was Chen Shi'an. After all, her daughter had mentioned him to her many times, and she herself had received a birthday gift from her daughter's classmate for the first time, which left a deep impression on her.

Like Wen Zhixue, she had also seen Chen Shi'an in videos, but she did not expect that when she saw him in person, his appearance and temperament were even more pleasing than in the videos. He wore a simple Taoist uniform, with handsome features, but his eyes were not as lively as those of ordinary people his age. Instead, they carried a calm and composed air. Although he looked to be about the same age as Zhizhi, he made people feel particularly at ease.

When Wen Zhixia went to greet him, Chen Shi'an had already gotten up from the mahogany sofa.

Little Cicada's mother, Li Yilan, looks quite similar to her aunt, Li Yimei. He bowed slightly to Li Yilan, his tone respectful to his elders, yet his demeanor remained composed: "Hello, Aunt Lan, I am Chen Shi'an."

"Hello, Xiao Chen."

With her daughter taking the groceries from her hands, Li Yilan simply stepped forward, her gaze warm as she looked Chen Shi'an up close.

Like Wen Zhixue, as the first male classmate her daughter brought to visit, the mother inevitably felt a sense of scrutiny and evaluation in her observation.

"Xiao Chen, please sit down. Zhizhi has been praising you to me and her dad for a long time. She said you're skillful, knowledgeable, and a real Taoist priest. I especially liked the wood carving you asked Zhizhi to send for my birthday last time, and I haven't had a chance to thank you yet!"

"Aunt Lan, you're too kind. Zhizhi often talks to me about you and Uncle Wen, saying that you two are very close. It's great to meet you today. The wood carvings of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums are indeed very suitable for you."

"Really!"

Li Yilan smiled instantly. The young man had a calm demeanor, knew how to behave appropriately, and was also very good at speaking.

Turning her head, Li Yilan saw Wen Zhixue staring at a stick of incense in the incense burner, marveling at it. She asked curiously, "I smelled a faint fragrance as soon as I entered the room. Is it this stick of incense? Where did you get it, Lao Wen?"

"Shi'an brought this especially for us. It's the one you're smelling, a handmade incense that Shi'an made himself. Would you like to try it?"

Li Yilan then took a closer sniff of the fragrance in the air. Before, she only felt comfortable, but now that she had calmed down, she could smell the crispness of pine needles and cypress wood mixed with a faint floral scent. It was not overpowering at all, but instead, it calmed down most of the restlessness in her heart.

"This fragrance is really special... It's much more natural than the aromatherapy I bought before. Shi'an, you can even make this?"

“I learned from my master in my spare time and make these spices by hand from the mountain. This is a soothing incense. If Aunt Lan feels tired or doesn’t sleep well at night, she can light one to feel more comfortable.”

At first, Li Yilan thought that Wen Zhixue had gotten it from somewhere, but when she heard that it was Chen Shi'an who gave it to her, she was really embarrassed.

"Xiao Chen, you're too kind! The plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum wood carvings you gave me last time were already very valuable, and you still bring so many things when you come to visit."

"These are all materials I found myself on the mountain and made by hand. They're nothing valuable. If Aunt Lan and Uncle Wen like them, I'll send you some more another day."

Seeing Chen Shi'an's sincere eyes, Li Yilan said nothing more. This young man was not only highly skilled but also meticulous; no wonder Zhizhi always talked about him...

Li Yilan secretly glanced at her husband. She had intended to ask Lao Wen to give Zhizhi and Xiao Chen a warning, but Lao Wen was smoking incense and looked like he had switched sides, having completely forgotten her instructions.

This... oh... uh... oh... um...

Okay, Li Yilan admits that even she, whether from the perspective of a mother or as a woman, can't find any fault with the young man her daughter brought home; in fact, she finds him more and more pleasing to the eye...

On the other side, Wen Zhixia, who had deliberately left the three of them alone by pretending to take groceries to the kitchen, was secretly watching them from inside the kitchen, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Her heart was pounding, she was both nervous and a little shy, and her big eyes darted around from behind the door.

She had prepared herself for a scolding from her parents, but surprisingly, she didn't!

This emboldened her even more, and she wondered if she should keep pestering Chen Shi'an so that she could go on a road trip with his family tomorrow...

Just then, I heard my mother's voice.

"Xiao Chen, please have a seat. Aunt Lan will make you some of your favorite dishes. What kind of food do you usually like? Can you eat spicy food?"

"Aunt Lan, anything you make is fine, as long as it's simple. I'm not picky about food. Is there anything you can help me with, Aunt Lan? I'll lend you a hand."

"It's alright, no need! Zhizhi said that you cook especially well, Xiao Chen! But since you're here as a guest today, Aunt Lan can cook by herself."

"Thank you for your help, Aunt Lan."

"You're too kind, Xiao Chen. ...This black cat looks so lucky, is it yours, Xiao Chen?"

"Yes, it has lived with me and my master in the Taoist temple for more than ten years, and we take it with us wherever we go."

Does it usually eat cat food?

"I don't eat much, just leave a bite of the food." "Haha, okay then, leave some food for this little guest too!"

Wen Zhixia's parents were indeed very open-minded and had a youthful mindset. After personally pouring Chen Shi'an a cup of tea, Li Yilan got up and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

The girl hiding in the kitchen quickly got busy, like a class monitor possessed, opening this bag to look inside and that bag to look inside, looking very busy, but in the end she did nothing.

"These are all my favorite dishes!"

"..."

"Mom, where did you put the rice? I'll cook it today!"

"...Alright, alright, you're just making things worse."

"I want to cook rice!"

"The rice is over there. Put four cups of rice in there, and fill each cup to the brim."

"Do you want that much? There are so many dishes."

"When there are guests, there will definitely be more food. It's better to have more than to not have enough to eat."

"it is good!"

Wen Zhixia washed her hands and started rinsing and cooking rice. Thinking that Chen Shi'an's first meal at her house was cooked by her, the girl cooked with great care, adding and pouring water over and over again, and then carrying the pot to ask her mother if there was enough water.

As the kitchen sliding door closed, Li Yilan couldn't contain herself and whispered a few words in her daughter's ear.

It's unclear what was said, but the girl's pretty face immediately turned bright red. She glared at her mother, then lowered her voice and said:
"Mom...! What are you thinking... We're really just classmates and good friends, don't talk nonsense... Even if he's thinking something, don't you know me, I only have studying on my mind, I won't think about anything else!"

"..."

Li Yilan looked suspicious, thinking to herself, "You've got that backwards, haven't you?"
I think Xiao Chen is nothing special, but you're the kind of girl who dares to think of anything.

"Anyway, your most important task right now is the college entrance examination, so you absolutely cannot fall behind in your studies, you know?"

"Oh, I know..."

"How is Xiao Chen doing in his studies?"

"...Absolutely amazing! Didn't you watch his videos? Those traditional Chinese culture and stuff, how could an ordinary person possibly explain them?"

"That's true... Then you should learn from Xiao Chen. Look at him, he's like an adult, while you're still like a rash child. At last year's parent-teacher conference, your deskmate Xiao Lin seemed very quiet and mature. You should learn from her."

"I'm supposed to learn from her?? She probably can't even cook rice!"

"Yes, yes, you're the best."

Wen Zhixia felt that her mother didn't understand anything at all, and actually wanted her to learn from the Ice Cube Spirit. Please, Mom! Do you even know what that Ice Cube Spirit is fighting with your daughter for?!
While having a private chat with her mother in the kitchen, Wen Zhixia also looked at Chen Shi'an in the living room through the sliding glass door.

I don't know what he and his dad were talking about, but they seemed to be getting along really well, almost like buddies...

Stinky Taoist!
I told you to behave yourself at my house, not to be my dad's buddy!
"By the way, Zhizhi, when is Xiao Chen going back?"

"...Mom, I'll let the Taoist priest stay at our house tonight."

"what?"

“Oh, it’s just for one night. His Taoist temple is in a remote part of Xuan Yue Mountain. It will take a long time to get back, and he’ll probably have to walk at night. That’s not safe. Anyway, we have so many rooms. We can just stay one night and let him leave tomorrow morning.”

“I haven’t even tidied up my guest room yet. Your grandfather said last night that he wanted us to go back to the village for dinner together tonight. Your uncle and aunt are also going back.”

"That's even better! I'll call the Taoist priest along, and we can go back together! As for the guest rooms... I'll go tidy them up!"

"..."

Li Yilan glanced at the girl with a wistful look.

From childhood to adulthood, when have I ever seen her so enthusiastic about someone moving into our house? She even went out of her way to tidy up the guest room!
Feeling guilty, Wen Zhixia didn't bother with her mother anymore and ran out in a flash.

The external staircase only goes up to the second floor; the third and fourth floors are accessed via the internal staircase inside the house.

As Wen Zhixia hurried up the spiral staircase, she saw Chen Shi'an and her father standing up by the coffee table, looking like they were about to leave.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"Oh! I was just chatting with Shi'an about wood carving, and we were planning to go to the factory together. Zhizhi, do you want to come?"

"I go!!"

Wen Zhixia, who was halfway upstairs, came running back down.

She's so busy!

(Thank you so much, Yunchen Xiatian, for yet another several hundred thousand donations! You've become the first Silver Alliance member for this book! You're so generous, boss! May you make a fortune! Thank you so much for your continued support!)

(End of this chapter)