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

Chapter 17 The First Meal of Sharing an Apartment

Li Wanyin had already kept the house very tidy, and with Chen Shi'an's help, the two of them quickly cleaned up the house.

After tidying up the common areas, Chen Shi'an carried his luggage back to his room to unpack.

He didn't have much luggage; besides some ritual implements commonly used by Taoist priests, he only had two undershirts and two Taoist robes.

In addition, there were several books that I had just brought back from school and four new sets of school uniforms.

He took the book out of his bag and placed it on his desk in the room. His school uniform needed to be washed because he would need to wear it to class the next day.

Since tidying up the room was a private matter, Li Wanyin didn't offer to help. Seeing that Chen Shi'an hadn't closed the door, she stood at the doorway curiously and looked inside.

"You brought so little luggage..."

"Yes, we'll travel light. The main reason is that the journey is quite long, and it's inconvenient to bring too much. We'll buy the things we need later when we go downstairs."

As Chen Shi'an spoke, he turned to her and asked, "Sister Wanyin, do you know where nearby I can buy bedding, pillows, and toiletries?"

“Yes, they sell them at the department store on the left side of the complex,” Li Wanyin replied kindly. “And if you don’t have laundry detergent or shampoo yet, you can use mine.” She habitually extended kindness to her new roommate, with whom she would soon be living under the same roof.

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Wanyin."

"Chen, Shi, An... is it the 'ten' in seven, eight, nine, ten, or the 'shi' in time?" she murmured.

"It's the 'shi' in 'shijinbuhui' (to return lost property)."

After answering, Chen Shi'an asked her, "Then, is Wanyin's name Wan as in gentle and graceful, and Yin as in music?"

"Hmm! You really are a Taoist priest? You look so young..."

Perhaps because Chen Shi'an was much younger than her, Li Wanyin wasn't too reserved even though he was a boy. Mainly, she felt that the young Taoist priest had left a very good impression on her when they first met that morning.

After a day of delivering orders and encountering so many passersby, Li Wanyin had long forgotten everyone else, but she remembered Chen Shi'an. Even though he wasn't wearing that Taoist robe, she was still deeply impressed by his politeness and composure.

Of course, her ideal roommate would be a girl, which would be more convenient, but she doesn't have much to complain about right now, since she'll be struggling to pay next month's rent...

"Yes, he really is a Taoist priest." Chen Shi'an didn't mind that she had already asked once, and still answered calmly. Now that he's a bit older, it's alright, but when he was younger, even more people didn't believe he was a Taoist priest.

"Amazing!"

Li Wanyin's pretty face showed admiration, and she smiled and said, "Then you are the first Taoist I have ever met. I always felt that people who practice Taoism were far removed from me, and no one around me seemed interested in it. When did you start practicing Taoism?"

“I have been learning Taoist magic with my master on the mountain since I can remember.”

"So young! Do your parents agree to this?"

“I was an abandoned baby that my master picked up from the mountain.”

"..."

These words seemed to have hit the girl's vocal cords, and Li Wanyin fell silent immediately.

After a long while, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that, and I brought up something that upset you..."

"It's alright, Sister Wanyin, don't blame yourself. I don't really understand these things. My master raised and taught me, and to me, he's no different from my parents and family."

Li Wanyin then noticed that he often had a smile on his face, which not only made him seem easy-going and friendly, but also gave people the impression that he had a very positive and optimistic attitude.

Emotions are contagious, and perhaps influenced by him, Li Wanyin gradually relaxed.

How old are you this year?

"She's eighteen. Where's Sister Wanyin?"

"Hehe, I'm much older than you, I'm already twenty-two this year."

"Sister Wanyin makes it sound like she's ten or eight years older than me, but she's only four years older than me."

Chen Shi'an spoke naturally, then asked curiously, "Sister Wanyin must have other siblings, right?"

"Huh! How did you know! I do have a younger sister, she's a bit younger than you, she's fifteen this year." Li Wanyin was quite surprised that Chen Shi'an had guessed it right away.

“People who are older brothers or sisters usually have a special feeling about them, and Sister Wanyin has that feeling.”

"Haha, I didn't even notice that myself, but look how amazing this person is..."

After saying that, Chen Shi'an asked with amusement, "Then Wan Yin's younger sister wouldn't be named Wan Le, would she?"

"How...how did you know?!"

"Really? This was purely a guess." Even Chen Shi'an himself was surprised.

"Then you must have guessed the wrong character~~ It's called Wanyue, but the 'yue' in 'pleasant to the ear'."

"I see, I really thought it meant the 'music' in music."

After chatting for a while, the two became much more familiar with each other.

Just then, Li Wanyin's phone rang, and she answered it.

A voice came from the other end of the phone: "Your food delivery has arrived. I left it at the drop-off point at the entrance of your community. Please come downstairs to pick it up."

"Can't it be brought up..." Li Wanyin asked.

"The security guards in your community won't let me in."

"They won't refuse to let you in..."

"Go downstairs and get it yourself. There's no elevator, and who's going to bring your cheap, shared meal up to the ninth floor for you?"

The other party's tone was indifferent, as if to say, "I'm a crowdsourced company, so feel free to leave a bad review." After saying that, they hung up the phone.

Helpless, Li Wanyin had no choice but to go downstairs to pick up the takeout herself.

"Shi'an, have you eaten? How about I order takeout for you? I still have coupons." "It's okay, I brought back food from the cafeteria."

"Okay, I'll go downstairs and get some takeout."

After saying that, Li Wanyin changed her shoes, took the trash with her, and went downstairs to get her takeout.

In fact, Li Wanyin rarely orders takeout. She either cooks something simple herself or has meals provided when she works part-time. Because a new roommate moved in today, she left work early to clean the house, so she didn't get to eat the meals provided by her part-time job and didn't have time to cook dinner. Luckily, she had a coupon, so she ordered a shared meal.

Chen Shi'an had already packed his luggage, and he came out with his new school uniform to take a shower in the bathroom.

There was a washing machine in the bathroom. He knew it was a washing machine, but he had never used it before and didn't know how to operate it.

I did some research out of curiosity and found it wasn't that difficult. Even a five-year-old could do it; it was probably only challenging for my master.

However, he still didn't use the washing machine. Anyway, the new school uniform wasn't dirty, so he just rinsed it with some water in a bucket.

In these details of daily life, Chen Shi'an, who is only eighteen years old, sometimes really acts like a 'middle-aged or elderly person'.

……

He had finished washing his clothes, but Li Wanyin, who had gone downstairs to get the takeout, hadn't returned.

Just as Chen Shi'an was wondering, Li Wanyin finally returned.

The takeout she was holding was gone, and her face was contorted with grief: "Oh no, my food that I'd prepared has been stolen..."

Chen Shi'an: "..."

Seeing the older sister looking so wronged and as if the sky had fallen, the young Taoist priest didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Wasn't it placed at the designated drop-off point? How could it have been stolen?"

"I don't know, maybe someone else took the wrong one..."

Li Wanyin sighed, feeling like misfortune never comes singly. She didn't have much money to begin with, and her salary wouldn't be paid for another few days. She'd finally gotten a coupon and ordered a cheap meal for a few yuan, only to have it stolen!

Since things had come to this, she could only think of other ways to fill her stomach. She wasn't the kind of girl who complained or blamed others; she knew complaining was useless, so she might as well quickly think about what to eat later.

"So, what are you planning to do for dinner, Sister Wanyin?"

"There are still some instant noodles in the refrigerator. I'm not very hungry, so I'll just cook some noodles to tide me over."

"..."

Are you really not very hungry? I think I heard a gurgling sound!
Fortunately, there's always a way out. Just as the girl was about to cook some instant noodles to make do, Chen Shi'an took out a boxed lunch and handed it to her.

"This is the food I got from the school cafeteria. It includes braised pork, shredded pork and dried tofu, shredded potatoes and greens. If you don't mind, Sister Wanyin, please take it and eat it first."

How could Li Wanyin possibly complain! Even through the semi-transparent lunchbox, she could already see the generous amount of meat and vegetables piled on top of the rice!
Her empty stomach was already rumbling loudly, but she showed no intention of taking it.

Wave your hand!

"No need, no need! If I eat, what will you eat, Shi'an?"

"Don't worry, Sister Wanyin, I have another one. I was originally planning to get an extra one for Uncle Lin, but he had a dinner party, so I ended up with an extra one."

Li Wanyin looked in the direction he was pointing and then noticed that there was a boxed lunch lying in the already opened plastic bag on the coffee table.

Seeing that she was still hesitant and embarrassed to accept it, Chen Shi'an simply handed the boxed lunch to her.

"Sister Wanyin, don't be shy. It's better than wasting it."

"Okay then... Thank you, Shi'an. How much did you pay for the takeout? I'll transfer the money to you!"

"It's okay, if you have the chance, Sister Wanyin will treat me to a boxed lunch." Chen Shi'an smiled and then asked, "Sister Wanyin, do you have any clothes hangers? I washed my school uniform and haven't bought any hangers yet. I'd like to borrow a few from you first."

"Sure, sure! They're all hanging on the clothesline on the balcony, I'll get them for you..."

Li Wanyin finally accepted the sumptuous boxed lunch with peace of mind. She didn't rush to eat it, as Chen Shi'an was still hanging up the laundry, so she waited for him on the side.

"Did you hand wash your school uniform? It still looks very wet. It probably won't dry by tomorrow, right?" Li Wanyin asked, looking at the school uniform.

"Hmm, the clothes aren't dirty, a quick rinse will do. It's fine, they'll be dry tomorrow." Chen Shi'an sounded very confident.

Li Wanyin was a little confused. She was not someone who lacked life experience. With the sun about to set, how could the clothes she had just washed really dry overnight?
"The sun is about to set, isn't it?" she gently reminded him.

“Yes.” Chen Shi’an was only focused on watching the sunset.

The buildings in the old neighborhood are not tall; the ninth floor is the highest floor.

As dusk settled, the western sky was filled with the glow of the setting sun, bathing the entire city in a warm orange-red hue. Lights began to come on in each house, and through the glass, one could see people cooking or eating.

The birds have returned to their nests, flying back from the distant sky and landing on the big banyan tree in the community, chirping away.

After hanging up the clothes, Chen Shi'an stood on the balcony and watched the twilight filled with the warmth of everyday life for a while.

When he turned around again, the lights in his house were on.

Li Wanyin took two bottles of Coke out of the refrigerator. They were small plastic bottles that came with her takeout order. Now, they were just enough for her and Chen Shi'an to each have one.

"Here you go, Shi'an, you treat me to dinner, and I'll treat you to a Coke!"

"Sister Xie Wanyin, let's have dinner together."

"Meow."

The cat, attracted by the scent, jumped onto the chair.

The two people and the cat thus shared their first meal together in this shared apartment.

(End of this chapter)