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

Chapter 179 I can lend you my dad
Autumn is truly the most comfortable season of the year.

The bright midday sun warmed the classroom, but it wasn't as scorching as in the height of summer. The sycamore trees outside the window were tinged with golden leaves, and a few would drift in with the breeze, landing on the windowsill and adding a touch of dry, woody fragrance to the chalk dust in the classroom.

The students who were studying in the classroom had already slumped down, and now it was the quietest time in the classroom, so quiet that you could hear the rustling sound of the sanitation workers sweeping the school road outside.

One minute before the preparatory bell was about to ring, Chen Shi'an withdrew from his meditative state.

Just like when he woke up from his afternoon nap, he stretched slightly.

Turning my head to look at the class monitor, who was taking a nap at her desk, I saw that she was fast asleep.

She lay limply on the table, her head buried in her arms, her long, black hair cascading down, a few strands tinged light brown by the sunlight, clinging to her flushed cheeks. Her breathing was long and gentle, like fine snow falling on leaves.

She must have been sleeping very comfortably; her sleeves were loosely bunched up at her wrists, and the exposed skin had a faint warm pink hue.

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch break.

Lin Mengqiu's shoulders trembled slightly in her sleep, and then her delicate eyebrows furrowed.

Chen Shi'an thought she was about to wake up, but after a while, her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she went back to sleep.

"..."

Chen Shi'an found it amusing. As other students entered the classroom one after another, he reached out and poked the girl's soft shoulder with his finger.

"Monitor."

"..."

"Wake up, class monitor."

"×!"

Lin Mengqiu, who had been facing him, turned her face away to the wall, not wanting to pay him any attention.

Chen Shi'an then stopped calling her.

After a while, Lin Mengqiu, whose drowsy state was gradually fading, finally woke up on her own.

Like a kitten that has just woken up, she slowly raised her head, her eyes still half-closed, with a faint red tinge at the corners, probably from being pressed down for too long.

She just sat there blankly on the table, hugging a pillow as she slowly turned on the computer.

Finally, his language function was restored.

"...Was it you who called me just now?"

Her originally clear and cool voice was now tinged with the nasal tone of someone who had just woken up, making it soft and indistinct.

Having just woken up, she subconsciously rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, making the skin under her eyes even redder.

Seeing her so different from her usual self, Chen Shi'an couldn't help but laugh, and the corners of his mouth curved up as he placed the empty bottle in his hand on the table in front of her with a thud.

"Class monitor, are you awake? I've finished my water. Could you get me a bottle? Class is about to start."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu reached out and took his water bottle, but hesitated to make any further moves. Clearly, the system had not yet fully booted up and was waiting blankly for the system cache to load.

Chen Shi'an was the first to get up and leave his seat.

"……where did you go?"

"I'm going to the restroom, does the class monitor want to come?"

"..."

Lin Mengqiu got up, picked up her own water bottle and Chen Shi'an's water bottle, and followed him without saying a word.

When Chen Shi'an reached the classroom door, he stopped.

"Squad leader, would you like to go to the restroom and get me some water?"

"×!"

The girl finally came to her senses. With a slightly flushed face, she placed the two water bottles on the podium, then quickly walked out and followed Chen Shi'an toward the restroom.

The men's restroom is on the left, and the women's restroom is on the right.

Chen Shi'an came out of the bathroom first and waited for her at the corner for a while.

Not long after, Lin Mengqiu came out. She looked like she had washed her face. The water droplets on her face had been dried with a tissue, but some strands of her hair were still damp. Her face had a rosy glow and looked completely awake.

When Lin Mengqiu saw Chen Shi'an waiting for her at the corner, she was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Chen Shi'an to be waiting for her.

After all, it wasn't exactly a pre-arranged plan to go to the restroom together, and she always goes to the restroom alone.

When she reached Chen Shi'an's side, without her saying a word, Chen Shi'an started walking slowly beside her towards the classroom.

They walked together through the corridors of other classrooms, avoiding the flow of people in opposite directions. She walked on the side closest to the wall, and occasionally when Chen Shi'an avoided the flow of people, his arm would bump into hers.

Lin Mengqiu blinked; going to the bathroom together was actually quite nice…

Back in the classroom, Lin Mengqiu quickened her pace, took the two water bottles that had just been placed on the podium, and filled two cups of water next to the water dispenser.

Chen Shi'an didn't wait for her to fetch water. He returned to his seat but didn't sit down. Instead, he stood by his seat and talked to Zheng Yining and the others who had just returned from their lunch break.

After Lin Mengqiu finished fetching water and returned to her seat, he pulled out a chair, sat down, and locked her inside.

Lin Mengqiu put his water bottle back on his desk.

"Thank you monitor."

"..."

"Great, the water temperature is just right."

"~"

Lin Mengqiu, who had taken a nice afternoon nap, felt refreshed and full of energy.

Coming to the classroom for lunch break was definitely the right choice. I don't know why, but I slept much better than usual when I was sleeping with my head on the desk.

She brewed the stomach-soothing tea in her cup for the second time. Lin Mengqiu blew on the surface of the tea to cool it down and took a small sip.

She glanced at the water bottle between the two of them.

Suddenly I was stunned.

"Water Baby has given birth."

"Ok?"

Chen Shi'an looked in the direction of the sound.

"It's true, so many little water babies have appeared after I haven't looked at them for half a day."

The bell rang, and class began. ...

The afternoon classes continued with reviewing the monthly exam papers.

The pace of the class was too slow for Chen Shi'an, so he mainly studied on his own.

He no longer needs to catch up on any material in Chinese and English classes; he now uses those classes to catch up on math, while he's temporarily studying the science subjects in their respective classes.

By October, Chen Shi'an's progress in math and science was almost on par with the class's. If nothing unexpected happened, by the next monthly exam, he would be able to catch up with, or even surpass, the class's progress in all subjects.

Xu Zihan was extremely grateful to Dao Ye for being at the bottom of the monthly exam, but he lived in constant fear. After all, everyone had witnessed Dao Ye's terrifying learning speed and progress, and who knew if Dao Ye would surpass him next time!

Originally, today's class was supposed to be a make-up class for Thursday, but the biology teacher for the second period had something to do, so it was rescheduled to Monday's class meeting. Today's biology class was used as the class meeting.

Lao Liang walked into the classroom and, during the class meeting, summarized the situation of the monthly exam with everyone.

Most of these are old, familiar topics.

"...The questions in this monthly exam were relatively easy, so don't be complacent about your scores, especially those whose rankings have dropped. You should calm down and focus on identifying and addressing your weaknesses!"

"The next monthly exam is on the last two days of this month. It is also our midterm exam for this semester. After the results are released, a parent-teacher meeting will be held on a later date. I think everyone understands the importance of this monthly exam better than I do."

[Whoosh—]
Upon hearing the words "parent-teacher meeting," the class erupted in a commotion, with whispers of discussion filling the air.

Chen Shi'an had found the school sports meet interesting before, but now, not long after, a parent-teacher conference has appeared.

"Class monitor, what's the purpose of this parent-teacher meeting?"

"It's about calling parents to come to the school for a meeting."

"specific?"

"...two-way communication to understand students' situations at school and at home."

"Oh oh."

Chen Shi'an understood. "I don't think there were parent-teacher meetings at the mountain primary school I attended for a few days before, but I heard that teachers did make home visits."

Fortunately, he had only attended primary school for a few days. Otherwise, Chen Shi'an thought that if the teachers from the mountain primary school were to come for a home visit, they would probably have to walk for two hours on mountain roads and be exhausted just to get to the Taoist temple...

“We did not conduct home visits.”

"Didn't the class monitor have this when he was in elementary and middle school?"

"……No."

Unlike in the mountains, the educational environment in the city is different, and very few primary and secondary school teachers will make home visits. Lin Mengqiu, for one, never did.

Of course, Teacher Liang also visited her home, but that shouldn't be considered a 'home visit'; it was just a 'visit' to the principal for tea and to be a guest.

"So, will every student's parents have to come to the parent-teacher conference?"

"Ah."

What should I do if I don't have it?

"...Then we don't need to."

"Will the squad leader call Uncle Lin over?"

"Ah."

Where will the meeting be held?

"In the classroom."

"Oh--"

Chen Shi'an smiled. Although this parent-teacher meeting had nothing to do with him, it sounded quite interesting.

Lin Mengqiu turned her head and glanced at him.

Of course she knew that Chen Shi'an had no parents or elders, not even an older brother or sister. When other parents held a parent-teacher meeting, they could at least find a relative to attend, but Chen Shi'an couldn't find anyone.

Of course, it's perfectly normal for family members to be unable to attend parent-teacher conferences, but "no one from the family attending the parent-teacher conference" and "no one at home" are two different things, and Lin Mengqiu couldn't imagine what that would feel like.

That stinky Taoist priest may look so calm and cheerful, but he must be feeling disappointed inside, right?
The kind-hearted class monitor softened her tone, feeling it was her duty to care for her classmates. After hesitating for a moment, she said:
"If you can't find anyone to attend the parent-teacher conference, my dad can attend for you."

"what?"

Chen Shi'an was taken aback. "You can invite someone who isn't a parent to attend a parent-teacher meeting?"

"...Actually, the requirements aren't that strict."

"Well, Uncle Lin is my senior, so it's understandable that he'd attend the parent-teacher conference on my behalf."

"?"

Lin Mengqiu couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

You stinky Taoist priest! You're not happy about lending me my dad as your father, and you still want to take advantage of me?
"Can I ask Sister Wanyin to attend my parent-teacher conference in my place?"

"...Sister Wanyin?"

"Yes, we live in the same house now, so I guess you could call me half an older sister."

"...Is she free?"

"I don't know, I'll ask her later."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu couldn't find a way to refute it, which was much better than some clever kids going out to 'hire parents'.

"If she's not available, I can lend you my dad."

"...What the class monitor said sounds really strange."

Lin Mengqiu was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore; she felt embarrassed even after talking to him so much…

During the class meeting, Lao Liang mischievously put these stressful topics first, and only started talking about the school sports meet in the last fifteen minutes before the end of get out of class.

"After the monthly exams at the end of the month, our school's annual autumn track and field meet will be held on the 1st and 2nd of next month."

"Each class and each project requires at least one person to sign up."

"Registration closes next Wednesday, and I've already given the registration form to Yu Fu."

"We hope everyone will actively sign up and work together to bring honor to our class!"

"Teacher! Zihan says he wants to sign up for all the programs by himself!"

"Shut up, you bastard!!"

(End of this chapter)