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

Chapter 192 I'll give you a reward if you defeat the Ice Spirit!
There are still three days until the start of the school sports meet, but what comes even earlier is the monthly exam at the end of the month.

This monthly exam is also the midterm exam for this semester.

There will be a parent-teacher meeting after the exams. The date has been set for the first weekend of next month.

The exam, which is linked to the parent-teacher conference, is enough to warrant attention even without the teacher mentioning it.

"Let me give you a heads-up: this exam is quite difficult, so please don't take it lightly."

"Teacher Liang, you said the same thing last time!"

Unfortunately, unlike the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," no matter how many times Lao Liang tells it, everyone will subconsciously tense up whenever he does. It's estimated that this series of mental and physical trials will last until the college entrance examination more than a year later.

The monthly exams start tomorrow. As soon as evening self-study ended, amidst the sounds of desks and chairs being moved around in the classroom, Qiu Yufu posted the seating arrangement for this month's exams on the bulletin board at the back.

As before, apart from Chen Shi'an, the other 59 students took the exam in the experimental building exam room.

Others need to check the seating chart, but Lin Mengqiu doesn't. The first table in the science exam room of the experimental building seems to be her exclusive spot, always prepared for her.

"Master Dao! You're taking the exam in Class 1 of the first year of high school!" Zou Xiaokun called out to Chen Shi'an from afar while looking at the seating arrangement in the exam room.

"Okay, thank you, Xiaokun."

Chen Shi'an replied, but didn't bother to check the seating chart. Instead, he took advantage of the time after school to tidy up his desk and make room for his classmates.

This was Chen Shi'an's second time participating in a large-scale exam organized by the school. He seemed quite familiar with the process and, like other students, had already reserved a spot at the back of the classroom to put his books.

"Class monitor, you can put your book next to me in a bit. I've saved a seat for you."

"~~~"

Lin Mengqiu didn't thank him; she simply took a bottle of milk from the box and placed it on his desk.

"Let's drink again tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, we'll drink again tomorrow."

Since we're drinking the class monitor's milk, we naturally have to follow the rules for drinking milk.

Chen Shi'an put the milk in the drawer, then turned to Lin Mengqiu and asked:
"Before the class was reassigned to different classes, the class monitor was in Class 1 of the first year of high school, right?"

"Ah."

Where did you and Xiaozhi sit back then?

"……What's wrong?"

"I just happened to be taking the exam in Class 1 of Grade 11 this time. Let's see if it's too much of a coincidence that I'll end up sitting in the seats you used to sit in, class monitor."

"Those who would have changed seats have already moved somewhere else."

"Too."

"The chair I used to sit on had a missing corner on the left side of the backrest."

Lin Mengqiu suddenly said.

Chen Shi'an was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, I'll keep an eye out for it then."

"Why are you paying attention to this..."

"The class monitor explained it in such detail because he wanted me to pay attention, didn't he?"

Lin Mengqiu was suddenly speechless after being asked a question by Chen Shi'an.

After a long pause, she said awkwardly, "You asked me first..."

"What does the class monitor's desk look like?"

"...I forgot, the table itself isn't anything special."

"Okay, let's see if it's such a coincidence that we happen to use the desks and chairs that the class monitor used to have."

"~~~"

This little joy came in a wonderful way, and even Lin Mengqiu herself couldn't explain why she was happy.

"You probably won't have to take the exam in the teaching building next time," Lin Mengqiu said.

Chen Shi'an nodded. "I heard from Xiaokun and the others that the seating arrangement for exams in the lab building is based on the ranking of scores?"

"Ah."

"The class monitor always sits in the first seat?"

"Ah."

As she spoke, the girl's lips curled up noticeably, her tone was calm, but her eyes couldn't hide a hint of pride.

"Then next time I want to sit in the seat the class monitor used during the exam."

"?"

Don't be ashamed!

Overcome!

Look at my back!

The class monitor panicked again. After setting up the exam room, he quickly left the noisy classroom and went back to his dormitory to study.

……

Before the exam, each class had to set up the exam room, and Wen Zhixia came downstairs a little later than usual.

"Taoist priest, which class are you taking the exam in this time?"

The girl ran towards him with her schoolbag on her back. She had brought a lot of books to read, and the schoolbag looked heavy.

"The classroom before you were assigned to a class."

"Class One?!"

"correct."

What a coincidence!

The bet time had passed, but both Lin Mengqiu and Wen Zhixia continued to fetch water and carry bags for Chen Shi'an as usual.

Wen Zhixia hugged Chen Shi'an's backpack. When the cool night wind blew, she ran from her right side to his left side and snuggled against his warm shoulder for a while.

"Have you checked the exam room seats yet?"

"Let's go see tomorrow and see where Little Cicada used to sit."

"What, do you want to sit in my old seat?"

"Hmm, let's see if it's such a coincidence."

"I changed seats a long time ago!"

Wen Zhixia tilted her head and thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she said, "But there are the words 'Effort' engraved on my desk. You can check if your desk has them on it later."

"You carved it yourself?"

"No, it wasn't. I don't know if it was engraved by a senior student before."

"What about the chair?"

"The chair doesn't seem to be anything special, I've forgotten about it..."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for it. If it's possible, I'll bring your table over to use."

"whee……"

Wen Zhixia was delighted when Chen Shian said that. Just imagine him using the table she had used, getting good grades, and defeating the Ice Demon. Could there be anything more wonderful than that?
The girl's big eyes darted around, and she swayed, bumping into his shoulder as she said:
"Taoist priest, if you get first place in science in this monthly exam, I'll give you a reward!"

"What reward?"

"...As a reward, you'll go out and have fun with me!"

Chen Shi'an was stunned for a moment, then looked down at her and said, "Is this a reward for me? Why does it sound like a reward for you?" "...Pah, it's a loss for me to spend time playing with you, okay? Don't you want to play with me?"

"playing what?"

"Um... let's go out to eat, go to the amusement park, or go to the movies."

"Okay, that works too."

Seeing that Chen Shi'an agreed, Wen Zhixia was very satisfied. She tightened her grip on her schoolbag and said, "Since this is a reward for you, I'll pay for everything!"

"you said."

"I said!"

"Don't try to cheat."

"No cheating!"

"it is good."

"Hey Taoist priest, let's make a pinky promise—"

Wen Zhixia freed one hand and stretched it out towards him, bending her delicate little pinky finger.

Chen Shi'an then reached out and hooked his hand around her soft, delicate little finger.

The girl gently tightened her knuckles, shook her wrist, and swayed his hand along with hers.

"Okay!"

After making a pinky promise with him with a sense of ceremony, Wen Zhixia finally let go of his finger.

She had made up her mind that regardless of whether Chen Shi'an defeated the Ice Spirit or not, she would reward him by letting him go out and play!

"By the way, Taoist priest, have your class uniforms been finished yet?"

"Yes, it was just issued today, it's in my bag."

"Let me see, our class uniform is so ugly."

Upon hearing Chen Shi'an's words, Wen Zhixia opened his backpack to take a look, and sure enough, there was a traditional-style short jacket with a slanted front inside.

"Your class uniforms are so cool?!"

Wen Zhixia looked on with envy, thinking about her own class's bright red class uniform, which was as red as a tomato. It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.

"It's alright, I designed the class emblem."

"You designed it!"

Wen Zhixia asked in surprise, "Who designed those class uniforms?"

"Designed by the class monitor."

"...The class emblem is better designed than the class uniform."

Wen Zhixia took back what she had just said. It turns out that what was cool wasn't the class uniform, but the class badge.

When she got to the parking shed, Wen Zhixia put on Chen Shi'an's class uniform.

Unfortunately, she was short, and Chen Shi'an's clothes were too big, so she looked rather comical in them, and Chen Shi'an couldn't help but laugh.

"How come you've managed to make a short jacket look like a long gown?"

"Your clothes are too big!"

"Okay, okay, let's go."

After arriving at the school gate, Chen Shi'an took back his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

Wen Zhixia then sat in the back seat of his car.

As usual, the girl reached out and wrapped her arms around Chen Shi'an's waist.

At first, Chen Shi'an didn't think anything was wrong, until he felt a tugging sensation in his school uniform jacket. He looked down and noticed small bulges in both pockets.

Wen Zhixia put her two little hands into his coat pockets and hugged his waist from there.

Why did you put your hand in my pocket?

"It's so cold at night! You don't need to use your pockets anyway, so it's best to let me put my hands in them. Xiaoyan and I do the same..."

"Don't you have pockets yourself?"

"Then I need to support your waist, otherwise you might fall."

Wen Zhixia ignored him; her little hands just stayed in his pockets and wouldn't come out.

She carried it in her pocket as if it were perfectly natural, and Chen Shi'an had no choice but to step on the pedals and leisurely start riding.

"Don't take this opportunity to tickle me again."

"You stingy Taoist priest! I won't scratch you!"

The autumn night wind was chilly, its coolness brushing against her face. The girl put her hands in his pockets, her entire petite body nestled behind him, a smug smile playing on her lips as she snuggled closer to him.

……

Because Chen Shi'an has his monthly exam tomorrow, Li Wanyin closed her stall earlier than usual tonight.

Chen Shi'an followed her back from packing up her stall. As soon as she opened the door, she smelled a rich fragrance in her home.

"Mmm—it smells so good, did Sister Wanyin make chicken soup?"

"Yes, this is the first time I've used the electric slow cooker I bought. I don't know how well it will cook..."

Li Wanyin put down what she was holding and quickly ran to the kitchen to check.

Chen Shi'an and Fei Mo also came in.

"Black chicken soup?"

"Uh-huh!"

Li Wanyin lifted the lid of the stew pot, and a rich aroma wafted out.

"Haha, it looks pretty good. I put it in to simmer as soon as I got home from get off work, set the timer, and simmered it for more than two hours. It's been kept warm for so long, this soup is absolutely amazing!"

"Indeed, the aroma was wonderful as soon as I entered the room."

Chen Shi'an nodded, watching Li Wanyin add some salt for seasoning. As she stirred the chicken with the spoon, the meat, which had been stewing for a long time, fell off the bone and was fully infused with the aroma of angelica and astragalus.

"With this electric slow cooker, it will be much more convenient whenever I want to make soup."

Li Wanyin smiled, washed her hands, and took out two bowls. She hadn't cooked much, just enough for the two siblings to each have a bowl. The two of them drank the soup, while the fat cat ate the meat.

"Here, Shi'an, try the taste. You have an exam tomorrow, so make sure you get some nourishment."

"Thank you, Sister Wanyin."

Chen Shi'an took the bowl of soup from Li Wanyin, blew away the oil on the surface, and took a sip.

Li Wanyin looked at him expectantly.

"Delicious."

Seeing Chen Shi'an's blissful expression, Li Wanyin also felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Then drink more, I'll give you some more, I can't drink that much."

"Hmm, that's enough, Sister Wanyin. I'll drink it all in a bit."

"Meow?"

Stop just drinking soup, you two! Give me some meat!

(End of this chapter)