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

Chapter 193 Your table and chairs now match.
The monthly exams began on October 30th.

At 8:20, the pre-exam bell rang, and the students who stayed in the classroom to review went to their respective exam rooms one after another.

Chen Shi'an was still sitting in his seat sharpening a pencil, and he also sharpened one for Lin Mengqiu.

Lin Mengqiu wasn't idle either. She took his water bottle to fetch water for him. Since he had an exam today, she also made him a cup of hot tea so he could take it with him during the exam.

When Chen Shi'an took the cup, he felt it was a little hot. Only when he opened the lid did he see the tea that had been brewed inside.

"Huh, the class monitor made me some tea? When did he buy the tea leaves?"

“...This is my dad’s tea. He doesn’t usually drink it, but I’m giving it to you.”

Chen Shi'an blew on the tea on the surface, took a small sip, and his eyes lit up.

Although the method of brewing directly in the cup is a bit rough, the tea is indeed good and must be quite expensive.

Chen Shi'an nodded repeatedly as he drank:

"Mmm~ Good tea! Thank you, class monitor."

"~~~"

As expected, Chen Shi'an really knows his tea. Lin Mengqiu thought to herself, "I'll just bring more tea leaves from home another day. Anyway, my dad's tea is just sitting there untouched; it's a waste to leave it unused..."

Chen Shi'an screwed the cup lid back on, got up and moved the table where the two of them had been studying together back to its original position, arranging it in the opposite direction as required by the examination room rules.

"Was the class monitor still taking a lunch break in the classroom today?"

"……Um."

"Okay, I'll get you food later. Goodbye, class monitor, keep up the good work."

"..."

Seeing that Chen Shi'an had left, Lin Mengqiu didn't stay in the classroom any longer. She packed her things, got up, and left her seat to go to the examination room in the experimental building.

……

Chen Shi'an still remembers the shaky table from the last exam in Class 6 of Grade 11.

This exam was held in Class 1 of Grade 11, which happened to be the class that the class monitor and Xiao Zhiliao used to be in.

Just like before, Class 1 of Grade 11 was the top class in the first year of high school before the subject division, with all the students who ranked in the top 60 in entrance exams in this class.

High school is different from junior high school. Even if everyone is in the top 60 in the grade when they enter high school, after two monthly exams, many students will probably fall behind.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be my last exam in the teaching building.

The seating chart was posted at the classroom door. Chen Shi'an glanced at it and found that he was sitting in the middle of the third row.

Upon seeing that he was in the same examination room as Dao Ye, many other candidates from other classes greeted him.

"Hey Daoist, I heard you can score 700 points on tests, why are you still taking the exam here in the teaching building?"

"No, I only got a little over 500 points in the last monthly exam."

"Wow, Daoist Master! You improved your score by over a hundred points in just one month?!"

"Dao Ye, please help our comrades in the exam hall of the teaching building to prove themselves! I don't think I've ever heard of anyone taking the exam in the teaching building getting into the top ten of the grade before. This time, we're counting on you!"

"Everyone has a chance, let's all work hard together."

Chen Shi'an smiled and thought he should ask Uncle Lin for a list of all the students' names and pictures another day. Otherwise, he was always outside, and people would talk to him enthusiastically, but he didn't recognize them, which made him feel quite embarrassed.

Upon entering the classroom, Chen Shi'an went to his seat for the exam.

All personal belongings on the chair had been cleared away. Chen Shi'an's gaze fell on the table. He blinked, stretched out his finger, and stroked the two small characters engraved on the table: "[Strive]".

Hey!
What a coincidence!
This table, turned upside down and engraved with the small characters for "effort," is none other than the desk Wen Zhixia mentioned last night that she used to use.

Chen Shi'an found it amusing, so he placed his hands on the table and gently shook it. The table was very stable, so it seemed that he didn't need to prop it up with legs anymore.

His gaze then fell on the chair next to the table.

Chen Shi'an was stunned.

The chair that comes with this table has a small, one-square-centimeter cut-off corner on the left side of the backrest, revealing the plywood material underneath.

Hey!
It was delivered right to my doorstep?

Isn't this the chipped chair that Lin Mengqiu mentioned she used before?

As time went by, the desks and chairs that the two girls who used to sit at the same desk back then, after being rearranged countless times, were eventually combined and matched together to form a matching set.

Chen Shi'an looked to the left and right, but he couldn't recognize the other set of chairs that didn't have any special markings.

interesting.

Chen Shi'an sat down in the chair that the class monitor had used, and placed his hands on the desk that Xiao Zhi had used. This combination of desk and chair was probably something that even the two girls hadn't expected.

He touched the two engraved characters on the table with his hand, the textured surface sliding across his fingertips.

The carving was rather mediocre. Xiao Zhi said it was carved by some senior student, and no one knows how many years have passed since then.

Chen Shi'an examined it closely for a while. Based on his carving experience, he estimated that it should have been three or four years. Perhaps the senior who carved these two characters had already graduated, or perhaps they were currently in their final year of high school and preparing for the monthly exam.

Although Xiao Zhi hadn't said it, Chen Shi'an was certain that she had touched those two characters.

Chen Shi'an turned around and touched the chipped corner on the chair back again. Fortunately, it was only the surface layer of paint that was missing, and the exposed wood underneath was relatively smooth and wouldn't scratch his clothes.

He was also certain that the class monitor must have touched the chipped corner back then, and if she knew how to snag clothes, she would have definitely replaced the chair.

The two girls are no longer in the classroom of Class 1, Grade 11, but the desks and chairs they used are still there. Chen Shi'an searched for clues on the desks and chairs, as if he could see some traces of time.

I'll talk to them about it later.

……

At 8:50, the exam bell rang.

As with previous arrangements, in accordance with the order and timing of the subjects in the college entrance examination, the first subject was Chinese.

At 8:55, the test papers were handed out.

At exactly nine o'clock, the exam bell rang, and the only sounds in the exam room were the rustling of writing and turning of papers.

There's not much to say about the Chinese subject. Chen Shi'an still read through the articles on the test paper with great interest and glanced at the essay topic.

This is still a prompt-based essay: [In traditional Chinese painting, there is a technique of 'leaving blank space,' which uses empty space to create an atmosphere that blends reality and illusion, leaving room for the viewer's imagination and reflection; in life, appropriate 'leaving blank space' is a way to avoid being overly busy and maintain composure… What associations and thoughts does the above material evoke in you? Please choose your own perspective on the topic of 'The Wisdom of Leaving Blank Space'…]
Hmm, leave blank spaces... I'll just have to decide what to do next.

Chen Shi'an started writing down the questions.

It seems that Teacher Liang wasn't lying this time; the questions appeared to be a bit more difficult than last time.

However, Chinese was Chen Shi'an's forte, so it posed no real obstacle for him. He performed normally on all the exam questions, and for the essay, he used his strength in classical Chinese, producing another long and rambling piece of over 800 words. After finishing the exam, Chen Shi'an put down his pen, looked up at the time, and saw that there were still more than forty minutes left before the exam ended.

He unscrewed the lid of his cup, took a sip of the tea his class monitor had brewed for him, and leisurely checked the questions.

Of all the subjects, Chinese is the one he finds hardest to score, since there are many subjective questions. Even if he answers without any mistakes, he can still lose a point here or a point there.

Chen Shi'an thought to herself, "It's a good thing the class monitor doesn't like Chinese. Otherwise, with her strict personality, if she became a Chinese teacher in the future, the students would probably be overwhelmed by her point deductions..."

After the inspection, Chen Shi'an quickly estimated his score and felt that he should get 140 to 145 points without any problem.

Looking around at the other students taking the exam, I saw that they all had their brows furrowed, frequently glancing at the time. Some, seeing that time was running out, gritted their teeth and left other questions blank, quickly moving on to writing the essay.

It seems this exam was really difficult...

……

After the Chinese exam ended, a chorus of sighs filled the examination hall.

"Holy crap! Wasn't there supposed to be a parent-teacher conference? Was this test that hard?!"

"Oh no!"

"Master Dao, how did you feel about what you did? I remember you got the highest score on your Chinese exam last time, right?"

Chen Shi'an had already grasped the social etiquette everyone observed after exams, and now, in an honest yet uncompromising manner, he sighed and said:
"It's harder than last time."

"I knew it! This exam was really hard!"

The Grade 11 teaching building is closest to the cafeteria, and Grade 11 Class 1 is even closer to the cafeteria.

When Chen Shi'an left the examination room and arrived at the cafeteria, there weren't many people at the window.

Because Wen Zhixia was taking an exam in the laboratory building, Chen Shi'an helped her get food today, and Lin Mengqiu also needed to get food for her.

Chen Shi'an bought three meals for himself. Considering that the two girls had been giving him soy milk and milk every day and even helping him fetch water and carry his bag, he decided to serve them well this time.

When the cafeteria got busier, Wen Zhixia, carrying a bag, came into Chen Shi'an's view.

The girl looked around and saw him waving his hand, so she quickly walked over.

"Ugh——!"

She was all very energetic just a moment ago, but as soon as she saw Chen Shi'an, she turned into a pitiful little idiot.

What's wrong with the little cicada?

"Ugh, this exam was so hard, I feel like I failed again..."

"Did you fail the exam again?"

"This time it's true!"

"Alright, alright, just focus on the rest of your studies and have some dinner."

"Thank you, Taoist priest. How did your exam go?"

"so so."

"The school is really going too far! Parents are about to have their meeting, and they still make the test so difficult."

"Don't worry, if things get tough, we'll all suffer together."

"That's right~"

After Chen Shi'an offered a small word of comfort, Wen Zhixia felt much better; as long as her ranking didn't drop, that was fine.

Wen Zhixia no longer asks Chen Shi'an to change the dishes in advance.

The six food compartments on their plates were arranged opposite each other. When she wanted to eat something, she would just pick it up from Chen Shi'an's plate and eat as she went, just like eating at home.

Chen Shi'an got used to it, and whenever he wanted to eat something, he would take it from Wen Zhixia's plate.

The two of them simultaneously reached for a chicken wing with their chopsticks, then paused in mid-air.

Chen Shi'an's chopsticks tilted and picked up a potato from another compartment.

"you eat."

"whee……"

Wen Zhixia didn't stand on ceremony with him and happily picked up the chicken wing and put it in her mouth.

"Oh, right, Taoist priest."

The girl ate her meal, her voice muffled, "Did you see my table?"

"Yes, I saw it, and I happened to be sitting here. I was just about to tell you."

"Really? What a coincidence!"

Wen Zhixia's eyes lit up; the two were indeed incredibly destined for each other!
"When you use my desk, do you feel inspired?"

"It's good, it works quite well. My table was wobbly last time."

"What about the chair? I don't even remember what the chair I used to use looked like."

Is there a missing corner on the backrest?

"without!"

Wen Zhixia was taken aback and said, "...The chair you're sitting on has a missing corner on the back?"

"Hmm, do you know whose it is?"

"...Your class monitor, I suppose."

Chen Shi'an was somewhat surprised: "How did Xiao Zhi know?"

"She used that missing corner as a marker. Once, after setting up the exam room, the chairs were in disarray, and that's how she found them."

Wen Zhixia remembered it all too well, because the two of them had just switched chairs that time. After the Ice Cube Spirit asked her to switch, she discovered that her chair had a missing corner.

"I see."

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "Now your table and chairs are a set."

"..."

The tables and chairs that were accidentally mixed up back then, which we used to make sure were yours and mine, have now become matching sets.

Wen Zhixia felt something was off.

(End of this chapter)