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

Chapter 203 First, win the chess championship.

With the women's 4x100m relay race concluded, this morning's competitions came to an end.

Although Class 5 and Class 11 finished second and third in their group in the women's relay race, they unfortunately failed to make it into the top eight in the overall rankings and missed the finals.

However, Wen Zhixia was quite satisfied with the result. Among so many teams, her and Xiaoyan's group of four best friends still managed to get ninth place in the preliminary round, which really proved that top students only know how to study.

Most importantly, she won against the Ice Spirit in the group stage, which made the girl extremely happy!
Lin Mengqiu seemed much more depressed. It didn't matter who she lost to, but she just happened to lose to Annoying Chan by a tiny bit. She should have just signed up for the women's 400 meters or the women's 1500 meters back then, and she could have left Chan far behind.

In previous years' school sports meets, students from academically strong classes were mostly just there to make an appearance, only showing up in the preliminary rounds.

This year was an exception. Under Chen Shi'an's leadership, the Class 5 boys' 4x100m relay team not only made it to tomorrow's finals, but also broke the school sports meet record. This left many sports students stunned. They quickly checked the list of participants and saw that Dao Ye from Class 5 only participated in the relay and the 3000m. The other athletes breathed a sigh of relief...

Exercising together is a great way to strengthen relationships.

After the morning's competition, Chen Shi'an didn't have lunch with Wen Zhixia. Xu Zihan treated everyone to a celebratory meal, inviting Dao Ye, Zhuo Ge, and Yu Ze to join them. As a result, a total of twelve boys showed up.

"What's going on? I heard Zihan is treating everyone today?! Why didn't she tell Dad?!"

"Damn it! My meal card doesn't have enough money! You guys use your own cards!"

Twelve boys sat at two large tables in the middle of the cafeteria.

Although Zihan didn't treat everyone, she still thoughtfully went to the convenience store next door to buy two large bottles of Coke and brought over more than ten disposable cups.

"Pour the Taoist priest a Coke first! He deserves the most credit today!"

"Cheers, cheers!"

A group of people were making a lot of noise in the cafeteria, attracting the curiosity of many bystanders.

Chen Shi'an sat amidst the noisy crowd, the icy touch of the cola still lingering on his fingertips.

Having cultivated Taoism on the mountain since childhood, I was accompanied by the chirping of insects and birds, the morning bell and evening drum. My meals were mostly simple porridge and side dishes. There were only my master and the fat cat at the table, and I spoke in a soft voice. I had never seen such a bustling scene before.

The laughter and chatter of a large group of boys, mixed with the crisp sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering in the cafeteria, enveloped him like a vibrant tide.

Chen Shi'an felt a little dazed, yet inexplicably felt a sense of belonging, as if he had truly integrated into the youthful campus life that should belong to his age.

Wen Zhixia also went to celebrate with Xiao Yan and the other two, and afterwards she treated each of them to an ice cream.

Even Lin Mengqiu, who usually eats alone, accepted Qiu Yufu's and Zheng Yining and Xie Mengxuan's invitation to have lunch together today.

……

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we finally returned to the classroom we had been away from all morning.

When Chen Shi'an saw that Lin Mengqiu's seat was empty, he thought she had gone back to her dormitory to rest. However, not long after, Lin Mengqiu and Qiu Yufu walked into the classroom through the back door after finishing their meal.

Chen Shi'an stood up and made way for the girl who squeezed in. He smiled as he watched her move in.

"Did the class monitor go out to eat with Yu Fu and the others today?"

"Ah."

"I thought you went back to your dorm for a nap."

"Read a book."

That's what she said, but the book Lin Mengqiu took out seemed more like a decoration.

After spending the morning outside, the class monitor finally sat down in his seat, looking extremely comfortable and relaxed, as if he didn't want to move at all.

After a while, Lin Mengqiu finally started reading the book on the table. After all, today was still a school day. Although the school sports meet was held, she hadn't read a book all morning and had only played around. She felt a little guilty for some reason.

Whether you actually read it or just go through the motions, taking a little time to look at a book makes you feel more at ease.

That's why they always get first place; they're more talented at learning than others, and they work even harder.

There was plenty of time for lunch break, and Chen Shi'an was already lying on the table, resting his head on his arm, looking at Lin Mengqiu.

Lin Mengqiu noticed his gaze, but pretended not to see it and continued reading her book.

Two minutes later, the girl couldn't hold back any longer, turned to look at him, and said, seemingly a little embarrassed and annoyed:

"Why are you looking at me?"

"How long does it take for the class monitor to concentrate on his studies?"

"...I can't concentrate when you're looking at me."

"Oh."

"×!"

Chen Shi'an smiled and asked, "Is the class monitor free tomorrow night?"

"what happened?"

"Sister Wanyin said that you and Xiaozhi should come to her house for hot pot tomorrow night."

"……available."

"Does that mean you agree?"

"Ah."

"Okay, Sister Wanyin said she'll be free to come watch our competition tomorrow. After the competition, let's go grocery shopping together."

"Ah."

"Aren't you going to sleep yet, class monitor?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mengqiu finally gave up her idea of ​​reading the book again, as she simply couldn't concentrate!

If you disturb my concentration on studying again, I'll move you to a different seat!
The girl closed the book in her hand, took out her own nap pillow, and lay down like Chen Shi'an.

However, Chen Shi'an was not asleep yet, and she was too embarrassed to turn her face to him like he did, so she simply turned her face to the wall.

"Monitor."

"……Um?"

"Aren't you going to take your hair down? Sleeping with your hair tied up like that must be very uncomfortable, with your scalp feeling tight."

"...Don't demolish it."

"Take it apart, I'll reassemble it for you later."

"..."

Hearing what Chen Shi'an said, the class monitor, who had been lying on his seat, finally moved.

She didn't get up, but just lay there with her face turned towards the wall, just like before. But she raised her small hand and groped around in her hair bun at the back of her head, finding the bamboo hairpin. Then, her delicate fingers grasped one end of the hairpin and gently pulled it out of her hair.

Her jet-black, smooth hair instantly came apart.

It spread over her shoulders and back, like a small blanket, covering half of her body.

The girl's little hand twitched. She picked up the hairpin, looked at it for a while, and then groped around, reaching her little hand into the table to put the hairpin away.

She tightened her grip on the pillow and continued sleeping.

For a while, Chen Shi'an's voice was not heard.

Lin Mengqiu quietly turned her face towards him again, only to find that Chen Shi'an had his eyes closed and had fallen asleep sometime earlier...

……

The weather this season is neither too hot nor too cold, neither too dry nor too humid, making it very comfortable.

After a midday break, Yunqi No.1 Middle School returned to its morning bustle.

The afternoon competitions mainly consisted of the finals of some field events, including men's and women's high jump, long jump, triple jump, and shot put.

Since it's the final round, there's basically nothing left for my classmates to do.

However, it was quite interesting to watch the high-level competition among the sports students. Just like in the morning, Chen Shi'an became a street urchin, wandering around wherever there was a match to watch.

Unlike other students who cared about the contestants' scores, Chen Shi'an focused on the contestants' mental state, expressions, and reactions before, during, and after the competition.

Watching them feel frustrated when they make mistakes, watching them take deep breaths when they are nervous, watching them beam with pride when they win... a thousand people, a thousand faces, passionate youth, this is much more interesting to Chen Shi'an than watching the athletes' results.

In addition to the main competition events, the school's chess club also held a chess tournament on the playground. Anyone could participate, including solving endgame puzzles and main competition matches. The champion of the main competition would also receive a set of chess pieces as a prize.

Chen Shi'an has been admitted.

Ten minutes later, he advanced from the round of 32 to the round of 16.

Ten minutes later, he advanced from the round of 16 to the quarterfinals.

When the classmates noticed that Dao Ye was playing chess and called their friends over to cheer him on, Chen Shi'an was already playing in the championship match.

His opponent was Mr. Zeng, the head of the senior year group.

Teacher Zeng is also a loyal chess enthusiast with excellent chess skills. He even won the Yunqi City Championship.

But when facing Chen Shi'an, Teacher Zeng's expression turned serious. With so many students watching around the chessboard, he couldn't make his next move, which made him anxious and he kept wiping his sweat...

Chen Shi'an sat opposite him, and like Teacher Zeng, he was also quietly looking at the chessboard, but he had already deduced more than ten moves ahead.

"Shi'an, you played a good game of chess. Let me think about this move a little longer..."

"Teacher Zeng, don't rush. There's no need to be fast when playing chess. Just think it over slowly. I'm thinking about it too."

"well……"

There were also teachers watching from the sidelines, and Principal Lin was also watching.

"Old Zeng, this won't do! I think we should just let Shi'an have this cannon!"

Lin Ming chuckled, a look of schadenfreude on his face. He also played chess, but he couldn't beat Teacher Zeng. Seeing the arrogant old Zeng being forced to this point by Shi An, the old principal was overjoyed and came over specifically to see how Shi An would utterly defeat him.

Teacher Zeng was convinced, thinking to himself, "Principal Lin, don't just make pronouncements based on a spectator's observations!"
Is this a case of losing a cannon?! My car is about to be stolen!

"No one can surrender in the championship!" Lin Xiao said to the referee.

Teacher Zeng: "??"

Lin Mengqiu and Wen Zhixia were also attracted by the commotion, and the two girls stood behind Chen Shi'an.

They didn't know much about chess, only the general moves. Looking at the chessboard, Teacher Zeng had two more pieces than the stinky Taoist priest, so why did Teacher Zeng look so serious?

Wen Zhixia reached out her little hand and poked Chen Shi'an's back.

Chen Shi'an turned around, and the girl giggled and whispered to him, "Good luck, Taoist!"

Lin Mengqiu, who was standing to the side, smiled and her lips fell flat.

A little while later, the class monitor also reached out and poked Chen Shi'an's back with his finger.

Chen Shi'an turned around and looked in Wen Zhixia's direction again.

Wen Zhixia paused for a moment, then smiled and whispered, "Taoist priest, keep it up!"

Lin Mengqiu: "××××××!"

I poked it! I poked it! Look at me!

And those annoying cicadas, did you poke them? You should answer for that!
The class monitor was almost driven mad...

As more and more students and teachers gathered, Teacher Zeng, who had been thinking about this move for more than ten minutes, had no choice but to grit her teeth and make her move.

Just moments before, Chen Shi'an had been saying that "you don't need to be fast when playing chess," but the very next second after Teacher Zeng moved a piece, he stretched out his finger and moved the chess piece along the board.

The two players suddenly started playing faster, almost immediately after each other's move. After a few moves, a series of quick exchanges of pieces broke the deadlock on the board.

Lin Mengqiu and Wen Zhixia were dazzled by the sight. Counting the pieces on the board, they realized the stinky Taoist priest and Teacher Zeng had the same number of pieces, but…

wrong!

Teacher Zeng, where did your "居" go?! Where are the two big "居" characters?!
Even with a slight advantage in the number of other pieces (two knights and a cannon against Chen Shi'an's single knight and cannon), the situation is clearly one-sided.

After a fierce battle lasting more than fifty minutes, Chen Shi'an defeated Teacher Zeng and won the chess championship.

"You flatter me, Teacher Zeng."

"..."

Teacher Zeng was so tired that she slumped in her chair and gave him a thumbs up...

Teacher Zeng may not know that it took more than fifty minutes in total, and he probably spent at least forty minutes of that time... Little Master Chen never hesitated when making a move.

Chen Shi'an happily accepted the chess set as the champion's prize.

The quality is quite good, and it's perfect for the classroom. We can use it to play flip chess with our classmates when we have nothing to do.

There are many variations of chess, such as Flip Chess, which involves adding an element of luck and randomness, allowing even beginners to have a great time playing against experts.

"We won! We are the champions! Daoye brought our class our first championship!"

The students from Class 5 present applauded and cheered.

Who says a chess champion isn't a champion?

(End of this chapter)