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

Chapter 21 My destiny hasn't arrived yet.
No wonder when I watched Journey to the West as a child, the master said that the most difficult thing for Tang Sanzang was the challenge of the Women's Kingdom.

At that time, Chen Shi'an did not understand, but now he has gained some understanding.

As for whether the challenge in the Women's Kingdom was truly difficult or not, only Tang Sanzang himself knows.

Now that Li Wanyin had helped him download WeChat, she had distanced herself again, and Chen Shi'an had finally regained his initial ease.

Even without help, Chen Shi'an could have figured out how to connect to WiFi and register for WeChat on his own after some trial and error, but Li Wanyin's enthusiastic assistance saved him a lot of trouble.

Soon, Chen Shi'an registered a personal WeChat account, and his WeChat name was simply "Chen Shi'an".

"Aren't you going to change your profile picture?" Li Wanyin asked.

"How to change?"

"Click here to change it."

Chen Shi'an's phone didn't have many other pictures, only some photos of Taoist temples, flowers, and scenery he had taken on the mountain. After thinking for a moment, he chose a sunrise photo he had taken as his profile picture.

Unexpectedly, Li Wanyin couldn't help but chuckle when she saw it.

"What are you laughing at, Sister Wanyin?"

"Haha, it's nothing, it's just that I sometimes feel your lifestyle is really like an old man's."

"what?"

Chen Shi'an didn't understand. He thought the sunrise photo was great! It would be nice as a profile picture, conveying a sense of tranquility, lofty ideals, and peace.

"Then add me quickly, I want to be your first friend on WeChat!"

Li Wanyin seemed very expectant, recalling that her first WeChat friends were her parents. At that time, she had just started high school, and her parents bought her a mobile phone, so she also had her own QQ and WeChat.

As for whether she had ever been someone's first friend on WeChat, Li Wanyin felt that she probably hadn't, but now this opportunity was right in front of her.

"How to add it?"

"Click here to scan the QR code, or enter your phone number and WeChat ID... Um, please write down my phone number, 1890812..."

As Li Wanyin read the number aloud, Chen Shi'an entered the number and clicked search. A WeChat user with the nickname "[Little Echo]" appeared on the screen.

"Is that little echo you?"

"...Could you please not call people by their nicknames in front of them? It's so embarrassing!"

"It's you. Let me see, the signature... Life is a poem that unfolds slowly, with subtle echoes hidden in the wind... Hey hey hey?"

Before Chen Shi'an could finish reading, Li Wanyin snatched the phone away. When Chen Shi'an looked at her again, the woman's pretty face was slightly red, and she was full of embarrassment.

"Don't read your signature in front of people! It's been so many years since I last changed it!"

"Good good..."

Chen Shi'an didn't understand these online social etiquette rules, but he found them quite interesting. Could this be a side of Wan Yin's inner self?

He smiled, took back his phone, and sent a friend request.

Li Wanyin also took out her phone.

Her phone was a bit better than Chen Shi'an's old-fashioned phone, but not by much. Even with a phone case, it showed obvious signs of use, and it had more apps installed than Chen Shi'an's phone, making it incredibly laggy.

Currently strapped for cash, Li Wanyin has no plans to get a new phone for the time being. However, she has set a goal for herself: once she receives her first paycheck from her official job, she will spend about 1,500 yuan to get a new phone!
"Sister Wanyin, please approve it quickly."

"Coming, coming, don't rush me, wait for my phone to come first."

"..."

Li Wanyin finally accepted Chen Shi'an's friend request. The user named [Little Echo] was now in his friend list, the first and currently the only one.

'Chen Shi'an' sent a smiling face emoji.

'Little Echo' replied with a [panda head with a wicked smile].

The young Taoist priest couldn't help but laugh at the exaggerated panda head emoji in the chat box, and asked curiously, "Where did you find this emoji, Sister Wanyin?"

"Save it and you're good to go!"

"So that's it..."

Chen Shi'an found it amusing and saved the meme.

They exchanged an emoji, which was enough to say hello after adding each other on WeChat. They were sitting face-to-face, not so bored as to actually chat on WeChat.

How many friends does Sister Wanyin have on WeChat?

"Hmm... let me see, there are more than 170!"

"so much?"

"Not many, mostly teachers, classmates, friends and relatives."

"Are there any couples inside?" Chen Shi'an asked curiously.

"You Taoists actually care about this?"

"Even Taoist priests have curiosity."

Li Wanyin felt embarrassed, but since Chen Shi'an was much younger than her, she didn't think too much about it and said frankly, "No, I was busy studying when I was in school, and now that I've graduated, I'm busy looking for a job. I don't have time to date. My mom is even urging me to."

"Then it seems I'm not in a hurry anymore. I imagine Sister Wanyin must have quite a few suitors."

When people who are still single at a certain age are asked about their love life, their first reaction is to panic. Li Wanyin was no exception. She pretended to be mature and asked in return, "What about you? I heard that Taoist priests can get married and have children, right?"

Chen Shi'an chuckled and said, "My time hasn't come yet."

"Wow, what a cunning answer!"

Inspired, Li Wanyin decided to steal his answer, just as he had stolen her emoji. She would then say the same thing whenever someone asked her that question in the future.

The two tacitly skipped the topic of relationships, which neither of them was good at, and continued to study WeChat.

What is the purpose of this WeChat Moments?

"That's right, you can share your daily life on it, and your friends can see it, but nowadays many people don't post on WeChat Moments anymore."

"I see……"

"……What are you doing?"

"Take a look at Sister Wanyin's WeChat Moments." "..."

Can you please stop doing things that make people feel embarrassed in front of others?!
Good thing...

"Huh, only showing Moments from the last three days?"

"Hmph, you can set the viewing scope. I haven't posted on WeChat Moments in ages."

"It's a pity, I was also saying I wanted to see how Sister Wanyin posts on her WeChat Moments."

"I won't let you see it~"

After spending half a day together, Li Wanyin had gained some understanding of Chen Shi'an. He was indeed different from most people; he rarely beat around the bush, saying what he meant, yet he was very good at maintaining appropriate boundaries. It was precisely this frankness and tactful way of speaking that made people feel exceptionally relaxed when they were with him.

"Can money be transferred between people on WeChat?" Chen Shi'an asked.

"Yes, you can link your card to it and pay with WeChat by scanning the code. Do you have Alipay?"

"Yes, it's my first time using WeChat, so I'm not used to it yet."

Chen Shi'an thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll transfer the monthly rent to your WeChat account, and we'll split the utilities (water, electricity, gas) equally."

"Hey, didn't Uncle Lin say he'd take half from you?"

“He refuses to accept mine, so Sister Wanyin can give it to him on my behalf.”

"Who is Uncle Lin to you... He's been so good to you," Li Wanyin asked curiously.

"Uncle Lin and my master are old acquaintances, and he has indeed taken good care of me. However, there are some things that are within my ability, and I still hope to do them myself."

"Oh, okay. Um... I'm a girl, so I might use more water and electricity. I'll pay a little more for the water and electricity then."

"No need, that would only make things more complicated. Let's just split it evenly."

Seeing Chen Shi'an's insistence, Li Wanyin didn't hesitate any longer and nodded, saying, "Well, if you ever need my help, just let me know! We're roommates, after all! By the way, did you write down my phone number? Sometimes my phone malfunctions and WeChat might disconnect, so if you need to contact me urgently, just call me."

"Didn't we just read it? I remember."

"...Really? You memorized it after just one reading? I even have to look at the package pickup code several times..."

"1890812...right?"

"...!!"

She had only read the number once, and after so much time had passed due to interruptions in the conversation, Li Wanyin was still surprised that Chen Shi'an could still blurt it out. The older woman was astonished for a while before finally managing to stammer out:
"Brilliant."

……

Li Wanyin went back to her room, and Chen Shi'an also took a change of clothes to take a shower.

Perhaps this is the norm for shared housing: although living under the same roof, most of the time, everyone is doing their own thing in their own room.

Li Wanyin has a laptop, which, like her phone, is slow. Right now, she's busy refreshing her resume and submitting applications, or checking her email for new interview invitations. Beside her desk are several books—studying materials for her to pursue a bachelor's degree after finding a stable job.

In today's environment where bachelor's degree holders are everywhere and associate degree holders are practically worthless, she had neither work experience nor connections or a formal education. When choosing a major, she lacked experience and didn't select a skill-intensive program. Instead, she listened to her relatives and chose business administration, a major with difficult job prospects (it sounds prestigious, but employers don't even consider associate degree holders when hiring for that major). The difficulty of finding a job is self-evident.

Because the air conditioner wasn't on, Li Wanyin didn't close the door. When Chen Shi'an came out after taking a shower, he saw her sitting in front of the computer from behind.

The fan beside her made her hair sway, and she hadn't moved from the chair since she started taking a shower.

Compared to the beginning, his back now seemed to carry a heavier weight.

Chen Shi'an didn't go inside, but asked from the doorway, "Is Sister Wanyin looking for a job?"

"Mmm." Li Wanyin turned around. "You've finished showering?"

"I'm done washing, go hang the clothes up to dry."

Chen Shi'an wasn't wearing a Taoist robe this time; he was wearing a very retro-style undershirt, similar to a T-shirt but looser, with a row of buttons down the middle. This was his most common outfit when he wasn't wearing a Taoist robe.

"You hand-wash all your clothes?"

"Yes, all I have is a Taoist robe, and I can wash it quickly by hand. How's the job search going?"

"Hmm...not very good."

"Keep it up, I believe Sister Wanyin will find a good job."

"Hmm! What time are you going to school tomorrow?"

"It's around six o'clock, right? Sister Wanyin still has to go to her part-time job, doesn't she?"

"Yes, but we have to wait for the mall to open. We can get there at ten o'clock."

"Looks like I'll be heading out first tomorrow."

Chen Shi'an glanced at the clock hanging in the living room; it was already ten o'clock at night.

"I'm going to sleep now, Sister Wanyin, please get some rest."

"Okok good night."

Li Wanyin didn't ask him why he went to bed so early. For modern people, saying "I'm going to sleep" is the subtext of "I'm going to bed to play on my phone."

Unfortunately, Li Wanyin guessed wrong this time; Chen Shi'an really was going to sleep.

Even though he had arrived in the city with good signal and had WiFi at home, Chen Shi'an still took out his phone very few times.

Chen Shi'an turned off the living room light and returned to his room.

The black cat followed him in, jumped onto the bed, and nestled beside his pillow.

"I examine myself three times a day, Fei Mo, have you reflected on your actions today?"

"Meow."

After turning off the lights, Chen Shi'an lay on the bed, with a new bamboo mat under him, a new quilt cover his stomach, and a new pillow under his head.

He didn't turn on the air conditioner, and the windows were open. The wind blowing into the room was completely different from that in the mountains, and even the night sky outside the window was different.

Reflecting on what he had seen, heard, thought, and felt today, and thinking about tomorrow, Chen Shi'an's eyelids gradually grew heavy.

My first long journey in life has gone relatively smoothly so far.

I should send a message to my master in a dream to let him know I'm safe and sound...

(End of this chapter)