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

Chapter 51: You can also ask me if you have any math problems.

Wen Zhixia's words greatly exceeded Chen Shi'an's expectations.

Judging from her tone, he guessed that Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu must know each other.

I never expected that the two of them had actually been deskmates.

Everyone has curiosity, and Chen Shi'an, a seeker of knowledge, was no exception.

On one side is my good friend, and on the other side is my good deskmate. I thought the only relationship between the two of them was with me, but I never expected that they actually had a time as deskmates.

"You two were deskmates? That means you were in the same class. Doesn't the school separate students into arts and sciences tracks?"

"Well, we weren't divided into subjects from the beginning. We were divided in the second semester of our first year of high school. In the first semester, we didn't have subject divisions. Everyone had to study nine subjects. We were all in Class 1 of the first year of high school. Before we were divided into subjects, Class 1 was the top class, with the sixty students who had the highest scores in the high school entrance exam."

"So that's it..."

Chen Shi'an couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of fate. Not only did he become friends with Wen Zhixia, but he also became her deskmate.

Although he knew that Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu had been deskmates, Chen Shi'an still found it amazing. After all, the two girls had completely different personalities and interests, and he really couldn't imagine what it would be like if they sat together...

Perhaps because his own school life was too lacking, when Lin Mengqiu first arrived in Class 5, he sat alone. He subconsciously thought that the class monitor had never had a deskmate.

Before Chen Shi'an could ask a question, Wen Zhixia asked him curiously first:
"How come you're sitting at the same table as Lin Mengqiu? I heard she always sits alone, right?"

"It was arranged by the teacher."

"Oh oh..."

A girl who can rank first in the liberal arts exam is certainly not stupid. Thinking that Chen Shi'an, who has zero academic foundation, was able to transfer to Yunqi No. 1 Middle School, she must have connections in the school. Chen Shi'an had mentioned before that it was Principal Lin who arranged it. Considering the relationship between Principal Lin and Lin Mengqiu, she immediately understood.

"You...knew Lin Mengqiu before?" Wen Zhixia asked tentatively.

"No, we only got to know each other after we became deskmates."

"That's it..."

The girl blinked. When she heard that Chen Shi'an and Lin Mengqiu were strangers, not relatives, and not childhood sweethearts, she couldn't explain why, but she inexplicably felt relieved.

"And what about you guys?" Chen Shi'an asked curiously.

"We only got to know each other after we became deskmates."

"I'm quite surprised. I didn't expect you and the class monitor to know each other."

"Our entrance exam scores were all very high, so it wasn't unusual for us to be in the same class."

"Well, I just enrolled and I'm not familiar with all this class and subject division stuff."

Wen Zhixia continued eating her noodles without looking up, and casually asked, "How was it sitting next to your class monitor?"

Chen Shi'an also chatted while eating: "It's great. The class monitor is good at studying and is also very kind-hearted. Yesterday, she lent me a lot of math workbooks. I can ask her if I don't understand something in math."

"..."

Wen Zhixia stopped eating her noodles and looked at Chen Shi'an in front of her; his expression didn't seem to be lying.

But... how come the Lin Mengqiu he described is... the same person as the Lin Mengqiu in her memory...?
Noticing the girl's silence, Chen Shi'an looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wen Zhixia snapped out of her daze and smiled, "Nothing much. Lin Mengqiu is really, really good at math. It would be great if she were willing to teach you!"

Chen Shi'an blinked and asked again, "So how did you feel when you were sitting next to the class monitor?"

"She's my deskmate. She's good at academics, especially math and science. She's also very goal-oriented, principled, and has a good sense of boundaries. She's usually quiet, smart, and has great self-control. She's quite admirable."

When someone is asked to describe another person, they usually think about it a little. However, Wen Zhixia spoke almost without thinking. Moreover, the characteristics of Lin Mengqiu that she described were objective characteristics that Chen Shi'an had a deep understanding of.

From the conversation and atmosphere, Chen Shi'an could sense the subtle relationship between Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu as "deskmates".

If he had to edit out Wen Zhixia's description of this relationship, perhaps the first sentence would best represent her personal assessment of it:
[My deskmate].

Seeing that Wen Zhixia seemed reserved about their deskmate relationship, Chen Shi'an didn't press the matter. As for asking Lin Mengqiu... forget about it! Even Xiao Zhixia wouldn't say those things, so why would the class monitor care?

When Chen Shi'an first heard that Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu knew each other, he thought it was something to be happy about. Friends of friends are friends, which is a rare and fortunate thing.

But now, caught in the middle of the ambiguous relationship between the two girls, Chen Shi'an felt as if he were walking on thin ice. It seemed that learning how to handle complex interpersonal relationships was a necessary lesson for him in his new life...

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

Perhaps seeing Chen Shi'an's silent contemplation, Wen Zhixia felt flustered as if she had given something away.

Relationships between people are not simply good or bad; they are often complex and subtle. Chen Shi'an certainly understood this. It was perfectly normal for two girls with such different personalities not to be friends. Since they could sit together peacefully as deskmates for a whole semester, their relationship couldn't be considered too bad.

Chen Shi'an looked up at the girl's pretty face and chuckled, "It's nothing. It seems you two have a good relationship; you're just saying compliments."

"..."

Even the little cicadas wanted to turn into mosquitoes and bite him. That stinky Taoist priest! So sarcastic! Points deducted! Points must be deducted!!
Huh? Who did they learn this from...?

"Hey Xiaozhi, I have a question I'm really curious about." Chen Shi'an calmed down and asked while eating his noodles.

"Tell me, what's the problem?"

"Didn't you just say that you didn't specialize in any subjects in the first semester of your first year of high school? Who were the top students back then?"

"Sometimes it's me, sometimes it's her."

"she?"

"Who else in your class has such good grades besides your class monitor?"

"You're really amazing, getting first place in nine subjects."

"Humph~"

Wen Zhixia was pleased with Chen Shi'an's praise. Instead of praising Lin Mengqiu, he praised her instead.
"I don't usually get first place. I'm a little weak in math and science, and your class monitor is a little weak in other subjects. Anyway, we're about evenly matched. We can't even say for sure who will get first place."

Who takes more?

"Half and half."

"You remember it so clearly."

"........."

Oh no, it seems we've exposed something again!

Wen Zhixia pursed her lips and ignored him.

It's not like she's the only one who remembers it so clearly. She doesn't believe Lin Mengqiu didn't remember it either. She knows all too well how competitive that woman is!
"So, who got first place in your last exam?" Chen Shi'an asked with amusement.

Wen Zhixia calmed down and said in a relaxed manner, "We were both first. In the last exam, there was no overall ranking, only the ranking of each subject. I was first in humanities, and your class monitor was first in science."

"So you also have scores for each subject, right? Who got a higher score?" Like watching someone play chess on the side of the road, Chen Shi'an was also very curious about who won the final victory in that academic battle between the two outstanding students.

"You're really curious!"

"I am very curious. Everyone would be curious about something so youthful and passionate."

"A draw."

"Ok?"

"If we include all nine subjects, our scores are the same."

Thinking of this, Wen Zhixia still felt a little regretful. Ever since the division of arts and sciences, no opponent like Lin Mengqiu had ever been able to shake her position as number one, and she herself had failed to ultimately determine the winner in that battle...

Although she and Lin Mengqiu were not enemies, they understood each other well. Wen Zhixia believed that Lin Mengqiu must have secretly calculated each other's total scores across nine subjects, just like her.

It wasn't surprising that Chen Shi'an and Lin Mengqiu became deskmates. The only thing Wen Zhixia couldn't understand was, based on her understanding of Chen Shi'an, could Chen Shi'an's claims of being "kind-hearted" and "tutoring in math" really be true...? What was she up to...?

"What a pity," Chen Shi'an sighed after hearing this.

"What's there to regret?"

"It's a pity we don't have to study the nine subjects now, otherwise with me here, you wouldn't need to compete for first place."

"what?"

Wen Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant and chuckled: "You're so arrogant! You clearly don't have any foundation at all!"

"I'm learning, I'm learning. Have you finished eating? Are you done eating and leaving?"

"Okay, let's go~"

The two of them, each carrying their empty bowls, got up and left the cafeteria.

They went up the stairs together, and just as Chen Shi'an was about to enter Class 5, Wen Zhixia suddenly said to him:
"If you don't understand something in math, you can ask me, or you can ask me in Chinese."

"..."

"I'm leaving, bye-bye!"

The girl went upstairs with a thud.

Chen Shi'an stood there for a long time.

Alright, I'll just have to learn it myself...

If there's anything I really can't figure out, I'll ask Sister Wanyin if she'll help...

(End of this chapter)