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

Chapter 46 Taking Out the Trash Together

It felt strange to be walking outside the classroom during the time we should have been in the classroom.

As I walked down the corridor, I was surrounded by the sounds of students reading aloud from each class.

Chen Shi'an and Lin Mengqiu carried trash cans together and walked down the stairs from the left side of the stairwell. They then walked out from the left exit on the first floor and onto the path leading to the north gate of the school.

The school road is very straight. On the right side of the road are three teaching buildings, and on the left side is a wall. Beyond the wall is the outside of the school.

Compared to the bustling main road leading to the school gate, this school path appears exceptionally quiet and peaceful.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the pale golden morning light had already spread over the wall, creating a warm patch of light on the school path;
A row of camphor trees was planted along the wall, and the leaves rustled in the cool breeze.

The lawns on both sides had just been watered, and the tips of the grass blades were covered with glistening water droplets, which reflected tiny rainbows in the morning light.

Occasionally, a few sparrows would fly up from the treetops, then land on the top of the wall, tilting their little heads as if listening to something, then raising one wing to preen their feathers. The sparrows rose and fell, playing and frolicking...

Chen Shi'an and Lin Mengqiu, carrying trash cans together, walked through this morning campus scenery.

"This path is beautiful; I've never walked it before."

Chen Shi'an strolled leisurely, his gaze taking in the surrounding scenery with a relaxed and carefree air. Discovering this corner on campus was no less exciting than finding a stream in the mountains.

"..."

Convinced that he was talking to himself, Lin Mengqiu did not respond to him.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then followed his gaze to the top of the wall, where there were several sparrows. One of them had a grasshopper in its beak but wasn't eating it, which amused the other chubby little sparrows around it, who chirped excitedly.

"That's a white-winged bird. The one carrying the grasshopper is the mother bird, and the others next to her are baby birds that have only been out of the nest for a few days. She's teaching the baby birds how to find food."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu withdrew her gaze from Xiao Que'er and turned it to Chen Shi'an, who was standing to the side.

She was somewhat surprised. He didn't seem to be looking at her at all, so how did he know she was watching the birds, and how did he know she was curious?

Ignore him.

He's probably talking to himself again.

But after taking a couple of steps, she finally couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"

“I see them very often in the mountains. White spiky like to build nests in rock crevices, house holes, and stone crevices. We have their nests at our Taoist temple every year.”

"..."

Lin Mengqiu thought to herself, "Then your Taoist temple must be very dilapidated, otherwise where would you get so many holes and cracks in the walls for the birds to build their nests..."

"Is it called Whitehead?" she asked softly.

"Well, in the local dialect, it's called 'white face' or 'white powder'."

"What about that one?"

She didn't point with her hand, but simply tilted her head slightly in a certain direction before asking.

Chen Shi'an knew exactly which one she was referring to.

"Those are thrushes. They're the noisiest birds, especially in the early morning and evening."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu didn't know how he recognized so many birds.

This was the first time she had heard of "white-skinned thrush," but she had heard of "earth thrush" before, though she never knew what it looked like. Now that he had mentioned it, she knew; she had seen them before, but she had never paid them any attention...

I remember when I was a child, I would go back to my hometown with my dad. He would take me for a walk in the countryside and tell me what kind of bird, tree, and wild fruit this was.

That was her first time going to the countryside, and the first time she had ever seen a cow with her own eyes.

A living cow.

There were yellow cattle and water buffalo. The water buffalo looked intimidating, but Dad said they were the most docile.

When my dad talks about those things, he knows them like the back of his hand. He describes the birds and wild fruits in the local dialect, and his words are full of memories.

She felt that those things were all novel, yet far removed from her own life.

Unexpectedly, among his peers, there were others like Chen Shi'an who knew these things like the back of their hand.

Memories flooded her mind, and Lin Mengqiu organized her thoughts:

"Do you know a kind of fruit that grows in the countryside... red... with individual seeds... and it seems to have thorns... and it tastes sweet and sour..."

It's been so long that she can't remember clearly anymore. She only remembers that, apart from the mosquito bites on her legs, the sweet and sour little fruit was what impressed her the most.

"Prickly Bubble?"

"...!"

Chen Shi'an's words suddenly reminded her of what her father had said to her years ago: "[These are called wild prickly pears. When I was a child, I craved these wild fruits the most. They're only available in March and April every year. Look... these are still green and unripe, the red ones are ripe. The wild prickly pears that are dark in color like these are the sweetest. Try some...]"
“Prickly bubble…so that’s what it’s called…” Lin Mengqiu nodded, talking to herself.

"Have you tried it?" Chen Shi'an asked.

"Ah."

The girl was quiet, answering only what was asked and rarely taking the initiative to extend the conversation.

She talked to him for so long, probably because they weren't in the classroom. There were only the two of them on the school path, the space was open, the morning breeze was refreshing, and it was a rare moment of comfort.

Even Lin Mengqiu herself didn't notice that this morning, when she went to take out the trash with Chen Shi'an, she walked slower than ever before when she went out with other classmates... except for the part of the road right after leaving the classroom.

It was already class time. Lin Mengqiu realized.

It must have been his slow, dawdling pace that led her astray. After all, they were carrying the trash can together, and he was so slow, what could she do?

His grades are already so bad, and he still doesn't think about going back to the classroom to study... Never mind, I'll deduct one point from him first!
After dawdling for a while, the two finally arrived at the north gate of the school.

Compared to the main gate, the north gate is much smaller, and students and teachers usually refer to it as the back gate.

In daily management, the back door is always closed, and only transport vehicles, such as those delivering vegetables to the canteen or garbage trucks, are allowed to pass through.

The garbage dump is next to the north gate. The school produces a lot of garbage every day, so the garbage dump cannot be set up in the teaching area. There are two sanitation workers shoveling garbage here. Some cardboard and plastic cans that can be sold as waste are specially picked out by them as extra income in addition to their wages.

The school has designated people to clean it up every morning and evening, so it's certainly not that dirty or messy, but it is, after all, a garbage dump. If you get close, you can naturally smell a distinctive sour odor in the air, and you can see the traces of garbage water seeping out of the cement floor from a distance.

Lin Mengqiu didn't cover her nose with her hand, but her brows furrowed unconsciously as she consciously began to hold her breath.

Chen Shi'an seemed oblivious. Seeing that Lin Mengqiu didn't speak, he didn't take on any more work. The two of them carried the trash can to the trash pit, lifted the trash can together, and emptied the trash into the pit.

wow-

A jumble of trash fell into the bin: snack wrappers, crumpled paper, beverage bottles, empty notebooks, and some jerk had dumped half-eaten instant noodles into it. The curly noodles, mixed with broth, dripped down the rim of the bin, taking forever to drain completely…

Lin Mengqiu's face turned pale.

Chen Shi'an admired her quite a bit—he knew that Lin Mengqiu had been holding her breath since they were far from the garbage dump. She didn't take it for granted that she was a girl and let go of his hand to let him empty the garbage. Instead, she held her breath until her face turned blue, determined to empty the garbage with him. What kind of spirit was that?

Seeing that she was about to die if she didn't breathe, Chen Shi'an finally took the initiative and said, "I'll do it."

He tugged at the bucket, but the little hand on the other side was still gripping it tightly and wouldn't let go.

Lin Mengqiu finally couldn't hold it in any longer until the last drop of instant noodle soup had drained from the bucket.

The usually demure girl transformed into a little rabbit, hopping and skipping like she was on hopscotch, deftly dodging the traces of sewage that had spilled from the garbage dump onto the concrete. In the blink of an eye, she had reached a spot with fresh air, where she could finally breathe deeply...

Chen Shi'an skillfully turned the trash can upside down, grabbed the can body and tapped it against the edge of the trash pit until the last bit of trash stuck to the bottom of the can fell off.

"Auntie, there are a lot of beverage bottles here."

"Oh! Okay, thank you, young man!"

Lin Mengqiu, who had been standing to the side like a little whale taking a breath, came back after holding her breath again.

She took the other pull ring from the trash can, and because she couldn't speak while holding her breath, she pointed to the faucet next to the trash can.

"Do you want the tub washed?" Chen Shi'an asked.

“…” Lin Mengqiu nodded.

Then the two of them carried the bucket over to the water tap.

The faucet was connected to a flexible water hose. Chen Shi'an turned on the switch and was surprised to find that the water flow was quite strong. The flexible water hose hissed and sprayed water, gushing out like an out-of-control snake.

Lin Mengqiu, who was standing to the side, was startled and quickly hopped away like a little rabbit. Fortunately, the water didn't splash on her. She held her breath and didn't say anything, but just glared fiercely at Chen Shi'an.

"Sorry, did I spray any on you? Let me do it, let me do it..."

"..."

Lin Mengqiu finally didn't come forward again this time. After all, there was only one water pipe, and someone always had to wash the bucket.

Chen Shi'an's movements were very skilled. The huge trash can seemed like an obedient little object in his hands. He used a hose to clean the inside of the trash can, then turned the can over and cleaned the outside as well.

Lin Mengqiu was quite surprised. Could it be that his technique was really amazing? Just a simple rinse and even the old grime in the bucket was completely removed?
Before she could figure it out, Chen Shi'an's words brought her back to her senses—

Would you like to wash your hands?

"..."

The girl stepped forward again, bent over slightly, and extended her two small, white, and delicate hands.

Chen Shi'an turned down the water pressure, and a gentle stream of water flowed from the hose, landing on her hands.

Lin Mengqiu scrubbed her hands clean, and the cool water made her feel very comfortable. She imagined that the bacteria sticking to her hands had been washed away, and finally, her furrowed brows quietly relaxed.

After washing her hands, she intended to return the favor by helping Chen Shi'an wash his hands with the hose, but Chen Shi'an didn't need her help. He took the hose with one hand and the other with the other, and washed his hands clean.

Lin Mengqiu subtly withdrew her small hand that was stretched out in mid-air.

There's no chemistry between them.

When she reached out her hand again, she was holding a tissue.

"Thank you, squad leader."

Chen Shi'an smiled as she took the tissue, wiped her hands, and then wrapped the tissue around the handle of the trash can, just like she had done.

"Did you go back?" he asked.

"..."

Lin Mengqiu nodded.

After leaving the polluted air zone of the garbage dump, she, who had been holding back her anger for a long time, finally uttered a complete sentence:

"Remember to come early next time you're on duty."

"understood--"

(End of this chapter)