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

Chapter 78 Family Photo of Unit 901

The city's vibrancy is even more palpable at night.

As dusk settles, both banks of the Xijiang River are already illuminated by dazzling lights.

The river breeze, carrying the lingering warmth of the day and a touch of coolness from the moisture, gently brushed against the hair of passersby.

Chen Shian, Li Wanyin, and the cat following them at a distance were strolling through the city night scene.

"It's so much cooler by the river!"

Li Wanyin couldn't help but take a deep breath, stop in her tracks, and lean against the stone railing by the river. The river breeze blew her hair, which swayed beside her cheeks. She gazed at the dazzling lights on the opposite bank with a mix of reverie and longing.

Chen Shi'an also stopped beside her.

Looking across the river, the skyscrapers resembled sleeping giants, their outlines illuminated by countless lights. The glass curtain walls reflected the neon lights, blending with the last vestiges of indigo against the horizon. LED screens atop the buildings scrolled colorful advertisements, their changing light and shadows projected onto the river, giving the shimmering water a hazy, dreamlike quality.

The bridge spans the river like a giant, glowing dragon lying across the water. The lights on the bridge illuminate one after another, and the traffic flows like a golden river of light, slowly moving through the night. Each car headlight seems like a star moving in the night sky.

"The night view along the West River is beautiful."

Chen Shi'an nodded in approval.

The same city night view was reflected in their eyes, but their feelings were different.

Li Wanyin, who also came from a rural area, obviously had more to think about, perhaps with longing, amazement, a hint of barely perceptible inferiority, or a surge of determination and effort...

In Chen Shi'an's eyes, however, there was more of a scrutinizing, peaceful, and experiential sense of novelty.

"Meow."

With a light leap, the black cat landed on the narrow stone railing and joined the two in enjoying the night view.

Li Wanyin was startled, but dared not grab it, fearing that Shimo would be startled and fall into the river. So she coaxed it gently in a tone that sounded like a child, "Shimo, Shimo, be careful... I'm scared just watching! Please don't fall in! Come down, okay? Good kitty, come down quickly..."

The black cat rolled its eyes at her, and instead of getting down, it deliberately ran around on top of her, trying to perform acrobatics.

"Fei Mo, get down."

"..."

Fortunately, the easygoing Chen Shi'an spoke up, and the mischievous cat jumped down from the railing. Otherwise, the older sister would have had a heart attack from it.

Faced with the riverside night view that locals had long since grown tired of, Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin, both from out of town, spontaneously took out their phones to take a picture of the scenery across the river.

Chen Shi'an hadn't studied any shooting parameter adjustments, but art and photography are inseparable. He had a strong foundation in composition, and with the help of the automatic parameter adjustments when shooting with his phone, he only needed to focus on his own composition.

However, the camera function of this old phone is not very good, and the night scene photos are a bit blurry.

Chen Shi'an glanced at the photos he had taken and said with some regret, "The sky is still too gray. It would be great if we could capture the starry sky like we can in the mountains."

"You took such great photos!"

Li Wanyin glanced at the photos he took and compared them with her own. Although her photos were better and clearer because she used a mobile phone, they were far inferior to Chen Shi'an's in terms of composition and overall artistic conception.

"Shi'an, can you take a picture for me?"

"Okay."

Li Wanyin handed him her phone.

Then Chen Shi'an took her phone and pointed it at the night view on the opposite bank.

A dark line appeared on Li Wanyin's face.

"I meant you were taking a picture of me!"

"Okay."

Chen Shi'an then pointed his phone's camera at her.

"It's too dark..."

Chen Shi'an glanced at the image on his phone screen, put it down, and gestured for Li Wanyin to move half a step to the right, just enough for the halo of light from the retro street lamp above to fall on her shoulders, casting a soft golden edge.

"The lighting here is just right; the streetlights can illuminate my face a bit."

"Is this okay?"

"Ah."

"Then how can I stand more comfortably?"

"Hmm... how about you lean gently against the railing, Sister Wanyin? Just relax."

"Haha, I don't quite know how to do the moves..."

"It's okay, I don't really know how to take pictures either."

Chen Shi'an was in front of her, sometimes bending over, sometimes squatting, sometimes stepping back, adjusting what he considered to be the best compositional position in the picture.

Seeing the two taking pictures, the black cat wanted to join in the fun. It jumped onto the railing and sat down next to Li Wanyin.

Just then, a gust of river wind blew from behind Li Wanyin, scattering her hair. Li Wanyin subconsciously raised her fingers to tuck the stray strands of hair behind her ear.

This fleeting natural pose was precisely captured by Chen Shian behind the camera.

His gaze sharpened slightly, and the moment his finger hovered over the shutter button, the scene on the screen suddenly came to life—the flowing light on the opposite bank, the warm lamp on his shoulder, the black cat on the railing, the strands of hair fluttering in the wind, and the gentle expression that he inadvertently revealed; all the elements blended together perfectly at that moment.

A soft click.

Chen Shi'an decisively pressed the shutter.

"All right."

"Huh! I'm not ready yet!"

Li Wanyin playfully trotted over, leaning against his shoulder, her eyes eagerly fixed on the phone screen, "Let me see, let me see how the photos turned out..."

Her hair slipped down as she bent over, gently brushing against Chen Shi'an's arm, carrying a faint scent of shampoo.

The image on the screen was exceptionally clear in the night: a woman leaned against a railing, her profile softened by the warm yellow light. A strand of hair was tucked behind her ear, her gaze naturally following the wind, a faint smile playing on her lips. A black cat beside her turned its head to look at her, its amber eyes sparkling beneath its dark outline. In the background, the lights of the bridge spanning the river stretched across the night sky like golden ribbons, the ripples from the river breeze casting flowing light spots across the riverbanks, perfectly reflecting the shimmering light in her eyes.

Li Wanyin was stunned.

She even couldn't resist taking the phone back from Chen Shi'an's hand and examining it closely for a while.

She finally looked up, a satisfied smile on her face: "Shi'an! You took great photos!"

"I just happened to capture it."

"You reacted so quickly! I didn't expect you to capture that moment! It's a really good shot!"

"It's not my achievement; it's the beautiful scenery and the beautiful people that made it possible. I just tried my best to recreate that moment."

Li Wanyin felt a sweet warmth in her heart as she listened. She had always felt that she was not photogenic, because she always felt inexplicably uncomfortable when the camera was pointed at her, and the photos that came out were not very satisfactory.

Only now do I realize that it wasn't that I wasn't photogenic, but rather that I lacked a photographer like Chen Shi'an.

It can be said that this moment, captured by Chen Shi'an's spiritual insight, is the most natural, relaxed, beautiful, and favorite photo among all her pictures.

Li Wanyin looked at the photo repeatedly, turning it over and over several times, before reluctantly raising her head, her eyes still lingering with a smile: "Can you send me this photo?"

"Huh? Isn't this your phone, Sister Wanyin?"

"...Oh, right!"

Li Wanyin smiled shyly, she was so happy she was almost dizzy.

Getting excited, she switched places with Chen Shi'an: "Shi'an, shall I take a picture of you too?"

"Okay."

Chen Shi'an was very easygoing, neither shy nor bashful, and naturally stood by the railing.

As the perfect prop for taking photos, the black cat also jumped from the railing to him, like a cat's tongue, and draped itself over his shoulder, looking at the camera with the little Taoist priest.

"It's beautiful and beautiful!"

The older sister thought Chen Shi'an was more and more beautiful the more she looked at him, but the more she thought he was ugly in the photos. Why couldn't she just transfer the feeling in her mind directly to her phone?
Li Wanyin held up her phone, trying to find the perfect angle for a long time. She would stand far away, then close up, then squat down, then stand up, but she could never find a satisfactory one.

"Is Sister Wanyin alright?"

"Meow."

"...Wait a little longer!" "..."

"Ok?"

"Meow……"

Both the person and the cat were about to yawn.

Finally, after much difficulty, Li Wanyin said, "Okay."

Chen Shi'an and the cat came over to look out of curiosity.

Li Wanyin awkwardly handed over the screen.

amount……

Chen Shi'an couldn't help but chuckle, but still praised, "Not bad, Sister Wanyin captured me in the photo."

What do you mean I photographed you?!

"Meow?"

Shimo was very dissatisfied!

It was originally pitch black, and with the night being so dark, and Li Wanyin not knowing how to find the light or compose the shot, the black cat on the little Taoist's shoulder was almost nowhere to be seen in the photo; all that could be seen were its bright, sparkling cat eyes.

What kind of rubbish did you film?! How come I only have an eye left?!

Of course, although this photo can't compare to the one Chen Shi'an just took, it's still at least at an average level.

"Shall we take a picture together as a group?"

Li Wanyin smiled and said, "A family photo of Unit 901!"

"Okay. So, who should we ask to take the photos?"

"A selfie is fine. Shi'an, you take the lead..."

Li Wanyin turned her phone camera around and handed the phone to Chen Shi'an. Then the two of them and the cat leaned against the railing together.

Chen Shi'an held up his phone. He was tall and had long arms, so he stood on the far left. Li Wanyin stood next to him on the right, and Fei Mo leaned on Chen Shi'an's shoulder again. All three pairs of eyes were looking at the screen, with the dazzling night view of the river behind them.

[Click]
……

At 10 p.m., the riverside walkway was still bustling with activity.

Families and friends strolling in twos and threes, young couples cuddling and laughing, children running with glowing balloons, their silvery laughter startling night birds perched on the water, the sound of their wings flapping mingling with the evening breeze.

On the open space to the side, stalls sprang up like mushrooms after rain, their small lights strung together to form a warm sea of ​​light. There were stalls selling handmade jewelry, ring toss games, ice jelly, grilled sausages, barbecue, fried noodles, milk tea, and mobile phone screen protectors... a dazzling array of goods.

"Now the street vendor economy is being encouraged. I remember two years ago when my roommates and I were strolling around here, we weren't allowed to set up stalls."

Li Wanyin brought over two bowls of tofu pudding and sat down with Chen Shi'an on a low stool next to the stall.

Tofu pudding has a spicy and savory flavor.

We went for a walk together tonight, but she didn't make any sweet soup. Instead, she bought two bowls of tofu pudding for Chen Shi'an to eat at this roadside stall, enjoying the river breeze. It was very pleasant.

"Did Sister Wanyin live nearby when she was studying?"

"No, our school is in the High-tech Zone. I spent three years in Yunqi, so I must have visited a lot of places. Back then, my roommates and I would take the bus or ride shared bikes around on weekends."

Is university life much more relaxed than high school?

"Yes, I don't know about other schools, but our school is quite relaxed. We rely on self-discipline to study."

"How are Wanyin's grades?"

"Not bad, first in the class, but it's not really that prestigious."

"That's not how it works. It's amazing that Sister Wanyin can maintain her ambition in such a relaxed environment."

"And you, have you been keeping up with class lately?"

"Fortunately, I'm still brushing up on my junior high school foundation, so it's not difficult."

Li Wanyin asked the owner for an extra disposable bowl. While Chen Shi'an was eating tofu pudding, her sister didn't forget Fei Mo, who could eat anything, and scooped out a small half bowl of tofu pudding from her own bowl for the cat.

"Meow."

"...Fei Mo really eats everything."

"That's how pigs are."

"Hahaha."

Shi Mo: "..."

Seeing the bustling street vendor economy here, Chen Shi'an asked with a smile, "After Wanyin's job stabilizes, why don't you set up a stall here too? Your sweet soup is so delicious, it will definitely sell very well."

As if her hidden plan had been exposed, Li Wanyin paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "It's not that simple... Hmm, selling sweet soup is an option, I've also thought about learning to make milk tea, or making some small snacks to sell alongside the sweet soup, but I've never run a street stall before, I don't even know how to do it..."

"Just ask someone else."

As he spoke, Chen Shi'an naturally struck up a conversation with the shop owner on the other end: "Boss, how do I set up a stall here?"

"Hey! What else is there to do with setting up a stall! There's no stall fee here, so if you want to set up a stall, just do it! If you want a good spot, you have to come early. Look at those people over there, they just park their cars on the side of the road, open the trunk, and that's it!"

"How much will it be priced and sold for?"

"Just set the price according to what others are selling."

"Boss, how much do you earn in one night?"

"Two or three hundred, just enough to make a living. What, young man, you're selling tofu pudding too? Then set up your stall further away from mine..."

"Don't worry, boss, I don't sell tofu pudding. I tell fortunes!"

"what?"

"..."

Listening to Chen Shi'an's conversation with the boss, Li Wanyin was impressed. She had imagined that spying on business secrets would be done secretly and covertly, but Chen Shi'an had just asked her directly!

Wait a minute!
"Shi'an, you're going to set up a stall to tell fortunes? And what kind of trinkets are you going to sell?" Li Wanyin came to her senses.

"Yeah, I'd like to try it out."

Unlike 99% of the street vendors here, Chen Shi'an doesn't really care how much money he makes. Most of the time, he comes down the mountain to experience and learn new things.

"But you still have to go to class, and you get out of evening self-study so late every day."

"Well, let's wait until things stabilize after we start studying before making a decision."

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "But I think Sister Wanyin should really give it a try."

Li Wanyin didn't think there was anything shameful about showing her face and setting up a street stall. In fact, she had always had this idea in her heart. She even thought that if she really couldn't find a job, she would just set up a stall.

Seeing that Chen Shi'an also suggested it, she felt even more confident and no longer tried to hide her feelings, smiling as she said:
"I'll look into it first, and then I'll talk about it when I'm settled in. After all, I don't have much experience selling things at a stall, so I need to have a job as a backup to feel at ease."

"Yes, Sister Wanyin is very thoughtful, that's true."

"Then, Shi'an, what do you think I should sell at my stall?"

"Just like Sister Wanyin said, we can sell sweet soup, desserts and snacks, milk tea... What kind of milk tea is it? I've never tried it before."

"Then I'll treat you to a drink another day."

"Okay. Will I have to pay for the sweet soup at Sister Wanyin's stall from now on?"

"It's free! Drink as much as you want!"

……

As night deepened, the cruise ships on the river lit up with colorful lights, gliding across the water like a moving palace, leaving behind streaks of broken light.

The liveliness on the riverbank remained undiminished, with the lights of the stalls blending with the neon lights on the opposite bank in the river.

I can't tell which is a star in the sky and which is a lamp on earth.

(End of this chapter)