Waiting to Go Together

At nine forty-five that night, the school was still brightly lit.

Chen Shi'an went downstairs and waited with his backpack beside the ground-floor corridor leading to the school gates.

In the distance, he could still see the half court on the left side of Basketball Court No. 2, where a ring of safety cordon tape surrounded the area beneath the backboard.

The broken glass had long since been cleared away, but plenty of students still came over during the break to check out the scene.

Although the announcement hadn't mentioned his name or class, many students had already heard the gossip that "the Taoist from Senior Class Five did it." Fortunately, most of them didn't know what he looked like, though the rumors about his appearance were growing increasingly outlandish.

Chen Shi'an thought that, with his hair cut and his school uniform on, he could probably mingle with the gawkers at the basketball court without anyone recognizing him as the culprit...

Still, there were students outside Class Five who recognized him.

Chen Shi'an hadn't waited long before a lovely figure appeared at the foot of the stairs. Her gaze swept the ground-floor corridor before finally settling on him. Tightening her backpack straps, the girl hurried toward him at a light jog.

"Was it you? Was it you?"

"Hm?"

"Were you the one who shattered the backboard with a dunk this evening? Everyone says the new Taoist in Class Five dunked it to pieces!"

Wen Zhixia chattered away, her large eyes studying the boy before her in disbelief. She really hadn't expected the refined, courteous Chen Shi'an to have such astonishing explosive strength! It was like finding a heavy-duty truck engine inside a little sedan!

Looking embarrassed, Chen Shi'an said quietly, "Let's not spread this around..."

"It really was you!"

Wen Zhixia was shocked, excited, and still finding it hard to believe. "I was wondering why you didn't wait for me to go eat this afternoon. So you were off destroying school property!"

"Hey, you make it sound like I did it on purpose."

The girl giggled, then asked curiously, "Did the school make you pay for it?"

"Not yet."

"Then I guess you won't have to... Oh, right, with connections as powerful as yours, the school definitely wouldn't make you pay."

"..."

Chen Shi'an thought he ought to apologize to Uncle Lin sometime. He hadn't brought the school any glory yet; all he'd done was break things.

He had already taken a couple of steps when he looked back and saw the girl still peering toward the basketball court.

"Are we going or not?"

"Wait for me!"

Wen Zhixia hurried to catch up, and the two strolled down the corridor toward the school gates.

"What kind of exercise do you usually do? Are you amazing at basketball?"

"I usually practice the Tao up in the mountains. Today was my first time playing basketball."

"Seriously? Then your fitness is ridiculous! My classmates said even in the sports specialty class, hardly anyone can dunk."

"The school has a sports specialty class?"

"Sure, and music and art specialty classes too. Do you have any special talents?"

"Helping souls pass on. I'm especially quick at that."

Chen Shi'an had meant to be modest, but he really couldn't be modest about this. He truly was especially quick at helping souls pass on.

"...That doesn't count!"

"Do playing the erhu, flute, and zither, ink painting, calligraphy, swordsmanship, board games, and wood carving count?"

"You've actually learned all that? How did you learn so many things? Where did you find the time?"

"I didn't have to go to school. There's plenty of time in the mountains, so whenever I got bored, I'd learn a little of this and a little of that."

"How good are you at them?"

"I know a little."

There was nothing nearby for him to demonstrate with, so Wen Zhixia had no idea just how much Chen Shi'an meant by "a little." Still, merely hearing how many things he had studied was enough to astonish her.

"Do Taoists study those things too?"

"Music, board games, calligraphy, and painting are all expressions of the Tao. Music is the sound of nature, board games embody yin and yang, calligraphy cultivates the mind, and painting conveys the spirit. Skill leads into the Tao, and the Tao exists in everyday life. That's the central idea in our tradition: the Tao and its vessels are one, and the Tao cannot be separated from things. Plenty of our predecessors understood the Tao through the arts. They simply took a different path to the same destination as ordinary practitioners like us."

Nothing Chen Shi'an had said would ever come up in class, and conversations with people her age never had that sort of insight or depth. Wen Zhixia was left blinking in bewilderment, pinching her little chin as she pondered it for quite a while.

"Hmm... So you mean anything can be a path to the Tao?"

"More or less."

"Then... does the way of tea count?"

"Yes."

"What about the way of the sword?"

"Yes."

"What about the way of the feet?"

"...What's that?"

They had already left the school grounds. Wen Zhixia pointed with her little hand at a nearby establishment diagonally across the road, its sign reading "Foot Tao Wellness."

Chen Shi'an considered it for a moment before saying uncertainly, "I'd have to try it before I could tell..."

The girl laughed, pursing her lips. "You're really just looking for an excuse to get a foot bath, aren't you?"

"I'm being rigorous. I can't make careless claims about something I haven't experienced."

"You're so much fun to talk to!"

Wen Zhixia couldn't help saying it. After a whole day of dull studying at school, she was finally out of class, enjoying the cool night breeze and listening to Chen Shi'an talk about things she knew nothing about. Somehow, it brought back the comfort of childhood summer nights, when she listened to her grandfather tell old stories while waving a palm-leaf fan.

"So you understood everything I said?"

"It's fun precisely because I don't understand, but somehow everything you say still sounds reasonable."

After thinking for a moment, Wen Zhixia finally figured out how to describe the feeling. "It's like when you were little and knew nothing, so you were curious about everything. Whenever your parents explained some mystery, it felt so new and exciting!"

"Mm." Chen Shi'an nodded. "That's a thirst for knowledge."

"Then once you get older and know more yourself, you find it annoying when they tell you things you already know, and you think they're wrong when they say something that doesn't match your understanding!"

"Mm." Chen Shi'an nodded. "That's rebellion."

Wen Zhixia tilted her head and asked him, "Then what do you do?"

"Nothing. It's just a perfectly normal part of growing up."

"Does that happen to you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the first things my master taught me were self-restraint, integrity even when alone, guarding my heart, and understanding my nature. He also lived by the principles of nurturing without possessing, acting without claiming credit, and guiding without controlling. He never interfered with me excessively."

Chen Shi'an talked as he walked, while the girl followed beside him like a little chick,

listening and nodding along.

No wonder Chen Shi'an felt completely different from other people their age. Beyond his experience growing up in a Taoist temple, the ideas he had been taught from childhood were entirely different too. Everyone else had spent more than a decade working toward high exam scores, while he had spent eighteen years cultivating his character and temperament.

Wen Zhixia couldn't imagine what that state of mind was like. The young Taoist beside her was like the sea: the more time she spent with him, the more unusual and interesting she found him.

"Ah." The girl let out a lingering sigh. "If I'd known practicing the Tao was this great and let you understand so much, I'd have gone up into the mountains and become a nun too. I'm so sick of going to school and taking exams every day."

"Without the right state of mind, shaving your head is just a hairstyle."

"Oh, get lost!"

Wen Zhixia reached out and swatted him, then realized the gesture felt a little too intimate. Her pretty face flushed, though fortunately the darkness concealed it.

She stole a glance up at him, and only relaxed when she saw that he didn't seem to have reacted.

Since school had started in September, the weather had gradually begun edging toward autumn.

The days were still as hot and muggy as midsummer, but the nights were noticeably cooler.

The breeze against their faces felt wonderfully pleasant. Wearing matching school uniforms, the boy and girl walked side by side, their shadows stretching long beneath the streetlights.

Wen Zhixia usually went to and from school alone. Especially when walking home at night, she felt somewhat unsafe as a girl, and always walked quickly.

But now that Chen Shi'an was with her, she wasn't afraid of this nighttime walk.

He was a Taoist! Even if there were demons or ghosts lurking in the darkness, surely they wouldn't dare come near him!

And what about bleached-haired thugs? He could smash a backboard! Could an ordinary person even take one punch from him?

Wen Zhixia felt utterly secure. Having Chen Shi'an as her buddy was wonderful.

As they passed a fragrant grilled sausage stall, Chen Shi'an heard someone's stomach rumble.

"Are you hungry?"

"How did you know?"

"I heard your stomach growling."

"...You really didn't need to say that."

Wen Zhixia felt embarrassed. She really was hungry.

With such intense studying every day, how could she not be? She had been planning to lose weight by going home, showering, and heading straight to bed early, but now that he had pointed it out, her empty little stomach was openly protesting against her willpower.

"Are you hungry, then?" Wen Zhixia asked him.

"If you're hungry, just eat something. Why ask me?"

"Come on, tell me!"

"I am."

Only then did Wen Zhixia feel reassured. So he was hungry too! At least that proved she wasn't just a little glutton!

She called Chen Shi'an to a stop, then halted in front of the sausage stall.

The stall was lit, its light shining on the rotating sausages. Pretty slashes scored their skins, and fat sizzled out under the intense heat. Just looking at them made the girl's mouth water.

"How much are the grilled sausages?" Her voice was sweet and guileless. Once she had asked that question, it meant she absolutely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight unless she got one.

"Three yuan each."

"Oh, okay. I'll take two!"

"Want them spicy?"

Instead of answering the vendor, Wen Zhixia turned to Chen Shi'an.

"Do you want yours spicy?"

"Huh?"

"My treat! Come on, do you want it spicy?"

"A little, then."

"Both spicy, please... I'd like those two."

Wen Zhixia pointed at the two best-grilled sausages on the rack. Their skins were lightly charred, and the pink meat inside had burst through the cuts.

"Sure."

The vendor worked deftly, his hands moving in a blur as he grabbed little containers of seasoning and flavored the two sausages.

Wen Zhixia took out her phone, scanned the code, and paid six yuan.

"Need a bag?"

"No, thank you!"

Wen Zhixia tucked her phone back into her pocket and happily took the two sausages. Then, with a "Here-" she held one out to Chen Shi'an.

Darkness draped around her, but the stall's light illuminated her lovely face. Her smile, genuinely delighted at sharing, left Chen Shi'an momentarily entranced.

"Thank you."

"Hehe, you're welcome!"

Chen Shi'an took the sausage from her little hand. Fresh off the grill, it was piping hot, and the two slowed their pace further, eating as they walked.

"How is it? Is it too spicy?"

"Mm, a little spicy. You really can handle spicy food."

"Hehe, that's what makes it tasty."

Eating a grilled sausage when they were hungry left not only Wen Zhixia but even Chen Shi'an feeling content and at ease, body and mind.

"Since you treated me to a sausage, I'll give you some herbal tea for your complexion and health next time."

"Will you buy it?"

"If the herbs are available in the wild, I'll gather them myself. Otherwise, I'll buy them and blend it for you."

"You know how to do that too? What goes into it?"

"Usually roses, roselle, goji berries, red dates, lotus leaves, hawthorn, white peony root, and poria. I'll adjust the blend depending on what you need."

"Will it be really bitter?"

"No. If you find it bitter, you can add some honey."

"Honey!"

Wen Zhixia liked honey. Just hearing the word made it sound sweet.

Neither of the two buddies ate quickly. Before they had finished their sausages, Wen Zhixia had already reached home. Chen Shi'an looked where she pointed. It was near his own residential complex, so it really was both close and right along his route.

"I'm off. I'll wait for you at this intersection at six fifteen tomorrow. Bye-bye!"

"Bye-bye."

Using a phrase he wasn't accustomed to, Chen Shi'an copied her little wave and watched her scan her access card and enter the residential complex.

As a child, he had lived up in the mountains while his classmates lived in the village, so they could never arrange to go to school together.

He hadn't expected to experience that feeling all these years later.

It was rather nice.