Chapter 62
“And.” Quinlyn added and pointed to the side, ‘pregnant women shouldn’t be climbing mountains. They can rest over there?
Austin turned and saw the nearby pavilion. He turned pale with shock and anger. But he didn’t want to admit his mistake, nor could he accept that his challenge was doomed from the start.
So, putting on a stern face, he said, “The point of this trip is to build strength, not to slack off with petty tricks. How do you expect to succeed with that attitude?“
Quinlyn thought Austin was seriously out of touch. “But didn’t you say the starting line was crucial?” She’d already gained an advantage by staying put.
“…” Austin was somewhat speechless and could only grit his teeth. “Fine, there’s a new rule: everyone has to climb the mountain and find the targets in the temple,” he added.
“Okay,” Quinlyn said, shrugging and starting to climb the steps. Austin felt oddly powerless–like punching a pillow. Kids these days were really something else.
By the time Quinlyn had counted fifty steps, she saw students taking breaks. More and more yellow hats piled up on the steps, causing tourists to start complaining.
Someone said, “Of all places for a school trip, why choose a temple that’s so hard to climb? Is the school crazy?”
Enoch, the instructor in charge of student safety, along with the teachers, felt pretty embarrassed. They were caught between monitoring the students and urging them to keep moving so they didn’t block the path.
Halfway up the hill, Quinlyn finally found Mandy. Seeing Mandy climbing on all fours, exhausted, Quinlyn grabbed her backpack and pulled her over to the shade of a tree. “You need to rest if you’re that tired, or you’ll faint.”
Mandy used to be weak, but now she was determined. Even with a fresh scar on her forehead, she insisted on joining the trip and had made it through the first three days.
Before the challenge started, Quinlyn had told Mandy to wait halfway up. She had planned to find ten people at the base of the mountain and then go back up to help Mandy finish the task.
Now that the plan was ruined, she didn’t stress. After drinking some water and eating a bit of bread, she waited for Mandy to get better before pulling her along to keep going.
“Quinlyn, if I finish this on my own, will I be as great as you?” Mandy panted, but she was still pushing herself.
Quinlyn glanced back at her sweaty face and her brightly shining eyes, and nodded seriously. “Yeah, you will You’ll be amazing one day.”
In Quinlyn’s mind, only remarkable people had that kind of look in their eyes–like Bennett, Edward, Curtis, and Antonio.
Mandy grinned, felt more motivated, and pushed herself to climb the last few steps.
“Well, we made it.” Quinlyn let out a small sigh of relief, with only a little sweat on her forehead. She looked back at the long staircases and couldn’t help but furrow her brows slightly.
This amount of exercise wasn’t much for her, but it was still a challenge for adults who didn’t work out regularly, let alone pregnant women who had to avoid strenuous activity.
She wondered. Is there a problem with the assignment, or are the professors purposely testing the students?”
Feeling the professors wouldn’t do anything so silly. Quinlyn decided not to overthink it and looked around the stalls in front of the temple with Mandy.
10.03
Chapter 62
Meanwhile, sitting in a lounge halfway up and wachong lear prong of made wooded by the endless temple is the school staff and professors all fell intentio
Would any pregnant woman really can this far Everyone had the same question, but they knew it was improper to say in
or diy
out loud
As for Austin, he was way too embarrassed. But even so he ordered “Te just making at harder to ensure it’s not too easy Otherwise, selecting talents would lose in purpose”
Everyone was doubtful beat didn’t say mach. At worst, if none fished the task, they could just view it as physical training
for the students.
vjese
“Oh look, we do have some students with great physicals Felix said, trying to break the awkwardness. He pointed at a
Everyone turned their attention to see Quinlyn and Mandy wandering hand–in–hand, curiously browsing the stalls. The two little yellow hats on their heads looked absolutely adorable in the breeze
Austin initially wanted to compliment them, but the moment he recognized Quinlyn, his expression dropped again. “They lack ambition. Arriving early only to mess around and waste time
Felix was at a loss for words. He had some words in mind but wasn’t sure if it was the right time to say them.
Meanwhile, Quinlyn followed Mandy as they wandered from stall to stall. The more Quinlyn observed their surroundings the more uneasy she felt. The vendors seemed off, and even some of the tourists looked strange.
“Quinlyn, do you think this ancient coin looks nice?” Mandy asked with a smile, holding up an ancient coin tied with a knot.
“It looks nice,” Quinlyn said, pulling her gaze away. After a moment, she picked up another identical coin and said. “Let’s get the same ones. I’ll give you one, but you have to keep it with you and not lose it
With that, she asked the vendor, “How much for these two?”
The vendor, with a straw hat covering his face, was just relaxing under the tree, napping. Without lifting his head, he replied in a raspy voice, “Everything’s five bucks. Make your own change.”
His voice was rough, and the knuckles of his hand resting on the armrest of the rocking chair were unusually large, with dirt under his nails.
Quinlyn sniffed, almost as if she could smell the earthy scent from him. She handed over ten dollars and quietly led Mandy
away.
Mandy was delighted, clutching the ancient coin the whole way, even thinking about wearing it around her neck.
“Don’t wear it like that.” Quinlyn said, pulling Mandy’s wrist and tying the red string into a special knot. “If you encounter danger and want to leave a sign, just give it a pull and it’ll come off.”
“Oh, okay Mandy’s innocent eyes blinked. Although she didn’t understand, she listened obediently, guarding the ancient coin and whispering to Quinlyn. “So, are we playing an adventure game now?”
“Hope it’s not like that, Quinlyn thought. She shook her head, not responding, but instead sat on a bench at the temple, observing the people passing by
Mandy and everyone in the lounge thought she was looking for pregnant women. Seeing her frown, they assumed she was frustrated by not finding any and felt a bit disappointed.
“There was a woman
oman up ahead holding her belly as she walked by, and that student couldn’t even catch that obvious movement. She’s truly mediocre, Austin remarked.
10:03 Wed, 19 Mar
Chapter 62
A student from their school was insulted, which made Felix and the teachers at Manddon International School uncomfortable, but they couldn’t really argue back. After all, the surveillance footage clearly showed three or four pregnant.
women
“Is this temple famous for granting wishes? Otherwise, why would anyone climbo many stairs just to make a prayer?” Romilly asked curiously
Everyone found it hard to believe after being reminded. Someone said, “It must be, right? Otherwise, who would climb such a high mountain while pregnant? But in this way, the task becomes easier to complete.”
