After nearly three hours of driving, they finally reached their destination.
The bus stopped at the foot of a mountain, where teachers led students from different classes into the hotel to check in.
Since there were quite a few students in their grade, sharing rooms in pairs was mandatory.
Song Yi naturally roomed with Murong Huan, while Shen Yujing accepted Quan Le, who had finally stopped feeling nauseous.
Dragging her luggage into the room, Song Yi collapsed onto the sofa and touched her stomach - she was hungry.
The teachers gave everyone half an hour to unpack and settle in. After that, they were to gather on the seventh floor of the hotel for lunch and to learn about the afternoon's activities and disciplinary requirements.
Meanwhile, in another room.
Quan Le watched in amazement as Shen Yujing pulled out one, two, three, four boxes from the hotel cabinet.
He asked in confusion, "Are you here for tourism or moving in? How come you're so prepared?"
Shen Yujing shook his head, "My mother had someone deliver these in advance."
Knowing Shen's mother's personality, Quan Le understood and didn't pursue the matter further.
Without unpacking anything, Quan Le flopped onto his bed, "I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when it's time to gather."
Seeing his condition, Shen Yujing suggested, "Maybe you should just rest in the hotel."
"No way." Quan Le's face buried in the bed, shaking his head stubbornly, repeating his earlier statement, "I. Want. To. Go. Out. To. Play."
Shen Yujing was speechless but left Quan Le alone and went to the bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, he washed his face, then carefully fixed his hair, and checked his clothes.
Perfect, no problems.
Thinking about the afternoon's activities, Shen Yujing changed into more comfortable walking shoes and stuffed some energy-boosting snacks into his pockets.
He remembered Song Yi was wearing light white canvas shoes today - those hard-soled shoes would definitely hurt after walking for too long.
Shen Yujing's eyes scanned the hotel room, finally finding his target—
Perfect, that's it.
So he put the bathroom's plastic slippers into his prepared backpack to bring for Song Yi, just in case.
On the seventh floor restaurant.
The hotel had been booked entirely by Saint Slee Academy, and the entire seventh-floor restaurant was filled with students.
The lead teacher stood on stage with a microphone, gave a long-winded speech praising the school, and then announced the afternoon's task—
Mountain climbing.
The entire hall immediately erupted in groans.
Someone shouted, "Teacher, this won't do! If I'd known we were climbing a mountain, I wouldn't have come!"
"What's going on this year? Coming to such a terrible place and doing such boring activities."
"I'm not participating! Whoever wants to climb can go ahead!"
The discussions continued one after another, clearly showing everyone's dissatisfaction with the arrangement.
The teacher on stage raised the microphone, "Quiet! Everyone, please be quiet! Let me finish! To cultivate students' all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education, all activities for this trip were discussed and approved by the School Committee. Those with special circumstances can register with teachers, but students who fake illness or intentionally refuse to participate will have points deducted from their comprehensive quality assessment."
The teacher's words left no room for negotiation.
So everyone gave up thoughts of escape and instead asked, "Are there any rewards? We can't just climb for nothing, right?"
The teacher responded, "Students who reach the halfway point will receive one point in their comprehensive quality assessment, those who reach the summit will get two points. Additionally, the first three students to reach the summit will receive gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively. These three medals will entitle the winners to be the dance partners of Shen Yujing, Jiang Yiheng, and Hang Feng at next month's school anniversary ceremony!"
Wild screams erupted from below, instantly drowning out the previous complaints.
Song Yi: "?"
Subway, old grandfather, looking at phone.
Was there something wrong with her ears or was there something wrong with this world? What did the teacher just say? The top three students would get to be dance partners with Shen Yujing, Jiang Yiheng, and Hang Feng?
No, no, she didn't understand.
How could a teacher stand on stage and seriously present this kind of thing as a reward! Wouldn't they feel embarrassed?
Song Yi turned to Murong Huan and asked, "Being their dance partner counts as a reward?"
Murong Huan explained, "This has always been the tradition at Saint Slee Academy. It was like this before too. How else would these students be so enthusiastic? It's all for the chance to spend time with them."
Song Yi: "...?"
She didn't understand, but she was utterly shocked.
Indeed, even after staying here for so long, she still hadn't fully integrated into this Mary Sue world.
But Song Yi still couldn't understand, "Would those three agree to cooperate with their personalities?"
Being offered as prizes like objects, would they agree?
Thinking about this, Murong Huan considered carefully, then shook her head, "They don't really cooperate much, but they'll at least dance the first dance, and that's enough!"
At this point, Murong Huan clenched her fists with determination, "This time I must get second place! Then I can be Jiang Yiheng's dance partner!"
Song Yi: "Good luck."
Murong Huan looked at Song Yi, "Why do you look so listless? You should aim for first place, you know? Let's work hard together!"
"I'm not interested," Song Yi said as she picked up her milk.
Murong Huan frowned, reproaching her like someone disappointed in a friend's lack of ambition, "How can you not be interested? Do you know how many girls in our school compete for this opportunity? Last year, a boy who won the chance to be Shen Yujing's partner put it up for auction on the forum and sold it for 300,000 yuan!"
"Pfft—"
Song Yi choked on her milk and looked up at Murong Huan, "How much did you say?"
Murong Huan handed her a tissue and continued, "300,000 yuan! I thought it was too low too. Apparently, that person needed money urgently and sold it quickly. Not many people knew about it before the deal was done."
Song Yi put down her cup and said just one word, "Climb."
Murong Huan: "Huh?"
Song Yi said seriously, "We'll climb! If we're doing this, we'll do it the best we can. Since we have to climb the mountain anyway, we should aim for first and second place!"
Seeing Song Yi's fighting spirit, Murong Huan was very moved, "I'm so glad you think this way!"
Murong Huan thought to herself that although Song Yi claimed not to care, she must secretly want to be Shen Yujing's dance partner.
Indeed, a young girl's feelings couldn't be hidden.
Meanwhile, Song Yi's mind was filled with—
300,000 yuan! 300,000 yuan! We're going to get rich!!!
*
In the afternoon, at the mountain's base gathering point.
All students lined up by class, waiting for teachers to finish counting heads before they could start.
Class A and B were lined up next to each other, so Song Yi was standing right next to Shen Yujing.
Today, Song Yi's gaze toward Shen Yujing was unprecedentedly gentle.
In Song Yi's eyes, Shen Yujing was no longer just Shen Yujing, but a walking 300,000 yuan.
Shen Yujing touched his face, suddenly feeling self-conscious under Song Yi's stare.
But at the same time, he was glad he had washed his face and checked the mirror again before leaving - his image in Song Yi's eyes must be perfect now.
Soon the teacher gave the order to begin.
The mountain would take two to three hours to climb, so different people chose different strategies.
Some maintained a steady pace to conserve energy, while Song Yi pulled Murong Huan along, charging ahead at the front.
Murong Huan kept chanting Jiang Yiheng's name in her heart for motivation.
Song Yi was doing something similar, except she was chanting "300,000 yuan."
Getting 300,000 yuan just for climbing a mountain? Where else could you find such a good deal! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Miss this chance and it might never come again!
About twenty minutes into the climb, they saw the first signpost by the path, which read—
[Keep going! The long journey has just begun, but I'll be with you all the way!]
The crooked handwriting looked somewhat familiar.
While Song Yi was frowning in thought, Murong Huan provided the answer, "This was written by Shen Yujing. There are postcards in the box under the signpost, all with this message. Only those who climb fast and arrive early can get one."
Murong Huan turned to Song Yi and asked, "Aren't you going to take one?"
"No," Song Yi replied without hesitation, continuing to stride forward without a backward glance.
What she wanted wasn't just these few postcards—it was ultimate victory!
Murong Huan understood Song Yi's intention and admired her for it—
Not caring about these trivial items! Making becoming Shen Yujing's dance partner the ultimate goal! Such determination, ambition, and vision!
So the two continued climbing together.
Every tenth of the way up, they would encounter a similar signpost with Shen Yujing's not-so-attractive handwriting offering words of encouragement.
Halfway up the mountain, Murong Huan was exhausted. She sat down to drink water and rest, saying, "Let's slow down and take a break. I really can't go on."
Song Yi turned around, looking at the distant classmates who were catching up, and said, "Your hundreds of competitors are on their way."
Murong Huan jumped up instantly, as if suddenly energized, "Let's go! We can't lose!"
She absolutely couldn't let someone else take the chance to be Jiang Yiheng's dance partner!
When they reached seventy percent of the way up, Song Yi picked up two tree branches from the roadside, one for Murong Huan and one for herself, as she was tired too.
But even so, while others were stopping and starting to rest, only these two kept persisting, united by their common goal and belief!
When they reached eighty percent of the way up, another familiar signpost with Shen Yujing's handwriting appeared.
However, this time, instead of the usual cliché encouragements, it read—
"Feeling tired now? Hahahahahahaha!!!"
