Chapter 52

This inn is not far from the Lanhe Temple on the mountainside.

The inn is not large, but it is very old. With the development of tourism around the Lanhe Temple, this ancient and elegant old hotel has undergone several major renovations and now has everything including a central restaurant, a water garden courtyard, open-air hot springs, and more.

After learning that it was a school-organized field trip, the boss even offered a discount.

As usual, the girls were assigned to the third floor and the boys were assigned to the second floor, while the first floor was the restaurant.

"Everyone, find your rooms according to your student numbers. Four people per room. Put your luggage away first and then meet in the lobby!"

After William Wei finished counting the number of people again, he called for everyone to tidy their rooms.

"This is ridiculous, assigning rooms according to student numbers..."

Bell Tong felt frustrated. Student numbers were based on the results of the entrance exam, which meant that she would be separated from Raina Nan and Roxie Lin, who ranked higher.

"Haha, great, I'm sharing a room with Xiaoyu!"

Roxie Lin was happy. For someone who was a bit shy, having a familiar face in the room was much easier for her.

Soon, the rooms were all set up.

William Wei gathered the students together again and held a small meeting.

"As I've said before, pay attention to safety, don't wander off alone, and..."

"No going into each other's rooms! We've learned that already, right!"

One of the boys shouted from below, followed by laughter.

"Ahem, there's more!"

William Wei cleared his throat and suddenly looked serious.

"This is not the school, nor is it your home. There are other guests here, all sorts of people. I have two requirements: first, no wandering off alone, and second, be vigilant towards strangers. If anything happens, you're responsible for the consequences!"

"Got it!"

"Your behavior will determine how we represent our class. Let me explain the schedule: After lunch, there will be free time. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the Lanhe Temple..."

After the meeting was dismissed, it was time for lunch.

The buffet provided by the inn was rich, with delicacies and desserts. It was worth the price.

"It's pretty good!"

"What?"

Jocelyn York found William Wei eating alone in a corner and handed him a glass of orange juice.

"You're unexpectedly composed as a class teacher. Hehe."

"Jocelyn, can you please not tease me? I feel like my hair is going to turn white these days!"

"What's wrong?"

"This class teacher thing, whoever wants to be one can be one, especially for a field trip like this. It's stressful, I'm afraid something might go wrong. Sigh."

William Wei sighed. He was a laid-back person, and suddenly being burdened with such a responsibility made him feel tired.

"Oh~ so you're starting to think about these things now. Hmm~ you're growing up."

"What's with that tone? Are you my mom?"

He was speechless. When did she start making jokes like this?

"Don't worry, you still have me."

"Heh, then I really have to thank you... Oh, Jocelyn."

He paused, the spoon in his hand stopped.

"Um, you and Samson Nan, nothing happened, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing that name, she swallowed softly, lowered her head, and played with the food on her plate with her fork.

"No, nothing happened."

"Really? I just feel like... we haven't been able to hang out together recently, either you're busy or he can't come."

"It's just a coincidence."

"Well, maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway..."

After William Wei finished speaking, he gave a slight smile.

"Let's keep going!"

"Easy for you to say..."

She murmured to herself, suddenly quiet. The only sound on the table was the clinking of ceramics.

"Cheer up! There's still a lot of work to do in the afternoon!"

William Wei's voice broke the awkward silence. She looked up at him, wanting to say something... but ultimately, she held back.

"Yeah..."

...

On the other side

Roxie Lin had finished setting up the room.

"Xiaoyu, let's go out and explore this afternoon.""Okay."

It was a rare moment of free time, and she had been wanting to go out for a while.

It was said that at dusk, one could see the sunset at Lanhe Mountain, and at night, one could see fireflies, things that were not commonly seen in the city.

"Let's invite Xiaoling too, or she'll be mad later!"

"Oh, right, right, I almost forgot, that was close!"

Roxie Lin woke up as if from a dream and slapped her forehead. Why was she so forgetful?

The room was a four-person room, and there were two other girls in their room, but they hadn't come back since lunch.

"Is Xiaoling here?"

The door of Bell Tong's room was slightly ajar, and they didn't think much of it as they pushed the door open. It seemed like she was alone inside.

"Hey?!"

Bell Tong turned around, her phone almost falling to the ground. Her body trembled and she hastily hid her phone behind her back.

"Are you making a phone call?"

"Oh, yes, yes...it's a call from home!"

"Really?"

Raina Nan looked at her strangely.

"Oh, is there something?"

"Let's go for a walk together."

"Outside? Um..."

She seemed hesitant, her eyes turning as she pondered about something.

"We've been sitting in the car for the whole morning, let's rest in the afternoon. Oh, and let's play poker!"

"Aren't we going? I really wanted to go to many places!"

Roxie Lin had done her research and planned the itinerary before coming.

"Let's go then."

"..."

Bell Tong couldn't resist the two of them and reluctantly followed along.

The three of them walked along the wooden boardwalk halfway up the mountainside.

"Oh~ so high!"

"The people below look so small."

"They say this boardwalk used to not even have railings!"

"Is that true..."

The boardwalk was against the mountain on one side, and a cliff on the other. The wooden railings that could be seen now were added in recent years due to the increase in visitors.

Further up was a relatively open area.

There were already some familiar faces here, and upon closer inspection, they were all students of the same grade.

"We finally made it!"

"Hey~ what's this?"

They could hear the sound of flowing water from a distance, and when they walked in, a clear stream flowed straight down the steep wall of the mountain into a small spring.

"This is called 'Quanyu Spring.' I saw it in the handbook, it's famous!" Roxie Lin said, taking out a small handbook and proudly showing it to the two others.

"Hehe, there's a legend about this 'Quanyu Spring'!"

"Oh~ let's hear it!"

"Legend has it that there was once a courtesan who fell in love with a monk on this mountain. The woman had a strong personality and didn't hesitate much, so she confessed her feelings to the monk. However, the monk had already severed ties with the secular world and devoted himself entirely to Buddhism. The woman refused to give up and even invited the monk to die together. Helpless, the monk came up with an idea. He told the woman: there is a dried-up spring here on the mountain, if one day water flows from the spring, he will marry her..."

"That monk was really cunning, intentionally making things difficult for her! What happened next?"

Bell Tong suddenly became interested.

"After the woman's death on the second day, something strange happened. A clear stream from the mountain flowed into the dried-up spring, and the spring revived! The villagers living on the mountain and the monk learned about this and came to take water. Of course, the monk included. But when he arrived here and saw the pool of spring water, tears started flowing down his face for some reason. His heart seemed to be swaying with some unknown emotion... Later, the monk would come to this spring every day, meditate, repent, or seek answers. For ten years, he came without fail, until he passed away..."

Roxie Lin finished the story and closed the book."It's a really good story~" Bell Tong was rarely moved, she turned around and looked at the spring next to her, which was so close.

There was an inconspicuous stone stele next to the spring, on which seemed to be carved eight characters.

"Fish and mandarin ducks are separated, waiting for reincarnation," Roxie Lin softly recited.

"What does it mean?" Bell Tong looked at her, confused.

"Well... it probably means that fish and birds can't be together even if they love each other, they can only wait for reincarnation in the next life," Roxie Lin explained.

"Oh... that's destined... it's quite tragic, isn't it, Yuyu?" She shook her head and turned to Raina Nan.

"Yuyu?"

...

"Yuyu!"

"Hmm?"

As if suddenly awakened, she raised her head and immediately realized something, discreetly looking to the side.

"Why are your eyes red?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Crybaby." Bell Tong laughed and rubbed her head.

"I didn't cry..."

She didn't want them to see her face, so she turned away.

"Xiaoyu..."

Seeing her feeling down, Roxie Lin also regretted telling that kind of story just now.

...

Just then,

"YO~ NICE Story!"

A man's voice.

"?"

Following the direction of the voice, the three looked over.

A man wearing sunglasses, a floral shirt, baggy jeans, and black curly hair stood there.

"Who?"

"Oh, my goodness! Look who I've run into!"

The man spoke in broken Mandarin and walked this way.

"Huh? He's coming over!" Roxie Lin was startled and subconsciously took two steps back.

"Tong (Bell) Xiao (Little) Ling (Bell)! My old pal! Can't believe I bumped into you here! How have you been lately?"

He swaggered over and gave Bell Tong a big hug.

"Well, um... Michael! Long time no see, what a coincidence to meet you here..." Bell Tong stuttered.

"You guys know each other?" Raina Nan was confused.

"Huh? Well, let me introduce. This is my friend, Michael, who just came back from the United States. He's a Chinese-American." Bell Tong said and turned her head.

"These are my two friends, Raina Nan, and Roxie Lin."

"Oh! Hello! My God! Your friends are so lovely!" He said and gave Raina Nan and Roxie Lin a bear hug each.

"Hello..." The two clearly weren't used to his overly-friendly way of greeting.

"Nice to meet you all, please take care of me!"

"Oh..."

Raina Nan was stunned for a moment, staring at his face, unable to look away.

"Is there something on my face, madam?"

"No, nothing..."

She felt like she had seen this Michael somewhere before...