Volume One, Chapter One Hundred Seven: A Pleasant Surprise

“I’ll go take a look as well.” Just as Yan Ruoting was about to cross the street with Yu Jiuchuan and Ivanoti, Du Haiwei suddenly grabbed her.

“It’s better for us to avoid the girl’s embarrassment,” he said, folding his arms and standing quietly by the hotel entrance, waiting for Mo De and the others to return.

“True,” Yan Ruoting nodded, then patted Du Haiwei on the back. “Not bad, Old Du. I didn’t expect you to be so considerate. I thought you were just a closed-off guy…”

With a light sigh, Du Haiwei closed his eyes and began to ignore the chatterbox beside him.

Across the street, Mo De was already supporting Su Ziwen as they rested beneath another tree. Yu Jiuchuan and Ivanoti hurried over side by side, handing tissues and water bottles to Mo De beside Su Ziwen.

Bending down, Mo De patiently wiped the disheveled Su Ziwen’s face and helped her rinse her mouth with clean water.

After a long while, Su Ziwen finally stabilized and, with Mo De’s support, stood up.

“Sorry for troubling everyone,” she said hoarsely, looking up to see two people standing before her.

“Let’s go. We should take Ziwen back to rest first,” Yu Jiuchuan said, gazing at Su Ziwen’s pale face with a touch of sympathy.

Her motion sickness was really quite severe.

Hearing Yu Jiuchuan’s voice, Su Ziwen looked toward the other petite figure.

The smooth silver hair needed no introduction; it was the unmistakable symbol of Ivanoti.

Suddenly, Su Ziwen felt light as her body was lifted into the air.

It was Mo De, carrying her effortlessly in his arms.

“Let’s go. Once we get to the hotel, I’ll leave Ziwen in your care,” Mo De said, nodding in thanks to Yu Jiuchuan and Ivanoti.

“Looks like you’re pretty skilled at the princess carry,” Yu Jiuchuan joked softly, following behind with a water bottle.

“Senior Jiuchuan, what exactly is a princess carry?” Curious little Feng, true to her nickname as a curious baby, seized the chance to ask. One wonders how dull her days must have been at the Exploration Grounds.

A faint blush tinted Su Ziwen’s pale cheeks, while Mo De, striding forward, struggled slightly to keep his balance and avoid stumbling.

Cold sweat slowly trickled down his neck, yet Mo De pretended not to hear and continued toward the hotel entrance.

Comrade Mo was naturally proficient at the princess carry, having carried Captain Su several times before, not to mention other practice subjects.

“Oh, Old Mo, you’re back! Is Miss Su alright?” Yan Ruoting called out from far away as she spotted Mo De and the others returning.

“She’s fine now. The captain just needs some rest,” Mo De replied.

The group reunited and turned to enter the hotel behind them.

The staff had already completed the check-in procedures in advance. After receiving the room cards, Mo De handed the still fragile Su Ziwen over to Yu Jiuchuan and Little Feng, as the three of them were assigned to the same room.

Yan Ruoting and Du Haiwei also returned to their rooms. Originally, they were only stopping briefly, but it seemed that several convoys from Anjie City had encountered trouble on the road, causing delays. So tonight, everyone would stay overnight in Jing City and set off again once the group was complete.

Most members of the North China winter camp had arrived earlier and were already resting in their respective rooms.

To Mo De’s surprise, his room was not with Yan Ruoting’s group but shared with another assistant from the Organizing Committee.

Puzzled, Mo De adjusted the backpack on his back and headed to his room with the room card.

After twisting and turning through the corridors, he finally found his room.

Swiping the card to open the door, the lights inside were already on, indicating that the assistant had arrived earlier.

“Hello, I’m from Qin City Tianshui High School…” Mo De placed his backpack in the entranceway and stepped inside, greeting the figure sitting in the living room with a bright smile.

Mid-introduction, his sunny smile froze, and he became petrified.

“Hey, Mo! I’m a special external assistant under the University Organizing Committee. Please take good care of me tonight!” The person turned, saluted with a grin, baring teeth in delight.

As expected, Mo De’s expression was just as amusing as predicted.

“Let’s get reacquainted. My surname is Mu. Just call me Teacher Mu, or even Sister Mu if you like!” After rolling around on the bed, the person in the room proudly announced.

“Explain to me what’s going on!” Mo De stared at Mu Qing rolling around on the bed, irritation creeping in.

He should have realized long ago that Mu Qing’s strange behavior was surely part of some grand scheme!

“Relax, relax…” Mu Qing sat cross-legged on the large bed, stretching out both hands toward a nearby chair, signaling the weary Mo De to sit and rest.

Then Teacher Mu explained how she had “coincidentally” become an external assistant of the Organizing Committee and was “coincidentally” assigned to the North China region.

“I’m just waiting here for you,” Mo De said as he took the cup Mu Qing handed him and sipped the water in a sour tone.

“Your school life was already over during winter break, and this trip doesn’t involve your organization, so by the three rules we agreed on, you haven’t violated a single one,” Mu Qing said cheerfully, lying back on the bed with her feet against the wall.

At this point, there was no way for Mo De to send her back to Qin City; he had to accept Mu Qing joining the winter camp.

“What’s with the shared room? This big hotel can’t even spare a second room?” Mo De looked helplessly at Mu Qing performing acrobatics on the bed.

Surely they wouldn’t have to squeeze onto the same bed.

“There’s another room inside,” Mu Qing stopped her yoga pose, pointed to a door on the right side of the room, then turned and asked, “Where’s your backpack?”

“In the entranceway.” Mo De poured himself another cup of hot water, trying to soothe his weary mind.

Mu Qing jumped down from the bed in a flash and ran to the entranceway.

“Wait, don’t you avoid junk food? Where did my instant noodles and spicy strips go?”

So those snacks had been prepared by Mu Qing all along.

“I shared them with the others.”

More precisely, the snacks ended up in Ivanoti’s stomach.