Linda, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide in shock and stared at me, clearly unsure of what had just happened.
She looked down at her leg, then at my lips—and suddenly realized what I had done. Her expression immediately darkened, her beautiful face stormy, her eyes practically shooting flames as she growled, "Andrew—"
I was feeling unusually bold at that moment and met her gaze head-on. "What?"
Linda was on the verge of exploding. She clenched her teeth and asked in a low, angry voice, "Care to explain what you just did?"
"Nope."
Her face turned green with fury. She glared daggers at me, but I didn't flinch. We stared each other down, eye to eye. After a while, the initial rage in Linda's expression gradually gave way to suspicion. She asked slowly, "Are you mad about what I said earlier?"
I was startled—how did she guess?
Seeing my surprised look, Linda seemed even more convinced. She gave me a sidelong glance and asked, "You actually like me, don't you?"
Despite my earlier bravado, that move was more out of spite than courage. Now that she'd hit the nail on the head, I blushed furiously, as if my little secret had been laid bare.
Seeing my flushed face, Linda's sternness gave way to amusement. Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Andrew, no need to be mad. There's no chance of anything between us."
"Why not?" I protested.
She noticed my collar was askew and reached over to straighten it while smiling faintly. "Because I don't like younger guys. They're immature and unreliable. I prefer someone older."
I blurted out, "I'm not that small…"
Linda's cheeks turned crimson. Seeing she was about to scold me, I quickly added, "I mean, I may be younger than you, but I'll grow up. If I met the girl I want to spend my life with before I'm capable of taking care of her, then I'll just have to become strong enough for her."
Linda blinked at my words. Her face remained calm, but a flicker of surprise lit her eyes. "Suit yourself," she said lightly. "If you like me, that's your problem. I just don't think it's possible between us."
I was caught off guard by that. Glancing around and seeing that our classmates were dozing off, I leaned closer to her and whispered, "So you don't mind if I chase you?"
"Go ahead," she replied. "If you ever do manage to make me fall for you, well… there's nothing I can do about it. Now let me rest for a while."
She closed her eyes, her cheeks still pink like cherry blossoms. I couldn't tell if she was really sleepy or just pretending out of shyness.
Linda was clever—as most beautiful women are. I couldn't read her thoughts. But I couldn't help wondering: hadn't she said I wasn't allowed to date? Why did she stop me from being with girls like Tang An'an or Ni Anqi, yet didn't reject my pursuit of her? What was going on?
The bus ride lasted four hours, and we finally arrived at the famous Qingyun Mountain scenic area.
Under Linda's leadership, our class got off, regrouped, and began hiking.
Qingyun Mountain had many famous spots. We hiked and explored, had a vegetarian lunch at the mountain's Golden Buddha Temple, watched the sunset from the peak in the evening, and set up tents for a night of camping and a bonfire party—basically grilling and chatting.
Other classes camped around the peak or at flat areas along the slope. Director David and several male teachers formed patrol teams to monitor the area and prevent any unexpected incidents.
As night deepened, the mountaintop got chilly. By 11 p.m., Linda urged everyone into their tents for rest.
But she herself didn't sleep. Flashlight in hand, she carefully checked all the tents, reminding everyone about insect protection. After making her rounds, she approached the tent Bucktooth and I were in and softly called, "Andrew—"
I was just about to sleep and poked my head out reluctantly. "Ms. Zhang, what is it?"
"I'm on night watch alone and feeling kind of lonely. Come keep me company."
In the moonlight, Linda looked like a charming fox spirit straight out of an old tale, standing there in her embroidered dress, beckoning.
"I'm too sleepy. I'm not staying up."
Linda's smile vanished. She pouted, clearly annoyed. "Fine, don't then."
She turned and walked away in a huff.
I did want to sleep, but thinking about her staying up all night alone made me feel bad. With a sigh, I put on my school jacket, muttered a few complaints, and crawled out to catch up with her.
Linda looked back when she heard me coming and smirked. "Didn't you say you were dead tired? Why are you up?"
"You disturbed me so much I couldn't sleep."
Grinning, she leaned closer and asked teasingly, "You got up because you were worried about me, right?"
"Yeah right. I just needed to stretch my legs. Can't sleep on hard ground."
She didn't say more, but from her amused expression, she clearly believed I came out for her—I just didn't want to admit it.
To avoid waking others, we walked to a spot away from the tents and sat on a large rock, chatting under the starlit sky.
What we didn't know was that a bald man crouched in the bushes just 10 meters behind us, watching with hateful eyes. It was Director David—the very one whose secret I had discovered.
After glaring at us for a moment, David quietly left, pulled out his phone, and made a call. "Scarface Qiang, Andrew and Linda just left the camp area. Now's your chance. No matter what, delete the photos from his phone. And check if he has backups. Don't worry—you'll get your 20,000 yuan once the job is done."
The night grew colder atop the mountain. At first, Linda was cheerful, pointing out constellations and explaining which stars belonged to Aries or Orion…
But as the mountain winds picked up and the temperature dropped, she began shivering, pulling her collar tight and clearly getting cold.
I asked gently, "Cold?"
She glanced at my jacket, her eyes lighting up. She nodded, "Yeah, I'm freezing."
Seeing our usually tough class teacher acting so soft and delicate made her even more endearing. I sighed, reached for my jacket zipper…
Linda's eyes lit up with joy, her gaze filled with warmth and longing—as if she were a princess watching her loyal knight.
*Zzzzip.*
I pulled the zipper all the way up, wrapping myself tighter in the jacket. Then I turned to Linda with a cheeky grin. "Yeah, it's freezing up here at night!"
Her smile froze. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"Huh? What's wrong, Ms. Zhang?" I glanced at her thin dress and said playfully, "Wearing something that light on a cold night? Tsk tsk… Me, on the other hand, I came prepared. Look how warm I am."
From my mischievous grin, she realized I was messing with her. She dropped the helpless act and angrily grabbed my ear. "So *this* is your foresight? Well, since you're out here keeping watch with me, hand over that jacket. Now!"