Principal Kong doubted he would have cared much if it had been anyone else.
But his eyes instantly zoomed in on Meng Yang, who was ordering around a few lackeys.
And, of course, there was Yao Tang, the very person he had pinned all his hopes on to champion their school in this year’s college entrance exams.
Weren’t these kids supposed to still be hiking at this point?
How come they were already at the top? And enjoying a little cook-out, no less.
In all his years of being the principal, his group had always been the first to reach the summit.
They had a cheat code, which was why their record had never been broken.
Principal Kong and his selected team would climb up the mountain for a certain short distance, then secretly take the cable car to the top.
He was therefore confused to find that not only had this bunch of students beaten them to the summit, but it looked like they had been there for a while, too.
Principal Kong took another whiff of the fragrant meat getting roasted over the fire.
“How did you guys get here so quickly?” he asked with a short, self-derisive laugh.
If these kids had been looking haggard and exhausted, with sweat dripping from their brows, he would have believed that they had hiked the trail on their own.
Looking at them, however, he was sure that these rascals had already finished at least a round of meat skewers.
Meng Yang, on the other hand, didn’t look the least bit surprised when Principal Kongand the teachers appeared.
They waved them over jovially. “Hello, Principal Kong! Would you like to have some lamb skewers? They’re very tasty.”
His words sounded like a mockery to Principal Kong, and he burst out, “Why are you even eating skewers at this place? Tell me, how did you get here so fast?”
As he spoke, Principal Kongtrudged inMeng Yang’s direction, his face flushed with frustration.
Meng Yang frowned, baffled by the question. “Why not? Aren’t you here as well? Why can’t we be here?”
Principal Kong heaved a long sigh and told himself not to snap at the brat.
“Of course, we’re here. What I’m asking is how you got here before us, and why are you having a picnic when your purpose is to take part in the Master Teacher Oath Ceremony.”
“Yes, yes, we know all about it,” Meng Yangnodded, still looking unconvinced.
“But what does it have to do with how we got here?”
Principal Kong blinked at the boy, suddenly at a loss for words.
In the end, he figured there was no use wasting his time and just asked directly, “Did you take the cable car?”
“Yes!” Meng Yangnodded immediately.
He cocked his head to the side and looked at Principal Kongstrangely, as if he was wondering why the man was asking something so simple.
“Is there any other way up besides the cable car?” Meng Yangasked tentatively.
Principal Kong was completely speechless at the boy’s cluelessness.
His secretary stepped forward and took over. “Why did you take the cable car, huh? Aren’t you the ones who wanted to hike the mountain for tradition’s sake?”
The other teachers grumbled to themselves in the background.
Almost all of them were limping from exhaustion, but these kids actually had the audacity to take a shortcut and have a picnic. They made no effort to conceal their enjoyment, either.
What were the odds that these troublemakers had only joined the activity in order to have some barbecue on top of the mountain?
Lin Xin walked over and joined the conversation. “We’re all here now. Is there a problem?”
The teachers exchanged a look of defeat.
She was right—there shouldn’t be any problem at all. It was just that the adults didn’t approve of the way things had turned out.
One of the teachers tried telling them this.
“You see, the point of a hiking activity is to climb up the mountain step by step. You’re not supposed to use the cable car, or you would miss the experience of trekking through the land and reflecting on life. Hiking was meant to be a learning process about hard work and motivation. Do you understand?”
A few teachers were already shaking their heads in woe. It had taken them a while, but they recognized that these students were all from Class 20.
And the most mischievous of the lot, to boot.
They had really thought that these kids had turned over a new leaf and were now diligent with their studies. It appeared that they hadn’t changed at all.
‘They’re nothing like Yao Tang,’ thought the teacher who had just spoken up.
She was a transfer student, yet she had very good grades. She was quiet and well-behaved in class, too. That girl would never…
In the next second, however, the teacher caught sight of Yao Tangflipping multiple skewers in both hands.
His jaw dropped in surprise.
No, no, she must have been coerced by these rascals. There was no way she would willingly participate in something like this.