The aloof president of the Travel Club proposed something unexpected. The autumn night deepened as Diane blinked, pulling the dazed female class monitor, who then snapped to attention. With a soft click, Olivia was already heading out.
Ten minutes later, a taxi drove away from the warmly lit foothills.
"All the headcounts from each room have been reported. After cross-checking, there are six missing students, just like James said, they're all from your class."
Inside the taxi, Ye Binghan sat in the front passenger seat, her beautiful face reflecting the city's shimmering nightscape through the window, which had a faint layer of mist on it. Her head rested against the seat, and her expression shifted slightly in the dim light. She probably curled her lips, and her voice softened, "Having all the troublemakers come from one class… well, at least it's manageable with six people..."
"Haha..." From the back seat came a few awkward chuckles, filled with mixed emotions.
The female class monitor and Diane had also joined the ride. Since they were heading out to retrieve their classmates, they were grateful that Olivia had decided not to inform the school authorities. As members of the class committee, they certainly had to go along.
However, the mood wasn't particularly pleasant. Although Olivia's words weren't strictly stern, the female class monitor couldn't shake the sense of embarrassment.
Given the grade gap, they weren't very familiar with each other, which made it difficult to ease the tense atmosphere. The female class monitor just wanted to get to the destination quickly and haul the troublemakers back.
"David, Marvin, Logan, Jonathan, William, Lucas... are these names correct?" Olivia turned her head to ask.
"Yes, that's right." The female class monitor quickly nodded. Diane, seeing the stressed furrow between her classmate's brows, patted her shoulder in a comforting gesture.
As she glanced at her calm senior in the front seat, Diane felt that situation wasn't as serious as it seemed. It seemed like the awkwardness was mostly due to the class monitor's worries, and Logan and the others wouldn't go too far.
Olivia, popular as she was, had stepped in to help, saying she didn't want this event to leave a blemish on the club's record. This made it likely the rumors were true that she had a hand in organizing the autumn field trip.
With a bit of student council intervention, tricky situations became much easier to manage. After adjusting the headcount for the teachers, they could get through the hotel security checkpoints without issue, all thanks to Olivia's influence.
As long as everyone was back by the next day's gathering, nobody would notice anything amiss.
So, having a little bit of power really was handy. Diane couldn't help feeling a tiny bit envious of her senior, who was admired by everyone and seemed like the template for a successful life.
"However, where exactly would they be heading to at night..." Olivia said again, raising her head in the middle of the sentence.
"I'll make sure to thoroughly criticize and educate them!" The female class monitor interjected determinedly, her tone growing indignant as she continued, "It's utterly inappropriate. Sneaking out is bad enough, but to do something like this as high schoolers..."
Diane, who is still holding the female monitor's hand, could only smile wryly. James, who was left alone in the room, not only the whole backstory, but also revealed the rather audacious location their six male classmates intended to visit.
"David told me that they were planning to hit a casino, saying that just sightseeing in Napa wasn't enough. He said as men, they had to go and broaden their horizons."
Recalling Wang Yao's words, Chen Wenwen couldn't help but shake her head, 'These boys were certainly bold. What did they mean by 'broadening their horizons'?'
She could already picture the often clueless, chubby guy who hung around Logan putting on what he thought was a cool, suave act.
Lost in thought, Diane pondered the antics of these teenage boys, forgetting that she herself was also in her adolescence.
The city center was approaching quickly. Gazing out at the lively city, she unconsciously thought of Logan, her childhood friend. They used to be inseparable, but as they grew up, they drifted apart, hardly speaking since high school started…
Yet, she felt she knew his personality well, easygoing, plain and ordinary, 'Was Logan really out there causing trouble with that crowd?'
In the past, she'd have thought it was impossible, but now it seemed things might have changed a bit. Everyone was growing up, and there were parts of him she no longer knew.
The car turned, revealing the wide, six-lane street illuminated by various red, yellow, white, and blue lights. A glimmer flashed in Diane's clear, dark eyes, reminding her of a vivid memory.
Rough ropes, a sea of shouts. At the back of the line, a young boy seemed to cast a spell, freezing time for a moment, before he and everyone else fell together in the brilliant sunlight.
…
Logan emerged from the somewhat run-down apartment building, most of the neighboring homes now dark, their residents at rest, while his shadow stretched to the corner under the streetlight.
This was an aging residential area, a relic of times past, which would inevitably be replaced by towering skyscrapers in the name of urban development. Those same skyscrapers loomed nearby, a short ten-minute bike ride away if he were in the mood to take a shared bike over.
As he stepped out, he could still hear voices coming from inside.
"Brother Log, are you sure you don't need us? Those dirty sons of [bleep] may have ambushed us, but we still have a few men to make a show of force."
A brawny man held the door, his fierce face surprisingly earnest. Through the half-opened door, Logan glimpsed several others inside, crowding around the couch, murmuring quietly as they clearly watched his conversation intently.
"Relax, I don't need you all involved." Logan replied with a kind smile, though he couldn't shake the odd feeling of being called 'Brother Log'. Once he'd revealed who he was, they'd insisted on the title, and there wasn't much he could do about it.
It was an odd sight, a fresh-faced student and a hardened man chatting sincerely by the door. Logan only hoped to get back soon and maybe squeeze in another dip in the hot springs if he was lucky.
"And about what Boss Light instructed do..."
"I'll take care of it."
The stocky man still looked uneasy but slowly nodded, "Okay... Brother Log, just stay safe, and call if you need us."
With a wave, Logan walked away without looking back, 'Seriously, they talked so much, and it was chilly out here.'
Since he was out working to earn money, he felt he should follow the necessary procedures. This meeting point set up by Damian led him to a tenement house, a stronghold of remnants from a splintered faction that had lost its turf.
Logan carefully gathered information to ensure there were no discrepancies. But while he went through this optional process, he noted how proactive the faction members were in showing their 'subjective initiative'.
Despite Damian's statement that they wouldn't cooperate, reality proved slightly different. Truthfully, this lingering faction was still somewhat competent, but Logan had no interest in recruiting them.
They were just too weak.
Riding a shared bike, Logan calmly disappeared into the glow of the central business district.