Chapter 34

Logan didn't give her much time to think.

He picked up his backpack and stood up. "Let's go report to Captain Leonardo."

Summer snapped out of her thoughts, quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder, and followed Logan out of the school with the application forms in hand.

Logan locked the school gate, and together, they headed to the team headquarters to find Leonardo.

Leonardo was still at the headquarters.

Summer and Logan found him in the office, greeted him, and said, "Captain Leonardo, we've finished the enrollment. It went quite well. We recruited a total of sixty students."

Leonardo was pleased to hear this. He smiled and said, "We knew we could count on you two. I knew you would exceed our expectations."

Logan handed his backpack to Leonardo. "The tuition fees are all in here."

Seeing Logan give the fees to Leonardo, Summer naturally handed over the application forms.

However, Leonardo didn't take the backpack or the forms.

He looked at Summer and Logan and said, "You don't need to give me the tuition fees and forms. You keep them. We've already taken care of the preliminary work. The rest of the tasks are still up to you. Tomorrow, take the fees and forms to the county education bureau and collect the textbooks. The day after tomorrow, we'll have an opening ceremony as you suggested, and the day after that, classes will officially begin. How does that sound?"

Since Leonardo was giving out tasks, Summer and Logan naturally had no objections.

Moreover, they were eager to go to the county. They had been in the rural area for quite some time and hadn't had a chance to leave.

Both of them simultaneously retrieved the items they were holding.

Logan decisively responded, "Since you trust us, Captain Leonardo, we'll head to the county tomorrow and bring back the textbooks for the children."

Leonardo's eyes were full of trust as he looked at Summer and Logan.

He picked up two papers from the desk and handed them over. "These are the introduction letters for your trip to the county. Keep them safe and don't lose them. The county is quite far; you can't get there on foot. You can take the team's cart tomorrow. Have either of you been to the county before? Should we arrange for someone to go with you?"

"No need," Summer and Logan said in unison.

After a moment of silence, Logan continued, "Captain Leonardo, there's no need to waste another person's time. We know the direction to the county, and we can ask for directions along the way."

Leonardo praised them with a smile, "You city kids are indeed capable."

If this task were given to the rural kids who had never been out of the area, they would be stunned.

Summer wasn't considering wasting manpower. She was just thinking that it was a rare chance to go to the county, and having someone tag along would be inconvenient for doing personal errands.

With the matter settled, Summer and Logan left the headquarters.

They walked side by side back to the youth camp.

Summer asked Logan, "When do we leave tomorrow morning?"

Logan replied, "As early as possible."

Given the long journey and the need to return after completing the tasks, going early would give them more time.

Summer nodded in agreement, "Okay."

***

For the past few days, Summer and Logan would go out every evening after dinner.

Now that the enrollment was officially over, they didn't go out after dinner.

Taking a rare opportunity to rest, Summer returned to the dormitory after dinner, freshened up, and lay down.

The others in the dormitory were all gathered in the boys' dorm, making a lot of noise, leaving this side peaceful.

Summer lay on the bed, blinking, thinking about what she needed to do in the county tomorrow.

Mainly, after completing the tasks assigned by the team, she planned to send a letter back to New York at the post office and buy some things at the state-run store and bookstore.

Having gotten up early and been busy all day, Summer fell asleep while thinking.

She slept deeply and didn't know how long she had slept when she was awakened by the sound of someone using the water pump.

Waking up, Summer quickly got out of bed and looked out the window.

Sure enough, Logan was up, pumping water in the yard.

So, Summer decided not to go back to sleep. She quietly folded her quilt, got dressed, tied her hair, and took her toiletries to the yard.

After washing up and having breakfast, she and Logan left with their backpacks.

They first went to the headquarters to get the cart Leonardo had mentioned.

Leading the cart out of the yard, Summer suddenly felt a bit worried and asked Logan, "Have you ever driven a cart before?"

Logan replied, "I've never eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run, haven't I?"

Seeing his confidence, Summer didn't question him further.

Once the cart stopped, they climbed on.

Logan sat at the front left, holding a dry twig in one hand and the reins in the other.

Summer didn't sit on the right side but instead climbed onto the cart, sitting cross-legged on the mat next to Logan.

Logan didn't care how she sat and directly started the cart.

After a while, Summer saw that Logan seemed to be managing well and felt reassured.

They continued to drive the cart at a steady pace towards the county.

They occasionally asked for directions to ensure they were on the right path.

Under the sound of the donkey's hooves, the stars in the sky gradually faded, and the morning star began to shine in the eastern sky.

The sun slowly rose from the east, and the sky grew brighter.

Summer, feeling a bit tired, yawned and softly said, "Living in the countryside is really not easy..."

Logan looked at her and added, "So, how stupid must someone be to give up a job opportunity in the city and come to the countryside for someone who doesn't even like them?"

Summer: "..."

She knew Logan was talking about her.

She looked at Logan and retorted, "I call it being brave for love. What do you know?"

Logan sneered, "I really don't understand."

Summer wanted to continue arguing, but before she could speak, she suddenly leaned forward.

Logan also sensed something was wrong and looked ahead with Summer. They saw a long, steep downhill slope.

While they were talking, the donkey had started going downhill, and the cart followed.

"!!!"

In the blink of an eye, the cart's speed increased dramatically.

Before Summer and Logan could react, the cart was speeding out of control.

Summer was scared and instinctively shouted, "Logan, brake! Hurry, brake!"

Logan was exasperated. "This isn't a bicycle. There are no brakes. How am I supposed to stop it?!"

The slope was still long, and Summer felt her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

As the cart wheels hit a bump, the cart was suddenly airborne.

Summer screamed in fright and, feeling her heart about to stop, instinctively turned and hugged Logan, burying her face in his chest with her eyes closed.

The cart bounced and raced down the slope, the donkey running at full speed.

Logan struggled to stay on the cart, trying not to fall off, and shouted at Summer, "Summer, let go of me!"

Summer didn't listen. She just held on tightly, her face buried in his chest, driven by her instinct to survive.

The donkey's hooves pounded the ground, pulling the cart downhill.

After reaching the bottom, the donkey didn't stop immediately. It ran a good distance before Logan managed to slow it down.

Logan took a deep breath, still holding the reins.

After catching his breath, he looked at Summer, who was still clinging to him, half of her body in his arms.

Logan didn't say anything. He simply pried her arms away and pushed her off.

Summer, now aware that the cart had stopped, opened her eyes. Her face was full of lingering fear.

Once she calmed down a bit, she looked at Logan and blinked.

Logan didn't show any panic or fear, but he seemed more annoyed than anything.

His cheeks were flushed, and his ears were bright red, as if about to bleed.

Remembering what she had just done and how Logan usually acted, Summer instinctively shrank back and softly said, "Sorry... I was too nervous just now... I didn't mean to..."

Logan looked away, swallowed hard.

He didn't respond. After a moment, he raised the twig in his hand and swatted the donkey's rear.

With a snap, the donkey started moving again.

Summer felt as if that swat had landed on her and shrank back even more.

"..."