Chapter 23 Ominous Signs Autumn Ning Mountain was a mountain range located on the outskirts of Fragrance City, with an elevation of nearly a thousand meters. The scenery on the mountain was beautiful and lush with trees, but due to its remote location from the city center and sparse population, it was rarely visited by people on ordinary days. Instead, it had become a popular destination for spring and autumn outings organized by schools in several nearby cities.

  On Saturday morning, four large buses stopped in front of the gate of Yuning Middle School. All four classes of grade 7 from Yuning Middle School participated in this camping trip to Qiuning Mountain. Accompanying them were the class advisors and subject teachers, as well as a director from the school affairs office.

  Zhou Hao remembered that in his previous life, Yu Ning Middle School had organized a trip to Qiuning Mountain, but he hadn't been able to go because he had a fever. He could only envy the classmates who returned and told him about the beautiful scenery on Qiuning Mountain. So this time, Zhou Hao wouldn't miss it.

  As soon as he got on the bus, he found that Liu Shichao and Luo Hui were already sitting in the second to last row of seats. Zhou Hao smiled and came to their front, "How did you two get so close so quickly?"

  "Hmm, I'm going to play a guessing game with this fatty. If I lose, he has to let me slap him." Luo Hui excitedly pulled out a deck of poker cards.

  Zhou Hao ignored Liu Shichao's pleading gaze and instead looked at Gao Jingyi sitting by the window behind them. The seat next to Gao Jingyi was empty, and a boy who had always had a crush on her plucked up the courage to walk over and ask: "Gao Jingyi, is this seat taken?"

  Gao Jingyi merely glanced at him faintly, "Sorry, this seat is taken." Then she saw Zhou Hao still standing in the aisle, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes, and said softly, "Zhou Hao, sit here, this seat is empty."

  Finally, Zhou Hao sat down beside Gao Jingyi under the extremely resentful gaze of the boy who had been rejected and bitterly smiled at her: "Hey, aren't you putting me in a difficult position?" Because apart from the boy who had just been rejected, the other boys in the car who admired Gao Jingyi but didn't have the courage to approach her also cast murderous glances at Zhou Hao.

  "What's it to them?" Gao Jingyi really didn't bother to care about those boys, she asked Zhou Hao: "What did you bring to eat for this autumn outing?"

  Zhou Hao shrugged, "I don't have as good a family background as you do, I only brought some sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Hmm, my mom also prepared two cans of fish for me, just in case."

  "Sweet potatoes? I love baked sweet potatoes the most. Let's try some later." Gao Jingyi smiled.

  "Okay, but sweet potatoes can make you fart if you eat too much. I don't dare imagine what it would be like when a beautiful girl like you farts."

  Gao Jingyi's face immediately turned red, and she couldn't help but slap Zhou Hao twice. "You're the one who farted."

  Zhou Hao saw that Gao Jingyi had already recovered from the last incident, and he was also very happy for her. The boys around who were secretly paying attention to Gao Jingyi's side saw that not only did she reserve a seat for Zhou Hao, but now they were so intimate, their eyes turned red with envy.

  It takes more than an hour to get to Autumn Ning Mountain from the city. Along the way, chatting with Gao Jingyi and watching Liu Shichao being teased by Luo Hui in front of him, Zhou Hao didn't feel like time was hard to pass. However, what made him most unhappy was Li Ruolan in the first row seat. It wasn't that Li Ruolan had offended Zhou Hao, but rather that she was sitting next to math teacher Meng Tingguang, who kept teasing her into talking, with a flattering expression on his face. Li Ruolan, however, didn't seem too interested and responded perfunctorily.

  Zhou Hao had always disliked Meng Tingguang, a man in his thirties who was already married with children, yet still flirted with other female teachers at school, giving him a terrible reputation. Looking at his detestable face, Zhou Hao secretly thought to himself: "If you dare to set your sights on Teacher Li, I will never let you off!"

  As it approached noon, four large buses arrived at Qiuning Mountain. After getting off the bus, Zhou Hao took a deep breath and felt that the air here was particularly fresh. Above his head was a bright blue sky, in front of him was the beautiful and lush Qiuning Mountain, without busy streets or crowded people, Zhou Hao felt a sense of relaxation and tranquility.

  "It's so beautiful here." Gao Jingyi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the sight.

  "Alright, classmates, bring your luggage, we're going up the mountain." Li Ruolan organized her own class students, "Be careful not to throw your trash on the mountain, you are Yuning Middle School students, don't embarrass the school."

  Then, the students of the four classes went up the mountain one after another. The Autumn Peace Mountain has a stone slab road paved with bluestone, and it won't be too difficult to go up. Along the way, you can also enjoy the scenery in the mountains. However, this stone slab road leading to the top of the mountain is as long as five or six kilometers, which is a considerable test for physical strength. Liu Shichao had not even walked halfway before he was already panting and stopped to rest, with Luo Hui heavily hitting his head, "You useless dead fat pig can't even take this little distance." Under Luo Hui's whip, Liu Shichao reluctantly took another step forward.

  Looking at Liu Shichao and Luo Hui, this happy couple, Gao Jingyi couldn't help but smile wryly, and at the same time felt a little envious of them, and involuntarily glanced at Zhou Hao beside her.

  Zhou Hao noticed Gao Jingyi's unusual expression and asked: "Are you tired? Do you want to take a rest?"

  Gao Jingyi hastily shook her head, "No need, let's keep going." As she spoke, she lifted her foot to continue walking forward, but her left foot was suddenly tripped by the stone slab behind her. She let out a startled cry of "Ah" and her body began to fall forward.

  Just as she thought she was going to fall to the ground, a strong arm appeared in front of her, firmly grasping her shoulder and pulling her up, accompanied by Zhou Hao's concerned voice, "Gao Jingyi, are you okay?"

  Gao Jingyi finally realized that it was Zhou Hao who was supporting her and her face turned red again, "I, I'm fine."

  "It's okay, be careful." Zhou Hao let go of her to avoid embarrassing her.

  The two of them quickly caught up with the person in front, but they both fell silent, and there was a strange, inexplicable awkwardness between them.

  The campsite is located on a gentle slope in the middle of Qiuning Mountain, where there are not many trees and the place is open, offering a panoramic view of the scenery below. Many tourists like to set up their tents here, and a small pavilion has been built with wooden beams on one side.

  The tents used for camping were uniformly issued by the school, which were sturdy and practical camouflage military tents. The students in the class were divided into groups of four, and Zhou Hao naturally formed a group with Gao Jingyi, Liu Shichao, and Luo Hui. After the director of the school affairs office said a few words about safety, each group began to get busy.

  First, they set up their tents. Zhou Hao had experience with this from his university days when he went on outdoor trips, so it didn't take long for him to set up the two tents. Seeing how quickly and efficiently Zhou Hao set up the tents, Liu Shichao couldn't help but praise him repeatedly, while Gao Jingyi's gaze at him also took on a few more hues of admiration.

  As for the other groups, due to lack of experience, they were still setting up their tents in a disorganized manner after a long time, and even the teachers were at a loss. In the end, it was Zhou Haoyi who lent a helping hand, either assisting or directing, and managed to set up dozens of tents.

  "Zhou Hao, I didn't expect you to be so capable." After helping Li Ruolan and another female teacher set up the tent, Li Ruolan praised Zhou Hao with a smile.

  With her praise, Zhou Hao felt that it was all worth it, no matter how hard he worked.

  Then, Zhou Hao and Liu Shichao picked up a lot of dry branches from nearby, while Gao Jingyi and Luo Hui had already used stones to make a simple stove with a small pot on it. The food brought by Liu Shichao included beef balls, ham, and several packages of instant noodles. Luo Hui brought chicken wings and legs, as well as chocolates and soft candies, among other snacks. Gao Jingyi brought several packages of ready-to-eat smoked meat, some compressed biscuits, a whole chopped and marinated chicken, and a package of medicinal soup ingredients.

  Seeing Zhou Hao and others staring at her in shock, Gao Jingyi's face turned red as she said, "This was something my mom insisted I bring."

  Zhou Hao smiled and said, "Since we have such good ingredients, let's just make a pot of chicken soup."

  So, several people immediately got busy. Not far away, there was a mountain spring with good water quality that could be used directly. The chicken brought by Gao Jingyi had been processed and there were also dumplings, so as long as everything was put in the pot, all they needed to do next was watch the fire.

  Then Luo Hui took Liu Shichao to play nearby, leaving Zhou Hao and Gao Jingyi to watch the fire.

  The fireworks that crackled and popped cast a spell on Gao Jingyi's delicate face, making her look even more enchanting.

  "Zhou Hao, do you like Teacher Li?" Gao Jingyi asked suddenly.

  Zhou Hao almost didn't react in time, "You, what are you saying? If others hear this, it won't be good."

  But then Gao Jingyi propped up her chin and looked at Zhou Hao, "Isn't that so? Many boys in our class like Teacher Li." She stared at Zhou Hao's eyes with a sly gaze, "Quickly answer, you can't fool me!"

  "Uh..." Zhou Hao immediately felt a bit overwhelmed, and his face also turned slightly red as he said: "I... I guess I do like you a bit."

  "Hmph, I knew it, you guys always like those mature women." Gao Jingyi felt somewhat displeased.

  "This... I don't know how to answer this either." Zhou Hao really didn't know how to respond to this question.

  "Uh..." Gao Jingyi blinked her big eyes at Zhou Hao, "Are you saying I'm pretty or is Teacher Li pretty?"

  Zhou Hao scratched his head, "Each has its own merits, it's hard to say who is more beautiful, anyway they are all stunning beauties."

  Gao Jingyi burst out laughing, "Well, I'll give you credit for being honest, at least you didn't say something insincere like 'you're even more beautiful'."

  Zhou Hao heard this and secretly felt a little relieved in his heart. Fortunately, he was a good person and good people would be rewarded.

  At this moment, a flock of birds suddenly took flight in the woods, and the sound of small animals crying out could be heard from the mountain, sounding very restless. Zhou Hao also suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, he immediately stood up and looked around, but didn't find anything unusual.

  Gao Jingyi was frightened as soon as she heard the cries of birds and beasts, instinctively grabbing Zhou Hao's hand. "Zhou Hao, what happened?"