A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

Logan Grant shot her a glance. "You should worry about yourself and the students with you. Ten of you combined couldn’t outclimb her."

"A pro?" Genevieve Churchill paid no mind to Logan Grant’s tone. Her eyes lit up, like a hungry wolf spotting a tender lamb.

Seraphina Sterling coughed lightly a few times. "Let’s pick up the pace. We need to pull ahead of as many as we can. It looks like this is the international teams’ way of putting us in our place."

The two student representatives glanced back down. Nearly half of the Apex students were sitting by the side of the path, pounding their legs, panting heavily, and gulping down water. It was clear they could barely take another step.

’When did the Apex students get so out of shape? It’s just a mountain climb, for crying out loud.’

Seraphina Sterling quietly quickened her pace. As she passed Marshal, she saw him struggling to pull Michelle Galloway and Crystal Marshall along, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for him. ’Being the student president is a miserable job! The students he’s leading are always dragging him down! It’s just like the saying goes: you don’t have to fear a god-like opponent, only a pig-like teammate.’

"Seraphina Sterling, don’t just stand there and watch! We’re in the same group, can’t you give us a hand? Or do you not understand the concept of classmates helping each other?" Crystal Marshall seethed with jealousy, seeing that Seraphina wasn’t even flushed or out of breath.

"Yeah! Can’t you see Marshal is already drenched in sweat? Get over here and help!" Michelle Galloway felt like her legs no longer belonged to her, yet Seraphina was still completely at ease. It was just too unfair!

Seraphina Sterling shot a cool glance at Marshal. "If the two of you were a little more competent, a little more useful, I’m sure Marshal wouldn’t be this exhausted. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s yourselves for not bothering to train. Now you’re just making trouble for everyone else! If you want to make his life easier, then put in some effort yourselves instead of having him drag you up the mountain!"

Seraphina Sterling stretched languidly. "Don’t you all train every week? Haven’t you received the best professional coaching? Why do you still need someone to help you move forward? Is *this* the grand result of all your confidence?"

After saying her piece, Seraphina immediately continued upward. ’First place in climbing is still first place,’ she thought. ’I can complete the mission without having to be flashy. This mountain climbing thing is actually not so bad.’

"Hey, what’s your problem! We’re supposed to be a team! How can you just abandon us and go on ahead alone?" Michelle Galloway shouted, her voice full of accusation as she panted for breath.

"Oh? So you *do* know we’re in the same group. Is my memory failing me? Because I seem to recall *someone* at the foot of the mountain warning me that they wouldn’t help me even if I fell behind. Aren’t you eating your words right now?"

Seraphina gave a faint, innocent smile, which made the other two girls grind their teeth in frustration.

"President, when I fell behind earlier, you didn’t wait for me or help me. I assume you don’t need my help now, either. Besides, these two were selected by *your* esteemed school; you should see your responsibility through to the end." Seraphina estimated the distance to the summit. ’Time to really pick up the pace.’

"Don’t worry about us. Just make sure you get first place!" Marshal replied, either ignoring or failing to notice the resentment in Seraphina’s voice as he rationally assessed the situation.

’The overall fitness of the Apex students is just too poor,’ he thought. ’The gap between us and the students from other countries is too wide. Winning the team competition is impossible now. But we can’t let them take both the individual *and* team victories. Apex would be utterly humiliated! We have to win at least one of them!’

Hearing Marshal’s words, Seraphina couldn’t help but question herself. ’Have I spent too much time with these students? Have I become petty, too, getting hung up on such trivial matters? Even a kid like Marshal is more clear-headed than I am!’