"Are you trying to deceive me with small favors?" The boy jeered. "I might not know much about the world, but I do
know that if you want to achieve something, you should aim high!"
He then kicked over the anthill and walked away.
Bianca was shocked by the boy's actions. After standing in the scorching sun for a while, she finally snapped out of
her daze and realized it was already evening.
The duty teacher began checking the classroom doors and getting ready to leave. The school principal emerged
from a slightly better cottage, immediately spotted Bianca, and warmly greeted her.
"You're... Ms. Mosley, right? I remember you. You came with Ms. Harding and took lots of pictures of our children!"
Bianca forced a smile, although her face was pale.
"Ms. Mosley, why are you here at this time?" The people from the mountains were straightforward and honest. The
school principal considered anyone who came with Lena—the one who brought the kids to school in Centrolis—as
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtbenefactors. She held Bianca's hand and expressed her gratitude profusely.
"If it weren't for all of you, the children wouldn't have the opportunity to leave the mountains! I only went to high
school, but high school students are already a rare sight here... Now that the children have this opportunity, it's
really..."
Bianca interrupted her. "I came over because... I wanted to double-check the student list."
"Oh?"
"Since we're leaving soon..." Bianca made up a reason. "Ms. Harding asked me to confirm the student list. Could I
go over it with you?"
The principal believed her, nodded in agreement, and reopened the door to the principal's office.
"The list and photos are all here." She took out a stack of papers. "Ms. Mosley, please take a look. If you need any
help, feel free to ask!"
Bianca took the papers and pretended to inspect them. Suddenly, she saw the photo of the boy.
"Is his name Alexander Dickinson?"
The principal leaned over to look and replied with a smile, "Yes. There aren't many boys here, so Alexander is quite
unique."
Bianca perked up and asked, "What makes him unique?"
"He's around 12 years old but looks like he's only eight or nine due to his family's extreme poverty and malnutrition.
Also, look at his name—Alexander, like Alexander the Great. Well... that's how people in the village name their
children."
"Where is his father from?" "He's not from our village." The principal shook her head. "He lives in a neighboring
village. Do you see that mountain there?" The principal pointed outside the window. "You have to cross that
mountain and then take a mountain path to get to his house!"
Bianca gazed at the hazy mountain, and the boy's cold face flashed in her mind once more.
"That village is even poorer and more isolated." The principal sighed. "I heard Alexander's father only got married
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmand had him when he was quite old. He seemed to have a foster daughter before... but he treated her poorly, and
she ran away.
"When the foster daughter ran away, she was about the same age as Alexander. I wonder how she's doing now.
"These children are fortunate!" The principal wiped her tears. "To meet a group of kind-hearted people like you!"
Bianca frowned and contemplated for a moment. She then asked, "Why did Alexander come to this school?"
The principal explained, "Their village is so poor they don't have a school. Among the nearby villages, only our
village has a school."
Speaking of this, the principal wore a proud expression. Despite poverty, only this village emphasized education and
had pooled their efforts to build this rudimentary school.
It was finally paying off. The children could all leave now and would never be trapped in these deep mountains like
their ancestors.
Bianca did not have the patience to listen to the principal's chatter. She hastily left and contemplated many things
on her way back. A strange feeling began to stir within her.