Chapter 187: Chapter 187: I Heard You Did Very Well Today

At her words, her teammates all laughed.

"You weren’t asleep for a long time. You were passed out for a long time."

"The drill instructor said to go find something to eat in the mess hall on your own when you woke up."

"Er, thanks. I’ll head to the mess hall now." Claire Sinclair was starving, so she said no more, got out of bed, and rushed to the mess hall.

The moment she left, her teammates started talking among themselves.

"I wouldn’t have guessed it, but that girl’s pretty tough."

"Yeah, running until she passed out... I don’t even have that kind of willpower." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"There’s really no need to push that hard. The drill instructor won’t force you if you can’t run. She’s adorably naive."

"Exactly. We’re not real soldiers, after all. Who cares if we can finish the run?"

...

When Claire Sinclair arrived at the mess hall, she unexpectedly saw someone there—it startled her so much she thought she must be dreaming.

"Mr. Quincy, what are you doing here?"

Adrian Quincy sat at a dining table, a freshly prepared dinner spread out before him. He beckoned to her from a distance, "Come and eat."

Claire Sinclair walked over, sat down opposite him, and eyed the delicious food on the table. "Is this for me?"

"Eat up," Adrian Quincy said, nodding.

Claire Sinclair was famished, so she didn’t stand on ceremony. She picked up her chopsticks and started to wolf down the food.

Adrian Quincy parted his lips. "I heard you performed very well today."

"Not at all! I couldn’t finish the run in the required time, I made everyone else wait for me, and on top of that, I fainted!" Claire Sinclair couldn’t feel the least bit happy about completing the run, because she had been dragging everyone down the whole time.

Adrian Quincy comforted her in a soft voice, "No one reaches the heavens in a single step. The fact that you finished at all is progress."

"More pep talks..." Claire Sinclair muttered under her breath.

Adrian Quincy lowered his gaze to the girl’s pretty face. "I’ll have some time in a couple of days. I’ll come and run with you then."

"Huh?" Claire Sinclair was taken aback, feeling incredibly flattered.

"Finish your noodles first," Adrian Quincy said softly. "I have to leave soon."

"Oh." ’His words are sending my heart on a roller coaster. I should just keep eating.’

When she was almost finished, Claire Sinclair deliberately slowed her pace, not wanting him to leave so soon. She kept stealing glances at his face, looking as if she had something to say but was holding back.

Adrian Quincy suddenly spoke up, "What is it?"

"A lot of people came to see me today..."

"Mm," Adrian Quincy acknowledged with a nod.

"But they weren’t really there to see me. They wanted to see my sister."

"Quinn is a hero in their eyes. It’s only natural that they’d come to see you."

Claire Sinclair pouted. "But I’m not my sister, after all. She’s so amazing, and my performance today was so terrible. They must have been thoroughly disappointed in me."

"Claire, just be yourself."

Claire Sinclair poked the bottom of her bowl with her chopsticks and mumbled, "I just hope I can get a little stronger once this training is over. Otherwise, I’ll be letting down all of Teacher Hartwell’s painstaking efforts."

Adrian Quincy suddenly raised his hand and ruffled her hair. "As long as you complete the training, you’ll gain so much. And I’ll be proud of you."

Claire Sinclair glanced up at him, the corners of her lips finally curving into a pretty smile.

"If I complete the training, will there be a reward?"

"What do you want?"

"I want you to spend a whole day with me!"

"Deal," the man readily agreed.

Claire Sinclair’s spirits were instantly lifted, the gloom in her heart completely swept away. "Alright! I’ll give it my all!"

With the gloom in the girl’s eyes finally gone, the corners of Adrian Quincy’s lips lifted slightly. He found himself looking forward to the day she completed her training as well.