?Chapter 1708:


    The two pickups sat stacked high, stones piled to the brim.


    In the evening, he rolled back into Brindleton Girls’ School, grinning like a man who’d struck gold. On the sports field, he and Sergio began loading the stones onto a waiting helicopter.


    When Ethan and Brenna caught wind of it, they swung by to check out his loot.


    “Not bad!” Brenna eximed. “You’ve gathered quite a stash.”


    Dustinughed, his voice booming with joy. “I’ve hit the jackpot! Dinner’s on me tonight!” He then said to Ethan, “Could you help me send this back to the city?”


    “You just want to ship these off before anyone elseys a hand on them,” Ethan said knowingly, already dialing his pilot.


    Dustin’s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the haul. “Yeah. Where’s the pilot? Let him work overtime—I’ll throw in a fat tip.”


    Brenna bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone. At first nce, it seemed ordinary, save for a speck of green glimmering on its surface.


    “This one’s a beauty,” she said. “Feels like it has promise.”


    Meanwhile, in Willowbrook, a woman clutched her phone. “You won’t believe it—someone came here today. He paid sky-high prices for stones. The vigers flocked to him and sold him everything. Adair alone made two hundred and eighty thousand dors. This person is stealing your business. You’d better get back here fast!”


    Just then, Jarrett and Aikin returned with the geological survey team. Since the school had limited dormitories and all the survey members were men, it wasn’t suitable for them to stay in the girls’ quarters. They hade prepared with tents, which they pitched on the yground, nning to spend the night camping out.


    Brenna, however, was arranged to stay in Elsa’s dorm room. Brenna wasn’t exactlyfortable staying in the same room as Elsa.


    She turned to Ethan and said quietly, “I’d rather stay in a tent, too. I’m not that close to your mom, and sharing a room with her would feel awkward.”


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    Ethan’s gaze drifted toward Elsa, who stood a short distance away. Her expression was tight and cold, showing that she felt the same way.


    Seeing that neither woman seemed eager to share a room, Ethan made a quick decision. “In that case, you can stay in my tent. There’s plenty of room anyway,” he said to Brenna.


    He then walked over to Elsa. “Mom, Brenna will sleep in the tent with me tonight. It’s gettingte, so you should rest. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with Professor Schmidt for the field survey, so don’t wait up for me.”


    Elsa gave him a calm look. Still, her gaze lingered on Brenna. “Do as you wish. I won’t interfere.”


    Though she didn’t exactly like the idea of her son sharing a tent with Brenna, her view of Brenna had improved. Brenna had shown genuine kindness to the local girls in the mountains and had followed her son to this difficult ce.


    And earlier, after dinner, Ainslie had told her about Brenna’s intention to sponsor students who got into college. Elsa started to think that Brenna was actually a pretty good person. For the first time, she believed that having Brenna as her daughter-inw might not be a bad idea.


    Brenna, unlike many others, didn’t look down on the poor. She carried herself with grace and understanding that Elsa respected. Besides, Elsa had made things difficult for her before, yet she hadn’t retaliated. Elsa decided not to target her again.


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