CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69: CAN YOU CARRY ME UP THE MOUNTAIN? (NEW)

"Brother, I want to take a picture too." Selina Hughes suppressed the jealousy in her eyes, pinched her voice, and shouted as she walked over, inserting herself between Talia and Adrian Jennings.

Yvonne Coleman suddenly exclaimed.

Ryan Quinn turned his head with concern and asked, "Yvonne, what’s wrong?"

Yvonne said dramatically, "Such a big third wheel, it blinds my eyes."

Selina Hughes heard what Yvonne said, but remained standing right between Talia Rhodes and Adrian Jennings, with the thickest of skins.

Seeing that Selina had no intention of leaving, Yvonne leisurely put away her selfie stick and turned to give Selina a trademark fake smile, "Excuse me, Miss Hughes, we’re done taking photos. If you want a group shot, take it with your brother Ethan and your gal-pals."

Selina Hughes tried her best to suppress the urge to curse, raised a smile, and took Adrian Jennings’ arm, "Then I’ll take a few photos with my brother."

Talia’s eyelashes lowered, her gaze landing on Selina Hughes’ hand.

Adrian Jennings pulled his hand away, looking down coldly, "You’re grown up now, how can you still cling to your brother? It’s time to find a boyfriend."

No matter how much Selina could pretend, hearing Adrian urge her to find a boyfriend made it difficult for her to maintain her smile; her facade cracked slightly, and her expression appeared wounded.

"Brother, why can’t I cling to you anymore now that I’m grown up? You used to spoil me so much."

Adrian Jennings was indifferent and distant, "That was then, this is now. Selina, you should know to avoid suspicion."

Selina’s earlier actions had already revealed her little schemes to Adrian Jennings, but since she was his sister, he spared her face and didn’t expose her in public.

He also noticed Selina Hughes’ hostility and jealousy towards Talia. Talia didn’t like Selina, and as Talia’s boyfriend, he should demonstrate his attitude to give Talia a sense of security.

Adrian’s words left Selina stunned, "Brother, what suspicion do we need to avoid as siblings?"

Yvonne Coleman clicked her tongue, "Really think of yourself as a Jennings girl? Grown men and women without blood ties, what suspicion do you think you need to avoid?"

Selina Hughes was on the verge of tears, looking up pitifully at Adrian Jennings.

Adrian spoke with a detached tone, "Yvonne is right. Though we are siblings, there is no blood relationship. Avoid doing things that easily cause misunderstandings."

Selina wanted to say something else, but Adrian bypassed her, directly taking Talia’s hand, his dark eyes deep and caring, "Talia, we’ve finished taking pictures, let’s go."

Talia smiled slyly, looking at Selina with a victorious challenge, "Sister, if you want to take photos, stay and do so slowly; I’m leaving with your brother."

Inside, Talia mocked, ha-ha, such a good green tea act, master of tea arts, surely no one can rival you, but unfortunately, your brother is a tea connoisseur.

...

After sunset, as temperatures dropped, the mountain stream brought a chill, and the humidity increased, making it noticeably colder.

Adrian Jennings took a thick coat from his backpack, "Talia, put on some extra clothes."

Selina Hughes, lacking outdoor experience and unaware of the temperature differences between day and night in the mountains, was shivering in her thin, lightweight hiking outfit.

Seeing Adrian giving a coat to Talia, her jealousy surged.

Talia had just put on her coat and walked a little when suddenly someone behind them screamed.

Instinctively, she turned around, but the winding mountain path and the surrounding trees blocked the view, preventing her from seeing what happened behind.

Soon, Selina’s friend, Ivy Yates, ran over urgently shouting, "Mr. Jennings, Selina twisted her ankle."

Adrian Jennings frowned and asked, "Is it serious?"

Ivy’s anxious demeanor didn’t seem faked, "It looks pretty serious. She can’t walk. You should go take a look."

The mountain paths were treacherous, and a moment’s inattention could lead to a fall or sprained ankle. Initially, Talia didn’t suspect anything; after all, Selina was Adrian’s sister, so they needed to check if she was injured.

"Let’s go see what happened," Talia said to Adrian Jennings.

"Mm."

Adrian and Talia followed Ivy back a ways and saw Selina sitting on a rock by the path, biting her lip and groaning in pain.

"What happened?" Adrian asked.

Selina, with tears brimming, said, "I accidentally stepped on a small stone and slipped, fell, and hurt my foot. It hurts a lot."

Talia looked down; mud was smeared on Selina’s knee, and her ankle was scraped with blood oozing out — she was genuinely hurt.

Adrian asked, "Can you still walk?"

"I can’t walk."

As she finished, tears poured out, and she cried pitifully, "I’m fine, brother, you don’t have to worry about me. The summit is nearly there. Go watch the meteor shower; I don’t want to delay you."

Adrian nodded, "I’ll find someone to take you back."

Selina was stunned, her expression faltering briefly before she quickly regained composure, continuing to sob, "Brother, I... I also want to see the meteor shower. Can you not send me back now? I don’t want to miss out."

Selina’s scream earlier had been so loud that Yvonne and Ryan ahead also heard it, and Yvonne came over just as Selina spoke.

Yvonne glanced at Selina’s injury, smirking with a tilted mouth. Wow, bringing out the pity card, are we?

Sure enough, in the next second, Selina pitifully said, "Brother, can you carry me up the mountain? The summit isn’t far. I’m not heavy."

Talia and Yvonne exchanged glances, then looked at Adrian in unison.

The viewing platform was only a hundred or two meters away; it wasn’t far.

Selina’s request seemed reasonable.

But Talia and Yvonne knew it definitely wasn’t that simple.

Selina was far from simple-minded.

Talia stayed silent, quietly waiting for Adrian’s response.

Adrian Jennings looked around and then at the ground.

Selina, puzzled by what he was looking at, asked, "Brother, what’s wrong?"

Adrian’s voice was calm, "Since you want to watch the meteor shower so much, sit here and watch. Though the view here isn’t as good as from the viewing platform, it should suffice."

"Huh?" Selina clearly didn’t expect Adrian to say that.

Biting her lip, her face seemed paler under the light, "Brother, I don’t want to be left alone here while you all are on the viewing platform. I’m scared."

Adrian remained unmoved with his cold, aloof demeanor, "Don’t you have two friends? Let them accompany you. I’ll have someone bring you some food. Once the meteor shower is over, I’ll arrange for you to be taken back. Don’t spend the night on the mountain."

Hearing this, Yvonne signaled to Talia with her eyes.

Those eyes seemed to say: Your brother is awesome.

Selina couldn’t accept this outcome.

She cried, "Brother, why don’t you want to carry me to the viewing platform? Are you afraid of upsetting Talia? Is Talia really that petty? I’m your sister, and she’d even be jealous of me?"