Chapter 134
Ella pouted and said, "We came here to hike, but look at those two, acting like they're in some romance movie. That lip-covering move is so cringe. Haven't they had enough PDA?"
Rachel glanced back at Michael and Mandy, nodded with a smile, and said, "Yeah, kinda looks like that."
"Alright, Ms. Williams, let's go. Watching this is making me sick," Ella said, linking arms with her. Rachel agreed and they stepped into the hiking trail entrance.
Michael overheard Rachel and Ella's conversation; his face darkened. Sick? So, in others' eyes, his interaction with Mandy was like that?
"Michael, what are you thinking about?" Mandy gently shook his arm.
Michael snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes flickering slightly. "Nothing, let's go."
The two of them then entered the hiking trail entrance together. Since they didn't want to be with others, Michael and Mandy walked at the back of the group.
At first, the seven of them formed a line and moved forward slowly. But midway, James suddenly suggested a hiking race to see who could reach the top first. He even specifically provoked John.
John couldn't stand such arrogance and immediately agreed to the race. Joseph joined in for fun, and Ella was also eager to participate, but John asked her to stay and protect Rachel.
In the end, the three men dashed off from the starting point, while the rest continued to move forward slowly.
After walking a short distance, Mandy suddenly sat down on a rock, panting heavily. "Michael, I'm so tired."
Michael stopped, took a bottle of water from his backpack, and handed it to her. "Have some water."
"Thanks," Mandy said with a cheerful smile as she took the water.
Michael then handed a bottle of water to Rachel. Rachel was surprised but politely declined. "Thank you, Mr. Smith, but there's no need. I don't want Miss Brown to misunderstand anything."
With that, she pulled Ella along and left. Michael watched their backs as they walked away, silently putting the bottle of water back.
Noticing his displeasure, Mandy squeezed the plastic bottle in her hand. "Are you upset because she refused you?" she asked.
She lowered her eyes to hide her jealousy and she said, "I'm sorry, Michael. If I weren't here, maybe..."
"It's not your fault," Michael interrupted, composing himself. He looked at her and asked, "Have you rested enough?"
Mandy nodded. "Yes."
"Then let's continue," Michael said, extending his hand to help her up.
But she remained seated. "I'm sorry, Michael. My feet hurt too much. I don't think I can walk anymore."
"Your feet hurt? Did you sprain something?" Michael asked with concern.
Mandy shook her head. "No, it's just that I haven't exercised in a long time."
Michael suddenly understood and adjusted his backpack to his chest, turned around, and squatted down. "Get on; I'll carry you."
A flash of joy appeared in Mandy's eyes but was quickly hidden. She pretended to be confused and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I said I'll carry you up the mountain. Hurry up," he said calmly.
At first, Mandy tried to refuse, but eventually, she obediently climbed onto his back. Soon, they caught up with Rachel and the others.
When Mandy saw that Rachel and Ella were ahead, she deliberately pointed at a strange rock and shouted loudly, "Hey! That rock over there looks so weird!"
Her voice made Rachel and Ella, who were chatting and walking, turn around to look. Seeing Michael carrying Mandy, both of them showed surprised expressions.
"Oh my God! He's actually carrying her up the mountain. Does he think he's Superman?" Ella muttered softly.
"Michael may be willing to do that. Why worry so much?" Rachel said with a faint smile.
"I couldn't care less!" Ella retorted, sticking out her tongue. "But it's really annoying how Mandy flaunts herself, deliberately making us watch Mr. Smith carrying her."
Rachel chuckled and stopped her. "Alright, stop talking. They're coming over." Ella stuck out her tongue and closed her mouth.
"Ms. Williams, Miss White," Mandy greeted Rachel and Ella with a sweet smile. However, the two of them completely ignored her, sitting by the roadside fanning themselves to cool off.
Michael's gaze fell on Rachel. She seemed a bit tired, rubbing her calf to relieve the soreness. Ella sat beside her, handing her a bottle of water. Rachel took the water and gave Ella a bright smile.
Compared to the cold expression she had when Michael offered her water earlier, this scene made Michael's eyes darken even more. He felt a surge of irritation and walked forward without expression.
Watching them walk away, Ella tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Weird, why is Mr. Smith angry? Did someone upset him?"
Rachel took a sip of water, glanced ahead, and replied indifferently, "Who knows."
Feeling their gaze, Mandy turned back and gave Rachel a smug smile, then tightly hugged Michael's neck as if declaring her territory.
Seeing this, before Rachel could react, Ella couldn't hold back her anger and sneered, "Ms. Williams, she's deliberately provoking you! You don't even like Mr. Smith anymore, and she's doing this, thinking you'll be jealous? It's ridiculous!"
Rachel just took a sip of water, smiled lightly, and said, "I really don't understand where she gets her sense of superiority from, thinking I still care about Michael and would be jealous? Forget it, let's not waste time talking about irrelevant people. Let's quicken our pace; John and the others must be nearing the summit by now."
"Alright!" Ella immediately tightened the bottle cap, stood up, and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
The two of them continued forward, chatting while maintaining a distance where they could see Michael and Mandy but not get too close.
About an hour later, they finally reached their destination, the mountain peak. John saw Rachel and his eyes lit up. He exclaimed, "Rachel!" He jogged over and took Rachel's backpack.
As for Ella, he instinctively ignored her. Ella didn't need him to carry her bag, rolled her eyes, and walked towards the campsite.
Rachel, sweating profusely, looked at John. "How long have you been here?"
"Not long, about half an hour," John said, taking out a handkerchief and tenderly wiping her sweat.
Rachel blinked. "Half an hour? I thought you got here much earlier."
"Yeah," John said with an awkward smile. "We could have gotten here earlier, but James took the wrong path and delayed us."
"What do you mean? You deliberately gave me the wrong directions," James said, coming over just in time to hear John's words and angrily retorting.
John snorted proudly. "Even if I gave you the wrong directions, you still fell for it. You really are so gullible."
"You..." James clenched his fists in anger.
Rachel rubbed her forehead. "Enough, stop arguing. You're giving me a headache."
"Rachel, let me massage your head. It'll make the pain go away," John said, moving behind her to massage her temples.
James muttered under his breath, "All you ever do is suck up to Rachel."
John heard him and whispered back, "Some people don't even know how to please a woman."
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