Nolan came with a big off-road vehicle to pick up James and Kara. He took off his glasses and wiped them carefully as James and Kara walked to him.
Since Nolan was hanging out with others, he brought a pair of fashionable glasses that made him look cool.
Nolan kept checking on and wiping his glasses until he wore them again.
Even though it was the end of summer, the weather was still hot outside.
Kara’s palm couldn’t stop sweating under the sun.
James noticed that Kara’s palm was sweating and walked to Kara’s right side to hold her another hand.
“Do you feel better now?” James asked.
Kara smiled.
“I feel much better now. My palm doesn’t sweat anymore. James, you are so considerate,” Kara responded.
Then James smiled back at Kara.
Nolan scratched his eyebrows and sighed after seeing James and Kara’s interaction.
James and Kara were a sweet couple when they didn’t have disagreements.
James and Kara finally got into the car and were ready to go and meet Ayden. However, Nolan said he had to drive slowly.
“Why? Are we waiting for someone?” Kara asked.
“Two more people are coming to join us,” Nolan responded calmly.
James stopped playing his mobile game after hearing Nolan’s words.
“Did you ask Will and Rory to join us?” James asked Nolan.
Nolan raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
“No, I didn’t. They heard about my trip yesterday and asked to come,” Nolan said.
James didn’t know how to reply to Nolan and stopped talking.
James understood that Rory would ask people to hang out together because Rory was outgoing and loved being with others.
But Will was always busy with work. He had to handle everything in the hospital. Also, Will needed to work on his paper after work.
So, usually, Will wouldn’t leave his job and hang out with others.
“Mr. Nolan, you better take good care of yourself,” James said.
Nolan didn’t reply.
But Nolan trembled after hearing James’s words.
“What are you guys talking about?” Kara asked. She was confused by the conversation between Nolan and James.
“I just said that it’s very hard for Mr. Nolan to find a girlfriend,” James responded.
Nolan remained silent.
“I don’t think so. I think Uncle Nolan will be a good boyfriend,” Kara looked at Nolan and said.
Nolan was tall and handsome. Also, he had a stable job and a decent income.
Many girls might see Nolan as their Prince Charming.
“So, you think Nolan is better than me?”
James asked jealously.
“Who wants such a jealous boyfriend?” Kara thought.
“No. My Uncle James is the best,” Kara explained immediately.
Nolan glanced at Kara.
Kara noticed that Nolan had looked at her and gave him a friendly smile.
Then Kara patted Nolan’s shoulder and said, “Uncle Nolan, you handle your work and life really well. I am sure you will meet a great girl in your life. Maybe that girl is cuter than me.”
“Thank you,” Nolan answered indifferently.
“If the girl is cuter than Kara, then the girl must be under eighteen. That’s inappropriate,” Nolan thought.
Soon, a car came up and followed behind Nolan’s car. It was Rory and Will. Rory was driving while Will was sleeping in the back seat.
Ayden’s car came up when everyone was about to enter the highway. Jamya and Zoie were coming with Ayden.
Rory almost drove into a ditch when he saw Zoie.
Rory’s distraction made the car jolt, which caused Will to bump his head on the seat.
“Could you please pay attention? Be a safe driver, Rory!” Will sat up with a frown and complained.
Rory felt sorry for Will and stopped looking toward Ayden’s car.
“Will, can I ask you something?” Rory said.
“What?”
Will rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was so sleepy that he didn’t want to do anything but sleep.
“Do you know Zoie is back?” Rory asked.
Will woke up immediately and looked at Ayden’s car to see if Zoie was there.
“I know she’s back. What’s wrong?” Will answered.
“Nothing. Since you and Zoie are in the same city now, I am just curious about how you guys will react when you meet each other,” Rory said.
Rory tried to see Will’s reaction through the mirror, but he failed.
“I don’t know. Just let it be,” Will said.
Will closed his eyes and tried to calm down. However, his heart was still pounding fast.
“It was all my fault. I was the one who hurt Zoie,” Will thought.
He wanted Zoie to have a better life now.
Will hoped that Zoie didn’t live with hatred.
Initially, Ayden asked Jamya to go to a mountain to take pictures together.
However, Jamya was too shy to travel alone with Ayden and told her dilemma to Kara.
Then Kara decided to go to the mountain with Jamya and asked James to come.
Moreover, Zoie joined the travel group when she heard about Ayden and Jamya’s mountain trip.
Since Rory and Will also joined the trip, the travel group grew from two people to eight people.
Ayden planned to have a date with Jamya. But he didn’t expect his date trip became a group trip.
The mountain was called Fire Mountain.
Fire Mountain was in the northwest of NK City. The air here was fresh and clean since not many tourists were there.
There were a few five-star hotels on the mountain. The springs in the hotels were all came from the mountain.
There was a temple on Fire Mountain. Since monks were living in the temple, tourists weren’t allowed to visit it.
However, everyone in the group could visit the temple because Ayden knew someone from the temple. So, the group decided to go hiking today then visit the temple tomorrow.
The group finally arrived at Fire Mountain and parked their cars. A few of them put on their hiking clothes and were ready to hike.
Their destination was the hotel on the mountain.
Will didn’t get out of the car until he put on his hiking clothes. He saw Zoie as soon as getting out of his car. Then he leaned on the car door and looked at Zoie quietly.
Zoie was no longer the cute little naive girl that Will used to know. Zoie was taller and skinnier now.
But it seemed like Zoie didn’t smile as much as she used to be.
Zoie used to wear everything in red that made her stand out in the crowd.
Although Zoie kept her old hairstyle, she dyed her hair.
Zoie wore strong makeup and a long exaggerated earring today. But her dark color sports clothes made her less conspicuous in the crowd.
Zoie noticed that someone was staring at her. She turned around and had eye contact with Will accidentally.
Then she greeted Will with a smile.
Will was surprised by Zoie’s reaction. Zoie didn’t react as indifferently as Will expected.
“Good. It seems like Zoie has moved on to her new life,” Will wondered.
Then Will greeted Zoie back with a smile as well.
Meanwhile, Kara got out of the car and stared at the mountain for a while.
Then Kara turned to look at James and said, “I can’t go hiking on this mountain.”