American Peanuts

157 Mist
"I've always been a good judge of people."

"I thought you were just looking at your face."

"It's not entirely wrong to say that. Beauty and ability are equally important to me, but not everyone can receive my invitation. You are the second person to be attracted to me after Taylor." Charlie corrected.

"Speaking of which, you and that Kuna..."

"I said I would never be a victim of family interests. What do you want to do? You don't have any undue thoughts about me?" Ivanie asked with a smile.

"You are pretty good at being sentimental. I just think Taylor is lonely and want to find a companion for her." Charlie told the truth.

Ivanie looked a little embarrassed, but then she covered it up with a smile.

Having been the apple of her eye since childhood, this is the first time she has experienced the treatment of being a "supporting character".

"That puts me at ease." Ivanie's smile became more and more awkward.

Before the sky completely darkened, the two of them arrived safely at the parking lot halfway up the mountain.

As Charlie said, Taylor was already curled up in the back row, covered with a blanket, and fell into a sound sleep. It seemed that he was really tired.

Ivanie got into the passenger seat and watched Charlie start the car and head to the camping site.

"You're quite considerate?" Ivani looked at Taylor in the back row and said after noticing the blanket on her body.

"Isn't this a normal thing?"

"It's quite normal." Ivanie said with a smile.

The planned route is along a section of the Appalachian Trail, which has asphalt roads and rugged forest hiking routes.

"We're here. We'll camp at Andrews Rock tonight and stay one night. We'll start hiking early tomorrow morning through the jungle. We'll arrive at Wairo Highlands at about seven o'clock tomorrow night. There is a resort there. We'll take a kayak on the third day. Finally, take the bus here, return here, and end the trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." Charlie said about the detailed plan for the second half.

Ivanie was more concerned about what she was going to eat tonight.

"Of course it's Tyler's favorite barbecue. I asked someone to prepare half-finished ribs and put them in the trunk."

"Meat again? I feel like I've gained five pounds." Ivanie said worriedly. First, she doesn't like to eat these baked foods, and second, she doesn't have Taylor's body that doesn't gain weight.

"Are there any vegetables?"

"No." Charlie shook his head.

"Okay." Ivani could only nod helplessly.

You're just a supporting role, so don't ask for so much.She convinced herself with these words.

Charlie did not wake up Taylor, but asked Ivanique to set up the tent together.

"Obviously I'm also very tired." Ivanie complained.

"Those who don't work don't have food to eat." Charlie put up the inner steel frame.

"Obviously Taylor didn't do anything!" Ivanni began to complain.

"She had a plan."

"You're pulling too hard." Ivanie muttered, helplessly unfolding the soft composite canvas of the tent.

Then it was time to assemble the portable oven, move out all the outdoor equipment, and finally help Charlie prepare the ingredients.

After finishing all the preparations, Charlie woke up Taylor.

"What time is it?" Taylor turned around and murmured in sleep.

"It's time to eat."

Taylor opened his eyes suddenly and stood up immediately.

"I'm really a little hungry." She put on comfortable slippers, got out of the car, and watched two tents, big and small, set up in front of her eyes, and the air that filled her mouth and nose was thick with the smell of the forest.

After a hearty meal, without any unnecessary chatting, Ivanie and Taylor entered the tent early.

Charlie moved a chair and sat outside alone. After admiring the brilliant starry sky, he got into the tent.

Ivany originally thought she would fall asleep quickly, but she heard a rustling sound coming from the tent next door, followed by a grinding sound.

"No...well, I'm so tired..."

"Ahem." Ivanie turned over and cleared her throat.

The sound died down immediately, but returned a moment later.

Ivan stood up directly and chose to take out the earplugs in his backpack.

I originally thought that this would be enough, but I could still vaguely hear some kind of sound.

This made Ivanie blush a little. Following the sound, a certain picture could not help but appear in her mind. Perhaps because she was too tired, Ivanie finally fell into a deep sleep after doing the battle between heaven and man for a while.

Early the next morning, Taylor woke the two of them up. When Ivanie opened the tent, she realized that it was just getting dark, surrounded by thick fog, and the visibility was very low.

Will it be dangerous to hike rashly in such a thick fog?An idea came to Ivanie's mind.

But seeing Taylor's high interest, he didn't speak.

But an accident happened quickly. Not long after packing up and setting off, Taylor sprained his foot and screamed in pain.

Charlie took off her hiking shoes and socks and could see a patch of redness and swelling on her ankle.

"It's getting worse." Charlie said after checking the injury.

Taylor had sprained his foot two days ago, and it was nothing serious at the time. After climbing such a high mountain yesterday, he accidentally sprained his foot again today, and it was obvious that he would no longer be able to hike.

"It's not safe to come here in such heavy fog. Why don't we drive to the highlands instead?" Charlie suggested.

"This is a rare occasion. If you two drive, I can hike by myself." Ivanie continued.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I can drive to the hotel in front and wait for you two. It just so happens that I can take advantage of these few days to rest, so that it won't delay the rest of the trip." Taylor tried to say.

Charlie thought about it and decided to adopt Taylor's plan. Firstly, she really needed to rest, and secondly, it was indeed dangerous for Ivany to go alone.

The three of them separated here, with Charlie and Yvonne continuing on their way, while Taylor headed to the hotel alone.

An hour has passed in the blink of an eye.

"Wait a minute, we seem to be taking a detour." Charlie asked Ivanie to stop.

Along the way, there are fewer and fewer traces of human presence. Before, you could still see garbage left by humans in the leaf piles, but now the surroundings are completely natural.

“According to the park’s hiking guide, we should have crossed a river long ago.”

"Is it the influence of the heavy fog?" Ivanie looked at the dense fog around her.

"It would be safer if we turned back the way we came." Charlie backed down.

"I listen to you." Ivanie didn't dare to insist now.

The two began to turn back, and after walking for a long time, they found that the scene around them became increasingly unfamiliar.

"We seem to be lost." Ivanie's expression became extremely nervous.

"It's not like, I'm definitely lost." Charlie looked around.

"Then what should we do now?" Ivanie was a little flustered.

"The hiking manual says that when we get lost and can't confirm the direction, what we need to do is wait. Wait for rescue." Charlie put down his backpack and leaned against the tree trunk alone, without panicking at all.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ivanie was doubtful and finally chose to put down her backpack.

So the two of them fell into a boring wait. After a while, Ivanie got up directly and walked away.

"Where are you going?"

"Go to the bathroom."

Then Ivanie was seen disappearing into the depths of the forest, and after a while, a violent scream came.

(End of this chapter)