Female Novel
Chapter 1074
Ian couldn't help but laugh, staring at Dylan nonchalantly.
Judith, fearing a conflict, timidly tugged at Dylan's arm.
"Big bro, I'm fine. I know Ian doesn't like me much, probably because I talk too much."
She was so humble that everyone else felt it was unfair to her. But given Ian's status, no one dared tonovelbin
object.
Dylan slowly approached Ian, standing face to face with hardly half a foot between them.
Their height was almost the same, and as they stood there, it seemed to chill the air.
"Ian, when we return to the city, we need to talk."
They indeed needed to discuss their families' engagement.
Ian bypassed him and headed to Maja, clearly not interested in a conversation.
Dylan didn't retaliate. He knew Ian would eventually give in.
Judith clung to his arm, worried.
"Big bro, I'm sorry."
She was always docile in front of Dylan, quick to apologize whenever she sensed his anger. It had
been this way since they were kids, and Dylan indeed spoiled her.
"It's fine. It's not your fault. Don't worry, whatever you want, I'll fight for it."
Judith didn't have a backpack either; her bag was with Dylan. She clung to Dylan's arm without
hesitation, her face full of smiles.
"Got it."
The group continued on, but the atmosphere was tense after the incident, with few words exchanged.
Tyler stood among them, feeling a headache. They had hiked together before, but this time's
atmosphere was the worst ever.
After walking for three hours, Maja, who was leading the group, slipped and started rolling down the
slope.
"Maja!"
Ian was startled and immediately caught her hand, pulling her back.
Maja fell to the ground, a sharp pain shooting through her ankle.
Ian quickly knelt down to check her foot.
"Does it hurt?"
All along the way, Maja had been in good spirits, surrounded by countless plants, reminding her of her
days in Crystalbrook Valley.
She used to go foraging in the woods with Lillian during the transition of spring to summer, which was
mushroom season.
Lillian would carry her up the mountain in a small basket.
She loved picking mushrooms in the forest. Although she was sometimes scared by a centipede, she
mostly felt happiness when recalling those days.
The hiking route was indeed great, so even though her foot hurt now, she still smiled at Ian.
"I'm fine, sorry, I was distracted."
She had been reminiscing about her mushroom-picking days and hadn't noticed the ground.
Ian told the others, "You guys go ahead. We'll rest here for a while."
As it happened, the group didn't really like Maja, so a few of the women went ahead, feeling she
brought bad luck.
With the women leaving, the men naturally followed, leaving only a few people Ian knew.
Judith and Dylan were still there, along with Tyler and Ryan.
Judith looked genuinely concerned, "Ms. Pennyfeather, I have some spray in my bag. You want to use
it?"
Truth be told, if Judith hadn't spoken to her, Maja could have pretended she didn't exist.
But Judith knew how to annoy her. The scene between her and Ian last night was still fresh in her mind,
and she didn't believe Maja could be indifferent to it.
So now she was eager to show off, just to make Maja uncomfortable.
Ian had already taken out his own spray and sprayed it on Maja's ankle.
Maja frowned as Judith began to speak again, "Ian is really good to you. If he treated me like this one
day, I'd be content. But it's okay, and I'm willing to wait."
With these words, she put herself in an even lower position.
If last night hadn't happened, Dylan would have thought his sister was just making a fool of herself. But
having witnessed what happened, he realized how Ian had been leading Judith on, which explained
why she was so infatuated.
Now, seeing Judith willing to be humble, he knew she was deeply in love with Ian.
Ian felt a surge of anger. He had woken up at four in the morning and realized something was off about
last night. He had tried to investigate, but they were far from the city, so it would take time even if he
sent the wine to be tested.
The test results weren't out yet. If he accused Judith of drugging the wine, she would immediately
throw herself into Dylan's arms, claiming she was being framed.
It was a despicable tactic, but it was incredibly frustrating without evidence.