When Rachel arrived, the men sitting inside the Land Rover all stared at her through the half-open windows.
"Daniel, is that the girl who was engaged to Hiram before they were even born?" asked one of the men to his companion. He was a chubby man called Gary. He had heard someone mention the marriage agreement made by Hiram's great-grandfather.
"Apparently, she is. Gary, have you ever seen Hiram take a girl in his car? Never. Now, not only is he allowing this woman to travel in his car, he's also willing to wait for her for such a long time. Except for his fiancee, I can't think of anyone else she might be, "
Replied the man sitting in the back seat, chewing gum. He had his feet propped up against the front seat. He looked very different from his friend. He was wearing sunglasses and a silver ear stud in his left ear.
"She's quite different from what I expected. In my opinion, Hiram's fiancee should be a delicate girl, but she doesn't look like that." Noticing that Rachel had already got into Hiram's car, Gary turned to Daniel and asked, "Do you think Hiram will bring her with us?''
Daniel Zhuo pulled his glasses down and said with a smile, "I don't think he will. You want to bet on it?"
''Accepted. I bet that Hiram will bring her. If I win, you should wash all my dishes for the whole week as the punishment, " Gary replied cheerfully. The two men always liked to have fun.
''Deal!"
Daniel replied readily, sure that he would win the bet.
As far as he knew, Hiram had never traveled with a girl, including even his own sister. Hiram always had high standards when it came to his traveling companions. Unless she was qualified in all aspects, she wouldn't get the chance to travel with him.
Since they were going to a wild mountain, Hiram definitely wouldn't agree to bring her. If he did, she would slow things down and cause unnecessary trouble.
Rachel got into the white Benz SUV in front of the Land Rover. Hiram was inside, waiting for her.
"Start driving, " he ordered once Rachel had got on.
"We'll pass by H City, you can get off there. I've arranged a car to pick you up, " Hiram said to Rachel while reading the map in his hand. Rachel glanced at him and said nothing.
She noticed that it wasn't Carl who was driving the car, but a young stranger.
Carl was sitting in the front seat next to the driver.
"Carl, who is this young man?" Rachel asked curiously.
"He is Chad, an uncle's son. You two haven't met yet, " Carl said.
"Nice to meet you!" Chad greeted Rachel, stealing a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror.
'I finally see her.
The girl who was the reason Hiram drank alone for three days.
The girl who made Hiram sad because he couldn't get her love, ' Chad thought to himself.
After greeting Chad politely, Rachel turned to Hiram. There were at least three to four hours left before they would reach H City, so she had time to persuade Hiram to change his mind.
Hiram had decided to study Cliff Mountain in person, which meant that it must be perfect, in terms of location and scenery. Rachel had always dreamed about seeing natural scenery one day. Now, she finally had the opportunity. Although it would be risky, she wasn't going to give it up.
She knew that if she missed the opportunity this time, she might not get it again.
She already had a plan. If she failed to persuade Hiram to take her, she would refuse to get off the car, so Hiram wouldn't have any choice but to take her.
"Hiram, I'm good at photography. Maybe you can take me as your photographer, '' Rachel said pleadingly to Hiram, who was focusing on reading the map.
She looked at him, waiting for a positive answer from him. "We're going to take a survey and a field measurement. There will be a professional photographer and a live camera. Besides, we have Daniel. He's an excellent amateur photographer. I'm sure he's better than you. So there's no need for me to take you as my photographer, "
Hiram said bluntly. He knew Rachel wouldn't give up easily.
He would grant almost everything that Rachel asked for, but he wouldn't be easily persuaded on this matter. Rachel pouted and tried to change her strategy.
"Hiram, you're looking down on me, "
She said, pretending to be angry. Since pleading with him didn't work, she tried to take a harder approach.
She turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
She noticed that all three cars were full. They were all going to the mountain. Why couldn't she go too?
Seeing Rachel's response, Hiram shook his head with a smile and put away the map. He had never seen Rachel behave so stubbornly before. Whenever she asked for something, he granted it without a second thought, but the travel to the mountain was risky. He wouldn't agree to put her in any potential danger.
"You know that's not why I'm not taking you. Don't find fault with me for no reason."
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