Chapter 454 - 448: You Call This Being Embarrassed?

That evening, after a simple meal of self-heating hot pots, everyone packed their trash into the bags they had brought with them, waiting to throw it away when the show was over.

In the middle of the night, Chloe set her alarm.

She got up and dressed, and seeing Gabriel sleeping soundly, she quietly slipped past him to the mouth of the cave.

The rain hadn’t stopped or lessened during the night. In fact, it had grown heavier, drumming against the leaves of a nearby banana tree.

Chloe took a notepad from her pocket, lowered her head, and began to sketch with a pen.

Some time later, Gabriel, who was in his sleeping bag, suddenly tossed, then turned, and woke up.

He sat up and instinctively glanced toward the spot where Chloe had been resting.

He found her spot empty.

His heart clenched, and his eyes darted around the cave.

Finally, he spotted a small, huddled figure at the entrance.

Gabriel didn’t hesitate. He got out of his sleeping bag and quickly threw on his clothes.

As he drew closer, he saw that Chloe was completely absorbed in her drawing.

The drawing looked complicated. Gabriel only glanced at it for a second before his head started to ache.

"Why didn’t you wake me?"

Gabriel found a clean spot and plopped down.

Hearing the familiar voice, Chloe looked up instinctively, her pretty eyes blinking.

"I saw you were asleep and was worried you wouldn’t be able to get up."

Gabriel wanted to say that he definitely could have gotten up.

But one look at his little sister’s earnest gaze and he kept his mouth shut.

"Are you cold?" Gabriel quickly changed the subject, setting Chloe’s pen and notepad aside. He took her hands in his and rubbed her fingers with his own, which were still warm.

"Why are your hands so cold? Why are you sitting in a draft? Look, the cuffs of your pants are soaked."

Though his tone was scolding, Gabriel’s actions were swift.

He rubbed Chloe’s fingers and blew warm air on them, thinking it would heat them up faster.

But Chloe’s hands were already numb with cold. Not only did they fail to warm up, but his own hands started to grow stiff as well.

Worried, Gabriel unzipped his down jacket and tucked Chloe’s hands inside to warm them against his chest.

Chloe was a little stunned.

"Mom taught me this."

Chloe froze. After a long moment, she said, "I’ve never met her."

In two lifetimes, Chloe had never been able to figure out how she felt about the mother she’d never met.

Her eyes were clear. Gabriel gave her a long, searching look, but he couldn’t detect any particular emotion in them.

He sighed, suddenly unsure how to broach the subject.

His mother loved her children.

But that love had never extended to Chloe.

He had never experienced it, so he couldn’t begin to imagine what went through the mind of a young woman who had never known a mother’s love.

"If Mom knew you existed, she would definitely love you very much."

Chloe nodded, and a sudden smile touched her lips. "I think so too. After all, who wouldn’t love having such an outstanding daughter?"

By unspoken agreement, they didn’t continue the conversation.

Gabriel deliberately changed the subject, and soon they found themselves talking about work.

"Chloe, what are you planning to do when we get back?"

Without a second thought, Chloe replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Go back to school, of course."

Gabriel blinked, stunned. His little sister’s answer was not what he had expected at all.

"Chloe, you’re about to hit fifty million fans. Don’t you want to film a couple more shows or hold a concert?"

It was no wonder Gabriel was surprised.

After all, having over forty million fans was no small feat. That was already on par with an A-list celebrity.

And yet, his sister hadn’t even considered going in that direction.

What did a huge fanbase equal?

Cold, hard cash!

But Chloe just shook her head. "The break is my personal time. During the semester, I should be focusing on my studies unless something special comes up. Besides, I have a lot to do after the New Year."

’In another month,’ she predicted, ’I’m going to cause a huge stir online.’

"Gabriel, if you’re sleepy, you should go back inside and get some more rest."

Chloe glanced outside. The rain was gradually letting up; it was no longer the downpour it had been earlier.

’If things keep up like this, the rain will stop by morning, and what I was worried about won’t happen.’

Hearing this, Gabriel immediately shook his head. "No, I’ll stay with you."

’I’m her big brother. I can’t let her keep watch by herself.’

So, Gabriel forced his heavy eyelids open and said, "You go sleep. I’ll take over."

His words were already starting to slur, as if he might fall asleep at any second.

Chloe just glanced at him and shook her head.

"Let’s wait together."

In the end, the two of them sat at the mouth of the cave for a full hour, only returning to their sleeping bags when the next pair arrived to take over the watch.

Since they were taking shifts, no one lost too much sleep.

When they woke up in the morning, the rain had stopped.

Everyone changed into the rain boots that had been provided and prepared to leave.

Nina Sinclair suddenly panicked. "I don’t have any rain boots!"

Everyone froze. Jessica Ford couldn’t help but ask, "Didn’t the production team give you a pair?"

Some of the equipment had been distributed by the production team at the foot of the mountain.

Perhaps because it rained so much this season, the crew had decided to provide them with a number of supplies after some consideration.

Everyone had received a pair, so when Nina claimed she didn’t have any, they were all skeptical.

"How could you not have them? I saw Director Lawson hand them out to everyone himself..."

Yara Garrison chimed in, but her voice trailed off as she spoke.

Suddenly, she gasped. "You didn’t lose them along the way, did you?"

"It wasn’t on purpose!"

Nina’s face went pale as she quickly tried to defend herself.

Her outburst stunned quite a few people present.

Gabriel chuckled. "No one said you did."

"I..." Nina was at a loss for words. Seeing the mocking look in Gabriel’s eyes, her own eyes instantly reddened.

A shudder of revulsion went through Gabriel.

’In the past, Nina used to act all cute and needy with me,’ he thought. ’Back then, I just thought she was being a cute, fragile little sister. Even though it felt a little weird, I never gave it much thought.’

’But now it’s clear that it was all just an act!’

"Alright, stop looking at me like that. It’s disgusting."

Gabriel finished speaking and rubbed his arms, a creepy feeling crawling over his skin.

Nina’s expression froze, and this time her eyes truly welled up with tears. She could only turn to Hailey Beckett for help.

Hailey Beckett: "..."

He felt he had no choice but to speak up. "Why don’t you wear my boots?"

Nina was thrilled, but she put on a shy and flattered expression.

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly."

Hailey Beckett: "..."

’You call this being too embarrassed?’

PS: Future updates will be at 12:00 PM.