Chapter 553

As soon as Moran sent his message, a notification popped up-Granger had left the group chat.

Moran: [...]

Without missing a beat, Moran added him back and typed: [Come on, I was just joking. You're so sensitive.]

Before Granger could respond, Moran fired off another message: [Honestly, this is all your fault. I told you all yesterday I was going out today, but none of you could make it. Just me, out here by myself. It's kind of lame.]

Yesterday, when Moran brought up watching the meteor shower and camping, Granger had indeed excused himself, saying he was busy.

But the truth was, the moment Moran mentioned Charlene would be there, Granger's thoughts had been thrown into chaos.

Now, staring at the flurry of messages, gripping his phone a little too tightly, Granger hesitated-then finally caved and replied: [Send me the address.]

Moran had just been venting; he never seriously expected Thorne or Granger would change their minds.

When Granger's message came through, it took Moran half a second to process. Then he quickly pasted the address into the chat and, still not quite convinced, asked: [Wait, you're actually coming? You're not messing with me, right?]

Granger: [I'll have to head out a bit later.]

That was all it took for Moran's mood to bounce back: [No problem! I'll get someone to set up your tent for you.]

Granger: [Thanks.]

After sending the message, Granger paused for a moment, then decided to tag Thorne: [You want to come too?]

Moran had the same thought and tagged Thorne as well.

Thorne replied almost immediately: [Nah, you guys have fun.] This update is available on Find✶Novel.net

Moran: [ Alright then.]

With that, Moran pinged another group member who hadn't shown up yet-Vesta Hawkins: [You here yet?]

Several seconds ticked by before Vesta replied: [Almost there.]

So Thorne wouldn't be joining, but Vesta would.

She had seen the group chat messages right away, reading every word as they came in.

When Moran complained that Granger hadn't hung out with them in ages, a flicker of sarcasm crossed her eyes. And when she saw Granger had changed his mind, she nearly laughed out loud.

She didn't even need to wonder-she knew exactly why Granger had suddenly decided to come. It was because of Charlene.

But clearly, Thorne and Moran had no idea what was going on in Granger's head.

Thorne hadn't changed his mind even after learning Charlene would be there, but Vesta knew he genuinely was busy these days. If he wasn't...

Meanwhile

Not long after, Charlene and the others had finished setting up their tents.

The sun was already sinking low on the horizon.

Gaylord and York had pitched in, and Charlene turned to them with a friendly smile. "We're planning to have a barbecue later. Want to join us?"

Gaylord jumped at the invitation. "Absolutely! We even brought some food to grill, but honestly, just the two of us would've made for a pretty boring cookout. We didn't prep

much, but now there'll be more people and a better vibe." s

York chimed in, "Thanks for including us."

No sooner had York spoken than Gaylord shot him a frosty side glance. But he let

it slide.

As everyone started prepping for dinner, Vesta arrived.

Moran's friends had already helped set up her tent.

She wasn't alone-Leah Spencer and a few of Leah's friends had come along too.

Leah hadn't realized Charlene and Stewart would be here and looked genuinely delighted.

Vesta, on the other hand, had lost interest in this whole trip as soon as she'd found out yesterday that both Thorne and Granger weren't coming She was only here for a change of scenery, hoping some fresh air might lift her mood. s

But after the group chat drama, her mood had only soured further.

Compared to Leah's excitement, Vesta seemed distant, almost cold.

While Leah and her friends played around and got the barbecue started Vesta wandered aimlessly, bored out of her mind. But after

few minutes, she spotted a familiar. figure. "Mr. Watson?" s