James bought her several pairs of shoesâflats, sandals, sneakers, high heels...
When they were ready to leave, the bags and packages were quite a handful.
Fortunately, Jay Johnson arrived just in time to take over carrying the bags.
Upon hearing his report that he had chased off the two women with words,
James didn't hesitate to praise him a couple of times.
Who would have thought that behind his honest appearance was such a verbal powerhouse?
A man of both words and action, he had the makings of a great one.
The group strolled around a bit more, passing by an iPhone store.
James remembered how excited Tailsa had been when buying him a phone.
He suddenly realized that common items like phones could evoke memories and feelings, making them excellent gifts.
He pulled Shirley Taylor into the store.
Without much ado, he bought her a red phone like his own and handed it to her.
Shirley Taylor finally reacted.
Holding the unopened phone box, she carefully looked at James and timidly said,
"Brother, I can't accept such an expensive gift."
"Silly girl, this dress you're wearing is almost worth ten thousand dollars. Why can clothes be worn but a phone can't be accepted?"
James patted her head with a smile.
Shirley Taylor was at a loss for words.
She could only silently add the cost of the phone to the total amount James had spent on her in her mind.
Every penny James spent on her, she kept in her heart.
Lulia Smith watched as James casually handed over the top-tier iPhone, feeling a twinge of envy.
Without comparison, there's no harm.
She had an 8,000-dollar iPhone 16 Plus, which she boasted was a gift from her boyfriend.
In reality, she had scrimped for a month to buy it herself, just to flaunt how caring her "man" was to her friends.
Now watching a rich guy lavish gifts over ten thousand dollars as if picking a roadside flower,
while the girl receiving it seemed reluctant,
Lulia Smith felt the sting of life's inequities and silently cursed the heavens.
Noticing Shirley Taylor holding the box without any intention of unpacking it,
James reached over and took the box back.
The warmth from the box suggested Shirley had been holding it for a while.
For a moment, he felt a slight flutter, but recollecting himself, he quelled his inner turmoil.
Calmly, he opened the box and retrieved the phone.
"Want me to help you set it up?"
Shirley Taylor shook her head slightly, quietly saying,
"I can do it."
"I'll help you out; I've switched phones before and am quite experienced,"
James offered, extending his hand for the phone.
"I..." Shirley hesitated, uncertain of how to refuse.
For a girl, a phone is quite personal. Showing it to a guy felt a bit peculiar.
But faced with the keen James, she struggled to find a reason to decline.
"It's just swapping phones. No need to be shyâhand it over,"
James said, standing up to open her backpack zipper.
Shirley sat there, motionless, like a docile lamb, letting him search for the phone without fleeing.
James easily retrieved her phone, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
This girl was so docile, handing over her phone so casually.
It'd be a cinch to coax her into a hotel later.
James happily pondered how to enjoy his evening with this unaware rabbit,
then took a look at her phone.
To his surprise, the rural girl was using a Vivo.
Having never used Vivo himself, he swiped around and couldn't find the phone transfer app.
Unfazed, he calmly opened TikTok and searched for transfer methods. In mere seconds, tutorials flooded in.
Following the guide, he began cloning the data step by step.
In the interim, he casually remarked,
"If you like using Apple, why don't I get you the latest model?"
"One is enough," Shirley replied, focused on the progress bar, without hesitation.
"Your phone must've cost a pretty penny! Who knew you were such a little rich girl," James teased.
He had vivid memories of Apple phones, recalling a girl back in school who had promised to date him if he got her the latest model.
He hadn't had the money then, having taken loans to get through university.
He never got the phone, and by the time he saw her next, she had started using one, claiming she was paying for it in installments and asking him for financial help.
Back then, foolishly, he believed her sob story,
handing over his hard-earned work-study money to her.
"A classmate gave it to me," Shirley explained as she looked at her phone.
"Miss Shirley is popular enough to receive an Apple!"
James hadn't realized, but his tone had shifted slightly.
"They're very kind and take good care of me," Shirley recalled her roommates with a gentle smile.
"They?" James emphasized the plural.
"Hmm?"
Confused, Shirley looked up at James quizzically.
Taking a deep breath, James mentally reassured himself.
Such a lovely girl naturally attracted a couple of admirers.
Given her gentle nature, she might not know how to refuse gifts.
As long as she avoided accepting gifts from men moving forward, it should be fine.
"Now that you're my girlfriend, and I've given you money, you should return whatever you owe others. If it's not enough, I'll give you more,"
James ordered lightly, his tone carrying a hint of coldness. Clearly, he was slightly displeased.
Lulia, noticing James's shift in mood, felt anxious for Shirley.
This guileless young woman was too naive, blurting everything out without thinking.
Mentioning gifts from other guys in front of a current boyfriend was asking for trouble.
With Shirley now silent, head lowered, Lulia cut in to salvage her position:
"Isn't it possible that the phone was actually a gift from a female friend? Earlier, didn't another woman offer clothes to Shirley?"
While Lulia chuckled at the implausibility of girls gifting other girls an Apple phone,
she nonetheless hoped to steer the conversation away.
Unexpectedly, Shirley nodded earnestly, saying,
"It was from my roommate. She got a new one, so she let me use her old one."
Seeing Shirley's sincerity, Lulia was half-convinced.
No matter how preposterous the claim, if an honest person said itâeven if it were fairy talesâit seemed more believable.
"Boss, it's a gift from a dormmate, so having her return it might be a bit too harsh."
James found himself subconsciously believing Shirley, and his expression softened noticeably.
"If it's from your roommate, returning the gift could hurt your friendship. How about buying something they'd like in return?"
"Okay," Shirley murmured.
"Let me see your chats; I'll help determine what they might like."
James said as he opened Shirley's WhatsApp messages.