Inside the house, after the initial greetings and pleasantries, Amanda's mother got straight to the point.
"James, what do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I used to be responsible for regional security systems and ensuring the operation of essential energy resources for humanity, but I don't do that anymore," James replied, talking nonsense without a care in the world.
He had a backup planâhe could always use one of his Hypnosis charges if things went south.
Mrs. Smith was bewildered, having no idea what James was talking about.
The only part she understood was the last bitâthat he didn't do those things anymore.
"So, what do you do now?" Mrs. Smith pressed.
"I'm a national human resource reserve cadre, particularly skilled in managing organic matter." James chuckled humbly, as if it were no big deal.
Although Mrs. Smith didn't understand, she was somehow impressed.
"Wow, you're so accomplished at such a young age, James. If you don't mind my asking, could you share a bit about your salary?"
"Hahaha, I don't have a salary. I pay myself," James said with a laugh.
Hearing this, Mrs. Smith's opinion of James went up another notch.
Clearly, he was a big boss of some sort.
She busied herself cutting fruit and preparing a meal for James, not giving him a chance to refuse.
James, for his part, simply smiled and watched her bustle around.
Under his "mother-in-law's" enthusiastic hospitality, James enjoyed a lavish lunch at Amanda's house.
Her cooking was surprisingly good, with a nostalgic, home-cooked flavor that had James showering her with compliments.
Mrs. Smith's face was creased with a wide smile.
During lunch, James remembered the less-than-stellar reputation the Smith family had in their village.
He considered investing in a few apartment buildings and renting them out for free under Amanda's name.
With a roof over their heads, the villagers would probably stop gossiping about the Smiths.
Reputation, after all, was something that could be bought if one had the money and was willing to spend it.
It was just a matter of time.
After lunch, seeing that Amanda's mom showed no signs of leaving, James decided to make his exit.
He could deal with the building project later after finding someone in real estate development.
He politely excused himself, ignoring Mrs. Smith's enthusiastic pleas for him to stay, and left Amanda's house.
He slipped on his white sneakers, leaving behind Jay Johnson's leather shoes.
Amanda's mom didn't suspect a thing, assuming they were just an extra pair of James's shoes.
After James left, Mrs. Smith took Amanda's hand and said reproachfully,
"Why didn't you tell us you had a boyfriend?"
Amanda replied calmly,
"I was actually planning to bring him over today to see if he wanted to meet you both."
Mrs. Smith realized she might have jumped the gun, and a blush crept up her neck.
Changing the subject, she asked,
"So, how are things going with him? How many siblings does he have? What does he actually do?"
"It's going well. We're planning to have a child first," Amanda said.
Her calm statement sent a jolt of shock through her mother.
Dropping the dishes she was washing, Mrs. Smith rushed over, her voice filled with alarm.
"What? A child before marriage? That's not how things are done! Are you being scammed?"
"Mom, calm down. He's not scamming me," Amanda reassured her.
"I think he is! He talks in circles, and I can't understand a word he says. How much does he earn in a year?" Mrs. Smith pressed.
"I don't know," Amanda replied, shaking her head.
"See? See? I told you! Oh, my silly girl, you're falling for his lies without seeing a dime. You're driving me crazy..."
Mrs. Smith sat down next to her daughter, ready to launch into a lecture.
But Amanda cut her off. "He gave me sixty million, though."
Amanda's words were like a hammer blow, cutting her mother's lecture off before it even began.
Mrs. Smith's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wha... what? Sixty million?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
Amanda nodded calmly.
"Real money, transferred to my account."
"You..." Mrs. Smith was stunned, unable to process what she'd just heard.
Sixty million?
That was enough to build several apartment buildings in their village.
How rich did someone have to be to just give away that much money to his girlfriend?
Her voice trembled as she asked,
"You... you actually took that much money?"
Amanda didn't answer. Instead, she took two bank cards from her purse and placed them on the table.
"These are for you and Dadâfive million each. It's my way of showing my filial piety. Use it to buy whatever you need. Don't be frugal," she said softly.
Mrs. Smith stared at the cards but didn't touch them.
"What if he asks for it back?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
"He won't. He's not that kind of person," Amanda said with a smile.
"He's a big shot. Even his driver and nanny earn two million a year. He won't miss this money."
Mrs. Smith was still apprehensive.
"How can we even dream of associating with such a wealthy family? What does he want from you?"
Amanda took her mother's hand and reassured her gently,
"Mom, don't worry about it. We're just dating for now. Let's not think too far ahead."
Mrs. Smith thought about what Amanda had said earlier about having a child. She was at a loss for words.
The sixty million was a powerful argumentâshe couldn't find a reason to scold her daughter.
Sixty million for having a child?
Where else in the world could one find such a deal?
If she were still able to, she'd consider having one herself.
But the price was too highâit would likely mean a divorce.
She had to think carefully.
But Amanda didn't need to worry about divorceâshe had already had a child.
There was nothing to lose.
With a sigh, Mrs. Smith picked up the two cards, totaling ten million.
"I can't control you anymore. Just do whatever you think is right," she said, shaking her head.
James returned to his own place and opened WhatsApp.
Once again, he was bombarded with messages.
Not just from friends and classmates, but even from people he hadn't spoken to in ages.
They all asked the same question:
"Was that you in the proposal video on TikTok?"
The class group chat was exploding, with everyone tagging @James and @Tailsa, asking if they were really together.
Confused, James asked a couple of people he was closer to what was going on.
He learned that the video of his proposal from yesterday had been posted on TikTok and had already garnered nearly a million likes overnight.
James opened TikTok and quickly found the video.
The title read:
"Is This How Rich People Propose? A Villa, a Diamond Ring, and a Handsome Hunk!"
The video started with a close-up of the giant bow on the villa, then panned to the stage.
Amidst a shower of flower petals, the man made a heartfelt confession before getting down on one knee and presenting the ring.
The stunning woman across from him was moved to tears, and the two embraced.
It was the picture of a perfect, romantic proposal.
The comments section was flooded with over a hundred thousand responses:
"I've been beating my dad for three hours, but he still won't admit he's a billionaire."
"Guys, you won't believe this, but when I showed this to my boyfriend, he said it was staged."
"This guy is so charming! If my boyfriend looked like this, I'd be smiling in my sleep."
"Which wealthy family's son is this? This is such a grand setup, with the hot air balloons and everything."
"Only suckers buy diamond rings."
This comment only had a few thousand likes. But the reply below it had over ten thousand:
"Only those who can't afford them say diamond rings are a scam."
Crap.
This was definitely going viral.