"Brother, I won't bring up marriage again. Please don't be mad at me."
Hearing Tailsa's pleading tone, asking for his forgiveness, James was quite pleased with himself.
Thinking his words had worked, he patted Tailsa's head, encouraging her like the heartbreaker girls of the past:
"I'm not thinking about marriage right now, but if I do want to get married someday, it'll be to someone who truly loves me."
"And you're my first choice if you can wholeheartedly follow me."
James looked at Tailsa gently.
Her eyes lit up with hope, and she nodded earnestly, "Yes, I will show you my true feelings."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"I love you, brother."
"I love you too."
James felt truly happy inside.
Would this whole PUA act boost her affection?
Wouldn't it be amazing if it went off the charts?
He waited eagerly for the system's notification.
Ten seconds passed...
Half a minute...
A full minute...
Tailsa still wore that sincere expression, tears glistening in her eyes, clearly signaling she wouldn't leave him if he stayed true.
But her affection level didn't budge.
What was going on?
It shouldn't be like this.
Before, just hearing about marriage could boost affection levels to nearly a hundred.
He'd even picked out names for their children and once gritted his teeth to buy an eight-thousand-dollar necklace.
So why wasn't Tailsa's affection increasing at all?
???
System, are you bugged?
System, give me some feedback.
[System Notification: Tailsa's Affection Level +0]
What!
Is this a joke?
Does this PUA technique only work if a woman uses it? Not men?
Did I just perform for nothing?
He felt a headache coming on.
Women's hearts are mysterious and unfathomable.
What James didn't know was that when a woman's affection reaches a certain point, only special touching events can break the barrier.
Tailsa was currently filled with guilt and possessiveness but hadn't truly fallen for him.
Therefore, the 79 affection level checkpoint remained unmoved.
Though Tailsa sincerely planned to grow old with James, she didn't truly love him.
This wasn't her fault; all women were the same.
Even for the richest man in the world, a woman might only kneel for money, but who could truly know her inner thoughts?
The system-defined 80-point affection level means a woman, regardless of wealth or status, wants to continue with her man.
A 100-point affection level means that even if the man is deeply flawedâimprisoned, sick, bankrupt, abusiveâshe remains utterly devoted, hoping he'll change for the better.
Even if everyone else thinks she's foolish, she'll stick by him till the end.
Such foolish women are incredibly common.
Once in love, they'll sacrifice everything, like moths drawn to a flame.
Men can be equally passionate, but society is less kind to devoted men, giving them unflattering nicknames.
James was once one of those devoted men.
Now... he still was.
Only now, with greater means, his devotion could extend to more people.
Yet, he still couldn't fully understand women.
He had hoped sweet talk would earn him super strength, but it seemed it wasn't that simple.
So he decided to do something to make Tailsa truly fall for him.
But what exactly?
He pondered deeply.
...
"Congratulations on becoming a proud owner of a Rolls-Royce. May the Spirit of Ecstasy light your way to greatness."
With the sales manager's well-wishes, James waved with a smile and left the dealership.
He told Tailsa he had some matters to tend to and would be with her later, then got into Jay Johnson's car.
Not thrilled about James leaving, Tailsa wanted to hold onto him. But when he said he had work, she couldn't push for details. She grudgingly drove home alone.
Soon, her thoughts turned to boasting to her mom about the new car, especially the addition of a Rolls-Royce Phantom to her name, which lifted her spirits.
Her mom's eyes would surely pop at the sight of an 18-million-yuan car.
Heh.
Imagining her mother's shocked face, Tailsa giggled as she drove the car home.
Contrary to her expectations, her mom wasn't there; instead, her father, having an afternoon off, was resting at home and thought she must be up to no good with such a fancy car.
Without so much as a word, he gave her a spanking.
Tailsa was speechless with anger and immediately declared a hunger strike in protest!
But those were stories for another time.
Back to James.
Sitting in the car, he asked Jay Johnson,
"Bro Jay, if you were really wealthy and wanted to make a woman fall in love with you, what would you do?"
The straightforward man replied, "Give her the money and say I love you."
"That's risky. Got any safer options?"
"Feed her till she's chubby. That way, she can't attract other men and has to stick with you."
"..."
James was speechless, "Isn't there a faster way? Like, something romantic?"
Jay Johnson confidently said, "Then buy her a gold ring, flowers, and lipstick. My wife loves that stuff."
"Alright, just focus on driving."
"Yes, boss."
Men who've served in the military are truly tough.
James shook his head, realizing how redundant his question was.
Winning a girl should just be about buying the things she loves.
Such a simple answer, and he had to ask someone else.
James whipped out his phone, opening Instagram to find the villa Tailsa had mentioned loving.
He planned to create a little surprise, hoping for some kind of positive reaction.
Quickly finding the contact info, he called, and it was the same agent as last time.
Though he had previously ghosted them using Tailsa's phone, James didn't feel awkward.
"Hello."
"Hi, this is Anju Leju Realty. Who's calling?"
James, sidestepping the question:
"I spotted a villa on your Instagram that I'd like to buy as a gift for my girlfriend. Does she need to be present to sign?"
The agent paused, then honestly replied:
"If the property is to be under her name, she'll need to be present to sign."
"I want it to be a surprise, like buying it secretly for her."
"Uh... that's tricky and requires a power of attorney or something. Could we discuss this in person?"
"Sure, send me your address."
"Alright, my name's Artair. May I know your surname?"
"James, James King."
"Okay, Mr. King. Our address is XXX. Call me when you arrive; I'll be in the office."
"Okay."
Artair hung up, patting his mouth, disgruntled by his slip-up calling a client "King."
But he vaguely recalled that a few days ago, there was also a client named King who called about looking at a villa. He'd waited at the villa entrance for two hours without seeing anyone, and calls went unanswered. This voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Could it be the same person?
Artair frowned, deep in thought.