With everything settled, James got ready to leave.
He added Cody Jenkins as a friend and made plans to hang out sometime. Then, amidst Hertha's reluctant and Timmy's wistful gazes, he slid into the Rolls-Royce without a backward glance.
He instructed Jay Johnson to drive to Amanda's place.
On the way, James suddenly remembered the campus belle he still needed to placate. He quickly messaged Tailsa.
James: "My little baby, are you still mad?"
Tailsa: "Done spending time with your big baby?"
"She's just my sister, not my baby. You're the only one."
"Hehe"
"Don't 'hehe' me."
"Hmph"
"Baby, be good. Didn't we agree last time not to get angry so easily?"
Tailsa had been sitting at home all morning, waiting for James to comfort her, but he hadn't.
She was already in a bad mood, and now, feeling a hint of impatience in his brief attempts to soothe her, she became even more upset.
"I'm not angry. I'm just your mistress. What right do I have to be angry?"
Seeing Tailsa's passive-aggressive message, James felt a headache coming on.
He wracked his brain, trying to figure out how to respond, and eventually sent a classic line:
"If that's how you want to see it, there's nothing I can do."
Tailsa was furious.
What did he mean there was nothing he could do?
Was he admitting that she was just a mistress, and Amanda was the real deal?
"Go spend time with your sister and watch cartoons. Don't worry about me."
"..."
Seeing how jealous Tailsa was, James felt overwhelmed. He rubbed his lower back and said wearily, "Stop it. I'll take you to the movies tonight, okay?"
He was prepared to sacrifice his body, but Tailsa fired back with a series of questions:
"No, it's not okay. Your sister has to work tonight and can't be with you, so you're coming to me, right?"
"Am I just a substitute for you?"
"This morning you asked me to go to her place and serve you together. What do you take me for? Have you ever considered my feelings?"
Faced with the campus belle's accusations, James felt helpless.
He had given her a car and a house, pouring his heart and soul into their relationship. But not only did she not show any more affection, but she was also acting like a spoiled child, getting angry and jealous over nothing.
Compared to the gentle and understanding Amanda, Tailsa seemed immature.
Most importantly, from her reaction, it seemed she harbored some resentment towards Amanda.
James's sweet dream was shattered, and he felt terrible. He didn't want to reply at all.
He decided to wait until the villa was ready and then make a grand, heartfelt confession.
If that didn't increase her affection... well, then he was out of options.
Maybe what she wanted was something he couldn't give.
Meanwhile, Tailsa, seeing that James wasn't responding, started to think that maybe she had gone too far.
She was debating whether to apologize when she suddenly imagined him lying in another woman's arms, whispering sweet nothings.
The thought instantly killed any desire to apologize.
Adding to her misery, she had been reprimanded by her father yesterday for trying to get her household registration book, got fired from her job today for missing too many days of work, and now her man wasn't even comforting her.
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
Unable to hold back any longer, she burst into tears.
James returned to Amanda's apartment.
Amanda was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Timmy was watching TV alone.
They both smiled when they saw him.
The little one ran over and grabbed his hand, wanting him to play games with her.
The older one asked what he wanted to eat, offering to order takeout for him.
The warm, inviting atmosphere made James feel a sense of belonging.
He chuckled and picked up Timmy, then walked to the kitchen and said to Amanda, "Whatever Timmy likes to eat, I like to eat."
"She's like a rabbitâloves carrots and greens. Are you sure you want to eat that?"
"Um... what do you usually eat at home?"
"Timmy usually has dinner at kindergarten around four. I usually make her a nutritious vegetable soup with an egg around seven."
Amanda covered her mouth and giggled, seeing the look of dismay on James's face.
"Think carefully before you answer. What do you want to eat?"
"Meat!" James declared loudly.
"Meat!" Timmy echoed with a giggle.
Later that evening, after dinner, Amanda had to take Timmy to her mother's place before heading to work at the bar.
James had nothing to do and didn't want to be home alone, so he went with her to drop off Timmy.
Jay Johnson drove the Rolls-Royce, carrying the "family of three" to Amanda's old neighborhood.
It was an old residential area with low-rise buildings, their exteriors worn and faded. Countless electrical wires crisscrossed overhead.
Overgrown lawns and dilapidated public facilities spoke of the neighborhood's age.
Such areas were typically home to many elderly residents.
A cool breeze swept away the summer heat, and in the evening, the streets were filled with seniors enjoying the cool air.
Old men played cards and chess near the convenience store.
Groups of middle-aged women sat on benches along the street, gossiping about their neighbors.
"Did you hear? Yanhong's husband is out. He's lying at home now."
"Sigh, why couldn't he do something useful? All he did was gamble. Lost all three of their houses. Now his wife is divorcing him, and there's no one to take care of the child. What a mess!"
"Exactly! His mother was so upset she almost jumped off a building. He had such a good hand and played it so poorly."
"..."
James went to buy cigarettes and overheard some gossip as he passed by a group of aunties.
Having been deprived of juicy gossip for a while, he slowed down and listened intently.
"I heard your son graduated from a top university. How much does he make a month?"
"Only ten or twenty thousand. Not as much as Shi Weiguo's daughter. After all, my son works for a reputable company."
"You have to admit, Shi's widow is quite a looker. Working in that kind of place, she must be making good money."
"What good is being pretty and rich? She can't have a son and even cursed her husband to death. Now she's a single mother with a burden. Who's going to marry her? She'll probably end up alone."
"Sigh, it's her own fault. Her mother didn't want her to marry that man, but she wouldn't listen. And look what happened..."
James didn't expect to hear gossip about his own woman.
From the sound of it, Amanda's reputation in the neighborhood wasn't great.
Adding to that, Timmy had once mentioned that Amanda didn't like their neighbor's goose.
It seemed Amanda had moved out with Timmy because she was fed up with the gossip.
James returned to the car, lit a cigarette, and pondered.
Everyone cared about their reputation, and Amanda was no exception.
Being the subject of malicious gossip that also shamed her parents must have been hard for her.
If he could help her regain her dignity in front of her parents and relatives, would that increase her affection?
It was worth a try.
But how could he make her family proud?
He couldn't control what others said.
Even if he married Amanda in a grand, extravagant ceremony, those gossipy women would still talk.
Then he might become the target of their gossip too.
James couldn't come up with a good solution.
Just then, Amanda came back after dropping off Timmy.
He hid his thoughts, pretended he hadn't heard anything, and chatted with Amanda casually.
The three of them arrived at the bar and went to their usual booth, S03.
Amanda said she had to go to the back office to do some accounting and asked if James wanted her to send some girls to keep him company.
James, once again marveling at Amanda's à¦à¦¦à¦¾à¦°à¦¤à¦¾, gently shook his head and declined her offer.
He wasn't interested in other women at the moment.
He had come to the bar only to wait for her to finish work so they could go home and sleep together.
James sat obediently in the booth, occasionally playing with his phone and snacking on fruit.
The two bottles of Ace of Spades remained untouched on the table.
However, even though he wasn't interested in the women, they were certainly interested in him.
"Hey handsome, can we sit with you?"