The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 148 Very Fresh

Chapter 148: Chapter 148 Very Fresh

They played until Twelve O’Clock when everyone began to prepare to leave. Knowing they would drink, those with cars didn’t drive. Only Melody Yoody had a driver, but not wanting to flaunt her leadership status, she had let the car wait for her and was now joining everyone else in hailing a cab home.

Out of respect for their leader, the first taxi they stopped was for Melody Yoody. With so many classmates, it wasn’t convenient for James Brown and Melody Yoody to share a ride, so Melody got into the cab with two other girls and waved goodbye to everyone.

James Brown and Emily Johnson were the last to hail a cab. Except for the driver, it was just the two of them.

"James, you and Melody..." David Johnson probed tentatively.

James Brown chuckled and replied, "Nothing much, just catching up on old times."

"Oh, that’s good then. I was afraid you’d fall for her again."

"How could that happen?"

James Brown smiled, but he felt an unexplainable sensation in his heart. When they were younger, he’d managed to woo Melody Yoody with tricks and sweet talk. But now, it seemed Melody had taken the initiative, leaving him completely passive.

Before seeing Melody Yoody, his heart yearned for her, to the point he dared not even look at her. But upon actually seeing her, he felt an instinctive resistance. This feeling was inexplicable, and even James Brown couldn’t understand it. By status, although Melody was a township chief, James Brown’s rank, when considered properly, was much higher than just a division-level cadre.

If it came to background, now that he was retired from Hawk Squad, if he wanted to get something done, he could definitely converse with many of the heavyweights in the Capital of SSUP, something Melody Yoody’s family background couldn’t compete with.

Melody Yoody hadn’t changed; James Brown even felt that she now wanted to be with him more than before since she had grown up and could make decisions on her own.

But for James Brown, he felt he couldn’t interact with Melody Yoody like he used to. The distance between them had somehow become so vast he couldn’t explain why. Perhaps his years in Hawk Squad, facing life and death in an instant, had made him yearn for a more peaceful life, a stark difference from Melody’s desire to see her husband become a dragon.

Having returned home, James Brown had just walked in when the phone rang with Melody Yoody’s number. He immediately answered.

"Are you home?"

"Just stepped through the door. Are you home too?" James Brown asked with a smile.

"I’m home. I’m considering whether to come over to your place right now."

James felt a flutter in his heart and said, "You want to run out in the middle of the night?"

"I was thinking about it, you jerk. You don’t know how much I’ve missed you all these years."

Hearing this from Melody Yoody, James Brown’s sense of distance from her vanished completely. "Then come over. I miss you too."

"You want me to come now? Humph, I just won’t, just to spite you."

That tone was exactly like when they were younger. James Brown could even picture Melody pouting with her proud and adorable expression, which made him laugh heartily. "My Little Willow Johnson, come let big brother give you a kiss. I’ll take good care of you."

"No! I won’t! If you’re so capable, come and catch me. If you catch me, I’ll let you kiss me."

"Then I’m coming."

They both burst into laughter at the same time. This was a game they had played countless times in their youth, with Melody Yoody initially refusing, but always succumbing to James’s persistent wooing in the end.

"James, while I was sitting in the car, I thought about what you said. You’re right, we’ve been apart for too long. Although our feelings haven’t changed, our lifestyles are indeed very different. Whether we can adapt is really a question. If we end up hurting each other, it might be better to retain this beautiful memory as it is."

Listening to Melody Yoody’s earnest tone, James Brown replied, "Thank you, Melody, for being so open-minded. If I didn’t want to be with you, I wouldn’t have said all this."

"Mhm, judging by that, you’ve really matured. You’re no longer that impulsive young boy. I’m quite pleased with this. So, I’ll give you the chance to pursue me again. Let’s start over. How does that sound?"

"Great, chasing after Township Chief Smith is like achieving a ’loser’s counterattack’ for me. If our classmates saw their Goddess being pursued by a loser like me, I wonder if they’d regret not making a move themselves. So, the Mayor isn’t that hard to chase after all?"

"Get lost, keep dreaming! I’m allowing you to pursue me, so you better show some sincerity. Don’t think I’m going to give you an easy time because of our past."

"Isn’t that a bit harsh? Look at young couples nowadays; they all try living together first. Maybe we could give that a go."

"Nice, you jerk, showing your true colors as a wolf at last. You took advantage of me when I was seventeen, then left nonchalantly, causing my parents to beat me mercilessly. Do you still want to take advantage of me? It won’t be that easy."

James Brown awkwardly laughed, "I came back to make it up to you, didn’t I? Won’t you give me a chance?"

"Humph, sounds nice. Weren’t you just talking about trying marriage?"

Melody Yoody’s eloquence had become more and more formidable, and James Brown was finding it increasingly hard to cope, so he could only offer a wry smile and say, "All right, my dear little aunt, have it your way."

"There, that’s better. Behave well and I’ll reward you," Melody Yoody’s tone suddenly turned suggestive.

James Brown’s heart fluttered and he said, "Melody, you really know how to reel someone in now. You’ve completely captured my soul."

"I want to seduce you, and then leave you wanting. I’ll drive you crazy."

"That’s really too cruel."

"Hmph, there’s crueler yet. Ah, my mom’s coming. I can’t talk now."

Having said that, Melody Yoody promptly hung up the phone.

James Brown put away his phone, a sweet smile emerging from his heart, the kind he never had with any other woman, since he had always believed that Melody Yoody was the only one in his heart. Now, he experienced that feeling of first love once more.

The next morning, James Brown received another call from Melody Yoody. Even though it was brief, her tone was full of endearment. She told James to pursue her, but in reality, she was even more proactive than he was. James knew that Melody didn’t want their difference in status to make him feel any sense of inferiority, hence her initiative.

After getting up and getting ready, there was a knock on the door. James didn’t need to look to know it must be Lucy Campbell. With so many surveillance devices upstairs and downstairs, it was easy for her to know he had returned home last night.

Opening the door, indeed, there was Lucy, dressed casually in homewear, her face adorned with a sweet smile that would drive any man wild.

"Just got back and here you are, coming over for a meal?" James Brown said with a laugh as he let Lucy in.

Lucy made herself at home in James’s place, casually sitting down on the sofa and said with a chuckle, "Why settle for less when there’s good food to be had?"

James had long been accustomed to Lucy’s brazen food mooching habits. As he set out to fry some eggs, he thought of Emily Jenkins and said, "Where’s Emily? Why hasn’t she come over?"

"She flew out early yesterday morning."

"Oh, then I can make one less portion."

James had seen Emily less frequently these days. When he was home, Emily was out flying, and she would only return when he was at Gina Lopez’s place.

Breakfast was quickly prepared, and as James and Lucy sat down to eat across from each other, Lucy, after eating an egg, sipped her milk and said, "Can you go out with me again today?"

"What’s it this time?"

"Since you weren’t at home these past few days, a lot of things have piled up."

"Miss Smith, don’t tell me that you stop working when I’m not around?"

"In YODC City, definitely," Lucy answered casually.

"You really..." James furrowed his brow.

Quickly, Lucy said, "Don’t be mad, okay? I’m not forcing you to help me. It’s just that given my status, I’d rather not go out with an entourage, and besides, the matters aren’t all that pressing, so I waited for you."

"Alright, for the sake of the cigarettes you brought me, I’ll agree, but... can you not just walk into my house whenever I’m gone in the future?"

Lucy met James’s gaze, sensing that he was genuinely bothered by this and immediately said with a smile, "Sorry. The last few days, I went back to the Capital of SSUP several times. I was worried you’d run out of cigarettes and I didn’t know when you’d be back, so I just came over without your permission. Please forgive me."

James had not expected Lucy to apologize, and considering that her intentions were genuinely good, he felt somewhat petty. Hurriedly he said, "It’s no big deal. I was mistaken, thinking you were abusing your status and completely overlooking me. If anyone should say sorry, it’s me. I wronged your kind intentions."

Lucy’s smile brightened up, "There aren’t many men like you who are brave enough to admit their mistakes."

James laughed, "Is that considered a virtue?"

"It is, at least compared to those arrogant men I’ve met, you’re much better."

With a hearty laugh, James let go of the slight gripe he had with Lucy.

That morning, James once again became Lucy’s ’cousin’, an understated wealthy scion, and they both got into Lucy’s car. As she revealed the first thing she wanted to do, James was left speechless—it turned out she wanted to sign a contract with Gina Lopez.