The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 216 - 217: The Two Elders Pressuring for Marriage

Chapter 216: Chapter 217: The Two Elders Pressuring for Marriage

James Brown listened to the nagging of Gina Lopez’s parents, accompanying them all the way to Gina’s home. As soon as the door opened, Emily Lopez already embraced her mother, planting a big kiss on her cheek, and affectionately said: "Mom, Dad, I’ve missed you guys to death."

Jonathan Lopez glared and said: "You still remember us? You just took off for so long, obviously afraid of our nagging."

Emily let out a giggle and said: "Didn’t I stay comfortably here? So I extended my visit for a few more days."

Emily’s mother pinched her daughter around the waist and said in mock anger: "Look at you, all grown up and still running off to your sister’s place, don’t you know it affects them?"

Emily turned to James and said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, I haven’t disturbed your couple’s world, have I?"

James hurriedly said: "Not at all, Gina and I have been quite busy lately. Having Sandra here has actually been a bit of help to us."

Jonathan scoffed and said: "Her? Expect her not to cause you trouble, and you even hope she would help you?"

Emily let go of her mother and hugged her father’s arm, pouting and said: "Dad, who talks about his daughter like that? You still want your daughter to get married, don’t you?"

"I do want you to get married, but you have to look for someone."

Emily glanced at James again and laughed: "Who says I haven’t found someone? I’ve met a great guy here and now I’m trying my best to get myself married off."

James instantly broke into a sweat. Clearly, Emily was referring to him, but fortunately, Emily’s parents didn’t catch the hidden meaning in her words. Excitement was written on their faces. Emily’s mother quickly pulled her daughter over and said: "Then when are you bringing him over for us to see?"

Emily pouted and responded: "What’s the rush? I have to see if he’s suitable or not. I’m not so senseless as to just marry myself off to anyone. I’ve got to find someone I truly like."

Emily’s mother immediately frowned and said: "What’s all this about liking or not liking? As long as you don’t dislike him, that’s enough, isn’t it? Your father and I were together for just a month before getting married, and look, we still have a good life."

"That was then, what era are we in now? How can you compare with those times?"

Jonathan glared and said: "Whatever era it is, you still have to get married and have kids."

James quickly tried to smooth things over, laughing: "Uncle, Aunt, it must have been tiresome flying here. Why don’t you sit down and rest first? As for Sandra, I’ll keep an eye on the matter. I’ll make sure she brings her boyfriend around to meet you soon."

To James, Jonathan and his wife were far more pleasant. Emily’s mother sat down and asked James: "James, do you know the boyfriend Sandra’s found?"

James shook his head and said: "Recently, Gina and I have been too busy with work, I really don’t have a clue who Sandra has her eye on. If she hadn’t mentioned it today, we’d still be in the dark."

Emily giggled and said: "I haven’t made my choice yet, of course I can’t bring him back yet. What if you guys end up liking him, then I couldn’t shake him off even if I wanted to."

The Lopez couple were both helpless when it came to Emily. Recently, with Gina and James becoming a couple, they began urging Emily to marry. To their expected chagrin, the young lady ran straight to YODC City, making them chase after her.

James poured two glasses of water for the elderly couple before sitting down. Emily’s mother took a sip and warmly looked at James, saying: "James, you said earlier that you and Gina are busy, so you can’t really focus on wedding plans. How about this? You do your work, and we’ll help arrange the wedding for you."

James was startled and quickly said: "Uncle, Aunt, we can’t burden you with our wedding. We should handle it ourselves."

"What do you mean handle it yourselves? You said you’re too busy, right? It just so happens we’re free, with nothing much to do. We can take care of the house buying and decorating for you. We can also help you pick out a few houses first, then you can make the final decision."

James’s eyes widened even more, realizing the old couple was really resolute about this. They had obviously prepared at home for this very moment of marital coercion.

Emily laughed and said: "There’s no need to buy a house at all. This current house is nice, isn’t it? Just tidy it up a bit and it can be the wedding house. Later if they want to change, they can always do so."

Jonathan slapped his thigh and said: "Sandra has a good idea. The matter of the house is not urgent. What’s urgent is to get married first. After you tie the knot, you can slowly acquire whatever you need."

Before James could express his own opinion, Emily’s mother was already raring to go, talking to Jonathan excitedly: "Mr. Lopez, the 20th is an auspicious day. I think we should just settle the wedding on that day. We have to start informing family and friends now. We need to make a big celebration out of it."

Jonathan nodded repeatedly, saying: "Yeah, our family hasn’t had a celebration in many years. This time, we must notify all our relatives and friends."

Emily Lopez’s mother chimed in: "Of course we need to notify them. Over the years, we’ve given so much in gifts, when it’s our family’s turn, naturally, they should come and give us a red envelope or something."

James Brown grew more stressed as he listened – the old couple weren’t asking his opinion at all. They didn’t need his consent for anything; they were already gearing up for the wedding preparations.

"Uncle, Auntie... I think we should wait for Gina to come back and discuss it with her. I’m really afraid Gina won’t have the time," James thought, since it was Gina Lopez who caused the trouble, she should deal with it. But then he suddenly wondered, now that Gina keeps insisting on being with him, would she take the opportunity to push him towards marriage?

Maybe this was a trap set by Gina along with her parents, and James couldn’t just jump in. Leaving it to Gina obviously wasn’t a wise choice.

Jonathan Lopez said: "Don’t worry, we will handle Gina’s work. Since she’s already cohabitating with you, she has certainly acknowledged you. If she’s not rushing into marriage, it is just her being stubborn. Getting married won’t affect her job; once we take care of the arrangements, I’m sure she’ll have no objection."

James felt even more anxious. Glancing at Sandra, he quickly winked at her for help.

Sandra blinked and took over the conversation: "Mom and Dad, I think you are too anxious. My sister is a company manager after all, and a wedding can’t be rushed like this. There’s a lot to consider, and we can’t follow those old traditions blindly."

Emily Lopez’s mother immediately asked: "Then what should we do?"

Sandra said cheerfully: "Nowadays, young people’s weddings, like pre-wedding photoshoots, are very elaborate. Of course, we have to do all of those. Missing out on any would be a regret, so I think we should wait for my sister to come back and then figure it out."

James felt incredibly grateful to Sandra at this moment. When it actually matters, this little sister-in-law is truly supportive.

Jonathan Lopez frowned and said: "But when will that be? Your mother and I can hardly wait to hold our grandchildren."

James once again felt pressured. Sandra chuckled and said: "Then you’ll have to wait. Even if my sister and brother-in-law get married right away, I doubt she would want children immediately."

"Hmph, if she doesn’t want any, then you should just get married sooner and have a child for us. You’re not busy with anything else. Having a baby for us to look after wouldn’t be too bad."

Sandra’s eyes widened in shock: "No way, you’re setting your sights on me now?"

"You and your sister were only born hours apart, what difference does it make who has a baby first?"

Sandra quickly covered her ears and said, "I don’t want to hear this, I’m out of here." With that, she escaped into the bedroom.

It was her idea for the parents to come here in the first place. She had called them in advance, saying that Gina Lopez and James Brown were not in a hurry to get married, and if they didn’t show up, who knew when the wedding might be. The news got the old couple so worried, they rushed over immediately.

When James signaled her earlier, she played along well, pretending to be unsuccessful in persuading them and then ducked out, leaving James to deal with the parents.

Now, the best thing to do would be to tell the older couple the truth, but James had a good impression of them, and revealing everything right now wouldn’t be fair to Gina. Although James didn’t like the idea of Gina becoming his girlfriend, as a friend, he thought Gina was nice, so he couldn’t just expose everything.

"Uncle, Auntie, let’s not rush this. I’ll cook something for you first, and tonight I’ll have a few drinks with Uncle."

Jonathan Lopez and his wife had no objections to this suggestion. James quickly prepared to go out to buy groceries, and Sandra came out again, saying: "Brother-in-law, I’ll go with you."

Both entered the elevator, and James frowned and said: "Sandra, why didn’t you speak up more for us just now?"

Sandra sighed helplessly and said: "I wanted to. I don’t want to watch you marry my sister with my eyes wide open. If you do, you would truly become my brother-in-law, and I couldn’t be with you anymore. But you saw how eagerly my parents are. I didn’t dare say too much, or I’d get pulled into it too."

James sighed and said: "What do we do now? I can’t really marry your sister, can I? I’m willing to help, but I can’t mess up my own life."

Sandra stroked her chin thoughtfully and said: "For now, we can only stall."

James exhaled, "It seems like that’s all we can do. Sandra, you’ll have to help me later on."

"Don’t worry, I’m not willing to let you marry my sister just like that. I still want to be your wife," Sandra replied.

James managed a wry smile. Initially, the idea of Sandra wanting to be his wife was troubling to him, but now, it seemed like a lifeline.