The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 269 - 276: What’s Wrong with Being a Fool Once?

Chapter 269: Chapter 276: What’s Wrong with Being a Fool Once?

"Brother-in-law, what on earth is going on?" Emily Lopez shook James Brown’s arm a little and pouted in Gina Lopez’s direction, saying, "I sure don’t believe what my sister says."

At this moment, James Brown found it both funny and unbearable, and he also knew that if he didn’t make things clear, Gina would definitely twist the story even more. So, he simply recounted the events of that day. Of course, in front of Emily, his little niece, he couldn’t possibly detail everything so explicitly, but he had to clarify what they wore to bed to some extent. Otherwise, Emily wouldn’t let him off the hook.

When James Brown began to explain, Gina Lopez wanted to stop him, but she hesitated for a moment and said nothing, letting him recount the whole story. After he finished, Gina raised an eyebrow at Emily, saying, "Isn’t that enough?"

Emily pouted and said, "Brother-in-law, are you even a man? How could you hold back in that situation? I really don’t know how you did it."

James Brown didn’t expect Emily to give him such an assessment. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Your sister and I aren’t really husband and wife, how could we do that?"

Emily giggled and said, "But haven’t you two already registered your marriage? At least in my parents’ eyes, you’re already their real son-in-law, so they totally wouldn’t mind if you did something with my sister."

Gina Lopez glared at Emily and said, "Now you’ve heard it all; James and I have already progressed to this stage, so you should have nothing more to say, right?"

Emily gave Gina an indifferent glance and said, "Older sister, are you even modern? This isn’t ancient times; just because you’ve been intimate, doesn’t mean you have to get married. Now, there are plenty of people who don’t marry even if they’ve been intimate. Moreover, you two haven’t really been intimate yet. You’re making a fuss over nothing, it’s ridiculous."

"Do you mean I really need to sleep with James Brown before you’ll give up?"

Emily touched her chin and said, "Pretty much."

Gina stood up furiously and declared, "Fine, I’ll sleep with him tonight, and we’ll see what you’ll say then."

Emily giggled and said, "But brother-in-law has to agree too, right? It’s not something you can decide on your own."

Gina immediately turned her gaze to James Brown and demanded, "Do you object?"

James Brown nodded firmly without hesitation and said, "Yes! Gina, don’t be impulsive, how can you rush into this kind of thing?"

Emily suddenly exclaimed with exaggeration, "See? Brother-in-law didn’t agree; this is your own wishful thinking, what use is it?"

Gina’s face turned bright red with anger. By rejecting her outright like that, especially in front of her younger sister, James had humiliated her. As a female CEO, to have brought up such a topic only to be directly rejected by James, and in front of her younger sister, made her eyes turn red with tears beginning to circle in them.

James Brown saw Gina Lopez cry for the first time and realized that his words had been too hurtful. Although he didn’t fully believe that Gina’s feelings for him were sincere, their recent interactions had been different from before. She wasn’t as overbearing, and they had at least been getting along as friends. Wounding Gina to this extent was indeed excessive.

"Gina, that’s not what I mean, you—"

Before James could try to smooth things over, Gina shouted angrily, "Leave! I don’t want to see you!"

"Gina!" James quickly got up.

"I don’t want to see you!" Gina’s tears finally fell from her eyes. As a stubborn woman, she refused to let James and Emily see her crying. She turned her head abruptly and rushed into the bedroom, slamming the door hard.

James Brown and Emily Lopez looked at each other bewildered. Emily chuckled wryly and said, "Seems like I might have taken it a bit too far. It’s been many years since I’ve seen her cry."

In disbelief, James responded, "You think this is something to play with?"

Emily jumped, almost letting her true intentions slip, and then pouted, saying, "What does it matter? If my sister can’t make you fall for her, then I will. I’ve been letting her have her way because she’s my sister. If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve made my move long ago. Who knew she’d be so useless? And besides, my sister’s anger is because of what you just did, not because of me. I don’t care. I’m warning you, sometimes she’s really stubborn. Who knows, if she gets careless, she might even do something drastic like attempt suicide."

After her words, Emily ran back to the bedroom, leaving James standing alone in the living room, which really left him speechless.

Shaking his head, James decided to try comforting Gina. He walked over and knocked on the door but there was no response from inside. After calling out a few times and still hearing no signs of life, he began to worry. He took out his keychain and quickly unlocked Gina’s bedroom door.

Pushing the door open, he saw Gina sitting up, wiping her eyes, and looking unkindly at him as she barked, "What are you doing in here?"

This attitude wasn’t good, but James Brown, looking at Gina Lopez’s swollen eyes, didn’t feel like quibbling with her anymore. He closed the door, sat down beside Gina, and said softly, "Gina, why put yourself through this?"

Gina took a deep breath, suddenly turned her head to look at James fiercely, and said slowly, "Do I really make you that disgusted?"

James immediately shook his head and said, "How could I possibly dislike you?"

"Then what do you mean by this?" Gina’s eyes grew even wider, and the anger in them intensified.

James sighed and said, "Gina, at first, I saw you as my boss. Later, as we interacted more, I considered you a friend. But when it comes to affection, we really don’t have much between us. I admit I’m not a good man; I’m tempted by beautiful women, too. But when it comes to friends, I don’t want to take advantage. I respect you, so when you said what you did just now, I really couldn’t accept it, and that’s why I rejected you outright."

Gina stared at James for a long while without speaking, which made James somewhat uneasy as he said, "Gina, do you understand what I’m saying?"

Gina suddenly nodded, her face still smiling, "I understand."

James let out a sigh of relief and said, "That’s good."

But Gina’s smile became thicker, and her gaze towards James grew increasingly odd, making James’s hair stand on end and causing him to inch back as he said, "Gina, are you... okay?"

Gina chuckled, "I’m fine. James Brown, do you know I’ve just made a decision?"

"A decision?" James looked at Gina, puzzled, but his unease grew. He had a feeling that Gina’s decision had something to do with him.

Gina suddenly patted James on the shoulder and said, "I’ve realized that I’m kind of falling in love with you."

"Really... love... me?" James’s eyes widened as he stared at Gina. She had often said she wanted to be with him in the past, but he knew it was just for her sister—nothing more than a game that wasn’t to be taken seriously. But now, James suddenly felt that Gina was serious this time.

Gina’s smile carried a trace of allure as she said, "But it’s just a bit. To say I’m completely in love with you, there’s still some distance to go."

"So you..." James felt an enormous amount of pressure facing Gina’s confession.

Gina’s unwavering eyes locked onto James as she declared, "Since I’ve fallen for you, I’m going to see if you can make me fall for you completely."

James was taken aback, then suddenly stood up, "This won’t do. I don’t want to be your love experiment."

At that moment, Gina crossed her left leg over her right, the contours of her body faintly visible beneath her silky pajamas. She seemed not to mind revealing too much in front of James, quite at ease—something that would absolutely not happen in front of others, but in front of James, it didn’t bother her at all.

More than at ease, Gina was now very composed, her lips curving into a wonderful arc. Squinting her eyes, she looked at James and said, "Actually, I’ve discovered that Sandra indeed has good taste. I never noticed so many of your strengths before. Now that I’ve discovered them, I naturally won’t let you go easily."

James twitched at the corner of his mouth, "Listen, Gina, let’s not play around anymore, okay? You know I have a girlfriend, and now I’ve rekindled a past relationship with Melody Yoody, and I’m already overwhelmed with not knowing how to deal with it, so let’s not complicate things further, alright?"

Gina gently swung her leg, "You’re also mixed up with Sister Sunny, and your relationship with Officer Helen Wilson is quite ambiguous."

James became a bit embarrassed and said, "Knowing all that, why join the chaos?"

"Well, with so many already in the mix, would one more make a difference? I’m the kind of person who never backs down from a challenge, and if so many people see something in you, doesn’t that prove your excellence even more? How could I not fight for you? If I didn’t, wouldn’t I be a fool?"

James twitched the corner of his mouth again, "I think you’re being a fool right now."

Gina giggled, "Don’t people say that when a woman falls in love, her IQ drops? For all these years, I’ve always made sure I was sharp, to avoid being fooled by anyone, and have never tried playing the fool. So what’s wrong with being a fool for once?"

James looked at Gina, his heart pounding non-stop. Even if Gina had previously spoken with utmost sincerity, he knew it was all false. But this time, her words carried the playfulness of a joke, yet it made James realize that this time, Gina was for real.