bucks, and just like that, Jane Sampsonās pride was sold out completely.
A perfectly good escape adventure was mercilessly nipped in the bud.
After paying, Jane Sampson walked out of the cold drink store with the Great General, following James Black. Seeing Janeās head turning towards the storefronts, James asked, "Heading home or fancy a stroll through the shopping mall?"
"Home?" Jane confirmed upon hearing the word. "Arenāt we going back to walk the dog?"
"Woof woof woof!" The Great General wagged his tail and let out a couple of baffled barks.
James gave Jane a casual glance and hummed in acknowledgment. It was quite obvious she didnāt enjoy walking anymore, and he felt that if he dragged her around the residential community with the dog, Jane would likely hold a grudge against him in her heart.
"Letās go home, then. We can take a nap," Jane decided cheerfully and then took the lead, walking toward the shopping mallās doorway with the Great General.
Since James had rushed out of the car, it was parked right next to the doorway in a surface parking spot. Once inside the car, Jane immediately urged James to turn on the air conditioner. The short walk from the doorway to the car had already made her terribly hot. Every summer, Jane found herself missing the countryside where her grandparents lived. It wasnāt too far from Capital Province city district, but summers there were much cooler.
James started the car but didnāt rush to drive off. He pulled Janeās head back from the brink of the air conditioner and pinned her to the chair.
"Sit back. Youāll get heatstroke getting this close," he chided. After putting Jane in her place, James said, "Give me your phone for a sec."
The moment she heard that, Jane pressed her phone under her butt and then shook her head very seriously at James. "I already admitted my mistake; you canāt keep hounding me for sneaking ice cream," she said earnestly.
"Thatās not it," James shook his finger. "Hand it over, or should I just take it?"
"What are you going to do with it? Youāll give it back to me in a while? Five minutes?" She obviously wouldnāt win if they fought over itāhe had locked the car, she had nowhere to run, and he couldnāt do much since she had locked the mobile payment on her phone.
But Jane thought, after getting home, she would still have to set up fingerprint recognition and a password on her phone. The fact that she could be manipulated by James this one time was solely due to her previous laziness. She didnāt bother with the password every time she unlocked her phone, which is why James had his way.
"Five minutes," James nodded and gave her a definite time frame.
Since James himself said five minutes, Jane still took out the phone she had hidden under her butt and handed it to him; he had a good reputation with her.
James always did what he said he would do.
After taking Janeās phone, James held it in his palm for a moment, scanning her face and eyes. Then, in full view, he unlocked the phoneās contact list, keyed in the letter āJā for James in the search bar, and to his surprise, the first contact that popped up was named Bastard Black.
Without thinking twice, James dialed the number saved as Bastard Black. A few seconds later, as Jane covered her face with her hands, James Blackās phone rang.
"Jane Sampson, arenāt you being childish?" James snorted dismissively as he hung up. He quickly selected āedit contact,ā deleted the words āturtle egg,ā typed in āBlack,ā then after a momentās thought, he deleted it again. He rapidly keyed in another three letters to replace his name and hit āsaveā before leaving the contacts and handing Janeās phone back to her.