James Black hummed an acknowledgment and then reminded Jane Sampson that she needed to turn left at the next crossroads, just as he was about to speak, Janeās mobile phone rang.
Jane picked up her phone and glanced at the caller ID, her eyebrows furrowing slightly before she answered the call.
"Hello, Dad."
The call was from Father Sampton.
"If youāre free now, come home. Iām waiting for you in the house," Father Sampton said directly over the phone, and then, without giving Jane an opportunity to say more, he hung up with a click.
Jane paused for two seconds before looking at James with a somewhat apologetic expression, "I might not be able to join you for the meal, Dad asked me to come home right now."
At this, James felt a twinge of displeasure but still nodded, "If you want to go back, then go. If you donāt, we can continue with our plans for today as scheduled."
"I donāt know what itās about, but since Dad personally called me, I should go back," Jane said softly, "after all, he is my dad."
That last sentence was imbued with an indistinct bitterness.
It was as if she was comforting herself.
Jane didnāt turn at the upcoming crossroads; instead, she drove straight home to the Sampton Family.
The traffic was bad, and by the time Jane arrived, it had been more than an hour.
After getting out of the car, James didnāt immediately follow Jane inside; his gaze stayed fixed outside. He then said to Jane, "You go ahead in. Iām going to go out and buy something, then Iāll come back."
"Okay, sure," Jane didnāt ask James what he intended to buy, even thinking to herself that perhaps James didnāt want to enter the Sampton home, didnāt want to see the Sampton family members, and thatās why he made up an excuse to go buy stuff.
When Jane pushed the door open to enter, both Father and Mother Sampton were there, and Julie Sampson was there as well.
"Why did you dawdle until now to arrive?" Father Sampton, seeing Jane finally entering, couldnāt help but quietly complain, "It takes at the most more than half an hour to get here from your place; why did you drag your feet until now?"
"At this time point, the road was congested," Jane explained with a detached tone.
Hearing a perfunctory acknowledgment from Father Sampton and without further questioning about whether she had eaten or such, Jane didnāt find it hard to accept.
As it was a matter she didnāt hold much hope for, there wasnāt a great sense of disappointment or loss.
"Dad, you called me back home; whatās it about?" Jane chose the corner seat furthest away from Julie Sampson and Mother Sampton.
Seeing Janeās demeanor, Father Sampton showed displeasure and then added, "We both know about the matter on the internet, Jane. Youāre a girl, and even if the Black Family doesnāt mind you working in this circle, you canāt be so careless as to have scandals spread about you."
"I and Mr. Carter are friends," Jane said, "If this is why Dad called me back here to talk, then thereās nothing more to say."
"What kind of attitude is that?" Father Sampton said, slightly angered, "Have you ever thought about what the entire Black Family will think of you? With your name attached to scandals on the internet every other day, have you considered how James will feel? If he gets angry, Iād like to see what you will do then!"
Father Sampton reprimanded Jane for several points before suddenly asking, "About that twitter post saying youāre our foster daughter, you know about it, right?"
Only then did Jane slowly raise her head, looking over at Julie Sampson, who from beginning to end hadnāt deigned to give her a single glance. After a while, Jane curled the corners of her mouth into a smile and gave a hum of acknowledgment.