"Are you upset about the Twitter incident?" Jane Sampson asked. "Iām sorry. I had no idea that going out with you would lead to people taking pictures, but they didnāt capture your face, right? I know your job is special and your appearance canāt be exposed. Iāll be more careful when I go out with you in the future."
Jane thought to herself that today she had been too relaxed, knowing full well that being with James Black meant she should have put on her mask and hat after coming out of the first shop where they had tried on clothes.
"Itās not that," James listened to Janeās repeated coquettish complaints, and the bit of emotion in his heart had long since dissipated.
The sneak photography wasnāt Jane Sampsonās fault; it was only that he hadnāt been alert enough to notice someone was taking pictures.
James sighed and asked, "Are all your fans silly? They believe Peter Gingery and Bright Sampton are your boyfriends, but here I am, your husband, and they think Iām your brother, even your real brother."
James felt utterly helpless as he rubbed Janeās head. "Your fans are as annoying as you."
Jane stood there dazed for quite a while, one second...
Two seconds...
Then, laughter echoed throughout the entire room.
"Hahaha!"
"So, after all this, youāre just upset about this!"
"Itās my fault? I didnāt lead them on!"
"My little cuties just really think youāre my brother; what can I do?"
After laughing, Jane couldnāt resist cheekily calling out to James, "Brother James Black~"
As it turned out, being cheeky came at a cost.
James flipped over and pinned her beneath him.
Before he could even speak a word, Jane immediately surrendered.
"I was wrong. I wonāt laugh at you anymore."
Jane pushed against James, who was on top of her, "Get off me, my back still hurts from last night."
She said the last line as pitifully as possible.
Thinking back to last night, James had let Jane go, but not before he pressed down on her and kissed her for a long time before finally stopping.
After finishing, James gently cuddled her and said, "Letās sleep."
"Iām not sleepy. Letās talk," Jane suggested. "Shall I tell you a story?"
"Sure," James murmured, not saying anything else but waiting for Jane to tell him a story.
"Itās about a dream I had last night," Jane looked up at James as she spoke and saw that he was also looking at her, so she smiled sweetly at him. "A very real, very real dream."
Jane thought for a moment before continuing softly, "Every early summer in my hometown on the small town, isnāt there an Ancestor Worship Day? In the past years, I went back with my aunt and uncle-in-law. Grandfather is getting old and hasnāt been back these last few years because, after all, the journey to the small town is quite exhausting."
"Sure," James lightly responded, indicating he was listening.
"In my dream last night, I saw that next year, it was you and I who went back together. In the dream, my aunt and uncle-in-law went abroad to attend an important meeting, and you happened to be on vacation, so we went back together. After we finished offering incense to our ancestors, we didnāt stay in the old mansion but stayed in a folklore house in the town. In my dream, it was this night, around midnight..."
Jane paused, her whole body trembling slightly, instinctively burrowing into Jamesās arms, seeking warmth. After a few seconds, she slowly continued, "This night, there was a huge earthquake, a very big one. The first earthquake caused our folklore house to collapse, and we were trapped under the ruins, followed by many aftershocks that buried us deeper and deeper."