Chapter 43 - 43 42 Too careless

Words : 1836 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

43: Chapter 42 Too careless 43: Chapter 42 Too careless James Brown didn’t have a hammer at home, but he did have a mover’s hand, left behind by the landlord. Although it wasn’t handy for driving nails, it was sturdy enough to exert some force. For James, hammering nails was more than manageable. Under Emily Jenkins’ guidance, James drove two nails into the living room wall. Emily immediately hung two picture frames on the nails, both containing her artistic photos. Seeing the pictures, James couldn’t help but praise her, “You’re already so beautiful, why take artistic photos? Isn’t that just intentionally provoking others?” “James Brown,” Emily replied, amused, “At home, I’m not displaying them outside.” Emily was very pleased to hear James’s compliment. “And you said you hoped to grow up ugly, but now you love to be vain – aren’t you just telling lies?” “I’m not, now that I’ve grown up like this, there’s nothing I can do about it. Instead of being unable to change, I might as well enjoy it.” James couldn’t help but smile. Emily Jenkins really was an interesting girl. Talking with her always made him laugh. He had met many women, but never one with a personality like Emily’s. As Emily continued to admire her artistic photos, James shook his head, laughing, “Wait until I leave before you admire yourself. Do we need to hammer anywhere else?” “Let me think, yes! Hang another one above the bed in the bedroom.” Emily quickly led James into the bedroom. The bedroom door was originally closed, but as Emily opened it, James caught sight of the interior, and he felt his nose grow hot. For a man, the room was a bit too seductive. Scattered across the bed and floor were several pairs of stockings, some flesh-colored, some black. What was she doing with stockings in the dead of winter? Not just stockings – bras and panties were strewn about the bed, and they were the enticing lace kind. Despite being worldly, the sudden sight was a bit too much for James. “Ah!” Emily screamed, rushing in to haphazardly gather the lingerie together before throwing it into the wardrobe. After tidying up, she turned around with a red face and said, “I… I washed them and hadn’t put them away yet.” James was both annoyed and amused, saying, “It’s a good thing I’m not a pervert, or I couldn’t restrain myself after seeing your underwear lying around like that. I would have ravished you.” Emily was quite embarrassed, but quickly stuck out her tongue playfully and said, “I know Big Brother Brown is a good guy, otherwise, I wouldn’t let you into my home.” “Don’t butter me up, let’s get this nail in so I can head back.” Emily promptly jumped onto the bed, moving the pillows and pointed to the exact spot above the bed, “Right here.” James also climbed onto the bed and drove in a nail. However, getting on a woman’s bed and then doing nothing – that had never happened before. After the nail was in, Emily handed a large photo frame to James, saying, “Big Brother Brown, help me hang this.” Taking it from her, James first admired it – it was a sexy photo of Emily, scantily clad in a little tank top and shorts, very provocative. Such a picture was fine for the bedroom but would be too eye-catching in the living room. Sёarch* The NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yet, he was lucky to see it. “Stop looking and hang it up for me,” Emily urged, her face flushing. James chuckled, “You photographed it but won’t let me look? It’s good you’re not dressed like that in front of me, or I’d really turn into a pervert.” Emily blushed and scolded him, “Stop teasing me, Big Brother Brown.” James hung the frame, then had Emily check and adjust its position. Once she was satisfied, he got off the bed. Leaving the bedroom, Emily thanked James, “Thanks a lot, Big Brother Brown.” “Don’t mention it, we’re neighbors, after all. It’s only right to help each other out. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.” “Okay.” Emily saw James out the door, and just as he was about to close it, she suddenly asked, “Big Brother Brown, can I still come over to your place for a meal?” James turned to look at Emily, who quickly stuck out her tongue, embarrassed, and said, “I can buy groceries, I just don’t know how to cook.” “Alright, if I have time, you can come over for a meal.” “Yay, I’ve got a great neighbor! Thank you, Big Brother Brown. I’m flying out tomorrow. When I get back, I’ll buy groceries.” Watching Emily’s excited demeanor, James was affected too, and he smiled, “Great, I save money then. After all, cooking for one or two doesn’t make much difference.” “It’s a deal!” Emily waved at James and then, with a radiant smile, withdrew her head and closed the door. James Brown shook his head, smiling as he returned to his own home. Having such a neighbor would certainly keep him from getting bored at home in the future. Just as he sat down, Gina Lopez’s call came through again. James hesitated for a moment, then casually answered, “Brother-in-law, where are you?” “I’m out,” James replied as he sat down on the sofa. He absolutely couldn’t admit that he was at home. “Where are you exactly? Did you ask my sister for time off?” “I’m handling some things with a few colleagues outside; I’ve told your sister.” “Really? But my sister said you just left. How did you meet up with your colleagues so quickly?” James broke into a sweat, wondering why Gina had received Emily’s call yet failed to notify him. At that moment, a call waiting signal beeped in his ear. Glancing at the phone, he saw it was the secondary line, dedicated to Gina Lopez, who was just now calling—obviously too late. “I need to be quick; my colleague’s car is waiting outside the complex.” “Is that so, brother-in-law? Lying isn’t what good kids do. Why is it that every time I call, you two are never together?” “Who knows? Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” James could only fabricate such an excuse. But he quickly thought of a better one, “I didn’t want to interfere with your sister’s work, so people at the office don’t know about us. To them, I’m still single, which means I naturally go out a lot.” “Tonight, I’ll call you in the middle of the night to see if you two are together.” “Why would you call in the middle of the night? That would disturb the peace.” “I am going to disturb you two. I’ve always felt something is off with you; you don’t seem like a couple at all. I just want to expose you, heh heh. If you admit it now, I’ll stop bothering you.” James couldn’t admit it; else Gina would have a score to settle with him. He could only laugh, “You cheeky girl, call if you want. Just don’t blame your sister for getting angry with you.” “I’m not afraid. She’s the one who found you to pretend to be her boyfriend. Now my mom keeps nagging me, so I’m determined to expose you two and then let mom nag at her instead, haha…” With that, Emily Lopez hung up, laughing triumphantly. James then answered Gina Lopez’s call, helplessly saying, “You called me, and I was just talking to Emily.” “What did she say to you?” Gina asked anxiously. James recounted his conversation with Emily to Gina. After hearing it, Gina bitterly said, “That darn girl! She obviously didn’t want us tipping each other off; she used two phones to call each of us and hung up with me before calling you, leaving me no chance to coordinate with you.” James was at a loss, “This will definitely blow our cover. I think we should just drop it, especially since you’re already working. Do you still need to keep it a secret from them?” “No way, my mother would scold me if she found out. Plus, she’d continue to pressure me to find a boyfriend.” James said with a wry smile, “Gina, you’ve got to understand my situation. I don’t know when Emily might call me out of the blue, and I can’t always be on guard. Now she says she’ll call tonight, what should we do?” Gina Lopez thought for a moment, then said, “Don’t mind her. If she calls, you don’t have to answer; just act as if you’ve been out drinking. She can’t check on it anyway. We simply won’t admit anything, and she can’t do anything about it.” “Gina, that’s fine for one day, but what about later? I don’t interact with Emily much, but she strikes me as very persistent. What if she calls in the middle of the night in a few days? You can’t tell me I’m out drinking every night.” Gina was really at her wit’s end by now, troubled by her difficult sister who was determined to spill their secret. Mainly because both were trying to escape their mother’s nagging, Emily certainly wanted to catch them out. “I’m telling you, if you really want Emily to give up on this, you’ll have to make it so she can truly verify we’re still together. The only way is for us to actually spend the night together.” Gina huffed coldly, “What are you planning to do?” “If I wanted to do something, I would’ve done it by now. I don’t need to wait till now. I’ve just come up with this solution. If you don’t like it, you figure something out.” There was silence on Gina’s end. After a long pause, she finally said, “Let me think about it, and I’ll call you back.” After hanging up, James Brown shook his head repeatedly. He’d taken on this task because it seemed interesting and he wanted to enjoy the Lunar New Year properly. He had not foreseen so many complications. If he had known about all these troubles, he wouldn’t have agreed to Gina’s request. But now that he was on this ship of thieves, James wasn’t one to abandon ship. He would have to come up with a way to help Gina out. In less than half an hour, Gina’s call came, “Come stay at my place for a few days.” “What?” James’s eyes widened in surprise, completely taken aback by Gina’s swift agreement. Now he felt like he was shooting himself in the foot.

Chapter 43 - 43 42 Too careless

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