Chapter 91: New Neighbor

Words : 1851 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: New NeighborOriginally, James Brown had wanted to hit the bars tonight to blow off some steam, but the girl who had haunted his dreams popped into his mind, and he lost all mood for it. After buying some clothes, he went straight back home. As the elevator doors were about to close, the rapid sound of footsteps on the ground echoed, and then a woman squeezed her way in just before the doors shut. Seeing this person, James Brown was utterly dumbfounded; he had absolutely not expected to see this woman in the elevator. "What’s the matter, don’t recognize me?" Lucy Campbell teased as she winked at James Brown. James Brown cracked a smile and said, "What brings you here?" "I live here, on the sixteenth floor. Which floor are you on?" "The sixteenth floor?" James Brown’s eyes widened even more. Lucy Campbell exclaimed in surprise, "Seriously? You don’t live on the sixteenth floor, do you?" James Brown looked at Lucy Campbell, then smirked and said bitterly, "Miss Campbell, it’s a good thing it’s you. If it were someone else, I might suspect you came here on purpose to find me." Lucy Campbell laughed, "Oh, so that means you live on the sixteenth floor too? Aren’t we neighbors then?" James Brown nodded and asked tentatively, "Miss Campbell, may I ask you a question?" "Sure, go ahead," Lucy Campbell said, her face always wearing her signature smile, both noble and approachable. Even though he was surprised to see Lucy Campbell, as a top-notch Green Beret, James Brown quickly regained his normal rationality and analyzed the likelihood of Lucy Campbell moving in here, then he asked, "Given your status, you wouldn’t need to live in a community like this, would you? I’m not talking about staying in a five-star hotel, but at the very least, you should get a villa, right? What are you doing living here?" "I guess I can’t answer that here," Lucy Campbell pointed to the elevator, which just stopped at the sixteenth floor, and the elevator doors opened. As they got out of the elevator, Lucy Campbell said, "Aren’t you going to invite me to sit in your place?" "That would be an overwhelming honor. If people knew that the most beautiful woman in SSUP Country came to visit my home, I bet a lot of guys would want to kill me," James Brown said as he opened the door to his house and invited Lucy Campbell inside. After entering, Lucy Campbell curiously took a look around and said with a smile, "Your place is pretty clean, it surprises me." James Brown poured Lucy Campbell a glass of water and invited her to sit down. He sat next to her and said, "It’s alright." "Mm, it’s nice, just a bit small." Sёarᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "It’s enough for just one person." Lucy Campbell took a sip of water, and as she looked at James Brown, her thoughts suddenly flew to the jungle and fixated on the image of him taking a bullet for her, causing her to space out a bit. "Miss Campbell, what’s the matter?" James Brown felt a little uneasy under Lucy Campbell’s gaze, he coughed to remind her. Lucy Campbell shook visibly, flicked her hair—an action that, despite its simplicity, was laden with an ultimate elegance—"I remembered some things." James Brown looked at Lucy Campbell and felt puzzled by her appearance, saying, "Miss Campbell, why did you choose to become my neighbor?" "What’s your guess?" Lucy Campbell didn’t reveal any surprise. Given her status, she would have surely investigated who would be around in advance, and her bodyguards would definitely settle nearby. Others might not know, but James Brown was definitely clear on that. "You’re not expecting me to protect you again, are you?" James Brown looked at Lucy Campbell with a wry smile, hoping that wasn’t the case. But Lucy Campbell giggled and said, "You guessed right." James Brown frowned and said, "Miss Campbell, I’ve retired. I’m an ordinary person now and no longer have the duty to protect you." Lucy Campbell nodded and spoke, "Of course, I know that. I’m not here in my previous capacity; now, I’m just a businessperson, or you could say nearly an ordinary person. So I don’t mean to force you to protect me, but as neighbors, if I ever need anything, I hope you wouldn’t refuse to help, would you?" James Brown rubbed his nose and said, "It seems I really do have the right to refuse." Seeing James Brown reluctant, the smile deepened in Lucy Campbell’s eyes. This kind of reaction from James Brown made her like him even more. He wasn’t swayed by her beauty or her status, that’s what a real man is like, she said, "Then I might have to ask you." Lucy Campbell’s demeanour was already devastatingly beautiful, and now with a touch of playful coquettishness, it was enough to overwhelm any man. James Brown turned his head away and said, "Miss Campbell, stop teasing me, just speak plainly." "I really want to live the life of an ordinary person for a while. I’m tired, but my identity isn’t convenient wherever I go, especially with a bunch of bodyguards following me everywhere—I feel very uncomfortable. But as your neighbor, I’m fully confident about my safety, and I’d be able to have a simple, normal life." James Brown lit a cigarette and said, "Miss Campbell, you can’t expect me to labor for you without getting something in return, can you?" Lucy Campbell squinted her eyes for a moment. James Brown was absolutely the first man to smoke in front of her. The smell of the tobacco made her quite uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help but cough lightly. However, James Brown just glanced at her once and continued to smoke, taking another puff. "Don’t you know that it’s rude to smoke in front of a lady?" James Brown smiled lightly and said, "Aren’t you an ordinary person? So, I won’t change my behavior just for you." "It seems I am the one who has to change, then." "Suit yourself. If you don’t change, there’s nothing I can do." The more James Brown disregarded Lucy Campbell, the more she found him agreeable. If her persistent thoughts of James Brown in the past were merely because he had saved her and took a bullet for her, leaving her deeply shocked, his attitude now made him seem even more impressive in Lucy’s eyes. "Fine, then. Smoke if you want." Lucy stood up, smiling, and said, "Wait for me a moment." With that, she walked out the door without closing it. This left James Brown somewhat puzzled. He heard the door next to his open and close, and then Lucy reappeared in his home, bringing with her two cartons of cigarettes. "Don’t always smoke those low-quality cigarettes. These are two cartons of special-supply cigarettes for your enjoyment." James Brown’s eyes lit up. For a smoker, good tobacco was definitely enticing, and the two cartons Lucy brought were clearly hard-to-get premium special tribute cigarettes, so he hurriedly accepted them. The packaging of these cigarettes was quite simple—aside from the words ’special tribute,’ there were no designs on the plain white paper, leading any non-connoisseur to believe they were fake. James Brown immediately opened a carton and took out a pack of the plain white-boxed cigarettes, which also lacked even the ’special tribute’ inscription. Taking out a cigarette, it looked no different from normal ones except for a cute panda image on it. "Special Tribute Panda!" James Brown exclaimed with surprise, promptly extinguishing his current cigarette and lighting the new one. He took a drag with his eyes half-closed and said in ecstasy, "It’s really something else, smoking what the leaders smoke. Ah, that’s satisfying." Lucy laughed out loud and said, "Why does watching you smoke remind me of opium smoking?" James Brown swung his head back and forth and said, "Men smoking is like you women shopping for clothes. When you find clothing you like, you try it on and feel pretty. As for us men, when we get good cigarettes, of course, we have to properly enjoy them." "Is shopping supposed to make one feel pretty? I don’t get that feeling." "Oh, right, you wouldn’t feel that way. It’s like those leaders smoking these special tribute cigarettes—they probably don’t feel anything special either. How can that compare to us ordinary folks?" Lucy suddenly sighed and said, "What you’re saying is true, I just feel so uninterested in everything right now. That’s why I wanted to try living like an ordinary person here. Let me get a taste of that feeling of vanity when shopping for clothes." James Brown widened his eyes and said, "I really don’t understand you people. Having such high status, yet wanting to live like us ordinary folk." "If you don’t understand, then don’t. Anyway, I just want to experience it. You’re going to help me, aren’t you? I brought you cigarettes, and you’ve smoked them already. You can’t refuse me now." James Brown rolled his eyes, not expecting someone like Lucy Campbell to act so shamelessly. He chuckled and said, "Just for two cartons of cigarettes, you think you can buy me off?" Lucy blinked and said, "I could just supply you with these cigarettes, then." "That offer is quite tempting... But even if I agree to help you, it won’t do much good. If you want to live like an ordinary person, others have to believe you’re ordinary. Here in YODC City, if you don’t attend some social gathering, it might be manageable, but all the important people in the city know who you are. How do you expect to live the life of an ordinary person? That might not be easy." "I’ve thought of that already," said Lucy. "A few days ago, I went back to the Capital of SSUP and handed over my business matters in YODC City to my subordinates. This time, I sneaked back here secretly. As long as I don’t associate with those leaders, nobody will know I’m in YODC City, right?" James Brown looked at Lucy and said, "Why do I always feel like this is some kind of conspiracy, and it’s directed at me no less?" "What sort of conspiracy could I possibly have against you?" Lucy squinted her eyes at James Brown. James Brown cracked a bitter smile and said, "I’m just a poor man. If you had any conspiracy against me, it would be if you had taken a liking to me." "What do you think?" Lucy inwardly admired James Brown; the man was really something. But of course, she couldn’t admit that right away, as it would surely scare James Brown off. James Brown rolled his eyes again and said, "Do you think I would believe that?" Lucy laughed joyfully, looking forward to the day James Brown would learn the truth, and she wondered what kind of expression he would have then.

Chapter 91: New Neighbor

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