Chapter 62
Juniper glanced at Aaron. "How come you still have so many levels left?"
"This game gets harder as you go. I'm already pretty good to have made it this far." Aaron turned to look at me with a sneer. "Sophia doesn't understand anything. She has given up. Don't worry, we're definitely going to win this time."
Hearing this, Juniper's expression improved slightly.
But when they saw "game clear" on my computer screen, they were both stunned.
Aaron's pockmarked face turned visibly pale.
People around us couldn't help but applaud and praise me, looking at me with admiration.
Juniper and Amelia's faces went completely white.
Juniper stared at the screen in disbelief and shouted, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! You must have cheated! Sophia, did you have someone play remotely for you?"
Aaron also bit his lip and said unwillingly, "How could someone who doesn't know anything possibly clear all the levels? You definitely cheated!"
I let out a cold laugh and picked up my computer. "With so many eyes watching here, where could I have cheated?"
Amelia said quietly from the side, "Sophia, why don't we just forget about this? We're all family, there's no need to make things so tense."
Watching them try to weasel out of it, I wasn't surprised at all. I had already guessed they wouldn't honor the bet after losing.
I took out my phone, opened the recording function, and played the audio of when we made the bet earlier.
I looked at them coldly. "A bet's a bet. Since you lost, hurry up and honor it. Stop embarrassing yourselves here."
Juniper bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
Amelia's face also went pale, her hands gripping her skirt tightly, at a loss.
Amelia held her head. "Juniper, I feel so dizzy."
Juniper supported her. "Amelia, I'll take you to the hospital."
I could tell Amelia was faking it. I curled my lip. "Even if you can escape this time, you can't escape the next."
"If you don't honor the bet, I'll post the recording online and make you famous."
Juniper wanted to lash out at me, but Amelia held her back firmly. "Juniper, stop it. Let's go."
Juniper supported Amelia and left with Aaron, looking defeated.
After dealing with this, I returned to the Smith Mansion.
Seeing James sitting in the living room, I ignored him and headed straight upstairs.
"Sophia." Just as I was about to go up the stairs, James suddenly called out to me, his voice low.
I stopped but didn't turn around, asking coldly, "What?"
James stood up and walked to a spot not far behind me, his tone flat. "Grandma said the fruit in the family orchard is ripe. She wants us to go pick some tomorrow and bring it back to her."
I was silent for a long time before answering, "Got it."
Picking fruit was just an excuse—Indigo really wanted James and me to spend time alone together to develop our relationship.
Since Indigo had asked, I couldn't refuse.
Going together was fine. We'd each pick our own fruit and stay out of each other's way.
Early the next morning, James drove me to the Smith family's orchard.
The orchard was in a remote mountain valley. We drove for about six hours before reaching the foot of the mountain where the Smith family orchard was located.
There was still a long distance from here to the orchard, but the mountain road was bad and cars couldn't go up, so we had to walk.
We rested for a bit, then shouldered our tools and headed to the orchard.
During the walk, James tried to talk to me several times, but I didn't respond.
I just kept my head down and walked with my cane.
James followed behind me.
It took about an hour to reach the orchard. I kept my head down picking fruit, eliminating any chance for James to talk to me.
We picked fruit all afternoon. The sky gradually darkened, the originally clear sky became overcast, and strong winds picked up. It looked like rain was coming.
We quickly packed up, preparing to go down the mountain, but before we could reach the bottom, heavy rain poured down. The raindrops were big and dense, instantly soaking us through.
The mountain path was muddy and difficult to walk on. There was no way to continue down, so we could only find shelter from the rain.
Not far away was a run-down guesthouse that looked like no one had stayed there in a long time. Everything inside was old and the rooms were very basic.
Heavy rain could easily trigger mudslides, so for the sake of our lives, we could only rest here for the night.
The guesthouse had no heating and no hot water, just a worn-out table and a few chairs. The room was cold and damp, very uncomfortable.
There was only one single bed in the room, and the space was very small.
I rinsed off briefly, changed into clean clothes borrowed from the owner, and lay down on the bed.
A warm chest pressed against my back. I lifted my elbow and jabbed him. "What are you doing?"
"It's so cold. You don't expect me to sleep on the floor, do you?"
"What's wrong with a man sleeping on the floor?"
James chuckled softly. "There's a bed and I'm not sleeping on it? I'm not stupid."
I refused. "I don't want to sleep with you."
"Then you sleep on the floor," James said coolly.
"You have no shame?"
James closed his eyes. "If you don't want to sleep on the floor, shut up."
I gritted my teeth and decided to put up with him for one night.
After all, we'd done more intimate things before. Just sleeping in each other's arms wasn't a big deal.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, strange sounds suddenly came from the next room. The sounds were loud and suggestive, especially clear in the quiet night, making people blush.
I couldn't control my burning cheeks and felt uncomfortable all over.
I didn't know if James could hear it.
Soon I found out.
A certain part of his body perked up.
I cursed at him. "James, you're sick."
James's voice was slightly hoarse. "Any normal man would react to hearing these sounds. There's nothing wrong with me."
I shrank back warily, watching him with caution. "Don't try anything."
"What's wrong with a husband and wife doing things together?" James rolled over, propping his hands on either side of my body, leaning down close to me.
My heart tightened. I quickly dodged, stood up, my tone flustered but firm. "I'm going outside to see if there's anywhere else to stay."
I turned to leave, but James grabbed my wrist.
His hand was very hot, his grip very strong, making it impossible for me to break free.
He sighed. "Just go to sleep. If you go out and catch a cold, Grandma will blame me for not taking care of you."
He got up and walked out of the room.
Not long after, the sounds from next door stopped, and the room became quiet again.
James returned to the room, his expression somewhat cold.
He glanced at me without saying anything, walked to a corner of the room, pulled out a sheet and spread it on the floor, then lay down. "Get some sleep. We'll head back first thing tomorrow morning."
I was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to do this. I lay on the bed, turning my head to look at James lying on the floor, my feelings complicated.
I don't know when I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already morning.
I sat up in bed and called out to James, but he didn't respond.
I got out of bed to push him, but he didn't move. I turned his body over and saw his brow furrowed tightly, his face very pale, looking very uncomfortable.
I reached out to touch his forehead. It was burning hot.
Was a grown man's body really that weak?
He slept on the floor for one night and got a fever.