Chapter 8 Mobile Friend Misunderstanding
As he noticed James and Sophia chatting happily, he decided not to interrupt and headed to the study instead.
James received the photos and started saving them. Once he confirmed they were successfully stored in the album, he smiled with satisfaction.
By the time William finished his work and returned to the master bedroom, the phone James had secretly taken was already back on the nightstand.
Just as he was about to lie down, William's personal phone vibrated briefly. He glanced at it and saw an unfamiliar profile picture.
The person had sent a voice message.
William opened the chat window and scrolled up. It was filled with photos, mostly of James and Emily together, with a few of Sophia with them. In the photos, Sophia's eyes were gentle, Emily's smile was bright, and James looked... a bit goofy.
Compelled by some impulse, he played the voice message. It was Sophia's voice.
"James, take good care of yourself. If you miss Emily, just message me, and I'll let you video call her."
As he listened, another message came through. This time, it was Emily's soft voice: "James, good night."
For a moment, William's gaze softened, but then his expression turned cold, a chill settling over him.
The next day was the weekend.
James woke up early, thinking about the photos in the album.
On weekends, he and Michael were allowed to play on their phones for an hour.
William handed him his phone.
Those photos had been transferred to James' phone the previous night.
Eagerly, James tried to find Sophia's account to video call Emily, but he couldn't find it.
Feeling disappointed but not daring to tell William directly, he asked subtly, "Dad, can friends disappear suddenly?"
William didn't tell him about the mix-up with the phone the previous night. He simply said that sometimes phone systems have glitches, and contacts might disappear.
As for the account lying dormant on his personal phone, William chose to ignore it.
Back at the Peace Group office, after finishing his work, William's phone vibrated again.
He glanced at the screen.
It was that account again.
As soon as the video connected, he saw Emily's cute little face close to the screen. Her childish voice called out, "James," ringing clearly in William's ears.
Emily's bright smile faded quickly when she saw William's face, and she immediately threw the phone away.
The phone landed in the corner of the couch, where Sophia's figure could be seen approaching.
Sophia looked at her daughter, puzzled. "Emily, what's wrong? Didn't James answer the video call?"
Emily clung to Sophia's leg and shook her head.
Emily said, "Scared."
Ignoring the phone, Sophia picked Emily up.
It took a while to comfort her and get her to smile again. After playing with her for a bit, Sophia finally had time to check her phone.
The video call had lasted ten minutes.
She sent a message before putting the phone down.
The other party didn't reply.
When it was time for Emily's nap, Sophia focused on putting her to sleep.
After hanging up the video call, William didn't exit the chat. He immediately saw the message from Sophia.
It was a photo of Emily playing with her toys.
Emily had two pigtails, and her face looked thinner than when she was in Rain Village because she had been sick. She was focused on her doll, with Sophia's slender fingers holding the phone reflected in the mirror beside her.
William exited the chat with a cold expression.
The next day, Emily decided to video call James in the morning.
This was something James had taught her before he left.
But when the video connected, it was William's cold face again. Emily pouted, unhappy to see William.
Emily, puffing her cheeks, said, "I want James."
As soon as she finished speaking, she hung up the video call.
On the third day, in the evening, Emily was wearing light blue pajamas. After her bath, she lay on the bed, placing the phone on the pillow, and called James again.
Once again, it was William's face.
She tapped the screen with her finger, not understanding why it was always the mean man's face.
"Change, change to James."
William, working in the home office, was already used to Emily's frequent video calls. Fresh out of the bath, Emily looked adorable with her fluffy hair.
"James is doing his homework."
Emily took the phone and went to find Sophia.
She believed her mom could do anything, and finding her would make the mean man go away and bring James back.
Emily knocked on the bathroom door, "Mom, James."
Sophia was washing her hair and couldn't open her eyes. "Emily, sweetie, I'm taking a bath. You talk to James."
Emily was so clingy that she wouldn't even leave her alone while she bathed.
Sophia had placed a child's chair by the bathroom door to respond to Emily's calls.
Now, Emily sat on the little chair, her big eyes blinking as she stared at William on the phone, feeling conflicted.
"I want James."
"James, James, I want James."
Hearing Emily repeatedly ask for James, a strange emotion spread in William's heart. Finally, he agreed to let her see James the next day.
Despite her young age, Emily was quite smart.
After getting his agreement, she waved and immediately hung up the call.
William was silent.
The next day, when James came home from kindergarten, he was surprised to see William at home.
Learning that Sophia's account was back, he eagerly took the phone to video call Emily.
Sophia answered the call.
Seeing James, she also saw William standing behind him.
"Mom, I miss you and Emily."
"We miss you too."
Sophia placed the phone on a stand and went to pick up Emily.
Emily finally saw James on the other side of the screen, not the mean man's face, and her face lit up with a bright smile.
"James."
Sophia kissed Emily's rosy cheek, "Emily, chat with James. I'll make dinner, okay?"
The open kitchen connected to the living room, so Sophia could keep an eye on Emily.
Emily nodded and started enthusiastically showing James her new toy.
"James, look."
James remembered the gift he bought and quickly said, "Emily, I got you a new toy too."
He handed the phone to William, "Dad, hold this for me."
Then he ran upstairs to get the stuffed animal he bought for Emily.
Soon, James came back downstairs.
Michael had just come out of the bathroom and, seeing James on a video call, joined in, surprised to see Emily.
"Emily?"
Even though they were twins, Emily never mistook them.
Seeing Michael reminded her of him helping the mean woman, so she stayed silent in protest until James appeared on screen, and she smiled again.
Sophia felt it was time to end the call, "It's time to eat, Emily. Say goodbye to James."
Emily obediently waved, "James, bye-bye."