96: Chapter 96: Have You Always Been Like This 96: Chapter 96: Have You Always Been Like This “Mr.

Lopez, James and I are not in that kind of relationship.

We…” Sunny Nguyen tried to explain, but since the two were living together at Gina Lopez’s house, it seemed hard to explain.

Gina Lopez immediately glared at James Brown, angrily asking, “James Brown, do you look down on Sister Sunny because she’s been divorced?”

James Brown hurriedly waved his hand, saying, “Of course not.”

“Then you don’t think highly of Sister Sunny?” Gina’s expression darkened even more.

James Brown chuckled dryly, “That’s even less the case.

Sunny is so beautiful.

Even if she had been divorced once or even eight or ten times, she’d still be more than good enough for me.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gina’s expression softened, but she was still glaring at James Brown.

At that point, Sunny Nguyen quickly interjected, “Mr.

Lopez, you’re really overthinking this.

We’re all adults here.

I was just in a bad mood and needed to vent.

It doesn’t necessarily involve feelings, and it’s not that James is treating me poorly; I just really don’t consider remarrying.”

“Sister Sunny, you don’t really think that, do you?” Gina looked at Sunny Nguyen in surprise.

In her eyes, Sunny was still a rather traditional woman.

The notion of a one-night stand seemed out of character for her.

Moreover, Sunny was a strict person, and the idea of sleeping together without feelings was something she found hard to accept.

Sunny Nguyen smiled slightly, “I really do think that.

After experiencing an emotional setback, I’m scared of easily getting involved again.

I feel quite content now.

We all have no burdens, no responsibilities, it’s quite relaxing.”

Gina frowned slightly and said, “Well, it’s up to you two, but…

actually, if you two were really together, it wouldn’t be so bad.”

Sunny Nguyen glanced at James Brown, who was grinning sheepishly and pretending to be innocent.

Smiling, she said to Gina, “Miss Lopez, you really don’t need to worry.

We’re grown-ups and understand what we’re doing.”

“Alright then, I’ll leave you be.

James Brown, don’t go out today.

I need to leave in a bit.”

James nodded in agreement, quickly leaving the scene, feeling relieved for helping Sunny out but fearful of Gina’s meddlesome matchmaking.

After nine o’clock, Gina Lopez and Sunny Nguyen rode in James Brown’s car.

Both were silent in the car, their expressions solemn, seemingly struggling with a tough decision.

“Gina, if someone offered you better conditions, better career opportunities, would you take it?” Sunny suddenly asked James a question, seemingly out of the blue.

Though confused, James still replied, “Why wouldn’t I leave my security job and come to your company, if not for better opportunities?”

Sunny uttered an “Oh,” and fell back into thought.

After a while, she said, “Miss Lopez, if possible, I genuinely hope you make that decision.”

Gina sighed, “I know the offer is tempting, but abandoning the company I’ve worked so hard on these past days feels just so hard to let go.”

Sunny scoffed, saying, “If it were a good boss, you’d have a reason to stay.

But look at the decisions made recently by those above, which one really benefits the company?

In their eyes, this branch is just a goose that lays golden eggs.

They only want the eggs, but now they’re ready to kill the goose to get them.

What’s there to cling to?”

Gina sighed softly again, “Let me think about it some more.”

Listening to Gina Lopez and Sunny Nguyen, James Brown roughly figured out what they were discussing.

A reputable company might be trying to poach them.

Sunny was eager to go, hoping to escape harassment from her ex-husband and Linda Campbell, while Gina was hesitant, understandably attached to her growing enterprise, where she had invested so much.

Concerning the company trying to poach them, James immediately thought of Lucy Campbell, SSUP Country’s top beauty with impressive skills.

Her invitation to Gina to take a trip alone already suggested her appreciation of Gina, making her the most likely recruiter.

However, James refrained from interjecting as it wasn’t a matter for a junior employee like him to engage in.

Upon reaching the tax office, Sunny Nguyen and Gina Lopez went in together, mentioning that they would be awhile.

James, feeling his hair had gotten quite long, found a nearby barber shop and got a haircut.

Just as he stepped out of the barber shop, two men dashed past him quickly, followed by a woman who also rushed past him.

This woman turned out to be Helen Wilson.

Although she only briefly rushed past James, he recognized her instantly, dressed in a smart police uniform.

She was beautifully attired, but her face was flushed red, likely from exhaustion caused by the chase.

James found it quite entertaining.

This policewoman was indeed earnest but clearly lacked experience and strength.

Chasing two men like this, he wondered if she might be at a disadvantage.

Helen Wilson was a cop with a strong sense of duty.

This wasn’t her jurisdiction, she was only at the district office for work that morning.

On her way back, she saw these two men stealing a wallet and immediately tried to catch them.

However, the thieves broke free and ran, so she chased after them.

She even tried to get help, but when the thieves brandished knives, they scared off any potential assistants.

Unfazed, Helen continued the pursuit alone, worried that shouting for help would leave her out of breath, so she just pushed on silently.

After chasing them for over a thousand meters, the two thieves could no longer run, but they still couldn’t shake Helen Wilson off.

Frustration began to show, and in their chaotic escape, they had ended up entering a building’s corridor that was a dead end.

“Stop!

If you resist any further, your charges will be increased!” Helen finally cornered them and shouted, then bent over, gasping for air.

The two thieves were also panting heavily, their faces contorted with viciousness as they slowly advanced toward Helen.

“Stop!” Helen immediately shouted louder, straightening up, her face showing signs of tension, as both men were holding daggers.

“Little cop, better step aside, or don’t blame us for fighting for our lives,” one of the thieves grimly said, his words devoid of any emotion.

But Helen was taken aback.

If these were just ordinary thieves, they wouldn’t react so aggressively after getting caught; theft wasn’t that severe of a crime, typically leading to just a month or a year of jail time at most—hardly something worth fighting a police officer over.

Such a reaction suggested only one thing—it wasn’t merely petty theft, they were likely involved in bigger crimes, and seeing the daggers in their hands, a serious crime like murder was entirely possible.

Although Helen was very nervous, she didn’t retreat but instead glared and yelled, “Attacking a police officer is a serious crime.

Are you prepared to spend the rest of your lives in prison?”

“Little cop, catch us first,” the thieves menacing her approached even closer; one of them swung his dagger directly at Helen.

Now Helen was even more certain these weren’t just petty thieves.

The stabbing was quick and fierce, and although it wasn’t aimed at her vitals, she firmly believed it wasn’t just a scare tactic.

Having learned some martial arts in police academy, Helen quickly dodged the attack.

But the other man was also attacking, directing his dagger at Helen’s waist with no intent to spare her.

Helen was greatly startled; the martial arts she had learned seemed useful in practice but felt futile against real criminals.

Though she managed a twist to evade the attack narrowly, the dagger still sliced through her uniform and even nicked the shirt underneath.

Feeling a chilling sensation at her waist, Helen was terrified, thinking she had been stabbed.

Her fear threw her off, causing her movements to falter, and as the thieves lunged at her together, she screamed, not knowing how to dodge anymore.

“Done for!” Only these two words were in Helen’s mind.

She had always known policing was dangerous, but she had fixated on the prestige and righteousness of the job, and now, her ideals undiscovered, she feared her life would end here.

“Bang!

Bang!” Helen didn’t feel the anticipated pain from a stabbing, but the two attackers in front of her suddenly flew sideways, and someone appeared beside her.

Helen turned to look and immediately exclaimed with joy, “It’s you!”

The figure, who had helped her once before and whom she couldn’t match to any computer picture, had appeared again, saving her once more.

“Sigh, you’re a girl with unimpressive martial arts skills, just being a cop should suffice, why go this hard?” This person was none other than James Brown, who shook his head, appearing somewhat helpless.

Though his words were somewhat offensive, Helen didn’t take them badly but rather gratefully responded, “Thank you for saving me once again.”

James, expressionless, replied, “I didn’t want to, either.

Who knew you’d be so unlucky?

I’m just casually walking around, and I bump into you in danger.”

Helen gave an embarrassed laugh, saying, “I’ve only been in danger twice, and both times I bumped into you.

I’m starting to suspect that you are following me.”

“That’s naive, girl.

Why would I follow you for no reason?” James truly admired Helen’s imagination.

“You following me…” Helen opened her mouth but couldn’t find any believable reason, making her feel quite awkward.

“Stop being silly; you haven’t caught those two yet.”

Helen was startled, quickly turned to look at the thieves who had already gotten up but were hesitating to approach, clearly intimidated by the man beside her.

“Friend, give us a way out, so we can meet in good terms in the future,” one of the criminals saluted James with his fist, displaying a humble attitude.

James smiled faintly and said, “It’s not up to me to give you a way out, you should talk to this police officer.”

The faces of the criminals immediately twisted into vicious expressions, and after a glance at each other, they suddenly shouted and charged at Helen with daggers clenched once again.