Sister Shaw looked up at James Black and asked, "Do you want to eat in the courtyard, or would you rather go to the private room inside?"
"Now itâs not hot this season, letâs just stay in the courtyard," Jane Sampson looked up at James Black, "Is that okay?"
The courtyard has a good environment and plenty of space. There was also no need to worry about sticking with the scent of hotpot after eating.
"Okay," James Black nodded.
"Then, Iâll arrange for you to be here. I have a little guest to attend to on the second floor. You two are family, so feel free to make yourselves at home," Sister Shaw patted the back of Janeâs hand. "Eat a lot. I promise youâll have a great time eating hotpot here, and once you go elsewhere, youâll definitely think of me, Sister Shaw."
"Alright! Go get busy, Sister Shaw!" Jane smiled with a bend in her brows.
The moment Sister Shaw saw Janeâs obedient look, she particularly wanted to ruffle Janeâs head, but restrained herself upon seeing James Black seated next to Jane.
After Sister Shaw left their table, she first went into the kitchen, called an employee, and instructed, "Go outside and hang up the âtemporarily closedâ sign for a while. We wonât be open this afternoon. The evening opening hours are to be determined. Remember to send a notification on our WhatsAPP official account and Twitter to avoid clients making a pointless trip."
Sister Shawâs dining did not accept appointments; it was strictly first-come, first-served. So delaying the dinner hours was merely a matter of Sister Shaw saying the word.
Those who knew of her shop were generally followers of the shopâs official accounts on WhatsAPP and Twitter. Anyone who didnât follow these accounts likely couldnât find her place.
After Sister Shaw had gone, Jane, propping her chin on the table, surveyed the courtyard again, breathing in the sweet scent of osmanthus.
Recalling something Sister Shaw had mentioned previously, Jane suddenly asked, "The laurel trees in the courtyard, they couldnât have been planted by Brother Young for Sister Shaw, could they?"
James Black wasnât surprised Jane would guess it, so he hummed in affirmation.
"Wow, thatâs so romantic," Jane marveled once more.
"This is the Young Familyâs residential land. After Brother Young and Sister Shaw got engaged, Brother Youngâs parents divided this land and gave it to Brother Young to build a new house for his marriage. Brother Young spent over half a year building it, and brought Sister Shaw to live in King Town for over half a year, specifically so she could be involved in building the house. So, inside and out, including the courtyard, everything was designed by Brother Young and Sister Shaw themselves. Actually, those two rows of laurels in the courtyard were specifically his own insistence, and he planted them personally," James Black mentioned his teammate, still with a sense of regret.
Such a good person, and yet, he had sacrificed himself.
"Brother Young really did love Sister Shaw a lot," Jane noted, feeling the deep affection Brother Young held for his wife even as a listener to the story.
"He did love her very much," James Black nodded, paused for a moment, and after a brief silence, he suddenly added, "I feel the same about you."
Jane, who was drinking water, nearly choked when she unexpectedly heard James Black say this. The water almost went down the wrong way.
Watching Jane cough until her face turned red, James Blackâs expression grew much softer, emotionlessly handing her a tissue, and seriously saying, "I thought you would sigh just now and say how romantic, like before."
???
!!!
Did this guy misunderstand the meaning of the word romantic?
Blurted out suddenly like that, it was quite startling indeed!