Chapter 424 Window Shopping


    "Yes. If we have spare time, we can even y golf or billiards. It''s up to you," James said. He and


    Maria rarely took time off work, so he wanted to make the most of it.


    The next time he could spare a few days, he would take Maria and Bob on a vacation.


    "James, is that child really yours?" Maria asked with a frown.


    He was offering to take her shopping and even for a hot spring bath all of a sudden. It was so out of


    character for him that she couldn''t help but find it suspicious.


    Pinching the space between his eyebrows, James sighed and asked, "Why are you bring up that


    child again?"


    "It looks like you''re trying to get on my good side so that I''ll let that child stay."


    "Does that mean that you''ve agreed to my proposal and are willing to live with me for the rest of


    your life?" James asked eagerly.


    Maria clucked her tongue. "What are you babbling about? That''s not what I said at all. I''m talking


    about the child. I didn''t agree to your marriage proposal at all. In fact, we have broken up! You can


    go shopping with whoever you like."


    James stiffened, realizing that he had pushed her too far. So he hastily said, "Well, have a good


    sleep! You can wake upte tomorrow!"


    "No, I-" Before Maria could finish her words of protest, the line was disconnected.


    She lowered her phone from her ear and looked at the screen in confusion.


    Had James hung up on her? How dare he? Did he think that she had forgiven him and that he could


    act all arrogant now?


    He wanted to go shopping, right? Fine! She would torture him as much as she could.


    The next morning, Maria peacefully slept in. When she opened her eyes, she was startled to see a


    man sitting next to the bed.


    She calmed down and rolled her eyes. "When did youe in? How did you get in here?"


    How could she not have sensed a grown man entering the room and sitting next to her? She would


    be ashamed tell anyone that she had once been trained by Norman.


    James leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "Good morning, Mia."


    The fact that he didn''t even answer her question put her in a bad mood. But on the bright side, he


    had already made breakfast for her.


    She got out of bed, brushed her teeth and washed her face, before scoffing down the food that he


    had prepared.


    After that, James led her to the Harkim. Today, he specially drove her instead of appointing a driver.


    There was another car closely following them.


    Of course, Maria knew that there were bodyguards in that car. She didn''t ask any more questions,


    and just let James drive out of themunity.


    After half an hour of being on the road, Maria nced at the scenery through the window and asked


    curiously, "Where are we going?"


    "Shopping," James replied simply.


    Maria had the urge to roll her eyes again. Of course she knew that. "I meant, which area?"


    "The old town."


    "I see." The old town was close to the high-tech district. It was an area that had recently developed


    in the past two years. There were many shopping malls and branded stores constructed by James''


    company.


    Knowing that they were going shopping, Maria had specially wore a pair of soft, t shoes today.


    When they arrived at their destination, she slipped on her sunsses and took the initiative to hold


    James'' arm. "Let''s go, Mr. Xi."


    James looked at her suspiciously. Why was she being so intimate?


    If a person behaved abnormally, it meant that there was something fishy going on.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Looking at her hand wrapped around the crook of his arm, James guessed that she was up to no


    good.


    And he was right.


    Later, Maria walked out of the fitting room in a sophisticated red dress and looked at the man


    waiting for her in the VIP area. "Do I look good?"


    James raised his eyes and looked at her up and down for a few seconds. "Yes." "Okay." She went


    back to the fitting room and tried on the next dress.


    This one was a beige knee-length dress chosen by James. "Do you like this one?" she asked when


    she walked out.


    "Yeah." James nodded again with a slight smile.


    After that, Maria changed back into her own clothes and returned the two sets of clothes that she


    had tried on to the store manager. "Thank you. I''m sorry, I want to look around first," she said with a


    polite smile.


    The store manager understood what she meant and returned her smile. "It doesn''t matter. You''re


    wee toe back at any time."


    Maria nodded. Then, she walked back to James, grabbed his hand, and led him out of the shop.


    "Let''s go!"


    "Don''t you like those clothes?" he asked in a low voice.


    "Yeah, I do."


    "Then don''t you want to buy them?"


    "No, I don''t."


    Her logic left him speechless.


    In the second clothing store that they went to, Maria once again tried on two sets of clothes.


    This time, James went straight to the cashier''s desk to pay the bill, but Maria stopped him and said,


    "No hurry. I want to look around first."


    James couldn''t understand what she was thinking at all.


    What baffled him even more was that she repeated the same thing in the next two clothing stores


    that they went to.


    He stopped the woman who was walking forward to yet another store and asked, "What kind of


    clothes are you looking for? Or if you don''t feel like buying clothes, let''s go and do something else."


    "No, I like walking around and just having a look at everything." Maria shrugged.


    As a man from a rich family, James didn''t understand the concept of window shopping at all.


    It was getting dark. This time, after Maria tried on thest dress, James didn''t even give her a


    chance to speak and just told the saleswoman, "Pack them all."


    But Maria quickly held the saleswoman''s arm and said, "No, thanks! They don''t suit me."


    James stood up and said, "They suit you very well, Maria-"


    "Shut up," Maria hissed, turning around to shoot him a re.


    James didn''t bother protesting after that.


    Atst, the two of them walked into a cafe and sat down at a table. Tapping his fingers on the table,


    James said, "Today, I took a total of 21, 000 steps. You tried on 25 sets of clothes. You stopped me


    from paying the bill five times, and asked me to shut up once. After all of that, we''re here empty-


    handed. Don''t you think today was a waste of time, Maria?"


    The woman took a sip of thette in her hand and raised her eyebrow at him. "A waste of time? Do


    you feel that it''s a waste of time to go shopping with me? Shouldn''t you feel happy to be with me


    even if we don''t do anything but wander around aimlessly?


    You got to see a beautiful woman like me in so many different kinds of clothes.


    Most people would never get such a chance. Why are you stillining? Can''t you be content,


    Mr. Xi?"


    Hearing this, James was speechless.


    After a while, when Maria stood up and went to the washroom, he grabbed the opportunity to call


    the bodyguard who was standing not far away. "Go and buy all the clothes that she tried on today,


    and get them sent to my manor."


    "Yes, Mr. Xi."


    Standing in the washroom, Maria dialed a number and said, "Come to the pedestrian street in the


    old town. I''ll send you some photos of clothes that I saw here. I want you to buy all of them for me."


    After hanging up the phone, she sent the photos of the clothes that she had tried on to her


    assistant.


    Earlier, she had just been trying to piss off James, but she didn''t want to disappoint those


    enthusiastic saleswomen. Most of the clothes she had tried suited her well, so she asked her


    assistant to buy all of them.


    After Maria came out of the washroom and returned to her seat, she and James continued to drink


    their coffee as if nothing had happened.


    Taking a look at his watch, James said, "Let''s have dinner near the hot spring ce tonight. Are you


    hungry now? Is there anywhere else you want to go?"


    "Will we go back home after the hot spring?" Maria asked casually.


    James shot her a meaningful smile. "Since you asked, we won''t leave."


    Maria scoffed to herself. Was there anything wrong with her question? Why did he think that she


    was implying something? "Well, in that case, I want to shop for some skin care products!" she


    announced. Lately, she''d developed the bad habit of staying upte, which put her skin under a lot


    of stress.


    "Okay." Then, James stared at her closely and added, "Don''t you visit a medical cosmetologist


    regrly?"


    Maria subconsciously touched her face. Although her skin felt dry, she didn''t think she needed any


    medical cosmetology treatments. "Am I getting ugly?" she asked nervously.