That was a beautiful woman, with a delicate oval face, eyes like cut water, a straight and elegant nose, moist red lips, and she looked to be just over twenty years old. Not only was her appearance outstanding, but her figure was also graceful and curvaceous, exuding a mature charm in every way.

The woman was carrying a wooden basin. At first, she didn’t notice James Thompson, but when she saw him standing in front of the neighboring door, taking out a key from his pocket, she seemed to realize something, and a trace of anger appeared on her pretty face.

Splash!

She poured the water from the wooden basin outside the door, nearly splashing James Thompson's feet. A girl of about sixteen or seventeen ran out from inside and hurriedly said, “Miss, let me do these chores…”

The woman placed the wooden basin in her hands, gave James Thompson a cold snort, and turned to walk back into the courtyard.

Although James Thompson didn’t know this woman, from her attitude toward him, it wasn’t hard to guess that she was the one who had scolded him from the neighboring courtyard that morning.

After what happened in the morning, although the two hadn’t formally met, a grudge had already formed.

He walked into the courtyard and heard the clear, pleasant voice of the young girl from next door.

“Miss, it turns out our neighbor is a constable. We won’t have to be afraid of bad people bullying us anymore…”

The woman snorted coldly and said, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll bully you?”

The girl replied in disbelief, “How could that be? He doesn’t look like a bad person at all, and he’s so good-looking…”

James Thompson thought to himself that the little maid had good taste, but then he heard the woman’s cold snort in his ear.

“No one writes the words ‘bad person’ on their face. Wanwan, remember this: the better-looking a man is, the more likely he is to be a liar. Some people look decent, but in the morning they can’t even get out of bed…”

The girl obediently said, “Oh, I understand…”

“……”

James Thompson had clearly overestimated that woman’s magnanimity; her generosity was nothing compared to her chest.

Just because of a small neighborly dispute, she was slandering him behind his back. That girl looked so innocent, and yet she had been deceived by her.

“Miss, what are we having for lunch?” As James Thompson was feeling indignant, he heard the girl’s voice again.

The woman then said, “Go out and buy something to eat. Don’t worry about me.”

The girl said worriedly, “Miss, you’re not eating again…”

The woman replied, “Eating lunch makes it easy to gain weight. I need to keep my figure.”

The girl said nothing more, and soon James Thompson heard cheerful footsteps, along with the woman’s instructions: “Eat your fill outside before you come back. Don’t let me see it, and don’t let me smell it…”

No more sounds came from the neighboring courtyard, and James Thompson went into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

He had originally planned to just make some porridge, but changed his mind at the last minute.

He found a slab of stone, cleaned it, placed it in the courtyard, propped it up with a few stones, and got ready to grill some meat…

Chapter 010: Revenge Will Come

Sizzle…

The marinated beef, when it touched the scorching hot stone slab, made a sizzling sound. As the thin slices of beef began to curl, he sprinkled on some special spices. With one bite, the juices burst in his mouth…

When he was sick before, James Thompson could only eat bland liquid food. Hot pot and barbecue were dreams out of reach for him.

To make up for the time lost after his recovery, he had made plenty of preparations, reading a ton of gourmet recipes and following dozens of food bloggers on various platforms.

With his unique marinating technique and secret dipping sauce, the flavor of this stone-grilled meat was excellent. He immediately stopped caring about the cost of the meat and spices.

Of course, with his income, spending so much on food was definitely extravagant, but James Thompson wasn’t doing this just to satisfy his appetite.

He glanced in a certain direction. Sensing nothing unusual, he thought for a moment, then picked up a fan and wafted the aroma in that direction…

Just across the wall in the small courtyard, Evelyn Harris came out of her room and asked the girl, “Wanwan, do you smell something?”

The girl sniffed and said in surprise, “Miss, what’s that smell? It’s so fragrant…”

Evelyn Harris took a deep breath, and the tempting aroma went straight to her lungs. The hunger she had managed to suppress surged up again.

Her throat moved uncontrollably. She immediately turned and went back to her room, closing the doors and windows tightly, but the aroma seemed not to be blocked at all, still lingering around her nose.

Evelyn Harris came out into the courtyard again, blushing and annoyed. “What is that? How can it smell so good!”

The girl raised her hand and pointed to the neighboring courtyard. “Miss, I think it’s coming from over there…”

…

James Thompson had just placed a piece of pork belly on the stone slab to grill when he suddenly sensed something and turned to look toward the courtyard wall.

On the wall not far away, two heads had popped up—the beautiful woman and the pretty maid were staring straight at him.

One gaze was full of anger, the other pair of eyes full of curiosity.

The beautiful woman looked at James Thompson and shouted, “What are you doing!”

While absorbing her anger, James Thompson replied, “Eating, can’t you see?”