146: Chapter 146 Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand 146: Chapter 146 Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand Except for David Johnson, who knew a bit about Jas Brown and lody Yoody, none of the others had a clue.
Among the classmates, lody Yoody was by far the most successful one, which made even the normally cocky Jas Brown try to curry favor with her.
To others, lody Yoody only exchanged verbal greetings, but she had physically interacted with Jas Brown.
This closeness with Jas imdiately signaled a close relationship, causing jealousy among the other classmates.
The classmates didn’t necessarily want a romantic relationship with lody; they just thought her future achievents would be boundless.
Businesspeople among them hoped for her patronage and benefits, while the public servants sought her help for their career advancent.
However, when lody interacted with them, they felt she was still cautious about how she communicated, contrasting with her casual behavior with Jas now.
lody laughed lightly, “How could I not take care of you when you didn’t study properly, given I was the class leader?”
Jas Brown laughed heartily, “Exactly, I used to think, ‘This feisty girl is so annoying,’ never expected this feisty girl to beco the Mayor.
Where would you even begin to complain?”
lody Yoody glanced at him and said, “So you think this Mayor can’t find justice?”
Their exchange sounded like a script from a skit.
After these words, they both laughed and the others joined in.
At that mont, John Stephens jokingly said, “Let’s all go inside and talk.
If we’re going to chat, let’s make it enjoyable.”
Everyone entered a small courtyard surrounded by greenhouses filled with vegetables and fruits.
A modest, unluxurious house sat in the yard, decorated in a simple rustic style that everyone seed to like.
As they sat down, lody Yoody naturally took the central seat, and Mary Johnson sat to her left.
David Johnson initially wanted Jas Brown to sit on her right, but Jas Johnson took that spot, and he couldn’t just send him away.
Jas Brown didn’t mind not sitting there; seeing that lody was doing well was enough for him.
As for anything more happening between him and lody, he hadn’t hoped for an outco.
During the al, the conversation revolved around topics introduced by lody, which Jas Brown found quite awkward.
They were old classmates, yet most seed to approach lody with self-interest, which was tasteless.
Still, lody’s responses didn’t make Jas uncomfortable.
She consistently reminded everyone of their relationship as classmates, and not to asure it by the complex standards of social life, sticking mostly to fun stories from their school days.
At the dinner table, Jas no longer interacted with lody until around 9 p.m., when he finally had the chance to be alone with her.
The two stood beside a greenhouse, silent, just looking through the glass at the various green plants.
“What have you been up to all these years?
Why have you never contacted ?” lody turned and looked at Jas, her lips pursed with a touch of bitterness.
Jas, still looking ahead, lit a cigarette and said, “What good would contacting you do?
We could never be together.”
“Are you still angry at my parents?” lody asked softly.
“So many years have passed; I can’t be that petty anymore.
Besides, they were looking out for you.
I didn’t understand then, but now, I completely do.
If soone tried to run off with my daughter in high school, I’d probably act worse than your parents.”
“Oh, you have a daughter?
Are you married?” lody stared at Jas, both annoyed and upset.
“No, I was just hypothesizing,” Jas turned and flashed a grin at lody.
“You jerk, you’re still so unserious, almost scared ,” lody pinched Jas hard.
Jas pretended to wince in pain, then said with a wry smile, “Look, Class Leader Yoody, you’re a Mayor now.
You’ve got to watch your image.”
lody snorted, “In other people’s eyes I’m the Mayor, but in your eyes, am I still the Mayor?”
Jas nodded, “Of course, your status is different now.
I don’t even have a job; the gap between us is getting bigger.”
lody frowned slightly, “You still haven’t told , what have you been up to all these years, and what are you doing now?”
Jas briefly replied, “I was in the army for a few years, couldn’t make it there, so I ca back here looking for a job to get by.
I’m out of work now, struggling to support myself.”
lody Yoody stared at Jas Brown and said, “What kind of job do you want to do?
I can help you find one, even if you want to be a civil servant.
I can make that happen.”
Jas Brown shook his head and said, “Forget it, being a civil servant isn’t for .
Besides, finding such a job costs tens of thousands, and I can’t afford that.”
“You don’t need to worry about the money.
I’m just asking if you’d like to go.
My ho village has a position available right now, and I can arrange it for you.”
Jas Brown gave a bitter smile and said, “When we were in school, you were the class leader in charge of .
Now that we’ve grown up, you want to pull under your supervision again.
I can’t handle it.”
“You…” lody Yoody pinched Jas Brown and said, “Then what do you really want to do?”
“Nothing much, I just want a simple job that can support .”
lody Yoody walked around to face Jas Brown, staring at him angrily and exclaid, “Why have you beco so unambitious?”
“It’s not necessary to stand out, make a lot of money, or have a high-ranking position to be ambitious.
My current idea of life is to live comfortably, not stressing daily about getting promoted or how much money to make.”
Seeing lody Yoody’s unhappy expression, Jas Brown sighed and said, “lody, our lifestyles are different now, and what you pursue is different from what I pursue.
I admit that I can’t let go of you, but we really can’t be together anymore.”
lody Yoody bit her lip, her tone softening, and said, “Jas, can’t you change for ?”
Jas Brown gently shook his head and said, “lody, I know I owe you.
All these years, I’ve thought about coming back to find you and make it up to you.
But seeing how well you’re doing now, I don’t feel the sa way anymore.
You’re so outstanding; the official scene suits you.
If I were with you, it would only hold you back, and because our philosophies differ, it would only lead to more argunts.
It’s better to keep our bittersweet youth in our mories.”
lody Yoody snorted and said, “You make it sound so easy.
I was only seventeen when you got pregnant, and now you want to deny it?”
Jas Brown felt awkward imdiately.
Back then, both he and lody were young.
She was fiery and supportive, putting a lot of thought into helping him with his studies.
One who didn’t want to study and the other who wanted him to, they ended up falling for each other.
Once, Jas Brown went to lody Yoody’s house to study, and after they mostly finished, they played on the computer for a while but accidentally opened an adult movie.
That day, they gave in to temptation.
After tasting the forbidden, they always looked for opportunities to be together secretly.
Back then, neither of them knew about contraception, and it resulted in lody getting pregnant.
They were so scared they couldn’t tell their parents, so they ran to a clinic for a chemical abortion.
They bought so dicine, took it ho, and secretly consud it.
After taking the dicine, lody miscarried and bled heavily, which horrified them.
Just then, lody’s parents ca ho and caught them, rushing her to the hospital, which saved her from further danger.
After discovering that their daughter had been involved in such an act with a boy, lody’s parents investigated Jas Brown and found his family too ordinary, which infuriated them even more.
They beat Jas Brown and had him expelled from school.
Resenting lody’s parents, Jas Brown impulsively joined the army instead of going to college.
Later, he tried to contact lody but couldn’t reach her, thinking she didn’t want to deal with him anymore, which added to his resentnt.
As ti passed, especially after years of living on the edge between life and death, Jas Brown could only rember the good about lody Yoody, letting go of past grudges.
However, when lody brought it up with such an assertive tone, Jas Brown couldn’t help but laugh and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to acknowledge it.
It’s my al; I’d surely like to continue eating it.”
“Why do you keep making excuses?”
“lody, after so many years, you’ve changed a lot, and I’ve changed a lot too.
Over the years, I’m no longer that innocent boy, besides this pot of rice, I don’t know how many other pots I’ve cooked.”
lody’s face shifted, replying angrily, “Look at you, getting capable.”
Jas Brown sighed and said, “So I’m saying, I’ve changed.”
“Hmph, you n are all the sa, selfish creatures, thinking with your lower half.
Having tasted the flavor at my place, I’d be surprised if you could resist after all these years.”
Before Jas Brown could respond, lody Yoody snorted coldly and said, “All these years, after that bastard, I haven’t let another man touch .
If you say you’re not responsible for , then who will be?”
“But I really don’t have confidence in being with you anymore.
I ca to see how well you were doing; if you’re doing well, I can be at peace.
Can’t we drop this matter?”
At this, lody’s eyes widened fiercely as she said, “Jas Brown, are you even a man?
Just give a straight answer, can you do it or not?
If not, I’ll just find so random man and get married right away.”
Jas Brown looked at such a domineering lody Yoody, a wry smile on his face.
He knew very well that if he didn’t agree, she really could do sothing like that.
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