Chapter 831 - 839 Preparing to Go Home

James Black gave Jane Sampson a glance, made sure she wasn’t talking nonsense, and then sat in the spot where Jane had just been, using her tableware to finish off the last few bites of leftover rice.

Jane supported her cheeks with her hands and watched James eat, her entire face blooming into a sunflower with her smile.

The sight of him eating her leftover food was exceptionally charming!

He didn’t seem to mind at all.

Jane chuckled at James, then pointed to his left hand, "Are you sure you don’t want me to take it off for you?"

James glanced at Jane and didn’t say anything. It was obvious that he had no intention of removing it. His gaze then shifted to Jane’s hair, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown, seemingly dissatisfied that Jane hadn’t worn the hairpin he had given her.

After tidying up the bowl and chopsticks, James spent approximately forty minutes with Jane in the dormitory and then left. When he was leaving, Jane was already lying in bed, drowsy and about to fall asleep. Knowing he was getting up, she merely opened her eyes to look at him briefly, turned over, and went back to sleep.

James watched Jane’s dark hair at the back of her head with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He reached out and lightly touched the back of her head, then left the dormitory with that smile still on his face.

Having her come on her own accord versus being brought by force gave him two completely different feelings.

When she said she missed him just now, James’s heart skipped a beat.

That afternoon, everyone who got in touch with James at the office felt it—the sister-in-law had come, and the chief became particularly agreeable.

Someone had specifically requested a night off, saying they wanted to go out and spend Valentine’s Day with their girlfriend who had come all the way to the Capital Province. They thought they would get a scolding from James, but surprisingly, with just a hum of acknowledgment, James generously approved the leave.

It didn’t take long before everyone in the guard team knew that the chief’s wife had come to spend the festival with the chief. James was in an especially good mood all afternoon. Matters that usually wouldn’t dare to be taken to the chief were brought to him with confidence that afternoon.

That afternoon, James’s mind wandered several times. At a little past two o’clock, he glanced at the clock, thinking that by this time, Jane should have woken up from her nap, right?

By the time it was past three o’clock, he contemplated that there was nothing in his dormitory for entertainment—she might get bored staying there. She must be spending the afternoon playing games on her mobile phone.

When it was 4:30, James thought again that in another half an hour, he would go back to find her.

Finally, when the clock hands pointed to five o’clock, James left the office and went straight back to the dormitory without stopping.

As he opened the door, James bent down to change his shoes in the doorway and called out, "Jane Sampson, get ready, we’re going home."

But after waiting a few seconds, there was no answer from Jane. Thinking that Jane was still sleeping, he went straight into the master bedroom.

Upon checking, the master bedroom was empty, and she wasn’t in the bathroom either.

James then went to the study, only to find it empty as well.

Stunned, he turned and walked back toward the door, opened the shoe cabinet, and sure enough, Jane’s shoes were gone.

Had she left?

Immediately, James pulled out his phone and called Jane, but the phone just kept ringing, and no one answered.

James called three times, and still, no one answered.

Was she just not hearing the phone, or was she deliberately not answering his calls?

James’s eyebrows furrowed, and just as he was about to call the gatehouse duty room to inquire with the on-duty team member about what time Jane had left, his eyes caught sight of Jane’s purse still lying in a corner of the sofa, exactly as it had been when he left that afternoon.