On the flight to ASCS City, a young couple sat in the second row on the left of the first-class cabin. Both were about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. The man wore a crisp suit, his hair neatly styled, and he exuded a striking, handsome charm. His sharply defined facial features gave him a strong masculine presence, suggesting he was a successful individual.
The woman was dressed fashionably, wearing a tight velvet top, her hair styled in big waves, and sporting an oval face with large, expressive eyes. However, her eyes carried a chill and helplessness that couldn't entirely hide her exceptional beauty–undoubtedly, she was a stunning woman.
These two were James Brown and Gina Lopez. That very morning, Gina had taken James shopping for a high-end suit and had his hair styled. James now looked truly vibrant, akin to a successful man, which pleased Gina greatly. She felt confident that bringing such a man home would likely pose no significant issues.
Gina had also removed her glasses, which she had worn only to obscure her appearance since she wasn't really nearsighted. Now that she was going home, there was no need to wear them anymore.
However, shortly after boarding the plane, Gina furrowed her brows when James began fidgeting and touching everything around him like a child. She took a deep breath and said, "James, could you please stop looking around so much? Haven't you ever flown before?"
James reached to ruffle his hair but suddenly remembered it was freshly styled, so he hastily withdrew his hand and chuckled, "Gina, this is actually my first time on a plane. I'm quite nervous. What if it falls from the sky?"
"Don't call me Gina. Call me Ms. Lopez," Gina glared at James, her voice low but filled with an undeniable authority.
"Oh right, I'm your boyfriend now, Ms. Lopez," James grinned, his smile somewhat forced.
"Remember this! You might get it wrong now, but if you slip up at my house, hmph!"
"Gina," James corrected himself under her piercing gaze, just about to add "Ms." but catching himself, "This role reversal is just too much. Yesterday I was just a security guard at your company, and today I'm your boyfriend. You've got to give me some time to adjust."
"You only have the duration of this flight, and by the way, in terms of safety, airplanes are the safest form of transportation. You don't need to keep being nervous."
"Oh, well... I'll try my best," James still seemed tense, his response clearly half-hearted.
Gina had been so focused on her career that she hadn't had a boyfriend until now. The past couple of years, going home for the New Year had been alright, but recently her parents and relatives frequently asked about her personal life, much to her annoyance. She had no plans to find a boyfriend before she was thirty, but her parents disagreed. Before she returned home, they had already set her up with several prospects for arranged dates.
This was exactly what Gina dreaded. The thought of two complete strangers suddenly coming together with the intent of dating seemed like torture. Thus, on a friend's advice, she had asked James to pretend to be her boyfriend, which would spare her a lot of trouble.
But after boarding the plane, Gina was frustrated. James, who seemed like a total novice to the ways of the world and hadn't ever flown before, asked some embarrassingly naive questions, which made her quite dissatisfied. However, finding someone else now was too late, so she had no choice but to try and coach him as best she could. If he could just help her get through the New Year holidays, that would be enough.
James knew Gina was unhappy, and he found it secretly amusing. Among many things, James, a former SSUP Country Super Special Forces Soldier, had plenty of experience with even military helicopters. His pretense of ignorance was simply to fit his role as a security guard.
"Go through these papers again; make sure not to forget," Gina handed him some documents that she had specifically prepared the night before.
James took them, glanced over, and couldn't help but grimace, "There's so much. How long will it take to memorize all this?"
"You don't have to memorize it all, but you at least need to get familiar. The first page is about my parents and my sister; go through that first. The rest you can look at tonight."
"That's a bit more reasonable," James opened the documents and started reading.
Many had pursued Gina both at work and elsewhere. To get her personal details, many had gone to great lengths; however, Gina, seeking to avoid unnecessary trouble, rarely shared her information. Now, only her employment history was known to outsiders; other details remained largely unknown to the public.
But now she had no choice but to let James, the very person she was trying to avoid, access this information.
Feeling upset, James turned to look at her, his gaze inadvertently straying to her chest, causing Gina to frown immediately, "Behave more decently. None of that sly sneaking around."
"Oh... Let me look again," James turned his head once more, his gaze still fixed on her chest.
"You..." Gina felt a strong urge to tear him apart—never before had someone spoken to her so shamelessly.
"Don't get mad. I'm just trying to adjust, right? You said I need to pretend to be your boyfriend, and we have to be convincing for your parents. So, naturally, being familiar with your figure is essential, isn't it?"
This left Gina speechless, and she huffed, "Have you ever heard of a gentleman?"
"I know, but do you think I could convincingly play such a gentleman without giving myself away?"
"That..." Gina's chest heaved in frustration, finally relenting, "Alright, as long as you don't expose us, I can tolerate it."
"Ha, I'm not taking advantage of you. I'm merely preparing for the challenge of impressing your tough mother-in-law. Better to be overprepared so it might be easier later."
"Not bad, you're not as foolish as I thought."
Gina turned to look at James, her eyes holding a trace of admiration.
"Thanks, Gina, for the compliment. I'll make sure to do even better," James beamed, visibly thrilled like someone who had just received praise from their superior.