The Supreme Soldier in the City

"Don’t you see I’m cooking?" James Brown directly declined Emily Lopez’s tempting proposition.

Emily Lopez grabbed James Brown’s arm, puckering her lips and pleading, "Just for a little while, it won’t affect your cooking. Besides, my sister said half an hour, with her workaholism, who knows if she’ll even be back by then. Please, brother-in-law, just give me a quick rub, I’ve already done you and my sister such a big favor. You’re like a groom on the wedding night, ignoring the matchmaker once he’s over the wall."

James Brown was both amused and annoyed, saying, "I’m your brother-in-law, what would it look like for me to rub your feet?"

With her neck sticking out and head held high, Emily Lopez retorted, "Then why do you nudge my feet with yours when we play mahjong?"

James Brown’s face turned a shade of purple, having secretly done this multiple times. Afterwards, Emily Lopez acted as if nothing happened, but bringing it up now was extremely embarrassing for James Brown.

"Come on, brother-in-law, I’m not settling scores with you, just asking for a massage. I’ve been teaching kids to dance all day, hardly sat down at all, and my feet are both sore and painful. Don’t you feel a bit sorry for me?" continued Emily Lopez, swaying James Brown’s arm and sweet-talking him.

James Brown, really worn down by Emily Lopez’s persistence, put down the vegetables he was cutting and said, "Alright, I’ll rub them for a bit, but then I have to get back to cooking."

"Great, just a bit." Emily Lopez immediately dragged James Brown toward the living room, but halfway there, she let go and said with a chuckle, "I’ll wash my feet first so you can’t complain about them being smelly."

James Brown, charmed by Emily Lopez’s playful demeanor, couldn’t help but laugh, his earlier embarrassment easing.

Soon after washing her feet, Emily Lopez sat on the sofa and rested her clean, soft little feet on James Brown’s legs, smiling, "I even used soap, take a sniff, there shouldn’t be any smell, right?"

James Brown leaned down to sniff and said with a straight face, "What do you mean no smell? It’s quite strong."