The Supreme Soldier in the City-Chapter 199: Still Getting the Certificate

The cigarette butt fell onto James’s pants, burning him so much that he let out a yelp and panickedly flicked the cigarette butt away. However, his pants were already scorched through, and the skin underneath seemed to be burned as well, causing a searing pain, but this didn’t stop James from being utterly astonished as he stared at Helen Wilson, stammering, "Officer Monaghan, you’re not joking, are you?"

Helen Wilson looked straight into James’s eyes, bit her lip, and said, "You heard right, we are getting married."

James quickly shook off Helen Wilson’s arm, jumped up, and rushed toward the door, exclaiming in panic, "Officer Monaghan, I can’t play along with you, this is too much, my heart can’t take it."

Helen Wilson quickly followed him with a sprint, trying to grab James’s arm but missing, and in desperation, she stretched out both arms and hugged him from behind, saying urgently, "You can’t leave."

With a single motion, James grabbed the handle of the security door and pulled the door toward himself, crying out, "Officer Monaghan, please let me go, I have a girlfriend, I can’t marry you."

"You have to marry me; there’s no choice," Helen Wilson firmly embraced James, fearing he would run away, dragging him toward the door like a koala bear.

"No, no, I really can’t get married," James yelled, struggling with Helen Wilson as if they were playing tug-of-war, seemingly using all his might.

"We are getting fake married, what are you afraid of?" Helen Wilson was too eager earlier but finally managed to hold James back and clarified the situation.

"What?" James’s struggle diminished, and he shouted aloud, "We’re not really getting married?"

"That’s right!" Helen Wilson quickly confirmed.

James relaxed all the muscles in his body and let out a long breath, saying, "You really scared me to death, you should have made it clear earlier. I thought I was encountering a female bandit trying to make me her bandit’s husband."

Helen Wilson was almost breathless with anger. After all, she was considered a police beauty in YODC City, and many young men in the Public Security System pursued her, but she had turned them all down. Now that she had taken the initiative to suggest marriage, and James reacted this way, could she really be that frightening?

"Okay, okay, let go of me now, you frightened me into a cold sweat." James wiped his forehead with a hand, clearly still shaken.

Helen Wilson let go of James and when he turned around, she said fiercely, "Am I really that terrifying?"

James chuckled dryly and said, "Not at all!"

"Then why such an overreaction just now?" Helen Wilson glared at James, ready to hit him if he didn’t give a satisfactory answer.

Feeling the danger, James quickly said, "Officer Monaghan, you are so beautiful, truly a police beauty of YODC City. To me, you’re like the stars in the sky, the sunset at the horizon, the moon in the water—admirable, but unattainable. Suddenly you said such a thing, I couldn’t accept it. How could I be worthy of marrying you? That would be desecrating the Goddess in my mind."

Helen Wilson’s usually stern face flushed with a big blush. It was the first time she had received such extravagant praise. She spat at James and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense, I’m discussing serious matters. Come here and sit down properly."

James chuckled again and quickly came to sit properly on the sofa. Helen Wilson sat next to him, her face blushing again, then finally said, "My parents have one million dollars, but they said that money is for my marriage. If I don’t get married, and I ask for this money, they definitely won’t give it to me. So, the only way is to have a fake marriage with you to trick my parents out of the money."

"What?" James’s eyes widened, then he shook his head like a rattle-drum, hurriedly saying, "No, no, you’re a police officer, this would be fraud. Saying it’s tricking your parents might be excusable, and as a police officer, you might get away with it, but I would be miserable. If pursued, that one million would certainly be considered a major amount in fraud, and I could end up locked up for ten or eight years. No, no."

Helen Wilson huffed and said, "It’s not that serious. This money is meant for cracking a case, and it’s not like we can’t return it. How could it be considered fraud? Besides, my parents aren’t those kinds of people. Once everything’s settled, I’ll explain it to them, and they’re sure to understand, so you really don’t need to worry."

"Really?" James looked skeptically at Helen Wilson.

Helen Wilson nodded vigorously, saying, "Of course, it’s true. How could I harm you if you help me? Besides, I’m still a police officer. Would I really break the law knowingly?"

"But... I always feel this plan isn’t very solid. Even if we say we’re getting married, don’t we need to have a wedding ceremony? Shouldn’t we prepare some other things? Otherwise, would your parents believe it?"

"Well..." Helen Wilson was at a loss for what to do. She couldn’t just bring James home and tell her parents she had married him. Setting aside whether her parents would believe it, even if they did, they would be furious. A wedding was such an important event, and her parents had always been looking forward to it, having already talked about properly organizing it and inviting all relatives and friends to gather.

James Brown had great respect for Joan Wilson’s wild and inventive ideas, but he also found them absurd. He shook his head and said, "So this idea won’t work. You better think of something else."

Joan Wilson leaned back dejectedly and said, "I don’t have any other ideas. Do you?"

James Brown dropped his cigarette butt into the cup he had used for drinking water earlier and stroked his chin, saying, "Aren’t you a police officer, and moreover, a deputy chief? Gathering some money as a favor shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Especially in places like entertainment plazas. You, as the deputy chief, just stand there and ask for money—they’ll have to give it."

Joan’s eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Wouldn’t that be soliciting bribes?"

"Solicit a bit, then. After all, the money is for a good cause."

"No way!" Joan shook her head without hesitation and declared emphatically, "I would never do that. If I took their dirty money, I’d definitely have to work for them. Would I still be a police officer then? To crack one case, yet condone more criminal acts? Absolutely not."

"Alright, alright. If it’s not possible, then it’s not possible. Why are you getting agitated with me?" James Brown rolled his eyes and said, "If that’s not gonna work, then I’m out of ideas."

Joan didn’t say anything, and James had no choice but to light another cigarette. By the time he finished smoking, Joan was still deep in thought. James stood up and said, "Officer Monaghan, think of another way. I have things to handle at home. I’m going to leave now. Call me when you have an idea, and I’ll definitely come to help."

Joan remained unresponsive. James shrugged his shoulders and prepared to leave, but just as he reached the door, Joan suddenly shouted, startling him so much that he stopped in his tracks.

"Officer Monaghan, have you thought of something?" Turning back, James Brown looked at Joan with confusion.

Joan walked up to James and said, "My idea is that we really should get married and have the wedding as my parents want. Then they will give me the money."

James felt this idea was no different and puzzledly said, "Isn’t that the same?"

Looking directly into James’s eyes, Joan said, "It’s not the same. We were thinking about a sham marriage before, which is why there were so many issues. Now, if we really get married, those problems will naturally cease to be issues."

"What?" James suddenly shouted, even more surprised than when Joan first suggested they get married. His expression was indescribably spectacular.

Joan crossed her arms, her face completely serious, and said, "You heard me right. I mean it. We should go register and get a marriage certificate."

"Register and get a marriage certificate? Have you lost your mind?" At that moment, James seriously wondered if Joan was mentally unstable.

"Only then will my parents truly believe I’m getting married and give me the money. Then we can proceed with the next steps."

James’s eyes widened, and he swallowed hard before saying, "Seriously, for a case, isn’t this too extreme?"

Joan then spoke in a relaxed tone, "It’s not a big deal. After we finish the case, we can just get a divorce and return the money to my parents. With the high divorce rates nowadays, getting a divorce is no big deal, so you don’t have to worry." freeweɓnovel~cѳm

James immediately exclaimed, "What do you mean, don’t worry? You’re doing this for the case, but what about me? Without doing much, I’m dragged into a second marriage. How am I supposed to explain this to my girlfriend? What about my future marriage?"

Joan was momentarily speechless. She had only been thinking about how to deal with her own difficulties and hadn’t considered James at all. When James brought it up, she realized the significant impact this would have on him, especially being a police officer. She knew that if they went through with the marriage, it would definitely be discovered when James wanted to marry someone else later. For a man his age, becoming a twice-married man without reason could likely be unacceptable to the woman’s family.

James then said, "Officer Monaghan, I thought we were just faking it, and I could help you out, but playing for real? I really can’t play this game with you."

Seeing James’s frightened look, a sudden anger surged in Joan. She stared fiercely at James and said, "Fine, I promise you, if your girlfriend doesn’t accept it, then I won’t divorce you. I’ll become your real wife."

"Ga!" James was petrified!