You are all bad women! Don't come over!

"Xia Sister is just over a year older than me, so it's pretty much the same!"

Shen Mochen noticed that Xia Qingrou's tone suddenly became a bit odd, and he laughed it off, trying to change the subject.

"Not that young either, Yuncui Sister is just about the same age as me and she's always able to take care of everyone," Xia Qingrou said.

Shen Mochen cocked his head, subconsciously pondering the hidden meaning behind her words.

But Xia Qingrou didn't give Shen Mochen much time to think, and with a chuckle, she said, "Speaking of which, you are quite brave, huh!"

"Where am I brave?" Shen Mochen laughed.

"Many Buque members feel afraid the first time they see a monster, but not only were you not afraid, you didn't even feel uncomfortable watching us kill a monster. The first time I came here, I was puking all over the place and couldn't even eat," she said.

"I come from a humble background, I've been slaughtering chickens and dogs since I was a kid, so I'm used to it, unlike you rich people." Shen Mochen's hands didn't stop chopping vegetables as he smiled, "Besides, I'm a guy, so maybe I'm not that sensitive to bloody scenes."

"My background isn't great either, I'm not some rich person."

"I heard that Xia Sister is from the Capital, and your parents are high-ranking executives in foreign companies. Your family must be quite wealthy, right?"

Xia Qingrou waved her hand dismissively, "That's not considered wealthy, Yanyan is the real wealthy one!"

Liu Chaoyan seemed to be the young lady of some ancient Family, with hundreds of years of accumulation, naturally incomparable to an ordinary family.

Shen Mochen shook his head with a smile, "Compared to the captain, 99.99% of people are paupers. Now, I am truly poor, always rummaging through the trash bins on the streets."

"I've heard Yuncui Sister say that if that's the case, why did you come to join Buque?" Xia Qingrou turned to look at him, her gaze odd, as if she were questioning, and a hint of anger seemed to permeate her tone, "You guys, outside of Buque, should be able to earn more money, right? Are you planning on going into politics? But you have no background, and your political career can be seen to have a dead end!"

A cool breeze blew through the night sky, carrying the freshness of nature, gently brushing Shen Mochen's hair. It was April, and the evening wind was not so cold, but Shen Mochen inexplicably felt a slight chill.

"I want to do something for the people and the country, isn't that pretty normal?" Shen Mochen countered Xia Qingrou, "Aren't you the same, Xia Sister? Otherwise, why didn't you leave after your two-year term was up?"

Xia Qingrou was momentarily stunned, then offered Shen Mochen an overflowing smile, "Husband, you really are amazing, I really didn't misjudge you!"

Shen Mochen lowered his gaze, "I'm not that amazing, Xia Sister and Cai Sister are the role models I look up to."

Xia Qingrou washed the pot clean without lifting her head, "What role model am I? The first time I faced a monster, I was so scared my legs were shaking, and I regretted coming here. My parents had already arranged things for me to be exempt from military service, but I insisted on coming, and then regretted it."

Shen Mochen flattered her with a smile, "But you still persisted, for the sake of the common good." Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

"For the common good…"

Xia Qingrou suddenly fell silent, her eyes becoming slightly misty, with only the distant chirping of insects and the sound of Shen Mochen's knife chopping on the cutting board filling the night air.

"I don't have such a lofty consciousness, Yuncui Sister really does, but me…" As she spoke, Xia Qingrou's eyes revealed a touch of an indiscernible melancholy, "Heh, perhaps it's just an escape."

"Escape?" Shen Mochen asked.

Xia Qingrou was startled, as if awakened from a dream, and then blinked, her voice rising, "Yeah, I joined Buque when I was in my first year of high school, so I didn't have to prepare for the college entrance exams anymore, right? While my classmates were busy from dawn till dusk, I didn't have to, isn't that wonderful!"

Shen Mochen nodded, it made sense, although it didn't seem like her real intention.

Unknowingly, Shen Mochen had already finished chopping all the vegetables Xia Qingrou had prepared.

"Wow," Xia Qingrou exclaimed in surprise, examining the neatly cut dishes. Although she couldn't cook, she could tell the knife skills were exquisite. Even Cai Yuncui didn't have such knife techniques.

"Can you cook?" Xia Qingrou asked in surprise.

Shen Mochen replied nonchalantly, without a hint of embarrassment or skipping a beat, "Not really, my sister... before she passed away, she often cooked, and my older sister can cook too. They'd frequently boss me around to help them, so over time I learned how to chop vegetables."

He had intended to call Yin Huailian his girlfriend, which was a basic tactic to lower someone else's affection, but he remembered he still needed her kiss, so he decided to let her kiss him first.

In fact, he could kiss her himself, but initiating a kiss and being kissed are different. Not taking the initiative means there's room to maneuver, no obligation to take responsibility... Thinking about it this way, he seemed a bit like a playboy.

But no matter, he wasn't even close to one-third as bad as Su Mo. Shen Mochen firmly resolved that as long as he didn't exceed half of Su Mo's "playboy level," he was still a good guy!

"So that's how it is!"

Xia Qingrou didn't doubt him, or perhaps she didn't care whether Shen Mochen's words were true or false.

"Yeah, if you need it, I can help you prep the food in the future," Shen Mochen offered.

"Mm, okay, I'll call on you if needed," Xia Qingrou said, staring at Shen Mochen a little dreamily, then she smiled. "You're really nice, you must get along with everyone wherever you go."

Shen Mochen was momentarily taken aback when suddenly, he smelled a whiff of fragrance, and something covered his lips.

Sweet and soft, the sensation on his lips was like the first time he ate glutinous rice dumplings.

Shen Mochen was stunned, but Xia Qingrou had already let go, her face flushed as she bit her lip and smiled, "That's your reward, go rest now."

Shen Mochen licked his lips, "Was that kiss just now a reward? Why do I feel like you took advantage of me?"

"Hey! Me, take advantage of you? I'm a girl!" Xia Qingrou exclaimed indignantly, hands on her hips. "Was that your first kiss?"

"...No, it wasn't."

Shen Mochen gave it some thought. Since she was close to Cai Yuncui, there was no need to lie.

"See, it wasn't for me either!" Xia Qingrou glared, looking ready to devour him, "No matter what, I've got the figure, I've got the face, you can't possibly think you're at a loss, right?"

Shen Mochen certainly didn't feel at a loss; he found Xia Qingrou's lips to be very soft and pleasant. However, awakening his superpower might require three kisses, and tonight was the perfect opportunity.

"But, I helped you cut so many vegetables, this reward seems a little too small," Shen Mochen said.

"What else do you want, then?"

"That kiss just now, wasn't it a bit too brief for a reward?"

Xia Qingrou glanced at him sideways, her expression changing slightly, then with a scornful snort, she retorted, "You're such a closet pervert, and here I thought you were a decent guy!"

As she spoke, Xia Qingrou pushed her glasses up, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Shen Mochen's lips again.

"That was barely a peck," Shen Mochen heard his own heartbeat.

"Pervert," Xia Qingrou whispered lightly, wrapping her arms around Shen Mochen's waist and kissed his lips once more, licking his lip gently, and whispered, "Are you satisfied now? Don't ever cheat in the future, absolutely no cheating, you're only allowed to like me."

"Mm," Shen Mochen said.

He hadn't lit up the third star.