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

"I'm sorry, Sister Cai, I just..." Shen Mochen was consumed with shame.

"I understand, I really do... I can relate..."

Cai Yuncui nodded fervently, though she wasn't quite sure what she understood. She felt relieved that Shen Mochen had stopped, but her heart suddenly felt empty and disappointed.

If he had continued just now, she would definitely not have resisted... But that wouldn't have been good.

I need to be a good sister, not a bad woman!

Cai Yuncui got dressed and stole a glance at Shen Mochen's lower body. Her face was as red as a tomato, unsure of how to speak.

Recalling the kiss from moments ago, she subconsciously touched her lips, feeling a sweet sensation.

Shen Mochen finally came up with a poor lie that even Cai Yuncui could see through, "I, I was actually just helping you recover your superpower just now, you know that. I can help you recover it once a day!"

"Ah, so that's what it was." Cai Yuncui played along with Shen Mochen's lie, feigning a sudden realization.

"So, your superpower must have recovered, right!" Shen Mochen asked knowingly.

Cai Yuncui was startled for a moment, "Uh... no it hasn't..."

"How could that be..." Shen Mochen scratched his head and cleared his throat, ready to bite his finger, "Let's try it again!"

"Oh, okay..." Cai Yuncui slowly closed her eyes, her lips slightly parted.

Shen Mochen hesitated for a moment, then gently kissed her while holding her face in his hand.

"I'm going to the hospital now, I'll be back for lunch."

After the kiss, Shen Mochen hurried to the door to put on his shoes, feeling a deep sense of shame towards both Cai Yuncui and himself.

"Mm, okay... hey, wait a second!"

"What's wrong..."

"I really only gained two pounds!" Cai Yuncui turned her face away, sneaking a look at Shen Mochen's expression, "I can lose it quickly! I have been heavier before!"

"You're not fat at all, you're just right!" said Shen Mochen.

...

Sitting at Yin Caiyu's bedside, Shen Mochen finally felt some peace in his heart. He glanced at the flowers in the hospital room, their petals were already slightly yellowed.

The nurse said they hadn't been changed in two or three days.

He gently caressed Yin Caiyu's face and felt incredibly guilty thinking about what happened with Cai Yuncui, but then he felt a vengeful satisfaction.

"You deserve this for becoming like this! For leaving without saying a word to me! It serves you right to be cheated on!" Shen Mochen gritted his teeth and said to Yin Caiyu, "This is the punishment for leaving me. I'm so charming, others are crazy about me even without you! When I have time, I'll get myself ten or a dozen girlfriends to make you jealous!"

You left my side without so much as a greeting.

Shen Mochen suddenly felt tired and lay down at the edge of the bed, silently spacing out again.

Catherine's birthday is tomorrow, and he wondered who she would choose as her marriage partner.

First Middle School had opened a betting pool, and the accumulated bets had reached tens of millions, with nearly a thousand people participating, including almost all the students.

First Middle School often had such gambling events, without any house or rake—winning meant taking it all. This time, it was unprecedented in scale, and besides the most popular candidates from the Kirikorov Family and the Vorotensky family, there were a variety of other possible suitors, including Shen Mochen himself.

Unfortunately for Shen Mochen and the other options, almost no one placed bets on them. Even if Shen Mochen was popular at First Middle School, no one was foolish when it came to the reality of the situation.

Shen Mochen imagined Catherine in a wedding dress, her nearly silver, pale golden hair cascading down, brilliant sunlight streaming through the church windows onto her milk-like skin, and a faint smile on her lips more pure than the angels in paintings.

She was beautiful, and Shen Mochen reached out absently as if to grasp something.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated lightly. Shen Mochen saw a name he hadn't seen in a long time: Senior Xia.

The note 'Senior Xia' was added when he was dating Xia Qingrou, as she forced Shen Mochen to change it. After they broke up, Shen Mochen never bothered to change the note.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't thought of it, considering they hadn't contacted each other by phone or text since the breakup.

Shen Mochen quietly walked out of the hospital ward and answered the call.

"Hello, what are you up to?" a familiar voice came through the other end of the phone.

"I'm not up to anything." Shen Mochen leaned against the wall, smiling.

It was strange. As soon as he heard Xia Qingrou's voice, Shen Mochen's mood lightened considerably.

"Are you okay?" Xia Qingrou hummed lightly.

"I'm fine," Shen Mochen said.

"Yuncui told me over the phone that you were in a bad mood. Humph, she asked me to come and comfort you!"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit down, so come on and comfort me."

"Cut it out, what's wrong? Why are you feeling down?"

"It's all because you dumped me, I'm still upset about it!"

"Tch, I don't believe that..." Xia Qingrou spat and hesitated before adding resentfully, "Besides, me dumping you... it's because of your own..."

"Hahaha, I'm just joking! You didn't really think I was serious, did you?" Shen Mochen burst into laughter.

Xia Qingrou's temper flared, and she nearly cursed, "I... Are you sick or something, you scumbag!"

Shen Mochen, imagining her indignant look on the other end, couldn't help but laugh, his laughter light and carefree.

"You just wait! You're dead when you get back!" Xia Qingrou threatened, about to hang up.

"Wait a second, hey, I really am feeling down, just chat with me, will you? Caiyu asked you to talk to me, didn't she?" Shen Mochen said.

Xia Qingrou was silent for a long while. She seemed to be debating whether to believe this jerk once more, but finally, she sighed, "Fine, what's going on?"

Shen Mochen thought for a moment, "I don't know how to put it, I'm just feeling uneasy."

"Why are you feeling uneasy?"

"I constantly feel like someone is trying to take something from me..."

"Then hit them! Aren't you good at fighting?"

"Hitting people is illegal, Qingrou. You, as a Buque, are telling me to break rules now, huh?"

Xia Qingrou replied irritably, "What is it anyway? Is it valuable?"

Shen Mochen shook his head, "Maybe it is valuable. I just don't want to give it to them."

"Well, then get it back! Can't you take it back?"

"...Maybe, but the cost is quite high."

"Then it depends on how much you like that thing, whether you have the courage to pay the price!"

"You didn't even ask what the cost is."

Xia Qingrou snorted, "Does it matter whether I ask? What matters is which is more important to you!"

Shen Mochen hesitated for a long while, "I don't think she's that important, not worth such a high cost."

"Since you've already come to a conclusion..."

"But when I think about losing her forever, I get very upset and can't stand the thought."

"How much can't you stand it?"

"Just like when you dumped me, I watched as you left me."

"Hey, are you blaming me?" Xia Qingrou's voice rose slightly, "Be reasonable, even though we broke up... we're still friends, aren't we? When have I left you? We haven't retired; we see each other every day. And even after we retire, we can still meet often... Really, stop dragging me into everything! Even if you're playing the sympathy card, I'm not getting back with you, you know!"

"I know you're still here, and that you still like me..."

"Stop spouting nonsense, don't flatter yourself. Who likes you!"

"If one day you really do leave me, I might feel even more pain than now. I guess it's because I've had nothing since I was little and I'm scared of poverty, so I'm stingy, wanting everything, refusing to let go of anything. But things never go as desired. The more I'm afraid of losing, the more those things I value slip away from me, and in the end, I have nothing. Yet you and Caiyu make me feel like I'm not entirely without anything. Yet this feeling is like holding sand in my hand; the tighter I grasp, the quicker it slips through my fingers. I'm always in fear, fearful of returning to having nothing..." Shen Mochen said softly.