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

"What are you talking about..." Xia Qingrou was silent for a long time before she finally softly cursed, her voice gentle, "I haven't left you. You've hurt me like this, scumbag, and I haven't planned on finding a boyfriend in recent years... Besides, you know me, I feel uncomfortable when touched by men, except for you. I can only be with you."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I meant just as friends!" Xia Qingrou added before Shen Mochen could speak.

"Mmm..."

"Actually, your situation...is quite complicated," Xia Qingrou carefully chose her words, but her thoughts became more fluid, "But it's not incomprehensible... Since you don't want to hand over your things to someone else, then go snatch them back! The reason you're suffering now is because you're thinking of giving up. If giving up makes you feel this bad, then go snatch it back! I support you!"

"Do I really need to snatch it back?"

"What, are you scared? Chickening out, huh, not very manly!"

Shen Mochen's brow slightly relaxed, and he smiled, "You know very well whether I'm manly or not."

Xia Qingrou's face turned red, and she spat, "That's sexual harassment, you know! Even if I'm your ex, you can't just say things like that!"

"Hahahaha, I think, I know what I need to do now."

"Right, if you don't want to give up, then don't. What are you afraid of, why should others take your things! Wait, what got stolen from you? Did those spoiled brats at your school steal it?"

"I should have known what to do a long time ago; I've just always been afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of change, afraid of failure, afraid of being left with nothing again."

"What's there to be afraid of, your senior sister here won't run away, and Yuncui sister won't either."

Shen Mochen fell silent again, for a very long time, just when Xia Qingrou thought he might have hung up, Shen Mochen finally spoke: "Mmm, okay... I understand."

Xia Qingrou felt a subtle relief, based on her understanding of Shen Mochen, everything should be okay now.

"What do you understand?"

"I need to do something very important to me, it might cause me to hit rock bottom, but I feel I must do it."

Xia Qingrou smiled, her voice gentle and encouraging, "Mmm, then go do it, I'll wait for you to come back and tell me about it!"

Then I better hide all the sharp objects... Shen Mochen thought to himself.

"Seeing as you're okay, I'm going to hang up now," said Xia Qingrou, " I need to cook in a bit."

"Wait a second..."

"What else is there?"

"I like you."

"...Idiot!"

Humph, so full of himself, that jerk! He really thinks I still have feelings for him. If it weren't for Yuncui sister asking me to help, I wouldn't bother calling him!

Xia Qingrou muttered to herself and hung up the phone, touching her face, which was burning hot.

Damn, we've slept together so many times in all sorts of positions, how could a simple confession still make my heart race... This is the first time he's said he likes me.

Humph, we've broken up, why bring that up, really!

Xia Qingrou hummed a tune as she went to the kitchen to cook.

When he comes back, it wouldn't hurt to give him a hug! Just a friendly one!

...

"I'm sorry, you can hit me when you wake up, but I don't want to lose anything anymore..."

Shen Mochen kissed Yin Caiyu on the face and left the hospital room, his eyes possessing a wild ferocity resembling that of a wolf prepared to steal food in the wilderness, eager for action.

After returning home, Shen Mochen didn't go to Cai Yuncui's place but went back to his own house instead, and spent some time reading alone. It was the fairy tale book gifted by Catherine which he read over and over again until late into the night, approaching midnight.

Shen Mochen logged onto a forum where the betting on Catherine's choice of husband was about to close, and he glanced at his own selection, which currently had a mere five thousand on it.

But everyone knew it was almost impossible for a foreigner to be chosen by Catherine, especially since Shen Mochen had no family background to speak of; obviously, someone must have been bored and made the bet for fun.

No one believed Shen Mochen would be picked by Catherine, and many men even saw him as a joke. They all knew Shen Mochen was Catherine's ex-boyfriend, and no one could help feeling jealous. But as it turned out, the noble princess would still marry a prince befitting her status.

They had only added Shen Mochen as an option as a way to mock this lucky youngster.

But that night, students and teachers who stayed up late in the forum observed a curious phenomenon, at the last minute, someone placed a hundred thousand on Shen Mochen, bringing his total to one hundred and five thousand.

Of course, this did not cause much of a stir, with eighty million in total bets, that hundred thousand seemed pitiful.

Maybe someone just wanted to try their luck and hit big, as they could walk away with nearly all the betting pool if they succeeded.

What a ridiculous thought.

...

"Kajiena, you should go to sleep, tomorrow is your birthday, and you need to be in your best condition to meet your future husband," Angelina walked into Catherine's room, smiling as she urged.

Tomorrow would be Catherine's real coming of age celebration, and as parents, they didn't mind coming back to stay for a night.

Catherine glanced at her computer screen, wondering who had placed a hundred thousand on Shen Mochen at the last moment.

How could someone be so foolish, she herself had only casually placed five thousand.

...

The next morning, Catherine was woken up by Angelina, and immediately servants attended her, helping her with washing up and dressing, then meticulously doing her makeup.

Catherine looked uninterested as she allowed the servants to fuss over her, as though the event she was to attend was an irrelevant and boring gathering.

"My dear daughter, look who's here," Earl Alexander pushed open the door to the dressing room, his face slightly flushed.

Behind him stood a lean man, nearly sixty years old and looking a bit frail but with a decent demeanor.

He was Catherine's uncle, now the Family Head of the Alexandrov Family, and one of the most influential people in the Roman Empire—the Marquis Gulanjin. Gulanjin was both a place in Roman and the Alexandrov Family's territorial property.

"Long time no see, my beloved niece," the Marquis of Gulanjin remarked as he approached Catherine, speaking affectionately, "Congratulations on becoming an adult today. Seeing you reminds me of when your parents just got married; your mother was just as beautiful, oh and of course, Peter was young and dashing back then."

"Ha ha, I'm getting old now, almost an old man," Earl Alexander interjected with a laugh.

"Compared to me, you're still young," the Marquis said, "Kajiena, to celebrate your adulthood, I've brought you a gift. Can you guess what it is? Yes, it's Yalan Manor, I remember how much you loved it there when you were young, and now it's yours."

"Even if you didn't give it, it was bound to be mine sooner or later..." Catherine chuckled, "But uncle, you seem to be in good health, don't you want your own child to inherit everything?"

The Earl's expression changed slightly, but the Marquis of Gulanjin carelessly laughed it off, "Ha ha ha, don't want to, don't want to... You are the heir of our Alexandrov Family. After your engagement, I will take you back to our country to officially learn to manage the family properties and the transition of some powers..."

After exchanging a few words with his niece, Marquis Gulanjin went to the living room to rest, leaving only Catherine's family in the room.

The Earl still wore a kind smile, "When I heard that you insisted on having your coming of age ceremony in Yupi, I was really worried you had some bizarre ideas, but our Kajiena is sensible after all, I am relieved and proud of you."

Catherine sarcastically responded without much enthusiasm, "After all, we can't really let a bastard take away anything from our Alexandrov family."

The Earl was used to his daughter's sarcastic tone, and he wasn't angry at the moment. Seeing Catherine willingly accept the family's arrangements already seemed like a blessing from their ancestors to him—how could he ask for more?

"The boys are already at the hotel, we're just waiting for you now. Even though you can freely choose your husband from the boys present, we still hope that you choose from the boys of the Kirikorov Family or the Vorotensky Family... Really, choosing one out of a group isn't that different from choosing between two, right..."

The Earl earnestly repeated his advice into Catherine's ear.

Catherine found him excessively annoying, she frowned but was so indifferent today she didn't even bother to snap at him, simply letting his words go in one ear and out the other.