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You are all bad women! Don't come over!-Chapter 44 - 42: Changing Faces
Shen Mochen and Catherine Alexandrova declined Director Wu’s offer to arrange a ride home for them, leaving the police station. Director Wu personally saw them off for over a hundred meters before reluctantly waving goodbye. Then he quietly ordered two police officers to secretly protect them, making sure they safely reached home. His heart couldn’t bear a second shock.
The police station was located in a quiet area, but a long row of bright street lights extended into the distance, with faint music from a square dance echoing at the end of the street.
The lilac flowers bloomed in the night, filling the air with a subtle fragrance. Catherine held Shen Mochen’s wrist, silent. Their shadows lengthened and shortened under the street lights, with their quiet footsteps resounding in the night sky.
Since leaving the police station, she had been silent. Or rather, since the encounter with the thugs, she had grown quiet. She didn’t speak, so Shen Mochen also remained silent, enjoying the tranquility of the moment.
"You… are very good at fighting," Catherine finally spoke softly after a long while, as they almost reached the bustling streets.
Shen Mochen chuckled, his spirits high, "Back in our place, those of us whose parents had died, if we didn’t know how to fight, we’d have been gnawed to the bone long ago! Let me tell you, fighting is nothing special. If you have checked my background, you should know about my first girlfriend. While she seemed quiet, if adults bullied us when we were kids, she’d grab a knife and slash at them! So, her knife skills are really good; just using the knife, my sister and I together couldn’t beat her!"
He raised his voice, narrating with enthusiasm, his voice rising and falling dramatically.
Catherine’s face remained expressionless, her gaze distant, seemingly uninterested in what Shen Mochen had said.
"You strike very decisively," she continued.
"Of course, I have to be decisive. What, should I ask them what they want first, and whether they could stop?" Shen Mochen shared his fighting insights with Catherine, grinning, "Based on my years of experience, always act first instead of speaking. It’s never too late to make them surrender and call you ’daddy’ after they are down! Otherwise, every extra word gives them a chance to counterstrike."
"Especially with those who have companions, if they gang up, you can’t hold them off alone. So, you must take out the leader quickly before they react. That way, they might get scared and not dare to start together—that’s about overpowering them with your momentum! The spirit in a fight is very important!"
"And do you know why I hit that fat guy first? Because he weighed at least 400 pounds, and I definitely couldn’t beat him in a straight fight. So, I had to dishonorably ambush him to bring him down!"
Shen Mochen was very animated, gesticulating vividly, as if he was really about to teach Catherine how to fight.
However, before Shen Mochen could finish, Catherine gently interrupted him:
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"You weren’t like this at school."
Shen Mochen paused, then scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile, "That was when I was a poor kid in the slums. I’m a civilized person now; of course, I can’t always be fighting and killing. I need to be civilized and polite, abide by the mainstream society’s rules!"
Catherine stared coldly at Shen Mochen, as a brightly lit LED sign reflected in her pupils, resembling colorful ink poured into icy lake water:
"So, when Gao Le was bullying you, you were afraid?"
Shen Mochen turned his face away, feeling displeased, but he managed to force a smile and said, "That’s not very nice to say. We’re all classmates after all, so what’s there to be afraid of? Gao Le is a pitiful person too, a perennial loser in love. To some extent, I can understand him. Just endure it, and it will pass!"
Catherine chuckled coldly and said, "Will it really pass? What if he keeps bullying you, or even worsens, will you continue to tolerate and hide from him until graduation?"
Shen Mochen clenched his fists. Catherine’s sarcastic words ignited a nameless anger in him, but he suppressed this turmoil and said softly, "What can I do then? You are Catherine Alexandrova, the esteemed daughter of an Earl in the Roman Empire, a magnate in Gaotang State. Besides the occasional nebulous, who dares to provoke you? When you’re startled, even the chief of police trembles. If anyone bullies you, you can slap them on the spot and they wouldn’t dare retaliate. But who am I? I’m just a weed by the roadside, able to bully only those who are weeds like me. What can I do to resist someone like Gao Le, and who would bear the consequences? If I don’t think about myself, I must think about my family!"
By the end of his speech, Shen Mochen was gritting his teeth, feeling a burning sensation on his face and a sense of humiliation.
Catherine struck again precisely and asked, "Are you feeling inferior?"
"Yes, you’re right, congratulations on your correct answer! But is there a problem with that? You are the victim, and a few thugs got beaten, so justice stands with me! But if Gao Le was the one getting beaten and I was the aggressor, would justice still stand with me? Would they still say I was defending myself because I was the one initially bullied? Let me tell you the truth, the reason I dared to hit them like that was because you were there, and I could borrow the tiger’s might. Do you know what ’borrowing the tiger’s might’ means? It’s like the fox commanding the tiger to stand behind him, so no ferocious beast will scare him. But without the tiger, he’s nothing!"
"Look at how awe-inspiring I was at the police station, all the officers were pleasing me, but were they really pleasing me, or were they pleasing the noble King of Beasts behind the fox? Of course, you needn’t feel inferior. You were born into nobility, with oil and mines at home! And me? I’m just a beggar who’s been scavenging from the trash since I was a child!"
Shen Mochen ignited suddenly, initially trying to remain calm, but he couldn’t help getting more emotional and ended up with a red face, almost roaring!
Catherine listened silently as Shen Mochen finished. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes hidden behind those long bangs, she could feel his wounded beast-like fury. Her gaze fluctuated, and her expression changed continuously until it softened. She took his hand and said earnestly, "I can help you with the problem with Gao Le."
"No need to trouble yourself!"
Still enraged, Shen Mochen waved her away.
He had always wanted Catherine to help him resolve this matter, but for some reason, he was now feeling a stubborn anger that prevented him from lowering his head.
After being pushed away, Catherine didn’t take offense. She bowed slightly to Shen Mochen and spoke with a tone full of remorse, "I’m sorry, I apologize to you. Initially, you were trying to comfort me, hoping to make me feel better, but I deliberately provoked you. It was my fault. Please forgive me."
Shen Mochen was stunned. Catherine’s direct apology caught him off guard. He had never seen such a forthright girl, especially since she was a noble from the Roman Nobility.
This rather made him feel embarrassed; after all, her intentions were good, and she hoped he would fight back. Moreover, arguing with a girl like this also made him seem petty.
So, Shen Mochen awkwardly coughed and said, "It’s alright, you didn’t say anything wrong, I was just too emotional…"
"Does that mean you forgive me then?"
Catherine immediately lifted her head, her face devoid of any apology, beaming like a flower, her eyes twinkling like stars.