You are all bad women! Don't come over!-Chapter 272 - 266

Looking at the facts, there was indeed no problem.

He and Catherine had indeed broken up long ago, and there was no issue with him having dinner with anyone.

And Liu Bo, known as Shen Mochen’s only friend, quickly stood up to confirm the authenticity of the breakup. It was just unclear whether Shen Mochen was dating the girl he had dinner with.

Having Liu Bo step forward was, of course, Shen Mochen’s idea. It also helped alleviate some of Catherine’s pressure.

The essence of this affair was just gossip for onlookers, and Shen Mochen didn’t take it to heart, but another matter weighed on his mind.

He was well aware of Catherine’s expectations of him—to take her hand and lead her away from the castle that imprisoned her. The reason Catherine didn’t immediately announce their breakup after it happened might also be because she was still holding out hope.

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But now, everyone knew they had broken up.

Even if Shen Mochen wanted to, he no longer had a reason to hold on to her in the future.

A princess living in a castle, unbelievably entrusting her chance to break free to him, a low-status "小瘪三." Perhaps she had read too many novels; he was no hero of legend.

Shen Mochen put away his phone and gently touched the fresh flowers in the hospital room.

"Right, how could I have such ability!" Shen Mochen whispered as he walked toward Yin Caiyu.

Just what kind of expression would that haughty Earl have on his face now? Mocking his rebellious daughter, his naive and dull plan ruined, the boy who professed his love now cozying up with someone else... But maybe not. Perhaps he would demonstrate his superior EQ, comforting her with familial warmth, persuading her to give up her fantasies, obey him, and engage to someone from some family.

Of course, given Catherine’s loathing for him, if the Earl really tried to use this tender approach, he would probably make her sick to her stomach.

Seriously, I’m just a "小瘪三," right? I’m just a bit better looking, a bit smarter, a bit better at fighting... Princess, why did you have such expectations of me?

When he returned home at noon, Cai Yuncui had already prepared the meal, and Shen Mochen saw Xia Qingrou looking at him with an inexplicable expression.

"What’s wrong?" Shen Mochen asked.

"Nothing much, come and eat!" Xia Qingrou said with an inexplicable expression.

Shen Mochen looked at Cai Yuncui, who also sported a grin.

"Caiyu, what happened?" Shen Mochen asked again.

"Qingrou told me not to say..." Cai Yuncui chuckled, shaking her head.

"Cough cough cough, actually, I cooked one of the dishes!" Xia Qingrou coughed, unable to keep it in.

Shen Mochen smiled: "So, did Qingrou learn to cook from Caiyu?"

Xia Qingrou humphed, her face flushed with pride: "That’s right, even though Yuncui chopped all the ingredients, if you can taste which dish is my doing, I’ll give you a reward!"

"What reward?"

"Uh... oh, any reward is fine, just figure it out first!" Xia Qingrou pulled Shen Mochen to sit down.

Cai Yuncui watched the two of them with a beaming smile, distributing chopsticks.

Shen Mochen had a taste of each dish and felt that the stewed pork with radishes seemed a bit bland, not quite in Yuncui’s usual cooking style. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qingrou’s face tensed up, so he decided not to call her out on it.

Having sampled all the dishes on the table, Shen Mochen shook his head, "It’s a pity, but I couldn’t tell the difference, it all tastes pretty good to me."

"Yay!" Qingrou’s smile widened, and she hugged Yuncui in a rambunctious embrace.

"That’s great, Qingrou is ready to graduate," Yuncui congratulated with a beaming smile.

Qingrou wasn’t too smug, even though she couldn’t stop grinning, she said modestly, "No, no, today I only learned one dish. I need to learn a lot more from Sister Yuncui these next few days!"

"Sure, during your time here, I can teach you how to make any dish you want to learn," Yuncui gently caressed Qingrou’s face, "Actually, cooking is very simple. Once you learn a few dishes, you’ll naturally figure out how to make others! You’re so smart, you’ll surely surpass me soon!"

Qingrou nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with anticipation, but soon she felt a bit regretful, "However, we’re only off for five days this time... we’ll have to go back soon."

"Oh, don’t worry about that," Shen Mochen interjected, "The captain just called me and said we can both take another five days off."

"Yanyan, ah..." Qingrou was momentarily stunned and then quickly realized the reason. She glanced at Shen Mochen with her cheeks reddening a bit, but then hugged Yuncui’s neck, "That’s awesome, I get to stay with you here longer! Hehe, you can even teach me during the weekend!"

Yuncui smiled, "Chaoyan gave you two more days off so you both could go out and have more fun. How can you stay here with me all the time?"

Qingrou blushed, "We have plenty of time to play, learning how to cook is more important right now!"

After they finished their lunch, Yuncui asked Shen Mochen if he wanted to visit the school, but Shen Mochen politely declined. One reason, of course, was that the "love triangle" drama had not yet died down, and another was that he wasn’t ready to see Catherine just yet.

What to say, what to do, which expression and attitude to use once he saw her, he was still undecided.

Yuncui didn’t think too much about it. If Shen Mochen didn’t want to go, she wouldn’t insist. Perhaps he wanted to spend more time with Qingrou, and besides, she never liked going to school herself when she was a student.

Yuncui hurried off to work at the school as quickly as she could, and Shen Mochen took the opportunity to say goodbye to Qingrou, preparing to return to his own home.

"Wait." Qingrou tugged at Shen Mochen, puffing up her cheeks, "You didn’t guess the dish I cooked, so there must be a punishment!"

"What punishment?" Shen Mochen tilted his head, "Qingrou, you didn’t say anything about a punishment just now."

"It has to be fair!" Qingrou’s face grew a bit redder and she appeared slightly bashful, but still tried to look tough as she glared at him.

"What do you mean by fair?"

"You call Sister Yuncui ’Sister Cai’, and you call me ’Qingrou’, that’s not fair!"

Shen Mochen blinked, "Are you implying you want me to call you ’Sister Qingrou’?"

Qingrou nodded, "Yes, that would be fair!"

"I don’t think so," Shen Mochen laughed, "You’re not as mature as Sister Cai, it feels weird calling you ’Sister Qingrou’."

"That’s not acceptable, you lost the bet so you must accept the outcome!" Qingrou pulled on Shen Mochen, pushing him down onto the couch, and declared with righteous indignation.

A sweet fragrance filled his lungs, and as Shen Mochen looked at her, his face showed reluctance, "You only mentioned a reward before, not a punishment, so I can’t accept this."

"No, you have to call me ’Sister Qingrou’!" Qingrou knelt on Shen Mochen’s legs, shaking his shoulders, "If you call me ’Sister Qingrou’ right now, I might give you a reward!"

"What kind of reward? Let’s hear it," Shen Mochen asked with a raising eyebrow and a smile.