NOVPUBXia Qingrou's expression instantly froze, her face flushing red as if she were a tomato.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Xia Qingrou shook her head vigorously while frantically waving her hands, "How could that be possible? Haha, don't worry, nothing happened between me and your boyfriend..."
Xia Qingrou vehemently denied it, following it with a burst of strained laughter. She lowered her head and poked at her milk tea with a straw, but her hand kept shaking, and she couldn't manage to pierce it.
Your psychological resilience is really too poor—it's like you're confessing without being pressed! Even I can see your flicker of doubt, let alone Catherine, who's like a human lie detector.
Shen Mochen sighed internally, feeling a bit panicked. He was really afraid Catherine might suddenly have Fuzi shoot him from a hiding spot.
First, he kissed her maid, then he let the whole school gossip about her being "cuckolded," and now she found out he had slept with another woman... Even Shen Mochen felt like he might have gone too far.
"Actually..." Shen Mochen wanted to defend himself.
"Ah, I see. I was just asking casually."
But Catherine did not look at Shen Mochen, she just said this to Xia Qingrou, as if she truly believed her words.
Only then did Xia Qingrou breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a bit guilty. She still dared not look Catherine in the face, as if she were a vixen who had seduced someone's husband.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going back. You two have fun," Catherine stood up to leave.
"Ah no, maybe, I should leave, and you two can have fun?" Xia Qingrou said cautiously.
Catherine slightly furrowed her brow, showing a look of disdain and scorn, "Was I not clear, or does Miss Xia have some misunderstanding? Shen Mochen and I have already broken up. I don't know what improper thoughts he still harbors towards me, but unfortunately, he's not a match for me."
Xia Qingrou's face showed an awkward expression, not knowing where to look.
"In less than a month, I'll be having my coming-of-age celebration. Boys from the Kirikorovga and Vorotensky families will be coming from Roman, and I will choose one of them to get engaged. If the two of you are interested, you can also attend. Just contact me, and I will send you an invitation," Catherine said indifferently, then left without looking back.
Xia Qingrou lowered her head and sipped her milk tea, while Shen Mochen didn't speak. The two of them sat in silence for quite a long time.
After a long while, Xia Qingrou finally raised her head, her face showing a mix of sympathy and sorrow.
Shen Mochen had been dumped, dumped by his beloved ex-girlfriend.
And her manner of breaking up was so blunt and resolute, one could only describe it as brutally heartless.
If the gap between them wasn't so large, or if Catherine still harbored thoughts of being with Shen Mochen, perhaps it wouldn't have been so tragic.
But the problem was, she had long since moved on, as if it were only Shen Mochen wishfully pining for her... as if a toad lusted after a swan's flesh.
Don't look at me with those eyes... I really don't want to be pitied like this. 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
Shen Mochen was also frustrated. It seemed Catherine was quite upset this time... But in terms of the outcome, it actually didn't affect him much.
He and Catherine really had nothing between them; their breakup had been destined for this end from the very start, and Shen Mochen had long known that she would eventually marry one of those nobles from Roman.
Nothing had changed, nothing had been affected.
Yet even so, Shen Mochen still felt a twinge of unease.
Perhaps it was a sort of conscience accusing him, he knew Catherine had somewhat of a liking for him… being told that the person you like was rolling in the sheets with someone else, for any girl, that was a rather upsetting matter.
Even for Catherine, her heart must have been very uncomfortable.
Catherine had helped him a lot, he felt he owed her and had wronged her in some way. Even a breakup shouldn't have been handled this way.
"You shouldn't be too upset…" Xia Qingrou sat next to Shen Mochen, gently patting his shoulder to comfort him.
I'm really not that upset, I just don't know what to do to make you believe I'm not that upset.
If only he had known, he wouldn't have used Catherine as a shield in the first place. It would have been better to simply say he couldn't get over his first love... Besides, he never explicitly stated he couldn't forget Catherine, right?
It was all in your heads from the start, I just never denied it!
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Shen Mochen said with a somewhat forced smile. He regretted not buying bubble tea, if he had a cup right now, he could have buried his head in it and not be as awkward as he was feeling.
He glanced around, the bubble tea Catherine had left behind was not finished, so he pretended to be thirsty and quickly drank up her remaining tea.
"Here, you can have mine too…" Xia Qingrou thoughtfully passed her own bubble tea as well.
Shen Mochen took it, sipping in small draughts.
"You really shouldn't be too heartbroken…" Xia Qingrou kept patting Shen Mochen, then suddenly seemed to remember something and coughed, "Actually, I think, maybe she didn't dislike you... Maybe she just said those things to make you give up on purpose!"
She's not someone so unnecessarily delicate and pretentious. Shen Mochen thought to himself, but you really got it wrong, I've never really liked her, you really got it wrong...
However, Shen Mochen suddenly thought that if Catherine truly meant so little to him, there would be no need to worry now.
Would he care about what Gu Yange and the others thought?
Shen Mochen drank up Xia Qingrou's tea in one gulp, sorted himself out and said, "Okay, I get it, thanks for the encouragement. I'm feeling much better now, I'll bounce back!"
Xia Qingrou was taken aback, she hadn't expected Shen Mochen to cheer up so quickly, but his positive attitude was certainly better than wallowing in suicidal thoughts after a lost love.
Xia Qingrou nodded vigorously, "Yeah, that's right! The world is full of greener pastures, why fixate on a single flower. Your prospects aren't bad at all, it's just that the lady just now was too overwhelming, I believe you'll definitely find someone more suitable for you in the future!"
Xia Qingrou spoke, her heart suddenly feeling lighter, she hadn't even realized it herself, just felt a lot more relaxed.
Ever since Catherine had dumped Shen Mochen earlier.
"I still need to visit my sister in the hospital, you can head back first if you want."
Shen Mochen stood up and touched his stomach, with two cups of bubble tea inside, he felt a bit overstuffed.
Xia Qingrou immediately got up as well, "Ah, no problem, no problem, I'll come with you!"
…
A luxury business sedan slowly moved with the traffic flow, Catherine sat quietly in the passenger seat, seemingly lost in thought as she looked outside.
"How do you think I did just now?" Catherine asked.
