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

Catherine quickly sent her reply.

It wasn't a text full of questions or anger, but another photo.

It appeared to be a family portrait, with Catherine sitting on the sofa in a white dress, looking pure and solemn, flanked by people who looked like her parents.

Yin Caiyu was puzzled for a moment, what did this mean?

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Just like you, I'm introducing my family," Catherine replied.

Yin Caiyu stared at her phone in silence for a long time, at a loss for words.

At this moment, she felt a sense of helplessness, as if she were a chicken communicating with a duck; had her carefully prepared "skill" missed its mark so completely? Could there be something wrong with the way she expressed herself? Surely not!

The other person seemed not at all surprised by Shen Mochen's appearance, but wasn't the focus a bit strange?

"Any thoughts?" Yin Caiyu pressed.

"About the photo? If you meant to show your appearance, then you are indeed very attractive. I had looked into your background before and seen what you look like, but you seem happier in this photo."

"Yes, because I'm with the most important people in my life."

"Your sister is beautiful. I envy your relationship, as I've always wanted a sibling myself."

Yin Caiyu stared at the response once more, speechless. She didn't know if the compliment about her attractiveness was just polite flattery or a genuine sentiment.

Although being affirmed by a stunning beauty was pleasant, the real issue at hand was not this at all!

Don't you think we look a lot like a couple? Since you've checked my background, surely you know we're not biological siblings, right?

Would a normal girl remain indifferent upon seeing her boyfriend so close with another woman? Are you incredibly obtuse or just naively foolish?

"Your parents are also very good-looking," Yin Caiyu replied somewhat embarrassedly and hastily.

"Yes, that's why I'm so beautiful," Catherine said.

???

While it might be true, shouldn't you be a bit more humble? Are all you foreigners so direct?

Yin Caiyu really didn't want to keep chatting with her now.

Now that she thought about it, this woman had been strange from the start. Although they were supposedly dating, they had only just exchanged numbers today. The tone of their conversation was also very unfamiliar, not at all like that of a couple in a relationship.

Your boyfriend says 'I love you,' and you just reply with 'Received'? He asks for a selfie, and you respond with a terrible high-angle shot? Even if you're a steel-straight woman who never takes selfies, after taking it you should have realized that angle didn't look good, right?

Are these two really dating, or had something happened between them... Yin Caiyu couldn't help but recall the melodramatic TV dramas she had seen, where a wealthy daughter, not wanting to marry her fiancé, convinces a poor boy to pretend to be her lover!

If it was a situation like this, then everything would make sense!

With what she knew about Shen Mochen, he wasn't the kind of scum who, having just gotten a girlfriend, could come home and flirt with her without batting an eye!

After calming down, Yin Caiyu reassessed the dialogue between them and became even more convinced of her theory.

She decided to probe a little further, but before she could type anything out, she received a text from Catherine.

"You're acting strangely, are you really Shen Mochen?"

Yin Caiyu tensed up, surprised at the other's perceptiveness. But since they were just communicating through phone screens, she wasn't worried about being found out.

"Of course, I'm Shen Mochen. Should I send you a selfie right now?"

"No need, it's the same whether it's you or not. See you at school."

...

Refreshed, Shen Mochen stepped out of the bathroom, tossed their dirty clothes into the washing machine, and then entered the bedroom.

They rented a very small apartment: a one-bedroom, one-living room, with the bedroom also serving as the study.

Yin Caiyu sprawled on the bed, utterly engrossed in her game, her two restless legs pat-patting against the quilt beneath her in time with the game sounds.

But because she was so absorbed, she failed to notice the glimpse of "spring" revealed from under her shirt as she lifted her legs.

Fortunately, there was no one else around; Shen Mochen glanced over, then averted his gaze, sitting at the desk casually lifting his bangs with a hairband, ready to do homework.

"Hey Mochen, who's the prettiest girl in your class?" Yin Caiyu suddenly asked.

"Why are you asking that?"

Shen Mochen's heart skipped a beat, he turned to look at Yin Caiyu, the first thing he saw was her sky-blue underwear, then he turned back with a flushed face.

"Just curious, that's all!"

Yin Caiyu continued lifting her legs, patting the quilt without pause, seemingly unaware that she was facing Shen Mochen's desk, putting everything under her skirt in his line of sight.

"Well... Princess, I guess."

Shen Mochen had a bad feeling and chose his words with care.

Feeling like a guilty party, he really didn't want to bring up Catherine, but Catherine was acknowledged as a beauty, and Yin Caiyu knew that too; naming anyone else would seem even more suspicious.

"Is that Catherine?"

Yin Caiyu rolled over, facing up and adopting a lying position, her eyes locked on her phone screen, her tone nonchalant.

"Who else could be the Princess?" Shen Mochen kept a calm façade.

The room went silent for a time; Shen Mochen felt as if he could hear his own heartbeat, and even the clear 'huff huff hah hah' from the game seemed so quiet.

After a while, seeing that she had no follow-up, Shen Mochen steadied himself, about to start on his homework, when Yin Caiyu spoke up again.

"If both I and the prettiest girl in your class, Catherine, fell into the water at the same time, who would you save? And don't give me any crap about you not knowing how to swim."

Shen Mochen was taken aback, but without turning his head, he said, "Of course I'd save you, what do I have to do with Catherine?"

"What if there were a hundred Catherines?"

"Even if there were a thousand Catherines, I'd save you!"

That was Shen Mochen's reply, but his heart tightened again. Yin Caiyu couldn't possibly know something, could she? But what she seemed to care about wasn't Catherine, it was "the prettiest girl in class."

What exactly was going on? He turned to see Yin Caiyu's expression, only to see that she had sat up at some point, her eyes bright as stars.

"Why are you looking at me? Get on with your studies!" Yin Caiyu tilted her head and glared at Shen Mochen, handing him back his phone, her lips curling up, "Don't get distracted while studying. If you finish this weekend's homework tonight, you'll get a reward!"

Looks like he was being paranoid, Shen Mochen breathed a sigh of relief: "What reward?"

"I'll kick you a few times, make you happy!"

Yin Caiyu's long legs practically reached Shen Mochen's nose, her face carrying a look of helplessness as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Do you even know what you're saying? Why would I be happy about being kicked by you? I don't recall showing masochistic tendencies, do I?"

Shen Mochen struggled to keep his eyes from straying, his face flushed with anger, he protested loudly.

Yin Caiyu tilted her head, her toes playfully curling in front of Shen Mochen: "What about a stomp, then?"

Hmm, that would depend on where...

No, wait, a stomp wouldn't be a reward either! Who would like that sort of thing!

Could it be... Shen Mochen looked up at the sky, don't look, it must be you!

———— Divider ————

Deleted, undoubtedly a cause for argument