Chapter 127: Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder

"Wow, Brother Mo, you’re so cool!" After the thugs left, Lin Yuxi immediately ran up and grabbed Chen Mo’s hand. He looked at him with adoration and exclaimed, "You scared all those bad guys away!"

Chen Mo smiled and patted his head with his free hand.

However, unlike Lin Yuxi’s praise, Huang Mao walked over and gave Chen Mo a punch on the shoulder. He then patted his own chest, his face pale with lingering fear. "Old Mo, you were way too reckless," he said. "There were so many of them. If a real fight had broken out, what would we have done? We have girls and a kid with us!"

Chen Mo chuckled. "Don’t worry, something like that would never happen. I know this place well. If they wanted to start something, they’d first have to consider whether they can afford to piss off the KTV’s owner. If there was real trouble, the security would be here in less than a minute."

"This KTV has security? How did I not know that?" Huang Mao asked, stunned, as he glanced around.

The place really didn’t look like it had any security guards on duty.

"They call it security, but really it’s a group of bouncers. Either way, they’re in a much higher league than those petty thugs. Even their boss would probably have to show our bouncers some respect. They would never dare cause trouble in here. Do you really think I’m the kind of guy who acts without thinking things through?" Chen Mo said with a slight smirk.

Hearing his explanation, the others instantly understood.

Just a moment ago, they had been wondering how Chen Mo could be so bold.

They never expected him to know so much about this KTV.

Of course Chen Mo knew. ’If this KTV’s owner hadn’t been smart enough to go legit so quickly, he would have been swept up with the rest of them. In a few years, a major crackdown is coming that will round up nearly all the underground figures.’

That was why Chen Mo had dared to confront them here; he was completely confident in the outcome.

If he had run into them on the street with his friends in tow, he definitely wouldn’t have been so direct in stopping them to demand an apology.

As the group chatted while heading out of the KTV, they suddenly came face-to-face with two familiar people.

In an instant, both parties looked completely surprised.

"Haozi?" Chen Mo’s face was a mask of disbelief when he saw Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan walk in together.

’Just a few days ago,’ he thought, ’Zhou Hao was still tailing her like a stalker. And Qu Danwan is such a good girl. How could their relationship have progressed this quickly?’

’It’s only been a few days, and now they’re going to karaoke together?’

When Zhou Hao saw Chen Mo, he couldn’t help but blush.

Nothing had even started between him and Qu Danwan yet. They had only just exchanged phone numbers and added each other on a messaging app. Then, out of the blue, he got an invitation from her to go to karaoke today.

He was still reeling from the surprise himself and didn’t quite know what to make of it.

After explaining the situation to his mother, she was thrilled and told him he didn’t need to stay and look after her. So, Zhou Hao immediately rushed home, showered to wash off the faint hospital smell, and then eagerly hurried over.

He never thought he’d run into his best friend the moment he got here.

Zhou Hao could be nonchalant about almost anything else, but being caught by a friend while trying to woo a girl was still deeply embarrassing for him.

Hearing Chen Mo’s familiar nickname for Zhou Hao, Qu Danwan glanced over at him.

Although Qu Danwan wasn’t someone who only cared about looks, when she saw Chen Mo’s face, she couldn’t help but think, ’Wow, this guy is really handsome.’

"Old Mo, you here with friends for karaoke?" Zhou Hao asked, not knowing what else to say and resorting to awkward small talk.

Chen Mo smiled. "Yeah, we were just about to head out. We’ve got some other stuff to do, so let’s catch up later."

Chen Mo could see how awkward Zhou Hao felt, so he didn’t press the conversation.

Hearing this, Zhou Hao was instantly touched. ’That’s my brother,’ he thought. ’He totally gets it.’

He knew that even if Chen Mo were genuinely in a rush, he wouldn’t normally be so blunt.

He’d at least be more tactful. Saying it so bluntly was clearly a way to give Zhou Hao an out and save him from the awkward situation.

Zhou Hao quickly took the out. "Okay then, we’ll talk next time."

With that, the two groups went their separate ways.

Seeing Chen Mo chatting so casually with Zhou Hao, everyone except Su Yuqing—who already knew a little about him—found it incredible.

Why was Chen Mo on such good terms with a notorious school bully?

At the same time, they all looked at Qu Danwan with pity, thinking, ’There goes another good girl, about to be ruined by the school bully.’

It just goes to show that prejudice is like a great mountain in a person’s heart. When people don’t truly know each other, the power of public opinion can easily lead them to brand someone with a fixed label.

This was also why, before time had rewound, the conflict between Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan’s father had escalated to such an irreconcilable point.

Once you have a preconceived notion about someone, it’s incredibly difficult to change that first impression.

Watching Chen Mo and his friends leave, Qu Danwan’s expression remained largely unchanged.

She had argued with her father today and was feeling down, so she wanted to go sing to blow off some steam.

Usually, when she was upset, she would come sing by herself to de-stress.

But today, for some reason, Zhou Hao’s face had inexplicably popped into her mind. Then, on a strange impulse, she sent him a message asking him to go singing with her.

By the time she came to her senses and, blushing, went to unsend the message, it was already too late.

Zhou Hao had already replied.

It wasn’t that she truly regretted it; rather, she was flustered by her own actions.

After all, she and Zhou Hao were barely even acquaintances, let alone friends. They had hardly exchanged more than a few sentences.

But somehow, without her realizing it, he had already found a place in her heart.

After arguing with her father, when she was at her lowest, he was the first person she had thought of, as if by some strange compulsion.

The thought of this strange new mindset sent a wave of helpless panic through Qu Danwan.

Her emotions were a tangled mess, but since Zhou Hao had already replied, she had no intention of making up an excuse to cancel.

Before leaving the house, she did something completely out of character: she fussed over her appearance.

She picked out what she felt was her prettiest outfit and styled her hair into her favorite kind of intricate braid before heading out to meet him.

The moment they met, Zhou Hao had the good sense to compliment her, telling her how pretty her braid was.

For Qu Danwan, who had put so much care into her hair, his words made her heart bloom with joy. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction, happiness, and a feeling of being truly seen.

Without her even noticing, the gloom from her argument with her father had mostly dissipated.

"Come on, let’s go sing," Qu Danwan said, ignoring Chen Mo and the others as she turned to Zhou Hao with a smile.

Even though, in Qu Danwan’s eyes, Chen Mo was far more handsome than Zhou Hao, right now, Zhou Hao’s charm surpassed that of any other boy she had ever met.

As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just like Su Yuqing, who was now leaving with her friends, a girl’s gaze will always land on the boy who has captured her attention.