How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 68 - He was worse than those shameless women (1)
Bo Li invited the three gentlemen's wives to observe the show to lay groundwork for her innocence. Just in case. She couldn't be sure that the three gentlemen were brave enough. What if Erik scared them to death?
In addition, once these three gentlemen completely lost their prestige in front of their wives, they would never have the courage to challenge her again.
Bo Li also invited the previous police officers to the show.
These police officers had seen the three gentlemen's defamation of them in the newspaper.
Although it was true that she had bribed the sheriff with a percentage of the future profits to get him to send his men, these men had also willingly come here for the $100 reward.
The sheriff had accepted the bribe, but his men didn't get the reward because Henry had fainted from fright and they had left early for him. So, for those gentlemen to make those remarks about their warning, it was tantamount to libel.
While the police officers were delighted to have the opportunity to witness those gentlemen make fools of themselves, they also hoped that those gentlemen could pass the test of courage and restore their coworker's male dignity. They were very conflicted.
Bo Li didn't know about the internal struggles of the police officers. She publicly stated in the newspaper that she welcomed journalists from all walks of life to come to observe the show and rate the performances of the three gentlemen.
Once again, her move sparked heated discussion among the public.
Someone said that Polly Clermont's behavior was just empty boasting. How could the journalists objectively rate courage or lack of?
Some people believed that eating snakes, insects, rats, and ants was a sign of courage. Others believed that to show true courage, one had to fight a bear. Not everyone would be like that cowardly police officer that fainted from a circus performance.
In order to display her magnanimity, Polly Clermont had invited journalists to observe the show, but those journalists might stand on the side of those gentlemen.
How would she defend herself if those journalists insisted that those gentlemen's actions were brave? It could only be said that women were women. They weren't suitable for doing business. Even if she gained an upperhand in the argument with those gentlemen, she soon became complacent and her limits were exposed.
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Bo Li was utterly unaware of the heated discussion on the streets.
The people here weren't openly confrontational. Even though they talked behind her back, they would take off their hats to greet her.
The ladies maintained a superficially friendly relationship with her. Bo Li would see a large number of letters when she checked the mailbox every day. Apart from the letters with unsightly insults, the other letters were mostly secret invitations from the ladies. They would ask in a roundabout way if she wanted to attend the local book club meeting, dance club meeting, etc.
At the moment, Bo Li was preoccupied with how to remind Erik to not go overboard. She didn't want him to get carried away and scare those three gentlemen to death.
She didn't know how she had offended him. Recently, no matter what she said, he didn't show any reaction. Still, he would read her published articles and even continued leaving brief comments.
Bo Li had no idea why he was in a bad mood. She thought it over and thought it must because he was disgusted by her overly tolerant attitude towards mediocre people.
Although he had a strangely gentlemanly demeanor towards women, there were limits. If a woman was mediocre, he would make harsh, almost cruel comments.
She recalled what happened during one of the many opera shows they attended.
Bo Li didn't know much about opera and didn't know what that soprano was singing at the top of her lungs, but she thought her singing was okay. Her pitch was accurate, her breath management was fine, and her pronunciation was clear. Wasn't that enough to be considered acceptable?
And so, when he walked behind her and asked for her thoughts, she replied without thinking, "It's pretty good."
Erik was silent for a moment, then he coldly retorted, "If I had known this, I would have taken you to the zoo. Listening to the roars of beasts might remedy your precarious musical taste."
Bo Li: "..." Was he scolding her?
She rejoiced that she had never considered singing to gain his favorability. Otherwise, with his standards, he might have killed her on the first day.
Bo Li decided that she would never tell him she could sing.
Erik's criteria for judging talent was so strict, and she said to his face that she would praise every mediocre employee just to make them more willing to work for her.
For him, her behavior must be an intolerable disgrace.
Although, his degree of anger at the time - his heavy, ragged breathing and that his jaw was practically trembling from tenseness - was too strange.
Never mind. He was young. It was normal that he couldn't control his emotions.
Although, most of the time, it was hard to notice that he was several years younger than her. He was too cold, too dangerous, too silent. It was only when he wasn't in hunting mode that she could feel their age difference.
Bo Li planned on apologizing.
After returning to her room, she changed out of her men's clothing and put on pajamas. She took out letter paper from the drawer to write a sincere, touching apology letter.
Ever since the haunted house premiere, she could only hear his voice, but couldn't see him, so she could only communicate with him through letters.
She had just started writing on the paper when the gas lamp on the desk suddenly went out, and the room went dark.
A tall shadow loomed over her head. A familiar scent gradually surrounded her.
Bo Li wasn't scared. She just felt confused.
After the last time, she replaced the candles with gas lamps. Unexpectedly, he could still easily extinguish a gas lamp.
How did he do that? Could he teach her this trick so that she didn't have to get out of bed to turn off the light at bedtime?