"Got it." Jason Carter nodded. He had snuck over there several times, of course never actually going inside.

"Can I ask you a question?" Catherine Newman suddenly said.

"Of course. If I remember correctly, this should be the first time you've asked me a question, and also the first time you've come to talk to me," Jason Carter replied.

"What's with the tattoo on your body?" Catherine Newman asked.

"Tattoo? What tattoo?" Jason Carter was momentarily confused.

"Just now, when you crashed, your pants slipped down a bit. I saw a tattoo on your butt? It looked like a pile of poop?" Thinking of this, Catherine Newman couldn't help but burst out laughing again. She tried to cover her mouth but forgot her hands should be holding onto the back rack of the motorcycle. Her delicate body swayed, and in a panic, her hands instinctively wrapped around Jason Carter's waist.

Jason Carter immediately felt his back go soft, as if two soft, bouncy things pressed against him. Then his waist felt a gentle, slippery touch as Catherine Newman's arms hugged him from behind.

"Oh!" Jason Carter suddenly felt his whole body go numb, except for a sudden, involuntary reaction below.

He couldn't see Catherine Newman's expression, but her hands stayed wrapped around his waist, not letting go. Her delicate body leaned back slightly, making the curves of her waist and hips look even rounder and more alluring.

"So? Even a ribbonfish would be better than a pile of poop, right?" Catherine Newman laughed and asked.

"Th-that’s not a tattoo, it’s drawn with a kind of permanent paint. I lost a bet, so, so..." Jason Carter blushed furiously.

"What did you bet on?" Catherine Newman looked very interested.

"N-nothing," Jason Carter's ears turned bright red.

"No way, come on, tell me!" Catherine Newman moved her beautiful, sexy face closer, using a tone that made it impossible to refuse.

"I bet... I bet on... on what happens to you around the 9th of every month." For some reason, even though Jason Carter knew he shouldn't say it, hearing Catherine Newman's firm yet slightly coquettish tone made him spill everything, regardless of the consequences.

"Around the 9th?" Catherine Newman was confused at first, then her face suddenly flushed red. She couldn't help but clench her fist and punch Jason Carter on the waist.

"Pervert, so childish..."

Because her period was very regular, almost always coming around the 9th of each month.

"Who did you bet with?" Catherine Newman felt her whole face burning.

"Bryan Taylor." Jason Carter replied.

"How did you guys know?" Catherine Newman asked.

"You... you don't like wearing skirts, but around the 9th every month, you always wear skirts..." Jason Carter said.

"Bastard." Catherine Newman cursed under her breath. For some reason, her chest tingled, a mix of embarrassment and itchiness, and goosebumps rose on her smooth arms.

……

Chapter 2: Aliens (Part 1)

"Jason Carter, help mom pass the soy sauce." Mom called from the kitchen.

Jason Carter was grinning to himself, replaying every moment of his recent interaction with Catherine Newman, wishing he could dissect it frame by frame. Even now, it all felt unreal.

Catherine Newman—her family, looks, figure, intelligence, and aura—she was a princess in every way, and yet she had ridden home on his motorcycle.

"Jason Carter..." Suddenly, a high-pitched scream from the kitchen snapped Jason Carter out of his daydream.

"I told you to get the soy sauce, and you hand me a bottle of gasoline to pour into the food? Are you trying to kill the whole family?" Mom stormed out of the kitchen, waving the gasoline bottle in the air.

"Ah!" Jason Carter cried out. His motorcycle was out of gas, so he had bought a liter and brought it home, but hadn't filled up yet. Lost in thoughts of Catherine Newman in the living room, when Mom asked for soy sauce, he absentmindedly handed her the gasoline.

"Sorry, I got distracted just now," Jason Carter said, quickly taking the gasoline to go fill up the motorcycle.

Mom noticed Jason Carter's absent-minded look and eyed him suspiciously. "Did some vixen at school bewitch you?"

Jason Carter was startled, amazed at how scary a woman's intuition could be. But he would never admit it, quickly saying, "No, no, of course not!"

Then he hurried off to refuel the motorcycle, Mom's eyes following his back the whole way. Even at dinner, her Sherlock Holmes-like gaze made Jason Carter feel guilty.

"Have you decided which technical school to apply to?" Dad, who had been eating in silence, suddenly asked.

Jason Carter had been lost in the dreamy thoughts brought by Catherine Newman, but Dad's words instantly pulled him back to cold reality.

Catherine Newman was going to the top university, with the most dazzling family background. Compared to her, he really was like a toad dreaming of a swan.

Jason Carter shook his head hard. He wanted to work hard for a month and get into a good university.

But that was just his own wish, something he couldn't say out loud. His parents would think it was impossible—they didn't like Jason Carter talking big.