Chapter 78

"Vulgar?"

The girl's blunt accusation snapped John out of his admiration for her appearance and figure, but his reaction to this clearly derogatory German word was only to widen his eyes and slightly open his mouth in bewilderment.

John really couldn't understand why he was considered vulgar.

However, Pick, standing beside him, was crystal clear. After hearing the girl's words, his young face turned red, and he couldn't help but give a forced smile. Compared to John, who was unfamiliar with many Western customs, Pick, a native, understood the situation. Therefore, he was momentarily speechless in the face of the girl's accusation. If the other party were an ordinary woman, Pick wouldn't have thought much of it, as these things were very common and nothing to be embarrassed about. But the other party was such a beautiful and charming girl, so he could only continue to adopt the ostrich mentality.

John felt somewhat displeased and subconsciously didn't want the girl to have such an impression of him. He quickly frowned and asked, "I'm sorry, Miss, I really don't understand what you mean. Our attention was indeed on those girls just now, but I was just curious why there were so many girls attending this ball alone. How is that related to being vulgar?"

After hearing John's words, the girl frowned, and a few cute wrinkles appeared on her straight little nose. However, a moment later, her gaze became even more disdainful, as if she thought John was just making excuses.

John felt increasingly uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Pick sighed inwardly but, for the sake of his friend's image in front of the lady, he had to step forward and explain, "I'm sorry, Miss, my friend is American and may not be very familiar with many things..."

"American?"

After hearing Pick's explanation, the girl turned her head and carefully examined John, her eyes flashing with suspicion.

"John Hunter, from New York, nice to meet you, beautiful lady."

John performed a standard gentleman's bow and smiled.

The girl's bright eyes blinked several times, and her expression softened. She tilted her head and asked, "You're really American? And you don't know the identity of those women?"

"Of course!"

John nodded solemnly and said, "I'm a student, and I only came to Berlin last year. I'm currently studying at the University of Berlin."

"Oh! University of Berlin?"

Hearing this name, the girl exclaimed in surprise, and her face immediately showed an envious look. It wasn't easy for women in this era to attend university, especially a top-tier school like the University of Berlin, which didn't admit women.

Seeing that the girl seemed to be both envious and slightly disappointed, John felt a sudden tightness in his heart and quickly changed the subject, "I'm sorry, beautiful lady, could you please explain? What's wrong with these girls? Is there something we should criticize?"

After learning John's identity, the girl no longer found his words strange, but she still wasn't very willing to explain. She just pointed at Pick and pouted, "Your friend is from Berlin, right? Didn't he explain it to you?"

Seeing the topic shift back to him, Pick felt a bit awkward and quickly pulled his friend aside to explain in a low voice, "John, these girls aren't ordinary guests... to be precise, they are courtesans, uh, meaning..."

Courtesans?!

John instantly understood without needing to hear the rest!

"You guy..."

Looking at his friend, John felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. He had initially thought that the women Pick mentioned were also attending the ball alone, thus complementing the single men. He didn't expect them to be famous courtesans!

John had heard about them in movies and novels, but this was the first time he had seen them in person.

However, Pick's actions and explanations, along with John's reaction, made the pretty girl realize that this tall and handsome boy really didn't understand the identity of those women. This made her feel a bit relieved, but then she thought about how John had been looking at those courtesans, and her little mouth pouted again.

"In any case, you're not honest!"

John, of course, didn't know the girl's complex thoughts. At that moment, his curiosity about the courtesans even surpassed his interest in the girl in front of him. He turned to look at them for a while and then turned back, asking with a puzzled look, "I'm sorry, both of you, could you please answer a question? To me, these girls don't seem different from others. How can you tell their identity at a glance? Do you know them?"

"No, no! I don't know them."

Startled by John's question, Pick waved his hands.

What a joke!

Although Pick's family owned a factory, they were only well-off, not rich enough to involve themselves with courtesans. Besides, his grandfather was still alive, and his older brother had already started managing part of the factory. Apart from his university studies, where would Pick have the money to spend on such things?

If such a thing really happened, his grandfather would definitely give him a severe beating!

The girl also glared at John and pouted, "Of course, I don't know them... but you can tell just by looking at them, can't you?"

"Huh?"

Opening his mouth, John became even more confused.

Seeing his friend's puzzled look, Pick had to pull him aside again and explain in a low voice, "John, customs in Europe might be different from America. Here, only women of poor backgrounds wear makeup, so we can naturally tell at a glance..."

While explaining to John, Pick was inwardly in tears.

In fact, he was highly skeptical of John's reaction. After all, America and Europe were closely connected, and in most cases, things like fashion, trends, and customs in America followed Europe. How could a New Yorker like John not know that proper women didn't wear makeup?

But at this point, Pick couldn't say much more. He had already ruined his own image, so he might as well try to save his friend's.

After Pick's explanation, John suddenly understood!

In the 19th century, ladies attending balls didn't wear makeup, which surprised John. But after understanding the reason, he completely ignored his friend's "sacrifice" to clear his name and immediately smiled at the girl, "I see... Miss, it seems this was really a misunderstanding!"

"Hmm... I guess so."

Tilting her head, the girl nodded in agreement.

In that moment, her expression gave John a very cute feeling, mixed with her sexy charm, creating a very unique and intriguing aura, making Mr. Hunter's heart skip a beat!

Since the misunderstanding was cleared, the girl seemed to let go of her resentment. She performed an elegant lady's curtsy and smiled, "Anna, Anna Brister, nice to meet you, Mr. Hunter!"

After hearing the girl's introduction, John smiled. Meanwhile, Mr. Pick Schwartz, who had painstakingly tried to clear his friend's name but was ignored, could only swallow his tears...

(End of page)