The moment Matthew saw the blonde woman, he quickened his pace, almost breaking into a run. As the distance closed, he gradually saw the blonde woman's appearance clearly.
Unlike Britney's sweet yet sexy look, this blonde woman's style seemed to follow a rebellious path. A pair of huge circular earrings dangled from her ears, and she had a piercing on the left side of her nose with a smaller nose ring. On her left arm, exposed outside her clothes, several bluish tattoos were spread from her elbow to the back of her hand, though Matthew judged they were likely temporary drawings.
If this woman had a cigarette in her mouth, she would be the spitting image of a nonsensical little delinquent girl.
"Britney, do you know what it feels like to win a Grammy?" the blonde woman's voice drifted over. "I have two gramophones—Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance... Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't have a single one. It's impossible for you to know what a Grammy feels like."
She suddenly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and blew the smoke toward Britney.
"Christina Aguilera!" Britney's voice was furious, but she couldn't find a suitable point for a comeback. She could only repeat the phrase she often said, "You bitch!"
"Ha, what a joke!" Christina Aguilera looked at Britney and said quickly, "Oh, 'Sweetie,' pure and sexy 'Sweetie'! Britney, humph! The media and the public might not know what kind of person you are, but don't I? You're a bitch who fakes being pure and acts cute!"
Britney stood up abruptly, her face distorted with anger. Matthew arrived just then and lightly patted her arm.
The moment Britney saw Matthew, it was as if she had found her pillar of support, and she immediately relaxed.
Matthew acted as if he didn't see Christina Aguilera, deliberately fanning the air in front of his nose. The fragrance coming from the opposite side was far too strong. "What's that smell? It's so pungent."
Christina Aguilera knew he was talking about the perfume on her. Just as she was about to speak, Matthew rubbed his nose and cut her off, "It smells awful! It's like a mix of moldy hot dogs and cheap perfume from a dollar store!"
Britney couldn't help but laugh, her smile exceptionally bright.
"You..." Christina Aguilera glared at Matthew. "Who are you! You have no business speaking here!"
"I am Miss Spears's bodyguard," Matthew bullshitted casually, then followed up on Christina Aguilera's words. "I know I'm not qualified to speak with Miss Christina Aguilera..."
Britney looked at Matthew strangely. Based on her understanding, this wasn't Matthew's style.
Sure enough, Matthew continued, "But hearing Miss Christina Aguilera disregard basic facts and lie through her teeth, I really couldn't hold it back!"
He pointed at Britney and said, "If a youthful, beautiful, and vibrant girl like Miss Spears isn't a good girl, then please tell me..."
Matthew pointed at Christina Aguilera's eccentric attire and said, "Could someone like you, with tattoos, a nose ring, foul language, and a smoking habit, be a good girl?"
Britney smiled radiantly.
Christina Aguilera's eyes widened further, and she unconsciously stubbed out her cigarette. "What the hell are you to be qualified to judge me?"
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Matthew put on a very cultured air. "Actually, being a bodyguard is my part-time job. My main profession is an internationally renowned Character Appraiser, the only 'Bitch-Appraiser' holding an international general license!"
Christina Aguilera was stunned, not understanding what Matthew was saying for a moment.
Britney was stunned at first, then understood, laughing so hard she could hardly stand straight.
"Bitch-Appraiser?" Christina Aguilera asked subconsciously.
"Exactly." Matthew looked straight at Christina Aguilera and said very seriously and earnestly,
"My professional skill allows me to see at a glance who the real bitch is!"
No matter how slow Christina Aguilera was, she could understand the meaning of those words.
She pointed her finger at Matthew, "Who are you calling a bitch?"
"Did I say it was you?" He nudged Britney. Britney, catching on late, quickly shook her head and said, "No."
Without waiting for Christina Aguilera to speak, Matthew added, "Miss Spears, do you know what kind of things wear nose rings where I come from?"
Britney continued to shake her head, "I don't know."
Matthew didn't even look at Christina Aguilera, speaking to Britney as if to himself, "In my hometown, only cows wear nose rings!" He made a pulling motion with his hand. "You pull the nose ring, and whatever you want the cow to do, it does."
This time, Britney completely lost it, doubling over with laughter.
Bang—
Christina Aguilera could no longer endure it and slammed the table hard.
Matthew quickly said to her, "Miss Christina Aguilera, please don't misunderstand. I was talking about cows wearing nose rings, not you."
"Which bodyguard company are you from!" Christina Aguilera was enraged. "I'm going to complain about you and make you..."
Matthew spread his hands and said, "I told you, being a bodyguard is just my part-time job. My main profession is being the only 'Bitch-Appraiser' holding an international general license!"
"You... you..."
Christina Aguilera seemed to want to say something, but Matthew interrupted her again, "You what? Do you still want to compare yourself to Miss Spears?"
This time he stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Miss Christina Aguilera, the most important thing in life is self-awareness! In terms of height, you're not as good as Miss Spears! Sexiness and beauty, not as good! Album sales, not as good! Concert attendance and influence, not as good! Popularity, not as good! Fame, not as good! Income, not as good! Status and future in the pop music scene, still not as good!"
"I really don't understand..." Matthew looked as if he were feeling ashamed on Christina Aguilera's behalf. "How can someone like you, who is far inferior to Miss Britney Spears, be thick-skinned enough to dare show off in front of Miss Spears? Don't you feel embarrassed?"
These words were meant to reclaim face for Britney, but even more so, they were meant for Britney to hear.
When he came over, Matthew saw clearly that although Britney was usually boisterous, she was no match for Christina Aguilera in a verbal spat.
Furthermore, whether it was the person or the name Christina Aguilera appearing, Britney—who was already a bit muddled in handling daily affairs—would simply lose her temper.
In fact, there was no need for that at all. Aside from two Grammy awards, Christina Aguilera had nothing to show off in front of Britney.
All of Christina Aguilera's words were choked back because she knew that most of what Matthew said was the truth—unassailable truth.
She and Britney Spears had been competing since the Mickey Mouse Club, and except for the two Grammy gramophones, she was being left further and further behind by Britney in every other aspect.
Christina Aguilera gave Matthew a deep look, said nothing, grabbed her clutch, stood up, and walked straight out.
This unexpected behavior gave Matthew a start. It seemed Christina Aguilera wasn't as bad as Britney had described; her emotional intelligence was clearly much higher than Britney's.
"Matthew!" Britney was very excited. "You said that so well!"
Clearly, she hadn't really taken those words to heart.
Matthew felt a bit of a headache and asked, "How did you get into a conflict with her?"
"I don't know either." Britney pointed toward the restaurant entrance. "Shortly after you went to take the call, she entered the restaurant. She saw me and came over, and then she started mocking me..."
"Honey, remember what I told you?" Seeing Britney's dazed expression, Matthew had to say, "You don't need to care about people like Christina Aguilera. You're leading her across the board now. Your goal should be Madonna—to be the next pop queen of America!"
Britney's mood suddenly dropped. "But she has two Grammys."
"Grammys don't represent everything!" Matthew encouraged her. "The Grammys don't like Madonna either; how many Grammys has she won? But she is the recognized No. 1 among female singers in American pop music!"
Britney nodded seriously. "I understand."
Matthew had said so much, but he couldn't be sure how much Britney had actually absorbed. The waiter brought the food then, and Britney took the initiative to turn the topic to the cuisine, no longer mentioning the Grammys or pop music.
After finishing dinner, the two chatted for a while longer. Britney had to head back. After seeing her off, Matthew went to the hotel lobby to check out and also left the Hilton Hotel.
In the following period, Britney became busy again. The MTV Video Music Awards were approaching, and she had endless promotional appearances to make.
Matthew continued his planned lifestyle. As time passed, the effects of his fitness training gradually became apparent. Especially in boxing training—perhaps because his athletic talent was quite outstanding—after nearly two months of boxing training, he had made immense progress.