Female Novel
Chapter 166
The car slowly drove toward the hotel where the banquet was held. The hotel was rather huge, andthere were now flower stands by the entrance. They’d even laid out a red carpet, so with the exceptionof the media and spotlights, there wasn’t much difference from celebrities walking the red carpet. Whenthe car slowly came to a stop beside the red carpet, the driver came over to open the car door.
Sophia went in with a hand on John’s arm. Indeed, there were already many people inside who werenow gathered in small groups, and their arrival caused quite a stir although Sophia wasn’t certainwhether it was because of John himself or the rumors revolving around him. Anyway, many headsturned and stared at them. Her expression was utterly calm, while the corners of her lips were curved.In fact, she was even more unruffled inwardly. Putting it bluntly, such an event is merely an occasion foreveryone to bring out their best outfits and contend with others. It’s simple, so there’s nothing to fear.
Subsequently, someone came over with a female companion to greet John. Sophia merely put on asmile. I don’t know anybody here, so I don’t need to say anything but smile. John is a veteran in thebusiness world, so he’s more than capable of handling them.
A server came over with a tray, from which John took a glass of red wine, while Sophia took a glass ofchampagne after a moment’s contemplation. She’d drunk almost a whole bottle of red wine back at theConstance Residence, but its taste was just meh. Hence, she wanted to try something else. Aware thatshe had a low alcohol tolerance, John whispered to her, “Don’t drink so much.” Then, he continuedmaking small talk with the other person.
Smiling, Sophia leaned close to him. “I naturally know that. Did you think I’m an idiot that I’d againleave myself vulnerable to you?” When these words reached his ears, both their expressions froze for abrief moment, probably recalling the incident that night. Sophia pursed her lips, knowing that she’d
misspoken. It was a bit too crazy that night, so much so I’m feeling inexplicably shy when recalling itnow. After that, she kept silent, saying nothing unless she had no other choice.
After making his rounds in the banquet hall, John finally led Sophia to the garden behind the hotel. Thegarden was incredibly vast and divided into several sections, with artificial rocks and cascades to boot.This hotel mainly catered to banquets, so the décor was quite lavish.
At this time, Sophia’s feet were hurting from the high heels, so she wanted to suggest taking a rest, butsomeone again approached with a glass of red wine. Forcing a smile, she continued performing herduties as a companion. I now know that it’s actually not easy to entertain people. Why, my face is goingstiff from this perpetual smiling!
After John had made small talk for a while, the host made an appearance in the banquet hall, so hethen took Sophia over. The host was a charitable organization that targeted educational institutions inremote mountainous areas. This time, they were urging the various companies to donate money andmaterials to the schools in remote mountainous areas.
As Sophia stood with John within the crowd, she remarked in a whisper, “They invited you here to eatand drink, then have you paid?”
Murmuring his agreement, John also lowered his voice to a whisper. “There is no shortage of suchcharity dinners every year.” Since Constance Company had a vast business, there might be negativepress right away if they didn’t attend despite having been invited. After all, it was very easy to getcriticized and boycotted if one failed to do charity after making money. Thus, it was an obligation mosttimes.
Sophia tut-tutted. “It’s fine if the money is truly used for its intended purpose, but who knows whether
certain people will pocket some during all the bureaucracy and red tape involved.”
“It’s definitely not all that transparent, but the companies that donate merely do so for the sake of theirreputations, so no one cares about the flow of funds after having given the money out,” John scoffed.
Pursing her lips, Sophia listened as the host began to talk about the deplorable conditions of thosechildren in the remote mountainous areas as they attended school. The images projected on thescreen behind him were now those of the mountainous roads and hills the children had to traverse justto attend school. The classrooms were extremely dilapidated, the tables lacking legs, and blackboardscracked; even the lectern was of dirt ground. At the sight of these pictures, even the most hard-heartedperson would probably be moved for a moment. novelbin
Sophia inhaled deeply, for she couldn’t quite bring herself to continue looking at the pictures as sherecalled the village in which she lived back then that was of a similar state. Averting her gaze, she onlymanaged to catch sight of Isabelle who was standing a near distance away.