FULL NOVELXO Chapter 27 To Catch a Foodie
"Welcome, Mr. Li!" The warm greeting from the chairman drew Colin's attention.
Colin shook Mr. Wen's hand and reciprocated his warm smile. "Mr. Wen, congratulations on 30 years of Simon's leadership."
"Thank you, Mr. Li.."
After the brief greeting, Mr. Wen left to mingle with the other attendees.
Colin took a sip from the glass of red wine Herring had given him. Unintentionally, Colin's gaze once again fixated on the women in red.
"Colin, bro. Why don't you introduce your girl?" Herring's good mood didn't seem to do much for Colin. Who held his gaze on Sophia, who was now heading downstairs.
Colin's eyes seemed to pierce the flesh. Sophia fell naked under his gaze.
With Colin remaining silent, the woman on his arm spoke up with a smile on her face. "Hello Mr. Huo, I've heard so much about you. I'm Colin's companion for the evening. My name is Nancy Wen."
Herring whistled through his teeth. "And how have I never heard of you?" So you're the third Wen girl, huh? I always heard that the third daughter was transcendently beautiful. I have to say that the reputation seems to be well earned."
Nancy blushed and looked down at the ground. Both of these men were exceptional among men. She would be happy to be with either one.
Herring felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned and thought he saw a woman in the corner turn and walk away.
Wanting to learn more, Herring loosened his grip on Sophia and said, "Little Sophia, I have a matter to deal with. I should be back soon, please wait here for me."
With this, Herring hurried after the woman quickly.
Sophia suddenly felt abandoned. She looked helplessly as Herring faded into the crowd.
Her eyes briefly met Colin's, but he walked away from her with Nancy.
Sophia was now alone in the crowd.
As she familiarized herself with the high heels, she headed to the dessert area.
A man to her side suddenly came up to her. "Hello beautiful lady, are you alone tonight?"
Sophia, who had just taken a bite of cake, quickly swallowed hard. She looked the man in his eyes and said, "No, I am not. I'm just waiting for my friend."
Sophia did not recognize the man. She smiled at him politely but turned her attention away from the stranger.
The man, however, failed to take Sophia's signal, and began to move closer to her. Sophia suddenly found herself surrounded by several men.
"Which company do you work for, Miss Lo? We have never seen you before."
"Miss Lo, how old are you? Do you have a boyfriend?" "What's your relationship with Mr. Huo?"
"Can I call you Sophia?" "Sophia, you're gorgeous tonight!"
...
Sophia felt a sense of anxiety rising as the men circled around her. She felt uneasy and claustrophobic.
"Excuse me. I need to go to the restroom. Please, let me by." Sophia laid down her dessert plate and fork, lifted her dress and began to make her exit.
Just as she prepared to leave, one of the men grabbed her arm and said, "Miss Lo, do you need an escort?"
Unhappy with the uninvited touch, she drew her arm back quickly. "No, thank you! I can go on my own!"
Escaping the dessert area, Sophia wandered to the hallway. She failed to find a bathroom.
She asked a nearby waiter for help. "Excuse me, where is the restroom?"
The waiter stopped and pointed in the general direction of the restroom before walking away.
Sophia walked in the direction the waiter had pointed but couldn't find the restroom. She found the hotel garden instead.
She pushed the doors open and took a deep breath of the cool, night air. She heard a familiar voice in the darkness.
Should she take a closer look? Was it Herring? He... Who was that woman in his arms?
Not soon after, she saw him sweep her up and kiss her lips.
At that moment, Sophia knew should leave. She didn't really want to be a peeping tom, but she also didn't want to return to the hallway. "Sophia lifted her dress and moved quietly to a stool on a nearby pavilion. She was happily surprised to find an assortment of fruits and hors d'oeuvre on the table in front of her.
She happily opened a fruit plate and speared a piece of dragon fruit with a toothpick.
However, her momentary reprieve was cut short when a man appeared.
"Is it good?" A man asked.
"Umm, yeah, it's good" Sophia answered without checking to see who the man was. She took a bite of kiwi. It was sweet and tart.
"Do you know what Herring is up to right now?"
"Yeah. He's over there kissing some woman." Wait! Colin! "What are you doing here?" Sophia was shocked, finally realizing it was Colin. Colin leaned against a pillar, his arms crossed on his chest. "I caught a foodie eating it seems.."
Sophia didn't set down her fork. Instead, she forked a plump red grape and gestured towards Colin. "Do you want to try it? It's super sweet?" Colin gave a dispassionate glance toward the grade. "Sophia, if you like it so much, I can have some sent to you."
Sophia continued to ignore him. Knowing that he didn't want to eat, she shook the grape at him again. "Try it! It's really that good."
The pavilion was now growing quiet. Bored, Sophia set down her fork. She began picking the grapes up by hand, and popping them into her mouth.
However, as she moved to put one in her mouth, a hand slide around her waist. With his other hand, Colin grabbed a grape and threw it into his mouth. "Hmm, I guess you were right. It really is sweet."
Sophia rolled her eyes and gave Colin a cold look. "You think everyone is the same as you, don't you?"
"What did you say?""" Colin sat down next to her.
The pavilion seemed even more mysterious in the dim light of the evening.
"It's nothing.." Sophia continued eating the fruit and soon there was only a single piece of apple left.
Sophia held the apple up to Colin's lips. "Eat!" She commanded.
Colin raised an eyebrow, "Don't you want it? I thought you loved fruit? You should have it.
"Actually, I don't like apples," she replied.
"... So you're only giving it to me because you don't like it?" What kind of logic was that?
Sophia nodded. "Colin there's only one bite left. The waiter will get rid of it when he comes by. That would be such a waste."
"Take it away!" Colin was disgusted by the little piece of apple.
"Colin, if you don't eat it, I will tell them that you ate all of this!"
"So what? I don't care. So what if I did eat it all?"
Oh... He was right. Sophia immediately dropped the silly idea. "Fine, I won't force you than. I'll eat it myself."
"Ah, well I guess... I'll have to eat it." Colin quickly devoured the apple sliver.
Sophia thought for a moment.
Did he do this just to annoy her?
"Finished? You should go now. I have a lot to think about." Sophia laid down her silverware and neatly cleaned up the fruit place. She began eating the few remaining melon seeds. Colin paid her no attention. "How can you eat like that? Did I marry a pig?"
Hearing this, Sophia felt the urge to stuff a handful of melon seeds down his throat. Maybe that would teach him how to talk to a lady.
"Why do you make a fuss about every little thing. Am I married to a housewife?" She retorted.
Colin grabbed her chin and squeezed firmly. "That's some mouth you have on you. You'd better be careful what you say.."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐