When Bella was back, Bobby was watching TV in the living room. Obviously, this old woman was waiting for her daughter.

"Hasn't Chuck been back?" There was only Bobby there.

Chuck Halty was Bella's father.

When Bella took off her shoes, she found two blisters on her feet. She took out her cotton slippers from the cabinet and put them on.

She wanted to escape Mrs. Halty's interrogation at first, but this old lady gave her a call after another. She supposed she couldn't sleep tonight if she didn't go home.

Since Bella went in, Bobby had kept her stare steadily on her.

"I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?" Bella still felt ached in her feet.

"There are leftovers in the refrigerator. Heat them in the microwave. Don't eat them cold." Bobby pointed at the kitchen.

Bella felt rather uneasy under her mother's gaze. But anyway, she had to fill her stomach right away.

"Well, didn't you have dinner together?" Bobby realized something wrong and asked. Wasn't dinner a routine in a blind date?

"We drank coffee for a night, but perhaps he'd had dinner before our date. The time you arranged was really not the time for a meal. I starved for a whole night."

Bella complained as she opened the refrigerator and took out a plate of leftovers. Well, better than nothing.

In fact, the "returnee" offered to invite her to midnight snacks, but she declined with the excuse that she was on diet. After hearing him talk about women's moral duties for a night, how did she have the appetite for food by then?

Hearing her excuse, he smiled and said, "Women have taken weight-losing as a fashion. But you don't need to follow the trend because you're thin enough. It's not good to be too thin; that may be harmful to fertility..."

Before they parted, he added that they should spend more time together during these days so they could know more about each other.

When he offered to drive her back, she declined again, explaining that her home was not far away.

When she boarded the bus, she sighed with relief.

Since she had to work on Monday, she went back to her rented apartment the next day.

Mrs. Halty had once been a leader in a unit; after her early retirement, she had been bored with her leisurely life. Now, she finally found a glorious mission, which was to help her daughter look for a boyfriend.

That troubled Bella deeply. Energetic as she usually was, the blind date every week almost exhausted her.

Cindy Gill joked about that, "What about selecting a man casually? It's so tiring to keep on like this."

Bella also wanted to do so, but she'd rather swallow a live frog than face a man who she didn't like.

In her Hyundai, Bella played a light rock of Elvis Presley's.

After several days' raining, it was finally sunny today. During the early summer, this northern city appeared hot and moist.

She parked her car in the lot and carried lots of things upstairs. She was always forced to "loot" her home as if she would starve to death without the extra food.

"If you starve to death, I don't need to take care of you then. But if you starve to half death, I have to send you to the hospital, which is a great cost. It doesn't pay at all."

Which mother would say so except for Mrs. Halty? Bella sometimes doubted that she was not Mrs. Halty's biological daughter. Perhaps, she had once been an orphan under a bridge...

After a long while of struggle, she finally got everything into her apartment. Tired, she threw herself onto the bed and spread her limbs with a sigh. It was really not easy to get rid of Mrs. Halty's control.

Just then, her phone rang. It was from Cindy.

"Where are you now?"

"Bed," Bella panted and replied in a muffled voice.

"Why are you panting? Are you doing that kind of thing?" Cindy asked with a naughty smile.

"I'd like to, but I can't do it alone. It can only be done through cooperation." Eyes closed, Bella could see Cindy's meaningful grin in her mind.

"Didn't you meet a man yesterday? How is he?"

"Alas, he's looking for a nanny rather than a wife. I'm afraid I can't meet his requirement." Bella heaved a deep sigh. It was really not a job she could do.

"Hehe, it's very easy to be a nanny. You only need to cook and do the cleaning. If I were you, I would take this job."

"I can leave him to you," Bella said feebly.

"Hehe, didn't your mother say he was a rare good man? If you spend a sweet night with him, perhaps he won't make you a nanny."

"Come on, I don't want to get AIDS. He's just back from overseas. Who knows whether he's carrying any disease or not?"

Bella rolled over on the bed and changed a hand to hold the phone. Her arms were sore after carrying the heavy things.

"Do you have any plan tonight? Come and meet me, okay?" Cindy's tone suddenly became playful.

"Please don't introduce any handsome man to me. I've been immune to that." Bella put a pillow under her head and felt much better.

"Oh my god, has Mrs. Halty made you sick? How could you be uninterested in handsome men? Has your sexual orientation changed?" Cindy laughed so wildly that Bella felt an urge to beat her.

"Just cut the crap. I'll meet you in the usual place." Suddenly, Cindy sounded serious. "Don't drive your car."

"For what?" Bella asked casually.

"Sophia got a promotion. We must make her pay the bill tonight." Cindy explained joyfully.

"Tut-tut. I'll get changed first. See you later." Bella suddenly regained her vigor, jumping off the bed like a spring. There was finally a good thing after a few dispiriting days.

Sophia Smith was one of their trio, a typical white-collar elite in the city. She had just entered a new big company with a considerable salary.

They used to get together every week. But since she worked in that company, they hadn't met for some time.

The "usual place" was the bar that they often visited.

Bella, just like a gorgeous black rose, was wearing a strapless fishtail dress with lace. Since it might be chilly in the evening, she also put on a thin windbreaker.

When she arrived at the bar, Cindy had been there drinking a glass of Scotch.

The dim light made the atmosphere weirdly mysterious, stirring the restless cells inside them. In the wild music, they slowly relaxed their muscles.

Sophia hadn't come yet, though on the phone, she said she would be right there. Was this workaholic taking work as her husband? Why was it so hard to meet her?

"Whatever! Bella and I have been drinking. Just come and pay the bill after a while." Cindy put down her phone. "Why is she so diligent? Does she want to marry her company?"

"You have a husband and don't need to worry about livelihood. But we have to trade time and effort for a meager salary." Bella smiled wrily as she saw the confusion on Cindy's face.