Bella was made laugh out loud by her and she felt relieved.

"Bella, stop laughing. Men don't like women who laugh, but like those who look sad all day long, as if someone borrowed their money and won't pay them back."

Everyone in the room except Thomas knew who Cindy was referring to. They laughed even though they tried to hold it in.

Bella watched as Cindy fought for her and remembered how she had fought for Cindy.

It was good to have friends.

"For the first drink, I'd like to propose a toast to Mr. Hodder," Carl raised his glass to the crowd.

Men happily lifted their glasses of white wine, and women, red wine.

Cindy stood up, smiled, and said to Thomas, "Mr. Hodder, you and I have known each other for some time. Cheers. Thank you, dude!"

Thomas raised eyebrows and looked at enthusiastic Cindy, understanding why she was thanking him, and they smiled at each other tacitly.

Troy's clenched his fist and his knuckles were so pale from the force of his grip that a creaking sound could be heard.

Eddy, on the other side of the booth, was silent and saw everything. She looked up across the room to see Bella laughing and talking to Cindy.

Sophia had been quiet tonight, and her eyes had often fallen on Thomas from the moment he came in. She was still wearing a professional outfit tonight; her long hair was coiled up and her makeup was light and clean.

"Sophia, I heard you got a promotion. I don't want a drink, so I'll congratulate you with this cup of tea."

Eddy, finding that Sophia was a little distracted tonight, smiled lightly and said to her gently.

Sophia snapped back to her senses, lifted her glass somewhat hastily, and smiled beautifully at Eddy. She was aware of the conflict between Bella and Eddy, but she was not as straightforward as Cindy to reveal all of her thoughts.

Eddy could see Sophia's perfidy, but she didn't care. What she wanted was Troy, and no one else mattered. She would endure anything to get him, to get the precious love in her heart.

The waiters served the food one after another. Only a few dishes had been served and everyone had already drunk a lot of wine.

"Bella, now that you always stay at home. It's hard to ask you out. Have a drink with me." Henry came over, bottle in one hand, and filled Bella's glass.

Bella was not a good drinker and she could only drink half a bottle of red wine. If she took more, she would lose her sense of direction.

In Cindy's words, "She can't hold her liquor, but she has a lot of guts.

Before that, drinking was a normal thing for her. "Bad girls can go everywhere, good girls go to heaven."

Both she and Cindy were bad girls who liked to hang out and meet a lot of people. Drinking, smoking, and clubbing became part of their lives. But they got good grades, so their teachers were helplessly angry.

Sophia would occasionally follow them around, but she was steady and not as impetuous as they were. So she wasn't a bad girl.

Then Bella met Troy; he didn't like her drinking, so Bella quit drinking; he didn't like her smoking, so Bella quit smoking; he didn't like her going to the bar, so she stayed at home all day long.

As a result, she compromised and lost herself, but still lost her boyfriend.

Cindy often complained, "Bella, is it worth it for you to throw your sisters aside for a man who cheats on you?"

Bella, "For a long time, I thought love was the most important thing for a girl. I have given up a lot for this love. Now I finally understand that there are many other things in life besides love. I'm greedy, so I want more."

Bella's eyes were so bright and crystal clear, like the brightest stars in the sky.

Cindy was frozen, "Bella, you seem to have matured and become more attractive."

Bella was silent for a long while, "I have to experience it before I know whether I can go on in this way." She was confused for a moment and then smiled, "It's better to be a bad girl."

"Bella, I'm glad you understand. I haven't gone out with you for a long time, so come out with me tonight and have fun."...

"Bella, toast to your promising future," Henry said with a glass of wine in his hand.

Cindy giggled. "Henry, you've worked in government for so long that you've become refined in your speech."

"She can't drink anymore," Thomas, who had been silent, said suddenly.

Bella was about to reach for her glass but froze when she heard him. Her hand stopped in the air and she turned her head to look at him blankly. It was none of his business that she was drinking,

As if reading her thoughts, Thomas smiled and leaned close to her, and then whispered to her, "I don't want to go to the police station to bail you out in the middle of the night.

Their heads were so close together that others would have thought they were having an affair.

The hot breath sprayed from his mouth brushed against Bella's neck, making her go limp.

The police station? Bail? Bella was confused.

"I will drink it for her."

Thomas looked over at her who was confused beside him and raised his eyebrows.

"Mr. Hodder, good for you!" Henry snapped his fingers half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Thomas smiled, didn't say anything, and took a drink from his glass.

"Give her a glass of water," He turned his head and said to the waiter next to him.

He deprived her of her right to drink.

Cindy agreed, "Yes, give her a glass of water." She approached Bella, "Now I don't have to take care of you, 'cause someone else will."

Bella looked at her angrily. Cindy didn't care about her feeble threat. When Bella saw she didn't care about her attitude, she turned her head to glare at the person next to her who started it.

Thomas ignored her. Bella was furious that this man had the same expression as Cindy.

Not having a drink, Bella angrily picked up the glass of water and drank it all in a few gulps as if she had a grudge against the water. Naturally, she wanted to go to the bathroom after drinking too much water, so she stood up.

"Bella, where are you going?" Sophia asked aloud from a distance.

"Bathroom." She could go to the bathroom without his permission, couldn't she?

Thomas smiled.

"I'll go with you." Sophia followed her out.

The bathroom was just outside the door on the left. Bella was furious and Sophia was distracted, so they didn't say anything to each other.

They arrived at the bathroom.

"Bella, is it true that Mr. Hodder is dating you?" Sophia is standing at the sink, looking in the mirror to fix her hair, and glanced at Bella in the mirror.

Bella: "Ah-"

Her relationship with him.

Bella was really ashamed to say what happened between her and Thomas. So she responded vaguely to Sophia.

Sophia thought she was trying to hide something and stopped asking questions. Suddenly Sophia's cellphone rang. Sophia looked at the number, hesitated, and went out to answer it.

Bella cleaned her hands and looked at Sophia's back, thinking that Sophia was somewhat strange this evening, but she didn't think much of it.

Bella came out of the bathroom to find Troy standing in front of the banquet room, smoking a cigarette. Since when did he learn to smoke? He hated the smell of smoke, didn't he?

Bella stared at him and she was still thinking of the smoking question.

"Are you really going out with Thomas?"

"Ah!" Hearing him speak suddenly, Bella realized he was talking to her.

"I'm asking you a question," Troy said somewhat impatiently.

"It's none of your business," Bella said arrogantly and confidently.

Why were so many people asking the same question today? Was the question so important?