Chapter 341 Drunk?
As soon as Alaric walked out, he bumped right into Matthew coming from the opposite direction.
"What happened? You don't look so good."
As Matthew spoke, he glanced toward the restroom, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Alaric immediately waved his hand. "Nothing, just had too much to drink. Let's go quickly, don't keep the guests waiting."
Matthew: "..."
If he remembered correctly, wasn't he also a guest?
He wasn't really needed for entertaining guests.
"You're not hiding something from me, are you?" Matthew asked suspiciously.
Alaric hastily denied it. "Of course not! Let's go, Grandpa said Thaddeus will be coming soon."
Matthew looked back curiously toward the restroom, but saw nothing, so he just put the matter out of his mind.
In the restroom, Finnley held Sophia's slender, soft waist, wanting to continue their earlier kiss.
But as soon as he leaned down, Sophia turned her head away.
"Didn't you just say you closed the door?"
Sophia's cheeks were flushed, her mind filled with images of being caught kissing Finnley just now.
Just thinking about it made her want to crawl into a hole.
Guessing what Sophia was thinking, Finnley chuckled and explained, "That was an accident. No one will come by now for sure."
Sophia: "..."
"Alright, we should go out. There are still many guests waiting outside, and I need to cut the cake soon."
Sophia placed her hands on Finnley's shoulders and helped herself jump down from the sink.
Finnley was afraid she'd fall, so he quickly caught her waist. "Be careful, jumping down while wearing heels."
"But you're here!" Sophia waved her hand carelessly, a smile appearing on her face.
Finnley felt something poke hard at his heart, which suddenly softened.
He curved his lips, planted a kiss on the corner of Sophia's mouth, then took her hand and left the restroom.
Thaddeus had already arrived and was now chatting with Preston in the hall.
Preston and Thaddeus had never met before, but they were getting along great.
"Preston, you're truly blessed. Sophia really helped me out big time."
"It's what we should do. Our Sophia was being difficult, asking you for favors!" Though he said this, Preston couldn't hide the smile on his face.
Thaddeus waved his hand. "You're too kind. It's right for her to make requests, and if it weren't for her, we wouldn't know more information about that illegal organization."
Hearing Thaddeus mention GeneCipher Society, a gleam flashed in Preston's eyes.
He asked, "Has GeneCipher Society been found yet? If they continue to roam free, there will definitely be more victims."
Thaddeus let out a deep sigh. "If only it were that simple. The fact that they've been hiding in Novaria for so many years means they're buried deep."
Now they were even connected with Celestria.
Whether they could catch the people from GeneCipher Society was still up in the air.
Noticing the change in Thaddeus's expression, Preston nodded slightly and didn't press further.
"Thaddeus, you're so busy yet you still found time to come?"
Coming out of the restroom, Sophia spotted Thaddeus.
She walked over holding Finnley's hand, a polite smile on her lips.
As for Finnley, his expression was somewhat gloomy.
Finnley looked unsatisfied, his eyes full of resentment as he looked at Sophia.
Sophia quietly squeezed his palm, silently comforting him.
Seeing Sophia appear, Thaddeus immediately broke into a smile. "I heard it's your birthday today, so I came by."
"Sorry to trouble you to make the trip."
"No trouble at all, it's what I should do. You've helped me a lot. I'm not just here representing myself today, but our entire department."
The conversation between Thaddeus and Sophia left Preston and Alaric quite confused.
But both Preston and Alaric were tactful enough not to ask.
Thaddeus still had a lot of work to handle, so he left soon after.
After he left, Preston looked at Sophia in confusion. "What did Thaddeus mean when he said he came to give you birthday wishes on behalf of the entire department?"
"I made a small deal with Thaddeus. He probably said that because he values talent." Sophia answered with a smile.
It wasn't until two in the morning that all the guests finally left.
Preston leaned on his cane, fighting off drowsiness as he saw off the last guest.
Preston's eyelids, which he'd been forcing open, immediately drooped.
"I can't do it anymore, really can't hold on! You young people can really stay up late. I need to go rest."
Finn sighed helplessly. "Mr. Preston White, who was it that said earlier he had plenty of energy?"
At ten o'clock that evening, he'd already advised Preston to go rest.
Because Preston usually went to bed at that time every day.
But today, for some reason, Preston refused to go upstairs.
He said today was a good day, he was very happy, and insisted on staying downstairs until the end.
Now Preston was this tired, and he didn't know what he was trying to prove.
Preston yawned while saying unhappily, "I do have energy, but it depends on who I'm comparing with. I can't compete with Alaric and Benjamin."
He was clearly competing with Tobias and Ronin. They wouldn't leave, so he wouldn't admit defeat either.
Despite his age, Preston still had such a strong competitive spirit.
Alaric and Finnley exchanged glances, their eyes full of helplessness.
After Preston left, Finnley belatedly looked around. "Where's Sophia?"
Alaric paused. "I think she was drinking with her friends earlier. Check the dessert area."
Finnley strode toward the dessert area. "Sophia? Sophia?"
On the sofa in the dessert area, Sophia sat perfectly straight and motionless, unusually well-behaved.
Her head was lowered, hands placed on her thighs, one hand clutching her dress, the other holding a wine glass.
The transparent glass still had a sip of red wine left in it.
Her slightly curled long hair fell over her shoulders, covering most of her face, so Finnley couldn't see her expression clearly at first.
When he got closer, he realized Sophia's eyes were slightly narrowed, filled with drunken haziness.
Finnley crouched down directly, leaning close to her face, wanting to see her clearly.
"Sophia?"
He called her name again, but Sophia still didn't respond.
Finnley couldn't help but chuckle softly. He reached out with his slender fingers to lift Sophia's chin, slowly moving closer.
"Drunk?"
Only then did Sophia react, lifting her drunken eyes to look at Finnley in front of her.
"I'm not drunk." She pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Drunk people always say they're not drunk."
Finnley raised his hand to ruffle her hair, the smile in his eyes deepening.