Next One Is a Babe

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Both Sophia and John ate in silence. After the meal, she went upstairs when John was cleaning up, only to return in a while in a fancy outfit and makeup. Her appearance came as a surprise to John, who was watching TV on the sofa. “Are you going out?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back after having some fun,” Sophia replied.

A frown sprang onto his face uncontrollably. “During such a late time?”

“This is when the fun happens!” Sophia didn’t care about his opinion of her when she replied. Besides, that was the time when night life began.

“Will you be with Ian?” It was an unnecessary question on his part.

She answered yes, then smiled. “I’m going to hear him sing, as he has a nice voice.” With a small handbag in hand, she turned around and left, her figure vanishing into the distance, while John had his eyes on her throughout the process. He flipped the TV channel upon averting his gaze to go through the various dramas that were being broadcasted at that time of night, but none of them caught his attention as he wasn’t up to date with the plot.

He settled on a program on technology, but the scientific jargon was even more boring. While he had his eyes on the TV, one would notice upon close inspection that his gaze was in fact stuck on one point, and he was actually distracted.

On the other hand, Sophia arrived at an underground bar on a cab. It was a small bar with only one public area, but it was rather crowded. Sitting on a high stool on the small stage was Ian, whom Sophia could see as soon as she entered the bar. He had a guitar in hand as he sang softly to the mellow tune of the music.

Soft music wouldn’t normally fit into the atmosphere of a bar, as people who tried to seek out excitement would prefer rock music. However, Ian’s soothing voice made him sound as if he was telling a story when he sang, so the customers were in fact enthralled by his performance.

Sophia found herself an empty spot in the corner as the tables around Ian were fully seated. When she entered the bar, Ian smiled at her when he saw her. Ordering some juice would make her seem out of place, so she asked for two bottles of beer after finding herself a seat.

After a while, a few men tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she didn’t want to entertain them at all, thus pointed toward the stage while telling them, “He’s my friend, so I’m not alone.” The men retreated as soon as they realized Ian was her friend.

The song ended after a while, after which Ian approached her as the audience applauded him. He seemed to have gotten used to the attention as he merely nodded at the crowd to show his appreciation. Sophia did the same upon him settling down beside her while saying, “I think you have the talent to become a star! You sing well, and you look handsome, so you will definitely become famous with some marketing.”

A smile formed on his face. “Forget about it. I wouldn’t be able to lead such a life even if what you said was right, for I’m an illegitimate child.” He figured that he would receive a lot of negative criticism if that facet of his life was uncovered.

“It was never your fault, so people shouldn’t be blaming you.” Sophia heaved a sigh.