CHAPTER 228: CHAPTER 227 THINGS ARE NOT THAT SIMPLE (PART 1)

She glanced at the time. It was time to attend the party.

She changed her clothes. She didn’t know what the party theme was, so she didn’t know what to wear. To be safe, she chose a simple and elegant pink cocktail dress.

She arrived at the party venue on time, a French-style villa owned by some wealthy individual. Sophie Smith could already feel the sweltering atmosphere.

The pounding music, the laughter of men and women—it seemed like this was indeed a raucous party.

Sophie Smith involuntarily furrowed her brows.

She handed over her invitation and, under the waiter’s guidance, proceeded inside.

The party was held by a huge swimming pool. Sophie calmly surveyed this so-called "celebrity party." Sunny had said it was an opportunity to network in the entertainment industry, but she felt things weren’t that simple.

The fiery DJ started playing frenetic music. By the poolside, women in revealing, sizzling bikinis held champagne in one hand while...

...flirting with men.

Among them were some she recognized.

Rose Sterling, Jessica Wood, and even Hazel Quinn, the international movie star, were there.

She seemed out of place here, caught in a dilemma of whether to stay or leave.

She took a few steps back in panic. She wasn’t stupid; she understood what was going on here. Asher Land was right—if she wanted to build connections, she might really have to seduce men.

Most of the men here were prominent figures in the business world, while the women were celebrities from the entertainment industry, some famous, others not.

Sophie’s peripheral vision caught sight of a voluptuous woman being intimate with a fat and coarse man by the pool, their audaciousness shocking.

What kind of celebrity party is this? It’s practically a debaucherous party!

Sophie looked coldly at the women baring their chests and exposing their skin in revealing clothes, then glanced at her slightly conservative dress. She thought she simply didn’t belong here.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, a waiter reached out to stop her.

"Miss, please have a look at this price list," the waiter said, his face expressionless as if it were routine. "Tick what you choose, and I’ll submit it to my superiors for review. Then you’ll be on the shortlist."

What was he talking about?

Sophie took the so-called "price list" from the waiter’s hand, and immediately, her face turned pale.

Drinks escort, ten thousand.

Sleepover, fifty thousand.

These were the two main options, with many sub-options underneath, detailing various ways and methods of accompanying for drinks or sleepovers. Sophie was dumbfounded.

"I’m sorry, I’m not interested in this." Hastily, she shoved the price list back into the waiter’s hands and made to leave.

"Not interested?" The waiter scrutinized her skeptically. "You went through great lengths to get this invitation, isn’t it to accompany these wealthy men?"

The contempt on the waiter’s face deepened. At this point, why keep up the pretenses? He had seen plenty of those starlets willing to do anything to climb to the top. What wouldn’t they do?

Trying every possible way to crawl into a big boss’s bed!

"Take a closer look. Since you’re here, you can’t go back empty-handed. Let me recommend a prominent figure. If you win his favor, you won’t have to worry about your future in the entertainment industry!" the waiter said kindly.