In the dim and quiet room, bright light shone through the gaps in the curtains and into the room.
Lu Jia was sleeping on the outer bed at this time. Half asleep and half awake, she just felt dizzy and her neck was aching unbearably, as if she had been beaten up.
Then her narrow field of vision gradually expanded, and the slightly bright space gradually appeared in front of her eyes.
Lu Jia was at a loss at first, not quite understanding where she was at the moment.
She just felt that she was really too tired. If it weren't for the sunlight shining through the window being so blinding, she should have been able to keep sleeping. After all, yesterday she didn't go to bed until early morning—
... Wait, yesterday?
Thinking of this, Lu Jia suddenly sat up straight on the bed with a "swish". She carefully looked at the unfamiliar interior decoration of the room in the dim light by the window.
Where was this?
Even though before this, Lu Jia had only stayed in the hotel room she booked in Las Vegas for just over ten minutes, she was still quite sure that everything shouldn't be like this.
This was an extremely unfamiliar twin-bedded room, but for some reason, she was the only one in the room. Lu Jia looked at the empty bed beside her and then reached out to touch her aching neck. The memories of last night instantly came back to her mind.
— Phoenix knocked Lu Jia unconscious in the elevator!
She didn't remember anything after that. When she woke up, she found herself in this strange place. She subconsciously wanted to look for her mobile phone to check the time, but with a "grumble", her empty stomach reminded her that she was so hungry that her head was spinning.
How long had she slept?
Thinking of this, Lu Jia looked around the room for Phoenix's whereabouts. However, the room was not big, and the sound insulation was not good either. She could tell at a glance that she was the only one in the whole room.
Wait, she was the only one...
— Did that mean that this was a good opportunity for her to escape?
Thinking of this, Lu Jia, who was still a bit sleepy-eyed, immediately perked up. She didn't care to think about other "minor issues", nor did she care that she urgently needed food and a bath at this time. She immediately jumped off the bed, put on her shoes, pulled her suitcase, and quickly walked towards the door.
"Beep, click—"
However, the moment her hand touched the doorknob, the sound of the door opening came from the doorway first.
As the door gradually opened, bright light shone on Lu Jia. Against the light, a tall figure was revealed. She first subconsciously narrowed her eyes, and then the whole person froze in place and took two steps back in horror.
"Where are you going?"
Lu Jia couldn't help but close her eyes in annoyance, lamenting how she could be so unlucky that she was caught red-handed by this bastard when she was trying to escape?!
Phoenix slowly walked into the room from the blinding sunlight. As he walked in, his hot palm firmly grasped Lu Jia's wrist that was holding the suitcase. He then pulled her back into the room and closed the door.
His other hand was holding a dinner plate. It was okay when he was outside the room just now, but as soon as the door closed, Lu Jia smelled an alluring aroma of food lingering around her nose.
"Grumble—"
In the quiet room, her stomach made an unmistakable sound at this moment. Her eyes couldn't help but be fixed on the plate of food.
It was a waffle with some purple blueberry jam on it.
Phoenix raised his eyebrows and handed the plate over, his tone flat. "Have something to eat."
Lu Jia looked at the other person with a complicated expression. Finally, due to hunger, she reluctantly dropped the luggage in her hand, sat at the small table beside it with the plate, picked up a disposable plastic fork, and stuffed a small piece of waffle into her mouth in a few bites.
But while she was eating, she was thinking about something. In the end, she couldn't help but carefully and vaguely ask, "When... when will you let me leave?"
"I'll only hold you back if I stay here. Let me go back to my country smoothly, and I promise I won't say anything..."
Phoenix was silent for a while. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, suddenly— a strange scream came from the next room.
Lu Jia didn't notice Phoenix's suddenly furrowed brows. Instead, she looked puzzled and leaned towards the wall. While listening, she asked, "What's that sound? The sound insulation is so bad!"
"Ah... um..."
But just after she finished speaking, more obvious moans and rhythmic thumping sounds came from the other side of the wall. Lu Jia was also an adult in her early twenties. Although she hadn't experienced it herself, she immediately realized what was going on.
"Uh... that."
Lu Jia quickly pulled her head back as if she had been electrocuted. She stared at Phoenix with wide eyes and found that he had already lowered his eyes and remained silent. She immediately buried her head in embarrassment and continued eating.
"That... the waffle is really delicious!"
To avoid embarrassment, she deliberately spoke loudly, trying to cover up the sounds from the next room.
But the next second, Phoenix raised his head, frowned and glanced at her. At the same time, the noises from the next room became louder.
Lu Jia was still a bit naive. She didn't know that some people had special preferences in this regard and would become even more excited when they found someone was listening.
She was just about to swallow the last piece of waffle, but because of this, the waffle got stuck in her esophagus, unable to be coughed out or swallowed down.
Phoenix in front of her couldn't help but sigh. He quickly unscrewed the free mineral water in the room and handed it to Lu Jia.
Lu Jia quickly took a sip. The slightly cool liquid carried the food down her throat, and then she felt alive again.
Seeing that Lu Jia was okay, Phoenix paused for a moment and then calmly said in the midst of the still rhythmic thumping and moaning sounds, "I need your cover. I'll let you leave before your flight takes off."
Although the other person said so and hadn't really done any substantial harmful actions, from Lu Jia's perspective, Phoenix was still not a good person.
Lu Jia knew very well that she still couldn't fully trust him.
Thinking of this, she pretended to be obedient and nodded, and then tentatively asked, "So... what exactly did you get into trouble for?"
"— I didn't get into any trouble."
While speaking, Phoenix fixedly looked at Lu Jia with his deep yet indifferent gray-blue eyes.
"But sometimes, trouble and misfortune will come to you on their own."
To be honest, Lu Jia had quite a deep understanding of this sentence. After all, she was the same. She hadn't gotten into any trouble herself, but had been inexplicably involved in the troublesome affairs of the man in front of her.
But what she wanted to know was not just a perfunctory answer. Lu Jia wanted to know the more specific situation so that she could find a more reliable basis for her subsequent choices instead of being led by the nose by him in a daze.
"So were you really framed by an insider?"
Lu Jia tried hard to ignore the thumping sounds, held her breath, observed Phoenix's expression, and tentatively put forward her guess.
Phoenix crossed his arms, his expression calm, neither confirming nor denying it. "For our mutual safety, I can't tell you."
Lu Jia, the "master of micro-expressions" who had watched three seasons of the American TV series "Lie to me" and the Hong Kong TV series "The Mentalist"—self-proclaimed, couldn't tell at all what Phoenix was thinking at the moment.
"Can't even say this?"
"No."
Lu Jia didn't get discouraged and continued to ask, "According to the development in movies, do you need to get evidence from the insider that he is the insider in order to clear your name?"
Phoenix impatiently closed his eyes slightly and sneered, "I think you've watched too many unnutritious movies."
"Hey!" Lu Jia couldn't hold it in anymore. She stood up and shouted at him, "You need my help, but you won't tell me anything. Then how can I evaluate whether your promise is reliable or not? Will you really let me go when the time comes..."
She was so angry that her voice unavoidably got louder and louder.
"— Mmm!"
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jia's mouth was suddenly covered tightly, and another hand passed through her hair and pressed firmly on her head.
Phoenix and Lu Jia were close to each other in an instant. Different from the last restraint, this time they were face to face. The hot breath faintly blew on her face, and she could even see her own reflection in his clear yet deep eyes.
The room they were in suddenly became quiet. The annoying moans and thumping sounds from the next room seemed to seep into their ears from all directions, along with the sharp creaking sounds, making the atmosphere between the two of them extremely strange all of a sudden.
It was summer and hot. The air conditioner in the room hadn't been turned on yet. The air in the enclosed space became extremely stuffy because of the sunlight.
Lu Jia was a bit afraid of the heat. Especially with an inescapable heat source standing in front of her, a few drops of sweat immediately appeared on her forehead.
She knew that Phoenix covered her mouth because he was afraid that their conversation would be overheard by others. But in this situation, the high-pitched screams from the next room had already become somewhat distant. Lu Jia couldn't help but swallow subconsciously, losing all the strength to resist nervously.
"... If you insist on knowing."
Suddenly, a hoarse and low male voice sounded beside Lu Jia's ear. Phoenix furrowed his brows and tightened his jaw. "I can reveal some insignificant content to you."
As he spoke, he suddenly raised his head. The way he looked at Lu Jia was as if he was looking at his enemy through her. "Yes, not only do I need to clear my name, but also..."
"— Take revenge."
As his thin lips softly spat out this word, Lu Jia's heart skipped a beat. She felt that the one holding her was more like a fierce beast, gloomy and fierce, ready to pounce on her and bite her at any time!
But the next second, the expression on Phoenix's face suddenly disappeared. At the same time, he loosened the palm covering her mouth, curled the corners of his mouth, and showed a charming light smile.
Lu Jia always felt that he had some ulterior motives. Then she felt that he actually reached out and touched her cheek with his slightly rough thumb.
While speaking, the touch wandered around, and the hairs on her body stood on end.
"... If you get caught by them, remember to convey it to them for me."