The Bargain Undercover

Don't Drink Your Water

Xander gave her a faint glance, followed by a straightforward refusal. "No."

Eliana wrinkled her nose, mumbling, "So rude."

"No, Miss Carey," Xander added more politeness to his refusal. Under the ambiguous light, the way he looked at her seemed so gentle. "Is that better?"

She pouted her lips and let out an endearing snort.

In a fleeting moment, it appeared as though he wanted to raise his hand to pat her head.

In the end, he refrained. Perhaps it was his caution about keeping their relationship discreet in public, but Eliana was certain he had intended to do so.

And it confused her.

Xander had never patted her head before, not even in their private moments. Such an intimate thing, reserved for lovers, had never been necessary for them. But today, dealing with Delbert seemed to bring them closer together.

They fought side by side in a battle, which meant something to her.

Maybe for him as well.

Eliana's heart softened a bit. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "We can go separately. You'll drive your car, and I'll take a cab."

Xander kept silent for a while. Eliana waited for his answer quietly.

The relaxing music notes were flowing in the air. Their gazes intertwined, and neither of them looked away.

Disregarding the physical distance between them, Eliana could already see her silhouette reflected in his deep, dark eyes.

No matter how physically close they had been before, it had never happened.

Tonight, it happened for the first time.

And it startled her for a split second.

Was it safe to be so close to a man, close enough to see herself in his eyes?

She wondered if Xander was thinking the same thing, because he pulled back a little bit.

It felt like the invisible string that had entangled their gazes snapped without a sound.

"No," Xander refused again.

Eliana couldn't tell if the feeling inside her was disappointment or relief, but at least she knew she was safe now, because no one could hurt her when she refused to let anyone in.

And being safe was all she needed.

She leaned into her seat and yawned. "Then, see you tomorrow, sir."

They parted ways in front of the cafe, and when Eliana was on the subway back home, hearing the giant iron box rumbling in a soothing rhythm, she temporarily left all the dramas behind, enjoying the peacefulness.

It was okay to let everything go for one night. Just one night. She deserved a good rest, knowing full well the challenges that lay ahead.

And she was right.

A new drama started on the first day of their summer season.

It was the last rehearsal before the grand opening that night. During the coffee break in the morning, some dancers were checking the poster on the bulletin board.

Ophelia saw PhysioFit's name and tugged Eliana's sleeve. "Look! Look! PhysioFit sponsors us this summer!"

As the title sponsor, PhysioFit had its name prominently displayed in bold fonts on the poster.

Ophelia was excited. "Their hydrotherapy is quite good. We should go and try it sometime."

"Yeah, we should," Eliana echoed, once again admiring Xander for his acute judgment.

The day after their dinner with Delbert, the accountant of PhysioFit called Xander and thoroughly briefed him on the contract details as if nothing had happened.

So, Xander signed it without mentioning their unpleasant conversation from the previous night anymore.

And then, PhysioFit's sponsorship for their summer season started.

Anyway, while it ended as what Eliana had wanted, her sole mission now was to dance her role perfectly.

She went back to the classroom with Ophelia. However, as soon as she entered, Alex brushed past her, whispering cautiously, "Check your phone."

Eliana was surprised. Not wanting others to notice, she maintained an expressionless face as she returned to her spot at the barre.

She picked up her phone and water bottle from the floor. When she opened the water bottle and was about to drink from it, she saw the message Alex had sent her.

[DON'T DRINK YOUR WATER.]

It was like a silent alarm, ringing sharply only in her head. She immediately moved her water bottle further away from her lips, her brain running fast.

What did Alex see? Did someone put something into her water?

And then, she thought of one possibility.

Lyla.

"Alright kids, coffee break is over. Let's continue our rehearsal!" Right at this moment, Fiona entered the classroom.

[Sunrise Market. Lunch break.]

Eliana typed quickly on her phone screen and hit the "Sent" button. Then, she calmly set down her water bottle and phone, pretending nothing was wrong. She didn't want to act strangely and alert Lyla in case Lyla was watching her.

During the lunch break, Eliana finally got a chance to talk to Alex privately at Sunrise Market.

"What happened?" she asked, though she already had some suspicions in her heart.

"Remember you asked me to keep an eye on Lyla? I have been since then, and this morning during the coffee break, I noticed that she acted really weird." Alex told her the whole story, "Everyone left the classroom, but she was peeking at your spot. So, I walked out of the classroom but stayed on the other side of the door, peering inside. Do you know what I saw?"

Alex took a deep breath, indignant. "After everyone left, she quickly went to your spot, opened your water bottle, and put something into it."

Eliana widened her eyes. "Did you see what it was?"

Alex shook his head, his face extremely serious. "No. But I'm sure she's up to no good. Ellie, she's too much. You need to tell Director Lane about this."

Eliana thought through the whole thing for a few seconds and decided what to do. "I'll figure out what she put into my water first."

In the afternoon, Eliana requested a two-hour leave with the excuse of family urgency. It was the last rehearsal before the grand opening, so she needed a good excuse. Only at times like this would she appreciate that she had a family.

She took her water bottle to a lab and paid a fortune for expedited testing. Before the show at night, during their dinner break, she had already got the test result on her phone and showed it to Alex. "Zolpidem. That's what it says."

Alex shifted his gaze from the test result to her, widening his eyes. "Sleeping pills?"

"Yeah." Eliana told him what she had figured out so far, "Lyla probably put one pill into my water. A part of the pill dissolved, but the undissolved part is likely to make me feel dizzy, nauseous, and unable to focus. I would have just drunk it and acted weird onstage but never figured out why."

Alex frowned deeper and deeper. "She wants to ruin your show and escape unscathed."

Eliana didn't doubt it. "Obviously. If I messed up onstage, no one would link it to her. Alex, you really saved me. Thank you."

Alex straightened his back when he heard this, proudly replying, "No problem, Ellie! But the question is, did she start this today?"

Eliana sighed, "I have no idea."

Alex thought about it. "My grandma also takes sleeping pills. She could only get ten pills from her doctor every time. So, optimistically, Lyla started today because she wouldn't want to waste any pill outside the summer season."

Eliana teased herself bitterly, "How lucky I am."

"OK, Ellie, you have to listen to me on this." Alex squeezed her hand. "Tell Director Lane. I will go with you. I will prove it for you and tell him everything I saw."

Eliana shook her head slowly. "Not yet."

Alex didn't understand. "Why not?"

Eliana said calmly, "I don't have solid evidence yet."

"We do!" Alex didn't agree. "You have the test result, and you have me as your witness. What else do you need?"

"A solid one. Solid enough to make her unable to escape." Eliana looked at him, her eyes firm. "With what we have now, Lyla could even say that we designed this drama to plant her."

Alex was annoyed. "But why would we? There's no reason for us to do that! Ellie, you're overthinking."

Eliana squeezed his hand back, calming him down. "Trust me, I'm not overthinking. Director Lane is pragmatic. The only thing he cares about is evidence, not the reasons behind all the dramas. If we want to catch Lyla, we need better evidence."

Alex sighed, "OK, OK, if you insist. But what else do we have?"

"Good question." Eliana looked out of the window without fixing her gaze on anything in particular.

She was also wondering what else they had.

Lyla was a crafty rival, cautious enough to leave no evidence behind. She wouldn't keep those sleeping pills on her or in her bag, and she wouldn't do it anywhere with a surveillance camera.

Eliana had failed to catch Lyla once. She didn't want to fail again.

If she couldn't get better evidence, maybe she should think of another way...

Alex kept mumbling, "We can confront Lyla. Together. I'll tell her that I saw what she did, and..."

"Alex." Eliana cut in, looking back at him.

"Yes?" Alex raised his eyebrows.

"I have an idea." Eliana leaned a bit closer to him, her voice low. "But it can only happen with your help."