The Bargain Undercover

Unresponsive

It was another bright morning. In the classroom, Ophelia grabbed Eliana's phone and read every single word of the endorsement contract from POSE on the screen. Then, she exclaimed, "I'm so jealous! Have you signed it?"

Eliana shook her head. "No. I received it just now."

Ophelia gave the phone back to her. "So, they still might change their minds and pick me."

Roselyn heard it and laughed, "Ellie, you'd better sign it soon, so that Ophelia will stop her wishful thinking."

Ophelia pouted and put her arm around Roselyn's neck.

It was three minutes before the rehearsal started. As Alex entered the classroom and saw Eliana by the door, he stopped to talk to her, "Ellie, I'm out with several friends tonight, so I'll be home late. Is that okay?"

"What time will you come back?" Eliana asked.

Alex scratched his head. "Maybe around midnight."

For the past five nights, with Alex around, Eliana had slept soundly through the night. That stalker never came back, perhaps because they realized she was no longer living alone. She appreciated everything Alex had done for her and thought he deserved to relax, especially since midnight was not too late.

She nodded. "Sure. Have fun."

"Wait, wait, wait... What does that mean?" Roselyn cut in, pointing at the two of them, "Are you two living together?"

Roselyn wasn't the only one being surprised. All the dancers around looked at them with shock in their eyes. Eliana realized their conversation just now made them misunderstand and wanted to explain, "Well, it's only because..."

But Alex interrupted with a wry smile on his face, "Yes, Ellie and I are living together."

As he talked, Eliana saw out of the corner of her eye that Xander and Fiona entered the classroom.

Her heart jumped into her mouth. Instinctively, she wanted to stop Alex, fearing that Xander would hear it and misunderstand their relationship.

But one second later, she realized she didn't have to worry at all.

Xander had separated ways with her. She no longer needed to explain anything to him.

Ophelia was the only one who knew why Alex was living at Eliana's place, but seeing his wry smile, she narrowed her eyes. "Are you guys dating?"

Alex didn't answer and looked at Eliana.

Eliana denied it, "No."

"But you live together." They didn't believe it.

When Eliana was about to explain, Xander spoke up, "Alright, let's start the rehearsal."

Their conversation stopped, and everyone went back to their spot at the barre. The warm-up began. When Xander walked past Eliana and saw her Grand Plie, he frowned. "Turn out your feet."

Eliana looked down, confident that her feet were in the perfect position, but she still followed his instructions.

However, Xander still didn't leave. "Keep your weight in the middle."

Eliana was confused because her weight was exactly in the middle.

She glanced at Xander, intending to find some clues from his expression. But when she saw his stern face, she immediately shifted her gaze, scared.

She wiggled left and right, pretending that she was adjusting her weight according to his instructions.

Xander finally let her go. When he walked to another dancer and instructed him in the same serious tone, a wild thought suddenly popped into Eliana's mind.

Was Xander jealous after hearing their conversation just now?

Jealousy could make him grumpy, which Eliana had witnessed before. But if he still cared, why did he cut ties with her?

"Alright, kids, time is ticking. Let's focus and make the most of it," Fiona urged, pushing all the dancers.

'Unfathomable man.' Eliana rolled her eyes and kicked all the running thoughts out of her mind, focusing on the rehearsal.

Another day passed in the blink of an eye. After work, when they entered the changing room, Roselyn plopped down on the bench. "Pfff! What an exhausting day!"

"My stomach is rumbling." Eliana plopped down beside her, feeling drained.

"Friends!" Roselyn sat up. "Let's go have a barbeque. The three of us. What do you say?"

Ophelia was excited. "Oh! Oh! I like barbeque!"

"Let's go!" Eliana said as her stomach rumbled again as an approval. Alex was also out with his friends, so she didn't have to prepare dinner for him.

"Good." Roselyn put her arm around Eliana's shoulder. "Ellie, I have a million questions to ask you about you and Alex, so get ready."

Eliana gasped, "Come on! Give me a break."

With that said, she still told Roselyn about why Alex was living with her at dinner. Roselyn raised her eyebrows after hearing the whole story. "I thought you two were dating!"

Eliana shook her head. "No. He's just helping me as a friend."

"Really?" Roselyn didn't believe it. "I think this morning, he was trying to make us believe that you two were dating."

"He was. He didn't even want to explain." Ophelia put down her fork and put on a serious expression. "Ellie, what do you think of Alex?"

Eliana rolled her eyes. "I know what you want to say, but don't say it."

"Why not?" Roselyn was on Ophelia's side. "Alex is nice, and he's so into you."

'But no man is reliable,' Eliana thought this in her heart but didn't say it out. She didn't trust any of them. They loved her like prized jewels, expecting her to reflect her lovely shine on them and discarding her once she lost her luster.

Would Alex be different from them?

Eliana kept pondering as she walked up the stairs in her apartment building.

The three of them chatted for a long time, covering everything from the food on the table to everyone's love affairs, so it had been totally dark by the time she got home. The weather had been getting colder recently, so fewer people were hanging around at this time. As she walked up the stairs, the sensor lights turned on, casting a dim glow, while the echo of her footsteps was the only sound.

The quietness made her feel uneasy, but she reminded herself to stay calm. The stalker had never appeared before bedtime, and Alex would be back by then. There was nothing to worry about.

She fastened her pace and quickly took out her keys when she arrived at her door.

Suddenly, she sensed something behind her.

A sharp chill ran down her spine. Instinctively, she spun around.

A masked figure pounced on her, shoving her hard by the shoulders. Eliana could only discern that it was a man from his strong, tall physique. His attack was so swift and powerful that she had no chance to evade it.

She lost her balance and reached out, trying to grab him as she fell backward. But the man deftly avoided her grasp. As he glanced over, she caught a glimpse of his unfamiliar eyes and the two moles under his left eyebrow.

Without anything to hold onto, she rolled down the stairs helplessly.

A fierce pain immediately pierced through her bones. Her mind was blank until she fell to the landing and crashed into the corner of the wall. The next second, the man rushed downstairs. Eliana thought he was coming at her again, curling up in the corner and screaming in fear.

Amid her screams, his voice was barely audible. "Sorry," he said.

Then, he brushed past her and fled.

Eliana didn't have time to think about why he apologized. The pain was crawling over her whole body like veins, but the sharpest one was on her left ankle. Her phone fell onto the stairs, so she tried to stand up and retrieve it to call 911. However, she found she couldn't move her left ankle at all.

Unable to stand, she gritted her teeth and crawled over to her phone, only to find that it was completely cracked and no longer functional. In despair, she tried to call out for help.

The pain started to drain deeper and deeper into her body, and her voice became lower, "Help..."

Luckily, she heard footsteps coming upstairs. A neighbor turned the corner and saw her, shrieking and running over, "Miss, are you okay?"

Eliana nodded, feeling weak. "Please... Call 911."

"I'm calling them. Don't worry." The neighbor dialed the number in a fluster. "Yes. Right. She seems to have fallen off the stairs."

"No, I was pushed down by someone," Eliana said.

The neighbor was shocked and then continued, "She said she was pushed downstairs by someone. She's conscious, but she can't move her leg..."

Hearing this, Eliana covered her left ankle with her hand subconsciously.

It wasn't bleeding but already swelling. She exerted a bit of strength, trying to move it, but only felt severe pain.

The unresponsive ankle gave her a surge of rage.

It had to move. She had to dance with it.

Eliana bit her lip fiercely and summoned her last bit of strength to try again. A sharp pain shot from her ankle to her brain, making her vision blur.

But her left ankle still didn't respond to her rage, as if mocking her uselessness.

She had never felt so humiliated.

The neighbor who called 911 for her came to check on her. Seeing her tears, the kind lady was worried. "Sweetheart, did you break your ankle?"

Eliana shook her head stubbornly. "Hopefully not."

The neighbor stayed with her and encouraged her, "I know it must be hurt, but don't move. The ambulance will arrive soon."

Eliana thanked her and closed her eyes in despair. It hurt a lot, but that wasn't why she cried.

She cried because she could vaguely guess why her ankle was swelling and unresponsive, and the guess made her scared.

If her ankle was fractured, would she still be able to dance?