Elias Kane's lips carried a smile, but the moment Liora Voss looked over, he instantly wiped the expression from his face.

  Liora clearly had something to say to him and was waiting for him to walk over.

  Who would have thought Elias would act as if he hadn't seen her at all? He turned his head and headed straight in the other direction.

  Liora paused, then called out, "Over here."

  Elias pretended not to hear, not even turning his head. Liora immediately understood—he had clearly seen her and was deliberately avoiding her.

  She let out a cold ugh in her heart. Here he goes again, acting up. She wondered which nerve he'd pinched this time to ignore her like this.

  Liora walked around her luxury car and decisively chased after him. Her long legs covered two of his steps with one, easily catching up and blocking his path.

  Her peach-blossom eyes carried a hint of coldness. "Deaf?"

  Elias looked up at her—that familiar condescending posture again. These women, relying on being taller than him, all loved looking down at him like this.

  "What do you want?"

  So he really had been pretending to be deaf.

  Liora's gaze grew colder, and her voice carried a chill as well. "My sister told me to drive you back to campus."

  "Really?" Elias lifted his eyes slightly and gave a faint smile, but the smile vanished in the blink of an eye, making one wonder if it had been an illusion. "But I don't need you to take me."

  Completely different from his previously familiar, teasing attitude toward Liora.

  In response, Liora scoffed, about to use Serena to pressure him, but before she could speak, Elias interrupted her. "Last time your sister told you to take me to get a shot. Did you actually do it?"

  Liora frowned. "You were the one who didn't want the shot..."

  "So obedient?" The corner of Elias's lips lifted, this time with more than a fleeting smile. "Then I don't want you to take me now. You can go."

  Only then did Liora realize her words were full of holes. While she was thinking of how to salvage the situation, Elias had already walked around her and continued forward on his own.

  Snap.

  His arm was firmly grabbed. Elias's body stopped. His golden hair swayed, covering his cheek and hiding the light smile on his face.

  The moment Liora appeared here, Elias had already seen through her completely.

  It was simple: If Liora really didn't want to send him, even if it was Serena's request, she could have refused.

  Everyone knew Liora was a wild, promiscuous woman—this was built upon Serena's indulgence toward her.

  If Liora didn't want to waste time on him, how could her older sister possibly force her to do it?

  So under those circumstances, the fact that Liora still showed up at the hotel entrance meant only one thing...

  Cheap.

  This was also why he had suddenly changed his approach—stopping the teasing and ignoring her instead.

  Pying hard to get. Such a simple tactic.

  And she still took the bait anyway. Wasn't that exactly...

  Cheap.

  Elias slowly raised his head, turned around, and looked at Liora. "What? Do you have to complete your sister's order no matter what, or..."

  "Is it that you just really want to drive me yourself?"

  Elias smiled brightly, but his clear dark eyes were full of teasing, as if he had seen right through her.

  Liora stopped her cold ughter. The light in her peach-blossom eyes flickered, her emotions unreadable.

  After a long while, she spoke indifferently, "How are you pnning to get back by yourself?"

  Elias looked at her like she was an idiot. "Is this the ancient times? Subway, bus, taxi… There are so many ways to get around. You think I can't get back to campus?"

  Liora stared at him steadily. "The bck card doesn't work on those."

  Elias froze.

  He had forgotten about that. Those modes of transportation weren't fancy enough to accept bck card payments.

  And coincidentally, his Venmo bance was already down to single digits.

  His confidence suddenly wasn't as strong.

  But of course Elias wasn't actually going to let Liora drive him. Such a good opportunity to farm favorability—he wasn't about to waste it.

  Using the hand he could still move freely, Elias took off the gsses perched on his straight nose.

  Liora was momentarily dazed. She didn't know why, but even though she was already very familiar with Elias's face, every time he took his gsses off in front of her, she would still space out for a second. She even couldn't help wondering—purely in terms of looks, could Lucien Hart really surpass Elias?

  Elias tilted his head slightly toward Liora, as if showing off his appearance to her, then revealed two shallow, sharp canines between his lips. "Even though I don't have money, I can always use my face to pay."

  "I'm sure with this face of mine, there will be plenty of drivers willing to give me a free ride."

  Liora's eyes narrowed. "I think you'd get reported to the police."

  Hearing that, Elias immediately put on a panicked expression, trembling. "So scary…" His acting was ridiculously exaggerated.

  "In that case, I'd have no choice but to pay the fare…" Elias lowered his voice, then suddenly broke into a charming smile. "With my body."

  "After all, I am a host boy."

  The hand gripping his arm suddenly tightened. Liora slowly bent down, her nose almost touching Elias's forehead, and softly spat out two words: "So cheap."

  Exactly the same evaluation as Serena's.

  Elias sneered coldly in his heart. Right back at you!

  Of course, he wouldn't actually say it out loud.

  After all, which stage of dating was the most exciting and freshest?

  The ambiguity phase.

  It was the period when both sides knew how the other felt, but the window hadn't been completely broken through yet.

  Their daily interactions were already like a couple's, yet they never made it official, savoring the tension and secret delight of an undefined retionship.

  It felt as pleasurable as an affair.

  Moreover, what Liora was doing right now was exactly...

  Elias knew he had tugged the line enough. His eyes turned watery as he looked at Liora with an exaggeratedly pitiful expression. "Are you going to buy me? I'm really cheap, sis."

  That "sis" was spoken so sweetly it could melt bones.

  Afterward, Liora released Elias's hand and, like magic, pulled out a wallet. She took out a thick stack of hundred-dolr bills and stuffed them into the front of Elias's shirt.

  Elias raised an eyebrow slightly. Quite skilled.

  After doing this, as if worried he would misunderstand, Liora smiled faintly. "Use it for the ride."

  Elias didn't care about her poor attempt at covering up. That was what the ambiguous phase was about—you both knew, but pretended you didn't.

  Before the money could slide down his ft chest, Elias grabbed it and counted quickly. Thirty bills.

  Then, a genuine smile bloomed on Elias's face.

  This was all future retirement money. Of course he was happy.

  Liora watched Elias's smile. Suddenly, the back of her neck went cold as his palm pressed against it, pushing her head down while he stood on his tiptoes...

  Was he going to kiss her?

  Liora didn't react immediately. She pnned to stop him before his lips touched her cheek, then sneer and spit out one word at him:

  Dirty.

  Just as she thought this, Elias's head came closer. Liora raised her hand to block her face, but suddenly felt a hot breath against her ear, followed by a soft...

  "Meow~"