The events of the past night, only came back to Chen as memories. The last thing he remembered was seeing Alejandro and Derrick and Prof Xue, fighting each other.
He knew he ran off, but...
"Ohh! I feel a sharp pain on my head," he groaned.
The ceiling in this room looked different. They weren't the typical university students prototype, or the type that were seen in students rooms.
Nope! This one was different.
It had a strong flavor and taste. Something that screamed class and affluence. The colors were made up of a mix of lemon and light green, while the floors were carefully patched with clean marbles.
Chen, summoned the courage to stand up from the bed he was lying down on.
"Where am I?" his shaky voice panicked.
The room door soon opened, a younger teen maiden, at most 16 years of age, walked into the room.
"Master, she's awake," she said to someone who was outside, and she left the room immediately.
Chen leaned on the wall in confusion, everything happening faster than he could process them.
The door creaked open immediately, and a tall, handsome, strange man walked into the room. From how posture and youthful aura, one could easily tell he was in his late twenties.
He paused, looked at Chen, and suddenly smiled again.
"What the fuck am I doing here? Where am I?"
In chaotic situations like this when he tried to keep a strong disposition, his bodily demeanor always had a way of betraying him.
In spite of his questions, this strange figure didn't say any word to him. Instead, he stood there laughing and beaming at him.
This singular act seemed to trigger Chen the more.
"You should be thankful I saved you for that nasty phase one. Those hungry perverts," he grinned at Chen. "Brace up your mind, cause you'd remain with me till further notice. The earlier you realize, the better."
One thing Chen disliked was arrogant people. People who behaved like the world revolved around them.
"Are you aware this is an illegal case of kidnapping? Keeping me against my will..."
The room became silent again. This time, even more louder and intense.
However, an unserious move from this man, outrightly surprises Chen. He walked to the couch where Chen was leaning on the wall close by, and comfortably sat down.
His face was heavily unreadable.
"Not many people would appreciate you for saving their lives... Funny world, yunno..."
Again, Chen found him weird.
"This doesn't answer the question, sir. Please, what exactly am I doing here? Why did you keep me in this place like some pet or caged animal?"
Suddenly, the man turned to Chen, giving him a piercing stare that clogged his brain.
"Your life was at stake. It's still, till now. I'm saving you from them. Your downfall. Your woes." His deep words shook the entire atmosphere.
There was a wave of tension between them. Chen knew that so many people were after his life, but alas, he still couldn't understand the reason.
"What the fuck? I'm so tired of hearing this. What exactly do you all want from me? Who are these imaginary people that want my downfall...? And how long would I keep running from them?"
This man didn't say a word immediately. Instead, he fixes his gaze deep into Chen's eyes.
"I singlehandedly ended that auction chaos. I went on to also singlehandedly end many other rituals you know nothing about. I did so many of these jobs behind the scene. And now, I am more focused on saving you."
"But... I barely know anything about you. I do not know how genuine you are. However, I have to ask you just one question;" Chen's voice spoke.
"Okay..."
"You said you're here to save me, init? What exactly do you stand to gain by doing it?"
"Nothing... Absolutely nothing. I'm just doing this to save you. Many people have gone without a trace, and this repeated pattern must be broken. It must!"
For a second, Chen heard the sincerity in his voice. But after another second, his expression became blank with almost zero emotions.
"I barely know who you are, sir. I don't even know your name."
"This is Phase Two. You can see my face, but can not touch it," he smirked.
Above all of these words of discussion, this man doesn't proceed or attempt to touch Chen. This was just one virtue that marked him different. Instead, he remained seated on the couch, glancing through him.
Sizing him up. Measuring him. And maybe, processing how "Sweet," Chen could be.
"You cannot win this battle singlehandedly. They're fighting behind the scene, tooth and nail, with everything in them."
Chen couldn't utter any word. He just kept looking at the hot strange man.
"And someone influential just paid your prize... Now, he's buying time, not bodies."
Sitting with this man wasn't good for Chen's mental health. The man seemed to only converse in parables, a language almost impossible for Chen to understand.
"Buying time for? Could you just break down all you've been saying? I'm not gonna lie, I've not been able to understand even one of the things you've said," Chen's worried voice finally spoke out.
He looked around the room. It was filled with unseen tension and panic.
Chen was worried. Worried about Derrick.
Better still, worried about Derrick's dick. His touch. His fuck. Those slutty things he could do to his body. He craved all of them.
"You've been entangled with many secrets and people, Chen. You've been in rooms you shouldn't be in. You've made out with people whom you weren't supposed to. There are so many systems you've challenged. And now, they're working together to get you out of the way."
For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, he said something that Chen could understand very fast.
"But, I never walked into these secrets. Neither did I intentionally entangle myself with them."
"Listen, even Derrick wasn't supposed to have you. He wasn't your first bidder. And now, you might have to pay for some parts of his sins from the past."