"Although I don't know why you stopped releasing new songs, it doesn't matter. I'm just so happy to see you today!"
Dixi kept talking, seeming enveloped in pink bubbles, exactly like a fan meeting their idol.
But Veronica only felt terror.
She even felt slightly nauseous.
"No, I'm not. You've got the wrong person. I'm not..."
Being recognized by a fan didn't make her happy at all; she only felt intense pain.
She wanted to stand up and flee, but her legs felt weak from fright, making it nearly impossible to stand.
"Alright, that's enough."
Trapped helplessly in a vortex of fear, the sudden female voice was undoubtedly music to her ears.
But it came from someone unexpected.
It was Jessica.
She stood up and blocked the path in front of Veronica.
"You've got the wrong person, buddy. She's definitely not Veronica."
"How could that be? How could I possibly be wrong?"
Looking at the blonde woman blocking him, Dixi didn't believe her.
"Too bad. The Earth still revolves around the sun, doesn't it? The world is just that strange."
While Dixi was still agonizing over whether he was mistaken, Jessica moved swiftly, scooped up the stunned Veronica, and left the bar counter...
Carried by Jessica like a piece of soft bone, Veronica didn't regain her senses until they returned to the room and she was placed on the bed.
Jessica sighed wistfully and leaned back on the stool.
She hadn't finished her drink yet.
And now they were back.
"Uh, thank you."
Clasping her chest, Veronica finally managed to steady her breathing. She looked at Jessica with complex emotions and thanked her quietly.
Jessica waved her hand casually.
"You're quite famous. Are you a singer?"
After sitting for a while and recovering from the disappointment of not getting tipsy, Jessica looked at Veronica sitting on the bed and asked curiously.
"Mhm..."
Since things had come to this, Veronica didn't deny it and nodded.
"Then why would you come to..."
Jessica was originally going to ask Veronica why she had taken this job, but seeing her lonely expression, she understood.
In this city, who doesn't have some trouble?
So Jessica stopped talking and didn't ask further...
The night passed, and nothing happened.
Jessica, true to her word, didn't lay a finger on Veronica.
She slept soundly, even grinding her teeth.
She clearly embodied the meaning of 'taking things as they come' to the extreme.
As for Veronica, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep at all.
In the darkness of the night, people are forced to face their inner selves, all pretenses stripped away. As usual, Veronica felt self-pity while hating herself.
She shed tears in the moonlight.
It wasn't until dawn that she finally managed to sleep for a little while.
"I need to go out for a bit, to take care of some personal business."
Veronica was woken up by some movement. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jessica, a cigarette unlit in her mouth, tucking several magazines into the waistband of her jeans.
"Turn off the recording chip and rest. I should be back around noon."
Jessica racked the slide of her handgun with a crisp click. Cigarette in mouth, she glanced at Veronica, still wrapped in the blanket, and instructed her.
"What are you going to do?"
Dazed, Veronica looked at the gun in Jessica's hand, feeling confused.
"Nothing much, just street routine. Getting some oblivious folks to pay back their debts. People still have to do some proper work, right?"
Jessica explained, inserting the gun into the holster beside her thigh.
"There's breakfast left for you on the table. Finish it after you wash up."
Having said that, Jessica closed the door and left. Only Veronica, still groggy, stared at the charcoal-grilled short ribs on the table.
Uh, does anyone eat this kind of thing for breakfast?
... Veronica turned off the recording chip.
With all the turmoil yesterday, she had almost forgotten that she still had that thing inside her head.
Now that it was off, she finally felt her body and mind relax.
The feeling of being recorded, as if being monitored, made her quite uncomfortable.
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