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Half an hour after leaving Yaogu, Wei Lian’s complexion still hadn’t recovered.
Zheng Zhi saw how distressed he was and offered to drive.
After driving out of Si Wen’s sphere of influence, Zheng Zhi finally said, “We really did alert the snake. My mistake.”
Wei Lian shook his head: “He’s impregnable.”
Zheng Zhi didn’t understand: “Did he know we were coming? His attitude was too unnerving; I had goosebumps the whole time.”
Wei Lian opened the window, letting the wind blow in, and some of his discomfort dissipated: “Either he’s truly innocent, or he’s truly brilliant.”
Zheng Zhi agreed: “So what do we do next? We got off to a bad start, and the next confrontation probably won’t be ideal. Two more rounds and our defeat might be cemented.”
“Investigate!” Wei Lian looked straight ahead, serious and determined.
“How do we investigate?”
Wei Lian squinted after looking for a while: “This trip wasn’t completely fruitless. At least we know he does have a connection with Fan Chang. We’ll investigate him, investigate Dongsheng Pharmaceuticals. Discreetly.”
Zheng Zhi saw Wei Lian’s zeal for this case surpassed his own: “Bro, you’re really suited for our line of work. When it comes to cases, you either don’t investigate, or once you start, you put in 100% effort.”
Wei Lian didn’t acknowledge his compliment. He had selfish reasons; he was very worried about that alluring prostitute.
Worried that she knew there was a tiger in the mountain, but insisted on going towards it.
________________________________________
Before going to work that evening, Zhou Yan received a transfer of 100,000 yuan from Sister Hong.
When she went to Candy, she stood in the hall, utterly devoid of dignity, accepting the scornful gazes of all the hostesses, male escorts, sweepers, and doormen.
Sister Hong pointed at her face, using every foul word she had learned in her life to insult her, more viciously, more毒, and more malicious than usual. Her spittle flew.
She had to curse with abandon, curse until she let go of that 100,000 yuan.
But it was truly strange, she just couldn’t let it go.
This feeling was truly unpleasant, the feeling of being at someone’s mercy when you need something from them was truly unpleasant.
She had never thought that one day she would be held captive by a girl she herself brought up. She couldn’t show temper, and no matter what demands the other party made, she had to satisfy them, otherwise, she would be packing her bags and leaving.
She wasn’t afraid of death, but she was afraid of being fired.
Her ex-husband had run away owing so much money. If she got fired, would her seventy-something parents have to pay it back? If it came to that, what wouldn’t those loan sharks do? The last time they forced her mother to swallow semen was still vivid in her memory.
Thinking that, her eyes reddened, and she cursed even harder, nearing madness.
Zhou Yan cooperated fully throughout, unmoved even when spittle landed on her face. Those words were mere child’s play compared to her past experiences.
The hostesses who had felt wronged a few days ago were now feeling comfortable.
It was that simple.
To put it bluntly, they were that easy to deceive.
Many people thought scheming only occurred in legitimate workplaces, but that wasn’t true. Wherever there were people, there was calculation.
It was just that prostitutes, a group generally with low education, used all their cunning to snatch a client from other hostesses. They didn’t envy any woman outside who married into a wealthy family or how they lived; but they would envy a fellow hostess who earned 500 yuan more per “session” than her.
When Zhou Yan was previously handpicked by Si Wen, they only thought her life was hard, often dismissing her. At most, they would openly or secretly gossip about her, but they wouldn’t see her as a threat or pay her much attention. After all, Si Wen was a grim reaper.
But after his “heroic rescue” last time, their hostility towards Zhou Yan appeared on their faces like acne and festering sores.
How could this be? This couldn’t be.
How could Zhou Yan have such treatment? She couldn’t.
Harboring jealousy, they hovered on the edge of humanity, their malice making the place a chaotic, foul mess.
A chaotic place ignored rules, and it suited rule-breakers best, it suited Zhou Yan best.
Zhou Yan let Sister Hong trample her dignity, but in return she got money. She felt she profited.
Money was such a good thing; she had thoroughly understood that during the years she had none.
After this struggle session ended, Zhou Yan stood tall, completely disregarding the mocking glances of the crowd, and returned to the changing room.
She hadn’t been sitting long when a top hostess, who usually had no interaction with her, came in. She said the air conditioning in the adjacent changing room was being repaired, and with several men around, she couldn’t change there, so she came here to change.
Zhou Yan ignored her, took a pack of wet wipes from a drawer, and wiped her face.
After wiping, she still felt a bit smoky and went out to wash her face.
When she returned, the top hostess was on the phone, crying as she spoke. It wasn’t loud, but her sniffling was noticeable.
She saw Zhou Yan come in, hid a bit, and then loudly said goodbye as if casually, then hung up.
Zhou Yan was doing her skincare in front of the vanity mirror, gently patting in essence.
The top hostess walked over and smiled: “Zhou Yan.”
Zhou Yan’s hands didn’t stop: “Hmm.”
The top hostess stood beside her. There was a chair nearby, but she didn’t sit. “You won’t gossip, right?”
“Gossip about what? You crying on the phone with someone?”
The top hostess wasn’t talking about that: “I mean, about me seeing you at the hospital.”
Zhou Yan almost forgot about it.
Before, when Zhao Youjin picked a fight with her, this top hostess had also been beaten by a boss the day before.
It was in a private room. The exact reason was unknown to others, only that the scene was quite brutal. The boss kicked her repeatedly in the stomach, sending her to the hospital for over a week. Later, when Zhou Yan went to get medicine for Zhou Siyuan, she saw her in the obstetrics and gynecology department.
Zhou Yan opened her makeup primer, dabbed it on her face: “Does that concern me?”
The top hostess let out a breath, as if relieved: “Thank you.”
She turned and started to walk out. When she was almost at the door, Zhou Yan called out, “Hey.”
She turned back and met Zhou Yan’s gaze.
Zhou Yan paused, then said: “I don’t advise you to have it.”
The top hostess’s eyes visibly dimmed: “I can raise him, as long as you don’t expose me.”
Zhou Yan looked away, put the lid back on the primer, and said: “Having a child, you get the continuation of life, and you feel complete. Have you thought about your child’s feelings? Will he want a mother who’s a prostitute? Is he even healthy and free of defects?”
The top hostess’s expression froze on her beautiful face.
Zhou Yan didn’t look at her: “Every woman should have the right to bear children, but not every woman does. Prostitutes who don’t plan to leave the life don’t, women who use drugs don’t, even people who can’t support themselves don’t. They don’t deserve to.”
The top hostess clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh. Her voice was low and trembling: “How can you say that!”
Zhou Yan had no reason; this matter didn’t even concern her. In her usual style, she should have just watched coldly, but she couldn’t help it.
The top hostess’s eyes reddened again: “No mother has the right to erase a life!”
Zhou Yan smiled, a beautiful yet ironic smile: “Giving birth to him would be killing him.”
Those words were too harsh. The top hostess’s heart skipped a beat, and her lips began to tremble.
Zhou Yan stood up and looked at her again: “As you can see, I’m the target of everyone at Candy; they all say I’m selfish. I didn’t have to warn you, but I still feel that if I saw this as a tragedy but didn’t tell you, then that tragedy would be my fault.”
The top hostess was left with only pain, unable to stand steady.
She had to brace herself against the door frame with her hand and press her foot against the wall to appear as if she wasn’t so bothered by Zhou Yan’s words.
Zhou Yan finished speaking; she had said all she needed to. How the other woman chose was no longer her concern. She couldn’t even save herself; she wouldn’t presume to save others.
She didn’t pity this top hostess at all; she only pitied the child in her womb.
He had done nothing wrong; he shouldn’t have to face this messed-up world.
Just like Zhou Siyuan.
________________________________________
That evening, Zhou Yan went on a call. She and the top hostess were requested into a private room. The boss was the one who had assaulted the top hostess.
Zhou Yan thought she was just there to make up the numbers and sat far away.
Actually, she always sat a bit distant, but men who came here, even if they spent five yuan, expected ten yuan’s worth of satisfaction and wouldn’t miss any hostess. No matter how far she sat, she would be found, and a greasy hand would reach into her clothes.
She had been sitting for less than five minutes when the boss came over, putting his arm around her waist: “I’ve seen you a few times.”
Zhou Yan gave a perfunctory smile: “Have you?”
The boss brought a glass of wine from the table and offered it to her: “They say you’re especially slutty. Is that true?”
Zhou Yan drank his wine: “Not entirely accurate. I’m not just slutty, I’m also cheap.”
The boss raised an eyebrow, interested in her statement: “How so?”
Zhou Yan held the wine in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. A bit spilled from the corner of her mouth, looking exactly like a vampire who had just bitten someone’s neck: “I once got one of our colleagues infected with AIDS.”
The boss flinched back, his eyes wide: “You!”
Zhou Yan smiled: “Don’t worry, I don’t have it. It’s because I don’t that they all say I’m cheap.”
Half of the boss’s good mood was ruined. He raised his hand to slap her, but the top hostess reminded him: “She has someone backing her.”
He seemed fed up with her voice. He turned that slap and delivered it to her instead: “Did I tell you to speak?”
The top hostess was slapped to the floor, her lower abdomen hitting the corner of the table.
Her rolling motion seemed to open the door for his aggression. As he stood up, about to kick her, Zhou Yan kicked his leg away first.
He was stunned: “You don’t know what you are anymore, do you?”
Zhou Yan simply said, “What I am isn’t important. But my boss is Si Wen.”
His face changed. He held it in for a long time, but ultimately said nothing more. Si Wen was someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
Initially, he had intended to make trouble for the top hostess, not knowing if she had aborted the child yet. But when he saw the incredibly elegant Zhou Yan while selecting hostesses, his intention to cause trouble was shelved, and his heart was filled with malicious intent towards her.
He thought he’d chat for a bit and then take her away directly, but if she was Si Wen’s person, he’d better not.
He had initially heard that Si Wen had someone exclusive at Candy named Zhou Yan, and he thought she would be pampered with riches. Even if not, Si Wen wouldn’t let her remain in this line of work. Yet, he hadn’t expected her to still be doing this “smiling for money” job.
His amusement turned to disgust, and he left before his time was up.
The top hostess’s reckoning could wait for another time.
As soon as he left, Zhou Yan helped the top hostess up.
The top hostess quietly said thank you.
Zhou Yan simply returned the favor; since the other woman had spoken up for her, she could return the favor.
After that “thank you” from the top hostess, they had no further communication. They went their separate ways after leaving the private room.
This was good; no need to get too close.
As fellow maggots in a pile of mud, who wasn’t reeking and covered in sores? Getting too close was truly unbearable.
________________________________________
In the adjacent private room, Si Wen held a glass of red wine, leisurely savoring its taste in his mind.
He was alone in the room, with an earpiece connected to a bug in Zhou Yan’s room.
“What I am isn’t important. But my boss is Si Wen.”
She learned quickly. As soon as he granted her power, she immediately started using his influence.
But the thought of her having so many different facets when he wasn’t around made his usually calm expression sharpen again.
He was displeased and summoned a waiter to bring Zhou Yan over.
After saying that, he changed his mind: “Tell her to come.”
The waiter had been in this environment for too long and had learned to understand some of the implied meanings in the bosses’ words.
Si Wen’s meaning was likely: “You can call her, but don’t touch her.”
As the waiter was about to leave, he changed his mind again: “Never mind.”
The waiter confirmed with him: “Don’t call her?”
Si Wen didn’t answer.
The waiter understood and left.
Si Wen looked at the wine in his hand again. Sour, astringent, cheap. He poured it into the ashtray. He carelessly set the glass down.
He couldn’t stay any longer and stood up to leave.
He thought running into Zhou Yan was a coincidence.
He was just walking out the west gate and saw Zhou Yan squatting on the steps smoking. Although, the west gate was in the direction of her changing room.
She was wearing a dress, as always, her hair curled into waves, resting on her shoulders.
Zhou Yan felt the air at Candy wasn’t good, so she came out for some fresh air and a cigarette.
One cigarette turned into three, and she still hadn’t gone back.
It had gotten much colder. She had goosebumps all over, but she didn’t care, determined to finish the cigarette in her hand.
At the intersection, a group of kids were playing, imitating adults, smoking and swaying their hips. Their low-rise pants, exposing their butt cracks as they lifted their tank tops, looked like they were about to fall off, yet they considered it beautiful.
Zhou Yan wondered if she was that foolish when she was their age.
Probably not. Back then, she was working multiple jobs, her waist covered in cheap plasters, costing one yuan each. She rarely exposed them.
She didn’t like to show her misery. Under normal circumstances, she always wanted to appear like she was doing quite well.
She watched, lost in thought.
Si Wen stood behind her for five minutes, and she didn’t even notice, her face fixed on those children, unmoving.
He was already annoyed, and now he was even more so. What did this mean? Did those malnourished little things look appealing to her now? Did she no longer find his thirty-something-year-old body attractive? Had she forgotten whose “thing” made her climax?
Thinking this, he kicked Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan was unprepared and almost fell to the ground.
She turned her head and cursed: “Fuck!”
Seeing the leg that could only belong to Si Wen, she stopped herself.
She looked up, and sure enough, it was the face she could imagine even with her eyes closed.
Si Wen asked her: “Fuck what?”
Zhou Yan: “Me.”
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