Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

In the hallway, Liu Qing skillfully knocked on the guest room door, and after repeatedly confirming that no one was in the room, she went in to clean.

Although she was mentally prepared, she was still stunned by the messy scene inside the house!

The corner was piled with beer bottles, and the trash can next to it smelled of decay. What bothered her most were the bed sheets and duvet cover, which were covered with yellow stains and several opened condoms stuck to them.

After much effort, Liu Qing finally cleaned up all the dirty things. Before leaving, she wiped the TV cabinet, and probably accidentally triggered the VCR switch. With a "squeak" sound, a "color disc" was ejected from the cabin.

Liu Qing, in the prime of her youth and already aware of human nature, blushed deeply upon catching a glimpse of the erotic images printed on the disc. In a panic, she pressed the shutter button, and the disc retracted into the machine.

Just as Liu Qing was in a flurry of activity, a commotion arose in the hallway. The girl peered out from the door frame and saw seven or eight drunk men shouting as they surged toward the guest rooms.

These thugs were all regulars at the shop, and Liu Qing recognized the two leaders as well—one was fat with big ears and a pockmarked nose, and the other was thin and bony with a bulbous head; they were Zheng Xiong and Jiang San'er!

At this moment, Zheng Xiong, with a girl with tattooed arms in his arms, stumbled and shuffled to the guest room next to Liu Qing's. Finding the door locked, he cursed and swore for a while before kicking it open.

Seeing that the latch was about to break, Liu Qing rushed forward to stop her: "Are you a bandit? You've kicked the door apart!"

Liu Qing naturally didn't give these filthy scoundrels a friendly look, but in doing so, he offended them.

Hey, young lady, you're still too naive! Other people work just to make money, and would have stayed far away from trouble like this long ago, but she dares to mess with Zheng the Butcher's son—Zheng Yanei! She really has no social experience at all.

"Where did this little brat come from! Daring to block my way! If you dare spout any more nonsense, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Zheng Xiong shoved the girl in his arms aside, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to hit her, but Liu Qing showed no fear. She took off her mask and shouted, "Sister Juan specifically told us that we're not allowed to go up to the fourth floor without a room key! If you dare to cause any more trouble, I'm going to find Sister Juan right now!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiong and the others were still somewhat wary. Let alone them, these small fry, even if Zheng Xiong's father, Zheng the Butcher, came, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly in front of Xiao Hongjuan.

"I...we brought...we brought money today. Here, take all of this. Go and book us a few rooms!"

Although Jiang San'er stuttered, he was quite talkative. After recognizing the girl as Xiao Hongjuan's god-sister, he quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"I don't accept money!" Liu Qing said sternly, frowning. "I only accept keys here; no one can enter the room without a key!"

Seeing the girl's rudeness, Zheng Xiong became even angrier. He pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and threw it at Liu Qing, yelling, "I fucking told you to open the door, didn't you hear me?!"

Liu Qing, being from a wealthy family, couldn't stand this insult. Just as she was about to curse, bald Jiang San'er rushed over. He quickly picked up the banknotes on the ground and stuffed them into Liu Qing's hand. However, he wasn't up to any good; he just wanted to take advantage of Liu Qing's beauty.

"You filthy scoundrel, let go of my hand!" Liu Qing cursed as he pulled his hand away and scratched Jiang San'er's face. Unexpectedly, he actually scratched the other's face raw.

Seeing the two getting along so well, the other thugs started making a fuss.

As for Jiang San'er, even after being beaten and disfigured by Liu Qing, he wasn't angry and continued to shamelessly harass girls. He had a peculiar habit: he had no interest in submissive prostitutes, but he was particularly fond of "fierce women" like Liu Qing.

"Qing...Qingqing, don't be afraid. I'm different from them. I genuinely want to be with you. Don't believe me? I'll show you my heart!"

At this moment, Jiang San'er grabbed Liu Qing's hand and pulled it to his chest. He wanted to take advantage of the alcohol to have close contact with this innocent girl with peach-like face and red lips!

In the critical moment, Lao Chengxi, who had been engaged in a fierce battle for a long time, finally came out of the luxurious private room. The man was shirtless, with an angry face, looking like he wanted to eat people. He had obviously been ruined by a few bastards in the corridor.

"Damn it! It's you again, you stupid, stinking bear! Daring to cause trouble here, you're asking for it!"

With a roar, the boss kicked Zheng Xiong to the ground. Then, he walked up to Jiang San'er, grabbed him, and slapped him hard across the face.

Faced with absolute power, Zheng Xiong and Jiang San'er, who were usually arrogant and domineering, became like chicks waiting to be slaughtered, hanging their heads and not daring to move.

Lao Chengxi, however, seemed to still be venting his anger, punching each thug one after another until all the thugs collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, Liu Qing, like the other young ladies, opened her mouth wide and didn't dare to breathe, clearly frightened by the boss's astonishing aura.

Just then, Xiao Hongjuan, the restaurant manager, swayed slowly up to the fourth floor. She first settled Liu Qing aside, then pointed at Zheng Xiong and Jiang San'er and scolded, "You two are really something! No matter how we tried to persuade you, you wouldn't listen. Now that you've been beaten, you've learned your lesson! Don't embarrass yourselves here again. Get up and get out of here!"

Hearing this, Jiang San'er breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Lao Chengxi and Xiao Hongjuan, turned around, pulled Zheng Xiong up, and led the group away in a sorry state.

As for Xiao Hongjuan, watching the thugs' retreating figures, her almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, and a wicked smile appeared on her lips. Just now, she had deliberately let a few thugs go upstairs. The best way to deal with these lawless brats was to let them run into Lao Chengxi's gun.

Before long, only three people remained in the hallway: Lao Chengxi, Xiao Hongjuan, and Liu Qing, who was hiding in the corner, looking bewildered.

"Qing'er, why are you cleaning up on the fourth floor? Didn't I tell you you weren't supposed to do the work here? Why are you being disobedient again?" Xiao Hongjuan grabbed Liu Qing's arm and scolded her.

"Sister Juan, Aunt Zhang took the day off today, so I'm covering for her..." Liu Qing blushed and stammered as she explained. In front of her god-sister, she was always the gentle and lovely girl next door.

While the two sisters were talking, Lao Chengxi looked Liu Qing up and down. He was already tired of those vulgar and frivolous girls, but when he saw this pure and innocent girl with a cool and aloof temperament, he immediately had a strange feeling.

"Juan'er, is this your newly adopted god-sister? Not bad, this little girl is quite bold, daring to challenge Zheng Xiong and the others."

Hearing the boss praise the girl, Xiao Hongjuan giggled, gently pushed Liu Qing towards Lao Chengxi, and then said with an ambiguous look, "Boss, this is my own sister. She's still studying at a top high school. If I'm not around, you have to protect her and make sure she doesn't get bullied by those bastards again!"

At this moment, Liu Qing bit her lip and clasped her hands tightly together. Being stared at by a man was, to be honest, not a very pleasant feeling.

Seeing the girl's shy expression, Lao Chengxi did not restrain himself. Instead, he stared at her even more brazenly. "If they dare to cause you trouble, tell me, and I'll take care of them."

Hearing this, Liu Qing blushed even more. She had always heard her godmother talk about how heroic Lao Chengxi was, and today she finally saw it for herself. The girl was a little moved, especially when she heard Lao Chengxi make a promise to her, she even felt a little smug.

Seeing Liu Qing standing there speechless, Xiao Hongjuan patted her shoulder and reminded her, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and thank the boss!"

Liu Qing couldn't bring herself to say "thank you." She just nodded and hummed in response, then tossed her hair and ran downstairs, her face flushed.

Looking down at Liu Qingyuan's departing figure, Lao Chengxi revealed a meaningful smile. Seeing this, Xiao Hongjuan said softly, "Lao Xi, don't you dare make a move on my sister. She's only seventeen, still very young!"

Lao Chengxi smoothed his slicked-back hair, narrowed his eyes, and replied, "Oh, no rush, let's wait and see."

At this moment, Xiao Hongjuan gently tapped the man's bare shoulder with her delicate fingers and muttered softly, "You men, not one of you is any good..."