The Quagmire of Desire: From Gambling Addict and Village Flower to Movie Queen

Sun Xiaoyan slumped in her chair, staring at the empty desk, her mind blank.

Liu Meiling was also slumped over, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Guo Daqiang's words, "You can come back to borrow it tomorrow," buzzed in Sun Xiaoyan's ears like a mosquito.

The two of them didn't know how they got out of the card room.

The sun outside was shining brightly, making people feel dizzy.

No one spoke as they walked back to Sun Xiaoyan's house.

Once inside, I closed the door.

Sun Xiaoyan's legs went weak, and she slid down the door panel to the ground.

"It's all...it's all gone..." Her voice was terribly hoarse. "Jianjun's money...it's all gone..."

Liu Meiling also squatted down against the wall, hugging her knees.

The room was eerily quiet.

After a long while, Liu Meiling suddenly spoke up: "Xiaoyan, do you remember last night... Brother Wang and Brother Li..."

Sun Xiaoyan trembled.

Of course she remembers.

Guo Daqiang was on top of her, and next door came Liu Meiling's cries, from screams to...wet moans.

"I remember." Sun Xiaoyan buried her head in her knees.

"My lower body...it still hurts today," Liu Meiling said. "That bastard Li Ge, he's really heavy-handed, when he was shoving it in..."

"Stop talking!" Sun Xiaoyan suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face. "Meiling, can we stop talking?"

Liu Meiling fell silent. Watching Sun Xiaoyan cry, her own eyes welled up with tears.

"We've lost all our money, and she's taken advantage of us." Liu Meiling sniffed. "Xiaoyan, are we... really at our wits' end?"

Sun Xiaoyan just cried.

After crying for a while, Liu Meiling suddenly wiped her face.

"No." She stood up, her eyes a little red, but with a fierce determination in them. "We still have a way out."

Sun Xiaoyan looked up at her: "Which way?"

"There are still some things in the house." Liu Meiling walked around the room. "The TV, the fan, the gold earrings you wore when you got married... They're as thin as wire, but they can still be sold for some money."

Sun Xiaoyan was stunned: "You...you want to sell something?"

"Sell!" Liu Meiling gritted her teeth. "Sell it all! Get the money, and go gamble again!"

"Still gambling?" Sun Xiaoyan's voice trembled. "We've lost everything..."

"That's why we gamble—we only gamble when we've lost everything!" Liu Meiling squatted down, grabbing Sun Xiaoyan's shoulders. "Xiaoyan, think about it! How lucky we were before? Winning hundreds in one hand! Today's just bad luck! Let's take the money from selling things and go win it all back!"

Sun Xiaoyan looked into Liu Meiling's eyes. Those eyes were bloodshot, and there was a reckless glint in them.

She recalled the feeling of her heart racing when she won money before.

I remember the sense of security I felt when I put money in my pocket.

"But... but what if we lose again?" Sun Xiaoyan asked softly.

Liu Meiling paused for a moment, then laughed, a laugh more like a grimace: "Lost? What else can happen? My body's already been taken advantage of, can it get any worse?"

She paused, then lowered her voice: "Didn't Guo Daqiang say that if we don't have money, we can borrow it?"

Sun Xiaoyan shuddered.

"Xiaoyan," Liu Meiling grabbed her hand, "Let's make a bet. Just one last one. If we win, the money comes back, and everything's fine. If we lose..."

She didn't finish speaking.

But Sun Xiaoyan understood.

If you lose, it's all over. Your body has become a real bargaining chip, and you can never get it back.

The room fell silent again.

Sun Xiaoyan looked at Liu Meiling, and Liu Meiling looked at her.

After a long while, Sun Xiaoyan slowly nodded.

"Um."

Liu Meiling breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground.

The two sat there, and as they sat, they suddenly hugged each other and burst into tears.

I cried heartbreakingly.

After they had cried enough, the two took off their clothes. Naked, they hugged each other.

Skin to skin, breasts pressing against breasts.

"Xiaoyan, we will definitely win back," Liu Meiling whispered in her ear.

"Mmm." Sun Xiaoyan closed her eyes, tears streaming into Liu Meiling's hair.

The next morning, before dawn, the two of them got up.

Sun Xiaoyan brought out the old TV and fan from the house. She then rummaged through drawers and cabinets and found the pair of gold earrings and a silver bracelet, both of which were rusted.

Liu Meiling went home and brought back an old washing machine and a few pieces of fake jewelry that her husband had bought before.

"We need to find a vehicle to take us to town," Liu Meiling said. "I'll go borrow a tricycle."

She finished speaking and walked out.

Sun Xiaoyan waited at home. Almost an hour later, Liu Meiling returned, her face slightly flushed and her clothes a little disheveled.

"Did you borrow it?" Sun Xiaoyan asked.

"We got it." Liu Meiling didn't look at her, and kept moving things. "It's the one from Old Zhang's house at the east end of the village. He said we have to return it before noon."

The two loaded the items into the car.

The tricycle was piled high with an old TV, an old washing machine, a fan, and a pile of junk.

Liu Meiling pedaled the bicycle, while Sun Xiaoyan sat beside her.

As soon as I stepped out of the yard, I heard someone cursing behind me.

"Liu Meiling! You shameless slut!"

Sun Xiaoyan turned around and saw a fat woman chasing after her, holding a broom.

She is Zhang's daughter-in-law.

"You seduced my man! And let him touch your ass! I'll beat you to death, you slut!" the fat woman yelled as she chased after him.

Liu Meiling quickly pedaled the tricycle a few times, and it sped off a long way.

The fat woman, unable to catch up, stood by the roadside, jumping up and down and cursing: "So what if you have big tits! So what if you have a big ass! You're a slut everywhere! You'll die a horrible death!"

The shouting gradually faded into the distance.

Sun Xiaoyan looked at Liu Meiling: "Why...why did she say that about you?"

Liu Meiling pouted: "When I borrowed the car just now, that bastard Lao Zhang insisted that I sit on his lap before he would lend it to me. And then, not only did I sit, but he also touched my butt. His wife saw it, of course."

She spoke of it casually, as if it were a normal thing.

Sun Xiaoyan opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Upon arriving in town, the two pedaled their bikes to the scrap yard.

The scrap collector was an old man surnamed Zhang, and everyone called him Uncle Zhang the Third.

Uncle Zhang walked around the pile of things and held up three fingers.

"Three hundred, all included."

"Three hundred?" Liu Meiling exclaimed. "Uncle Zhang, are you robbing me? This TV still works! The washing machine still spins!"

"You think you can just look at it and repost it and then sell it?" Uncle Zhang squinted at him. "Will you sell it or not? If not, take it away."

Liu Meiling wanted to argue, but Sun Xiaoyan pulled her back.

"Sell it," Sun Xiaoyan said softly.

The two took the three hundred yuan and the jewelry to the gold shop.

The jewelry store owner examined the gold with a magnifying glass for a long time, then curled his lip and said, "The gold content is too low, and the silver is rusted. I'll give you five hundred in total."

"Five hundred?" Liu Meiling exclaimed anxiously again, "These earrings cost over a thousand when I bought them!"

"Then don't sell it." The shopkeeper pushed the item back.

In the end, the jewelry sold for 480.

Adding the 300 for scrap, the total is 780.

The two men stood on the street, clutching the seven hundred and eighty yuan.

"Seven hundred and eighty..." Liu Meiling counted again and again, "Is that enough?"

"I don't know," Sun Xiaoyan said.

"Enough!" Liu Meiling stuffed the money into her bra. "That's enough! We'll go tonight!"

That evening, just as darkness fell, the two stood at the entrance of the card room again.

Sun Xiaoyan's palms were sweaty.

Liu Meiling took a deep breath and pushed the door open to go inside.

The smoke inside was thicker than usual.

There were more people than usual. Besides Guo Daqiang, Brother Wang, and Brother Li, there were several other men and women in the room, some playing cards, and others sitting and chatting and drinking.

The room fell silent for a moment when the two of them came in.

Then Guo Daqiang greeted him with a smile.

"Hey! Xiaoyan! Meiling! You're here?" He was as warm as if nothing had happened yesterday. "Come in, come in!"

Sun Xiaoyan walked in with her head down.

Liu Meiling forced a smile: "Brother Guo, we...we want to play a few more rounds."

"Go ahead and play! You're welcome anytime!" Guo Daqiang put his arm around Sun Xiaoyan's shoulder and led her to the card table. "We've saved seats for you two!"

Sun Xiaoyan stiffened slightly as he held her, but didn't pull away.

The card table is still the same card table.

Brother Wang and Brother Li were already sitting there. When they saw the two of them, they smiled.

"You're here?" Brother Wang said.

"You're here." Liu Meiling sat down.

The game begins.

Guo Daqiang didn't sit at the table; instead, he moved a chair and sat behind Sun Xiaoyan.

In the first hand, Sun Xiaoyan's hand trembled slightly.

"Don't be nervous," Guo Daqiang whispered in her ear, his hand naturally resting on her shoulder.

Then the hand slowly slid down and into her collar.

Sun Xiaoyan trembled.

Guo Daqiang squeezed her breast with his hand.

"Focus on playing cards," he said.

Sun Xiaoyan bit her lip and remained silent.

Across from them, Brother Li's hand was also on Liu Meiling's thigh.

Liu Meiling not only didn't dodge, but also spread her legs a little apart.

"Brother Li, why are your hands so cold today?" Liu Meiling said with a smile.

"Your legs are hot, let me warm them up for you," Brother Li said, reaching his hand into her crotch.

Liu Meiling squeezed her legs together and giggled, "It tickles..."

As Sun Xiaoyan watched, the shame she felt gradually faded.

It seems... that's all there is to it.

My body's already been touched, so what's wrong with a few touches?

She focused intently on the cards.

The cards were actually pretty good.

"I won!" Sun Xiaoyan pushed the tiles over.

Win sixty in one go.

Brother Wang readily paid the money.

In the second round, Liu Meiling also won.

Sun Xiaoyan won again on the third hand.

Money started piling up in front of me.

Guo Daqiang's hand remained inside her clothes, kneading her breasts. Sun Xiaoyan was initially hesitant, but eventually gave in to him.

Let's knead it then.

As long as I can win money, that's fine.

Liu Meiling was even more uninhibited. Brother Li's hand was already inside her pants, and she was swaying her hips and humming as she played cards.

"Brother Li... be gentle..." Liu Meiling said.

"What's wrong? You didn't tell me to be gentle that night," Brother Li laughed.

"That day was that day, today is today." Liu Meiling winked. "I'm getting good cards today, don't bother me while I'm winning."

Everyone else in the room watched and laughed, and no one thought anything was wrong.

This scene seems quite normal.

The cards were played round after round.

The pile of loose change in front of Sun Xiaoyan kept getting higher and higher.

Red and green, a thick stack.

There was also a lot piled up in front of Liu Meiling.

Sun Xiaoyan's heart began to beat faster.

Yes, that's it, keep winning, keep winning!

Guo Daqiang rubbed her breasts and whispered in her ear, "Xiaoyan, you're really lucky today."

Sun Xiaoyan hummed in agreement.

She didn't see it, but Guo Daqiang gave Brother Wang a wink.

Brother Wang nodded.

In the following rounds, Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling won even more decisively.

Self-draw, all one suit, seven pairs...

The money in front of him was piled up like a small mountain.

Sun Xiaoyan counted and realized she had won almost two thousand.

The situation is similar for Liu Meiling's side.

Their eyes lit up.

When the game ended, Sun Xiaoyan had a thick wad of cash piled up in front of her.

Liu Meiling is the same.

Guo Daqiang stood up with a smile: "Congratulations, Xiaoyan and Meiling, you've had great luck today!"

Sun Xiaoyan picked up the money bills one by one and held them tightly in her hand.

Hard and thick.

"Thank you, Brother Guo," she said.

"No need to thank me, you two just had good luck." Guo Daqiang patted her shoulder. "Are you coming again tomorrow?"

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling exchanged a glance.

"Come on!" they both said at the same time.

Stepping out of the card room, a night breeze blew in.

Sun Xiaoyan clutched the money tightly.

Liu Meiling clutched the money, her face beaming with joy.

"Xiaoyan! We won!" Liu Meiling exclaimed excitedly, "Over two thousand! That's much more than what we made selling the goods!"

"Mm." Sun Xiaoyan nodded, her inner energy rising again.

can win.

We really can win.

"Let's come back tomorrow!" Liu Meiling said, "Let's win back everything we lost before!"

"Yes!" Sun Xiaoyan nodded vigorously.

The two clutched the money and walked home.

No one looked back.

In the card room, Guo Daqiang watched their retreating figures and smiled.

Brother Wang walked over: "Brother Qiang, are we letting them win again tomorrow?"

"Win." Guo Daqiang lit a cigarette. "Let them win more. Win so much they won't want to leave, win so much they'll feel like they're gambling gods."

"And then?" Brother Li asked.

"And then?" Guo Daqiang exhaled a puff of smoke. "Then let them lose. Lose until they're penniless. By then, their debts won't be just a few hundred or a few thousand."

He smiled.

"If you owe too much and can't pay it back, then you have to pay it back slowly with your body. Pay back a little each day, one year, two years... Anyway, their men aren't home, so they're just idling around."

Everyone in the room laughed.

Guo Daqiang's face was obscured by the swirling smoke.

Only those eyes were frighteningly bright.