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

A week has passed.

As the morning sunlight streamed in through the entrance of the chess and card shop, a police car was parked in front of it.

Sun Xiaoyan was sweeping the floor when she saw the car door open and a policeman in uniform leading a thin little girl out of the car.

The little girl, with two braids and wearing a floral dress, looked timid and hid behind the policeman, too afraid to move.

Xiaoyan dropped the broom from her hand and ran inside, calling out, "Meiling! Meiling! Come out quickly!"

Liu Meiling walked out of the inner room with a cigarette in her mouth. When she saw the scene at the door, the cigarette fell directly from her mouth.

The police officer led the little girl into the store, his voice gentle: "Your daughter, we've rescued her."

The little girl saw Xiaoqin arranging mahjong tiles in the corner, and tears streamed down her face. She broke free from the policeman's hand and ran inside, crying, "Mommy!"

Xiaoqin froze.

The mahjong tiles in her hand clattered to the ground, and she knelt down, opening her arms to tightly embrace her daughter who was rushing towards her.

The little girl cried so hard she could barely breathe, clinging tightly to her neck and refusing to let go.

"Mommy, Mommy, I'm so scared! That uncle locked me in a dark room, I'm so scared..."

Xiaoqin was trembling all over, her hands pressing tightly against the back of her daughter's head, and large tears falling onto her daughter's shoulder.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word; she could only hug her daughter even tighter.

Sun Xiaoyan stood to the side, her eyes instantly reddening. She turned away and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

Liu Meiling didn't say anything, just held the extinguished cigarette in her mouth, not moving for a long time. Finally, she took a deep drag of the empty cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and stomped it out.

The police officer stood at the door for a while, waiting until the mother and daughter had finished crying, before approaching them and saying, "I'm entrusting the child to you for now. We'll contact you if anything happens; we'll call you."

Xiaoqin knelt on the ground, her voice hoarse: "Thank you, thank you, police officer."

The policeman waved his hand, turned around, and left.

The moment the door closed, Xiaoqin was still kneeling on the ground, holding her daughter tightly and refusing to let go.

The little girl leaned on her shoulder and whispered, "Mommy, I'm hungry."

Xiaoqin quickly wiped away her tears and stood up, frantically rummaging through the cupboards for something to eat.

Sun Xiaoyan had already brought over a bowl of porridge, squatted down, and handed it to the little girl: "Sweetie, drink some porridge first, and Auntie will fry you an egg, okay?"

The little girl timidly took the bowl and looked up at Xiaoqin.

Xiaoqin nodded, and then she began to drink it in small sips.

Liu Meiling leaned against the door frame and watched this scene without saying a word for a long time before finally turning around and going to the kitchen.

In the afternoon, after Xiaoqin put her daughter to sleep, she changed into clean clothes and said she was going out for a while.

Xiaoyan asked her where she was going, and Xiaoqin replied calmly, "To the prison to get Li Dafu to sign some papers."

Xiaoyan paused for a moment, then put down the rag in her hand: "I'll go with you."

The two took a bus for an hour to reach the prison on the outskirts of the city.

After going through the registration, security check, and visitation process, it was already past 3 p.m. when I finally sat down at the cold iron table in the visitation room.

Li Dafu was brought out wearing prison clothes, and the injuries on his face had not fully healed.

Upon seeing Xiaoqin, he was taken aback at first, then sneered, "What are you doing here? To laugh at me?"

Xiaoqin took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolded it, and pushed it over: "Sign."

Divorce agreement.

Li Dafu glanced down, his expression changing: "You fucking want a divorce?"

"Sign." Xiaoqin's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady.

Li Dafu slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly. A prison guard next to him immediately shouted, "Sit down!"

He was pushed back into the chair, his eyes fixed on Xiaoqin, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "You just wait, you'll see what happens when I get out of here."

Xiaoqin didn't say anything, she just looked at him.

Li Dafu glanced at the divorce agreement again, suddenly laughed, grabbed a pen, signed his name in a flourish, and tossed the paper back: "Signed. You wait."

Xiaoqin picked up the agreement, carefully folded it, put it in her pocket, stood up, and walked out.

When she reached the door, she paused for a moment, but without turning around, she pushed the door open and went out.

Sun Xiaoyan was waiting outside the visiting room. When she saw her come out, she quickly went up to her and asked, "Did you sign it?"

Xiaoqin nodded.

Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked cautiously, "Did he say anything?"

"I did," Xiaoqin smiled, "I told you to wait."

Xiaoyan frowned, but Xiaoqin shook her head: "Let's just wait, it's better than following him anyway."

As the two walked out of the prison gates, the sun was setting in the west.

Xiaoqin squinted at the distant sky, took a long breath, as if expelling something from her body.

In the evening, after the card and mahjong parlor closed, Liu Meiling called all the girls who were there to play games to the lobby.

Six beautiful women in cheongsams stood in a row, and Xiaoqin was among them.

Sun Xiaoyan leaned against the mahjong table, a cigarette dangling from her fingers.

Liu Meiling stood in front of them, a cigarette between her fingers. She took a drag, exhaled, and the smoke drifted away under the light.

"I know what you've done before," she said bluntly, her voice low but firm. "I don't care about or ask about your past. But if you work for me, you have to follow my rules."

The girls looked at each other, and no one spoke.

"Playing cards with customers is fine, letting them touch my butt or breasts is also acceptable," Liu Meiling flicked her cigarette ash. "But if I find out anyone is secretly taking customers, they're fired immediately."

Sun Xiaoyan added from the side, "We're a legitimate card and board game shop. If everyone works hard, you won't be short of money."

The girls remained silent, exchanging glances.

Xiaoqin was the first to stand up, her voice not loud but firm: "I'll listen to Sister Meiling."

Once she spoke, the other girls nodded in agreement: "We'll listen to Sister Meiling." "We understand, Sister Meiling."

Liu Meiling finally smiled for the first time that night, stubbed out her cigarette, and said, "Alright, everyone go and get ready, we have to go to work tomorrow."

The girls dispersed in twos and threes. Xiaoqin turned and walked towards the back room, where her daughter was still sleeping.

As night deepened, all the lights in the card and mahjong parlor were turned off, leaving only the one at the entrance on.

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling moved two chairs and sat by the door, each with a cigarette in their mouth.

The summer night breeze carried a hint of heat, spreading the smell of smoke everywhere as it blew by.

The sound of a little girl's laughter came from inside the shop.

Xiaoqin was sitting at the mahjong table, teaching her daughter to do her homework.

The little girl held a pencil, writing carefully stroke by stroke in her notebook. As she wrote, she looked up and asked, "Mommy, what's this word?"

"Thinking of 'home'." Xiaoqin stroked her head.

"Home..." The little girl lowered her head and carefully wrote two strokes, then looked up again, "And what about this character?"

Xiaoqin smiled, picked her up and put her on her lap, and taught her word by word.

Sun Xiaoyan watched this scene, took a drag of her cigarette, and remained silent.

Liu Meiling watched, flicked her cigarette ash, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Do you think we'll ever be able to live like this again in our lives?"

Sun Xiaoyan didn't answer, took another drag of her cigarette, and slowly exhaled.

In the darkness, the flickering cigarette light went off and on.

The little girl's laughter drifted out of the shop again, crisp and clear, as refreshing as a summer evening breeze.

Liu Meiling suddenly laughed and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray: "Let's go, we have to open tomorrow."

Sun Xiaoyan also put out her cigarette, stood up, and turned around to look at the store.

Xiaoqin was holding her daughter and telling her a story. The little girl was resting on her shoulder with her eyes closed.

She didn't say anything, turned around and followed Liu Meiling into the store.

The moment the door closed, light shone through the crack and illuminated the street in the night.

At least this time, they can have a different outcome.