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

"You disagree, huh? I have plenty of ways to deal with that!" The man gritted his teeth and lashed out with the whip again.

Snapped!

It hit her thigh.

Snapped!

Spanking on the buttocks.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

One lash after another, giving her no chance to catch her breath.

Sun Xiaoyan was in so much pain that her whole body convulsed, her face was covered in tears and saliva, and her voice was hoarse from screaming.

The little girl knelt on the ground, covering her face and crying.

The woman covered in wounds stood to the side, holding a wine bowl, head down, without uttering a sound.

"Are you willing?" the man asked, stopping his work and panting heavily.

Sun Xiaoyan could no longer speak; she could only shake her head, shaking it desperately.

The man flew into a rage, ripping open his shirt: "Fine, I'll show you what I'm made of today!"

He threw away the whip and walked towards Sun Xiaoyan.

Looking at his hideous face and disgusting fat, Sun Xiaoyan felt a despair she had never felt before.

Then she couldn't see anything anymore.

Suddenly everything went black, and Sun Xiaoyan completely lost consciousness.

As dawn broke, the man lowered Sun Xiaoyan down from the roof beam.

As soon as the rope came loose, she collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

His naked body was covered in purplish-blue whip marks, and the scabs on his buttocks and thighs had formed dark red scabs.

She huddled in the corner, her eyes open, but she looked dead.

The man squatted down, pinched her chin, looked her over, and nodded with satisfaction: "Alright, I knew you wouldn't dare run away."

He turned and walked to the corner, picked up Sun Xiaoyan's red cheongsam, shook off the dust, and examined the fabric from all angles, muttering, "This fabric is not bad, it can fetch a few dollars."

After saying that, he folded the cheongsam neatly and stuffed it into a broken cabinet. Then he rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a dusty old jacket and a pair of black cloth trousers, throwing them in front of Sun Xiaoyan: "Put these on, don't go around naked."

Sun Xiaoyan did not move.

She acted as if she hadn't heard, her eyes fixed on the crack in the wall.

The man grew impatient and kicked her in the shin: "I told you to put it on!"

Sun Xiaoyan then moved like a machine, slowly putting on the old jacket.

The jacket was too big, and the collar was loose and sagging, revealing the collarbone and bruises on the chest.

Her pants were long, and she stepped on them, but she didn't care and just sat there blankly.

Seeing her like this, the man laughed instead: "Okay, you're more obedient than I thought."

Just then, the sound of a little girl crying came from next door, soft and delicate, like a kitten meowing.

The man's face darkened, and he strode out.

Sun Xiaoyan heard the sound of a slap coming from next door, followed by a little girl's screams and cries: "Dad, stop hitting me! I was wrong! Stop hitting me!"

The village woman whispered beside them, "The child is still young, don't hit him..."

"Get out of here! It's all your fault for spoiling her! This brat doesn't want to come with me to sell water today, what are we going to eat tonight!" After the man roared, there was another round of beatings and curses.

Sun Xiaoyan's fingers twitched.

She didn't look up, but listened to the crying, which felt like knives stabbing into her ears.

After being beaten, the little girl was driven into the yard and squatted in the corner, sobbing.

The man walked back, glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, and there was a disgusting light in his eyes.

"Get up and go to bed," he said.

Sun Xiaoyan didn't move.

The man walked over, grabbed her hair, and dragged her onto the bed.

The smell of old cotton wool and sweat hit my face.

She lay there, her eyes vacant like two black holes.

The man pressed down on her.

Sun Xiaoyan closed her eyes, her mind blank, filled only with darkness.

The sound of a little girl crying came from next door, along with the abducted woman's soft soothing voice: "Don't cry, don't cry..."

After finishing, the man pulled up his pants, satisfied, and walked out of the house, calling out, "I'm going to buy something. Keep an eye on her!"

Then the door slammed shut, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Sun Xiaoyan lay motionless on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The woman carried in a bowl of porridge, placed it on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and said softly, "Have some."

Sun Xiaoyan did not respond.

The woman glanced at her, her eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

She didn't try to persuade her any further, turned around and went out, leaving the porridge there.

After a while, the little girl peeked in and looked timidly at Sun Xiaoyan.

There was a bloodstain on the corner of her mouth, and half of her face was swollen.

The little girl whispered, "Sister, I'm sorry..."

Sun Xiaoyan's eyes finally moved as she looked at the thin figure. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

The little girl continued, "I'm not lying to you, my dad beats me... and my mom gets beaten too..."

Tears streamed down her face.

Just then, the woman came over and pulled the little girl away, saying, "Stop talking, come and eat."

The little girl walked away crying and limping.

The porridge slowly cooled in the bowl, but Sun Xiaoyan didn't touch it.

At the same time, in the city.

Liu Meiling stood at the entrance of the chess and card shop, smoking one cigarette after another. Seven or eight cigarette butts were already lying on the ground.

Li Yan came out of the store with a very bad expression: "I went to the police station, but no one cared. They said that adults wouldn't get lost on their own, and that they probably left because they had something to do."

"?" Liu Meiling sneered. "She's been kidnapped!"

Li Yan sighed: "Without evidence, people won't believe you just because you say it."

Liu Meiling slammed her cigarette butt on the ground: "Then find it yourself!"

She turned and left.

Li Yan grabbed her arm: "Where are you going? You don't know anyone here!"

"I'm going to find Xiaoqin and ask her to cook for Xiaohui and Liuyue for the next few days. I can't take care of them anymore," Liu Meiling said before walking out.

Li Yan followed up: "And you? Where are you planning to go?"

"I went to the train station, the wholesale market, everywhere I could go," Liu Meiling said, her eyes red. "I can't let her just disappear like this."

Li Yan paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Xiaoqin was temporarily managing affairs at the chess and card shop. Upon hearing that Xiaoyan was missing, her face turned pale: "Then, what do we do?"

"Starting tomorrow, you'll go to my house to cook for Xiaohui and Liu Yue. They're taking the college entrance exam these days, and they can't be left unattended," Liu Meiling instructed. "There's money in the card, go get it yourself, don't be stingy."

Xiaoqin nodded: "Don't worry, Sister Meiling, I will definitely take good care of them."

Liu Meiling patted her on the shoulder, then turned and left with Li Yan.

Over the next two days, Liu Meiling and Li Yan traveled almost all over the city.

We searched train stations, wholesale markets, rental houses in urban villages, abandoned construction sites... we searched everywhere that might be hiding people, but to no avail.

Liu Meiling's voice was hoarse, blisters formed on the soles of her feet, dark circles appeared under her eyes, and her complexion was sallow.

On the afternoon of the third day, they ate noodles at a small noodle shop. Looking at the noodles in her bowl, Liu Meiling suddenly slammed her chopsticks down: "Damn it, what a lousy place! We can't even find a soul!"

The boss was startled, looked at them, and dared not speak.

Li Yan was silent for a moment, then said, "Why don't we call my brother?"

Liu Meiling looked up: "Brother Li Chun?"

Li Yan nodded: "He has a wide network of contacts and knows many people, so maybe he can find him."

"Can he come back?"

"I'll have him come back." Li Yan took out her phone, scrolled through her contacts, and dialed the number.

The phone rang a few times before it connected.

"Brother, it's me."

"What's wrong?" Li Chun's voice was deep and resonant.

"Xiaoyan is missing. She's been kidnapped. Meiling and I have been looking for her for days, but we're helpless. Could you come back and help us look for her?" Li Yan said, her voice strained.

Li Chun paused for a moment, then asked, "When did this happen?"

Three days ago.

"Have you called the police?"

"I reported it, but they didn't take it seriously, saying that adults wouldn't get lost."

There was a sound on the other end of the phone, as if Li Chun was getting up: "Okay, I'll be right back. Erhu is coming with me too."

"I like Xiaoyan, I can't let anything happen to her." After saying that, Li Chun added, "Don't run around, stay home and wait."

Li Yan agreed and hung up the phone.

Liu Meiling looked at her: "What do you mean?"

"My brother said he's coming back."

Liu Meiling's eyes reddened, she lowered her head, and after a long while, she said, "Thank you."

Li Yan patted her on the shoulder: "Don't say anything, we're sisters."

Night fell again in the mountain village.

The man came back drunk, and reeked of alcohol.

He kicked the door open as soon as he entered and saw Sun Xiaoyan still sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in a daze, not having touched her porridge. He immediately became furious.

"Damn it, I paid for this, and you're still not eating? Do you want to starve to death?" He rushed over and slapped Sun Xiaoyan across the face.

Sun Xiaoyan's head was tilted to one side, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

She didn't cry or scream.

He just stared blankly at the corner of the wall.

Seeing her reaction, the man became frightened: "Are you fucking scared out of your wits?"

He looked closer and saw that Sun Xiaoyan's eyes were indeed unfocused, as if her soul had drifted away.

The man spat: "Fine, good that you're stupid. Stupid people are more obedient."

He turned and went to the kitchen, fetched a bowl of leftover rice soaked in water, and handed it to Sun Xiaoyan: "Eat!"

Sun Xiaoyan blankly picked up the bowl and began shoveling food into her mouth, bite by bite.

The food was cold and had a sour smell, but she didn't feel disgusted.

After they finished eating, the man pressed her down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and started taking off her pants.

Sun Xiaoyan lay there, like a piece of wood.

This time, she didn't even close her eyes; she just stared at the spiderwebs on the roof beams.

The man gripped her waist, muttering as he moved, "You'll definitely get pregnant this time. Look at your big butt, you're good at carrying babies..."

In the next room, the little girl nestled in the arms of the abducted woman, listening to the commotion, and whispered, "Mommy, is that woman crying?"

The abducted woman hugged her tightly, without saying a word.

Her eyes also reddened.

As night deepened, the mountain village quieted down, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the broken windows.

Sun Xiaoyan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her eyes open, feeling as if the world had nothing to do with her anymore.

She couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

……