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

Sun Xiaoyan clutched the thick wad of money, her palms sweaty, but her heart was filled with warmth.

Liu Meiling did the same, stuffing money into her underwear, making it bulge, and she walked with a wobbly gait.

The two remained silent the entire way, listening only to the sound of their footsteps and the pounding of their hearts.

After entering Sun Xiaoyan's house, I closed the door.

Liu Meiling plopped down on the bed and let out a long sigh.

"Xiaoyan, get me a cigarette," she said.

Sun Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment: "I...I don't have any cigarettes."

"I have some." Liu Meiling took out half a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from her bag, pulled one out and handed it to Sun Xiaoyan, and then lit one for herself.

Sun Xiaoyan took the cigarette, her hand still trembling slightly.

Liu Meiling leaned over and lit it for her.

Sun Xiaoyan took a sip and choked, coughing violently.

"Slow down." Liu Meiling smiled, lit one for herself, took a deep breath, and exhaled a large cloud of smoke.

The two of them sat there, puffing on their cigarettes.

The room quickly filled with smoke.

"Meiling," Sun Xiaoyan spoke first, her voice a little hoarse, "Do you think... our luck has returned today?"

"Absolutely!" Liu Meiling's eyes lit up. "Did you see that? A pure suit! A self-draw! That's several hundred yuan in one hand! We were just unlucky before!"

"But Guo Daqiang and the others..." Sun Xiaoyan recalled that at the card table, Guo Daqiang's hand was always inside her clothes, and the look in Brother Wang and Brother Li's eyes.

"What's wrong with them?" Liu Meiling scoffed. "Aren't men just like that? Seeing us like this, their eyes practically popped out of their sockets. What's wrong with letting them touch us a few times? It's not like it'll hurt us."

She paused, then leaned closer to Sun Xiaoyan: "Xiaoyan, I'm telling you the truth."

"What?"

"That night... when Brother Li and Brother Wang were doing what they wanted to me," Liu Meiling's voice lowered, "at first I was scared, and I screamed like a pig being slaughtered. But later..."

Sun Xiaoyan looked at her.

"Later... I don't know why, my body just got warm." Liu Meiling took a drag of her cigarette. "Maybe it's because I haven't had a man in so long, and my lower body is so dry. When they did it, although it hurt, but... but I felt something inside."

Sun Xiaoyan didn't speak, and lowered her head to smoke.

"Don't pretend," Liu Meiling pushed her, "When Guo Daqiang was doing that to you, didn't you react? I heard you moan."

Sun Xiaoyan's face turned red instantly.

"I...I didn't..."

"Come on," Liu Meiling laughed, "We're both women, we all know each other. Comfort is comfort, discomfort is discomfort. We've both been with men, why pretend to be innocent?"

Sun Xiaoyan bit her lip, and after a long while, she whispered, "Yes...it's a little...but it was forced..."

"So what if I'm forced?" Liu Meiling said. "If I feel good, I feel good. Besides, our men aren't home all year round. At our age, are we going to live like widows?"

She leaned closer, her voice seductive: "Xiaoyan, do you want to win more money?"

"I want to," Sun Xiaoyan nodded.

"Then we'll have to make use of our bodies," Liu Meiling said. "Look today, we just twisted around a little, and they were completely out of their element, they couldn't even play their cards properly. If we loosened up a bit more..."

"Loosen up a bit more?" Sun Xiaoyan looked up at her.

"We won't wear underwear tomorrow," Liu Meiling said. "We'll just wear a thin skirt. If they want to look, let them look all they want. If they get distracted, we'll just focus on winning money."

Sun Xiaoyan's heart started racing.

"Will this... will this work?"

"What's wrong with that?" Liu Meiling stood up and turned around in the room. "With our figures, our breasts, our butts, aren't they our assets? Why not use them!"

She walked up to Sun Xiaoyan and squatted down: "Xiaoyan, we can't keep letting them take advantage of us. We have to use this body to get something tangible in return."

Sun Xiaoyan looked into her bright eyes.

"Okay," she said.

Liu Meiling smiled and took the pink box out of her bag.

"Come on, let's celebrate!"

Sun Xiaoyan blushed again: "Again?"

"Here you go!" Liu Meiling had already opened the box. "Anyway, I'm just killing time."

The two lay down on the bed again.

This time, Sun Xiaoyan wasn't as shy.

As the machine buzzed, she closed her eyes, her mind filled with thoughts of tomorrow's card game.

Winning money.

Keep winning.

Liu Meiling breathed heavily in her ear: "Yes...that's it...tomorrow...tomorrow, let those men...serve us like this too..."

Sun Xiaoyan didn't say anything, but she twisted her body even more violently.

The next afternoon, the two of them really weren't wearing underwear before they went out.

Sun Xiaoyan chose a floral dress. The fabric was thin and clung to her body when the wind blew, making her nipples very obvious.

Liu Meiling went even further, wearing a black tight-fitting dress with a slit almost up to her thighs, her white thighs swaying as she walked.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Let's go, kill them all!" Liu Meiling said.

Guo Daqiang was already waiting in the card room.

Brother Wang and Brother Li were also there.

The three men stared wide-eyed when they saw the two of them come in.

Guo Daqiang was the first to react, smiling as he greeted them: "Hey! Xiaoyan, Meiling! You're dressed so fashionably today!"

His gaze lingered on Sun Xiaoyan's chest for a moment, then swept over Liu Meiling's thighs.

Sun Xiaoyan forced herself to remain calm: "Brother Guo, today... today we're going big."

"Let's play! We have to play big!" Guo Daqiang warmly put his arm around her shoulder, his hand naturally sliding down to touch her back.

No underwear.

Guo Daqiang's lips curled into a smile.

"Sit down, sit down!" he invited.

The game begins.

When Sun Xiaoyan sat down, she deliberately slacked off, riding her skirt up to reveal more of her thighs.

Brother Wang's eyes widened in disbelief.

Liu Meiling was even more uninhibited. She crossed her legs, and the slit in her dress suddenly opened, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Brother Li almost dropped the cards in his hand.

"Brother Li, focus on playing cards," Liu Meiling said with a coquettish smile.

"Focus...focus." Brother Li swallowed.

When Sun Xiaoyan drew her first card, she leaned forward, her collar open.

Brother Wang's hand trembled, and he printed the wrong card.

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

"Oops! I printed the wrong one!" Brother Wang slapped his thigh.

"Brother Wang, where are you looking?" Liu Meiling laughed from the side.

Brother Wang chuckled, paying upfront.

In the next few rounds, Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling took turns winning.

Guo Daqiang sat behind Sun Xiaoyan, his hand resting on the back of her chair. He didn't put his hand inside her clothes, but his warmth enveloped her.

"Xiaoyan is really lucky today," Guo Daqiang said.

"Luck, luck," Sun Xiaoyan said, raising her arm as she played a card. Her armpit was empty, and the outline of her breasts could be seen from the side.

Wang Ge on the other side was stunned again.

"Bang!" Brother Li shouted, but his eyes were still glancing at Liu Meiling's legs.

The card game continued like this.

The pile of loose change in front of Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling grew higher and higher.

Guo Daqiang would occasionally give Brother Wang and Brother Li a wink.

The two of them might "mistake" something, like setting off a firecracker, or they might not touch each other when they should.

Sun Xiaoyan's heart was beating faster and faster.

Yes, that's it.

Distract them.

Winning money on your own.

Over at Liu Meiling's side, Brother Li's hand was already on her thigh.

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

"Brother Li, are your hands cold?" she asked.

"It's cold, warm it up for me," Brother Li said, reaching his hand inside.

Liu Meiling squeezed her legs together and giggled, "It tickles... Stop fooling around, we're playing cards."

But she was fidgeting and twisting her body, not at all like someone who was focused on playing cards.

Wang Ge also came over to Sun Xiaoyan's side.

"Xiaoyan, you played cards really well," Brother Wang said, his hand "accidentally" touching her arm.

Sun Xiaoyan did not dodge.

Wang Ge grew bolder and slid his hand down her arm until he touched her hand.

Sun Xiaoyan's hand trembled, and one of the cards fell to the ground.

"Oh dear, let me pick it up for you." Brother Wang bent down to pick it up, his head close to her legs, his eyes glancing into her skirt.

Sun Xiaoyan pressed her legs together.

But Brother Wang had already seen it.

He looked up, and his eyes changed.

Guo Daqiang watched all this with a smile on his face.

He nodded to Brother Wang.

Brother Wang understood immediately.

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.

When the game ended, Sun Xiaoyan counted her winnings and found she had won nearly three thousand.

Liu Meiling is similar.

Their eyes lit up.

Guo Daqiang stood up with a smile: "Congratulations! You two were truly blessed by the God of Gamblers today!"

"Thank you, Brother Guo!" Liu Meiling said excitedly, picking up the money one bill at a time and stuffing it into her bag.

"Are you coming again tomorrow?" Guo Daqiang asked.

"Come on! You have to come!" Liu Meiling said eagerly.

Sun Xiaoyan nodded vigorously.

It was already dark when I left the card room.

Liu Meiling hugged Sun Xiaoyan tightly: "Xiaoyan! We've struck it rich!"

"Yes!" Sun Xiaoyan exclaimed excitedly, "More than three thousand! More than yesterday!"

"Let's go! To town!" Liu Meiling said, "Now! To buy clothes! To eat out!"

"Now?" Sun Xiaoyan looked at the sky. "There are no more cars."

"Borrow the tricycle!" Liu Meiling said. "Let's borrow Old Zhang's tricycle from the east end of the village again!"

"But his wife..."

"What are you afraid of? Pay up!" Liu Meiling pulled two red bills from her bag. "Two hundred yuan, enough for one night, right?"

The two ran to Old Zhang's house.

Old Zhang was eating in the yard when he saw the two of them, and his eyes lit up.

Especially after seeing Liu Meiling's dress, I stopped eating.

"Brother Zhang, can we borrow your tricycle for the night?" Liu Meiling handed over the money.

Old Zhang took the money, squeezed it, and said, "That's fine, but what about my wife..."

"Just say we need it urgently and will return it first thing tomorrow morning," Liu Meiling said, leaning closer and whispering something in his ear.

Old Zhang's face flushed red, and he nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay! You can use it! Use it as you like!"

The tricycles were brought out.

Liu Meiling asked Sun Xiaoyan to ride the bicycle.

"You're a good driver, you ride," she said.

Sun Xiaoyan didn't refuse and got on the car seat.

Liu Meiling sat in the back of the truck, holding a bag of money.

"Let's go!" Liu Meiling shouted.

Sun Xiaoyan pedals the tricycle.

The car creaked and rattled along the village road.

A night breeze blew by, making Sun Xiaoyan's skirt stick to her body, feeling chilly.

But she felt warm inside.

Liu Meiling hummed a song behind her, out of tune, but very cheerfully.

"Xiaoyan! Let's do it again tomorrow!" Liu Meiling said loudly.

"Yes!" Sun Xiaoyan also exclaimed.

"Let those men see! Let them touch! And we'll win money! Win big money!"

"right!"

The car turned onto the dirt road leading to the town.

The car headlights illuminated the darkness ahead.

The road was full of potholes, making the car bounce even more violently.

Liu Meiling hugged the money bag tightly and laughed even louder.

Sun Xiaoyan laughed along with her.

Their laughter mingled together and drifted far away on the night breeze.

The dark dirt road stretched ahead.

The town is still more than ten miles away.

But they felt that there was light all ahead.