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

Liu Meiling helped Sun Xiaoyan back to her room and closed the door.

Neither of them spoke, and they each lay down.

Sun Xiaoyan hadn't even taken off her skirt. The banknotes stuffed into her chest were uncomfortable, but she didn't care. She just stared at the ceiling with her eyes open.

The next morning, Brother Chen had already left home.

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling got out of bed, their eyes blank.

The two went to the kitchen and began washing the dishes left over from yesterday.

The tap was running, their hands moved mechanically, no one looked at anyone else, and the only sound in the air was the clatter of dishes, heavy and lifeless.

And so another day passed.

In the evening, the two prepared dinner in the kitchen.

The sounds of chopping vegetables, stir-frying, and the humming of the range hood continued as usual.

Suddenly, a suppressed sob came from Xiao Hui's room.

The voice was very low, a muffled murmur, as if something was being held back; it was distressing to listen to.

Liu Meiling paused her chopping, then looked up at Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan heard it too, and her cooking slowed down.

The two exchanged a glance.

Liu Meiling put down the cleaver, wiped her hands, walked to the kitchen drawer where miscellaneous items were stored, and gently pulled it open.

There was a set of spare keys inside, left by Brother Chen when he cleaned their house.

She picked up the bunch of keys and winked at Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan turned off the stove, wiped her hands, and followed.

The two tiptoed quietly to Xiao Hui's door.

The door was closed, but the crying continued intermittently. It was clearer when you got closer, and it was mixed with rapid breathing.

Liu Meiling held the key, gently picked out the one for Xiao Hui's door, carefully inserted it into the lock, and turned it half a turn.

The door lock made a slight clicking sound.

She pushed the door open a crack.

The two leaned closer and squinted to look inside.

The main lights weren't on in the room; only the computer screen flickered, casting a bluish glow.

Xiao Hui sat naked in the chair in front of the computer, his back to the door, his shoulders shrugging.

He was moving one hand rapidly below while holding the mouse with the other.

On the computer screen was a photo of a naked woman in a certain pose, her skin so white it was almost blinding.

Liu Meiling squinted and looked closely.

But the door gap was too narrow, and the face on the screen was not clearly visible.

She gently pushed Sun Xiaoyan, then opened the door a crack, about three fingers wide.

Sun Xiaoyan also leaned in, their faces almost touching, peering in from above and below.

Now I can see it clearly.

The woman on the screen had her legs apart, completely naked, with even her private parts clearly visible; she wasn't wearing a single hair.

Xiao Hui enlarged the photo, and the woman's face took up most of the screen.

Liu Meiling stared at that face, her heart skipped a beat.

She tugged at Sun Xiaoyan's sleeve, took out her phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at the crack in the door.

She zoomed in on the screen, dragged her finger across the phone screen until it was at its maximum, and then pressed the shutter button several times.

After the photo was taken, she gently tugged at Sun Xiaoyan's sleeve.

The two of them tiptoed back to the study.

Liu Meiling closed the door behind her and took a breath.

Sun Xiaoyan looked at her, her face pale.

"You think so too..." Sun Xiaoyan said softly.

"It looks like it." Liu Meiling nodded. "The one in the drawer."

She walked to the desk and opened the drawer where old photos and newspaper clippings were hidden.

There are several yellowed group photos inside, one of Brother Chen and one of a woman.

Liu Meiling took out her phone, flipped to the photo she had just taken, zoomed in on the corner of her mouth, and then picked up an old photo from the drawer, placing the two side by side under the lamp.

Face shape, the same oval face.

Their eyebrows and eyes were the same, with curved eyebrows and slender eyes.

The small mole on the corner of the mouth—the location is exactly the same, slightly below the left corner of the mouth, exactly on the left.

"It's her," Liu Meiling said in a low voice, "Brother Chen's ex-wife."

Sun Xiaoyan's hands trembled slightly: "How come he has these kinds of photos on his computer... and... and they're facing..."

"Who knows?" Liu Meiling quickly operated her phone. "Keep it for now."

She backed up the photos she had just taken, as well as the old photos she had copied from the drawer, and saved them in a hidden folder on her phone.

Sun Xiaoyan also took out her own phone and imitated her operation.

I had just finished when I heard the sound of a door opening outside.

It's Xiaohui's room door.

Then came the sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen.

The two quickly pushed the drawer back and walked out of the study as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Hui stood at the kitchen door, dressed in a neat school uniform, his face a little pale and his eyes a little red.

He looked at them and said, "I'm hungry."

Liu Meiling immediately smiled and said, "It'll be ready soon, Xiaohui, please have a seat."

Sun Xiaoyan also turned around to start the fire and continued cooking.

Dinner was set on the table, and the three of them sat down to eat.

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

Liu Meiling took a bite of rice, glanced at Xiaohui, and suddenly asked, "Xiaohui, do you have a girl you like at school?"

Xiao Hui didn't even look up, and sneered, "Yes."

Liu Meiling's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward slightly: "Oh? Who is it? What does it look like?"

Xiao Hui looked up at her, then at Sun Xiaoyan, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust: "Anyway, it's not like the two of you."

Sun Xiaoyan felt a pang in her heart.

Liu Meiling's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly smiled again.

She put down her chopsticks, stood up, walked to Xiaohui's side, and went around to the back of his chair.

She placed her hand on the back of his chair, leaned down, and softened her voice: "Which kind? Which kind of us? Please be clear."

Xiao Hui turned his face away and stopped talking.

Looking at his appearance and recalling the photos on the computer screen, Sun Xiaoyan felt a surge of anger that had been building up inside her.

She put her chopsticks on the table.

"Your sister-in-law," Sun Xiaoyan stared at Xiao Hui, her voice low but each word clearly enunciated, "was killed by him. And you're still helping him?"

Xiao Hui suddenly looked up, his face instantly changing: "I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

"What's with those photos on the computer?" Sun Xiaoyan persisted. "You were doing that kind of thing in front of your sister-in-law's photos, does your brother know?"

Xiao Hui's lips trembled, his eyes filled with panic: "That's my brother...he's my brother...I can't help it..."

"No other way?" Liu Meiling chimed in. She went around behind Xiao Hui to the side, placed one hand on the edge of the table, and stretched the other hand directly in front of her chest.

She unbuttoned the first button.

Xiao Hui's eyes twitched, then he quickly looked away.

"Your sister-in-law is dead," Liu Meiling said, unbuttoning the second button. "What's the point of you masturbating to her photo every day?"

The third one.

The clothes were open.

Xiao Hui's breathing became noticeably heavier.

He remained frozen in his chair, his fingers gripping the edge of the table.

Liu Meiling pulled her coat aside, revealing that she wasn't even wearing a bra underneath.

She stood straight in front of Xiao Hui, less than half a step away from him, her two white breasts swaying right in front of his eyes, the two nipples slightly upturned.

"Look closely," Liu Meiling said in a low, soft voice, even slightly straightening her back. "It's real, and warm. Isn't it better than the pixels on a computer screen?"

Xiao Hui's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his breathing became increasingly labored.

He tried to turn his head away, but his eyes were fixed on Liu Meiling's chest as if nailed there, his lips slightly parted, and his face flushed red.

Sun Xiaoyan also stood up.

She walked to Xiaohui's other side, didn't say anything, grabbed the hem of her skirt, and suddenly lifted it up.

Her skirt was lifted above her waist, revealing both her legs.

Her thighs were fair and white, and her underwear was black with lace trim, so thin it was almost see-through.

She tucked her skirt into her waistband, took half a step forward, and her leg was almost touching Xiao Hui's arm.

She reached out and gently stroked the back of Xiaohui's hand with the tip of her index finger.

Xiao Hui shuddered, as if he had been electrocuted.

"We're both clean," Sun Xiaoyan's voice trembled slightly, but she didn't back down. Her legs were pressed against his arm, her flesh against the sleeve of her school uniform. "You don't trust things that Brother Chen has touched?"

Xiao Hui sat in a chair, surrounded by women on all sides.

Liu Meiling stood in front of him with her clothes open, her chest less than an arm's length from his face, and he could see the goosebumps and capillaries on her skin.

Sun Xiaoyan, with her bare legs pressed against his right side, her outer thigh rubbing against his arm, clearly showing the mark left by the edge of her black underwear digging into his flesh.

His breathing became more and more rapid, and his chest heaved like a bellows.

He suddenly reached out, his fingers trembling, and aimed at Liu Meiling's chest.

Liu Meiling didn't dodge; instead, she stepped forward to meet her.

Xiao Hui's fingertips touched her skin.

Soft, warm, and slightly damp with sweat.

His fingers recoiled as if burned, then he stretched them out again, this time with his entire palm—

"Don't touch me!" he suddenly shouted, standing up abruptly.

The chair crashed to the ground.

He stumbled back two steps, his back slamming against the wall, his whole body trembling.

He looked down at his hands as if they were something dirty, then looked up at Liu Meiling and Sun Xiaoyan, his eyes red and almost bleeding.

"Please don't touch me...please..." The voice was squeezed out of her throat, trembling.

Just then—

The sound of a key being inserted into the lock came from outside the door.

Click.

Twist it.

The three of them froze on the spot.

Liu Meiling's clothes were open, Sun Xiaoyan's skirt was still tucked into her waist, and Xiao Hui's back was pressed against the wall.

All three of them showed expressions of terror as they looked toward the door.

The doorknob is being pressed down.