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

Li Laoliu squatted at the base of the wall until his legs went numb.

He saw that the lights in Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling's room were off, but he still didn't want to leave.

He was furious after being snubbed by Guo Daqiang that afternoon. "You son of a bitch, Guo Daqiang, you didn't even leave me a drop of soup after eating the meat!" Li Laoliu spat.

He clung to the wall, trying to get a second look. But the room was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Li Laoliu reluctantly put his foot down and rubbed his numb leg. He remembered when he went to find Guo Daqiang that afternoon.

"Brother Guo, those two young ladies have been winning a lot of money with you lately, haven't they?" Li Laoliu rubbed his hands together, his face crinkling with laughter. "Look, I've been keeping watch for you for so long, haven't I...?"

Guo Daqiang was counting his money and didn't even look up: "What lookout? I run a mahjong parlor perfectly legitimately, why would I need you to keep watch?"

"No, Brother Guo, what I mean is..."

"What do you mean?" Guo Daqiang looked up and glanced at him. "Li Laoliu, let me tell you, those two women are fish I caught. Don't get any ideas. Go do what you're supposed to do and don't get in my way."

Li Laoliu was choked and speechless.

He stared at Guo Daqiang's oily face, his heart burning with hatred.

So what if you have a little money? What's there to brag about?

And then there's Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling, those two sluts. Playing cards among men, letting them touch and grope you, shameless.

Li Laoliu became angrier the more he thought about it, and then peered over the wall again.

It was still pitch black. He walked away dejectedly, his footsteps dragging on the ground with a soft rustling sound.

The next morning, Liu Meiling dragged Sun Xiaoyan out of bed early.

"Get up, get up! The sun's already high in the sky!" Liu Meiling was full of energy and had already changed her clothes.

Sun Xiaoyan rubbed her eyes and sat up. She saw that Liu Meiling was wearing a tight black short-sleeved shirt with a low neckline that revealed her cleavage. Her pants were also tight, making her buttocks look round and plump.

"You're wearing this..." Sun Xiaoyan started to say, but Liu Meiling spun around and said, "What's wrong? Doesn't it look good?" "I specifically dug this out from the bottom of my drawer. I bought it in town last year, and I haven't worn it much."

"It looks good," Sun Xiaoyan thought. "It just shows off my figure too much."

"You should change your clothes too." Liu Meiling took out a piece of clothing from her bundle. "Here, this is one I used to wear, try it on."

It was a red short-sleeved shirt, tight-fitting, and made of thin material. Sun Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment, then took it and changed.

The clothes felt tight on my body. They constricted my chest and accentuated my waist.

"Great!" Liu Meiling clapped her hands. "Let's go, let's go eat, and then hurry over to Guo Daqiang's place."

The two of them quickly ate a couple of bites of breakfast and then went out.

On the way, they met several elderly people who had gotten up early to go to the fields. When they saw the two women dressed like this, their eyes widened in surprise.

"Xiaoyan, Meiling, what are you doing dressed so nicely?" an old lady asked.

"Let's go for a stroll in town," Liu Meiling replied with a smile, linking arms with Sun Xiaoyan and walking even faster.

Once they were in a secluded spot, Liu Meiling lowered her voice and said, "See? Those old guys are staring wide-eyed."

Sun Xiaoyan blushed slightly: "Aren't we dressed a little too...?"

"What? Perfect!" Liu Meiling interrupted her. "We're going to win big money today, shouldn't we dress smartly?"

Sun Xiaoyan fell silent.

When they arrived at the entrance of the chess and card room, Guo Daqiang was already waiting.

Upon seeing the two of them, Guo Daqiang's eyes lit up: "Wow, you're all dressed up so beautifully today?"

"Absolutely." Liu Meiling puffed out her chest. "We're going big today, shouldn't we have a good omen?"

"Yes, yes, yes, a good omen!" Guo Daqiang said with a smile as he welcomed them inside. "The table is all set, we're just waiting for you two."

It was the same table by the window; Brother Wang and Brother Li were already sitting there.

When they saw Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling come in, the two men stared intently at them.

"You're here?" Brother Wang pushed up his glasses, his gaze lingering on Liu Meiling's chest for several seconds.

Brother Li didn't say anything, he just stared at Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan felt uncomfortable under his gaze and lowered her head to tug at the hem of her clothes.

The four of them sat down.

The game begins.

Today we're playing with a ten-yuan base. Sun Xiaoyan's palms were sweaty as she drew the cards.

In the first round, her luck was so-so. On the contrary, Liu Meiling got a great hand right away.

"Self-draw!" Liu Meiling pushed the tiles away, grinning from ear to ear.

Win 120 in one go.

Brother Wang and Brother Li readily handed over their money. When Brother Li was giving out the money, his hand "accidentally" touched the back of Liu Meiling's hand.

Liu Meiling didn't dodge; instead, she smiled at him.

In the second hand, Sun Xiaoyan also had a winning hand. She stared nervously at her tiles, drew one, but it wasn't hers. She drew another, still not hers.

Li Ge on the other side played a five of bamboo. "I...I won." Sun Xiaoyan's voice was a little soft.

He handed her fifty yuan. As he did so, Brother Li scratched her palm with his finger. Sun Xiaoyan's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the money.

She looked up at Brother Li, who was smiling at her with an inscrutable expression.

Sun Xiaoyan quickly lowered her head and clutched the money tightly. The game continued.

Sun Xiaoyan gradually realized that Brother Wang and Brother Li seemed even "weaker" than yesterday.

She kept getting the cards she wanted, or she'd be the one to give away the winning hand. She and Liu Meiling took turns winning, and the change in front of them piled up higher and higher.

Guo Daqiang kept circling behind Sun Xiaoyan, occasionally offering a few words of "guidance." "Xiaoyan, that was a good shot."

"Wow, that's a beautiful hand."

As he spoke, his hand naturally rested on the back of Sun Xiaoyan's chair.

After a while, the hand slid down and landed on Sun Xiaoyan's shoulder.

Sun Xiaoyan stiffened. Guo Daqiang didn't move his hand away; instead, he gently squeezed her shoulder.

"Relax, let's play cards," Guo Daqiang said, leaning close to her ear, his breath hot against her neck.

Sun Xiaoyan's ears turned red.

She didn't dare to move.

Guo Daqiang's hand slid down her shoulder, down her back, and finally stopped at her waist.

Sun Xiaoyan tensed up completely.

The hand paused on her waist for a moment, then moved down to her buttocks.

Even through the thin pants, Sun Xiaoyan could clearly feel the temperature and strength of that hand.

Guo Daqiang pinched it.

Sun Xiaoyan couldn't help but snort.

The sound was very soft, but everyone at the table heard it.

Liu Meiling looked up at her, her gaze somewhat complicated. Brother Wang and Brother Li also looked over, smiling.

Guo Daqiang's hands didn't stop; he rubbed it a couple more times.

Sun Xiaoyan's mind went blank. She wanted to get away, but her body felt like it didn't belong to her; she couldn't move.

The hand kneaded harder and harder, and Sun Xiaoyan felt a burning sensation on her buttocks, but the warm current in her stomach surged up again.

She bit her lip and didn't say anything more.

Guo Daqiang rubbed for a while before withdrawing his hand.

"I won!" Sun Xiaoyan suddenly shouted, pushing the tiles over.

She didn't know how she won; she just randomly picked a card and won.

"Not bad, Xiaoyan!" Guo Daqiang laughed behind her. "Your luck is getting better and better."

Sun Xiaoyan took the money from Brother Wang, her hands still trembling.

She glanced at Liu Meiling secretly.

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

Liu Meiling didn't dodge; instead, she moved her leg closer to Brother Li.

Brother Li's hand moved up her thigh.

Liu Meiling squeezed her legs together.

Brother Li laughed and whispered something in her ear.

Liu Meiling blushed slightly, then nodded.

Brother Li then slipped his hand inside her trouser leg.

Sun Xiaoyan watched with bated breath and quickly looked down at her cards. The game continued for several more rounds.

The change in front of Sun Xiaoyan had piled up into a small mountain. She counted it and realized she had won almost five hundred.

Liu Meiling won even more, probably seven or eight hundred.

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore." Brother Wang pushed the cards away. "I've just given you two money away again today."

Brother Li also stood up and stretched. As he pulled his hand out of Liu Meiling's trouser leg, he gently pinched her calf.

Liu Meiling giggled.

"You're not playing anymore at this hour?" Guo Daqiang said, but a happy smile appeared on his face. "Alright, alright, how about we come again tomorrow?"

Liu Meiling eagerly said, "Come! You have to come!"

Guo Daqiang looked at Sun Xiaoyan: "Where's Xiaoyan?"

Sun Xiaoyan looked at the pile of money in front of her.

Red ones, green ones, a thick stack.

"Come here," she said.

Guo Daqiang laughed even more heartily: "Then it's settled! Tomorrow afternoon, at the same time."

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling began counting the money.

Today they won even more. Sun Xiaoyan won 520 yuan, and Liu Meiling won 830 yuan.

The two packed up the money and left the card room.

The sun outside was so bright it hurt my eyes.

Liu Meiling grabbed Sun Xiaoyan's arm, her voice rising an octave with excitement: "See that? Eight hundred and thirty! Adding that to what we got the other day, it's over a thousand! We're rich!"

Sun Xiaoyan didn't speak. She was still thinking about Guo Daqiang's hand, warm and pressed against her buttocks.

There was also Brother Li's hand reaching into Liu Meiling's trouser leg.

"Xiaoyan, what's wrong?" Liu Meiling asked, looking at her.

"No...nothing," Sun Xiaoyan shook her head. "It's just that...they..."

"What did they do to us?" Liu Meiling laughed. "Touching them a couple of times won't hurt us. Look how much we won!"

Yes, how much did they win?

Sun Xiaoyan touched the wad of money in her pocket; it was thick and substantial.

"Tomorrow..." Liu Meiling leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Tomorrow we'll go to town. I've checked, there are unlicensed taxis, it'll only cost ten yuan per person. We'll get our hair permed, buy clothes, and eat out!"

As Sun Xiaoyan listened, the awkwardness in her heart gradually dissipated.

"Okay," she said. The two walked back along the village road.

Liu Meiling spent the whole day planning what to buy and what to do in town the next day.

Sun Xiaoyan listened, occasionally humming in agreement.

She reached into her pocket and touched the money.

Hard and cold.

But when you touch it, it feels warm inside.

It's burning hot.