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

As dawn broke, the door to the woodshed was pushed open.

The old woman stood at the door, holding two red cloth garments in her hands, and threw them on the ground.

"Today you and Erniu will be getting married."

His voice was cold, as if he were casually discussing what dishes to have for dinner.

Sun Xiaoyan lay on a pile of messy straw, her eyes bloodshot, still wearing the tattered jacket from yesterday, her shoulders exposed, covered in bruises and red marks.

She trembled slightly upon hearing the old woman's words, but did not move.

Liu Meiling, who was lying on the other side with her hair disheveled, slowly raised her head and glanced at the old woman when she heard this.

Neither of them spoke.

It's not that I don't want to speak, it's just that my voice has long been hoarse.

I cried all night last night. My eyes are swollen like walnuts, and my throat is so dry that I can't make a sound.

Seeing that they didn't move, the old woman scolded, "What are you dawdling for? Erniu is waiting!"

She walked in, grabbed Sun Xiaoyan's arm, and slung the red cloth dress over her body.

Sun Xiaoyan was pulled so hard she staggered, her body as limp as a noodle, unable to stand steadily.

The old woman quickly put on the red jacket, buttoned it up, and tossed another one to Liu Meiling: "Put it on yourself!"

Liu Meiling took the clothes, her fingers still trembling, but she slowly put them on.

The two people changed into red cloth clothes and stood in the woodshed like two wooden puppets.

Sun Xiaoyan looked down at the red jacket she was wearing. The fabric was very rough, and the neckline was very low, exposing half of her chest.

The sleeves were too short, exposing all her arms.

Liu Meiling's dress was even shorter, with the waist area tightly bound, revealing a section of her fair waist.

The old woman looked him up and down, then nodded coldly: "Alright, let's go."

She reached out and grabbed Sun Xiaoyan's arm, then used her other hand to pull Liu Meiling, dragging the two of them out of the woodshed.

As soon as I stepped outside, the sun had already climbed over the mountain, and the light was blinding.

Sun Xiaoyan squinted and saw that the courtyard was already crowded with people.

They were all villagers, men and women, young and old, at least thirty or forty people.

The men sat on long benches, some cracking sunflower seeds, some smoking, and some drinking from bowls in their hands.

The women stood behind, holding their children, watching expressionlessly.

In the center of the courtyard, there was a square table with several bowls of wine, a plate of peanuts, and a plate of melon seeds on it.

Erniu stood beside the table, wearing a new jacket, his hair slicked back with water and plastered on his forehead, grinning broadly.

Standing next to him were the Erniu brothers, who were also wearing new jackets. Their small, thin bodies looked somewhat comical inside the large coats.

Both of them were grinning, their eyes fixed on Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling.

"Here they come!" Erniu shouted, clapping his hands.

The crowd burst into laughter.

Sun Xiaoyan was pushed to the center of the yard by the old woman, and she stumbled and almost fell.

Liu Meiling was also pushed over, and the two of them stood next to the table, their red clothes gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

"What's going on?" Sun Xiaoyan's mind was buzzing. She lowered her head, not daring to look at the gazes around her.

She heard people laughing, whistling, and saying, "What good fortune, Brother Erniu."

Erniu waved his hand and shouted to the crowd, "Sit down, everyone!"

The villagers stepped back, leaving an open space.

At this moment, the groom pulled another person out of the house.

It's Chen Xiaodie.

She was still wearing that red wedding dress, her hands were tied with hemp rope, her mouth was stuffed with red cloth, her face was covered in tears and mud, and her hair was a mess like a chicken coop.

The groom also pushed her to the center of the courtyard.

Chen Xiaodie staggered to her feet, her eyes beneath the red cloth fixed on Sun Xiaoyan, her mouth moved slightly, and she made a whimpering sound.

Sun Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat when she saw Chen Xiaodie.

"They're both mine, we'll consummate our marriage together tonight!" Erniu shouted, pointing at Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling.

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Someone suggested, "Let's have the wedding night first! All talk and no action is just empty words!"

"Yes, yes, let's show everyone what we've got!"

Erniu stood there, laughing even louder.

He glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, then at Liu Meiling, and finally waved his hand: "I'm too lazy to come, you guys do it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several men stood up from the bench.

Before Sun Xiaoyan could react, a large hand grabbed her arm.

She turned around and saw a man with a burly face, in his thirties, and reeking of cigarette smoke.

Without saying a word, the man ripped open the red cloth jacket she was wearing.

The buttons popped open, the red cloth slipped down, and a pale, white body was revealed.

Sun Xiaoyan screamed and tried to cover her chest, but her hand was grabbed and she couldn't move.

"No, no, no—" she cried out.

Nobody listens to her.

Then another person rushed up, grabbed her wrist, and pinned her to the ground.

The ground was hard and cold, and the pebbles hurt her back.

She struggled and kicked her legs, but those men were very strong and held her down tightly.

A man grabbed her breasts and squeezed them hard, digging his fingers in so hard that she cried out in pain.

Another man pried open her legs and inserted his rough fingers inside.

"Come on, look how white that butt is!"

"Damn, these breasts are so soft!"

Sun Xiaoyan lay on the ground, naked, her body twisting on the gravel, the sand rubbing against her back and buttocks.

She looked up at the sky; the sun was so bright that she couldn't see anything clearly.

Tears streamed down my face, dripping onto the ground, where they were quickly absorbed by the soil.

The surrounding laughter grew louder and louder.

Some people clapped, some whistled, and some shouted, "Make way, make way, let me touch it too."

Sun Xiaoyan's body was touched, kneaded, pinched, and twisted by countless hands, with fingers digging and probing haphazardly at her body.

She stopped struggling.

Her eyes were closed, her body motionless, and her head tilted to one side, like a dead fish.

Beside her, Liu Meiling was also held down by several young men.

She was dragged to the stone mill in the corner of the yard, her body pressed against it, the cold stone digging into her waist.

A young man reached into her waistband, his fingers groping haphazardly under the fabric.

Liu Meiling twisted her body, but couldn't dodge.

She was panting, her hair was disheveled on her face, and her face flushed red and then turned pale.

Suddenly, she let out a cold laugh.

"Wait a minute, let me count how many red envelopes I received tonight."

The sound wasn't loud, but everyone around heard it.

The crowd paused for a second, then burst into even louder laughter.

"Hahahaha! This slut!"

"That's got character! Erniu is in for a treat tonight!"

The young man was amused and his movements became even more forceful.

Liu Meiling lay on the large rock, tilting her head to glance in Sun Xiaoyan's direction.

Sun Xiaoyan was still lying on the ground, naked, with several people around her touching her.

Sun Xiaoyan's eyes were open, but she seemed not to be looking at anything; her gaze was empty, like that of a dead person.

Liu Meiling bit her lip and looked away.

She saw the old woman standing at the kitchen door, watching everything with a blank expression.

The old woman was holding a child who was a little over a year old in her arms, patting his back like she was patting a cat, her face expressionless.

The child started crying in the old woman's arms, wailing loudly.

The old woman glanced down, then looked up again, continuing to watch the lively scene in the courtyard.

Liu Meiling was held down by a young man, her stomach pressed against a large rock, her legs spread apart, and someone was touching her waistband.

She smiled through her teeth, but didn't make a sound.

"Where are the firecrackers for tonight?" someone shouted.

"They're outside in the yard! Let's have a good time tonight!"

Everyone laughed.

At this moment, the groom's mother suddenly spoke up.

She called out to the center of the courtyard, "Chen Xiaodie, come and start the fire."

The sound wasn't loud, but everyone heard it.

An old man who had been squatting next to Sun Xiaoyan looked up and glanced at Chen Xiaodie.

Chen Xiaodie stood there, trembling violently, biting the red cloth between her teeth, sobbing softly.

The groom's mother said it again: "Come here."

Chen Xiaodie raised her head and glanced at it.

Then she lowered her head and slowly walked towards the kitchen.

She had bruises on her ankles from the rope binding them, and she walked with a limp.

As she walked past Sun Xiaoyan, Sun Xiaoyan noticed the injury on her foot.

Chen Xiaodie also lowered her head and glanced at Sun Xiaoyan.

The two people's eyes met.

Chen Xiaodie's eyes were red, filled with fear, despair, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something.

But the old woman called out again, "What are you dawdling about!"

Chen Xiaodie quickly lowered her head and hurried into the kitchen.

Sun Xiaoyan was still lying on the ground, her naked body burning hot from the sunlight.

She watched Chen Xiaodie walk away, and felt as if something was blocking her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

Her eyes were closed, her head was tilted to one side, and she couldn't hear the sounds around her.

After an unknown amount of time, those people finally dispersed.

Sun Xiaoyan felt a lightness on her body as the person pressing down on her left.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw that the sun was already setting in the west.

The light of dusk shone through the courtyard wall, casting long shadows on the ground.

The people in the courtyard hadn't left yet; some were drinking, some were playing cards, and some were eating sunflower seeds.

Someone walked past her, glanced down at her, and then walked on.

Nobody cared about her.

Sun Xiaoyan slowly got up, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, her body trembling violently.

Her red cloth jacket lay scattered on the ground, covered in mud and grass clippings.

She picked up the jacket and wrapped it around herself, her fingers trembling so much she couldn't button it up.

At this moment, Erniu and his brother came over and grabbed her arm.

"Come on, let's go inside."

Sun Xiaoyan was dragged forward by him, her feet sinking into the stones, causing her to gasp in pain.

She was dragged into a dark room filled with clutter.

Erniu was standing inside the house, rolling up his trouser legs.

He laughed when he saw her being dragged in.

Erniu and his brother pushed Sun Xiaoyan onto the bed: "Brother, she's yours."

Erniu chuckled: "Alright, I'll get you all pregnant tonight."

Sun Xiaoyan lay curled up on the tattered quilt, trembling all over.

Footsteps and laughter came from outside the door; someone was walking this way.

In the distance, a campfire was lit.

The suona sound rang out, sharp and piercing, like someone crying.

At the kitchen doorway, a strange man came out and grabbed Chen Xiaodie's arm as she was tending the fire.

Chen Xiaodie dropped the firewood in her hand and was dragged by the man towards the house across the street.

The door slammed shut.

In the courtyard, the campfire crackled and burned, its red flames illuminating half of his face.

The old woman sat at the kitchen doorway, holding her child, watching the campfire, and patting the child's back.

The suona horn stopped, and the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Then someone shouted, "Where's Liu Meiling? Erniu is waiting!"

The Erniu brothers emerged from the corner, grabbing Liu Meiling's arm.

Liu Meiling's red cloth jacket had long been torn, revealing half of her shoulder, and her waistband was covered in mud.

She was dragged to the door of Erniu's room and glanced back at the open space in the center of the yard.

Sun Xiaoyan's red blouse, with its buttons popped open, was still lying on the ground.

Liu Meiling chuckled, her voice dry and hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against her throat.

The Erniu brothers pushed open the door and shoved her inside.

The door slammed shut.

Liu Meiling's loud laughter could be heard through the crack in the door.

"Hahahahaha!"

The laughter was shrill and carried far into the night.

Then, the laughter turned into cries of pain.

"ah--"

The sound was intermittent, echoing through the night.

The campfire was still burning, but no one glanced in that direction.