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

At six o'clock in the morning, Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling changed into their work clothes and prepared to start work.

Xiaoya's words last night were like a needle pricking my brain, and neither of us slept well all night.

Sun Xiaoyan's dark circles were so heavy she looked like a panda's, and Liu Meiling's lip wound had just scabbed over, but it still hurt when she spoke.

"Let's go to the warehouse early today, it'll be safer with more people around," Liu Meiling said in a low voice.

Sun Xiaoyan nodded, picked up a steamed bun from the table, took a bite, and before she could swallow it, she heard the roar of an engine outside.

Boom boom boom—

The sound of motorcycles, one after another, shook the ground.

The steamed bun in Sun Xiaoyan's hand fell to the ground.

Liu Meiling rushed to the door, lifted the curtain and looked outside; her face instantly turned pale.

At the entrance of the warehouse, seven or eight motorcycles were parked in a row.

A dozen or so men got off the bus. Some were bald, some had crew cuts, and they were carrying steel pipes and wooden sticks. The one leading them was the farm owner.

Xiaoya stood next to the farm owner, wearing a tight leather jacket, holding a cell phone in her hand, and wearing that smile that Sun Xiaoyan could never forget.

"Damn it," Liu Meiling cursed, grabbing Sun Xiaoyan's hand. "Don't go out."

But it was too late.

The farm owner waved his hand, and a dozen men rushed into the warehouse. They kicked over the cardboard boxes at the door, and with a crash, the items on the shelves fell to the ground.

"Where are you all? Get out here!" the farm owner roared.

The workers in the warehouse had only been there a short time; some were still changing into their work clothes when they heard the commotion and all ran out to see what was going on.

Ah Zhen walked at the front, carrying a water cup in her hand, and was stunned for a moment when she saw this scene.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Ah Zhen blocked their way.

The farm owner ignored her, his gaze sweeping around before landing on Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling, who were trying to slip away in the corner.

"Oh, you've come all this way," the farm owner said with a sneer as he walked over.

Ah Zhen stopped him: "What are you doing? This is our warehouse. If you take another step forward, I'll call the police!"

"Call the police?" The farm owner pulled a stack of photos from his pocket and threw them at Ah Zhen's face. "Take a good look at what your two sisters have done!"

The photos were scattered all over the floor.

Ah Zhen looked down and froze.

The photo shows Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling on a bed, naked, with their buttocks sticking out and their breasts swaying. The expressions on their faces are disgusting.

The workers behind Ah Zhen gathered around and saw that there were both men and women there, and they were all stunned.

"Holy crap..." a young worker blurted out.

"What is this...?"

"Aren't those the two new guys?"

"How could it be filmed like this..."

Ah Zhen squatted down to pick up a photo, her hand trembling slightly.

She looked up at Sun Xiaoyan, who was trembling all over, her face as white as paper, and her lips quivering as she couldn't speak.

"This, this..." Ah Zhen opened her mouth.

Xiaoya stepped forward, held up her phone, and a video was playing on the screen.

In the video, Sun Xiaoyan is lying on a broken bed, with a naked man pressing down on her from behind. She is shouting something in a high-pitched and thin voice.

Liu Meiling was squatting in front of another man, her head buried so her face couldn't be seen.

"This is a video of them soliciting customers at the farm," Xiaoya said with a laugh. Her voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard throughout the warehouse. "These two sluts ran away after owing my dad money. I'm here today to arrest them and let everyone recognize them so they won't be scammed in the future."

The workers in the warehouse were in an uproar.

"Oh my god..."

"I had dinner with them yesterday..."

"It's disgusting..."

Someone muttered under their breath, "Bitch."

Sun Xiaoyan was trembling all over, and tears were falling down her face.

She grabbed Liu Meiling's hand, her nails digging into her flesh.

Liu Meiling's face was deathly pale, her lips were bitten until they turned blue, and she couldn't utter a single word.

"Turn it off!" Ah Zhen suddenly shouted, rushing forward to snatch Xiao Ya's phone.

Xiaoya took a step back, and two blond-haired men rushed up to block Azhen.

"Big sister, this has nothing to do with you, don't get involved." Yellow Hair pushed Ah Zhen.

Ah Zhen steadied herself, grabbed a wrench from the ground, pointed it at the blond-haired man, and yelled, "You fucking try pushing me again? This is our warehouse! You're causing trouble here; I think you want to go to jail!"

"Go ahead and call the police," the farm owner sneered. "My videos and photos are evidence. When the police come, they'll arrest these two debt-ridden bitches first!"

Ah Zhen gritted her teeth, gripping the wrench tightly in her hand.

She glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, who was slumped on the ground, then at Liu Meiling, who was trembling all over, and finally took out her phone.

"I'm calling the police, you just wait." Ah Zhen dialed the number.

The farm owner's face changed: "You son of a bitch!"

He waved his hand, and two blond-haired men rushed up to snatch Ah Zhen's phone.

Ah Zhen dodged, but the blond-haired man grabbed her hair, and the two of them started fighting.

"Someone's being hit! Someone's being hit!" a female worker screamed.

When the warehouse worker saw Ah Zhen being bullied, he rushed over to help.

The scene instantly descended into chaos. Shelves were knocked over, cardboard boxes were scattered all over the ground, people were shouting and cursing, and in the midst of the chaos, someone was kicking Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan collapsed to the ground, her work clothes torn and half of her chest exposed, after someone stepped on her.

She covered her face and curled up into a ball.

Liu Meiling rushed to protect her, but the farm owner kicked her in the waist, causing her to lie on the ground for a long time in pain.

"Two bitches, you made me search for so long!" The farm owner spat.

Just then, a police siren sounded in the distance.

Woo-wah-woo-wah—

The sound grew louder and louder as it approached from afar.

Everyone froze for a moment, then two police cars rushed into the warehouse gate, stopped with a screech, and four or five policemen jumped out.

"Don't move! Everyone, squat down!" the lead policeman shouted.

The blond-haired man and the other men panicked for a moment, then let go and backed away.

Ah Zhen got up from the ground, her face covered in blood from her nose, still holding the wrench in her hand.

"Officer, I'm the one who called the police!" Ah Zhen pointed at the farm owner, "These people stormed into our warehouse, beating people and smashing things!"

The farm owner sneered and held up his phone: "Officer, I need to call the police too. These two women owe me money and ran away. I'm going to arrest them to pay off my debt!"

The police looked around before their gaze fell on Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling, who were lying on the ground.

Sun Xiaoyan's clothes were torn, revealing half of her breast, and her face was covered in tears and ash.

Liu Meiling was kicked and couldn't get up. She clutched her waist and gasped for breath.

"Get up first." A young policeman stepped forward to help Sun Xiaoyan up.

Sun Xiaoyan shrank back, her hands trembling as she pulled her clothes to cover her chest, not daring to look up at anyone.

The police took the farm owner and his men into custody and questioned them separately.

Ah Zhen wiped the blood from her nose and recounted what had happened.

The farm owner remained calm, pulling out his phone and saying, "I have video footage. These two women owe me money and aren't paying it back. They're even soliciting customers at my farm. The evidence is all here."

The police officer took the phone and looked at it once, then looked at the photos on the ground, and his face darkened.

"We need to investigate this further," the police officer said. "Take them all away first."

The farm owner cursed, "I called the police to arrest the debt collectors, and you're arresting me instead?"

The police ignored him and put the farm owner and his men into police cars.

Sun Xiaoyan was helped up by the policewoman. She kept her head down and heard the whispers of the workers around her.

Ah Zhen stood to the side, her face looking very unpleasant, but she still came over and draped her coat over Sun Xiaoyan.

"Let's go back first," Ah Zhen said softly.

Sun Xiaoyan nodded, and tears fell again.

When she was helped up, she looked up and saw two people standing at the entrance of the warehouse in the distance.

Chen Xiaodie's father and mother.

Mr. Chen was wearing a gray jacket, his hands in his pockets, and his face was ashen.

Chen's mother stood to the side, her eyes red-rimmed and her lips pressed tightly together.

Sun Xiaoyan was stunned.

She tried to call out, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Mr. Chen glanced at her, his eyes as cold as knives, then he turned and pulled Mrs. Chen away.

Sun Xiaoyan watched their backs disappear at the warehouse entrance, her mind blank.

Liu Meiling saw it too.

She got up, leaned against the wall, and watched the backs of Mr. and Mrs. Chen walk away. Her lips trembled, but in the end, she said nothing.

The police also took Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling into the police car.

Sitting in the back seat, Sun Xiaoyan looked out the car window and saw the workers in the warehouse still gathered at the entrance. Some were pointing and whispering, while others were shaking their heads and sighing.

Ah Zhen stood at the front, having given her coat to Sun Xiaoyan. She was only wearing a single layer of clothing, her hands on her hips, muttering curses under her breath, presumably telling her colleague not to talk nonsense.

The car started and slowly drove out of the warehouse gate.

Sun Xiaoyan closed her eyes, her mind filled with the cold look in Chen's father's eyes.

The person who rescued them from the village, the person who gave them jobs and let them stay, the person whose daughter kept calling "sister".

Now he knows.

I know everything.

Liu Meiling held Sun Xiaoyan's hand; it was ice-cold, and she didn't say a word.

As the police car drove through the streets of the provincial capital, the neon lights outside the window appeared old and dim in the daytime, like faded lipstick painted on a wall.