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

The lights in the interrogation room hummed, and the stark white light made people's faces look bluish.

Sun Xiaoyan sat on a plastic chair.

A female police officer, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, was sitting opposite me. She was thin and had a notebook open in front of her.

"Take your time, don't rush." ​​The policewoman's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady.

Sun Xiaoyan took a deep breath and began her story by recounting her imprisonment at the farm.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she stopped several times to drink water, causing the water in her cup to spill out as it sloshed around.

When talking about being forced into prostitution, Sun Xiaoyan burst into tears.

"Every day...at least five or six, sometimes more than ten..." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, "If I don't accept their food, they won't feed me, and they even hit me..."

The policewoman paused, her pen still in her hand.

She glanced down at the record, then looked up at Sun Xiaoyan, her Adam's apple bobbing, before continuing to write.

"Did those customers pay?" the policewoman asked.

Sun Xiaoyan shook her head: "They took all the money; I didn't get a single penny."

Not even a single cent?

"No," Sun Xiaoyan bit her lip. "They said it was to pay off debts, but we don't owe any money..."

The policewoman scribbled quickly in her notebook, her handwriting somewhat messy.

She turned the page and asked the next question.

Liu Meiling was in the interrogation room next door, also sitting on a plastic chair.

The policewoman here is older, around thirty-five or thirty-six, with short hair, and looks more serious.

"Say it again, how did you get to the farm?"

Liu Meiling's voice was a little hoarse: "I took an unlicensed taxi. The driver said he would take us to a nice place, but he drove straight into a farm... and once the gate was locked, we couldn't get out."

"How long did it take from the start to the escape?"

"About a month."

"Taking on dates every day?"

"Um."

How many guests?

"On average, seven or eight." Liu Meiling paused for a moment after saying that, "Some nights there are even more, and on weekends, there can be ten or more."

The short-haired policewoman stopped what she was doing.

She glanced at Liu Meiling, then at the notes, and finally put down her pen, poured herself a glass of water, and pushed it over.

"Have some water, no rush."

Liu Meiling took the water glass, her hands trembling, and water splashed out, wetting her sleeves.

The short-haired policewoman waited until the girl finished half a glass of water before speaking: "Are you willing to sign to confirm what you've said?"

Liu Meiling nodded: "Sign."

The short-haired policewoman pushed the notebook over, and Liu Meiling picked up the pen. Her hand trembled violently, and her handwriting was crooked and messy.

After signing, she looked up and asked, "That person... the farm owner, and his daughter, will they be sentenced?"

"Yes," the short-haired policewoman said. "As long as what you're saying is true, they can't escape."

In the interrogation room next door, the farm owner's voice was so loud that it could be heard through the walls.

"I don't know, officer! Those two women came to my farm on their own! How would I know what they were doing!"

Xiaoya chimed in from the side, "Exactly! My dad kindly took them in, and they're doing whatever they want inside. What business is it of ours!"

The male police officer interrogating them slammed his fist on the table: "Take them in? You took them in, and they were soliciting clients on your farm, and you had no idea?"

"I had no idea!" the farm owner thumped his chest. "I'm innocent!"

The male police officer sneered, "Innocent? Then let me ask you, are the locks on the back houses of your farm opened from the outside or the inside?"

The farm owner paused for a second, then said, "That...that's to prevent them from running away..."

"Prevent them from running away? Why would they want to run away?"

"How...how should I know!"

The male police officer fell silent and lowered his head to flip through the case file.

In the interrogation room next door, Sun Xiaoyan shuddered when she heard the farm owner's shout.

"Don't be afraid," the policewoman said. "He won't be able to shout for long."

Sun Xiaoyan looked up at the policewoman: "You...you will believe me?"

The policewoman looked at her and spoke after a few seconds: "We have checked the surveillance footage around the farm, and also the footage from a few months ago, when you were at that farm... someone went to the police station to report it."

Sun Xiaoyan was stunned.

"Has...someone called the police?"

"Yes." The policewoman nodded. "Two months ago, a long-haul driver said he saw people being held captive at the farm. But when we got there, the people had already been moved."

Sun Xiaoyan's tears fell again.

She recalled that one afternoon when the farm owner suddenly locked them all in the basement for the entire day.

It turns out that someone had contacted them that day.

The policewoman handed her a tissue: "Wipe it off."

The interrogation continued into the early hours of the morning.

The policewoman went out to pour herself a cup of coffee, and when she came back, her eyes were a little red.

She stood in the corridor for a while, took a few deep breaths, and then pushed the door open and came in.

"Um... let me double-check a few details." She sat down and opened her notebook.

Sun Xiaoyan nodded.

The two talked for almost another hour, going over all the details.

The policewoman pushed the logbook over and asked Sun Xiaoyan to sign it.

Sun Xiaoyan picked up the pen, her hand still trembling.

"Don't be afraid," the policewoman said. "Once you sign, we can go and arrest them."

Sun Xiaoyan gritted her teeth and wrote her name stroke by stroke.

After signing, the policewoman put away the notebook, stood up, and opened the door.

Sun Xiaoyan got up and walked out. In the corridor, she saw Liu Meiling also coming out. Both of them had red eyes.

The policewoman walked over and said, "Rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll take you to the farm to identify the scene."

Sun Xiaoyan nodded.

Liu Meiling bit her lip and asked, "How...how long will it take?"

"It's a three-hour drive," the policewoman said. "Just cooperate, you don't need to worry about anything else."

The two nodded and followed the policewoman outside.

When I pushed open the door of the police station, it was already dawn.

Three people were standing on the curb waiting at the entrance.

Chen Xiaodie's eyes were red, and as soon as she saw Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling come out, she immediately rushed to greet them.

"sister!"

She grabbed Sun Xiaoyan's hand and tugged at Liu Meiling's arm, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you all alright? I heard... I heard they caused a scene at the warehouse. I was so worried when my parents told me..."

Sun Xiaoyan's eyes welled up with tears, and her throat tightened, rendering her speechless.

Chen Xiaodie's father stood a few meters away, wearing a gray jacket, his hands in his pockets, his face turning pale and then red.

His mother stood beside him, her eyes also reddening. When she saw Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling, she opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Chen Xiaodie turned to her parents and called out, "Dad! Mom! Come here!"

Chen's father did not move.

Chen Xiaodie panicked and ran over to tug at his sleeve: "Dad! I told you, they are my adopted sisters! They saved me in the village! You can't do this!"

Mr. Chen's expression changed several times before he finally sighed and walked over.

He stood in front of Sun Xiaoyan, looked at her and said, "Child, about what happened this morning... my attitude wasn't good."

Sun Xiaoyan burst into tears immediately.

Chen's mother also came over, took Sun Xiaoyan's hand and said, "You've been wronged."

Liu Meiling stood to the side, biting her lip, her whole body stiff, and whispered, "Uncle, Aunt...it's our fault, we've embarrassed you..."

"Stop talking," Mr. Chen waved his hand. "Everyone has their difficulties."

Chen Xiaodie took Sun Xiaoyan's hand and said, "Sister, I'll go with you."

"Go?" Sun Xiaoyan was stunned.

"Let's go to the farm," Chen Xiaodie said. "The policewoman just said she'd take you to identify the crime scene, so I'm going too."

Sun Xiaoyan shook her head: "Don't go, it's too far, and..."

"No," Chen Xiaodie interrupted her, "You're my sisters, I don't feel comfortable letting you go to a place like that."

Liu Meiling bit her lip, stared at Chen Xiaodie for a long while, and finally nodded.

Sun Xiaoyan's eyes welled up with tears, she lowered her head, and they fell to the ground.

The policewoman came out and looked around: "You...are your family members going too?"

"I'll go," Chen Xiaodie said. "I'm their younger sister, I'm going with them."

The policewoman looked at Chen Xiaodie, then at her parents, and finally nodded.

"Okay, get in the car."

Two police cars were parked in front of the police station. One was to escort the farm owner and Xiaoya, and the other was to take Sun Xiaoyan and the others.

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling climbed into the back seat, while Chen Xiaodie squeezed in the middle.

The police car started and slowly drove out of the city.

The streetlights outside the window flashed by one by one, and the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

After a moment of silence in the car, Chen Xiaodie suddenly spoke.

"Sis, are you scared when we get there?"

Liu Meiling did not speak.

Sun Xiaoyan was silent for a while before speaking: "I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid to see that place," Sun Xiaoyan said. "And I'm also afraid... to see those days."

Chen Xiaodie squeezed her hand: "I'm here for you."

Sun Xiaoyan looked at her, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Liu Meiling leaned closer, rested her head on Sun Xiaoyan's shoulder, and closed her eyes.

She didn't cry, but she bit her lip tightly.

The police car drove through the toll station and onto the highway.

Outside the window, the sun slowly rose, its orange-red light shining on the fields.

Three hours later, the farm was waiting on the road.