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

The next morning, as soon as Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling finished clocking in, the lecturer told them to go to the boss's office.

The office was filled with smoke. The bald boss sat in his chair, the ashtray in front of him overflowing with cigarette butts.

His hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly as he looked the two men up and down.

"With your faces and figures like that, you're wasting your time on the phone." The boss looked them up and down, then back up again, finally fixing his gaze on their chests.

Liu Meiling was wearing that faded T-shirt, which was stretched taut across her chest.

Sun Xiaoyan stood to the side with her shoulders hunched and her head down, looking at her toes.

The boss tossed two dresses out of the drawer; they were brightly colored and contained very little fabric.

"We have a special mission today," the boss said, exhaling smoke that made Sun Xiaoyan cough.

Liu Meiling picked up the dress and unfolded it; it was a low-cut dress with the neckline almost slit down to her navel.

A tight-fitting top that barely covers the top of the thighs.

"Go to the city and seduce two rich men." The boss stood up, his hands resting on his desk. "You don't need to actually sleep with them, just flirt with them halfway through. I'll send someone to pick you up later."

Liu Meiling didn't say anything, but pinched the fabric of the skirt with her fingers.

"After it's done, each person will receive three thousand," the boss said.

Liu Meiling's eyes lit up.

Sun Xiaoyan was still hesitating when Liu Meiling nudged her with her elbow: "Go for it."

The boss nodded in satisfaction: "You know what's good for you. Change your clothes, there's a car waiting at the door."

The two changed into dresses in the storage room.

Liu Meiling chose a low-cut dress with a deep neckline, exposing half of her breasts, which swayed with the slightest movement.

Sun Xiaoyan chose a bodycon top, which made her buttocks look taut and round, and her buttocks wiggled as she walked.

Liu Meiling looked in the mirror, applied some lipstick to her lips, and then applied some to Sun Xiaoyan's lips: "Lift your head up, you don't look like a prostitute, you look like a village girl visiting relatives in the city."

Sun Xiaoyan looked up at herself in the mirror. Her skirt was very short, and her thighs were exposed.

"Let's go." Liu Meiling pulled her out the door.

The car was parked at the entrance of the industrial zone, a broken bread.

The driver, a dark-skinned man, glanced at Liu Meiling's chest while smoking a cigarette and said, "The boss said to take you to the barbecue stalls in the urban village; there are lots of rich people there."

We drove into the urban village and parked in a small alley next to a barbecue stall.

As dusk fell, the barbecue stalls were packed with people, some playing drinking games, others drinking, and still others bragging.

Liu Meiling pulled Sun Xiaoyan out of the car and found a seat by the roadside.

As soon as the two sat down, several men's eyes drifted over.

"Don't be nervous," Liu Meiling whispered. "Act convincingly."

She glanced around and her eyes settled on a Toyota and an Audi parked in front of a food stall inside the barbecue area.

"Just those two," Liu Meiling said in a low voice.

Sure enough, two men came out of the food stall, one in his early forties, wearing a polo shirt and with a protruding belly.

Another man, in his thirties or forties, wore glasses and carried a briefcase.

Liu Meiling stood up and swayed her hips as she walked over.

Sun Xiaoyan followed behind, her legs feeling a little weak.

"Oh dear, it's so late, and the two bosses still haven't finished eating?" Liu Meiling said, her voice sweet and coquettish.

The man in the polo shirt looked up, his gaze lingering on Liu Meiling's chest for a couple of seconds: "Young lady, who are you?"

"My sister and I just arrived from out of town and don't know anyone here. We wanted to ask the two bosses for some information." As Liu Meiling spoke, she leaned closer to him, her low-cut neckline almost touching his arm.

The bespectacled man glanced at Liu Meiling, then at Sun Xiaoyan behind him, his eyes lighting up: "What do you want to know? Come on, sit down and let's talk."

The two sat down.

Liu Meiling ordered two skewers of kidney and two bottles of beer, and while eating, she rubbed against the man in the polo shirt.

Sun Xiaoyan sat next to the man with glasses, her head down and silent.

"Your sister is quite shy." The bespectacled man looked at Sun Xiaoyan and patted her thigh.

Sun Xiaoyan froze, too afraid to move.

Liu Meiling kicked her from the side.

Sun Xiaoyan raised her head and forced a smile.

"Hey girl, wanna smoke?" The bespectacled man offered her a cigarette.

Sun Xiaoyan shook her head. Liu Meiling took it, put it in her mouth, lit a lighter, took a drag, and then sprayed it in the polo shirt man's face: "Boss, shall we find a place to have a drink?"

The two men exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up.

"Sure, there's a hotel up ahead, the environment is nice." The man in the polo shirt stood up, his hand already on Liu Meiling's waist.

Liu Meiling winked at Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan stood up, and the bespectacled man casually put his arm around her waist and pinched her buttocks with his fingers. Sun Xiaoyan bit her lip and didn't say a word.

The four of them went to the hotel.

The receptionist registered two rooms, one facing the other, with a blank expression.

They each went into their rooms.

Sun Xiaoyan's room was not big; a large bed took up half of the room, the curtains were drawn, and the light was dim.

The bespectacled man slammed his briefcase on the table as soon as he entered, then turned and put his arm around Sun Xiaoyan's waist: "Hey girl, where are you from?"

"Neighboring...neighboring city." Sun Xiaoyan's voice trembled.

"Oh, from the neighboring city? I have a client from County A." The bespectacled man's hand moved down, touching her thigh. "Your skirt is really short."

He carried Sun Xiaoyan directly to the bed and pressed his body against hers.

Sun Xiaoyan closed her eyes, her hands supporting her chest, remembering what the boss had said: "Just flirt halfway."

"Boss, we're not ready yet." She nudged the man with glasses.

"What are you getting ready for? We're already here." The bespectacled man's hand was already inside her skirt.

Sun Xiaoyan tried to dodge, but the bespectacled man was strong and pinned her to the bed.

She could only comply, her skirt flipped up, revealing her upper thighs, where the bespectacled man's hands groped.

From the next room came Liu Meiling's laughter, the man in the polo shirt's whispers, and the creaking of the mattress springs.

The bespectacled man got even more excited, unbuckled his belt, and was about to pull down Sun Xiaoyan's underwear.

The door was suddenly kicked open.

With a loud bang, the door slammed against the wall and bounced back, and three burly men rushed in.

"Fuck your mother, how dare you touch my sister!" the burly man in the lead roared, and the two behind him rushed over and pinned down the man with glasses.

The bespectacled man's legs went weak with fear; his belt was still loose, and his pants were slumped over his knees. "B-Big Brother, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

"What misunderstanding! My sister is only eighteen years old, and you dare to sleep with her!" The big man slapped the bespectacled man across the face, and the bespectacled man rolled to the ground.

Sun Xiaoyan huddled on the bed, hugging the blanket and shrinking further inside.

The burly man glanced at her, then kicked the bespectacled man again: "Pay up! You're not leaving here today if you don't give me 100,000!"

The bespectacled man scrambled to his feet, frantically rummaging for his wallet: "Brother, I don't have that much cash on me... just eight thousand..."

"Eight thousand is fine, and also your bank card, tell me the PIN!" The big man snatched the wallet and pulled out several bank cards.

The bespectacled man dared not resist and stammered out the password.

The big man told someone to go to a nearby ATM to withdraw money, and then took out all the red bills from his wallet, counted them, and found there were 12,000 yuan.

A commotion came from next door, followed by the polo-shirted man begging for mercy.

In less than ten minutes, the two men were beaten black and blue, one covering his bleeding nose and the other covering his eyes, and they took out all the money from their pockets.

Liu Meiling's side had an even better outcome; the man in the polo shirt had over ten thousand yuan in cash in his bag, plus what he had in his wallet, totaling thirteen thousand yuan.

The two rooms cost a total of 25,000.

The burly men pocketed the money and winked at the two men: "Let's go!"

Liu Meiling pulled Sun Xiaoyan along and slipped out of the hotel through the back door.

A bread truck was already waiting there, and as soon as the two got in, the truck drove away.

After driving for a while, Sun Xiaoyan slumped in her seat and looked back to see the two men coming out of the hotel entrance, cursing and swearing, but she could no longer see the license plate.

Liu Meiling leaned back in her seat and let out a long sigh: "Damn, that scared me to death."

Sun Xiaoyan clutched the hem of her skirt, her hands still trembling.

Back in the industrial area, the boss was already waiting for me in his office.

The burly man slammed the money on the table: "Twenty-five thousand."

The shopkeeper picked up a wad of cash, weighed it in his hand, nodded in satisfaction, then pulled out six red bills and handed them to the burly man: "You've worked hard."

The burly men left, leaving only the boss, Sun Xiaoyan, and Liu Meiling in the office.

The boss took two cigarettes out of the cigarette box and handed them to the two men.

Liu Meiling took it, put it in her mouth, and the boss lit it for her.

She took a deep breath, white smoke billowing from her nostrils, a smug look on her face as she squinted at the boss: "How about it, boss? We're doing alright, aren't we?"

Sun Xiaoyan glanced at the cigarette, hesitated for a moment, then took it and put it in her mouth with slightly trembling hands.

The boss patted the two on the shoulder: "You were born to do this."

Liu Meiling took a drag of her cigarette and grinned.

Sun Xiaoyan lowered her head and remained silent, the smoke she exhaled obscuring her face.