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

Sun Xiaoyan lay on the bed, staring at the dark ceiling with her eyes open.

The area below was still throbbing and burning. She clutched the few banknotes Guo Daqiang had thrown down tightly in her hand, the smell of ink constantly filling her nostrils.

The smell, mixed with Guo Daqiang's sweat and cigarette smoke, clung to her hands and seemed impossible to wash off.

Beside her, Liu Meiling turned over, and the wooden bed creaked.

"Xiaoyan, are you asleep?" Liu Meiling's voice was muffled.

"No," Sun Xiaoyan said.

"I can't sleep either." Liu Meiling sat up and lit a cigarette in the dark. The lighter flashed, illuminating half of her face; the flush had long since faded, and now it looked a little pale.

"Does it still hurt down there?" Liu Meiling asked, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"It hurts," Sun Xiaoyan said.

"It hurts too." Liu Meiling exhaled a puff of smoke. "That bastard Brother Li, he really hits hard."

Neither of them spoke again. The only sound in the room was the hissing of Liu Meiling smoking.

After a while, Liu Meiling suddenly put out her cigarette.

"Xiaoyan, we can't just let this go."

Sun Xiaoyan turned to look at her: "What do you mean?"

"Money!" Liu Meiling's voice rose a little. "We owe Guo Daqiang two hundred, plus what we lost before, it adds up to several hundred! Are we just going to let him take it all for nothing?"

"What else can we do?" Sun Xiaoyan's voice trembled with tears. "We've gambled away all our money..."

"If you lose it all, you can win it back!" Liu Meiling leaned closer. "Have you forgotten how lucky we were before? Winning hundreds in one go! It's just that we're having bad luck today!"

Sun Xiaoyan remained silent. She recalled the pile of loose change in front of her when she won money before. Red and green coins, just looking at them made her heart race.

"My husband just sent money back a few days ago," Liu Meiling said in a low voice. "It's over two thousand yuan in the account at the town's credit union. Didn't your husband send some too? Jiang Jianjun works outside, and he probably sends even more than we do, right?"

Sun Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat. Jianjun had sent back three thousand yuan this month. She took five hundred yuan for spending money and saved the rest in her folded paper, intending to save it for the New Year.

"You...you want to take it out?" Sun Xiaoyan's voice trembled.

"Take it! Take it all out!" Liu Meiling's eyes gleamed in the darkness. "We'll take the money to Guo Daqiang, pay back what we owe, and use the rest as capital to keep playing! I refuse to believe we can keep losing!"

"But..." Sun Xiaoyan felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of Guo Daqiang's narrowed eyes and the force with which he pressed down on her.

"But what?" Liu Meiling grabbed her hand. "Xiaoyan, think about it. If we win, not only will we pay off our debts, but we'll also win a huge sum! Then we can go to the city and buy whatever we want, eat whatever we want! Guo Daqiang is nothing! With money in our pockets, would he dare to mess with us?"

Sun Xiaoyan's hand was gripped so tightly by Liu Meiling that it hurt. Her mind was a mess, one moment filled with the racing heartbeat of winning money, the next with the pain and nausea of ​​Guo Daqiang pressing down on her.

"What if... what if we lose again?" she asked softly.

Liu Meiling was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth: "Impossible! We were on such good luck before! It's just bad luck today! We'll definitely turn things around tomorrow!"

Sun Xiaoyan stared at Liu Meiling's gleaming eyes in the darkness. Those eyes held the ruthless, reckless light of a gambler.

She remembered lying on the wooden bed, listening to Liu Meiling's increasingly unrestrained moans from next door.

That inexplicable feeling in my body resurfaced.

"Okay," Sun Xiaoyan heard herself say, "Get the money."

The two got up just as dawn was breaking.

Sun Xiaoyan still had pain down there, and walked with a slight limp. Liu Meiling wasn't much better off, but she walked quickly, as if the pain was nothing to her.

The old van at the village entrance was already there. The driver was squatting by the van smoking. When he saw the two of them, he grinned.

"Hey, you two beauties, in town again?"

Liu Meiling ignored him and pulled Sun Xiaoyan into the car.

There weren't many people in the car. Sun Xiaoyan found a window seat and sat down, with Liu Meiling sitting next to her.

The car started moving, swaying and rocking.

Sun Xiaoyan looked out the window, clutching the passbook tightly in her hand. The hard plastic cover hurt her hand.

"Don't be nervous," Liu Meiling whispered. "Once we get the money, we'll try to win it back."

Sun Xiaoyan nodded without saying anything.

Upon arriving in town, the two went straight to the credit union.

Behind the counter sat a female clerk in her forties, knitting with her head down. She glanced up when she saw the two women.

"Withdraw the money." Liu Meiling handed in the passbook.

The female teller took the passbook, glanced at it, and then looked up at Liu Meiling: "Withdraw the whole thing?"

"Take it all," Liu Meiling said.

The female teller didn't ask any more questions and started counting the money. A stack of red bills was handed out through the window.

Liu Meiling took the money, her fingers trembling. She didn't even count it, just stuffed it into her bag.

It was Sun Xiaoyan's turn.

She handed in the passbook, her hands trembling violently.

The female teller glanced at her: "You're withdrawing the whole amount too?"

"Mmm," Sun Xiaoyan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

The female teller looked at the passbook again and shook her head: "You women left behind in the countryside, your men work themselves to the bone to earn some money, and you just squander it at home."

Sun Xiaoyan's face turned red instantly.

The money was handed over. It was a thick stack, even thicker than Liu Meiling's.

Sun Xiaoyan took the money and felt that the stack of bills was heavy and had a weight to it.

The two walked out of the credit union and stood on the street.

Liu Meiling opened her bag, glanced inside, and quickly closed it again. Her face was slightly flushed, whether from excitement or something else, it was hard to tell.

"Let's go back to the village!" Liu Meiling said.

When we got back to the card room, it wasn't even noon yet.

Guo Daqiang was yawning behind the counter when he saw the two of them push the door open and enter. He paused for a moment, then immediately smiled.

"Hey! Xiaoyan, Meiling! You're here?" He stood up, walked around the counter, and greeted them warmly as if nothing had happened yesterday. "I thought you two weren't coming today!"

Sun Xiaoyan lowered her head, not daring to look at him. Liu Meiling forced a smile: "How could I not come, Brother Guo? I haven't paid you back the money I owe you yet."

"Hey, money's no big deal!" Guo Daqiang waved his hand, but his eyes swept over the two of them. "Have a seat, have a seat. Brother Wang and Brother Li will be here soon."

The two sat down. Sun Xiaoyan clutched her bag tightly to her chest; the wad of cash was inside, hard and pressing against her chest.

Brother Wang and Brother Li arrived shortly after. Upon seeing the two women, they exchanged a knowing glance and smiled knowingly at each other.

"You're here?" Brother Wang sat down, his eyes fixed on Liu Meiling.

"I'm here," Liu Meiling replied with a smile, but the smile seemed a little stiff.

The game begins.

Guo Daqiang personally poured tea and placed it beside Sun Xiaoyan: "Xiaoyan, have some tea."

Sun Xiaoyan picked up the cup, her hand trembled, and a little tea spilled out.

"Don't be nervous." Guo Daqiang patted her shoulder. "Have fun today and win back what you lost yesterday."

Sun Xiaoyan hummed in agreement, not daring to look up.

In the first hand, Sun Xiaoyan actually had good luck. After drawing a few tiles, she was ready to win with a small hand.

"I won." She pushed the tiles over.

Brother Wang and Brother Li readily paid. Twenty each.

Sun Xiaoyan took the money, and the tension in her heart seemed to ease a little. She could win; it seemed her luck was pretty good today.

In the second hand, Liu Meiling also won. Her laughter grew a little louder: "See, Xiaoyan? I told you we could turn the tables today!"

On the third hand, Sun Xiaoyan won again. Several red bills were piled up in front of her.

Her heart began to race. Yes, that's it, keep winning, win back everything you've lost!

Guo Daqiang sat behind her, his hand on the back of her chair. He didn't touch her, but his warmth seemed to envelop her.

"Xiaoyan's luck is pretty good today," Guo Daqiang said.

Sun Xiaoyan didn't respond, focusing on drawing cards.

After a few more rounds, Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling had more money in front of them. Although it was all small change, the sheer number of rounds made a difference.

Liu Meiling became increasingly excited, her body swaying to the rhythm of the card game, humming an off-key tune.

Sun Xiaoyan bit her lip tightly, and her movements as she touched and played the cards became faster and faster.

Guo Daqiang watched, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He winked at Brother Wang.

Brother Wang nodded and played a card.

"Bang!" Brother Li shouted.

It seems that the tide of the game started to turn from here.

In the next few hands, Sun Xiaoyan couldn't get the cards she wanted. She kept getting the cards she needed and the cards she played just resulted in her winning.

One, two, three...

The pile of red bills in front of me began to thin out.

Liu Meiling was in the same boat; her body, which had been excitedly wriggling just moments before, was now frozen. Her hand, which was reaching for the cards, began to tremble.

"Self-draw!" Brother Wang pushed the tiles aside. "Pure suit, concealed hand, self-draw, two hundred for each player."

Sun Xiaoyan's mind went blank.

With trembling hands, she counted out two bills from the stack of money in front of her and handed them over.

The stack of money had visibly thinned out.

In the following rounds, Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling took turns discarding the winning tile and paying the winnings.

Sun Xiaoyan's forehead began to sweat. Her fingers were wet when she touched the cards.

The smile on Liu Meiling's face had long since vanished; she gritted her teeth and stared intently at the cards.

In another round, Sun Xiaoyan discarded a winning ticket, giving Brother Li a hundred. She only had three red bills left in front of her.

Liu Meiling's situation is even worse; she only has one photo left.

"No... let's not play anymore?" Sun Xiaoyan's voice was dry.

"No, Xiaoyan," Guo Daqiang said. "This is nothing! Maybe they'll turn things around in the next round!"

Liu Meiling's eyes were bloodshot: "Let's play! One last round!"

The last one.

Sun Xiaoyan picked up the cards, her hands trembling so much she almost dropped them.

She looked at the cards in her hand; they were a mess and didn't form a coherent shape at all.

"I won." Brother Li pushed down the tiles. "Seven pairs, self-draw, three hundred for each player."

Sun Xiaoyan stared blankly at Brother Li's cards.

Seven pairs, self-draw, three hundred.

She slowly lowered her head, looking at what was in front of her.

The last three red bills.

She picked them up, her hands trembling violently, and handed over one, two, three bills.

It's all delivered.

The space in front of me is empty.

Liu Meiling handed over the last bill.

The card table fell silent.

Brother Wang and Brother Li slowly started counting the money, smiles on their faces.

Guo Daqiang stood up, walked to Sun Xiaoyan's side, and glanced at the empty table in front of her.

"That's all?" he asked.

Sun Xiaoyan didn't speak. She stared at the empty desk, her mind blank as well.

Liu Meiling slumped in her chair, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Guo Daqiang laughed and spread his hands: "See, what did I tell you? In a card game, there are winners and losers."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling's faces.

"But don't be too sad. Money, you can always earn it back."

He bent down, leaned close to Sun Xiaoyan's ear, and whispered.

"If you're out of money, you can borrow again tomorrow. Same as always, you'll pay me back with your body."

Sun Xiaoyan trembled.

She looked up at Guo Daqiang's face. He was still smiling, but she understood what was in that smile.

Liu Meiling also turned her head and looked at Guo Daqiang.

Guo Daqiang straightened up and clapped his hands: "Alright, that's enough for today. You two go back and get some rest. Tomorrow... I'll be waiting for you."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and went back behind the counter.

Sun Xiaoyan remained seated, motionless.

Her purse was empty. The three thousand yuan in her bankbook was all gone.

Liu Meiling slowly stood up, her legs a little weak, and she had to hold onto the table to steady herself.

She glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, opened her mouth as if to say something, but didn't.

The two walked out of the card room one after the other.

The sun outside was shining so brightly it hurt my eyes.

Sun Xiaoyan stood at the door, looking at her own shadow on the ground, short and dark.

Like her life now.

It's over. It's all over.

But Guo Daqiang's words still echoed in my ears.

"You can come back to borrow it tomorrow."

She turned her head and looked at the door to the card room.

The door was closed, dark and gaping, like an open mouth.