“These bastards, these a*shole!” Lin Huai hugged Li Liner who was trembling in fear tightly. He was on the verge of tears as he could imagine how painful it was. He was unsure if he could even survive through that let alone two twenty-year-old young girls.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay, it’s over. It’s in the past now.” Lin Huai took a deep breath and continued to appeased Li Liner who was lying in his arms. He felt an extreme pain in his heart.
Li Liner could not say another word and could only cry. The experiences over the past week had been far too torturing for her and she could no longer take it. Any other girl would have already crumbled and broken down. Li Liner and her sister were mentally tough but at the end of the day, they were still humans. They were like any other ordinary woman.
Lin Huai closed his eyes as he could not bear to visualize the experiences they had to undergo. On one hand, he was calming himself down and on the other he was comforting Li Liner.
When Li Liner calmed down, Lin Huai sat up and said, “Let me look at the base of your feet.”
Li Liner shuddered but eventually lifted her feet out from under the blanket. Lin Huai gently held her ice cold feet and looked at the base of her feet. It could be seen that there were holes due to it being pricked by needles.
Lin Huai gulped and his heart shuddered. They are monsters. Not humans!
Lin Huai placed her feet back under the blanket and lied down. He hugged her and, with a serious tone, said, “Don’t worry, you will never encounter such suffering anymore.”
“Alright.” Although she felt that Lin Huai was just trying to appease her, she still agreed with him. She also wanted to comfort and deceive herself. At the very least, she currently felt a sense of warmth in her heart.
Lin Huai asked, “How much did your mother sell you and your sister off for?”
Li Liner said, “Four-Four hundred thousand. My family did not have any money. They said that they would pay us everyday and for each day we worked, we would be able to earn five hundred. The parlor would take half as their commission so each of our net income is only two hundred and fifty. My sister and I would have five hundred in total. Once we are able to pay off the four hundred thousand, we would be free to go.”
Lin Huai stared coldly into space and said, “On average, the income per day is only five hundred? Haha, the parlor is cunning. Based on their calculations, on average, you and your sister would be able to earn five hundred a day which adds up to fifteen thousand a month. Then it would take about two years for you to be able to leave.”
Li Liner shook her head and said, “Our meals have to be deducted from our salary too. So every month, two thousand would be deducted as meal expenses. Thus our salary added together would only be eleven thousand. The money also won’t be paid to use but rather kept in their hands. We are only able to leave when we have successfully saved four hundred thousand.”
“That would take about four years.” Lin Huai took a deep breath and said, “I will bring you with me tomorrow morning.”
“Really?” Li Liner looked at Lin Huai with anticipation but soon shook her head and dejectedly said, “Four hundred thousand is too much. How could I let you fork out so much money…”
Lin Huai smiled and comforted her. “Don’t worry, I will definitely bring you out of here. If I only bring you alone, wouldn’t that be two hundred thousand?”
Li Liner said, “But-But… I want to bring my sister along as well…”
Lin Huai said, “Yes, I know, I know that. I will definitely try my best to bring you and your sister along with me. I would bring you both away from here tomorrow, alright?”
“Okay.” There was a look of expectation in Li Liner’s eyes. A determined expression appeared on her face and she seriously said, “If… If you are able to bring me out of here, I would be your woman for the rest of my life. Even if I can’t be your wife, I could still-still be your mistress.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “You foolish girl. You would be able to find your own happiness in the future. Why would you want to be my mistress? Don’t think too much.”
Li Liner smiled happily. The pain and torture they experienced for the past week made them felt as if time had come to a stop. They never thought that they could ever leave the parlor. Although the parlor said that they were allowed to leave after clearing up their debt, they had never placed much hope on that. Furthermore, even if they really did manage to leave after a few years, their lives would have already been ruined by then.
As such, when Lin Huai made the promise of bringing her away, she felt ecstatic. Even if it was unreal, even if it was just for a night of happiness, she was still extremely happy.
Li Liner shyly asked, “Then… I really don’t have to have sex with you?”
“Nope.” Lin Huai pinched her nose and said, “I promise to bring you out of here tomorrow. If I can’t bring you away then I will come back again tomorrow night. After that, you can give your virginity to me and no one else. Is that okay?”
Li Liner teared up and agreed. With a smile and tears running down her face, she said, “You are really a kind person.”
“Sigh, I look handsome and also so kind-hearted. No wonder you can’t help but fall for me.”
Li Liner thought of how she was desperate to give herself up to Lin Huai and she felt extremely embarrassed.
“Oh right, how old are you?”
“I am eighteen years old.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Oh, you are one year younger than me. Miss eighteen-years-old, why didn’t you resist and instead resign to being sold off by your mother? Let me tell you, even if she is your mother, she had no rights to sell you off. You are old enough and even if you are a baby, it is still illegal to do so.”
Li Liner sighed and said, “Thunder God is looking over this place, how could I possibly resist? If me and my sister refused to listen back then, my mum might have been killed. I…”
“Alright, I understand. Don’t be upset anymore, everything is in the past already.” Lin Huai then asked, “What are your plans after leaving this place with me? Are you planning to head home or anywhere else? I think if you were to return home, you might experience the same thing all over again. After all, it’s very difficult for an addicted gambler to change their habits.”
“Yup, I know. That’s why I am not planning to return home. I am fine with going anywhere.” Li Liner looked at Lin Huai and pitifully said, “Can-Can I follow you? I am willing to do anything.”
“What can you do for me? Warm the bed up?”
“Yup…” Li Liner shyly agreed and said, “I can warm the bed for you, I can cook and I can do all the housework. I am willing to do anything.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Don’t you have to go to school?”
Li Liner shook her head and said, “Me and my sister dropped out of school from a young age. After my father passed away, my mother got addicted to gambling. So me and my sister went out to work right after graduating from junior high school.”
Lin Huai asked, “Do you want to return back to school? I can help you.”
Li Liner agonizingly said, “I have been away from school for too many years. Even if I do return to school, would I still be able to keep up with the academics? I prefer not to go back but to self-study at home instead.”
Lin Huai understood how Li Liner felt. She dropped out of school and probably forgot about the knowledge she learned during junior high school. By then, she would probably have to retake the final year of junior high school. It would not be easy for her self-esteem as an eighteen-year-old girl to study together with people who are a few years younger. Lin Huai did not continue advising her. Even though he believed that returning to school would be a much better option, everyone had their own choices in life and Lin Huai had no rights to make the decision for her.
Li Liner said, “I will not bring you further trouble. I can go out and work to earn money. It would be great if you could take me and my sister in. After all, we owe you this much and we have to be by your side to repay your kindness.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Repay my kindness? It’s okay. As long as you all live happily, that is enough for me. I don’t need you to repay me so don’t think too much. Furthermore, I don’t have to fork out money as Thunder God wants to rope me in. Thus, as the person in charge of this place, I am sure he would satisfy my request if I ask him.”
“But-But that would mean you owe him a huge favor which sometimes is much harder to pay off compared to money.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “You are a sensible lady. Don’t think too much of it.”
Li Liner sighed and said, “Oh right, I forgot about one thing. Since you look about the same age as me, I believe you are still living with your parents. Then it would be inconvenient for me and my sister to move in with you.”
Lin Huai sighed and said, “I am not staying with my parents as my hometown is not Tongcheng City. I am living in the dormitory within Yulan College. However, I do have a house outside of college. So if you and your sister have nowhere else to go, you all can stay there.”
Li Liner’s eyes sparkled and she asked, “Really? We can do that?”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Of course. I don’t live there at the moment anyway.”
“We will pay rent.”
“Haha, it’s fine. Either way, the house is empty so it makes no difference.”
“How-How should I address you as?”
“I am Lin Huai so you can call me Brother Huai.”
“Why is your name Lin Huai? It should be Lin Hao[1]. You are a kind person.”
Lin Huai smiled, pinched Li Liner’s nose and said, “You are not allowed to friendzone me.”
Li Liner squinted her eyes and smiled. She rather enjoyed the feeling of her nose pinched by Lin Huai. It made her feel very homely and comfortable.
“Alright, go ahead and sleep. We can always continue chatting after I bring you out of this place tomorrow.”
Li Liner shyly said, “Alright. Then I shall head to bed first.”
As she said that, she slowly squirmed out of Lin Huai’s arms. she wanted Lin Huai to dominate her at first but now that Lin Huai refused, she felt embarrassed for having such thoughts.
Both of them drifted off to sleep. The next morning, Lin Huai and Li Liner awakened, got out of bed and put on their clothes. Lin Huai reminded her, “Don’t tell anyone that nothing happened between us last night.”
“Alright.” Lin Liner nodded her head continuously.
“Let’s go. I will talk to Big Boss Lei and try my best to bring you and your sister away.”
Lin Huai held onto Li Liner’s hand and walked out of the room. He saw the waiter in the corridor and, with a smile, he said, “Is Big Boss Lei still in bed?”
In a soft voice, the waiter said, “Yes, he’s not up yet. Big Boss Lei might not be in a good mood.”
Lin Huai was surprised and he asked, “Oh? What happened?”
The first thought that crossed Lin Huai’s mind was that Li Liner’s sister refused to accompany Big Boss Lei last night. However, if that was the case, Li Caier might be in trouble. Sigh, either way, I am going to bring her away from here anyway. If she really did not accompany him, it might have been a good thing.
The waiter looked at Li Caier and then he whispered, “That Li Caier… went crazy.”
Lin Huai was stunned and Li Liner was dumbfounded. There was a look of disbelief on her face and a deep look of despair in her eyes.
[1] In Mandarin, Huai means bad and Hao means good. Thus, the author’s intention was to play with the wordings and meant that since Lin Huai was such a kind person, his name should be changed to Lin Hao which represents a good person.