“Aha!” Lin Huai acted as if he understood something. Then the few of them entered the KTV lounge.
The moment they pushed the doors open, the server welcomed them warmly. “There you are, Mr. Gang! The girls are all here.”
“Good!” Chen Gang smacked Lin Huai on the shoulder with a smile. “This is Mr. Huai. You must treat him well today. Get that new girl to take care of this brother of mine today!”
“Sure, sure, no problem.” The server smiled. “The boss has made it clear that your wish is our command, Mr. Gang.”
“Mm. Come on, bring us upstairs!”
The server took them to the elevator and pressed the fourth floor button as they entered. “The first three floors are filled with karaoke lounges. Sometimes if a regular wants to spend more time with the girls after they’re done singing, they’ll go to the fourth and fifth floors. The rooms are free of charge” Chen Gang explained to Lin Huai.
“Won’t the anti-vice squad come and arrest them?” Lin Huai asked.
The server laughed. “For a business like ours, connections within the police force is a must-have. If there were anti-vice raids and suchlike, our guys on the inside would tip us off. By the time they arrive, we’ll tell them that the upper floors are our workers’ dormitories, and they won’t be able to find anything even if they try. As for the customers, we’ll send them away beforehand. In short, you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Huai.”
Chen Gang laughed. “Yeah, Mr. Huai. How do you think we’d survive without such an arrangement while doing this kind of business? You’re being too cautious.”
Lin Huai sighed in relief. “That’s fair.”
Not long after, they reached the fourth floor and entered the lounge to find a group of scantily clad women filing in. The youngest of them couldn’t have been older than 16 or 17 and looked definitively underage, while the older ones should be 27 or 28; some of them were gorgeous with average figures, though some of them were quite plain.
Chen Gang pointed to a girl that looked about 18 or 19 and said, “This is our newcomer. In fact, it’s her first day. She’ll be keeping you company tonight, Brother Huai.”
Lin Huai grunted and took a closer look at the girl; she was wearing a white T-shirt and short jeans, with her navel exposed in a way that emphasised her youth without detracting her sexual appeal. Her appearance, meanwhile, gave the impression that she was the innocent type, one who would easily be the fairest of her class in a school setting; she was definitely a typical beauty.
When Lin Huai looked at her, the girl shyly avoided his gaze. It was clear that the girl never had a customer, so she wasn’t emotionally prepared.
Lin Huai smiled, “Alright. I’ll take her.”
Chen Gang laughed loudly, “Come, Ran Ran. This is Mr. Huai from Yulan College, you must have heard of him. Take care of him tonight, and you’ll be paid handsomely.”
Ran Ran shyly stepped forward and walked up to Lin Huai reluctantly. Meanwhile, Lin Huai took her hand and offered a gentle smile, but did nothing disrespectful.
The others chose their girls and were already getting touchy with them. The server took Lin Huai to a different room and said, “Mr. Huai, you’ll be using this room tonight. If you need anything, just call us.”
“Alright. How’s the soundproofing of this room?”
The server grinned. “The best there is. You could scream yourself hoarse in there and nobody would hear a thing.”
“Then I’m set.” Lin Huai took the room card, swiped it, and walked straight in before turning to look at Ran Ran, who was still by the door. “You come in too.”
Ran Ran let out a ‘hmm’ and walked in. After that, Lin Huai closed the door and flopped onto the bed. He stretched lazily and said, “Get some rest.”
“I…” Ran Ran took a deep breath; she seemed deeply reluctant, but nodded anyway. “Alright.”
Lin Huai smiled at her. “You don’t seem too happy.”
“No,” Ran Ran replied hastily. “Mr. Huai, I’ll keep you in good company tonight, don’t you worry.”
Lin Huai continued to smile as he said, “Sit down first. Look at you, getting all nervous. Happy or not, you don’t have to hide it from me. Sit and talk with me for a while.”
“Oh.” Ran Ran sat on the edge of the bed and sneaked a glance at Lin Huai before whispering, “You men… Aren’t men supposed to be a little more impatient?”
Lin Huai smiled again, “This is your first time with a customer, and you already know men to this extent?”
“I’ve been trained.” Ran Ran blushed. “Madam told us a lot of things beforehand.”
“Actually, not everything she said is correct. Men or women, you cannot generalise them like a one-size-fits-all math equation. Every individual is unique and completely different.”
“That’s true.” Noticing that Lin Huai was trying to have a normal conversation with her, Ran Ran still felt nervous but not as much before. Curious, she asked, “You seem different from the other students.”
“Oh? How so?” Lin Huai smirked. “Am I more handsome?”
“Hmm…” Ran Ran blushed again as she continued, “You are handsome but more importantly, you speak eloquently and give the impression that you’re knowledgeable. You don’t act like a gangster at all.”
Lin Huai burst out laughing. “I was never a gangster to begin with.”
“But… we know you as one.” Ran Ran’s words implied ‘Don’t deny it in front of me’, and she kept looking at him curiously. “In fact, you’re practically legendary, with the way you got on par with Big Brother Wu and the others after just a fortnight on campus.”
“Big Brother Wu?” Lin Huai asked curiously. “Who’s that?”
“Wu Shanhe.” There was a gentleness in Ran Ran’s gaze when she mentioned his name, though it was quickly replaced by a regretful soft sigh. “Should I start serving you now?”
Lin Huai chuckled, still lying on the bed as he asked, “Tell me, why are you working at a place like this?”
“I…” Ran Ran shook her head. “No reason. I just wanted to earn money.”
“I don’t think so,” Lin Huai said seriously. “You’re different from the girls here. I can feel that you’re not the type that has fallen from grace; you’re actually innocent. Unless someone in your family has fallen ill, and you need a large sum of money urgently, what other reason would make you work here?”
Ran Ran fell silent.
Lin Huai asked, “Did they force you to come here?’
Ran Ran hastily turned away, answering in a trembling voice, “I came here willingly.”
Lin Huai could tell that she was in pain and was completely against being there, just by her voice. It pissed him off; this Chen Gang must have forced another girl into prostitution, as if that wouldn’t leave her with painful memories that would scar her for life!
It seems that the campus gangs must be eradicated, otherwise, who knew how many more lives they would ruin? For sure, he was there on a mission, but he couldn’t just turn a blind eye against insidious matters like these.
Lin Huai sighed. “Fine, let’s talk about something else. Tell me, did they ask you to do anything besides providing me company when they set you up with me?”
As Lin Huai asked, he carefully watched Ran Ran’s change expressions. It wasn’t that Lin Huai didn’t trust this seemingly innocent girl, it was just that people already lost lives this way, and Lin Huai didn’t want to follow blindly.
Ran Ran’s was slightly confused, and she hesitantly asked, “Well, what else is there other than… that?”
Lin Huai stared at her for a while. Finally, he stopped glaring at her and gave a soft sound of affirmation after having decided that she was actually clueless and not playing dumb. That’s weird. Could they have been sincere in cosying up to me, and actually wanted me to have a good time? Was I just being paranoid?
Lin Huai had his doubts; Ran Ran did not seem to be the problem, but there was something about the situation that felt off and he couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Forget it, if I can’t guess what’s going on, then I’ll stop.” Lin Huai smiled again as he said, “Since you’ve promised to give me good company tonight, let’s sleep together.”
Ran Ran blushed again; she didn’t want to do it, but she’d known that this day would come since she started working here. At least Lin Huai was among the most well-behaved of the customers, as he was handsome, eloquent and respectful.
Ran Ran hesitated. Just as she was about to strip, Lin Huai dived straight underneath the blankets in shock as he said, “Hey, I’m not Liu Xiahui[1]. If you’re really going to strip naked, I can’t guarantee that I will last the night without touching you.”
“Huh?” Ran Ran was puzzled as she asked in a trembling voice. “W-What do you mean?”
Lin Huai chuckled. “Are you really going to give up your virginity to me?”
“I…” Ran Ran was in disbelief. “You don’t want to touch me? Is it because I’m not your type? Or do you think I’m not emotionally ready? I promise to do my best, okay?”
Lin Huai suddenly pulled her onto the ground and pinned her in place with a menacing smile as he said, “Are you that eager to keep me company? Did I accidentally seduce you with my good looks?”
“I…” Ran Ran started tearing up, then gritted her teeth and said with determination, “I’d rather give my first to you than lose it to some man I don’t know.”
But I can still see that you’re reluctant.” Lin Huai lightly pinched Ran Ran’s nose, then abruptly flipped over and lay down. With a smile, he said, “Get some rest. When morning comes, I’ll tell them that you gave me a really good time. I don’t care what trouble you’re in or how they forced you into this, but I can get you out of this godforsaken place if you want.”
“T-Thank you.” Ran Ran started crying when she heard that, tears streaming down her face.
Just then, loud bangs came from the door as if someone was trying to kick it down. “God damn it, open this door! Ran Ran, I know you’re in there! I’m coming to rescue you!” A deafening voice bellowed.
Lin Huai and Ran Ran were startled upon hearing the voice.
Lin Huai was just about to ask who was outside when the door lock splintered, a testament of the intruder’s strength; a large youth who stood at nearly 190 centimetres tall, with a muscular build and an impossibly aggressive aura of rage, rushed in. The level of his ferocity might have been even greater than Dao Zi.
When the man saw Lin Huai and Ran Ran on the bed with the latter in tears, his expression contorted in pure rage and his eyes became red. Lifting his knife high in the air, he brought it down and bellowed, “God damn it, I’m going to kill you, you bastard!”
The knife hurtled down at the speed of lightning, straight for Lin Huai’s head!
[1] Liu Xiahui was a person from the ancient times. Once when he was meditating, a woman leaped into his embrace, but he remained unperturbed and continued with his mediation. Since then, Liu Xiahui has been used as a name to refer to those who are not swayed in the face of temptations.