When she saw me rush in, her face was filled with despair and terror. She kept shouting, "I didn't call the police! I didn't call the police!"
I snatched the phone from her. Then, in a fit of rage, I unplugged the phone cord, threw the receiver on the ground, and stomped on it until it cracked!
I grabbed the woman's clothes with my right hand and lifted her off the bed. My face was grim as I roared, "Listen carefully, I don't want to hurt you. But if you don't cooperate, I'm afraid I don't have much patience! If you help me, I'll leave quickly and give you a large sum of money... Understand?"
“I didn’t call the police, I really didn’t call the police…” She was already crying: “I just called… my sister and told her not to come back.”
I was stunned: "You...your sister?"
She shrank back onto the bed in fright, her voice trembling as she said, "I live with my sister... she... she went... to... school."
I didn't say anything, and as if afraid I wouldn't believe her, she immediately pulled out a photo from the bedside table and handed it to me.
This is a color photograph. It shows two girls, one older and one younger, huddled together. The older one is naturally the mixed-race beauty, while the younger girl looks to be only ten years old, but she also has bright eyes and white teeth, and a radiant smile.
Judging from their appearances, the two are about 70-80% similar.
I breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the woman who was crying, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "I...I'm sorry."
I reached out and pulled her up. She flinched for a moment, but dared not disobey me too much, and finally stood up.
"I'm sorry," I said seriously. "I really don't want to hurt you, but please help me. I'll be leaving soon."
Then I paused for a moment, and continued, "You're a smart girl, you should be able to tell that I'm in some trouble. I've offended some people, and they're looking for me outside... They're not police officers, they're ruthless killers. Even if you call the police now, once they find out I left from here, you'll be in trouble too... Understand?"
She nodded vigorously, but it was clear she hadn't fully listened to what I was saying.
I dragged her to the living room, took out my bag, and emptied out all ten thousand US dollars, placing it on the table.
“Here’s ten thousand dollars, it’s all yours! Consider it payment for helping me, how about it?” I looked at her. “As long as you help me, I guarantee you’ll be alright! I guarantee your safety too. After I leave, everything will be as if nothing ever happened… Understand?”
With a combination of coaxing and cajoling, and the ten thousand dollars on the table, the mixed-race beauty finally quieted down...
"You... promise to leave soon?" She glanced at me and said with some fear.
"Yes, I promise." But I thought to myself: as long as I find a way to escape.
“Okay.” The mixed-race beauty suddenly wiped away her tears, a resolute glint in her eyes: “You… I don’t want your money… I just beg you not to hurt me… I…” Her eyes were full of pleading: “I still have to take care of my sister, so please don’t kill me, don’t hurt me. Okay…” She continued to plead: “I’ll do anything you want… If you want me to stay with you… I can do that too… just please…”
"Okay, first help me find a needle and thread." I frowned; those few movements had really hurt me.
This time she was much more obedient, quickly finding a needle and thread. Then, looking at the blood on the table, she seemed about to faint again. She quickly turned away, not daring to look at me.
I chuckled, picked up my clothes, wiped the bloodstains off the table, and then threw the blood-stained clothes under the table.
Regardless of how panicked the girl was, I focused my attention on my arm for the time being.
I held the needle, heated it with fire, threaded it, and then gently stitched up the wound... Unfortunately, my wound was a bit on the outside, and I had to stitch it up myself at a somewhat awkward angle.
I tried a few times, and it hurt so much I grimaced.
Just then, the mixed-race beauty beside me suddenly turned around. She looked at me, her eyes filled with fear, but she mustered her courage and whispered, "I... I'll try to help you."
I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately handed the needle to her.
She was terrified. Her hands trembled slightly, especially when she saw the sharp needle piercing my flesh; I could clearly sense she was about to faint. I spoke to her gently, trying to distract her.
"You... huff..." I took a deep breath from the pain, then forced a smile and said, "You live with your sister?"
"……kindness."
"Where is she? Did she go to school?"
"……kindness."
How old is she?
"……eleven."
Where are your parents?
"..." She looked up at me and whispered, "She's gone."
I sighed. The needle pierced my flesh again and again, and I broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. Then I forced a smile and said to her, "I...I'm sorry."
"...Does it... hurt a lot?" she suddenly asked me in a strange tone.
"Hmm?" I glanced at her. "It's alright, you can hold back."
"You...you don't seem like a bad person, so please let me go, okay?" She looked like she was about to cry again: "My sister only has me as her family. If I die, she won't be able to live either."
"Don't worry, I won't touch you." I sighed. "I'm not a bad person, don't worry."
She silently lowered her head and bit off the end of the thread. I glanced at the wound. The stitches were very fine; clearly, this mixed-race beauty was quite skilled at needlework.
"Very good, well sewn, your needlework is beautiful." I smiled.
“Yes, I can sew.” She glanced at me and immediately panicked, “No, no… I wasn’t joking about your wound… I…”
I smiled gently and said, "Don't be nervous, I'm not that fierce."
I picked up a sanitary napkin and covered the wound. She paused, probably seeing someone use something like that to bandage a wound for the first time. She clearly wanted to laugh, but it was difficult to do so in this situation. I handed her the strip of cloth: "Help me bandage this."
She took it, but didn't start working on it right away. Instead, she ran to the kitchen to wash it with water before coming over to help me wrap it up.
After the wound was treated, I felt much more relaxed. Looking at her sitting beside me, looking somewhat helpless, I felt a lot of remorse.
At least, the girl is innocent; it was I who caused her so much fright.
Do you have cigarettes at home?
“…Yes.” She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly bent down and pulled a pack of cigarettes from under the sofa.
I was a little puzzled: "Why hide cigarettes here?"
A hint of sadness flashed in the mixed-race beauty's eyes as she whispered, "I'm afraid my sister will see. Many people smoke where I work, and I've learned to smoke too... but I don't want my sister to see. I'm afraid she'll be corrupted." She added wistfully, "My sister is still young; she thinks all smokers are bad women."
Part 1: In the Martial World, Helpless by One's Own Circumstances, Chapter 183: Dreams
I chuckled, but quickly stopped.
I even felt a little guilty!
She, this mixed-race beauty, a hostess working in a nightclub, is hard to call a good woman. But she is very careful, using her limited efforts to try her best to preserve her sister's innocence!
Does she know you're involved in...your job?
The mixed-race beauty glanced at me and gave a wry smile: "I don't know. She only knows that I work as a waitress in a hotel."
Silence fell over the room...
I felt a little annoyed, so I picked up a cigarette, lit it, took a sullen drag, and glanced at her: "Want one?"
The mixed-race beauty silently shook her head.
I tried to chat with her: "You... the place you live in has a nice surrounding environment."
"Yes." She nodded and said softly, "I hope my sister can live in a clean environment."
I was somewhat moved by this girl.
Between her words, I could clearly hear the painstaking effort she put into protecting her younger sister!
She suddenly smiled, a hint of mockery in her voice: "I'm a prostitute, and it seems like prostitutes shouldn't live in these upscale apartment buildings... Prostitutes should live in working-class neighborhoods, those chaotic places, next to thugs and hooligans... The rent here is expensive, but it's clean, there aren't any shady people, and my sister can grow up healthy." She glanced at me. She said softly, "I grew up in that kind of environment, so this is the only work I can do now... But I don't want my sister to experience that kind of life... I want her to be someone of high status."
"But..." I sighed, "Why did you agree to take me back to your home?"
"Because you gave me a lot of money! And I really need the money." The mixed-race beauty said in a sad tone.
I understand now! I understand why, even though the apartment looks nice from the outside, the furnishings in this mixed-race beauty's home are so simple!
The rent here must be a considerable expense for her!
A prostitute, yet she used the money she earned from selling her smiles to support her sister. And she went to such lengths to do so…
I looked at the girl and said in a very sincere tone, "You...you are a very good older sister. And...I lied to you, I'm sorry."
She said softly, "Thank you for the compliment... but..." She glanced at me, somewhat fearful, but still mustered her courage to say, "When can you leave... now that your injuries are healed... you promised..."
I was speechless.
To be honest, I now even feel a bit of respect for this girl!
Although I originally planned to take some tough measures to stay here and force her to cooperate with me, if that didn't work, I even planned to knock her unconscious and tie her up.
But now, knowing some of her situation, I really can't bring myself to hurt her... Even if I could, what about that little girl? Could I bear to use violence against a ten-year-old girl?
I'm not a good person, but I'm not a completely wicked villain either.
I hesitated, but the mixed-race beauty's face darkened...
Just as I was struggling to find the right words, I suddenly heard a noise outside the door!
That was the sound of a key gently being inserted into the lock.
I glanced at the girl beside me, and her face immediately turned pale! Before I could move, she had already grabbed everything on the table and thrown it under the sofa. Then she saw the blood-stained clothes under the table and looked at me helplessly, but I had already snatched them away. Then I lifted the sofa with one hand and stuffed the other hand under it.
Finally, the door opened and I saw a girl of about ten years old slowly walking in. She had a schoolbag on her back, a slender figure, bright eyes and white teeth, and was wearing a very cute schoolgirl outfit. Underneath her skirt were a pair of slender legs...
However, I noticed that she had a metal brace on her right leg! It secured her right leg, and there was also a shoe cover underneath! This caused the metal shoe cover to fall to the ground with a heavy thud when she walked!
This girl is so beautiful. She has a small, slender face with a pointed chin and large, bright eyes. Heaven has endowed her with such beauty, so it's easy to imagine that she will grow up to be an outstanding beauty in the near future.
But her legs...
The mixed-race beauty tensed up immediately. She glanced at me, her eyes filled with a silent plea. I couldn't tell if she was begging me not to hurt her sister, or begging me not to tell her sister the truth... or maybe both!
The girl walked somewhat clumsily, but her expression was calm. She was slightly surprised to see two people in the house, and then she smiled and said a few words to the mixed-race beauty in a clear voice.
I noticed the mixed-race beauty was very excited. She glanced at me with concern, quickly exchanged a few words with her sister, and then whispered to me, "She...she said the teacher was sick, so she came back early..."
She paused for a moment, then added, "My sister doesn't understand Chinese..."
I breathed a sigh of relief, looked at her, and said gently, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you... really."
Perhaps my repeated reassurances put her at ease a bit, because she finally sighed, exchanged a few quick words with her sister, sounding somewhat hurried, and then told me that she had lied to her sister and that I was her friend.
I looked at the little girl in front of me. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, then she broke into a bright smile, slowly walked to my side, and said with a smile, "Hi."
Before I could even speak to her, the mixed-race beauty next to me hurriedly said something to her sister, probably urging her to go back to her room.
The little girl gave us a strange look, then said something to her sister in a slightly coquettish tone.
I suddenly remembered that when I called earlier, it must have been this little girl who answered the phone first. She seemed to understand my English.