I laughed heartily, happily, and with a touch of surprise.
"Little money-grubber!" I looked at her. "Amei? You're Amei? What are you doing here?"
I blurted it out, and she was startled. She then turned her gaze to me, looked me over carefully for a while, and suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!! It's you?"
Who is this girl in front of me? Isn't she the private nurse, the money-grubbing Ah Mei, who used to be by my side?
Amei was wearing a saleswoman's uniform, a white shirt and a short skirt. She had light makeup on and her hair was tied up, giving her a somewhat charming appearance at first glance. However, her eyes still revealed a mischievous and playful spirit.
She stared at me, seemingly too surprised to utter another word after her initial "Ah." I walked closer, waved my hand in front of her eyes, and laughed, "Are you stunned? Or don't you recognize me?"
"You...you...you...Chen Yang!?" Amei rubbed her eyes hard, as if she finally dared to believe that the person standing in front of her was indeed me, and a look of surprise slowly appeared on her face.
“Of course it’s me…” I smiled at her, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you a private caregiver anymore? What are you doing selling clothes here?”
"Don't even mention it!" Amei sighed, looking helpless, but then stared at me for a moment. Her eyes darted around, and she laughed, saying, "Great! I didn't expect to see you here. Come on, let's have dinner together tonight... ah, wait..."
She suddenly took a step back, looking at me cautiously, and couldn't help but say, "I remember you've become quite successful now. Hmm, I read in the newspaper that you're a wealthy and important person. Why are you coming to see me?"
I laughed: "What rich person... Does being rich mean I'm no longer myself?"
Amei breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "That's right, the Chen Yang I know is a very kind person who would give me free food and lodging."
After saying that, she walked over with a giggle, but grabbed my arm and said, "Come on, let's go eat."
I glanced at the shop: "You...don't you work anymore?"
"Tch! Today was supposed to be my last day at work, and I was quitting tomorrow! But now that I've met you, I'm leaving early and going on strike!"
I gave a wry smile: "Saleswoman like you is a rare sight... You just drove away a customer who came in. Doesn't your boss care?"
"Tch!" Amei raised her eyebrows, her face full of anger: "That old lecher! Humph, he always tries to take advantage of me. This afternoon, when I was bending over to organize the shelves, he actually dared to touch me! I kicked him hard, and he's still in the hospital. There was a female colleague here who took him to the hospital."
I shook my head: "With a boss like this, what are you still doing here?"
“There’s nothing I can do…” A-Mei sighed and shrugged. “I owe him money. When I paid my rent, I asked him for a month’s salary in advance. I don’t have the money to pay him back, so I have to grit my teeth and work here for a month to pay him back so I can leave. Today… sigh, I hit him today, and I guess he’ll cause me trouble again tonight…”
She suddenly glanced at me, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, it's been a long time. I'm really embarrassed to tell you this as soon as we meet... But, you seem to be a rich person now... Could you lend me a thousand yuan? I owe this lecherous boss a month's salary, but I've only tolerated it for half a month. I still owe him half a month's salary. I originally wanted to endure it, but today I just couldn't take it anymore, so I hit him... When he comes back, he'll definitely cause me trouble over money."
I laughed, immediately took out the money from my pocket, counted it, and handed her a thousand yuan from the cash Xiaoxuan had given me.
"That's great! Thank you, Xiao Wu!" Amei smiled broadly, but didn't forget to say to me very seriously, "I'll definitely pay you back next month!"
After saying that, she put the money on the counter and then took out a bunch of keys and placed them on top. I smiled and added a few hundred more yuan, pointing to my clothes: "Here, you have to pay for this too."
Amei pulled me out of the shop, then locked the door, and finally let out a long sigh: "Freedom! Finally free!"
"You think you can just leave like this?" I frowned. "What if the shop owner comes back and tries to deny receiving your money if you leave it on the counter?"
"Tch! With you here, if he tries to renege, you can be my witness." Amei raised an eyebrow. After a pause, she quickly said, "I, Amei, act according to my conscience! Even if I ignore this boss and leave without paying him a month's salary, what can he do to me? Can he sue me? Most people would just accept their bad luck in this situation. Although I may be stingy, and you might call me a miser, I won't covet money that isn't mine! The reason I'm still gritting my teeth and continuing to work here is because I'm determined to pay him back!"
I sighed.
Indeed. This is the most typical A-Mei personality.
Although she was a shrewd and calculating girl, almost like a penny-pincher—even helping me negotiate rent with the property management company, haggling with taxi drivers, and cunningly setting a price for doing housework—she seemed very materialistic and greedy. However, she was very principled; she would never take money that wasn't hers. Especially considering she was so young and beautiful, as a private caregiver, she must have encountered many wealthy people, and many had tried to take advantage of her, but she rejected them all.
To paraphrase Ah Mei herself: "I love money, but I acquire it in a proper way!"
When I won the lottery and tried to give her the money, she firmly refused.
"You haven't changed at all after all this time." I smiled.
"And you?" Ah Mei asked, glancing at me suddenly. She slowly said, "Have you changed?"
I paused, as if I saw a complex emotion in A-Mei's eyes, but she quickly smiled and looked at me easily: "You're with Yan Di now, right? Let me tell you, Xiao Wu. A womanizer like you can't let Yan Di down! If you bully her... I..."
"What will you do?"
Amei sighed and pouted, "What can I do? I'm just a woman. I can't beat you in a fight, I have no money or power, and I can't help Yan Di get revenge... At most... at most..."
"Most of what?"
"Hmph!" Amei glared at me fiercely: "At most, I'll go back and get a picture of you, then hang it on the wall and practice throwing knives every day!"
I:"……!"
As we talked, I deliberately pulled her to a large tree behind a traffic island on the side of the road, avoiding pedestrians on the street.
"What's wrong with you?" Amei looked at me with a strange expression: "You're acting suspiciously, like you're hiding from someone."
"If I told you I'm being hunted down right now, would you believe me?" I gave a wry smile.
"Tch, I don't believe it!" Amei pouted, then suddenly seemed to remember something: "Oh, I know! You're a big celebrity now! Are you worried that your fans will recognize you? Hmm, you're super famous now! I saw the entertainment news, you're a headline figure in the US!"
The girl rummaged in her bag for a while, then pulled out a pair of sunglasses and handed them to me: "Here, wear these! So you won't be recognized."
I paused for a moment, looking at the woman's sunglasses in my hand. I even recognized that the sunglasses were actually a style from a world-famous brand... Of course, they weren't genuine; they were cheap counterfeit goods.
Ah Mei was just teasing me. But after a slight hesitation, I actually put on the sunglasses. Ah Mei couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really wearing them? Oh my god... are you really hiding from someone?"
I smiled but didn't say anything. After thinking for a moment, I said seriously, "Ah Mei, I'm not joking with you... Originally, we were old friends, and I was very happy to see you. And... I think Yan Di would be very happy if she knew I met you. Sigh, you don't know, you lost contact with us afterward, and Yan Di often thinks of you. But I really have something to do today... Well, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you now... It's dangerous for you to be with me right now. My enemies are looking for me. My friends are coming to pick me up. If my enemies find me before my friends do, then you'll be in trouble too!"
Amei stared at me wide-eyed, bewildered: "You...did you mess with someone you shouldn't have?"
"Give me your phone number." I didn't answer her question, but smiled and said, "After I get back and things are settled, I'll contact you, and we can get together again then."
Amei hesitated for a moment, but her expression was full of concern: "Have you really run into some trouble? Aren't you very rich now?"
"Don't rich people have enemies?" I was getting anxious seeing she wasn't leaving, so I tried to scare her: "I've offended the underworld! If I get caught, I'm finished. And you'll be in trouble too, watch out, you might get raped and then killed!"
"Ah!" A-Mei screamed, her expression suggesting she was about to run away. But she gritted her teeth, glanced around furtively, and said, "What are you going to do? Just wait here? This is a main road, what if someone sees us?"
"My friend will be here in about an hour. I'll find a shady spot behind a tree and sit for an hour; nothing should happen."
"Sigh!" Amei hesitated for a moment. She sighed, "Forget it, I've been eating and living with you for so long back then, I still owe you a huge favor! Come with me, let's hide at my place for a while." After a pause, she pointed to a place not far away and said, "See that neighborhood? My rented house is in there."
Looking at the direction she was pointing, I couldn't help but be taken aback.
What a coincidence!
The residential area she pointed to was actually the same place where Xiaoxuan had dropped me off to park a little while ago.
“I live right there. Since you’re in such danger, how can I leave you on the street? Come back with me. It’ll be safer at my place.” Ah Mei sighed.
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Indeed, it's really unsafe for me to be wandering around outside like this. Even if the Qinghong gang doesn't spot me... you have to understand, I'm a celebrity now!! My face has been on countless newspaper headlines and TV shows! If passersby recognize me and a crowd gathers, attracting some troublesome people, that wouldn't be good.
Since Amei lives nearby, let's go to her house for a while first, then call Yang Wei and ask her to drive directly to the entrance of the residential area; that would be safer.
After I nodded, Amei pulled me back.
This is an old-style residential complex, with apartment buildings constructed in the 1980s. There's definitely no landscaping or property management. It doesn't even qualify as a "community" in the true sense. It's just a few old apartment buildings enclosed by a wall, with a large iron gate at the entrance. There's no security guard in the small room next to it; instead, an old man is hired to watch the gate. When we went in, the old man was sitting in a chair listening to the radio, not even glancing at us.
Amei lived in the innermost building of the complex, and we walked into it. She seemed to finally relax, then regained some composure and told me she'd lived there for a year. She'd originally found work elsewhere, but lost it. Then, she'd stumbled upon a job opening at a small clothing store near her place and started working as a saleswoman temporarily. Little did she know the boss was a lecherous man…
I listened to Amei chattering away in my ear as we walked down the dark, narrow stairwell, which smelled damp and musty. I couldn't help but sigh, "Amei, why did you run away? Sigh..."
Actually, after I ran away, Amei was initially with Yandi. Fang Nan took care of them for a while, but then Qiaoqiao took them away.
When Fang Nan was taking care of Yan Di and the others, she even arranged for Yan Di and A Mei to work temporarily at Deep Blue Entertainment. But later, for some reason, A Mei left. It was just over two years ago, after Qiao Qiao found me and brought the news back to China, that Yan Di and Qiao Qiao went to Canada to find me.
At the time, Amei was still with Yandi. But she didn't go to Canada with Yandi. Later, without even saying goodbye to some friends in Nanjing, she left alone. She quit her job and left her apartment. She packed her bags and quietly left.
Oh, right, after she left, Aze only received a phone call from her later. During the call, Amei didn't say where she went, only that she went to visit relatives. She didn't give any further details.
Yan Di lost contact with A Mei and was quite sad for a while, after all, they were very good friends. However, at that time, Yan Di was by my side and knew that I was busy with my career and had a lot of troubles to deal with. Yan Di didn't want to distract me, so she kept it to herself.
Meeting Ah Mei here today is truly a huge surprise.
Looking at this gloomy tenement building, I couldn't help but sigh: "Ah Mei... why? Why did you leave in the first place?"
Putting everything else aside, if she were willing to continue working at Fang Nan's company, Deep Blue Entertainment would offer very high salaries and even provide accommodation—the benefits are quite good. There's no way they'd let A-Mei live in a place like this now.
After I asked that question, Amei seemed to be silent for a while. She went upstairs quietly, and after a while, she said in a low voice, "I don't know anything. I studied nursing, and all I know is how to take care of and serve people. I don't know anything about working in a company, and I can't do anything. I know that job with such a high salary is only given to me because of you... I don't like the feeling of being dependent on others."
I remained silent.
Indeed, this girl has such a strange personality; she seems very greedy, yet she is very strong-willed.
Although she was living and eating at my house for free, she always tried her best to help Yan Di with housework.
"I love money, but I acquire it in a proper way!" Amei puffed out her chest, then suddenly blushed and pointed to a dilapidated iron security door in front of her: "We're here."
This is a very old-fashioned tenement building with a very old layout. After going up the stairs, there is a very long corridor. There are six households on each floor, but only one bathroom and one kitchen, which are shared.
I lived in a building like this for a while back when I was working as a waiter in a nightclub.
But it's really inconvenient for a single girl to live in a place where even the toilets are shared—it must have been really tough on this young lady.
Amei awkwardly took out her keys to open the door.
Pushing open the door, the house was small, just one room, about ten square meters, containing only a bed and a small dining table. A water bottle was placed on the floor.
The room was very clean; after all, Ah Mei was a nurse by training, so she was quite meticulous when it came to housework. The cramped room, after her arrangement, didn't feel confined at all; instead, it gained a touch of cozy warmth, like a young girl's boudoir.
The pink sheets and curtains looked cheap, but they were clearly carefully chosen, with the colors and patterns matching harmoniously.
Several inexpensive little decorations hung on the wall, giving it a cozy, girly feel. Next to it was a simple wardrobe with a long-eared bunny doll on top.
The floor was clean, and the bedding on the bed was neatly folded.
"No need to change into slippers anymore." Amei seemed not at all ashamed of her small apartment, but rather quite proud of it: "How about it? My place is pretty good, isn't it? I negotiated the price with the landlord for ages for this size! The rent is so low that I almost woke up laughing in my sleep at night!"
At this moment, Ah Mei's face no longer showed any trace of her usual miserly appearance. Instead, it was filled with the calm and contented joy of a young girl. She happily closed the door and then said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, the place is too small and there are no chairs. You can just sit on the bed... I usually eat sitting on the bed."
I sat down, just about to compliment her, when I suddenly noticed a row of clothes racks hanging under the windowsill, right below the curtains. I froze...
Oh my god... uh... that's a row of girls' underwear!
No wonder people say, never enter a girl's house without permission!
Two bras, pink and light yellow, both quite sexy... especially a pink pair of panties, made of cotton... uh, the front of the panties even showed a Winnie the Pooh... and a red pair of panties, only the size of my palm... and it was even a thong!
I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, A-Mei noticed my gaze, let out a shriek, her face instantly turning bright red. She ran over and swiftly ripped off all her underwear, then stuffed them all under the covers. Only then did she turn to me, glaring and saying, "What are you looking at!"
I'm quite familiar with Amei, and I know I absolutely can't keep arguing with this little firecracker like this, or I'll most likely get kicked! So I quickly turned my face away and pretended to admire the bunny on the wardrobe.
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Sixty-Five: Shaving One's Head as a Sign of Resentment
Although I didn't dare to say anything, a strange smile involuntarily appeared on my face. Ah Mei saw this and, with a hint of reproach on her face, blushed and said, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing." I rolled my eyes. "Can't I even laugh?"