She wasn't in a hurry and continued, "I know you hate me, and I won't say anything more. You still need to find a place to eat, right? Since Lan Ya isn't keeping you here, I'll introduce you to a place that guarantees you won't suffer such humiliation!"
I was truly impressed by her. She knew how to bend and was thick-skinned, casually brushing past the ruin of my family and offering me a job as if it were nothing.
I knew she was referring me to the place Lan Ya had mentioned. I feigned reluctance and asked, "Why do you want me to go there?"
She replied, "Just like Qiangzi, you'll be in charge of the girls. You don't have to do any actual work, just make sure they don't cause any trouble. I'll give you ten percent."
Honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to work for her even if she gave me a higher percentage, but this was the only chance to get into that establishment, so I had to agree.
I said, "Alright, but you promise me you'll keep Da Laizi in check. If he dares to have any more designs on Wang Xin, I'll kill him!"
The female demon replied, "Don't worry. We're family now. I promise I won't let him bully family members."
I retorted, "I am not family with you, nor with any of you. Don't mess with me; I don't recognize anyone!"
The female demon sighed, "Alright, alright, we're not family. But you don't have any problem with money, right? Let's just do it for the money."
She added, "I'll give you a thousand yuan as an advance. Find a place to stay, tell me your address, and I'll have us sent over tomorrow night."
Saying this, she handed me a wad of cash and had Qiangzi help me find a place to stay, while she returned to Da Shijie.
Wen Si Qiang took me to a hotel and advised, "Go along with Sister Zhou. You won't lose out. Don't always be so confrontational."
I looked at him and said, "It's a miracle I haven't killed her. If Lan Ya hadn't kicked me out, would I be following her?"
Qiangzi asked, "I don't understand, how did you fall out with Sister Lan?"
I knew he would ask about it; otherwise, the female demon wouldn't feel at ease.
I explained, "Her purpose in taking me in was to use me. She didn't want Zhou Yingying to bring young girls inside, but she wanted me to do it, saying the younger the girls, the more valuable they were. She also said that the ones Zhou Yingying brought weren't pretty, and she wanted me to find this year's freshmen, the attractive ones. I refused, and she immediately flipped out, calling me an ungrateful wolf. In front of everyone, she threw wine at me. I lost it then. Who does she think she is? What do I look like to her? I'm not a dog that wags its tail for a bite to eat. You saw it yourself; I slapped her right there. I'm not going for that!"
Qiangzi exclaimed, "You're my brother, my real brother! You're amazing! No matter how ruthless Sister Zhou is, she wouldn't dare slap Sister Lan. You're truly something else!"
I snarled, "Are you speaking sarcastically? Do you want me to slap you? I've given you a task; get it done. If you don't, I'll still deal with you, you believe that?"
Qiangzi quickly agreed, "I believe you, I believe you. I'll remember that, don't worry."
After watching Qiangzi walk away, I ran to a phone booth and sent a message to Lan Ya's pager: "123."
After a moment, she replied with a "1."
This was our secret code; everything was proceeding smoothly.
The next evening, a van stopped at the hotel entrance. Qiangzi came down to my room and called me, saying the female demon had arrived with people and asked me to come down to the agreed-upon location.
Lan Ya had told me yesterday that it was another nightclub, smaller than Da Shijie, located on the border between the city and the countryside, a bit secluded, near the Myanmar border.
The van door was open. I saw the female demon sitting inside. There was an empty seat next to her. Qiangzi had already sat in the passenger seat. I hesitated for a moment and then got in.
In the back row sat three girls, whispering to each other. I knew they were the girls the female demon had brought. They were probably discussing me. I ignored them and didn't greet the female demon.
The female demon didn't pick a fight either. She said softly, "Drive."
The van traveled for about half an hour before stopping at the nightclub entrance. I got out and took a look. It was indeed a tier below Da Shijie. There weren't as many neon lights at the entrance, just a few large spotlights. Two security guards at the door, upon seeing the female demon, bowed respectfully and let us in.
Inside, she called the lobby manager and introduced me to him, instructing me to only speak to him if I had issues and not to interact with anyone else. She said I could consume there but had to pay myself. My task was to ensure the safety of the girls I was with, collect the day's earnings after finishing, and then take them back.
After she finished, she and Qiangzi left. The three girls crowded around me. One of them said, "Hey, we'll be following you from now on. You have to look out for us!"
I felt a sense of disgust towards them. At such a young age, why choose this path? If their families knew, wouldn't they be beaten to death?
However, my current role was their leader, so I couldn't show my aversion. I had to act the part.
I asked them, "What year are you all in?"
The one who spoke to me earlier quietly replied, "We used to be classmates with Zhou Yingying. We dropped out after half a year. What's the point of that broken school? We don't want to go to university anyway. Earning money is more practical. But you can't tell the manager; it's only the current students who are valuable. If they know we're not students, it'll be trouble."
I looked at them sternly. What kind of worldview was this? A life of decadent pleasure was their pursuit, but this pursuit was not fun; if you played it wrong, you'd be destroyed.
They told me their names were Xiaoli, Xiaolian, and Xiaohong. I knew these were fake names, commonly known as stage names. I didn't bother to be pedantic; as long as I could distinguish them.
The one who spoke to me was Xiaoli, who was more outgoing and talkative. The other two were a bit more shy and stayed behind.
I led them to a row of chairs behind the dance floor to wait for work.
The girls in the nightclub had their own dedicated resting areas. We, as outsiders, could only wait here.
Xiaoli offered me a cigarette. I said I didn't smoke. She took one, lit it, took a puff, and then put it in my mouth, saying, "What man doesn't smoke? If you're in this business, you have to act like you're in this business. Don't think of yourself as something special. If you're in this line of work, you're nothing. Only money makes you a master!"
I watched her light another cigarette and exhale a beautiful smoke ring. I tried to take a puff, but it choked me, bringing tears to my eyes, and I coughed for a long time.
She looked at me with contempt, as if she were my boss.
She was right. I had to adjust my mindset quickly. I was nobody here; I was just at the bottom, waiting for others to toss me a scrap of food. Don't think of yourself as anyone; you are nobody.
Only by doing this could I complete my mission. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how I died here.
Lan Ya had told me before we left that I had to rely on myself here and couldn't expect any backup. They would not interfere in this matter until the net closed.