"So what exactly does your father do for a living? It's more than just loan sharking and debt collection, right?" Gu Susu remembered asking Yanan before, but she always gave vague answers.
Gu Susu had thought her father was just making money by skirting the edges of the law, perhaps not entirely legal, but she hadn't expected it to be so serious as to require an undercover police officer.
Wei Yanan lost her composure. "My dad... when he was young, he was idle and hung around with a bunch of bad people. I don't know how he became successful later on. But by then, my mother had already fallen ill and passed away. She worried herself sick over him, and he never enjoyed a single day of his success. He felt very guilty about it towards me and my mother, so he doted on me. Although he had other women around, he never remarried. Because I was always angry with him, I didn't study hard either. I ended up messing around outside like him. One time, he had people grab me and bring me back, and he came clean with me, saying that since I wasn't cut out for studying, I should just inherit his company."
Gu Susu asked, "Did you do anything illegal too?"
Wei Yanan shook her head. "My dad talked to me. I'm his only daughter. When he hands the company over to me, he'll legitimize it and wants me to run it as a proper business, so he can rest easy. But my dad's intentions were good, yet some things, once you get involved, aren't that easy to wash clean. He's still been taking risks..."
"What exactly did your father's company do?"
Wei Yanan's voice became very small. "They did everything. Underground casinos, human trafficking, and... and drugs... But my dad really didn't want to do these things anymore. He wanted to quit, but it would take time. But Su Kangxi, he betrayed me. He said he was helping my dad, but he pushed my dad to his death, leaving me with nothing and bringing me to this point!"
Gu Susu sighed, finally understanding why Su Kangxi had changed so much back then. It turned out he hadn't given up his beloved work after all.
"Yanan, it was Kangxi's duty to arrest your father, but I don't think he would have been so heartless towards you," Gu Susu said, trying to comfort her. "He didn't just pretend to be with you back then; there was genuine feeling. An outsider can see it, I could tell he liked you. It's just that he had his mission, and he must have been in a difficult position."
Wei Yanan raised her head, wiped away her almost-fallen tears, and smiled. "He was in a difficult position? He's a police officer, the embodiment of justice. My father and I are bad people! The fact that he only pushed my father to his death and didn't send me to prison is probably his biggest regret!"
"No, that's not true..."
"Susu, don't say any more. You weren't there then. You didn't see his righteous indignation when he came to arrest us. Anyway, I'll hate him for the rest of my life and never forgive him!" Wei Yanan took a deep breath, her eyes filled with hatred. "I don't have the power to get revenge yet, but just you wait, I won't let him have an easy time!"
Gu Susu sighed. "So you gave up on yourself and went to work as a hostess, just to make him feel guilty?"
Wei Yanan laughed. "I haven't had any love for him for a long time, so I wouldn't do anything for his sake. As you can see, I'm in a dire situation now. If I don't work as a hostess to earn money to survive, what else can I do? Besides having a good tolerance for alcohol, I don't know how to do anything else."
"Besides being a hostess, there are actually many other things you can do..."
"What things? Like being a cleaner like you? I'd rather drink. It earns money and drowns my sorrows." Wei Yanan wasn't listening to anything.
Gu Susu didn't know what to do to help her. She took out a bank card from her pocket and gave it to her. "Jing Jie said the losses from last night must be compensated. Take this and pay for the club's losses."
Wei Yanan didn't take her card. "I can't take your money..."
"The money in here isn't a gift. You have to pay me back when you have money; I'm just lending it to you." Gu Susu forced it into her hand, then got up and helped her tidy her clothes. "Don't think being a hostess is that simple. It's not just drinking as you imagine. If you like drinking, why not find a job as a wine promoter? Or when I go back, I can ask Jing Jie to introduce you to those wine suppliers."
Ever since her father's incident, she had become a pariah. The so-called brothers who had been close to her father now avoided her like the plague.
She had wandered the streets and slept in train stations when she had nothing. No one cared if she lived or died, no one cared what she did, yet it was Susu who extended a helping hand and worried about her work and life.
She was deeply touched, and the tears she had been holding back finally poured out.
Gu Susu also felt sad and hugged her tightly. "Don't be sad. Your father chose the wrong path back then and couldn't turn back. Although you have nothing now, you still have a chance to start a new life. Don't give up on yourself, and please, don't go to the private rooms to entertain guests anymore, okay?"
"Mmm, Susu, I understand. I'll listen to you." Wei Yanan buried her face in Gu Susu's shoulder and cried uncontrollably.
Gu Susu cried along with her. They held each other and wept, and after an unknown amount of time, they gradually calmed down.
After crying, they had both released the emotions that had been bottled up for a long time, and their moods improved significantly. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Oh my god, look at your swollen face and eyes. Don't scare anyone when you go out," Gu Susu teased her.
Wei Yanan's hand still hurt when she touched her face. She winced and said, "Those people with Young Master Huo were too damn ruthless. Did they want to disfigure me?"
"Don't touch it. I'll go boil some eggs to put on it for you." Gu Susu was about to look for a pot to boil eggs.
Wei Yanan stopped her. "Don't bother looking. We don't have any kitchen utensils here."
"Then how do you usually eat?"
"Instant noodles, takeout." Wei Yanan took out her phone and started ordering takeout. "I'm hungry, and you must be too. What do you want to eat? I'll order."
"Anything," Gu Susu thought about making something for her, but without kitchenware or ingredients, she could only eat takeout with her.
While they were eating takeout, Susu suggested, "Yanan, why don't we rent a place together? Then I won't have to stay at Jing Jie's place. We can rent a nicer apartment, and at least we can look out for each other."
Yanan also had a lot of questions. "When did you come back from abroad? Why aren't you with Mr. Yang? Didn't he treat you very well?"
Gu Susu told Yanan everything that had happened over the past year, without any omissions, except that her biological father wasn't Ai Shunan.
Once Yanan knew the whole truth, she would understand why she needed to help her hide from everyone she knew.
Yanan listened, stunned. She could hardly believe it.