This isn’t some sort of shady hostel, is it?
As she let her mind roam, she took out two hundred yuan from her bag and handed the money to the boss, who passed her the room keycard. “Second floor, Room 209. If you’re going to bathe, let the shower run for a while so that you can get hot water.”
“Noted!”
She nodded and was about to turn around when two half-naked young chaps walked down the stairs, yelling, “Boss, give us two packs of furongwang[1].”
“Noted!” cheerfully replied the boss, moving to take the requested cigarette packs out from a drawer to scan for payment. “How’s your killing tonight?”
“Sigh. I’ve got rotten luck! It’s so bad that I almost lost all my savings!”
“How much did you lose?”
“Ten thousand!”
It left the boss gobsmacked. “Oh, dear. That’s a huge loss!”
During their conversation, Meng Qingxue looked up to see two men, who had tattoos all over their upper torso, walking briskly down the stairs. Feeling startled and wary, she hid in a corner and did not dare to lay eyes on them again.
Judging by their appearances, they must be hooligans, right?
The way they talk is so rowdy, too. In any case, they’re no decent men.
They too noticed her, and their eyes lit up at the sight of her—a lone female, beautifully dressed in the middle of the night. Naturally, they had their misconceptions of her.
“Hey, boss. Since where did you dabble in this sort of business, too? Why didn’t you say so? To think we were getting bored!”
The guys had apparently taken her as a hooker!
Awkwardness settled on the boss’s face as he immediately explained, “Brother Dong, Brother Cheng, you’re mistaken! She’s just a customer. It’s not what you’re thinking about!”
He hastily signaled to her. “Hurry along. Room 209 is on the second floor. Don’t get the wrong room!”
She gave a hurried nod before clutching her bag tightly to herself and heading straight for the second floor with her head ducked down.
One of the young men noticed her frightened but youthful and beautiful looks, though.
One would be unable to find any other female as beautiful as her in the entire Yan City!
The local ladies all had rough skin. Even if they were born with smooth and fair skin, it would eventually be roughened by the winds on the mountains. Plus, most of the girls grew up doing all sorts of farm work and household chores, so how could they possibly have such a delicate appearance?
Harboring ill intentions, he deliberately put out his arm to stop her just when she was about to walk past him. She, however, nimbly dodged him and continued making her way to the stairs. Being the young and vigorous man that he was, he bumped her with his shoulders when he realized that he got humiliated.
“Ah!”
It caused her to stagger and very nearly fell on the stairs. Her maternal instinct to protect her child kicked in at once; she hastily put her hands out to balance herself, dropping her bag in the process, which attracted the young men’s attention.
The bag’s zipper was not closed, so they could vaguely see a thick stack of red notes in it. Their jaws practically dropped at the sight.
That’s a lot of cash!
There must be at least ten thousand yuan in there!
Is this woman a rich missy?!
Meng Qingxue’s expression darkened upon noticing their looks. She then frantically picked up her bag, hugged it tightly to her chest, and dashed toward the stairs.
One of the young men chased after her and tugged her arm, asking leerily, “Why are you running from us? Are you afraid of us eating you up? We’re no beasts, though!”
[1] Furongwang is a brand of cigarettes
