After thinking about it, I say: “What business are you going to do then?”
She’s smiling, sighing intentionally, then saying leisurely: “Ouch… What else can I do? I’m a woman, and I don’t know any other business. So, I can only do my old job! I have chosen the place. You just rest assured, not here! I’m going to open a new club abroad. Take advantage of the recent good situation, once finish the things here, I’ll take the money to go abroad to enjoy life with ease!”
I have guessed it! The woman wants to roll up the money here to go abroad to run a nightclub!
I am staring at her for a while, sighing: “I’m really curious. In just a few months, how did you build such a business here?”
“Leave it alone!” Her face is sinking slightly, then smiling again, “Anyway, you can rest assured of this place. I am the master here! If I don’t sell you, you’re safe! My people are all tight-lipped. Outside people can not easily enter and people here can not easily go out! You’re right. My place is safe!”
I’m sighing and shaking my head: “Are you afraid of retribution of what you have done here? Damn, these people here, one by one, have been mad already. Others cheat people will at least leave a way to live. You’re cheating their whole families fall into.”
Her eyebrows are flicking. She’s sneering creepy. She is staring at me coldly: “Retribution? Do I fear retribution all my life? I sold myself at the age of eighteen, and I can’t remember how many men have rolled over me all the way up to now. You are telling me retribution?!”
Her tone is somewhat disdainful. Like a hysterical vent, with cigarettes at her fingertips rembling: “Yes! I was forced by you to jump out of that circle and jumped into present situation. I have sworn I would never let me live by selling laughter to men again! Damn, do you think I made a good profit by selling myself before? I was young and beautiful, with two thighs opening, money comes smoothly! But even if a woman is beautiful, she’s willing open her thighs. How many years can she fucking sell it? Can she sell herself for a lifetime? Ignorance of conscience? If I don’t do this, who can I expect to feed me for the rest of my life?”
She’s yelling with a nervous giggling: “Retribution? I am not afraid of retribution! What’s wrong with doing bad things? In this world, men become bad if they have money! If women become bad, they’ll have money!”
Her chin is holding high; her eyes are viperous; her tone is impassioned; and the cigarette ashes between her fingers falls to the ground unconsciously.
I see a trace of madness in her eyes, think about it, and close my mouth, say nothing anymore.
Honestly, I begin to admire this mad woman in front of me. Such a person like her can say such interesting words. Although the words are rough, the contents are quite profound!
She is a little fidgety, slowly walking back to the sofa, stubbing out the cigarette on hand, and staring at me: “Little 5, can’t you give me a pleasant word? If you say yes, I can arrange to send you out tomorrow!”
“If I say no, are you going to tie me up and send me to someone outside who’s looking for me?”
She is saying with the smile: “I’m not as hard-hearted as you are. I’m not going to tie you up and send you out. It will get into trouble for no reason! I’ll throw you out on the street. Didn’t you say that people outside are looking for you now? I might say something secretly at most.”
I look at the woman, standing up slowly.
She is staring at me and says: “Do you want to kill me?”
“I dare not.” I’m honest and frank, and say with the bitter smile, “You are very cunning, knowing that there is a girl beside me, you dare to see me alone. You’re not afraid of I would kill you. If I do it, the outsiders will rush in, and at most everyone dies together. You know I don’t care about my own life. But you’ve seen through me, I can’t bear to let this little girl die.”
“That’s it!” Phoenix is looking at me, “I know you so well, you’re a wolf! If I’m not sure, I dare to meet you here alone? I’m a woman. You can kill me with one finger. But I know you value the little girl beside you very much. I have watched you for a whole day in the daytime, you were protecting her everywhere you go, and let her be around when you go to bed at night. Little 5, I haven’t seen you so good to anyone else, have I?”
“You’re still wrong. You don’t really know me!” I’m sighing intentionally and shaking one finger in front of her, “Since you know that I am a man of principle, you should know that this kind of ambiguous conscience things you are doing, I will not touch it.”
She’s saying lightly: “Then just don’t complain me for don’t remember the oldtime friendship. Well! As I said just now, there is no love between us. On the contrary, there is a lot of hatred.” She is smiling maliciously at me and saying, “You can rest assured that I won’t do anything to you. I’ve said, I won’t do it myself. You’d better run as fast as you can when you go out from here! Looking at the past, I won’t let the news go out now. But after dawn? Hey hey…”
I look at her, sneering, raising my thumb: “You’re terrific! You’re the most terrific woman I’ve ever seen! Changeable in prosperity and decline! I’ve remembered what had happened today!”
She is sneering: “Don’t worry! If you die, I will definitely pray for you.”
I’m too lazy to talk to this mad woman any more. I take Dorra out of the room with a big stride. There’re quite a few people standing outside. Many of them look like bad people, but none of them stop us all the way.
It’s almost dawn, I look at the sky and sighing slightly. As soon as we’re going downstairs, I hear a sharp whistle coming from below.
Then someone is screaming and shouting: “Cops!”
Subsequently, do not know how many searchlights and flashlights are coming over. In an instant, the small building is illuminated as if it is the daytime!
I don’t know how many people there are, and I can only see many shadows. Then the sirens are sounding violently. In a short time, many policemen have surrounded the area and rushing in from several directions.
Facing with such sudden emergencies, people here seem to be stunned. Phoenix is rushing out of the room in a fury, holding the railing and glancing down, screaming and scolding: “Son of a bitch, you’ve received so much money on weekdays, now dare to spoil my business?! You fucking shit!”
But she has no time to scold anymore, just running out the other side of the corridor as quick as she can.
The noises outside have shocked the neighborhood, and countless people are awakened from their sleep. Both lamps and cheaters are all rushing out of the room. But they are greeted by police batons. There are police with loudspeakers warning everyone to squat down over and over again. There are still some desperate people trying to resist, but soon are laid down.
Some die-hards are shouting of for their own successes, trying to provoke the madmen to confront the police. But apparently the police are well prepared to rush into the residential area, effectively disintegrate the sporadic resistance.
I see the momentum is not good, jumping out from the second-floor railings of the small building first, then standing below and shouting to Dorra in low voice: “Jump down!”
She hesitates for a moment. In the darkness, the girl has incredible trust in me. She is jumping down and falling into my arms. We are both rolling several times on the ground to relieve her falling strength. But the bag is cut open, and some staffs inside have been scattered out.
I know it’s no time to pick things up now, so I just pull her to run away as fast as we can.
It’s a big place. Although we have been surrounded, but the police can’t surround like a barrel. There are still some dead corners.
Besides, we were jumping down from the back of the second floor. There’s a dead end behind the building. I don’t care about that much. Depending on my own strong body, meet the wall then we go over the wall, meet the room then we go cross the room. Although it’s inconvenient to take Dorra together, but it’s dark and noisy all around now. The residents in the neighborhood are hiding at home for safty. No one dares to come out, no matter how noisy it is outside. We go over several walls and feeling almost pumped out. At last, the noise behind is quieter. I find a secluded place and listen carefully for a long time. Then I’m relieved to know that no police coming after.
Damn, we are so lucky!
As soon as I quarreled with Pahoenix, she was besieged by the police. It seems that I’ve gotten the new oppotunity to breathe for a while.
I’m really realy lucky. I even want to laugh. But the time is still urgent. So, I just pull Dorra to keep running.
We cross several paths before turning to a decent road. The storefront buildings on both sides are quite normal.
I hesitate and finally pick up the phone to dial that number. The phone is connected when it rings three times.
The first sentence on the other end is: “Have you thought it over?”
His voice is still thick, with some mockery.
I understand what he meant. He didn’t ask me whether I have arrived, but whether I have thought it over. It seems that in the previous call, he has known that I don’t trust him so much.
Instead of answering directly, I say lightly: “In my situation, it’s no harm to be careful.”
“Where are you?” He asks very simply.
After looking at the roadside building for a while, I finally find a sign address, and tell him.
“… FXXX! You’ve already out of town! How did you get there?” On the phone, his voice is somewhat surprised, and then he is calming down, “You just wait there, I’ll pick you up right away.”