By the time Liu Yong arrived, Xiao Rou’s boyfriend had brought seven or eight fellow townsmen and wrecked the karaoke hall. Xiao Rou herself was injured.
Liu Yong observed her injuries – split lip, bruised cheek, disheveled hair, and torn clothes – and felt quite disturbed. It was bad enough for a man to be so incapable that he’d let his woman work as a hostess, but if he had been deceived about it initially, the proper response would be either to discuss it with her and agree she’d stop working there while he found employment instead – Pengcheng had plenty of opportunities to make money, whether in foreign factories paying several hundred yuan monthly or other jobs that paid better than in other cities – or if he couldn’t accept her past as a hostess, they could simply break up.
But to resort to violence against a woman was something Liu Yong disapproved of. He had only later learned that Xia Dajun had raised his hand against Liu Fen when drunk. Before their divorce, Liu Fen had always tried to hide it from her family, and when Liu Yong finally found out, he was nearly furious enough to die.
“Brother Tianquan, what happened here?”
“Ah, Brother, I’m sorry – they only notified me after Xiao Rou was beaten, so I immediately called you!”
Xiao Rou’s boyfriend, who had been restrained by Liu Tianquan’s men, suddenly broke free: “So you’re the adulterer? Damn you, I’ll kill you!”
Xiao Rou screamed “No!” and rushed to embrace the man. “Brother Yong has nothing to do with this. If you want to hit someone, hit me…”
“You’re already calling him ‘Brother Yong,’ and you still claim there’s nothing between you, you worthless woman?”
Xiao Rou received another harsh slap. Liu Yong watched this scene unfold with a growing headache.
Li Dongliang was handling two other projects Liu Yong had taken on, so Ge Jian came with Liu Yong. At Liu Yong’s signal, Ge Jian went to pull the man away.
For someone who had been so fierce in beating a woman, he was like a weak chicken in Ge Jian’s hands.
Ignoring the man’s outburst, Liu Yong noticed something wasn’t right: “Brother Tianquan, this is someone else’s domestic matter. It’s not appropriate for me to get involved, is it?”
Beating women was wrong, but why wasn’t the club owner or Liu Tianquan handling this? Why call him to deal with it?
Liu Yong felt there was far too much misunderstanding here!
When he expressed his reluctance to get involved, everyone present looked at him. Xiao Rou’s eyelashes trembled as if she wanted to speak but held back.
Ge Jian thought to himself, aren’t they just trying to trap his boss?
Why were these people courting death? Ge Jian had heard Miss Xia had come to Pengcheng.
Was Miss Xia someone to be trifled with?
Liu Yong didn’t yet know that not only had his niece come to Pengcheng, but she had brought his wife and children along. He had wanted to discuss business matters with Liu Tianquan but instead found himself dealing with Xiao Rou’s domestic issues. While Xiao Rou had always been tactful and considerate, never throwing herself at him like other hostesses, now everyone was expecting him to handle this situation, and he was stunned.
Before he could react, he heard Xiao Rou’s boyfriend making threats about killing the adulterous couple. While Ge Jian held back, Liu Tianquan had his men drive away the troublemakers, then patted Liu Yong’s shoulder:
“Brother, it’s not appropriate to keep Xiao Rou at the dance hall anymore. Why don’t I find a place to settle her in for you?”
Liu Yong frowned: “Brother Tianquan, that’s not the kind of joke to make.”
Liu Tianquan laughed heartily: “Are you afraid of the tigress at home? It’s nothing! One in the hometown, one in Pengcheng – when a man travels for business, how can he not have someone taking care of him? Rich men in Hong Kong all have several wives, it’s legal and reasonable… Those men might come back to harass her. Poor Xiao Rou, getting mixed up with such a man. We can’t keep her working at the dance hall now, it would affect normal business.”
Having someone on the side?
Liu Yong had never considered it. He had been a wastrel until his thirties before getting married, and his relationship with Li Fengmei had no problems. Even when they were the poorest, Li Fengmei would secretly borrow money from her family to get by. When Liu Yong went into business, his only goal was to give his wife and children a good life and take care of his family.
Rich Hong Kong men might have several minor wives, but Liu Yong wasn’t a rich Hong Kong man. The mainland has practiced monogamy for many years now. In his rural hometown, if married people – men or women – fooled around, they were called “broken shoes”!
Liu Tianquan mistook Liu Yong’s silence for consideration and gave Xiao Rou a look, signaling her to add fuel to the fire.
Xiao Rou, looking unsteady, suddenly fell to her knees before Liu Tianquan:
“Boss, Brother Yong isn’t that kind of person. Please don’t force him. He’s a good man, and someone like me isn’t worthy of him… It’s my bad luck. Brother Yong has no such intentions toward me, which is for the best. This way I won’t cause him trouble…”
Xiao Rou lowered her head, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.
Previously, other hostesses had been hostile toward Xiao Rou because as soon as she arrived, Liu Tianquan had given her special treatment – she didn’t have to entertain other customers or put up with men taking advantage, with Liu Yong as her only target. Yet Xiao Rou had maintained her dignity, which made the other hostesses resent her even more. But today, seeing Xiao Rou beaten black and blue by her hometown boyfriend, they felt a sense of shared fate.
Did being a former hostess mean they could never leave that life behind?
If even a small contractor like Liu Yong would look down on Xiao Rou?
Several women began speaking up:
“Xiao Rou has been completely devoted to him, refusing other customers, waiting for him every day.”
“Why did her boyfriend come from their hometown? Xiao Rou wrote to break things off… Now the dance hall won’t keep her, and with her boyfriend being so violent, she might be driven to jump into the sea!”
“Hah, they say prostitutes have no feelings, but I think men are the ones without conscience or honor.”
Liu Yong’s headache was getting worse.
Something was wrong about this whole situation. How had it become entirely his responsibility?
…
If Xia Xiaolan wanted to find Liu Yong, she only needed to find Liu Tianquan.
While Bai Zhenzhu could keep Li Fengmei company, Xia Xiaolan said she had some business to handle and left with Kang Wei and Pan San. Liu Tianquan’s whereabouts weren’t hard to track – as somewhat of a celebrity, he was known to frequent the Nanyang Dance Hall area.
Nanyang Dance Hall was famous in Pengcheng. Initially, Pengcheng had only one dance hall, attached to the Zhuyuan Hotel.
Nanyang Dance Hall was the first standalone establishment. With its dreamy lighting, loud music, various alcoholic beverages, and hostesses who would drink and dance with customers, local Pengcheng residents, who hadn’t even washed the yellow mud from their trouser cuffs, had never seen such a spectacle!
Besides Nanyang Dance Hall, there was also Xiangxi Village’s Xiyuan Dance Hall – these two were currently the hottest venues in Pengcheng.
Of course, when Xianmihu Resort officially opens next year, its nightclub – claiming to be Southeast Asia’s largest laser nightclub – will emerge and completely overshadow Nanyang Dance Hall… Xia Xiaolan had visited Xianmihu Nightclub once or twice, but in her previous life working in Pengcheng, she had never even heard of these dance halls.
As soon as Xia Xiaolan arrived, two bouncer-type men approached.
Here was a beautiful young woman who could outshine their most attractive hostess.
Kang Wei was driving, and Pan San didn’t look like someone to mess with, otherwise, these two would certainly have made some flirtatious remarks.
“The three of you, our dance hall isn’t open yet…”
“Do I look like I’m here to dance? I’m here to see Manager Liu Tianquan.”