Rose Lock - Chapter 2 - Lovely Blossoms

“You’re Hua Manyi, right?” Zhao Zhuo shouted for his other brothers to come over and drink, surrounding her. With a lecherous look, he reached out and put his arm on her shoulder, “Come on, drink with me.”

Hua Manyi immediately exploded, “You want this lady to be your companion for drinks? Wake up!”

Even if her family had been raided, no one would ever take advantage of her!

With that, she snatched the wine glass with lightning speed and splashed the man next to her.

“You stinking bitch, you won’t drink the toast, so you’ll drink the forfeit!” Zhao Zhuo wiped the wine from his face, flew into a rage, and raised his hand to slap her.

Crack, the loud slap was accompanied by the sound of the wine glass shattering on the floor.

Hua Manyi couldn’t withstand such force. Her body was thrown onto the sofa like a broken kite, and a bright red handprint immediately appeared on her delicate face.

Her head was ringing.

But it wasn’t over. Zhao Zhuo was clearly consumed by anger, and no one could stop him. Filled with menace, he walked up to Hua Manyi, “Today, I, Zhao Zhuo, will take you right here, and no one will dare say a word!”

“Brother Zhao…” Someone who couldn’t stand it opened their mouth to persuade him.

“Don’t stop me!”

Hua Manyi’s mind cleared a little. She stared blankly at the young master, who was unzipping his belt and closing in. At this moment, she truly felt fear. She was no longer the pampered eldest daughter of Haicheng, held in everyone’s palms. She had no one to rely on anymore.

Even if this Zhao Zhuo were to humiliate her in front of everyone today, no one would dare step in to stop it.

A phoenix who has fallen into the water is worse than a chicken…

“No…” Hua Manyi hoarsely tugged desperately at the scanty clothing on her body, “Get lost, don’t tear my clothes…”

The dance hall suddenly fell silent. Customers of all sorts lost interest in drinking, glancing over with an air of watching a good show of a live performance.

Up on the stage, Fang Yu and a group of dancers couldn’t continue singing and stopped, looking at each other. No one dared to step forward to stop this absurd scene, after all, the Zhao family was not one that anyone could easily offend.

Just as Hua Manyi’s clothes were ripped halfway, people suddenly burst through the dance hall’s main entrance.

Each one was armed with a gun and wore a yellow military uniform. Leading them was a small leader named Lin Bin, who scanned the silent crowd in the hall and shouted loudly, “Who is Zhao Zhuo?”

“Who’s looking for me?” Zhao Zhuo was extremely displeased at having his fun interrupted. He glanced at the woman he hadn’t managed to have, and impatiently turned around, “If you have something to say, say it quickly, if you have gas to pass, pass it quickly!”

However, as soon as he turned around, a row of soldiers surrounded him with their guns raised.

Hua Manyi’s heart thumped, but she quickly breathed a sigh of relief and shrunk into a corner of the sofa, covering her chest.

Zhao Zhuo’s heart pounded violently, and he had a bad premonition. He forced himself to remain calm, “No way, is prostitution illegal?”

Which man in Haicheng didn’t patronize prostitutes, he wondered.

Lin Bin smiled, stood in front of him, and his peripheral vision swept over Hua Manyi on the sofa, “Young Master Zhao, your using prostitutes has nothing to do with me arresting you.”

Zhao Zhuo’s heart was thumping, and he had a bad feeling, “Then… why are you here?”

“Someone reported you are suspected of helping your father create false accounts, embezzling a huge sum of money, and…” Lin Bin paused, and emphasized, “The evidence is conclusive.”

“Impossible!” Zhao Zhuo vehemently denied, “Captain Lin, you can eat nonsense, but you can’t talk nonsense!”

Lin Bin spread his hands helplessly, “Young Master Zhao, I’m just following orders. Men, take him to the police station!”

Zhao Zhuo tried to escape, but he was outnumbered. When he was captured, he finally felt regret. He shouted at Lin Bin, “Captain Lin, I want to see my father! Please, let me see my father!”

Lin Bin waved his hand, the soldiers fell in line, and he gave a roguish smile, “Young Master Zhao, don’t worry. Your father is also at the police station. I’ll send you to see him now.”

“…”

Heartbroken, Zhao Zhuo was restrained and taken away from the Feng Hai Dance Hall.

The farce slowly returned to calm. Those who were drinking continued to drink, and those who were enjoying the music continued to enjoy the music.

Hua Manyi wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, feeling wronged. Her already pale face looked even more pitiful.

“Miss, are you alright?” Xiaoxiao walked up to her, but before she could offer comfort, the woman in front of her seemed startled, shrinking into the corner of the sofa, and staring at her warily, “Don’t come near me!”

She woke up in this dance hall. God knows if these people were p*mps specializing in harming innocent girls.

Xiaoxiao had to stop. She motioned for her to look at the second floor, “Miss, Mother Gong wants you to go to her room for a moment.”

…

In the elegant room, there was a sandalwood desk. A solid wood glass table lamp with a rose pattern emitted a bright light. Next to it was an ashtray and a slender, bony hand with prominent veins, yet it felt excessively long and delicate.

The index and middle fingers skillfully held a thin cigarette with a gold mouthpiece. Unlike those thick cigars, this type of cigarette seemed… feminine.

The scent wasn’t purely tobacco; it seemed to be mixed with another aroma, which she couldn’t quite identify.

The leather swivel chair turned around. Hua Manyi looked at the charming woman in front of her, who exuded a kind of languid grace in her gestures.

Hua Manyi tugged at her clothes, which barely covered her legs. She couldn’t quite handle the woman’s scrutinizing gaze. She warily looked around and asked, “Are you Mother Gong? Did you rescue me? What are your intentions?”

“Medical expenses are 20 silver dollars, spilled liquor is 80 silver dollars, and the disturbance tonight cost about 1000 silver dollars in lost business compared to usual. I won’t make it difficult for you; I’ll round it down to 1000 silver dollars. Miss Hua Manyi, go pay the bill, and once you pay, you can leave.”

Mother Gong didn’t waste words with her. With a calm expression, she handed her an itemized bill, slowly sliding it from one end of the desk to the other.

“Wh-What?” Hua Manyi snatched the paper, quickly scanned it, and, relying on the fact that she was standing, looked down at the woman called Mother Gong. In front of her, she tore the paper into shreds with a whooshing sound, “You are truly ridiculous, woman. You saved me without my consent, so do I have to be grateful to you? If I can’t pay, are you going to force me into becoming a prostitute, a tool for you to make money?”

“Let me tell you, what you’re doing is human trafficking, and it’s illegal!”

“Besides, I’d rather die on the street than do something dirty, disgusting, and sell my body!”

Clap—

Three claps sounded. Hua Manyi became more alert and timidly countered, “What? Am I wrong?”

“No, you are very right.” Mother Gong glanced at the shredded paper on the floor, crossed her arms, and looked down at her, “Ultimately, I was the one who made a mistake.”

“Exactly…” Hua Manyi agreed.

Mother Gong was momentarily choked. Then her expression turned cold, and her tone was different from her previous languidness, “Miss Hua Manyi, even a stray dog knows to wag its tail and beg when given a bone.”

“I’m not a dog,” Hua Manyi retorted, imitating her cold expression.

“Sharp-tongued.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“…”

“Since you can’t pay the thousand silver dollars, I won’t bother to pursue it. From now on, don’t let me see you again.”

“I don’t particularly want to see you either,” Hua Manyi immediately shot back. Just as she was about to push the door open, she belatedly realized that she was wearing a nightgown, and a torn one at that. If she walked out onto the street, let alone others, even she herself would think she was out selling herself.

“Um…” Reluctantly, she turned back, tugging at the skirt’s hem that was ripped to her thigh, “Can I have my clothes back?”

Mother Gong scoffed, “Those dirty things have already been thrown away.”

Hua Manyi was about to argue about why she threw her things away without her permission, but the woman’s next sentence blocked her mouth.

“There’s a new set here, consider it compensation for those tattered pieces of yours.”

“This…” Although the words were a bit harsh, reason told her not to argue with the other party. Hua Manyi walked over and touched the fabric; it wasn’t too coarse. This woman didn’t seem to be completely heartless either.

“Th-Thank you…” In contrast, Hua Manyi suddenly felt that she had been a bit unreasonable.

She looked around but saw no changing partition. Hua Manyi pinched the corner of the clothes and glanced at the desk out of the corner of her eye. She accidentally met the gaze of the woman called Mother Gong. Since their eyes had met, she decided not to bother asking, lest she be wrongly accused of stealing something while changing. How could she, a weak woman, possibly stand up to a powerful capitalist?

With her mind made up, Hua Manyi immediately began to take off her torn nightgown. Her smooth, delicate skin was instantly exposed to the air. Her shapely curves were projected onto the wall.

And they were also reflected in the eyes of the woman sitting by the desk, whose action of smoking briefly paused…

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