A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Director Wang saw Miss Shen’s scar at a glance, was stunned for a moment, and his smile disappeared.

At this time, the lady said to Yulan, "Yulan, come over and greet the guests."

Yulan came forward and said to Director Wang with a shy smile, "Hello, Director."

Gui'er thought he would definitely reveal his true nature as a pervert, but he turned out to be very kind, like an elder, and said, "Hello, hello." He also reached out to shake Yulan's hand, patted the back of her hand lovingly before letting go.

Director Wang was quite normal throughout the entire evening. The guests at the banquet clinked glasses and complimented each other, making the atmosphere quite lively.

The party didn't end until after ten o'clock in the evening. Gui'er was already tired. Seeing that there were still one or two guests, she didn't care about anything else and went to bed quickly.

When she was about to reach the stairs to the second floor, she suddenly heard the lady's voice, as if she was complaining about someone, and Guier stopped immediately.

"I asked you to entertain Director Wang well, but you can't even do anything right? If your brother can't get a job, our family won't have enough money to support someone idle."

"Mother, I've tried my best to talk to Director Wang, but there are too many people here, and we're not in the same place anymore. Didn't you tell me that girls should be reserved?"

"Bah! Only decent women should be reserved. Why should a prostitute like you be so reserved?"

It sounded like the lady was scolding Yulan. It was the first time that Guier heard such vicious words from the lady's mouth. It was a huge difference from her usual image of a kind-hearted person who ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures.

She didn't dare go upstairs anymore and tiptoed back. She didn't go upstairs to rest until all the guests had left and the servants had packed up the banquet items.

The next day, everyone got up very late. Sha Yanyao was a little listless, and his wife was also very depressed. She glanced at Bai Yulan from time to time. Yulan lowered her head and was very cautious.

Guier knew that everyone must feel that last night's banquet was not effective, but she was not in a position to say anything, and she did not want to bring trouble upon herself, so she could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Sha Yanyao stayed at home for two days. Every day when he got up, he would read the newspaper and listen to the radio. When Guier was studying by herself with a book, he would come over to teach her. If he was in the mood, he would even play a game of chess with Guier.

Every time at this time, Yulan would always walk to the side and look for an opportunity to join in, but Sha Yanyao didn't seem to want to pay much attention to her. He must have known her identity and looked down on her.

But Yulan didn't mind. She kept showing her courtesy, offering tea and snacks, saying, "It would be great if I were a schoolgirl like Gui'er. I could learn culture and be respected."

Sha Yanyao was discussing math problems with Gui'er. When he heard her say this, he frowned, paused, and said to her, "Everyone's circumstances are different. You have your advantages."

After hearing this, Yulan said happily, "Really?"

Gui'er realized that Sha Yanyao's words were actually a double entendre, but she pretended not to hear and continued studying.

"You vixen, you're being horny in broad daylight."

Gui'er was startled by the sudden scolding. She looked up and saw Mrs. Shen coming in with Miss Shen. They must have just finished shopping.

Mrs. Shen was very angry. When Miss Shen tried to pull her, she shook off Miss Shen's hand.

Gui'er always knew that Mrs. Shen didn't like her, and thought it was directed at her, so she was thinking about how to deal with it.

Mrs. Shen picked up the purse in her hand and threw it forward, hitting Yulan on the head.

Mrs. Shen was not satisfied and rushed in to pull Yulan's hair. Yulan did not dare to fight back and had to hide. Sha Yanyao wanted to stop her, but as a man, he could not have physical contact with his mother-in-law. Mrs. Shen kept scolding her, calling her a "fox spirit" and a "little slut".

After a long while, the lady upstairs was finally alerted. She came down and saw what was happening. She said, "That's enough. If you continue to fight, it will be disgraceful and bring shame to your wife."

Then he turned to Yulan and said, "You too, there are servants at home, just let them do these things. Stay in your room if you have nothing to do, and don't come out to cause trouble."

Yulan covered her face and went upstairs.

In the evening, Gui'er returned to her room and was about to close the door when Yulan walked in. Gui'er then saw two scratches on her face, which must have been caused by Mrs. Shen.

Yulan said, "Sister Guier, can I come in?"

Gui'er couldn't refuse, so she nodded.

After Yulan came in, she sat down, looking very sad and silent. Guier could not feel any sympathy for her because she was indeed trying to show her courtesy to Sha Yanyao, and with her status, it was hard not to be misunderstood.

Yulan sat for a while, and seeing that Gui'er remained silent, she sighed and said, "Sister Gui'er, you are so lovely. Can you teach me how to do it? I want to stay at home. I don't want to live the hard life I had before."

Gui'er pretended to be stupid and said, "Sister Yulan, there's no need to be sad. Madam Shen has always had a bad temper. Just don't provoke her."

Yulan sighed and said, "I didn't mean to provoke her. I even wanted to please everyone. I think everyone here knows my background, but this isn't my dream."

"I was sold to a brothel by my father and brother when I was eight. The mother there saw that I was a good-looking girl and treated me better than my sisters. Since I was not yet old enough, they let me play with the customers. I was happy for two years, playing with the customers all day long. But when I turned 13, I had to keep the customers around. It was too painful. I couldn't go a day without them. If I refused, do you know what they would do? They would stuff a starving cat into my crotch, then poke it with a stick and let it bite and tear me apart."

"When my mother found me, I thought I had met a bodhisattva. Even though she said she had to serve that chief, serving one person is better than serving many."

Gui'er was terrified when she heard this, but she was completely powerless to change anything. She even had a dark fear that if Yulan failed, would she be pushed out to deal with Director Wang?

The two of them sat in silence for a while, and Guier said, "Sister Yulan, don't be sad. Everything will pass. Your face is injured. I have some scar removal medicine here. Please apply some."

As he said that, he took out his medicine box, found the medicine and handed it to her.

Yulan took the medicine, took a look at it, said, "Thank you," and then left.

Sha Yanyao finally cheered himself up and went out to build relationships again.

That day, he came back excitedly and said, "I've persuaded Director Wang to come to our house for a simple meal in a couple of days. Mother, please help me prepare it and treat us well."

The lady said with a smile: "Of course, don't worry."