A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sister Hua brought Gui'er to a room in a corner on the third floor and said to her, "You can stay here. Have you eaten yet?"

Guier quickly smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Sister Hua. I've already eaten."

Sister Hua said, "Okay, then you should go to bed early. You are still young. If you hear any noise at night, don't pay attention to it. Just go to sleep." After saying that, she smiled meaningfully, turned around and left.

Guier walked into the room and turned on the light, only to find the furnishings there garish and tacky. In the center of the room sat a large, carved mahogany bed, its curtains draped in bright pink satin. Beside the bed sat a dressing table of the same style, piled high with bottles and jars—all of which, judging by the packaging, looked cheap. In a corner stood a tall wardrobe, its door a massive mirror. Inside, hung a variety of cheongsams, colorful and embellished with florals, resembling nightclub costumes. A deep purple rug covered the floor, and the windows were draped with heavy, scarlet velvet curtains.

There were several paintings hanging on the wall, all of them oil paintings of foreign beauties in scantily clad clothes. On the table next to it was a dusty gramophone, with a few records piled next to it. The portraits of celebrities on the covers were exaggeratedly painted with thick eyebrows, big eyes and flaming red lips.

Gui'er frowned. She felt that this was not a proper place. She walked to the window and looked out. In addition to being able to see the yard, she could also see the main entrance of Director Wang's house.

After tossing and turning for a long time, Guier was very tired. She decided to take a nap first, so she locked the door of the room, took off her hat, and lay down on the bed to sleep with her clothes on.

When I was half asleep, I suddenly heard the sound of a gramophone playing a record, and it was "Night Shanghai".

"Knock, knock, knock" Suddenly someone came knocking on Guier's door.

Guier walked to the door vigilantly, squatted down, and looked out through the crack in the door.

What I saw was a pair of men's leather shoes.

Gui'er didn't respond and didn't open the door.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock," the man kept knocking.

"Oh, Director Liu, you've come to the wrong place. Xiaofang doesn't live in that room. She lives on the second floor." It was Sister Hua's voice, and she deliberately pinched her throat to make it sound sweet.

"Oh, you don't live here." The pair of leather shoes staggered away from under the crack of the door.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down on the bed.

Within a few minutes.

"Hahahahahahahaha, you're so annoying, Chief Zhang, you're trying to fool me." A crisp and sharp woman's laughter came over.

Gui'er felt strange, so she stood up and went to the window, looking towards the yard. She found that there were several cars parked at the door, and from time to time, young girls were walking in and out with men in suits and ties.

At this time, there was even the sound of mahjong being played on the first floor.

She remembered what Sister Hua had told Yulan to leave Gui'er to Sister Hua. Looking at the furnishings in the room and the noises she had heard, she suddenly understood that this was most likely a secret brothel run by Sister Hua, an elderly socialite, that catered to dignitaries.

Gui'er was very disgusted with this place, but she thought that if she stayed here, Director Zhou would definitely not be able to find her. Now she was injured and it was not good for her to run around, so she decided to wait for a while.

Thinking of this, she pushed the table behind the door to hold it closed, then took out the pocket pistol from her bag, loaded it, placed it next to her pillow, covered her head with the quilt, trying her best not to hear any sounds outside, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Guier woke up at the usual time for school. She walked to the door and listened carefully. It was quiet.

He pushed the table away, put the pistol back into the bag, put the bag on his back, and walked out of the room.

After a night's rest, Guier's strength recovered a little. She took a look at the injury on her head. The external injury was not very obvious, but it still hurt.

Guier carefully went to the first floor, but there was no one around. She didn't know if they were still asleep or had gone out.

"Miss, are you new here?"

Guier was startled and turned around to see an old lady in her 50s, wearing a homespun gown. The clothes were relatively new and had no patches, so she looked quite decent. She was wiping the table with a rag.

Guier asked, "Where are the others?"

The nanny said, "No one here gets up so early. They don't get up until noon, then go out on dates in the afternoon. They come back in the evening to play mahjong, listen to music, and have parties."

Gui'er said, "Oh, so that's how it is. I'm here to stay for a few days. Ma'am, is there anything to eat?"

The nanny nodded and went to the kitchen to bring back buns and porridge. Gui'er didn't care and started to eat them voraciously.

When they were about to finish eating, Sister Hua came down slowly from upstairs wearing silk pajamas and slippers. Guier quickly stood up and greeted her.

Sister Hua smiled charmingly and said, "Did you sleep well last night? Did I wake you up?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "No, it's me who disturbed you."

Sister Hua smiled and said, "After all, you're a student, well-educated and well-mannered. It's a pity your sister won't let you go into the adult entertainment industry. Actually, for ordinary girls, this is also a way out. Think about it. With your looks and temperament, it would be strange if you don't fascinate those high-ranking officials. After working for a few years, you can find an honest section chief or department head like your sister did. It shouldn't be a problem for you to become his second wife. Look at how popular your sister is now. She has the final say in the family."

Gui'er smiled but said nothing. It seemed that Yulan did not tell Sister Hua the inside story of her marriage to Director Wang. She might have thought that she was simply a Miss Wu who hooked up with Director Wang.

Seeing that Gui'er didn't react, Sister Hua lit a cigarette, crossed her legs, and smoked without saying a word.

After finishing her breakfast, Gui'er nodded to Sister Hua and returned to her room upstairs. She was too tired last night and didn't pay attention to whether Director Wang came back later, so she didn't know how things were going.

But in this situation, she didn't dare to go to Director Wang's house to inquire about the news. She could only stand by the window and stare at Director Wang's house opposite.

Gui'er watched there all morning but didn't see anyone coming in or out. She thought for a moment, tiptoed upstairs, and sure enough, she saw a telephone in the hall, so she quickly called Yulan's house.

It was Yulan who answered the phone. Guier quickly asked her, "Sister Yulan, how is it? What did you say when your brother-in-law comes back?"

Yulan said hesitantly, "He said it's difficult to do. Director Zhou's asking price is very high, but don't worry, I will ask him to do his best. You just stay over there."

Gui'er hung up the phone and sorted out her thoughts. First, Manager Liu was arrested, then she was arrested, then Song Xichen was arrested, and then the Sha Mansion was ransacked and everyone was arrested. It was obvious that Director Zhou was deliberately trying to deal with the Sha family. He probably didn't know that Song Xichen and Manager Liu were real revolutionaries, and he just arrested them by accident.