14 years time difference

In the middle of the night, there was a lot of noise in front of the police station. Many brand-name vehicles roared on the road. The police carried out a large-scale sweep of pornography on Jinqiao Street. As many as a dozen entertainment venues were seized. The open space in front of them was full.

Mama Lu's Audi was parked in the shade of a tree at the corner of the lot.

With her head down, she walked slowly down the steps from the lighted gate of the police station. She was wearing stilettos, graceful and steady, holding a beautiful brand-name bag in her hand. Only a few strands of hair scattered on her forehead showed a trace messy.

She is beautiful, but Lu Xiaohua only inherited six points.

Mother Lu raised her eyes slightly, and saw Lu Xiaohua and Du Siren standing next to her car, a look of astonishment flashed across her face, then she frowned and asked Lu Xiaohua, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Xiaohua was crying and went forward to hold her mother's hand, "Mom, what happened? Where's Akko?"

Mother Lu just said, "Get in the car, I'll take you back first."

The Audi flashed twice, unlocked the car, Du Siren sat in the back row obediently, Lu Xiaohua was in the co-pilot, wiped away the tears from the fright, and kept asking questions, Lu's mother only drove, and didn't say a word. Don't answer her.

The atmosphere in the car was terribly dignified, Du Siren silently fastened her seat belt, she was afraid that the mother and daughter would crash the car with her.

At the huge intersection, they were the only car waiting for the red light.

Lu Xiaohua raised her voice: "Mom, Mom! Did you hear me? What happened to KTV? Why was it prostitution? Didn't we never do those businesses?"

Lu's mother turned her head, "Siren, will Auntie take you home or go to school? Sorry, it's not convenient for us to entertain you today."

"mom!"

Lu Xiaohua roared.

Shocked.

Lu Xiaohua has always been a girl who must get a response.

Red light turns green.

"...This matter has nothing to do with you. You do your own thing, and Mom will handle it."

"Is Ah Keng spending the night at the police station tonight?"

"Well. It should be." Lu's mother kept her eyes on.

"When can I come out? Will I go to jail?"

Mother Lu breathed out impatiently, "Can you stop asking? I came here in the middle of the night just to find a way to help him."

"Help him? Mom, isn't he your scapegoat? When I went to the store, the waiter told me that the police came and took away more than 20 girls. He said that sister Lu arranged to come to work..."

"Shut up!" Mother Lu yelled.

"Why should I shut up! Are you afraid of others talking about what you did yourself? Are you afraid of your own daughter talking about it! Did you do it?" Lu Xiaohua was hysterical, almost screaming.

"Have I done it? What right do you have to question me? Even if I did it, I have worked so hard for so many years. Who is spending the money I earn? Who is living a good life? I am not In human trafficking, everyone is what you want. If you think the money is dirty, it is because you have never seen the suffering in the world. If those girls don’t come to do this, what do you think they can do? A knock has been with me for the past few years, I You are not mean to him, right? It’s not because of old love, he can only serve dishes in the store, and if he wants to climb up, he has to take risks. He knows more about this than you!”

There was an eerie silence.

Mother Lu took out a few pieces of paper and stuffed them to Lu Xiaohua.

Lu Xiaohua seemed to be crying.

"...Anyway, you listen to mom, study hard and prepare for graduation. Mom will go to the Public Security Bureau early tomorrow morning, and there will be a solution."

Lu Xiaohua said softly, "...I'm afraid you'll be arrested too."

"Don't say stupid things."

The car turned a familiar bend.

Mother Lu looked into the rearview mirror and said, "Siren, Auntie remembers that the school gate next to your dormitory is in front, right? Can you walk a short distance by yourself? If you drive further down, Auntie won't be able to turn around."

Du Siren woke up from her daze, and quickly answered yes. Before getting out of the car, she stretched out her hand and squeezed Lu Xiaohua's shoulder.

She shrank her neck and walked through the pedestrian street that had already turned off the lights. She came out in a hurry, wearing only a thin long-sleeved T-shirt.The street was so empty that only she was left, and the soda cans that had been kicked to pieces at the entrance of the restaurant.The trash cans on the street were almost overflowing.

She has many worries, worrying that if the Lu family undergoes drastic changes, it will bring disaster to Lu Xiaohua.

Walking past the video store, she stood outside the glass door, just like in the early morning, staring blankly for a while.

It was dark, and she couldn't see the store clearly, but she could only see herself.

Of course the toast and sweet milk were gone.

She was about to leave when a faint light suddenly came on somewhere in the store.

The light penetrated through the crowded everything, slightly illuminating the display in the store.

Du Siren blinked.

Lin Zhique was awake, not knowing what to do.

Are you getting up to go to the bathroom?

Du Siren raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, then put it down again.

In less than 2 minutes, the lights went out again.

The light was taken away from the depths of her eyes, leaving only her lonely figure on the glass.

Du Siren quickly took out his cell phone from his pocket.

bell--

The phone at the cash register rang.

Once, twice.Du Si swallowed a mouthful of saliva.Three beeps, four beeps.

It almost stopped.

Suddenly a moving shadow appeared in the store.

Lin Zhique walked to the cash register.

She raised her head, took a small step back in fright, and saw clearly the person standing outside the door.

"Hello?" Lin Zhique answered the phone.

"Hello, sister." Dusi squeezed out a smile.

"What are you doing? In the middle of the night, playing Midnight Soul?"

"No, I'm passing by."

"Oh," Lin Zhique yawned, "shall I open the door for you?"

"Well...no need. I'll be back in a while."

Dusi people feel as if they have become less like themselves.

Wanted to knock but didn't knock, decided not to knock, but made a phone call, made a phone call, and said no need to open the door.

"Alright, save me re-locking the door."

"I went to work today, did I do what I said?"

"Well, how do you feel?"

"It doesn't feel good." Du Si was very honest.

"Well, as expected."

"...Then you still ask me to go?"

Lin Zhique was silent for two seconds.

"...it's so late, why are you here?"

"I—" She paused for a second. "because--"

There was another second pause.

Then, she explained in detail, the late-night call, what happened at Lu Xiaohua's house, the quarrel between the mother and daughter in the car, and Ah Ke still waiting to be arrested at the police station.

The only thing I didn't say is that I miss you, because at such a moment of confusion and loss, I especially want to see you and listen to you, so I am here.

"Lu Xiaohua's mother said that those girls are all voluntary. Is it true? You choose to do that kind of work?"

This question, Du Siren already has the answer in his heart.Even so, she still felt pity in her heart. She was afraid that her pity would be too arrogant and ridiculous, so she just asked carefully: Will it?

Lin Zhique was on the other side of the glass, leaning against the cashier in another position.

"Why? Do you think they are women who have lost their footing and are angry with them?"

"……No."

Du Siren lowered his head to look at his toes, afraid that Lin Zhique would see her heart through the glass.

"They don't choose this kind of work. They may have to go back to the countryside to marry and have children, or do the dirtiest, most tiring, and unprofitable jobs. You think there are many ways to go in this world, but the world they see is different. It must be the same as you. Some things, you think are not worth mentioning, but they have never had it, and they think it is a great temptation, no wonder they."

"You mean, they have no other better choice?"

"I don't know, I'm not them. The paths that everyone can choose are limited. Some are born with it, and some are accumulated through experience. Some people are born without it, and they have to make a choice too early, so choose A road that makes you feel contemptible. Besides, do you know how much they are voluntary? Their ego may have been eaten by those experiences long ago."

Du Si was silent.

Lin Zhique asked: "Do you feel sad?"

The Dusi people replied: "Yes."

They were separated by a pane of glass, silent at both ends.In the darkness, Du Siren couldn't see Lin Zhique's expression clearly, but she knew she was looking at her.

Lin Zhique suddenly said, "The sweet milk you bought is delicious."

"...What about the toast? Have you eaten it yet?"

"The toast was a bit dry."

"That's because you got up too late, and it got cold. Late birds have no good fruit to eat." Du Si was dissatisfied.

"What time do you get up tomorrow?"

"... seven o'clock."

"Then you can sleep for another four hours. Or are you going to play Midnight Revenge here for another four hours?"

"...Then I'm leaving. The door is locked, and I'll climb over the wall to get in."

"Well, you go."

"Okay. Well, then don't go, don't hang up."

"why?"

"You watch me go in."

"Why are you watching?"

"What if, what if, I fell off the wall? It's so dark."

"...Then hurry up."

Du Siren turned his head three times and walked towards the side door of the school.

Suddenly, a warm yellow light shone from behind her.

The sky and the earth were lit up, as if someone had opened up a moon.

She turned around.

The lights in the video store were turned on, and Lin Zhique stood behind the glass door, tilting his head to look at her.

The light paved a way on the dark street, dispelled the dark shadows in all corners, and surrounded her like a wordless embrace.

She waved vigorously to Lin Zhique.

The next day, Lu's mother managed many relationships, and she was not caught for any substantive actions, so Ah Ke was released.

As she said, there is actually only a hostess in the store, who only sings and drinks with her, and there is no more service.It’s just that the male guests are like mosquitoes, always coming to provoke stalkers. If they agree to go out with the guests after work, the extra income will belong to themselves. Since the girls have already gone this way, most of them are half-hearted and follow suit. With the addition of this layer, the business in the store is more prosperous, wandering in the gray area at the edge.

According to Lu Xiaohua on the phone, Ah Keng lost a few rounds of weight, and even his beard, which had never grown, protruded like mushrooms after the rain, and he looked haggard and dying.Several stores of the Lu family were ordered to close down for rectification. Lu Xiaohua did not show up for two days, and only made an appointment with Du Siren on the phone on the day of the concert to support her.

Di-

The female robot voice said: "Your call balance is less than 1 minute."

"Then it's done, you're coming tonight." Du Siren whispered into the phone.

Lu Xiaohua answered at the other end: "I see, I got it, you hurry up to recharge your phone bill, it's so annoying, call a few times to remind me."

The eldest sister of the department called her: "Xiao Du——"

Du Siren turned his head: "Hey."

"Help my sister type this manuscript into the computer, hurry up, it's time to get off work after typing it. Didn't you say you're going to a concert tonight?"

She hung up the phone and hurriedly went to pick up the elder sister's manuscript.

There are less than four hours until the concert starts.

She participated in the backup dance of the three songs. The night before, she rehearsed until the early morning. When she came to work, she yawned all day long. She had to be forced by her elder sister to drink two big cups of strong tea.

The manuscript itself was not long, and she finished typing it a few minutes before leaving get off work, saved it and turned it off, packed her bag, and stretched her long legs under the desk excitedly, tapping her heels to the ground, beating the beat silently.

It's time to go on stage.

Zhao Qian and the others set up a stage in the school's gymnasium, much bigger than the nightclub's.

She secretly looked up at the clock on the wall.

8 minutes, 5 minutes.

There was a sound from the opposite office.

She heard the voice over there saying, "I chose this time, and I told my wife that I would leave work on time today."

The eldest sister took a look outside the door: "Are you going out to do some errands?"

"Yeah, let's go out for a while. I just received a report that someone is selling pornographic discs next to the Art Academy."

"Huh? Selling that kind of thing to children, they deserve to be arrested!"

The sound of footsteps outside the door faded away.

"Xiao Du, aren't you from the Academy of Art? You listen to my sister and don't look at those things."

Du Siren's very excited mood disappeared in an instant.There is only one video store around the Art Institute.

"... Sis, do you have to go to jail for selling pornographic discs?"

"Of course, he's not sentenced to three to five years for spreading cryptic pornography."

Dusi grabbed the bag.

"Where are you going? I can't wait for less than a minute..."

The eldest sister's tail sound disappeared behind her. Dusi had already rushed out of the office and ran through the corridor. The only elevator in the office building stopped on the ground floor. She ran down the stairs and ran from the fourth floor to the first floor. A car was passing by. Drive away in front of the office building.

She took out her mobile phone and hurriedly found the phone number of the video store while trotting.

"Your phone is suspended—"

Arrears.

After trotting for more than ten meters, no taxi passed by.She stuffed the phone back into her bag, ignoring whether it was meaningful to think about it, and simply ran all the way.

A taxi was parked at the intersection tens of meters away.

She ran so fast that she almost felt like she was going to fly off the ground.

Less than ten meters away——

She stumbled and jumped into the air——

Cracked tiles in the street tripped her.

She was so fast that she didn't have half a second to regain her balance, and she fell to the ground firmly with her hands forward.

There was a stabbing pain, and it was hard to tell where it came from, like a bolt of lightning, and it shone white in front of her eyes.

She raised her hand, her palm was bright red and blurry, she stood up with force, the knee part of her trousers was torn, her skin was torn apart, her trousers were rolled up, her calf was covered with bruises.She bent over and walked a few steps with a limp. The driver of the taxi seemed to have seen her and honked his horn in a low voice.

She gritted her teeth, straightened up again, and tried to run, but it hurt so much that she could only walk quickly with a limp.

There was a wound on her leg, and blood flowed down her trouser leg, staining her off-white canvas shoes red.