Chapter 22: Beauty’s Fleeting Fate

“I won’t hold your earlier deception against you. I’ll leave this matter to you. He’s just a laborer in old army shoes—convincing him shouldn’t be difficult.”

Chen Anlong believed Jiang Fan had refused him only because the security chief had flattered him, leading to Jiang Fan’s arrogance. Never once did he reflect on his own actions. Even now, he looked down on Jiang Fan and merely wanted to take advantage of his skills.

Hearing Chen Anlong’s dismissive tone toward Jiang Fan made Hao Meng uncomfortable. Though she didn’t show it on her face, she changed her mind about respecting Jiang Fan’s wishes. Now she intended to help him find a new job and get him away from Chen Anlong as soon as possible.

When they entered the private room, Hao Meng noticed that the girl who had come with Chen Anlong still had the tag on her dress. It was tucked inside, a small rectangular piece sticking out at the back of the collar.

The girl’s pretty, youthful face stirred a sense of pity in Hao Meng. She thought of Chen Anlong, an aging philanderer, and, though she herself was powerless, she felt compassion for the girl. Seizing the moment while Chen Anlong was ordering drinks from the waiter, Hao Meng approached the girl and spoke gently, “Little sister, your tag is still on your dress. Let me take it off for you.”

The girl shook her head. “No, no, thank you, sister. I left it there on purpose. Please don’t tell my boss. When we get back to the factory, I need to return the dress to him.”

Only then did Hao Meng realize the girl’s expression was tinged with displeasure and helplessness. It seemed she had come here under Chen Anlong’s pressure.

A clay Buddha crossing a river can barely save itself. Hao Meng’s sympathy was mixed with frustration. She quietly hinted to the girl, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret. No job is worth more than your youth. All the money in the world can’t buy back a clean life.”

The girl looked at Hao Meng in surprise, then glanced at Chen Anlong, who had just finished ordering drinks, and said nothing.

She had understood Hao Meng’s warning. To hear such words from a madam—a figure most factory girls privately looked down on—filled her with gratitude.

Before long, several of Chen Anlong’s drinking buddies arrived. Hao Meng left the business of arranging companions to Wang Fang. Since Chen Anlong had brought a girl, he didn’t ask for a madam or hostess to sit with him.

During the drinking, Hao Meng noticed the girl kept sneaking glances at her, her eyes filled not only with gratitude but also with fear.

Knowing the source of her anxiety, Hao Meng raised her glass to toast the room, all the while thinking about how she could help the girl avoid falling prey to Chen Anlong right before her eyes.

She was so lost in thought that Wang Fang, having finished arranging companions for the other guests, came over and asked, “What’s on your mind? Why are you spacing out again?”

Hao Meng leaned in and whispered, “Do you want to squeeze a little more money out of that old lecher tonight? It would be a good deed, too.”

“What good deed?” Wang Fang asked, puzzled.

Hao Meng quickly recounted her brief conversation with the girl and her intention to help her.

“No problem—getting rid of a menace to society is our duty. I’ll use every trick in the book and make sure he can’t get out of bed tomorrow,” Wang Fang joked, happy to have an excuse to spend time with a lucrative patron like Chen Anlong and do some good at the same time.

As an old hand in the trade, Wang Fang knew she couldn’t keep a wandering client like Chen Anlong loyal forever, but seducing him for one night was hardly a challenge, especially with Hao Meng, the star madam of the house, lending a hand.

Taking advantage of pouring drinks, Wang Fang kept casting flirtatious glances at Chen Anlong. Though they had shared a bed many times and her looks should have lost their effect, tonight there was an extra touch of sincerity in Wang Fang’s eyes, making them even more alluring.

Seeing her efforts were working, Wang Fang turned up the heat, flattering him with sweet words and letting her hands wander to sensitive spots, all while drawing on her intimate knowledge of his tastes.

Hao Meng, meanwhile, used the excuse of thanking Chen Anlong for helping her friend Jiang Fan to squeeze into the seat beside him, pushing the girl out of his reach, and kept toasting him repeatedly.

Every madam in this line of work could drink, and between Wang Fang’s initiative and Hao Meng’s endless toasts of gratitude, Chen Anlong soon became giddy, forgetting entirely why he’d brought the girl out in the first place.

Before midnight, Chen Anlong was already slurring his words, thoroughly drunk. Sensing her moment, Hao Meng went to the front desk and fetched a room key for Wang Fang.

As a VIP, Chen Anlong paid on a monthly account. Once he left, his drinking buddies, seeing it was late, paid for their companions and departed as well.

Hao Meng returned to the dormitory to fetch the clothes she’d bought for Jiang Fan. Then she hailed a cab to take the girl to the gate of the Dafa Factory, reminding her once again, “Try not to leave the factory alone with your boss next time. If it’s too much, just find a new job.”

“Dafa is already the third job I’ve had in a year,” the girl replied softly.

Hearing this, Hao Meng took another look at her.

Her eyes were clear and radiant, her youthful face still touched with a childlike innocence. Her features were delicate enough to inspire jealousy, her skin as smooth and fair as silk, her figure willowy and tall—nearly 170 centimeters. She was, without question, a natural beauty.

One woman with voluptuous curves, the other with graceful elegance; the two of them standing at the factory gate formed a striking scene that made many passing men pause and stare, reluctant to leave.

Through their conversation, Hao Meng learned the girl’s name was Shen Tingting, a fellow provincial from Jiang Fan’s hometown. Because of her beauty, she’d never been charged the usual shady introduction fees at any of the three factories. But every recruiter who hired her had an obvious agenda: they placed her near the boss or senior management, hoping she’d become their favorite so they’d remember the recruiter’s kindness.

Shen Tingting had left her previous two jobs because she couldn’t stand the harassment from those in power. Now, in her third job, she was facing the same thing. With a poor family background and no choice but to work to change her fate, the repeated harassment left her feeling helpless and lost.

“Beauty is a curse. For women like us, blessed with some looks, is it luck or misfortune to find ourselves in such a place?” Hao Meng asked, half mocking herself as she looked at Shen Tingting.

Shen Tingting could only shake her head with a wry smile. “I don’t know either. But thank you, sister. It’s late now, you should get home. I’ll do my best to take care of myself.”

Having restrained herself all day from seeing Jiang Fan, Hao Meng now found herself in Baisha, still carrying the clothes she’d bought him. Her rented room was across the highway, but she hesitated for a long time, convincing herself, “I’m only going to remind him not to fall for Chen Anlong’s tricks—nothing more.”

Finding an excuse for her restlessness, Hao Meng knocked on the door of Jiang Fan’s rented room.

Regretting his refusal of the job, Jiang Fan was tossing and turning sleeplessly when he heard the knock. “Who is it?” he called out.

At the sound of his voice, Hao Meng’s mood instantly brightened. Feeling playful, she kept silent and continued knocking.

With no answer, Jiang Fan wondered if it might be one of the thugs from yesterday, coming for revenge.

He quickly got up, and, afraid of damaging the new clothes his master and Hao Meng had bought him if there was a fight, he purposely put on the old set he’d worn on the train.

Just as he was about to open the door, Uncle Qiu’s voice sounded from outside: “Xiao Hao, here to visit your boyfriend?”