Finally, he came back again.

Only when he was around did she dare to open the door. Her stepfather glared at her until she had goosebumps, yet she managed to pluck up her courage to ask, “What are you doing here?”

“I was passing by, so I decided to come and see you. Oh, Rui’er, come home and see us more often, don’t always stay outside.”

“I know. If there’s nothing else, go home — I’m going out.”

“Okay then, you guys go out. I’ll wait for you here, I have some private matters to talk to you about.”

“Do what you want.” Chi Rui’er went to Jin Qingyan’s car and said immediately, “Qingyan, can I stay at your house? My stepfather is a monster, I’m scared of him — he keeps harassing me.”

She wanted to be honest with him so that he would cherish and protect her more.

“Why didn’t you say earlier?” Jin Qingyan drove out of that place immediately. “Can you stay at my other house?”

“Can I stay in the same house with you?” Her eyes were pleading. “Will it make things difficult for you?”

Jin Qingyan said honestly, “I’m living in the same house as her. If you move in, she’ll get upset.”

“Sorry.”

“Live in my other house. There are people guarding it. Don’t feel burdened, tell them if you need anything.” His car drove directly to his other villa.

“Okay. Will you come often?”

“Yes, that’s my private headquarters.”

“Mei Yangyang, are you dead? Why do you take forever just to get some clothes!” The wardrobe attendant was evidently bad-tempered. It was not the first time An Xiaoning had heard such words.

She frowned and saw that Mei Yangyang was not bothered. She cheerfully replied, “Coming, coming!”

The wardrobe attendant took the clothes. Mei Yangyang turned around and waved at An Xiaoning, “Sister, let’s go home.”

The two left the set side by side. They had a busy day, and their legs were aching badly. They bought two corns from a street stall and had one each. An Xiaoning tried to pass the money to her, but Mei Yangyang refused to accept it. The two finally reached a compromise when An Xiaoning promised to give her a treat next time.

Both of them took the same route, so they sat together on their bus ride back home. They were not chatting for long before Mei Yangyang reached her stop. An Xiaoning continued her bus ride alone.

By the time she reached home, she collapsed onto the sofa like a pool of mud.

“Auntie Chen, help me heat up a glass of milk.”

“Sure, Young Mistress, please wait a moment.”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Maomao had already run over, seemingly excited about her return.

“Dog-son, have you eaten?”

Maomao stuck out its tongue and cheerfully wagged its tail. Looking at its round watery eyes, An Xiaoning felt happily at ease.

“Boss, that fellow is calling again!”

Seeing that it was a call from Mei Yangyang, she hurriedly answered it. “Yangyang.”

“Sister, my younger sister’s form teacher called to inform me she’d skipped classes these few days again. I’m thinking she might have gone to the bar or club with those friends of hers again, but the previous time I went to a bar, I almost couldn’t come out. So can I ask if you’d go there with me to find her?”

“Sure, see you there later.”

“Okay.”

An Xiaoning went upstairs to change her clothes and armed herself with a small knife. After all, places like bars and clubs were quite messy. She had only agreed to go because she felt it was unsafe for Mei Yangyang to go alone.

After going downstairs and drinking her glass of milk, she instructed, “Auntie Chen, if Qingyan comes back and asks where I went, please tell him I went out with my friends.”

“Sure, Young Mistress.”

She quickened her footsteps and went to meet Mei Yangyang.

“This is not the first time already. I told her — if you hate school so much then stop going, get a job to share the burden for the household. If you like going to school, then do it properly. Sister, don’t you agree with me?” Mei Yangyang was ridden with worry.

An Xiaoning nodded. “That’s right, don’t use school as an excuse to waste your life away. How old is she?”

“Eighteen. She’s in her third year of high school already.”

“Eighteen, and she’s still so immature. Yangyang, there are many bars and clubs here. Are we suppose to look in each and every one of them?”

“No, I heard from her classmates. She likes to go to ‘Night Spirit’ Bar and a club nearby — the name is in English, I’m not too sure.” Mei Yangyang held onto her arm. “Sister, do you think there’s a way to stop her from hanging out with bad company?”

“Does she listen to your parents?”

Mei Yangyang shook her head. “She has her way all the time. Because she’s the youngest in the family, my parents spoiled her. Plus, my mother is in this state now, my father doesn’t bother caring about her anymore. Who knew that she would get out of control? She turns a deaf ear to my words now, I can’t get through to her.”

“She’s gone wild, but you can’t keep finding her everyday. It’s best if you can pull her back to the right path in time, but it can’t be helped even if you can’t.”

Mei Yangyang nodded in agreement.

The duo reached ‘Night Spirit’ Bar, but maybe because it was still early and the bar just opened, there were only a few people inside.

But because there were few people, it was easier to search.

Through a gap from a door left ajar, Mei Yangyang recognized her own sister immediately. She swiftly pushed the door wide open.

“Mei Shuangshuang! Go home with me!”

Mei Shuangshuang sat in between two boys and was giggling away, but once she saw her own sister who came searching for her, her smile faded and she replied, “I’m not going home, don’t care about me.”

An Xiaoning pointed out, “Your sister is worried about you — that’s why she came to look for you. You should go home with her.”

“Who are you? It’s none of your business.” Mei Shuangshuang turned nasty. “Some Tom, Dick or Harry is here acting like a saint. Wow, how amazing.”

Mei Yangyang saw her rude manner and went forward to grab her hair, dragging her out forcefully. “Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of our parents.”

“I won’t go back!” Mei Shuangshuang exerted all her strength to break free. The people around her helped her too, and they drove Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning out before locking the door shut.

Mei Yangyang turned around and ran. An Xiaoning followed behind her. “Where are you going?”

“To find the boss.”

She ran so fast that she was gone in a blink of an eye. An Xiaoning looked around and went to the first floor to find her.

After asking the bartender, Mei Yangyang went up to the second floor from another staircase.

She recognized the door before her. It was definitely the right one. She remembered that a man had let her use it as a changing room.

Seeing that the door wasn’t closed, she just went in.

On the bed lay a man — could that be the boss?

She cautiously went forward and shouted, “Excuse me, are you the boss here?”

There was no response.

She leaned forward and raised her voice, “Are you the boss of this bar?!”

A pair of arms suddenly stretched out towards her and pressed her body down. This sudden movement left Mei Yangyang petrified. His whole head burrowed deeply into the crook of her neck; his face could not be seen at all.

Mei Yangyang struggled desperately. “Let go of me!”

chapter-31
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