Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

My name is Yang Yun, and I have been an orphan since I was young. It wasn't until I was thirteen that she appeared in my life. It was a bitterly cold winter day, and with just half a sesame seed cake, she brought me home.

My life improved because of this. Besides food and shelter, Sister Shuang also spent money to send me to school. Those were the two happiest years of my life, but good times don't last. Sister Shuang left for another city due to work, and my peaceful days changed with her departure.

Although Sister Shuang left me ten thousand yuan, I was just a kid and had no idea how to manage money. I followed a group of bad friends, eating, drinking, and having fun, and even got hooked on slot machines. In just three months, I was not only penniless but also expelled from school. By a twist of fate, I ended up working as a lookout for a local gang leader in our district.

The boss's name was Zhang Longtao, and people in the underworld called him Brother Tao. He had over a dozen men under him, usually watching over bars and KTVs.

I was stationed at the Lihuang KTV near my home. There were five of us looking after the place, led by Wang Li, whom everyone called Brother Li. Except for me, the other four had a very good relationship with Brother Li. It wasn't that I didn't want to get along with him, but no matter what I did, they never liked me.

They always liked to pick on me, making me pay for their meals, and all the dirty and tiring work fell to me. I took the blame for everything, while they took all the credit. Twice I secretly went to Brother Tao, but he ignored me completely. After that, Brother Li and his gang became even worse. This was completely different from the glorious life I had imagined. A few times I found a new job, but they dragged me back and even beat me up.

This day, I came to work at the KTV as usual and found the staff standing neatly at the entrance. I asked around and learned that the KTV had a new boss, but that didn't have much to do with me. We were just there symbolically to collect protection money; as long as the venue was still there, it was fine. We weren't bound by these bosses; we just listened to Brother Tao.

Ignoring the big scene at the entrance, I walked straight to a private room. That room was where we usually hung out, but when I pushed the door open, I was stunned by the sight before me.

A woman came into view. Embarrassingly, she was changing her clothes. Even though it was just her back, the smooth skin, the perky buttocks, and the long, beautiful legs made my heart race. My first reaction was to turn around immediately: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

However, after a long time, there was still no movement inside. I was a bit puzzled, so I turned my head to look.

The woman had already finished dressing. Because it was too rushed before, I hadn't seen her clearly, but now I was completely dumbfounded. This woman was simply too beautiful. She was at most thirty years old, with thick black hair coiled on her head, a melon-seed face with light makeup, cherry lips slightly parted, and charming, bright eyes. Her whole body exuded a seductive, sexy beauty that made one afraid to stare directly at her.

"Are you one of Wang Li's men?" the woman suddenly spoke.

"Ah, yes!" I finally came back to my senses.

"Oh? Is that so? How come I haven't seen you before?" The woman looked a bit suspicious, walked over, and circled around me, examining me carefully.

The fragrance coming from the woman made my heart flutter uncontrollably. I forced myself to stay calm, swallowed, and said, "I don't usually hang out with Brother Li!"

"Oh? You must be that Yang Yun, right?" The woman stopped, leaned very close to me, and said this right in front of my face.

"Yes, do you know me?" I looked at her curiously.

"I've heard Xiao Tao mention you. From now on, just work hard here. If you need any help, don't hesitate to come to me. By the way, my name is Yu Manling, the new boss of the KTV. You can call me Sister Ling!" Yu Manling gently took out a cigarette and handed it to me.

"Sister Ling, I don't really know how!" I really didn't know how to smoke, mainly because I had no money and couldn't afford it. But I was even more surprised that she was the new KTV boss. Oh my god, would she hold my earlier offense against me?

Yu Manling ignored me, took out a lighter, lit her cigarette, took a deep drag, blew the smoke into my face, and then said to me, "In the future, if someone gives you a cigarette, take it. Whether you know how to smoke or not, you must take it. It's about giving people face, understand?"

After saying this, Yu Manling turned and left.

I was a bit stunned, and just then, I suddenly heard someone calling me.

"Yang Yun, come over here, Brother Li is looking for you!" someone shouted from not far away.

I hurried over. After entering the room, I saw that everyone's things had been moved here. It seemed our base had shifted. This place was much larger than the previous room; it was clear that the new boss was taking good care of us.

Wang Li was sitting on a chair. Seeing me arrive, he handed me twenty yuan directly: "Go, buy me two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes!"

Hearing Wang Li's words, my heart sank. Even hard-pack Zhonghua cigarettes cost forty or fifty yuan a pack. He gave me twenty, clearly trying to scam me into adding my own money. It wouldn't matter once or twice, but this was the seventh time this month, and my salary wasn't much to begin with.

I looked at Wang Li in a dilemma and then said, "Brother Li, I!"

Before I could finish, Wang Li glared at me fiercely and cursed, "I told you to go, are you deaf?"

"No, Brother Li, I wanted to ask to borrow some money. I don't have enough on me!" I originally wanted to be clear with Wang Li that twenty yuan couldn't buy two packs of Zhonghua, but seeing his fierce look, I was too scared to mention it.

"Borrow money? Sure, but there's interest, five percent. How much do you want to borrow?" Wang Li smiled when he heard me.

Hearing "five percent interest," my heart skipped a beat. Five percent was basically usury; how could I afford that? So I quickly said, "Ah, never mind, I won't borrow it!"

"What? You're not borrowing it? You think you can just say you're not borrowing after asking? Are you playing me?"

Wang Li got off his chair, grabbed me by the collar, lifted me up, and cursed angrily.

"Brother Li, I'm sorry!" I was so scared I begged for mercy.

"No? Fine, then tell me, how much are you borrowing?" Wang Li threw me to the ground.

I felt my body hit the ground hard, feeling some pain. I slowly crawled up and said, "Borrow one hundred, borrow one hundred!"

Before I could recover, I suddenly felt a heavy force slap across my face.

"One hundred? And you still say you're not playing Laozi? Damn it, get him for me!"