“Sigh.” Xiao Hei let out a breath and said, “A-Luo came looking for Sister He Pei earlier today. Everything was fine at first, but when Sister He Pei was drinking with some customers, one of the men got a bit handsy. In this line of work, stuff like this is common, and we’ve all gotten used to it. But unfortunately, A-Luo happened to be there today. You know how he is—he can’t stand seeing Sister He Pei suffer even the slightest wrong. He got furious on the spot and rushed over to start a fight. Luckily, we were there to stop him.
“Afterward, A-Luo told Sister He Pei to quit her job and never come back here again. But she refused, and they argued for a long time. In the end, Sister He Pei stormed off in anger. After she left, A-Luo went wild and started drinking non-stop.”
On my way here, I had already guessed that it might have something to do with Aunt He Pei, and it turned out I was right. Whenever it was about her, Chen Qiao Luo would lose all sense of reason.
When Xiao Hei brought me over to A-Luo, the table in front of him was already covered with empty beer bottles. I marched over, snatched the bottle from his hand, and glared at him, snapping, “Chen Qiao Luo, have you had enough?”
He froze for a moment when he saw the bottle taken away. Then, looking up and recognizing me, he suddenly smiled and said, “Zhu Yun Hao! Why are you here? Well, good timing—join me for a drink. Xiao Hei, bring us another round of beers!”
Seeing him like this immediately made my anger boil over. I grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, saying, “Stop acting like an idiot. I’m taking you home right now.”
Xiao Hei quickly came over to help.
Sensing what we were up to, A-Luo struggled to break free from our grip, but he wasn’t strong enough to overpower both of us. Giving up, he kept mumbling, telling us to let him go and insisting he could keep drinking.
Ignoring his drunken antics, I dragged him toward the exit. Many people turned to look at us on the way out, but I pretended not to notice.
As we reached the entrance, a taxi happened to drive by. Xiao Hei helped shove A-Luo into the car and turned to me apologetically, saying, “Yun Hao, sorry to trouble you, but can you take A-Luo home? I’m still on my shift and can’t leave.”
“It’s fine, I understand,” I said reassuringly. “But where does Chen Qiao Luo live? He’s never mentioned it to me. If you don’t know, I’ll just find a hotel for him.”
“I know, I know,” Xiao Hei replied with a chuckle. “Sometimes I take Sister He Pei home when she’s drunk.”
He leaned toward the driver and said, “Driver, please take them to Alley 3 of the City South Primary School area, Building 3, Apartment 302.”
Throughout the ride, A-Luo wouldn’t stay still, mumbling incoherently. I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely drunk or just pretending. I knew he cared deeply about Aunt He Pei and didn’t want her working in such a degrading environment. They cared so much about each other that they ended up hurting each other easily.
I had never been to the City South area before, though I’d heard it had a bad reputation. When the taxi finally stopped, and I helped A-Luo out, I realized just how true those rumors were.
There were no streetlights. Under the faint moonlight, I could see piles of garbage in front of every building. Even from dozens of meters away, the stench was overwhelming. Mosquitoes buzzed incessantly in the silence, which was so profound it felt desolate.
The driver, eager to leave, drove off as soon as we got out.
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