Upon hearing the voice from the other end of the phone, Fan Shengmei's forced, professional smile instantly froze on her face.
She had originally prepared herself to swallow her pride and beg Mr. Li for a massive loan, but his tone and explicit implications made his intentions blatantly clear: he expected her to act as a cheap hostess for him tonight.
'What does that damn bastard take me for?' she fumed internally, her teeth grinding together in silent fury.
She gripped her phone tightly, forcing down her bile and her pride, and then lowered her voice into a sickeningly sweet, coquettish purr. "Mr. Li, where are you exactly? Should I take a taxi over?"
There was nothing else she could do. When you are trapped under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head. If she wanted to extract two hundred thousand yuan from him to save her brother, she had absolutely no choice but to endure the humiliation—whether that meant pouring his drinks or even sleeping in his bed.
"I'm about to head home. If you want to come, I'll have the driver pick you up."
Without waiting for her reply, the man hung up the phone and shifted his predatory gaze back to the stunning beauty trembling beside him.
"Boss, you have another appointment, right? I'll be taking my leave now!" Seeing the dark, calculating look in the man's eyes, the hostess spoke up quickly, trying to subtly squirm out of his heavy embrace.
Admittedly, the modern hostess industry was filled with girls willing to take on "extra" jobs, but she had absolutely not fallen to that level of degradation. If it weren't for her mother's crushing gambling debts and her useless boyfriend's constant financial black holes, she would have never stepped foot into a dark VIP room to survive.
"There is no rush. I will take excellent care of you tonight." Seeing the girl in his arms trying to escape, Li Qingyuan clamped his arm like a vice around her slender waist and smiled.
'Beautiful women bring disaster; beautiful women often suffer tragic fates,' he mused silently.
Honestly, although the girl pinned in his arms worked as a club hostess, her figure, facial features, and elegant temperament were absolutely top-tier. If it weren't for her parasitic, gambling-addicted mother and her completely worthless boyfriend, a woman of her caliber would be living in the spotlight, utterly pampered by elite men, rather than constantly juggling drunk clients for a few meager bills and burning away her youth in a karaoke bar.
"Boss, I don't do outside calls!" The hostess trembled slightly before finally stating her boundary with firm resolution.
Because of her flawless looks, figure, and refined demeanor, she was among the highest-paid girls at the club. She earned 300 yuan just for sitting down, plus an 8% commission on any drinks sold. On a lucky night, she could clear over 1,000 yuan.
Of course, that was strictly for providing simple companionship. Other hostesses earned exponentially more by going out for the night. High-end escorts like them could pull in at least three thousand yuan for a single outing, and that money wasn't shared with the house—it was pure, untaxed profit.
Given her beauty, countless wealthy clients had offered to take her out, but she had rejected every single one. Sitting and drinking with strange men was already pushing the absolute limits of her bottom line. If she crossed that line and started selling her body, she didn't know what kind of monster she would become.
"Name your price," the man challenged with a wicked, mocking grin, feeling the woman struggling frantically against his chest.
"Boss, I really don't provide escort services. I have a boyfriend!" The woman desperately tried to shove the man away, but her fragile strength was entirely useless against his heavy frame.
"Oh? You have a boyfriend?" Li Qingyuan ignored her pathetic resistance entirely. His large hand reached up, ruthlessly grabbing her breast as he laughed. "Does this 'boyfriend' of yours know exactly what you do in these dark VIP rooms every night?"
"Let me go, or I'm going to scream for help!" the woman cried out, panic finally breaking through her professional facade.
Although she had encountered plenty of rude, aggressive clients over the past six months, this was Shanghai—a modern metropolis governed by strict laws. As long as she maintained a fierce, unyielding attitude, the clients usually backed down. After all, wealthy men came to these clubs to have fun, not to catch a felony charge. Even if a hostess was breathtakingly beautiful, it wasn't worth going to prison over her, right?
Besides, if a man truly possessed terrifying connections and influence, he wouldn't need to force himself on a desperate club hostess.
"Scream. Go ahead and scream," Li Qingyuan smiled, thoroughly enjoying the terror radiating from her. "It would be best if the entire club rushed in to see what a beautiful pair of breasts you have."
For some twisted reason, he felt a profound, dark sense of comfort speaking like an absolute villain. 'No wonder the antagonists in stories always monologue,' he noted silently. 'It definitely adds a hidden layer of psychological pleasure.'
"Ah! Let go of me, or I swear I'll call the police!" The woman shrieked as the man violently tore the top of her strapless evening gown, completely exposing the fragile lace camisole she wore underneath.
"Call the police? Be my guest. Here is your phone." Li Qingyuan laughed callously, casually tossing her cell phone onto the leather sofa before his heavy hand returned to knead her exposed breast.
"No... Boss, please, I'm begging you! I'm begging you, I really don't do this! I have a boyfriend, please just let me go!" Seeing how absolutely fearless and emboldened the man was, the woman froze in sheer shock before immediately resorting to tearful pleas.
Having survived half a year in this dangerous underworld, the young woman was no naive fool. If the man was this arrogant and entirely unfazed by threats of the police, it meant he possessed the absolute power to back up that arrogance.
"Why do you cling to a pathetic man who forces you to sell your dignity just to keep him afloat?" Li Qingyuan asked, genuinely puzzled, as he squeezed the soft, heavy flesh in his hand.
Honestly, the girl possessed a flawless figure, a stunning face, and an elegant demeanor. She was a top-tier art student from the prestigious Shanghai University School of Fine Arts. By all accounts, she was a natural-born goddess. Yet, she had managed to drag herself into this pathetic, degraded state. It was a tragic waste of premium aesthetics.
That's right, the trembling girl he currently held hostage in his arms was Nan Xiang—the undisputed most beautiful female lead in the Tiny Times universe.
The core plot of Tiny Times was incredibly straightforward: four best friends navigating high school and college. There was Lin Xiao from a comfortable middle-class background, Nan Xiang from a broken, single-parent home with a gambling-addict mother, Gu Li the ultra-wealthy heiress, and a tomboy whose identity Li Qingyuan couldn't be bothered to care about.
Leaving the tomboy aside, the other three girls were all stunningly beautiful. But the girl currently pinned beneath him was objectively the most breathtaking of them all.
However, Nan Xiang suffered from more than just terrible luck; she possessed a severe psychological dependency, stubbornly clinging to a single, toxic man. Her boyfriend, Xi Cheng, was an absolute scumbag and a violent parasite. Lin Xiao and Gu Li had worried themselves sick and argued with her countless times to dump him, but unfortunately, this woman was completely and hopelessly obstinate.
"No! I am only here to keep clients company while they drink! Xi Cheng never asked me to sell my body!" Nan Xiang immediately shrieked, instantly defensive the moment the stranger began to slander her precious boyfriend.
"Oh? And do you honestly believe you are just a simple 'drinking companion' right now?" Li Qingyuan sneered. He shoved the struggling woman hard against the leather sofa.
With ruthless efficiency, he pinned her down, ripping away the last remnants of her outer dress. He clamped one heavy hand over her breast while the fingers of his other hand violently hooked the waistband of her lace panties.
"No! No! Please! Stop! Please don't do this! Please!"
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