Chapter 89: The Last Scene She Wished to See

Since the two of them had truly opened their hearts to one another that day, Peng Min began to ask Li Jia about everything and let her decide what to do.

"Why don't you and I go straight to my place first? We don't have any money on us, and there isn't anywhere else to go right now. Once we're settled in, I'll prepare some money for you, and then you can go home," Li Jia said after some thought.

"Li Jia, it wouldn't be right for us to go to your place looking like this. We could find a hotel first, tidy ourselves up, and as for money, I still have some."

Peng Min took out a thick stack of currency from her bag, several thousand in all.

This money had been saved from tips given by wealthy men who, after taking pleasure in her services, had been in high spirits and pressed it into her hands. The managers at the nightclub knew nothing about it.

Li Jia was a little taken aback when she saw the money. Then, glancing at the grime on her own body, she thought it over and nodded, agreeing to Peng Min's suggestion.

After a brief discussion, the two decided to put some distance between themselves and this area first.

It would not be long before the people at the nightclub discovered that the two of them were missing, and they might well search the nearby area for traces of them. By tomorrow, they might even find their way to Li Jia's home.

In that case, going straight home would not be wise.

However, when Li Jia voiced these worries to Peng Min, Peng Min only told her not to fret. Before leaving, she had already made certain arrangements, ensuring that it would take several days before the nightclub realized they were gone; perhaps even longer.

At the splendid Imperial Palace Nightclub, there were many hostesses like Peng Min, controlled by their addiction to drugs. The managers did not, in fact, check attendance every day. After all, once they ran away, when the craving struck, that living hell was something only a few could endure.

When the addiction flared, these young women would obediently take clients and earn money; no one needed to keep watch over them.

At times, even if they went a week or two without showing up for work, no one might notice.

With that much time, it would be enough for the two of them to put the city far behind them.

Only after understanding this did Li Jia reluctantly suppress her desperate wish to go home at once. Otherwise, she would certainly have rushed back first thing, taken her parents, and fled the city that very night before making any further plans.

Then she would have reported the nightclub to the police, exposed its drug trafficking, and persuaded her parents to go with her to a rehabilitation center to completely rid herself of her addiction.

Their figures soon disappeared into the narrow, dim alley.

Around eleven at night, outside North Star Residential Quarter in PE City.

Two girls dressed in youthful, bright styles were walking slowly toward this place from a distance.

Both were very beautiful, especially the slightly taller one. Her clothes were simple and casual, light and cool in the rising heat of summer. She wore shorts that ended above the knee, showing off a pair of fair, long, and graceful legs, while on top she had on a T-shirt printed with a cartoon design.

It was Li Jia, now changed into clean clothes.

Li Jia was undeniably lovely, with snow-white, delicate skin, large eyes, and long lashes that gave her an especially lively air. Yet her expression held a touch more melancholy, as though many burdens weighed on her heart and would not let her rest.

Beside Li Jia was Peng Min, carrying a pale yellow backpack decorated with cartoon patterns.

Peng Min was dressed in a lively, youthful manner as well. Though she wore only a pair of tight jeans and a purple T-shirt, the simple outfit accentuated her slender, graceful figure, curving in all the right places with an elegant allure.

Although North Star Residential Quarter was in the city center, the streets at this hour were very quiet, with hardly any pedestrians and only a few vehicles.

Li Jia led Peng Min step by step into the residential compound.

Inside, aside from the old trees and the dim streetlamps beside them, which cast only a faint glow, there was not a single person in sight. Now and then, a stray cat darted past.

Most of the buildings in the compound had their lights off; only a few rooms still glowed.

Li Jia turned her gaze toward one of those lit windows. That was the home she had lived in for more than twenty years, from childhood to now, and within it lay nearly all the memories of her life.

"Are you all right?" Peng Min had shoulder-length black hair, glossy and smooth as polished jade. She had the same enchanting phoenix eyes as Li Jia, slightly upturned beneath long lashes, lending her a naturally captivating charm.

"I'm fine." Li Jia smiled faintly and then said, "The worst thing that could happen to me has already happened. What else could be worse than what I've gone through?"

"Is that your family home? The lights are still on. It looks like Uncle and Auntie haven't gone to sleep yet." Peng Min noticed that Li Jia had been staring in one direction and followed her gaze.

At her words, Li Jia nodded and, with complicated feelings in her heart, walked toward home.

Peng Min quickly followed. In truth, she also understood that when Li Jia ended up in a place like the nightclub and suffered so many despairing things, it was very likely that she had been sold there by her own parents.

"One of the most despairing things in the world must be being betrayed by those closest to you," Peng Min thought as she walked behind Li Jia, looking at the lovely figure ahead.

In fact, after she roughly understood why Li Jia had ended up in the nightclub, she felt even more deeply for Li Jia's pain and ordeal, because she too had been deceived into coming here by her boyfriend, and in the end she had not even been able to keep her own child.

Naturally, Peng Min had once hated her boyfriend deeply. But when she heard that, unable to pay the exorbitant cost of drugs, he had taken dangerous risks in the nightclub, been caught in petty theft, beaten half to death, and thrown out, her hatred faded. Instead, she felt pity for him. Her boyfriend seemed pitiful to her.

There is, after all, a reason to pity even the most hateful person.

When Li Jia reached the front door, she habitually searched several hidden spots and, as expected, found the key.

Holding the key, she hesitated only a moment at the doorway before opening the door.

Li Jia entered the house, passed through the entryway without changing her shoes, and went straight into the living room, where she saw the scene she least wanted to see.

The living room was even more disordered than it had been the last time she returned.

The living room she had tidied up after coming back had, in just a few days, once again become a chaotic, unsightly mess.

But the mess itself was not what she dreaded most. What she dreaded most was the sight of her parents inside it.

There, in the living room, Li Ming and Liu Jiajia were both slumped on the sofa, their faces flushed red, their eyes hazy, as though they were lost in an incomparably blissful illusion. From their mouths came low, indistinct mutterings.

On the coffee table before them were traces of white powder and some brightly colored granules.

It was obvious they had only just taken drugs not long ago.

Li Jia could hardly believe that the two people before her were her beloved and respected parents. She could not accept what she was seeing.

Peng Min, who had followed her in, naturally took in the scene as well. After letting out a deep sigh, she stepped around Li Jia and went forward first, carefully studying Li Ming and Liu Jiajia's condition, then looking at the remaining drugs on the coffee table.

"The white powder they took should be maifen, and as for this granular drug, I can't say exactly what it is," Peng Min said after examining the drugs on the table. Then she stood up and took a few more looks at the two people on the sofa.

Though both had their eyes open, they had not the slightest awareness of the two people who had entered the room, utterly immersed in their own worlds.

Peng Min waved a hand in front of their faces, then said softly to Li Jia, "Your uncle and aunt are in this condition because they've clearly been taking drugs for quite some time. Their addictions are both very deep. If they want to wake up, I suppose they'll have to wait until the effects of the drugs have completely worn off."

Li Jia said nothing. She only stared blankly at her parents, silent for a long time.

All she felt was pain in her heart. She had once believed her heart would never hurt again, but she had been wrong. It could still feel pain.

At that moment, boundless hatred surged through Li Jia's heart: hatred that her parents had touched drugs at all, hatred that this world even contained drugs, and hatred for the drug dealers who used them to destroy ordinary families.

Her eyes were already red, and tears kept trembling in her sockets, yet not a single drop fell, because she understood that tears would do nothing at all.

"If you want to cry, then cry," Peng Min said, walking to Li Jia's side and gently drawing her into her arms. "Sometimes, crying out loud feels a lot better."

She had cried like that today herself, and she knew from experience.

Li Jia choked back her emotions and said quietly, "I'm fine. I'll take you to the guest room first. No one has stayed there for a long time, so it needs a good cleaning."

She still did not let her tears fall, holding herself back with all her strength.

In her heart, she knew very well that once the tears started, they would not stop in the short term. Right now she had little time to waste on crying; there were many things waiting for her to do.

Although Peng Min's embrace was warm and made her reluctant to leave, the moment she saw her parents on the sofa, her heart ached, and she quickly pulled away from Peng Min's arms and led her to the guest room.

The guest room was clean and tidy, aside from some dust on the furniture and floor.

Li Jia was just about to go to the bathroom to get a cloth and some water to clean the room when Peng Min stopped her.

Peng Min said, "I want to take a look at your room. If your bed isn't too small, I was wondering whether I could sleep with you tonight. Is that all right?"

"All right then. My room has a double bed, big enough for the two of us. You can sleep with me tonight," Li Jia said after a moment's thought, nodding without refusing. Having Peng Min for company at night would let them talk things through, and perhaps she would be able to sleep more peacefully.