Why are you crying? Yang Jian was a little confused. He had only asked casually, was the reaction that big? Seeing Biao Biao and the others looking over, Yang Jian quickly pulled out two tissues and stuffed them into Su Ya's hand. "Don't cry, it'll make people think I'm bullying you."
Su Ya wiped her tears and looked at the hall. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Jian Ge. I lost my composure."
"It's okay. If you're not comfortable, don't say it. Just sit here quietly and wait to get off work. Because I'm recuperating, I can't stay in this environment for too long."
"Thank you, Jian Ge. Rui Rui told me about your injury. She was very upset during that time and was distracted in class. She should be very happy to know you're all better. Let's go sit outside."
"This girl actually has some conscience. Su Ya, I shouldn't pry into your affairs, but you're Rui Rui's best classmate. I still want to advise you, if you can avoid this profession, try not to do it. Although it brings money fast, you're a university student, and your future life will be beautiful. This place might ruin your life."
As Yang Jian spoke, he saw Song Ge and Si Gou sniffing K powder, Song Jianhao preparing to take speed, and the hostesses were also taking powder. Their proficiency showed they were already addicted.
Su Ya naturally knew Yang Jian's advice was sincere. "Jian Ge, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice."
"Is someone forcing you?"
"No one is forcing me, but something happened at home."
Su Ya took a sip of her drink, stabilized her emotions, and began to tell her real story.
Su Ya was born into a rural family in the Hanjiang Plain. Her father was disabled, a cripple, but not so severe that he couldn't walk. He was also a tailor. Her mother worked the fields, and she had a younger brother in junior high school.
From Su Ya's birth until junior high, her family was actually doing quite well. Because her father's tailoring skills were in demand in the countryside, he even took on several apprentices. In the 1990s, most rural people hired tailors to make their clothes at home, and ready-made clothes were less common. A tailor's income was quite substantial.
After 2000, the tailoring profession gradually declined. People started buying clothes off the street. Especially in recent years, apart from the occasional tailor on the street fixing zippers, there were no more tailors going to homes to make clothes in the countryside.
As a result, Su Ya's father lost his job. Being disabled, he couldn't do farm work and had no other skills. The family relied entirely on Su Ya's mother to farm, and there was no income.
Su Ya's father, accustomed to the good life before, couldn't adapt to poverty. He started drinking heavily, became lazy, and mingled with some hooligans in the village. He played cards and gambled all day. When he won money, he indulged in lavish spending; when he lost, he beat his wife.
Su Ya had always been a good student. Her teachers said she could get into university. By the time she reached high school, her family had fallen on hard times. She couldn't afford to go to school, but her uncle, unable to bear seeing her lose the opportunity to study, reluctantly sponsored her through high school.
As expected, she lived up to expectations. Three years later, Su Ya was admitted to a university in Hancheng. During her studies, she worked part-time to earn living expenses. However, her family was too poor, and even her brother's schooling was difficult.
Out of desperation, Su Ya took on a part-time job in a nightclub through an introduction. Her life soon changed. Not only did she solve her own tuition fees, but her family's situation also improved. Her mother was less burdened, and she sent 5,000 yuan back home each month. Her father also stopped drinking and beating his wife.
After saving some money, Su Ya quit her job at the nightclub, intending to focus on her studies. Unexpectedly, her father incurred a huge usurious debt with a gambling company. Her mother, driven to desperation, chose to commit suicide.
Su Ya's father also fell ill from the shock. The gambling company did not let go and threatened to cripple her brother if the debt was not repaid.
To protect her brother, Su Ya had no choice but to return to her old ways and work in the nightclub to earn money to repay the debt.
"Su Ya, I didn't expect your situation to be so complicated. Your mother even committed suicide. Has your father's debt been paid off?"
Because the private room was too noisy, they stood in the corridor outside the door. Su Ya burst into tears again, and Yang Jian didn't know how to comfort her.
"The first installment of the external debt is paid off, but my father is a bottomless pit. He is addicted to gambling. The more I repay his debts, the more he gambles."
"Then don't give him money. Gambling addiction is hard to break; you can only cut off his financial source."
"He killed my mother, and I want to ignore him, but my brother is still in junior high school and needs his care. I can only keep sending him money."
"When will this end for you?"
"I don't know. My brother said he would go out to work after graduating from junior high school and asked me not to be manipulated by our father anymore. But my brother is a very good student, and I don't want him to drop out of school."
"Don't you have an uncle? Have your uncle look after your brother."
"It's useless. My uncle lives in the village next to ours. My father won't let my brother leave. He has no ability to survive and wants to control my siblings. When he incurs gambling debts, others threaten my brother."
"Damn it, your father is completely inhuman."
Su Ya said resentfully, "It's all because of gambling. The only thing I can do now is to support my brother through university. Once we siblings break free from his control, we will be completely liberated."
Can they really be liberated? It's probably difficult. Yang Jian didn't know what to say. He just felt a little disheartened. Gambling caused too many tragedies. Knowing it was harmful to oneself and others, he was still mixed up in this circle.
"Su Ya, you go in. I want to sit outside for a while."
Yang Jian couldn't offer any good advice or help. He didn't want to see her forced smile and chose to avoid it.
Su Ya hesitated to speak, sighed deeply, and turned back into the private room.
Yang Jian walked outside the club and called his sister to inquire about her recent situation. It was similar to what Su Ya had said. Then he sat on a street bench for two hours before going back in.
In the hall, he saw Biao Biao dozing off alone on the sofa, probably unable to resist the temptation of the speed and running out.
Without disturbing him, Yang Jian walked into the private room, and the scene before him made him dumbfounded.
Except for Song Ge and Si Gou, who were still headbanging wildly to the loud music, Song Jianhao was passionately kissing a woman in a corner.
Old Wu, nearly sixty years old, was shamelessly fondling a young girl, making Yang Jian almost vomit.
Even more outrageous was Director Zhong, who usually appeared upright and righteous. He just came out of the private room's restroom with a girl, pulling up his pants as he walked, clearly having just engaged in an unspeakable act.
Such scenes were difficult for Yang Jian, a young man who viewed love and marriage as sacred, to accept.
Song Jianhao, who had no girlfriend before, could be forgiven for indulging himself in a nightclub. But he was about to get married. How could he mess around with other women behind his girlfriend's back? Wasn't he afraid of his girlfriend, Zhou Qiong, noticing any traces?
And Old Wu, he already had a grandson. Did he feel no guilt embracing a girl thirty or forty years his junior? He really wanted to eat tender grass like an old cow. Disgusting.
As for Director Zhong, he completely subverted Yang Jian's perception of leaders and cadres. He would no longer respect him as much in the future.