Chapter 225: Transaction Scene

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Transaction Scene

Zhang Long tugged at Zhang Yun, but failed to budge him.

"I’m not interested in this, and I have a girlfriend," Zhang Yun whispered. It wasn’t good to say too much out in the open.

Zhang Long chuckled, throwing an arm around his shoulder and leaning in close. "Don’t be afraid! We were embarrassed last time too, but they are actually much more open than we are. I know you’re afraid of having no Experience. Hehe, it’s fine as long as they have Experience."

"I’m really not interested..."

"Come on! We’re all men, all young—how could you not be interested? We even ate snake meat. If you don’t release that fire, you’ll get overheated."

Zhang Yun smiled bitterly, feeling incredibly awkward, as if people from all around were watching them. He couldn’t afford to stick around. Otherwise, he’d be tainted by the filth without even indulging, and it would ruin his reputation if word got out.

"You go ahead. I’ll take a ride around and come back to pick you up. Five minutes should be enough, right?"

"Piss off! I’m a beast," Zhang Long scolded with a laugh, then continued his earnest persuasion. "I know you’re picky and think they aren’t pretty enough. But it’s not like you’re screwing their faces, so what do you need them to be pretty for? Besides, don’t you educated folks always say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? You have to understand a person’s substance. Who knows, maybe they possess inner beauty?"

"Just hurry up and go. I know you’re a beast. I’ll leave the bike here. If I don’t come back in a bit, just head back yourself. Don’t go too crazy since you’ve been drinking!"

Zhang Yun figured that after messing around and sweating a bit, Zhang Long would sober up enough to ride the motorcycle back. But looking at Zhang Long’s unsteady footsteps, he still worried the guy might end up in a ditch.

"Actually, I’d better come pick you up!"

Zhang Long tried to grab him again, but even if he hadn’t been drinking, his strength was nowhere near Zhang Yun’s. Zhang Yun pushed him away and simply rode off on the motorcycle.

Zhang Yun rode around the town for a bit, not knowing where to go. He rarely came out at night, which reminded him that he still hadn’t visited Teacher Cao’s house. However, Teacher Cao lived in the county town. He reasoned that a round trip would take quite a while, and it wasn’t really appropriate to go late at night. It would be better to pay a formal visit another time.

After wandering around, he decided to head to the riverside to get some fresh air. He figured Zhang Long wouldn’t take more than a few minutes anyway, and then it would be about time to head home. Yet, before he even reached the river, Zhang Long called him.

"Are you already done?" Zhang Yun teased.

Zhang Long gave an awkward laugh. "Come over here quickly. I forgot to bring money... Hurry up."

Zhang Yun was left speechless. He was holding a smartphone; he wondered how many young people these days still carried physical wallets. But he didn’t say much. He understood the implication; it wasn’t that Zhang Long had forgotten his money, but rather that he was probably broke. Perhaps Zhang Long had assumed that by dragging him along, he would foot the bill.

Zhang Yun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He figured it should only be a few hundred bucks, and he naturally wouldn’t mind treating him normally. However, one could treat a friend to food and drinks—not to a prostitute. He immediately turned around and rushed back toward the hair salon. Regardless of whether he wanted to treat him or not, Zhang Long had already done the deed, so he had to go spot him the cash. This kind of "real economy" didn’t allow for freebies.

Pulling up outside the salon, Zhang Yun saw a scantily clad woman smoking by the door. He walked over and peered inside, but he saw no Shadow of Zhang Long in the salon.

Zhang Yun had never been inside before and didn’t know the layout. He wondered if there was a staircase leading to the second floor inside.

"I had a friend who came in here just now..."

The smoking woman blew a smoke ring, beckoned with her finger, and walked to the side.

Zhang Yun felt a bit embarrassed. If anyone saw him right now, they would definitely think he was here for *that*. Fortunately, the place was situated in a rather secluded area, and there were no passersby around at night.

Since Zhang Long wasn’t waiting in the shop, he wondered if his friend simply hadn’t finished yet, or if they were afraid he would run off and hadn’t even let him pull up his pants. Zhang Yun’s embarrassment stemmed from the fear of being seen. If no one knew, he wouldn’t mind tagging along to see how the process worked. Even if he wasn’t going to do anything, it would still satisfy his curiosity. Besides, the one making a fool of himself right now was Zhang Long; Zhang Yun was just along for the ride to watch the comedy unfold.

The woman led him into an adjacent alleyway, then turned into a building in the back. It looked like a dedicated rental property.

"Third floor." After opening the door and letting Zhang Yun in, the woman headed back.

The hallway had a sound-activated light, but the wattage was low, making the corridor very dim—perfectly suited for these sorts of shady transactions.

Zhang Yun had read somewhere about why these places used pink, dim lighting. Part of it was to let people know it wasn’t a legitimate establishment, but it wasn’t primarily for setting a romantic mood. Rather, the blurriness prevented customers from clearly seeing if the women were old or ugly. And when they took someone out to get a hotel room, choosing those with transparent glass between the bathroom and the bedroom had nothing to do with romance either. It was for mutual surveillance: to prevent one party from stealing things and running off while the other was in the shower!

In the past, with cash in a wallet and a mobile phone, one could easily steal over ten thousand bucks. It wasn’t just the working girls who might steal; the customers could too. And those engaged in such illicit activities wouldn’t dare call the police if they were robbed.

Recalling these details, Zhang Yun arrived at the third floor. There were several rooms on this level, and the door to one of them was left slightly ajar. He didn’t dare look around too much, afraid that someone in another room might be peeking at him through a peephole. Although this possibility was slim—as he was a first-timer to this sort of place, but for the regulars, it was just business as usual, and they had absolutely no interest in knowing who he was—he still kept his head down and quickly pushed the door open to step inside.

As soon as he entered, Zhang Yun froze. The situation inside was completely different from what he had imagined. There was nothing obscene or seductively sleazy going on; instead, the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.

Zhang Long, wearing only a pair of shorts, was squatting in a corner. Next to him stood a woman dressed in nothing but a slip nightgown. On the other side of the room, however, sat six men, smoking cigarettes and playing on their phones.

"Yo! Isn’t this Brother Yun from Tianxin Village? What wind blew you here?" one of the men exclaimed with exaggerated surprise. "Are you here for some fun? You should’ve said so earlier! Just give me a heads-up, and I’ll have them strip down for you to pick. You can have as many as you want to serve you!"

Zhang Yun swept his gaze over them and immediately recognized the speaker. These were the same thugs who had been involved in causing trouble at Zhang Youcai’s factory and had later gone to rescue Yellow Hair and his cronies, leaving a deep impression on him. The one speaking was none other than Yellow Hair’s brother.

"Zhang, Zhang..." Zhang Long tried to speak, but Zhang Yun raised a hand and pressed down in the air, signaling him to stay quiet.

"Drop the act. What’s going on?" Zhang Yun looked directly at the thug.

Having recognized these hooligans, Zhang Yun already had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Whatever Zhang Long had done wasn’t the main issue. They must have been in or around the salon, seen him with Zhang Long, and orchestrated this whole setup just to target him!

"Brother Yun, it’s like this, as you well know. My salon offers some ’full services,’ but this cousin of mine just got here and hasn’t started taking customers yet. That’s because she’s still a virgin!

"You know how rare that is these days! We were planning to find some rich bosses and sell her for a good price. But this guy forcibly chose her and then raped her the moment he got in! This is no small matter! If we take this to the police, he’ll be locked up for a few years! Besides, that sort of thing is a one-time deal. Once it’s broken, she’s worthless.

"Tell me, am I wronging you? We didn’t even beat you, right?" Yellow Hair’s brother spoke glibly, pointing at Zhang Long.

Seeing Zhang Yun looking over, Zhang Long put on a miserable face. "I didn’t know... I only heard them say she was new and hadn’t started taking customers yet. I figured she’d be cleaner... I really didn’t know."

Yellow Hair’s brother snorted coldly. "Did she or did she not say she wouldn’t do it?"

"She said it wasn’t convenient for her right now... I thought she was just being shy..."

"So you increased the offer to a thousand and dragged her out here. The little girl was scared and didn’t dare to run, so she could only tell you she wouldn’t do it. But you, you animal, went straight ahead and raped her!"

Yellow Hair’s brother’s reprimand caused Zhang Long to lower his head in shame. He had been so excited at the time, thinking he had encountered someone freshly entering the trade. When she bled afterward, he was even more convinced he had struck gold—that the thousand bucks was an absolute steal. He never imagined...