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Chapter 1 — Being Drugged

After a good hour-long soak, Xia Mo carefully put moisturizer over her body under the watch of a maid. Then, dressed in a thin night robe, she was taken into a small room.
“As Her Ladyship required, stay here and watch the video. Make sure you learn something from it. You have to be bold, so put that dull face away,” the maid declared coldly and sarcastically.
‘I have to be bold?’
Xia Mo didn’t fully understand, but she sat on the couch and started to watch the TV obediently.
To her surprise, the video was not the kind she expected!
Curious and slightly disgusted, she closed her eyes as her face blushed. However, the sound seemed to be getting into her in every way it could, leaving her nowhere to hide.
“Turn it off!” In embarrassment, she asked the maid standing beside her.
“I don’t think so. Her Ladyship explicitly requires you to learn from it,” answered the maid, with no expression on her face, like a robot.
Xia Mo couldn’t stop her body from shaking. ‘Was she asking me to act like the woman in the video?’
‘That’s impossible!’
The maid was watching her seriously like a prison guard, as if Xia Mo had committed some kind of felony and she looked like she would pounce on her at anytime to make her eyes focus on the screen no matter whether she wanted to or not.
Without a choice, she watched the video for two times until someone came in.
“Her Ladyship said it’s about time.”
Xia Mo was then taken into another room like a puppet.
“Remember! You have to be bold!” The maid gave her a pill and reminded her once again. “Take this. No failure is allowed tonight!”
Then Xia Mo was pushed into the room.
With thick curtains drawn, the room was in complete darkness. Not a single lamp was turned on.
It took Xia Mo a while to make up her mind and carefully inched her way forward.
When she finally approached the bed, she got onto it, quivering. Then she felt a warm but naked body.
She drew back suddenly, as if getting an electric shock. But thinking about the one million she needed, she had to give it another try.
The man didn’t move or react at all. Xia Mo felt a bit relieved. ‘Is he passed out? Or is he just asleep?”
She gritted her teeth and carried on. She wanted it to be finished as soon as possible, so she decided to imitate the woman in the video.
The man, confused and in a daze, suddenly moved. He cursed, “Damn!”
Then he dragged Xia Mo right into his arms.
His lips, which smelled like the most fragrant wine in the world, were all on hers, muffling her screams.
He enjoyed the sexual pleasure she brought him like a wild beast, caring the least about her condition as a virgin.
After his desire was fully satisfied, he took a short rest. Coldness flashed across his eyes, then he carelessly pushed away the unconscious woman beside him.
He left the bed barefoot and pulled open the curtain.
With a sneer, he put on his clothes and left without hesitation.
Back to the living room, his wife, Lu Wanru, was seated demurely on the couch.
“Good morning.” Lu Wanru smiled, and dropped the maid a hint. Seeing the maid go upstairs, she asked him softly, “Are you having breakfast at home?”
“That’s okay. I’m not hungry at all.” He passed by her in anger, and just before he rushed out of the door, he added, “I will keep my promise. But do not try to drug me anymore. You don’t want the child to be mentally handicapped, do you?”
Lu Wanru stood before the window and watched her husband stride out of the yard. Her eyes went red.
“Your Ladyship, why do you have to do this to yourself?” Mrs. Wu, the housekeeper of this family, poured Lu Wanru a glass of warm water and said, “Master does care about you.”
“You don’t understand Mrs. Wu. She’s back and she’s going to take everything from me.” Lu Wanru sipped at the glass and continued, “If I let her have a child first, there will be no place for me in this family.”
Knowing the complexity of their relationship, Mrs. Wu sighed.
“Don’t give that girl, Xia Mo, any more contraceptives. Same for him.” Lu Wanru took a deep breath. “This child is very important to me. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“What if they…” Mrs. Wu recalled the pretty face of Xia Mo and was worried.
“If he really falls for that girl, I bet someone will be so pissed off! But unfortunately, your master is a faithful man.” Lu Wanru smiled with contempt. But given that she needed this child for many reasons, she added, “Now that you have mentioned it, put a blindfold on her next time. This child has to win his affection so I don’t want her to annoy him by being obsessed with him.”

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Chapter 2 — Loan Shark

Ten days ago, in L City.
It was a cold night in November and the pedestrians on the streets were all in a hurry to go back to their cozy homes.
Xia Mo, with her schoolbag on her back, strolled to where she lived.
Just as she reached the stairs, she heard a noise from upstairs.
It gave her a fright, but she rushed upstairs without hesitation.
The door was left wide open and she could clearly hear her father cursing and her mother sobbing.
“Dad!” Xia Mo cried. Her heart ached at the sight she saw, a messy room and her parents struggling against each other.
Xia Zhixiong, her once loving father, stopped swearing, and loosened his hand that was grabbing her wife’s hair.
Her mother, Ma Yi, also stood up and wiped her tears.
They both looked at the door and saw their 18-year-old daughter.
“I’ve got to go.”
Embarrassed and upset, Xia Zhixiong grabbed the plastic bag on the ground and was about to set off.
However, Ma Yi immediately jumped towards the bag in his hand and shouted, “Give me the money!”
But Xia Zhixiong was prepared for her sudden move, he dodged swiftly and slapped her hard on the face.
“Pa!” With a scream, Ma Yi fell backwards and hit the corner of the wall hard.
She passed out with blood all over her head, looking lifeless like a broken doll.
“Mom!” Xia Mo was totally dumbstruck. She ran to her mother and held her in her arms. The blood left on the wall was dreadful enough, but she felt more blood beneath Ma Yi’s hair. She cried out and looked for his father.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Xia Mo wept hopelessly…
Then, footsteps were heard from the stairs, followed by a young boy rushing in. He looked at the two on the ground and asked worriedly, “What happened, Xia Mo?”
“Jianan, my mom…” Xia Mo seized his hand at once, as if finding a life-saving straw, “My mom is hurt.”
Sung Jianan then noticed the blood on the wall and Xia Mo’s hand. He bent down and carried Ma Yi. “Let’s send her to the hospital first.”
Xia Mo rose to her feet and searched through her mother’s purse, only to find a measly fifty. She had to take a chance on her mother’s coat.
“Don’t waste time. I’ll get some from my mom,” Sung Jianan said as he rushed out with Ma Yi in his arms. Xia Mo followed him downstairs a step later.
Sung Jianan went straight to his own home, which was on the way out of the building, and kicked the door vigorously. His mother hurriedly opened the door and said furiously, “I thought you’ve run away for good!”
“Mom, I need five hundred!” Sung Jianan anxiously interrupted.
Mrs.Sung’s mouth gaped as she was planning to give her son a lecture. However, seeing the bleeding woman in his arms, Mrs. Sung swallowed her anger. She grabbed a coat, and started descending the stairs, “Come with me. I’ll get a taxi.”
Xia Mo followed them silently, tears flowing continuously.
At around 10 pm that night, they finally made it back home. Ma Yi’s head was wrapped in gauze bandages.
At the door of the Sungs’ apartment, Ma Yi turned to Mrs. Sung, looking rather abashed, “Thank you so much for what you’ve done for us today. I will pay you back as soon as I can.”
“That’s no big deal. Just take your time.” Mrs. Sung waved her hand. “It has been a tough day for you. Go home with your daughter and take a rest.”
“Mom, I’ll come back later…” Sung Jianan said to his mother.
He wanted to help Xia Mo clear up the mess in her home, but Mrs. Sung grasped his arm and began to scold him.
“Do you know what time it is now? And your homework isn’t finished yet!”
Mrs. Sung put on a serious face and warned her son. “Your father will beat you up if you dare to run away again!”
Ma Yi held Xia Mo’s hand and smiled awkwardly. Xia Mo took a grateful look at Sung Jianan and left with her mother.
They stood at the doorway of their home, the lights were out, and the hall was as dark and quiet as usual. Xia Mo took a deep breath and stepped into the room.
Once they got home, Ma Yi started to pack up for her daughter. She took a pack of sanitary pads out of a closet and gave it to Xia Mo.
“Take this, my girl. There’s money inside. Leave as soon as possible and don’t come back. Find a place to hide for a few days. Don’t go to school or try to contact me, at least not for a year.”
Ma Yi couldn’t help sobbing as she continued, “Or you can go to D City. Auntie Heng will take care of you.”
“Mom, what happened?” Xia Mo had lost her composure and started to cry as well, “What about dad?”
Hearing about the man she used to love and rely on, Ma Yi couldn’t help but be dejected. “He’s ran away! He borrowed money from the loan shark and failed to repay the debt, so he took off with all our valuables at home. We were abandoned!”
“Loan shark? Abandoned?” The answer came as a bolt from the blue. She completely fell apart. What she feared the most had finally became a reality, and her dreams now seemed so unreachable.
It was over. Her family, her dreams, and her future were all doomed.
Before she could even finish lamenting, another misfortune has come at an instant. The debtors came at their home and showed no mercy.
Three tall and strong men in black threatened, “Pay back the money, otherwise, work as prostitutes!”
Their eyes filled with greed as they looked at the slender figure of Xia Mo, before leaving with a disgusting smile on their faces.
Terrified by the incident, Ma Yi pushed her daughter out of the door. “Leave now. Go to Auntie Heng at this address. When I find your father, I will get divorced and meet you there.”
“Mom…” Xia Mo shook her head and refused to let go of Ma Yi’s hand.
“Be a good girl, Mo. Leave now. I will find a public phone and call your Auntie Heng in advance. Just go,” Ma Yi held back her tears and tried to comfort Xia Mo. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right. Don’t be afraid and hurry up. There’s one thousand in this bag. Be careful with the money.”
Still, Xia Mo refused to leave by herself.
“Do you want me to beg you? If you don’t get out of here first, how am I going to leave?” Ma Yi became anxious. “We can’t leave together, Mo. Just listen to me, okay?”
The tears in her mother’s eyes urged Xia Mo to leave, albeit hesitantly. She held the bag in her arms and ran towards the railway station.
But when she finally arrived at the station, the sight of the empty hall made her reluctant again.
No! Leaving her mother alone was not the right thing to do!
After a very short pause, she made up her mind and fled the station. There might be a last resort.

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Chapter 3 — The Last Hope

With watchful and apprehensive eyes, Xia Mo clutched her bag tightly to her chest as her gaze trailed after the numerous customers entering and leaving the Starry River bar.
Fidgeting hands pronounced the nervousness and curiosity she harbored upon standing before the new and unfamiliar environment. This day would mark the first time she comes in this kind of establishment, and after taking a much needed breath to calm her nerves, she finally mustered up the courage to walk inside.
Looking around, she came to a realization that the bar was not as brooding and dark as she had initially expected. On the contrary, its exquisite interior decorations exuded warmth—the dim and soft lighting emphasizing the aura of sweet romance engulfing the space.
Xia Mo followed the muffled sounds of music. It gradually grew louder the more she walked towards its source, bewitching her to arrive at the sight of an elevated stage where it originated. Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she appraised Mo Na from where she confidently stood on the platform, all dressed and dolled up in a backless dress with heavy makeup painted on her face. She was singing soulfully with her eyes closed, the lyrics seeping into Xia Mo’s core, “I hug the Night Jasmine. I kiss the Night Jasmine. Night Jasmine, I sing a song for you. Night Jasmine, I become thoughtful for you…”
Mo Na had a heavenly voice!
If only Xia Mo was not so anxious and worried about her mother right now, she would have loved to leisurely spend the night here while listening to the entrancing music.
Xia Mo knew that Mo Na was good at singing, but she had no idea how amazing she sounded on stage. Her performance brought the girl to vividly envision Shanghai in the 1930s, where Mo Na would have undoubtedly became the diva in the Babylon of the orient.
Mo Na’s act ended after a while. She took a bow to the audience when a sweeping glance noticed Xia Mo amidst the crowd, seemingly uncomfortable and totally out of place from her spot.
She walked to Xia Mo and linked arms with her, smiling, “Hey, what brings you here?”
Mo Na’s stare travelled down her figure and noted the school uniform Xia Mo was wearing, “You didn’t skip the class, did you?”
“Nana, it’s really urgent,” Xia Mo answered restlessly. “Do you have time now?”
“What’s wrong? You look so worried.” Frowning, Mo Na took Xia Mo to the counter and asked for a cocktail for herself and a glass of milk for her old friend.
“Just tell me what I can to do help,” Mo Na smiled reassuringly.
At the prompting, Xia Mo could not help but burst into tears the moment she opened her mouth to talk, “It’s about my family.”
The fit took Mo Na by surprise. Her brows furrowed in worry before she stood up, clearly alarmed, and dragged Xia Mo to the locker room hastily to freely discuss the matters at hand within its quiet confines. Mo Na grasped her tightly by the shoulders and asked again, “It’s not the time to cry yet, tell me what happened.”
Xia Mo nodded weakly and sniffled, attempting to silence her emotions while she told Mo Na the whole story.
“Your father is such a jerk!” Mo Na cursed, “Leaving you and your mother behind like that? What an asshole!”
Xia Mo could not restrain her feelings anymore and started bawling.
“Don’t cry now!” Mo Na interrupted angrily, coaxing her to focus, “How much does he owe to the loan shark?”
“My mom said that it’s about one million in total…”
“One million?!” Mo Na exclaimed, dumbfounded, “Is he taking drugs?”
“He lost money in the stock market and borrowed more from the loan shark, but it was only going to be a vicious cycle of lending and taking,” Xia Mo bit her trembling lower lip and continued on remorsefully, “I can’t just leave my mom there—anything can happen to her. I heard that those loan sharks commit all sorts of crimes in order to get their money back. What if they kidnap my mom?”
“But what can you do now?” Mo Na paced uneasily around the room, “I only have fifty thousand. Where can I get you one million? That’s impossible.”
Xia Mo blushed at her statement due to embarrassment and quickly waved her hands to refute her declaration. “Nana, I didn’t mean to borrow money from you. I just hope that you can help me find a job. Do you know any jobs with high pay that I can take? I want to pay off the debt as quickly as possible.”
“You want to make quick money? There’s no easy way except prostitution!” Mona abruptly shut her mouth the second her last words slipped past her lips. The crestfallen look Xia Mo sported made Mo Na feel that she had been too harsh on Xia Mo, so she changed the topic swiftly instead, “Aren’t you going to school?”
“I can’t. My mom’s afraid that they might track me down there, so she wants to me hide for the meantime.” Xia Mo looked at the brightly lit buildings outside of the window forlornly and explained, “But I have to save my mom.”
Hearing this, Mo Na felt sympathy for the poor girl. She knew that Xia Mo had always been a top student with a good conduct to back her records, so it must have been an incredibly hard choice for her to abandon her studies.
“Come with me. I’ll introduce you to someone who might be able to help.” Mo Na said with a tone of seriousness, a new plan forming in her head as she pulled Xia Mo out of the room.
The brisk action caught her off guard and made her almost drop her schoolbag. Confused, she queried, “Who?”
“Just follow me!” Mo Na turned around and paused upon seeing the bag she was cradling in her arms, “You’re not even going to school anymore. Why are you still holding that schoolbag?”
“There are sanitary pads inside. My mom gave them to me…”
“Sanitary pads?” Mo Na was puzzled, “Are you sure?”
“My mom secretly put a thousand inside the pads.” Xia Mo responded softly, looking down as she did so.
Mo Na grit her teeth and almost shed tears for this vulnerable individual in front of her.
Xia Mo was only a year younger than herself, but she was nothing more than an innocent child. For her, a thousand was already considered as a huge amount of money, but her father had the guts to owe a million!
Leading the way, Mo Na presented Xia Mo to the owner of Starry River, Cho. “You want to sign a fifteen-year contract with Starry River in exchange for one million?” She repeated back incredulously, not believing what she just heard. “I don’t even know if this bar will still exist fifteen years from now. Why would I sign such a contract with you two?”
“I’m sure it still exists! Starry River is the best bar ever, right? Trust me boss, Xia Mo has a beautiful voice. Please sign us. We’ll sing for you for the next fifteen years.” Mo Na begged, “We really need your help, please!””
“How old is she?” Cho looked at the timid lady behind Mo Na, “Is she a student?”
“Eighteen,” Mo Na hurried to introduce Xia Mo. “Xia Mo is both smart and beautiful. She can also sing well and—“
“I see,” Cho hummed in acknowledgement and walked to Xia Mo. She lifted her delicate chin and took a closer look at her face, “She is pretty, but if she’s a good student like you had mentioned, why is she dropping out of school?”
“Her family’s drowning in debt, they owe about a million to the loan sharks. She has to work for the money.” Mo Na explained, “There’s no other option.”
Their conversation made Xia Mo’s heart bleed.
Nobody would ever understand how heartbroken she was upon being forced into the reality she was facing at present. She had to give up her long-awaited dream.
She had been studying hard for years to achieve her goal of being admitted to a good college, but now she had to put an end to that fantasy. It was a painful decision; one that she had no choice but to accept.
She had no other paths left to trek.
“One million is a big number,” Cho murmured. After a brief contemplation, her eyes lit up in sudden epiphany before saying, “Actually, I do have an alternative for you. It will only take you one year rather than fifteen years to earn one million.”
“What is it?” Mo Na frowned in bafflement
while Xia Mo only looked at Cho, eagerly waiting for her answer.

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