Chapter One

  The barber shop didn't do business during the day. Did Xiao learn anything? But at night, she was called out by her aunt to study.

  It was nine o'clock at night, and Xiao didn't sleep. She hadn't eaten anything for dinner that night, and her stomach was a bit uncomfortable. The road surface was wet and slippery, the lights outside the small shop were very bright, but the lights inside the shop were somewhat dim, making it hard to see clearly. Xiao had no idea what was going on, feeling tense and scared, this dim light reminded her of the night her father died. It was equally dim, making her feel uneasy.

  She followed her aunt into the store and heard a stifled voice, she hesitated.

  "Come on in! Don't be afraid, I can teach you if you don't know." The woman called herself "sister". Xiaoxiao didn't refute her, saying she was too old to be called "sister", it wasn't suitable.

  The store was quiet for a while as people entered, and after adapting to the light, Xiao confirmed what she saw. A somewhat fat man lay on a medium-sized bed, wearing only one underwear, with a woman dressed in a seductive manner beside him. Seeing the two people who came in, they stopped their movements and looked at Xiao.

  "What's wrong? Why did it suddenly stop?" the man asked.

  Turning her head around, Xiao Xiao happened to see him, her face suddenly felt hot, and she saw something that shouldn't be seen.

  "Qing Jie? How did you get here?" asked the seductively dressed woman. This Qing Jie was the same woman who had entered with Xiao Xiao.

  "I brought this little girl here to study a bit, don't worry, I'll be leaving soon."

  Xiao Xiao stood there, being sized up by the woman and the man on the bed. She suddenly felt like an animal in a zoo, being gawked at and scrutinized. Although she had never been to a zoo.

  "Xiao Xiao, come over and learn from your sister. If you don't understand something, just ask her. I have something else to attend to right now, so I won't be able to take care of you."

  "Oh." Xiao Xiao reluctantly approached this "sister". The fat man next to her made her want to vomit, and the woman's outfit also made her uncomfortable.

  "Qing Jie?" The woman asked Qing Jie with a questioning gaze, Xiao Xiao didn't say anything, only uttering an "oh". Qing Jie said you do what you teach her, just teach her to understand what she should do. I won't disturb you guys anymore, just remember to teach her well.

  This "sister" was still a bit hesitant and didn't seem to understand what was going on, but Qing Jie left Xiao Xiao here and closed the door.

  Xiao Xiao felt a bit awkward, "Sister... I'm an apprentice, I came here to learn..." As she said this, her head was lowered and she didn't dare look at the man on the bed or this sister.

  This sister is somewhat embarrassed.

  "You go in there and wait for me, I'll teach you after I'm done." The woman pointed to a storage room inside, Xiaoxiao looked around but saw no light.

  It's better to leave, anyway. I really don't want to see the scene in front of me, it's dark, just let it be dark. Actually, there were lights in that house, she just didn't know at the time.

  At some point, when one of your senses can't function, another sense will become stronger. In the dark, Xiao's ears seem to be particularly useful.

  It was a bit cold, Xiao Xiao curled up there, listening to the sounds coming from the front. The woman seemed to be in pain, making painful noises, like an endless nightmare. In the darkness, Xiao Xiao was both hungry and sleepy, plugged her ears and slowly fell asleep. But she didn't know, this was just the beginning of the nightmare.

  Later, Xiao Xiao woke up. "Sister" didn't come to wake her up. She didn't know how long she had slept. He heard the man's curses outside, "I'm going to...". The woman seemed to be explaining something, but she couldn't hear clearly. Then, there was silence again. Only the man's heavy breathing sound remained.

  Xiao Xiao got up and wanted to go out, she wanted to see what was going on???

  Maybe it was something that happened before waking up without reaction, Xiaoxiao looked at the situation in the room through the lamp light.

  She was nauseated and retreated back into the darkness. She had a feeling that she never wanted to see the light again, never wanted to go out again. Originally not having eaten much at night, she opened her mouth and dry heaved, tears welling up in her eyes.

  That night seemed to have no moonlight. But I remembered "Moon Tooth". Xiao Xiao, was it forced by life? Or did life deceive you, disappoint you, or forget you?

  After a long time, the man put on his clothes and left. Xiaoxiao heard the sound of opening and closing doors, followed by another bout of vomiting sounds. Xiaoxiao still didn't go out.

  After a long time, the light in her own room suddenly lit up, and Xiao was startled.

  She vaguely saw the woman's tired face.

  It won't be long before it's no longer vague.

  Why didn't you leave at that time?

  "Leave? I'm not like I haven't tried, but I don't have any money, where can I go? I don't even have a place to live or food to eat, and who would take in a 16-year-old girl and give her work? When I left, my sister didn't care about me, I was hungry for several days outside, and finally I went back." She blinked, I felt like I was putting her through difficulty again, making her bring up the past once more, sinking into the depths of pain.

  I also felt a bit awkward, and I roughly understood what happened next - she became a prostitute. Yes, maybe the word is not entirely accurate, but Xiaoxiao indeed did something similar to them. Only, she used hairdressing and massage as an excuse. However, they all boil down to selling their bodies. A black box hidden under the sunlight, that's how I think of it. So, I want to say that I don't discriminate against this kind of work, because some people are forced by life to a dead end, and for survival, people will always make choices, even if the final choice isn't a good one - what can you do? Everyone has their own way of living, everyone has their own destiny.

  It's just that the god of fate didn't bless some people.

  "Are you still going?" asked Qingshu.

  Xiao Xiao lowered her head and ate, not responding because she was very hungry and also because she didn't know what to say. She had been hungry for several days and finally returned here.

  "This is for you, a little kid forgot to take it away from the store a few days ago, eat slowly." Qingsister handed her an unopened box of high-calcium milk. Xiaoxiao looked at the box of high-calcium milk and thought back to the past. At that time, she wanted to grow taller, even if she didn't like drinking this milk, she still drank it every day, some days Lin Qi would directly put the milk on her desk. Now? Where's Lin Qi? How is he doing? Xiaoxiao looked up at Qingsister, with a mouthful of rice, and suddenly burst into tears.

  "Miss, I miss home..."

  As if making a last struggle before bowing to fate, Xiao said: I miss home. Three words, the last nostalgia in everyone's heart. But Xiao, the home you want is gone, and the person you want to see is no longer there. Where can you find the home you want?