Chapter 821: A Life of Regret
“Impressionist” paced angrily around the room. He walked into the kitchen, unscrewed a lightbulb, handed it to his underling, and with a glance, signaled, “Shove it in her and see if she talks.”
The underling let out a sleazy laugh, and a few of them grabbed Kaowei, preparing to strip her clothes.
Suddenly, one of them screamed in agony as Kaowei bit into his face fiercely.
“Let go, you crazy bitch!”
No matter how they kicked or yanked at her hair, pulling out chunks, she refused to let go. Her heart pounded wildly, and she felt no pain, driven by intense anger to fight back.
Finally, the underling was “rescued,” with a chunk of his face nearly bitten off, blood pouring everywhere, making for a gruesome sight.
“Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!” another underling shouted, kicking Kaowei in the stomach and dragging her by the hair, slamming her head against the table edge. She bounced back, slumping against the wall, blood dripping like a red curtain from her forehead.
“Impressionist” watched his underling’s solo performance with displeasure and kicked him down. “Did I tell you to act?”
“Boss, I’m sorry.”
“Impressionist” looked at Kaowei. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was bloody, with a chilling gaze. He sneered, “Nice, girl, you’ve got more guts than Wang Xi.”
He rummaged around the room, finding Lao Gan Ma sauce, scallions, a milk bottle, and a steel wool scrubber, arranging them on the table. He educated his underlings, “Torturing women should be creative. Beating them into a pulp is boring. It’s fun to turn a chaste woman into a whimpering little slut. Strip her clothes off…”
Kaowei sneered coldly, suddenly noticing the bandaged man’s face outside the window, his eyes full of anger. She silently begged, “Don’t come in, don’t come in. These unreasonable people will mistake him for Wang Xi, and things will get complicated.”
In the distance, a police siren wailed. “Impressionist” jumped like a startled rat, “Retreat, retreat!”
The group fled in a rush, with “Impressionist” leaving a threat, “I’ll deal with you another day.”
“Go to hell, you disgusting freak!” Kaowei cursed.
Outside, “Impressionist” realized it was just a passing police car, a false alarm. He had heard of a cop on the run after a murder, and the police had been searching for him. An underling asked, “Shall we go back and finish her off?”
“Forget it.” With cops nearby, “Impressionist” felt uneasy. “Let her live in fear for a few days.”
He saw the old tailor tied up in the alley and kicked him awake. The tailor, thinking “Impressionist” was going to torment him again, begged for mercy. “Impressionist” asked, “Wanna go home?”
The tailor nodded frantically.
“Impressionist” pointed at Kaowei’s house, “Keep an eye on that woman for me. If you see her with a man, call me immediately.” He took a phone from an underling and handed it to the tailor.
The tailor, naked, could only hold the phone in his hand. “Impressionist” was uneasy, “You don’t have a pocket, don’t lose it. Shove it up your ass!”
“Huh?”
“Do it!”
Under pressure, the tailor reluctantly complied. “Impressionist,” slightly satisfied by this torment, left contentedly.
The bandaged man entered the house, helping the injured Kaowei up. He asked if there were medical supplies, and Kaowei pointed to a cabinet.
The bandaged man brought out gauze, Yunnan Baiyao powder, and iodine, placing them before Kaowei. “I won’t help you apply them. It would be too intimate.”
Kaowei smiled, “Even if you’re gentle now, I wouldn’t overthink it.”
As she treated her wounds, the bandaged man apologized, “I’m sorry.”
“Why say sorry? I didn’t get beaten for you; I got beaten for Wang Xi. When he first disappeared, those gangsters harassed me constantly. They forced me to quit my job. I’m used to it by now.”
“You’ve had it tough.”
“Don’t pity me. I hate pity. I love him, so I’m willing to endure this.” Kaowei’s eyes, glistening with tears, showed determination. She glanced at the clock, “Time to rest. I have work tomorrow.”
“Quit your lousy job.”
“Quit? Who will support me?”
“What did you major in?”
“I didn’t. I dropped out of high school, spent my days with Wang Xi, never thought about work until I was twenty, just schemed to get money. I regret my youth so much. You must have gone to college; that’s why you ask these questions. You can’t imagine how terrible our lives are! Living in this dump of an alley is my fault!”
“You’re still young. If you don’t change now, you’ll regret it even more in ten years,” the bandaged man sincerely suggested.
Kaowei grew angry, “Don’t lecture me. I’ve heard enough motivational crap. I know how lazy and unmotivated I am, and I can’t change. People like you shouldn’t judge me because you don’t understand anything!”
Suddenly, the air filled with tension. The bandaged man didn’t want to argue, said goodnight, and went upstairs.
Kaowei stayed up late, drinking and crying. The bandaged man, through the attic gap, saw her sorrow.
It might sound mean, but the bandaged man found some solace in Kaowei’s misery. He realized most people hide messy lives behind smiles.
The next morning, Kaowei made an ugly egg and a bowl of pumpkin porridge, leaving a note, “Sorry for last night. Please smoke less!”
Leaving so early, she might not have slept at all, the bandaged man thought, lighting his first cigarette of the day.
At the alley entrance, a girl asked the tied-up tailor, “Old man, do you know where a tailor shop is?”
“Yes, I’m the tailor.”
“Really? Are the free skirts real?”
“Yes, but I can’t make them now.”
“What do you mean, can’t make skirts or the other thing…?”
“Both.”
“When can you?”
“Look at me now…”
“Ugh, what a waste of time!” The girl left angrily.
Late at night, Kaowei returned, placing a few boxes on the table, “These are the jewelry I redeemed from the pawnshop. I’ll pay you back.”
“No need.”
“I have to!”
The bandaged man opened each box, finding ordinary jewelry. Kaowei, resting her chin on her hand, asked, “Still mad at me?”
“I have good self-regulation.”
“Ha, so you’re still mad. I’m a jerk, always hurting people around me, always speaking without thinking.”
“Though your character sucks, you have one good quality!”
“What?”
“You’re beautiful.”
Kaowei smiled, and the bandaged man noticed a pendant could be opened, revealing a tiny memory card inside…