After Brother Peng agreed to let Dong Enyu stay, Mama-san didn’t make things difficult for her anymore.
However, she wasn’t given a new room, and Dong Enyu didn’t mind that; she was used to living in the Basement, so she didn’t remind Mama-san.
The business at Star Diamond had been average these past few days, and she started to greet the guests.
However, the younger guys who came in preferred the young and spicy girls, so they didn’t have much interest in her mature teasing, resulting in her naturally low popularity.
Dong Enyu also faced some exclusion from the other hostesses since she had come in through the “back door.”
On Tuesday morning, Dong Enyu found some time to approach Mama-san and asked for a day off, as Star Diamond was undergoing a thorough disinfection.
Mama-san agreed.
That afternoon, she took the bus to the city center to wander around.
Although she worked as a hostess at Star Diamond, her lack of popularity meant her tips were pitifully low, so she couldn’t afford to spend much before payday.
In the evening, she walked along the street to the Performance Hall and noticed many performance announcements.
There happened to be a violin solo concert that night, featuring an unknown newcomer.
Dong Enyu suddenly felt a sense of kinship and bought a ticket to enjoy the show.
During her time undercover abroad, she occasionally visited the Performance Hall to appreciate cultural performances.
She loved the feeling of being cleansed by music; only in the dark hall, surrounded by the melodies, could she feel like “Dong Enyu” and not someone pretending to be someone else.
She didn’t need to wear a mask and could relax and enjoy her private time.
The solo concert was as she expected, with only a third of the seats filled, and some people left during the intermission.
However, Dong Enyu gracefully listened until the end of the performance and even shouted for an encore.
She left satisfied after hearing the final piece.
It was a beautiful conclusion, but the moment the notes ended, she returned to her undercover persona.
After leaving the Performance Hall, Dong Enyu glanced at the time; it was nine o’clock in the evening, still early.
So she didn’t take a taxi, as it wasn’t far from Star Diamond, and planned to walk back along the street.
In a good mood, Dong Enyu hummed the melody from earlier as she strolled leisurely.
“Don’t shout! Hand over your bag!”
She was taken aback; the words weren’t directed at her but came from the shadows nearby.
She vaguely saw three big boys holding utility knives, threatening passersby.
They cornered a woman against the wall, demanding she hand over her bag.
Dong Enyu hesitated for a moment, considering whether to intervene, but if she did, her identity as a hostess would be compromised… “Hurry up! Or I’ll cut your throat!”
The boy with the knife sounded anxious, seemingly afraid someone would come over.
Dong Enyu sighed and suddenly shouted, “Over here! Officer! It’s those three! Hurry and catch them before they get away!”
She stepped forward quickly, gesturing behind her as if directing someone.
“Dammit! Let’s go!”
The leading boy was startled and quickly pulled his companions away to flee.
Dong Enyu didn’t actually call the police; she just shouted randomly.
Those boys looked like first-time offenders, and even the one holding the knife was trembling.
So when Dong Enyu yelled a few words, they were scared off.
The woman who had been threatened collapsed to the ground, and Dong Enyu rushed over to help her up, noticing she didn’t seem to have any cuts.
“Thank you.”
The woman looked up and thanked Dong Enyu.
In the soft moonlight, the woman had smooth, waist-length brown hair.
Her eyes weren’t the typical dark black of Asians but a light coffee brown.
Her fair skin appeared somewhat translucent and unreal under the moonlight.
When she looked up at Dong Enyu and smiled, it felt like a gentle spring breeze, giving off a very light and comfortable vibe, making one feel at first glance that she was very clean, as clear as crystal.
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad you’re okay. Be careful; the security has been bad lately.”
Dong Enyu picked up the woman’s bag.
Seeing that the woman seemed fine, she turned to leave, but the sound of footsteps behind her stopped her in her tracks.
The woman leaned against the wall, her face a bit pale, and her left foot was slightly bent, not touching the ground.
“What happened to your foot?”
Dong Enyu walked closer to the woman.
“No, it’s nothing,” she said, raising an awkward smile to indicate she was fine, but she remained rooted in place.
“I’m really okay; you don’t need to worry about me. Thank you.”
She kept assuring Dong Enyu not to worry, then stood up straight, took a couple of steps, and stopped again.
“Your foot is sprained,” Dong Enyu observed, pointing at the woman’s left foot.
“It doesn’t look serious, but if you force yourself to walk, it might swell up.”
As she spoke, she squatted down beside the woman, indicating she would carry her.
“No, no need! I can’t trouble you any further!”
The woman shook her head in a panic, trying to get Dong Enyu to stand up.
“You can’t get a taxi here. I’ll carry you to the bus stop up ahead; it won’t be too far,” she said, turning her head and winking with a smile.
“It’s fine; just remember to repay me later. Come on, hop on.”
Fortunately, she was dressed casually today; otherwise, wearing high heels would have made it difficult for her to carry someone.
The woman hesitated for a moment before shyly saying, “I’m sorry for the trouble,” and then climbed onto Dong Enyu’s back.
“It’s nothing.”
She stood up; the woman wasn’t too heavy, and after working at Star Diamond, this little weight was easy for her to handle.
The two of them didn’t speak along the way; the woman seemed very nervous, not daring to wrap her arms around Dong Enyu’s neck, only lightly holding onto her collar, keeping her back straight without leaning on her.
However, Dong Enyu could clearly smell the fragrance on the woman, which was like the scent of flowers blooming in spring—light and not overpowering, intoxicating with the evening breeze.
They walked for about ten minutes before Dong Enyu set the woman down next to the bus stop.
“Thank you so much for your help. I’ve caused you too much trouble tonight.”
The woman lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She tucked her loose hair behind her ear, revealing her small, round ears.
“My name is Dong Enyu, and you?”
She didn’t leave immediately but sat down next to the woman and asked.
“My name is Mu Lin, with ‘Mu’ meaning envy and ‘Lin’ meaning beautiful jade.”
“That’s a very elegant name, it suits you well.”
Dong Enyu looked Mu Lin up and down; she appeared to be in her early twenties, quiet and polite, behaving like a refined young lady.
Her cultured demeanor and gentle voice drew people in from the heart.
“Thank you.”
Mu Lin noticed Dong Enyu’s unabashed gaze and shyly turned her head away.
At that moment, Dong Enyu noticed a half-exposed ticket stub peeking out from Mu Lin’s coat pocket; it was for the violin solo concert she had just attended as well.
“You went to the concert too?”
Her smile was sincere; it was rare to meet someone with similar interests.
Mu Lin turned to look at Dong Enyu, realizing the ticket stub was showing, and hurriedly stuffed it back into her pocket.
“Yes, I had some free time tonight, so I thought I’d see what performances were available. It just happened to be a violin solo, so I enjoyed it.”
“Did you not bring a friend along?”
She leaned closer to Mu Lin, noticing her long eyelashes trembling delicately in the moonlight.
“My colleagues don’t really like concerts, so I didn’t invite them. I didn’t want to impose my interests on them.”
As she spoke, she adjusted her coat zipper, feeling a bit flustered by Dong Enyu’s proximity, unable to meet her gaze.
“You are very understanding.”
Dong Enyu nodded and added, “But as a girl, you shouldn’t be out alone at night. You should carry some pepper spray or a stun gun, just in case you get surrounded like tonight again.”
Although she had narrowly escaped, luck wouldn’t always be on the side of good people.
“Yes, I understand. Thank you for your concern.”
Mu Lin nodded obediently, like a good student.
The headlights of the bus flashed in the distance.
Once Dong Enyu saw the bus approaching, she helped Mu Lin hail it, while Mu Lin took out her wallet from her bag and handed Dong Enyu three thousand yuan.
“What are you doing?”
Dong Enyu looked at Mu Lin with a hint of amusement, not accepting the money.
“This is all I have on me, consider it my way of repaying you.”
Mu Lin’s cheeks flushed red; she seemed unaccustomed to this kind of conversation.
She remembered Dong Enyu mentioning a repayment, and this was the most straightforward and practical method she could think of.
However, Dong Enyu shook her head and asked her to hand over her phone.
“Use this money to see a doctor,” she quickly inputted a number and then returned the phone to Mu Lin.
“I prefer a more artistic form of repayment. Next time you want to see a performance, remember to invite me, okay?”
Without waiting for Mu Lin’s response, Dong Enyu waved and left.
As the bus whooshed past her, Dong Enyu caught a glimpse of Mu Lin’s flushed profile through the window.
…
After sending Mu Lin off, Dong Enyu didn’t head straight back to Star Diamond.
Instead, she stopped at a roadside stall and ordered a bowl of plain noodles and a few side dishes.
The stall was quite busy at night, but she could tell that most of the patrons were from the underworld.
Since she sat down, she had seen several men with dragon and phoenix tattoos coming in and out.
Dong Enyu didn’t mind; after all, she was somewhat involved in that world too.
“Miss, plain noodles with three side dishes, one hundred and thirty.”
The owner’s wife served the noodles and directly collected the payment, and Dong Enyu quickly paid.
She picked up her chopsticks, stirred the noodles in the broth, and was about to take a bite when her phone suddenly rang with a text message.
— I’m home now, thank you for your help tonight.
Dong Enyu looked at the text from Mu Lin and almost laughed out loud.
This girl was truly adorable, remembering to let her know she was safe.
She immediately put down her chopsticks and replied to Mu Lin, “Remember to ice your leg injury, and if nothing’s wrong, go to bed early. Good night,” adding a heart emoji.
Throughout the process, her smile was wide, and she felt genuinely happy.
“Aunt Dong, what are you laughing at?”
Just as Dong Enyu sent the message, a voice suddenly came from across the table.
She looked up and noticed that two people had sat down opposite her without her realizing it.
One was eating the plain noodles she ordered, and the other was enjoying her side dishes.
“Luo Ye?”
She blinked, recognizing the person eating her side dishes as Luo Ye, one of Qi Ge’s subordinates.
She was still wearing her military jacket, the collar slightly open to reveal her delicate chin, but her cap was pulled down low, obscuring her eyes and nose.
As for the woman eating her plain noodles and calling her “Aunt Dong,” she had never seen her before.
