“Cut, boring, I’m going back,” Meng Xiaoyu said, directly ignoring Yan Rumei’s teasing words.
After finishing, she turned and walked outside.
“Hey, little brother! Where are you going?”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu ignore her teasing and say it was boring before turning to leave, Yan Rumei called out.
“Going back,” Meng Xiaoyu replied without looking back.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to look at beautiful women?”
“Not really.”
“Hehe, little brother, how about we make a deal?”
After seeing Meng Xiaoyu still walking away without turning back, Yan Rumei added, “Little brother, I’ll take you to see real beauties if you agree to one condition.”
After saying this, Yan Rumei noticed that Meng Xiaoyu indeed stopped in her tracks.
She had already stepped out of the “Wuchun Pavilion,” but upon hearing Yan Rumei’s words, Meng Xiaoyu pulled her foot back and turned around, looking at Yan Rumei with a guarded expression, asking, “What condition?”
“Hehe, little brother, you are just too cute,” Yan Rumei laughed at Meng Xiaoyu’s wary yet expectant look as she asked about the condition.
“…”
Seeing Yan Rumei laughing to herself, Meng Xiaoyu felt speechless for a moment before decisively turning to walk outside again.
“Hey, little brother, don’t go!”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu turn to leave again, Yan Rumei hurriedly stepped forward to block her.
Meng Xiaoyu looked at her, resolutely ignoring her, and planned to walk past her.
“Hey, little brother, this time I’m serious. If you agree to one condition, I’ll take you to see real beauties, how about that?”
After seeing Meng Xiaoyu ignore her again and noticing the lively atmosphere in the lobby of the “Wuchun Pavilion,” Yan Rumei decided to stop teasing her.
“First tell me what the condition is, and how do I know that the beauties you mentioned aren’t a scam? If you trick me and I agree to your condition, wouldn’t I be at a huge loss?”
Meng Xiaoyu said cautiously.
She had read “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber” several times and wouldn’t be like Zhang Wuji, foolishly selling herself and happily counting someone else’s money.
It was better to clarify things first.
“Hehe, actually my condition is very simple. After I take you to see the beauties, you just need to agree to perform on stage at my ‘Wuchun Pavilion’ for half a month.”
After saying this, Yan Rumei glanced at Meng Xiaoyu and added, “Of course, this condition is only valid if you acknowledge that the two people I take you to see are beauties. What do you think, little sister?”
After saying this, Yan Rumei stopped calling Meng Xiaoyu “little brother” and changed it to “little sister.”
Originally, Meng Xiaoyu was contemplating whether to agree to Yan Rumei’s condition or not.
However, upon hearing Yan Rumei call her “little sister,” she was momentarily taken aback and blurted out, “How did you know I’m cross-dressing as a boy?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Meng Xiaoyu regretted it and quickly covered her mouth, cursing herself for being foolish.
How could she ask such a dumb question?
Now, even if the other party didn’t know before, they would surely know now.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu covering her mouth with a regretful expression, Yan Rumei wanted to laugh, but this time she didn’t burst out laughing like before.
Instead, she chuckled softly and said to Meng Xiaoyu, “So, little sister, do you agree to this condition? And let me tell you, the two people I’ll take you to meet are definitely genuine beauties! If you don’t go, you’ll regret it!”
After saying this, Yan Rumei smiled at Meng Xiaoyu, waiting for her decision.
Hearing Yan Rumei’s somewhat enticing words, Meng Xiaoyu hesitated.
At that moment, her heart was in turmoil!
If she agreed, she would have to perform on stage at the “Wuchun Pavilion” for half a month.
She knew that performing meant showcasing her singing and dancing skills to the guests, just like those courtesans who sell their art but not their bodies.
Meng Xiaoyu had no problem with performing.
She had loved singing and dancing since she was little.
Although her health wasn’t great in elementary school, her passion for these activities led her to pester her parents to enroll her in a dance training class.
Despite their concerns for her health, her parents eventually gave in to her pleas and signed her up for a dance class.
However, due to her health issues, her parents specifically asked the dance teacher to take care of her and not let her overexert herself.
The teacher agreed and ensured that Meng Xiaoyu had less practice time than the other students.
Fortunately, Meng Xiaoyu loved dancing and had a high talent for it, so she learned diligently and excelled despite the reduced practice time.
As she grew older and her health improved, she learned more types of dance.
By the time she reached high school, she had dabbled in various dance styles.
Meng Xiaoyu’s high talent and intelligence allowed her to quickly learn and imitate almost any dance after watching it a few times.
Aside from Latin dance and some folk dances she learned in elementary school, most of the dances she knew were self-taught from watching television.
Besides pole dancing, which she learned during her senior year of high school by sneaking into nightclubs with her friends, the rest of her dance skills were acquired from TV.
So, aside from being good at singing, Meng Xiaoyu had a solid foundation in dance.
Additionally, during middle school, she became infatuated with Jin Yong’s novels, particularly with Huang Yaoshi from “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” and “The Return of the Condor Heroes.”
To emulate her beloved character, she spent her saved pocket money to buy a green-painted bamboo flute resembling Huang Yaoshi’s jade flute and sought out her aunt, who was skilled in various instruments, to learn how to play it.
Her aunt, being a good teacher, not only taught her how to play the flute but also insisted that she learn the guzheng and piano.
Meng Xiaoyu protested strongly, but her aunt elegantly ignored her.
Thus, performing on stage was not an issue for Meng Xiaoyu.
However, she didn’t want to perform on stage!
It wasn’t that she looked down on the courtesans; she was just afraid of being reprimanded by Han Rubing and her sister.
They had already told her that she wasn’t allowed to go out alone without their company because they worried about her innocence and feared that ill-intentioned people might harm her.
They were also concerned that her naivety could lead her to be easily deceived.
For her safety and their own peace of mind, Han Rubing and her sister had repeatedly warned Meng Xiaoyu not to sneak out while they weren’t around.
They even enlisted Ye Han and others with good martial skills to protect and watch over her.
“Originally, Sister Rubing and Sister Rushuang didn’t allow me to sneak out while they weren’t around, and now I not only snuck out but also came to a brothel. If I perform here for half a month, what would happen if Sister Rubing found out?”
Thinking of this, Meng Xiaoyu shook her head firmly in her mind.
The memory of being tied to a bed and having Han Rubing and her sister torment her for an entire night was something she never wanted to experience again.
With this in mind, Meng Xiaoyu decided to refuse Yan Rumei’s condition.
However, when she looked up at Yan Rumei, preparing to decline her proposal, she hesitated.
“But I’m also curious about what kind of beauties Yan Rumei is talking about! After all the effort and nearly two hundred silver coins spent to escape, I came to this brothel I had longed to see, only to leave without seeing anything. Isn’t that too much of a pity?”
With this thought, Meng Xiaoyu considered agreeing to Yan Rumei’s condition again.
She raised her head to look at Yan Rumei, then lowered it again, thinking, “No, I’ll be punished by Sister Rubing and Sister Rushuang!”
After thinking this, Meng Xiaoyu glanced at Yan Rumei again, wanting to refuse, but before she could speak, she lowered her head again, thinking, “But if I don’t see the beauties, I’ll feel very unwilling!”
Thus, Meng Xiaoyu found herself deeply torn between the desire to see the beauties and the fear of being reprimanded by Han Rubing and her sister.
