The room fell silent for a moment.
Even Pan the Hunchback seemed to choke slightly on his cigarette smoke and coughed a few times under his breath.
“Oh—”
“Woo—”
Then came cheers and whistles.
The younger men in the room immediately began hooting and making a commotion.
“Boss! She really likes you!”
“Boss, you’ve got quite the luck with women!”
“Hey! One actually delivered herself right to your door…”
…
With a cigarette hanging from his lips, Pan the Hunchback strode forward, reached out, and pinched Song Ning’s chin, seemingly wanting a closer look at her face.
Through the strands of hair partly covering his eyes, his gaze carried both coldness and mockery.
“Likes me? Do you even know who I am to dare say that?”
Song Ning shook her head.
“I just happen to like your type. Who you are isn’t important.”
“Tsk. You’ve got some nerve. The question is whether your life is tough enough to survive being messed around by me.”
Pan released her chin but wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer in a threatening manner.
Song Ning showed no fear at all. Instead, she reached out and took hold of his hand.
Looking straight into his eyes, she said,
“Big Brother, don’t doubt it. I’m sincere.”
“Ooooooh—”
The men started making noise again, their whistles growing even louder.
“Boss! Want us to clear the room for you two?”
“Boss! Show us what you’ve got!”
…
Pan pinched the cigarette between his fingers, took one final deep drag, and flicked away the butt.
Then he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
Wrapping an arm around Song Ning, he said to the others,
“Shut the hell up, all of you! Since this ‘affection’ came knocking on my door, I’d better appreciate it properly.”
With that, he led Song Ning into a room nearby and slammed the door shut behind them.
A single kerosene lamp illuminated the room.
Song Ning turned and quietly looked at Pan the Hunchback.
He tugged at his collar, shoved her onto the bed, and leaned over her.
Song Ning neither screamed nor struggled.
Supporting himself with his arms, Pan kept a slight distance between them. If his arms relaxed even a little, he would completely pin her beneath him.
Yet the girl beneath him simply stared at him with sparkling eyes, blinking expectantly as though waiting for him to make the next move.
Unable to help himself, he frowned and sneered.
“I, Pan, do like women. But for someone who throws herself at me like this, I really can’t muster any interest.”
Song Ning smiled.
Then she softly spoke a few words:
“Not interested? Or just not brave enough?”
Pan’s expression changed.
His hand instantly shot to her throat.
“Looking for death?”
“E-Easy!”
Song Ning slapped at his hand with both of hers.
“It hurts! It hurts!”
Pan actually let go.
Instead, he yanked her upright and narrowed his eyes.
“What? Sneaking here in the middle of the night… to test my courage? Do you really think I’m some harmless vegetarian?”
Rubbing her neck, Song Ning shot him a glare.
This man was incredibly strong.
After coughing a few times, she finally said,
“I escaped. Seven of us girls were kidnapped by traffickers. Five have already been sold off. Only another girl and I managed to get away.”
“Escaped?”
Hearing her words, Pan pulled out a lighter.
Click.
He lit another cigarette and took a deep drag.
Through the drifting smoke, he studied her with an unreadable gaze.
After a moment, he finally spoke, his tone dripping with amusement and sarcasm.
“You’re saying you escaped from human traffickers… and then came looking for me, Pan the Hunchback? Do you have some misunderstanding about my reputation?”
Song Ning shook her head.
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, I don’t know. But I don’t think I’ve come to the wrong person. Since I like you, helping me shouldn’t be impossible, right?”
Pan nearly choked on his cigarette again.
He strode to the door, yanked it open, and pushed Song Ning outside.
The younger men who had been eavesdropping immediately scattered.
Looking around at his men, Pan pointed at Song Ning while coughing and laughing.
“Brothers! Damn, this is a first! This girl says she escaped from human traffickers and came to ask me, Pan, for help! Tell me… is she slapping me in the face or what?”
The others froze briefly before bursting into loud laughter.
Song Ning calmly watched them.
When the laughter finally died down, she spoke.
“Tsk. I genuinely admire Big Brother and sincerely came to ask for your help. Since you’re unwilling, I’ll just leave.”
But the moment she took a step forward, Pan hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her straight back against his chest.
Looking down at her, he said casually and flirtatiously,
“It’s easy to come into Pan’s territory, but not so easy to leave. If you don’t explain yourself properly today, you’re not walking out that door.”
Song Ning looked up at him.
His face was covered in a thick beard, and his hair partially hid his eyes, making it difficult to see his features clearly.
His nose, however, was quite prominent.
She wondered what he would look like without the beard.
Pan blew a mouthful of smoke toward her face.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not interested in you. My patience is limited. If you don’t start talking, don’t blame me for using rough methods.”
After thinking for a moment, Song Ning said,
“The men you beat up earlier were the traffickers who kidnapped me. But there are more of them than just those few.”
Everyone around her looked at her.
Pan looked at her as well.
But she had already fallen silent.
As if she had no intention of saying anything further.
“That’s it?” Pan couldn’t help asking.
“Isn’t that enough?” Song Ning asked seriously.
Seeing the surprised expressions around her, she added,
“You helped beat up those traffickers. You got revenge for me and vented my anger. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Isn’t that enough?”
Pan laughed so hard his eyes turned red.
He even wiped at the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.
“Tsk. By that logic, I, Pan, have done a good deed for society. And that’s why you like me?”
Song Ning nodded.
“That’s right. Big Brother eliminated a menace to society. I liked you the moment I saw it.”
“Hey, hey, little sister! There’s something wrong with your eyes!”
One of the younger men couldn’t help teasing.
“We were the ones doing the beating earlier. Boss didn’t even lift a finger. How did he become the one you fell for?”
The others immediately joined in.
“You idiot! She’s not looking at people—she’s looking at faces!”
“Looking at faces? Can anyone even see Boss’s face clearly?”
“Exactly! I helped beat them too! I worked really hard!”
Song Ning turned around and carefully looked at the young man.
Then she pointed at the man beside him.
“That’s true. Thanks to both of you. Your elbow strikes and hooks were especially textbook. His sweeping kicks and axe kicks were also very skilled. I noticed all of it.”
Her words seemed to press a mute button on the room.
Silence instantly descended.
Only after a while did Pan lower his head and chuckle softly.
Shaking his head, he said to Song Ning,
“All right. Earlier, you secretly touched my hand twice. Tell me why. Were you just teasing me?”
Song Ning pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.
Pan glanced at her sideways, a half-smile on his face.
“If your explanation doesn’t completely convince me, I’m not letting you go today.”
After a moment of silence, Song Ning lifted her eyes and looked into his faintly gleaming ones.
“Your right hand has calluses on the web between your thumb and index finger, on your palm, and on your index finger. You’ve spent years training with firearms.”