Chapter 8 I've Never Been Here

Xiao Peng picked up the phone: "Hello, who is this? Hmm? Miao Pei? Why are you calling me?"

The person who called him was none other than Miao Pei, who had just separated from him today. From the voice coming from the phone, it seemed that Miao Pei was very depressed: "Xiao Peng, I helped you a favor today, so can you do me a favor?"

Xiao Peng didn't rush to make boasts, but instead said, "Just tell me what's the matter. I'll help you within my ability, but if it's beyond my ability, I can only say I'm powerless."

Miao Pei said, "Can you help me find a place to stay for the night? I have nowhere to stay tonight!"

Xiao Peng frowned: "What's going on? Didn't you go to dinner with Daniel and Wang Shuang?"

Miao Pei was silent for a moment and then said, "I escaped from Daniel's house. He wanted to..." She was silent for a moment and then changed the subject, "The hotel room card is with Wang Shuang. Her phone is turned off. I didn't want to go to Daniel's house to look for her. I ran away."

Xiao Peng shook his head when he heard this, went to the bar to pay and left the Internet cafe. When he went out, he saw that it was already dark - surfing the Internet is really addictive!

"Where are you?" Xiao Peng asked.

Miao Pei said: "I don't know..."

"Can you see if there are any road signs nearby?" Xiao Peng asked.

After waiting for a while, Miao Pei said, "I saw the road sign. This place is called Lapaniye!"

Xiao Peng said, "Lapaniye? Why did you go there? Oh, yes, Daniel does seem to live nearby. Wait for me there! Don't run around, I'll be there soon!"

"Well, I'll wait for you! Xiao Peng, I'm a little scared, come here quickly!"

Xiao Peng hung up the phone, got on his bike and rushed towards Lapanier.

La Pannier can be regarded as one of the oldest streets in Marseille. It is full of traditional French old buildings with beautiful scenery. Many tourists come here to take pictures during the day.

But this place is not as good as I imagined!

Ancient means "outdated". Not only are old houses uncomfortable to live in, but the sanitary conditions are also worrying and the public security is not very good. It is not safe for a girl to stand there late at night.

Fortunately, it was not too far from where Xiao Peng was surfing the Internet. Ten minutes later, Xiao Peng rode his bicycle to La Paigne and saw Miao Pei standing under a street light.

Xiao Peng rode his bike and stopped right next to Miao Pei: "Hi, beautiful!"

He said this because he wanted to relax a little, but when Miao Pei heard his voice, she jumped back as if someone stepped on her tail. When she saw that it was Xiao Peng, she burst into tears.

This threw Xiao Peng off balance: "Miao Pei, are you okay?"

Miao Pei hugged Xiao Peng and cried, "Xiao Peng, why did you come just now? You scared me to death just now! I thought you were one of those bastards again!"

Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this: "What's the matter? Who bullied you?"

Miao Pei cried and said, "I was standing here just now, and many men came to talk to me! I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I could tell they all had bad intentions!"

Xiao Peng blinked: "Uh, let's leave here first! Come with me!"

His bicycle had no pillion seat and could not carry anyone, so he could only push the bicycle and let Miao Pei walk side by side with him.

Miao Pei finally stopped crying and asked Xiao Peng, "Where are you taking me?"

Xiao Peng shrugged: "Of course I'll take you home. You don't expect me to find you a star-rated hotel, do you? I don't have that much money! Of course, you don't have to go if you're afraid!"

Miao Pei looked at Xiao Peng and said, "I've already experienced something even scarier than that. What could be scarier now? Where is your home?"

Xiao Peng said, "The Old Port of Marseille."

Miao Pei blinked. "Although I'm not familiar with Marseille, I know that Old Port is in the other direction. Why are you going this way?"

Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "I'm taking you on a long journey in a circle."

"Why?" Miao Pei asked puzzledly.

Xiao Peng scratched his head. "Do you know why someone approached you when you were standing over there? That's the red-light district, and women standing on the side of the road are there to be approached."

"What!" Miao Pei's eyes widened: "Are you lying to me?"

Xiao Peng stopped his bike and said, "If you're brave enough, I can take you that way. After all, that's the shortcut home."

Miao Pei glanced at Xiao Peng after hearing this and said, "I don't believe there's such a place in Marseille! Let's take a shortcut! I don't want to take another detour!"

"You said it!" Xiao Peng turned around and walked away: "Follow me closely, I'll open your eyes!"

Miao Pei was stunned: "Is there really such a place?"

Xiao Peng hummed, "I didn't need to lie to you. France is quite interesting. Prostitution is illegal under local law, but their government classifies it as a 'freelance profession' and requires them to pay taxes on time. Over the years, the law has been constantly changing regarding whether to punish buyers or sellers. The final decision is that soliciting clients yourself is legal, but hiring someone is not. Openly advertising is illegal, but secretly contacting them is fine. And even if you're caught, you'll be fined for buying, not selling."

Miao Pei looked at Xiao Peng: "You really understand these things!"

Xiao Peng coughed twice and explained, "After all, I've been here for several years, so I must understand the laws and regulations here! If you want to make money here, you have to know what they like and dislike and integrate into the place. Money is hard to come by these days, and shit is hard to eat. You can't do without making changes!"

Miao Pei was silent for a moment and said, "You're working so hard here, why don't you go back?"

Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "Of course it's for the money. If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old. If you don't study hard when you're young, you'll have to work hard when you grow up. Might as well try your luck out here! Overall, things are okay now. I can support myself here and send some money home every month. Be content with what you have, right? Turn right here!"

Every few steps on this road, there is a girl standing and greeting the men passing by to solicit customers. The "golden position" is under the street light. Girls who are not confident about their looks dare not stand there!

Miao Pei was surprised: "There really is such a place."

Xiao Peng glanced at Miao Pei and asked, "Why do I feel like you're still interested in the men here?"

Miao Pei rolled her eyes at him and said, "How dare you say that to me? You're so familiar with this place, aren't you a regular here?"

"How is that possible?" Xiao Peng waved his hand in dismissal. "Let's go! I haven't eaten yet! The security here isn't very good either. A lot of drunks come here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a greeting in his ear.

"Xiao, I haven't seen you for a long time!"

"Come to my house today?"

"Xiao, Lala said she missed you yesterday."

Xiao Peng greeted the girls with an embarrassed look on his face.

Miao Pei looked at Xiao Peng: "Some people say you don't come here often, huh?"