Chapter 82
When he saw the connected lights from afar, Ranlong was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.
Turning to look at Yao Ling, I thought I would meet a similar moist look, but instead, there was a very glaring sarcasm in those eyes.
Ranlong held back his tears and asked her doubtfully, "It's so dark along the way, aren't you scared?"
Yao Ling said calmly: "What are you afraid of? You are really interesting, you are afraid of ghosts but not people."
Ranlong looked at her and didn't answer.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the two finally arrived in the town.
The houses here are low and old, most of them unpainted and untiled, leaving only gray cement stretching out in a continuous pattern. There are many shops on both sides of the street, but most of the shop signs are faded and dim, and the shutters or wooden doors are covered with small advertisements, indicating that they have been closed for years.
It was just the end of the working day in the city, but for the people in the small town it was already time to rest. The streets were sparsely populated, and Ranlong's car drove by, attracting many followers.
Before getting off the bus, Yao Ling took out a wig from her bag and put it on. The fashionable blue hair ends disappeared into the wig.
Then she found a pair of colored contact lenses and handed it to Ranlong.
"Put it on."
The more I looked at the contact lenses, the more something seemed wrong. After putting them on, one of my eyes really looked like it was blind.
Ranlong asked, "Am I wearing it wrong? I can't see clearly with this eye."
Yao Ling asked her to look in the mirror. When she took a closer look, she was almost scared to death: the pure white contact lenses just covered her pupils, and at first glance it looked like she had severe cataracts.
"You're so beautiful that you're easily noticed. Wearing this can distract people."
"Does it really work?"
"Pray."
“…”
The colored contact lenses were not comfortable to wear, but after hesitating for a while, Ranlong decided not to take them off.
I finally found a small restaurant that was about to close and ate two bowls of noodles that were short of what they wanted. In the end, they said it was overtime and I had to pay extra, so I was charged 40 yuan for two bowls of noodles.
Yao Ling was about to step forward to argue with him with an unhappy look on his face, but was stopped by Ran Long: "Forget it, we don't need this little money, it's better to have less trouble than more."
Yao Ling patted her hand to reassure her and whispered, "If you're scared, you can go out first."
Yao Ling is short and thin, so Ranlong certainly can't let her stay in the store alone to deal with the owner and his wife.
She stood there with her back straight, and pricked up her ears to listen to Yao Ling's argument, but when Yao Ling opened his mouth, he started mumbling in a language she couldn't understand.
She thought the shopkeeper would be as confused as she was, but after Yao Ling finished speaking, she saw the shopkeeper hurriedly put on a smile and waved his hand to apologize.
In the end, Yao Ling only handed out a ten-yuan note.
After leaving the store, Ranlong said, "I didn't know you could cast magic spells."
Yao Ling smiled and said, "This area all speaks Jiangdong dialect, it's not difficult. For us southerners, knowing ten dialects is just basic, it's a piece of cake."
"Is it true?" Ranlong was skeptical.
Although I am doubtful, I will believe it after all.
Yao Ling then looked at her as if she were a fool.
…
"Aren't you afraid? You're so small, and that couple are four times your size. If they start fighting, you'll be in big trouble, right?"
"Nonsense! This isn't a tourist attraction, nor is it a developed city. A shop here that's been selling so many soy sauce jars is a sign of decent business practices. They're just trying to rip us off because we're outsiders. Besides, this town has its own network. If you get ripped off here, you'll get ripped off every time. Not just for food, but even the information we want will be priced out of the blue. While you still have to pay for safety occasionally, the people here are pretty kind, so there's no need to rush in and get ripped off. But... even if we get ripped off, it'll only cost a few thousand more, which you definitely don't think is much, right? We're competing with rich people like you."
“…”
Why does it feel like Yao Ling's words are even more annoying than hers?
No, why compare this?
Speaking of the Internet... Ranlong took out his cell phone and saw that there was still no signal as before.
"Why is there no signal here? Don't locals use cell phones? And you brought cash with you."
"Don't worry, there must be internet here. Let's find a hotel to rest and ask."
Ranlong nodded, and after a while he suddenly realized something was wrong, and asked Yaoling: "Hey, you said, this is neither a tourist attraction nor a place where outsiders come, so how come there is a hotel?"
Yao Ling looked at her as if she were a fool again.
The hotel owner was a hospitable man who spoke with a thick accent. Ranlong couldn't understand him and could only follow Yaoling and nod along with her.
Yao Ling then told her that the signal from mainstream carriers was extremely weak here, and could only be barely received from higher up in the mountains. She could buy the usual phone or data cards from the shop across the street tomorrow when it opened.
Ranlong said, "That's not a problem. Let's use the hotel wifi first."
Unexpectedly, Yao Ling said, "There is no broadband here, and the hotel does not provide wifi."
Ranlong was very confused. She scratched her head and said, "So, we don't have internet access tonight?"
"Yes, let's wait until the store opens tomorrow."
Yao Ling gave the hotel owner five more dollars, borrowed a phone, and reported his safety to several people, including Yuan Chengyin.
"What about you? Do you want to find someone to tell them you're safe?"
Ranlong thought about it and shook his head.
She told Sister Hou and Ms. Hu that she was going on vacation to relax, and they probably wouldn't come to see her in the short term.
As for Qiu An, after returning to Beiji, Qiu An never took the initiative to look for her again.
She actually hoped that Qiu An would visit her more often when he had nothing to do, like telling her what he had for dinner or complaining about how tiring his work was. That way, she could let go of the burden of nagging her about trivial matters every day. Unfortunately, after waiting for a long time, Qiu An never took the initiative.
Ranlong sighed softly and heard Yaoling ask her, "Shall we sleep in the same room?"
"Sure." Ranlong was still wary of this place, so he didn't raise any objections.
When she opened the door according to the room number on the key and saw a large pink round scallop-shaped bed inside, the conservative lesbian Ranlong was so scared that she almost screamed.
"It's okay, just make do with it. We can sleep on separate sides and no one will touch each other."
"don't want--"
Fortunately, the boss was busy chatting and took the wrong room key, otherwise Ranlong would feel that his reputation would be in jeopardy.
After changing to a normal standard room, Ranlong finally calmed down and looked around the room carefully.
The room is not big, and I really hope it is "quite clean", but unfortunately it is not as expected.
The patterned sheets and quilts with no visible stains, the corners covered in black mold, the toilet rims condensed with uric acid calcification, the sink with tangled hair, and the closet with ponytails...
While Ranlong was standing there at a loss, Yaoling had quickly filled the kettle, turned on the power and started boiling water.
"Are you...thirsty? Why don't we go buy some mineral water?"
Yao Ling shook his head and said, "Have you never stayed in a cheap hotel? The room was dirty, and boiling water was the only thing that could clean it all... although sometimes it was just a psychological comfort."
Seeing Ranlong's awkward look, Yaoling couldn't help but tease her: "However, it is said that some people use this kettle to boil underwear and socks..."
Ranlong couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted her: "Don't say anymore."
"The conditions are very poor. Miss, if you can't live here, you should go back..."
"Who said I'm going back?!"
"Then go change the sheets and quilt."
Yao Ling took out two sets of disposable bedding sets and gave them to her. Seeing how she worked obediently even with her nose pinched, she felt that this little girl was really easy to coax.
The bathroom was terribly dirty, and even though Yao Ling diligently boiled water and flushed it, it didn't provide any comfort to Ran Long.
She took off her clothes one by one, exposing her body to the dirty air, which made Ranlong feel very uncomfortable, especially her more sensitive parts. She almost wanted to take a shower with her clothes on.
After a long day of psychological work, I finally took a three-minute hot shower.
She came in a hurry and had no time to prepare shampoo and shower gel, and she didn't even dare to touch the bottles and jars here.
Late at night, Yao Ling heard Ran Long tossing and turning in bed. Knowing that she was feeling uncomfortable in the terrible environment, he comforted her: "Don't worry, this is just a place for young men and women or those who are having affairs to hook up. I guess no one has touched the kettle since it was put in there, let alone used it to boil socks and underwear..."
Unexpectedly, it backfired: "A place for hookups?! How did you know?"
"...Isn't this common sense? I thought you knew that. If you don't believe me, you can look under the bed to see if there's any 'post-mortem garbage'. Of course, it's best not to look at it or dwell on it. If things go well, we can just stay here for one night and then go home."
Now, Ranlong couldn't sleep anymore...
I recited the Three Character Classic silently in my mind for half the night and finally made it to dawn.
The sound of a rooster crowing was heard not far away. Although Ranlong had not slept enough, he got up quickly as if he had been saved.
After buying a few buns and soy milk at the breakfast stall, the two of them waited in front of the convenience store that sold phone cards, waiting for it to open.
However, even after the sun had risen and set, the store still didn't open.
Yao Ling went back to ask the hotel owner, and the owner said that he had something to do today and might come back if they waited another day.
While Ranlong was still feeling depressed about having to stay in this hotel for another night, Yaoling pulled her aside and told her, "The owner of the convenience store won't be back in the short term. Let's go and ask about Qiu An."
"Why? Didn't the hotel owner say she would be back tomorrow? Are you saying she lied to us?"
"Yes, she said 'maybe'. You see, this town is so small, everyone knows each other, and she gave a perfunctory answer to something that could be answered with just a phone call. She hoped we would pay extra to use her phone, and stay an extra night."
Ranlong was silent for a while, then asked Yaoling: "Do these things happen often in places like this?"
Blackmail, deception, dishonesty, and injustice. Even if you pay what you deserve, you still don't get what you deserve. If you pay extra, you will want more.
They had been here for less than 24 hours when they encountered these things. Even though they seemed to be trivial matters, but...
Someone has lived here for more than ten years. How much injustice must she have endured?
Yao Ling looked at her for a long time, and said calmly:
“That’s just where we are.
"Besides, do you think similar things don't happen in Beiji, Ducheng, or other so-called civilized and advanced places? We face injustice every day of our lives. Don't let this little thing make you sad. Society is a relationship built by people, and people have always lived by cannibalism.
"What kind of world do you think this is?"
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