"Is it over?" a girl who was touching up her makeup casually asked when she saw the young girl in a school uniform walking in from outside.
The girl in the school uniform nodded. She didn't say anything and walked straight into the bathroom stall. After a while, she ca out with a complete set of toiletries from her bag, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a towel.
Watching the girl seriously brush her teeth, rinse her mouth, and wash her face, the girl doing her makeup sighed helplessly. She wanted to say sothing, but the girl in the school uniform looked at her through the mirror and shook her head, saying, "No need, but thank you."
That simple "thank you" silenced the other girl. After giving the schoolgirl a hug, she left. Shortly after, the schoolgirl also left, and the place returned to its previous calm.
Recently, the business at the strip club's main hall had been very good. The custor flow had mysteriously increased, and the dancers in the main hall were earning significantly more than before. However, the VIP section had seen a decline in custors.
Many girls were contemplating switching to the main hall—girls in the VIP section only provided one-on-one services. But the main hall had a much more complex environnt where they had to display their bodies to everyone, which made so of them feel cheap.
Of course, in a place like a strip club, there was a natural animosity between the main hall dancers and the VIP dancers. The main hall girls envied the VIP girls for earning more money with less effort, while simultaneously despising them for acting superior despite stripping too—it was disgusting.
So girls had already switched to the main hall and made a lot of money, causing others to feel tempted to follow.
The schoolgirl finished her shift just before dawn and returned to her rented place. Lying in bed finally gave her a slight sense of security.
She ca from another city. No one would work at the strip club in their own neighborhood because that would make them easy prey for the bad boys on the street, who would treat them like toys.
Most girls in this line of work would choose a place at least across the city from their ho, and so would even go to another city.
This girl had co from the state capital. The situation over there wasn't much better than Sabin City. Most ordinary families were trapped in financial crises, including the girl's family.
Her na was Annie, and she ca from a very ordinary household. She had a beautiful mother and a father who was reportedly a rugby star in high school.
This couple gave Annie her good looks and decent figure, but that was about all.
Annie's mother didn't have much of a job, and her father was an ordinary worker at a factory. Of course, he had lost his job after the big strike, and the whole family was facing serious problems.
To help make ends et, Annie's mother worked long hours, and Annie herself had no choice but to take this path.
To be honest, for her, this job was... just like that. She didn't think it was anything too unbearable.
Back in high school, because of her sweet appearance, she had been pursued by many of the popular boys and had slept with quite a few of them. From her current perspective, she thought she had been pretty stupid back then.
Those boys had only needed to say sweet words to get her to obediently take off her clothes and lie in bed, but she had gained nothing from it.
So now, she didn't see her work as anything special but rather a ans to satisfy her pursuit of money. That's life—one has to compromise with reality in so way.
At noon, Annie was startled awake by a knock on the door. Still half-asleep, she exuded a unique kind of beauty. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she stared blankly for a few seconds before cautiously walking to the door. "Who's there?"
She wasn't overly concerned about her safety. To be honest, the financial crisis hadn't been entirely bad—at least the rent in Sabin City's central district had plumted.
The apartnt that used to cost over a hundred bucks to rent now only cost fifty-sothing bucks. This was the city center and had the lowest cri rate.
"Is this Miss Annie's residence?" The voice outside was young, like that of a student or a teenager—sothing Annie often heard back in school.
That voice made her lower her guard a little. She unlocked the door and opened it a crack—there was a chain lock on the door to ensure it wouldn't open fully.
The lock's manufacturer claid that their chains helped prevent at least 30,000 potential victims from harm every year, but that number was misleading. In reality, the locks couldn't stop those who were determined to break in.
But that was another matter.
Through the crack, Annie saw a boy standing outside, about fourteen, fifteen years old. He was wearing a perfectly fitted coat over formal clothes with a vest and shirt underneath.
He also wore a woolen flat cap with a beige base and red checkered pattern. Overall, he looked clean and tidy, inspiring goodwill.
Annie let down her guard, though she still didn't fully open the door. Her tone softened, "What can I do for you?"
The boy smiled slightly. "A gentleman would like to speak with you..."
Annie shook her head after hearing that. "Sorry, tell that gentleman I'm not an escort."
That was Annie's bottom line. Everyone had so line they wouldn't cross—for so, it was doing everything but refusing to kiss, because certain things had a sacred aning to them.
Annie's bottom line was refusing to do escort work. So might think it hypocritical, but she didn't care what others thought—she simply wouldn't cross that line.
The boy didn't seem disappointed. Instead, he handed her a card through the crack in the door. "The gentleman said that if you call this number, you might receive sothing unexpected."
After saying this, the boy tipped his hat and ran off. Listening to the sound of footsteps disappearing down the hall, Annie shook her head and went back inside.
She wasn't feeling sleepy anymore, even though she usually slept until the afternoon.
Since she was up early, she took a bath, changed clothes, and decided to go out for a al.
Whether by so mysterious force or not, before leaving the house, she hesitated for a mont while looking at the card she had carelessly left on the shoe rack by the door. In the end, she decided to take it with her.
After enjoying a cheap lunch, Annie wandered through a few stores. Most of them were empty, giving the place a deserted feel.
The mannequins in the display cases wore clothes and accessories that every woman envied, showcasing the latest fashions of the season.
At the sa ti, they reminded her that everything from last year and even earlier was now out of style. Fashion was a never-ending cycle.
As she walked past a phone booth at the corner of the street, she inexplicably thought of the card with just a phone number on it, and then she stepped inside and dialed the number.
The call was answered quickly, and what sounded like a gentle voice spoke on the other end. "It's ..."
That greeting made Annie suddenly feel nervous. Stamring a little, she said, "Soone told
to call this number..."
The person on the other end seed to understand imdiately. "Is this Miss Annie?" After she confird, the voice continued, "I must first apologize for what I'm about to say—it may stir your emotions, and I hope you can forgive
for the offense."
The voice paused for a mont, and Annie directly said, "Sorry, I don't do escort work."
The person on the other end chuckled. "I've encountered so trouble recently, and Miss Annie, you could be of help. If you're willing to assist
in solving this problem, I can offer so money to improve your life..."
Just as Annie was about to refuse, a number ca through the receiver that she couldn't turn down. "Twenty thousand bucks, Miss Annie—twenty thousand bucks to help
with this problem. Do you think that's a fair price?"
Annie, who had been about to hang up, hesitated. She wanted to summon the courage to say no, but she couldn't. She couldn't refuse, nor did she have the courage to do so.
Her silence seed to indicate agreent, and the voice on the other end continued, "Soone will bring so information to you before your shift tonight, including a token of my sincerity."
"But before that," the voice said, pausing briefly again, "I must inform you—now that you haven't refused, I'll consider our agreent binding. If in the future..."
The voice trailed off for a few seconds before continuing, "I need to confirm one last ti—are you accepting this offer?"
...
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the sa boy from earlier knocked on Annie's door, holding a box. "A gentleman asked
to deliver this to you, madam."
Under normal circumstances, Annie would have corrected the boy's mistake. She was "miss," not "madam." But at that mont, she wasn't in the mood.
She took the box, said thank you, and was about to head back inside when she suddenly grabbed the boy's hand as if struck by a thought. "What did the person who gave you this look like?"
Any clue that could help her identify him, even if she knew it was useless, was sothing she desperately wanted. It would give her so peace of mind.
But the boy just shook his head and remained silent before tipping his hat and leaving.
Back in her room, Annie sat on the bed in a daze for a while before opening the box.
On top of the box lay a check. Seeing the figure of three thousand bucks written on it, Annie's heart skipped a beat. Since she had started in this line of work, she hadn't made much money, and this check was undoubtedly a huge sum for her.Please vote for this novel at /series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link
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