Gloves - Chapter 1

“What’s the point of acting all dignified and self-righteous when you’re just a prostitute?” The man with a protruding belly sat on the sofa, speaking fiercely. His rough fingers played with the woman’s hair as she leaned against him, her heavy makeup and disdainful gaze directed towards the target of the man’s insults…

“Hua San, can’t you be a bit more respectable as a man? Since you can’t touch your own wife, well, aren’t there still these women?” The man gestured with his chin.

“They’re good at what they do and not clingy,” another man in a suit chimed in.

…

This was a high-end hotel in the Pacific Rim chain, with entertainment options such as KTV and a bar for guests to enjoy. Most of the people who came here were successful individuals, wealthy and with good manners. Of course, there were also a few unreasonable and troublesome customers, like the one An Chujie was currently facing.

The dim lighting made An Chujie a little dizzy, and the piercing sound from the speakers was testing her patience.

“Sir, the request you made earlier is not within my job scope. After finishing this last bottle of alcohol,” she gestured towards the bottle on the coffee table, “I won’t accompany you any further.” After saying that, An Chujie forced a smile, stood up, and reached for the only glass of wine standing on the coffee table. The man called “Hua San” also stood up, trembling, and reached out his hand towards An Chujie’s waist. Just as An Chujie was about to step back, her body fell into the embrace of someone emitting a faint scent of perfume. The bottle of alcohol just taken in her hand was also snatched away by the person holding her. The person tilted their head back and downed the entire bottle, and An Chujie could even hear the sound of the liquid passing through their throat.

Hua San was dumbfounded.

“How about that?” A woman who suddenly burst into the room stared straight at Hua San. Although An Chujie didn’t know where this woman came from, she had just shielded her from the alcohol. An Chujie immediately took out a tissue and considerately wiped away the alcohol from the woman’s lips and chin. The woman looked at An Chujie, her eyes lowered and her eyelashes trembling. With slender fingers, she threw the tissue that had just wiped her lips into the trash can by her feet.

“Such beautiful hands shouldn’t be touching those kinds of places. You go out first,” the woman gently said to the petite girl in her arms, releasing her hold. She remembered the girl playing the piano, the elegant art flowing from her nimble fingers, but in the audience, it was a scene of vulgarity and decadence.

The men stuffed money into the girl’s high-heeled ankles and exposed lower back. The piano girl seemed to know how to appreciate it, smiling gratefully at her benefactors, which only brought her more money.

“Thank you,” An Chujie murmured softly, hastily leaving the private room.

“Hehehe, turns out she’s a cripple,” the heavily made-up woman laughed, covering her mouth as much as she could, but the mocking laughter was still piercing.

“Wi…wife…what are you doing here?” Hua San awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, like a dark and ugly secret suddenly exposed in broad daylight, utterly clueless.

“Why am I here?” The dim lighting prevented Hua San from seeing Nian Zichun’s expression clearly, but even though her voice was calm, Hua San knew he had angered his wife.

The burly men widened their eyes, all staring at this enchanting beauty. With her hair neatly pinned behind her head, revealing perfect features, and an impeccable balance of proportions, along with her refined makeup, she looked out of place in this unclean environment. Could this woman, who seemed to radiate the word “taboo” from every inch of her, be Hua San’s untouchable wife?

Nian Zichun quickly scanned her surroundings. She had never been to such a decadent place before.

“Let’s go home immediately,” Nian Zichun’s beautiful face was filled with disgust. She didn’t want to stay here for even another second.

Hua Xinghua realized the seriousness of the situation when he saw Nian Zichun like this. He quickly grabbed his suit jacket and wallet, hastily following her out.

An Chujie, feeling exhausted, found the manager and settled the payment for her work today. The night seemed even darker than usual after work, and the empty street felt deserted, with no one around except for An Chujie. The elongated shadows cast by the streetlights made her notice someone approaching from behind.

“Little sister, why haven’t you gone home so late?” the drunken man slurred, tossing his bottle aside.

Sure enough, the person behind her spoke. What was happening today? Why were there so many random people around? An Chujie glanced at the shadow closely following her, refraining from saying anything, hoping that her indifference would discourage the person behind her.

The drunken man sized up the woman, or rather, the girl. She was wearing flats and had a problem with her legs. It wouldn’t be difficult to take advantage of someone like her. This opportunity was too good to pass up.

“Little sister, let me have some fun with you,” the drunken man said, reaching forward to grab An Chujie’s wrist from behind and pulling her toward him. His other hand went straight for the girl’s private area. An Chujie knew what he wanted to do, but his rough actions still frightened her. Her eyes widened, and she dared not move. This lack of resistance made the man feel as if he had already caught his prey.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, big brother. How about we find a different place?” An Chujie turned around, hooking her arm around the man’s greasy neck, suppressing her disgust, and rubbing her nose against his oily face.

“Oh, you seem quite skilled. Just finished ‘work,’ didn’t you?” The man was amused by An Chujie’s teasing. Lost in his enjoyment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. An Chujie swiftly targeted the man’s shin and kicked it hard. Taking advantage of the man’s moment of agony, she hurriedly ran away, trembling all over from fear.

“Come back here! You damn whore, come back, you ***!” The drunken man shouted like a madman. How could a woman outrun a grown man, let alone one with limited mobility like An Chujie? The man forcefully grabbed An Chujie’s neck from behind, circled to the front, and delivered a brutal kick to her stomach. An Chujie immediately collapsed to the ground, closing her eyes in pain. Just as her eyelids were about to shut, a blinding light accompanied by the sound of an engine approached. The noise grew louder and louder, until it exploded in her ears. Finally, An Chujie’s vision went black, and the suffocating pressure in her chest was released through her mouth, leaving a taste of blood and sweetness on her lips and tongue.

The man quickly released his grip, clutching his lower region with an expression of pain, and rolled to the side of the road. He kept muttering to himself, “It’s not my problem, it’s not my problem…”

————–

“Miss?” The person riding the motorcycle was also taken aback.

An Chujie, whose ears were still buzzing, had a faint trace of consciousness left at this moment:

No, it’s not her. Why do I hope for that person to appear at a time like this?

“Miss? Shall I take you to the hospital?” The person rushed over and lifted the person lying on the ground.

Upon hearing the word “hospital,” An Chujie’s nerves tightened once again.

“No, I don’t want to go to the hospital!” But her whole body was in pain, and even the slightest movement was unbearable. Finally, her consciousness started to fade away…

—————————————————————————————————————————

“Wife, please listen to me, just wait a moment…” Hu Xinghua hurriedly explained as he got out of the car.

Nian Zichun closed the car door without paying any attention to his words. If they were going to argue, they should do it at home.

“Now you can explain,” Nian Zichun tossed her keys onto the coffee table, trying to maintain a calm tone.

“I went out with a business acquaintance today and he insisted on calling me ‘Miss,’ and he…” Hu Xinghua started to explain.

“I saw how eager you were,” Nian Zichun sneered.

“Wife, I was wrong, truly wrong. I promise there won’t be a next time!” Hu Xinghua had never lost his temper before, but this time he truly realized his mistake and regretted it. He walked over and cupped Nian Zichun’s face, feeling relieved that she still cared about him in her anger. That was enough for him. (How could I bear to hurt your heart?)

Nian Zichun turned her head away, pushing his hand aside. Although she couldn’t accept what had happened, this man had never bowed his head in front of anyone else. Besides herself, there was still a part of her that couldn’t bear it. Nian Zichun didn’t want to blame him too much. The sharp words on the tip of her tongue turned into caring advice.

“Go to those places less often… Come home earlier and take care of your health.” After speaking, the face of the girl playing the piano appeared in Nian Zichun’s mind.

“Yes, I will obey! Whatever Madam says, I will do.” Hu Xinghua responded.

“Alright, I’m tired. You should rest too,” Nian Zichun returned to her room. Yes, it was her room. They had been married for three years, and in those three years, Hu Xinghua had never touched her. Nian Zichun knew that she also had a responsibility for what happened today, but she couldn’t understand it herself and couldn’t bring herself to engage in marital intimacy with her husband.

—————————————————————————————————————————

An Chujie opened her eyes, but she had no idea how much time had passed. The first visual impact she experienced was the monotonous white color surrounding her—a white ceiling and white walls.

Rain was still falling outside the glass window. This closed and quiet space felt suffocating, with an indescribable sense of oppression. She hated white, or more precisely, she despised this cold and colorless atmosphere.

An Chujie tried to sit up, but her entire body felt as if it were bound to the bed. She glanced around and noticed an elderly woman sleeping next to her. Directly in front of her, there was a wall with the words “First Hospital,” causing her heart to skip a beat.

“Isn’t Director Shang coming back tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Hasn’t she already returned?”

“Yeah, I just saw Director Shang’s car, but it seems like she went back again…”

—-

The conversations and speculations quieted down as the nurses left, but those words seemed to echo in An Chujie’s ears, magnified countless times. She didn’t want to stay in the hospital, at least not here. Right now, she felt like a… no, not just like, she truly felt like a helpless and broken person. Her abdomen was wrapped in bandages that she didn’t know when were applied, and her already weak left leg was now even more powerless. However, the cold sound of high heels seemed to be approaching step by step, and An Chujie’s pupils were contracting.

A pair of white-gloved hands grasped the doorknob and turned it, and the person entering lowered their gaze, observing the disheveled figure on the hospital bed. Their eyebrows furrowed slightly.

An Chujie froze in her attempt to sit up. She didn’t want to make any noise, and she even wished she could disappear at this moment. An Chujie didn’t want the person at the door to see her in such a state.

Shang Zhuoxi simply stood there from a distance. An Chujie’s heartbeat had long become erratic and shattered. She hated her own weakness, and she despised Shang Zhuoxi for being the cause of her current situation. Sadly, she still held a trace of lowly hope for the person who had caused it all.

Would she feel sorry for her?

“When did An Chujie check in?” Shang Zhuoxi’s rare presence entered the nurses’ office. The small nurses huddled together, all bending over and seemingly engrossed in something on their desks. Upon hearing the voice that could instantly lower the surrounding temperature by ten degrees, the small nurses were startled and quickly dispersed, except for one person who remained with their hands propped on the table, passionately discussing something in a sharp tone, with a fashion magazine open in front of them. However, they soon felt the chill behind them.

“Hey, why are you all standing so neatly, as if you’ve seen the queen?” The nurse who propped their hands on the table couldn’t understand.

The girl across from them stiffly pointed towards the door, and the nurse followed her gaze. Oh, it really was the queen!

“Hehe, this must be Shang Zhuoxi, no, Director Shang, right? Look at me, I’m so disrespectful…” The person speaking pretended to pat their own face with an air of grace.

“…” Shang Zhuoxi was seeing this… male nurse for the first time.

The queen was dressed in a black coat, and her golden hair cascaded down like silk. Her three-dimensional facial features made her look so beautiful that people didn’t dare to approach her. However, it was the pair of pristine white gloves on her hands that evoked a sense of awe.

The newly arrived nurse looked up and down at the tall and excessively beautiful woman in front of her, unable to contain the admiration in her eyes. She immediately threw the magazine in her hand to the side and exclaimed, “Oh my god, she looks like she walked straight out of a photoshoot! She won’t need to bring fashion magazines to work anymore.” The male nurse’s shocking remarks left the small nurses around him with sweat on their foreheads.

“Hello, Director Shang. I’m Tu Yi. ‘Tu’ means suffering, and ‘Yi’ means forced. I’m 21 years old and male, and my hobbies are…”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Lily quickly interrupted Tu Yi, who was enthusiastically introducing himself.

“Why did you interrupt me, Lily?” Tu Yi looked displeased.

“Director Shang, the girl arrived two days ago,” Lily said, slightly surprised. Shang Zhuoxi glanced at the male nurse who was introducing himself and quickly shifted her gaze to the person who could answer her questions.

“Who brought her here?”

Tu Yi, who was just feeling upset from being interrupted, perked up again upon hearing Shang Zhuoxi’s slightly accented voice.

“It seems like Tu Yi was on duty that night,” Lily pointed out.

“Director Shang, I know. It was a…” Tu Yi’s words were interrupted once again.

“Fine, come to my office and tell me there,” Shang Zhuoxi said.

“Tu Yi, can you please tell me about the situation that night?”

“Yes, Director Shang. It was a dark and stormy night, around 3 o’clock in the morning. I heard… blabla…” Tu Yi exaggeratedly gestured, turning an ordinary scene into a horror movie.

…

“Director Shang, I know a friend who works in the traffic police department. Can I ask him to check the surveillance footage for you?”

“Sure, thank you,” Shang Zhuoxi said, her head throbbing from Tu Yi’s antics as she pressed her hand against her temple.

“Oh, Director Shang, you’re so polite. Well then, I, Tu Yi, am more than happy to help you,” Tu Yi said, unable to resist your irresistible beauty.

An Chujie, I’m really curious about how you ended up like this… – Shang Zhuoxi