Chapter 49: Each Step Back
On stage, the voluptuous blonde dancer, dressed scantily, twisted her waist like a water snake, gliding along the steel pole with an S-shaped motion. Her sapphire-like eyes sent flirtatious glances, occasionally raising a finger to brush past her red lips and blowing kisses down to the audience.
While Miss Rabbit’s dance didn’t have much technical merit and wasn’t highly appreciated for artistry, it still provoked cheers and thunderous applause throughout the hall…
The audience’s focus wasn’t on the artistry of the dance, but rather on the alluring curves showcased by the dancing woman.
If this woman were a former witch’s urban legend follower, possessing a body transformed by the witch’s urban legend organization, it would drive the crowd even wilder.
The effect almost rivaled that of a real witch casting her charm.
In a booth below, Zhipianxian, after several completely disconnected exchanges of glances with Miss Rabbit, found himself lost in a daydream.
…
In Zhipianxian’s fantasy, the girl on stage appeared simply out of necessity for her livelihood…
She didn’t like this place, but she needed a well-paying job, so she worked diligently for her deserved earnings while being careful to avoid the harassment of ill-intentioned guests…
One day, while working, she spotted a special man in the corner. Just catching each other’s eyes, she realized they were kindred spirits, resonating on a soulful level…
The man felt the same way and sought her out immediately after her work finished, exchanging contact information…
Before long, they began dating, going to the park to row boats and feed swans, enjoying candlelight dinners at restaurants, and admiring the mountains and sea, their feelings deepening like glue…
One day, under the moonlight, the man took her hand, slipped a ring on her finger, and affectionately said, “Marry me, I’ll take care of you!” The girl burst into joyful tears…
They got married, had two children in three years, and lived happily ever after, to eternity.
【THE END】
———
Just when Zhipianxian thought he had met his destined woman, with just a few glances turning into thoughts of growing old together, Miss Rabbit’s dance was nearing its end.
Now clad in only a small amount of sheer fabric that barely concealed her privacy, she stood on stage with a shy expression, leaning against the silver pole, a thin layer of sweat glistening on her slightly flushed skin, like a rose just watered by dew, ready to bloom.
Suddenly, the lights on stage went dark.
The lift platform at the back of the stage slowly rose, bringing forth a tall figure. From the silhouette, it seemed to be a tall and graceful woman.
Seeing this scene, the regulars in attendance knew intermission time had arrived.
The performances at the [Angel Rose] theater generally run from 8:30 PM to 6:30 AM, divided into three sessions. The extinguished lights now indicated the end of the first act.
The dancers’ performance was merely an appetizer.
The next hour would serve as a break for both the dancers and the guests since even spiritual ability users would become exhausted after enduring for long.
During this time, there would be comedy, acrobatics, and magic shows, and guests could express their affection for the dancers using the colored tickets they held.
There were three colors of tickets: blue, red, and gold, which could be exchanged for ten, one hundred, and one thousand dollars, respectively.
While the dancers rested, guests sent out tickets according to their preferences, and after counting, those dancers who received the most votes would perform again in the next act; otherwise, they would be replaced by other waiting dancers.
Of course, if a dancer received enough tickets, they could, with the dancer’s consent, go to a private room on the second floor to enjoy some indescribable special services.
These procedures were all too familiar for regulars.
However, today’s intermission host seemed somewhat different from the usual…
“Clap!”
With a soft sound, a pure white beam of light seemingly descended from heaven upon the lift platform. A girl dressed in a fitted suit, holding a microphone, appeared before everyone with a cold expression.
Her face looked somewhat unfamiliar, her gaze a bit flustered, not like the charming black guy who spoke like a stand-up comedian.
At this sight, whispers rippled through the audience.
“What’s going on? Is the host changed?”
“What’s up with this girl? She has a deadpan face?”
“Good figure, but she’s not as pretty as Annie.”
“…”
As the whispers swirled, Vivienne, Miss Rabbit, and Zhipianxian all looked at the person on stage, their mouths twitching uncontrollably.
Vivienne, “…Who is this girl? Why are there so many strange occurrences tonight?”
Miss Rabbit, “…Lan Yi? When did she start working at [Angel Rose]?”
Zhipianxian, “…d*mn, it’s that woman! Why is she here so soon?”
Indeed, the host elevated by the platform was Luxianbei.
As for why she appeared here, it dates back an hour ago…
———
An hour ago.
Luxianbei followed the black man and three teenagers through a dark alley, making her way to a secluded area behind the [Angel Rose] theater.
It was just a wall away from the tent area, surrounded by numerous trash bins.
This was one of the employee passages for [Angel Rose].
Behind a grouping of trash bins, a heavy iron door with a coded lock stood closed. From the visible spirit energy circuits on the door, it was clearly rigged with a considerable number of defensive spell formulas, and attempting to forcibly break in would likely trigger an alarm and draw unwanted trouble.
Luckily, it seemed there was no need for Luxianbei to break in…
Watching the black man lead the three teenagers to the heavy iron door, she inwardly rejoiced at her correct judgment, thinking she could indeed blend into the theater with these guys, while mentally preparing to leap out and knock out all four once the door opened.
In the next moment, just as the black man finished entering the code, before Luxianbei could make her move, something unexpected happened.
With a soft creak, the heavy iron door swung open, and two burly men suddenly burst out, one on each side of the three teenagers, then exposed their clothing in a military arms demonstration.
The black man forced an awkward smile with his clumsy acting. “Sorry, boys, it seems you won’t be able to have any fun today.”
After a brief silence, the teenager in the red hoodie mustered his courage to roar, “Why? You’ve already taken our money!”
Why? Isn’t it obvious that they were scammed? The guy never intended to take them inside! Luxianbei rolled her eyes.
This scene reminded her of her childhood experience where, after “bribing” an upperclassman, she learned that he didn’t take her to the family internet cafe as promised.
That guy had told her back then, “Today’s a special case; the boss doesn’t serve kids.”
Later she found out there was no such thing as a family internet cafe in that neighborhood…
All™ a scam!
She guessed that guy would come up with a similar excuse to brush them off. Luxianbei thought, watching the black man.
“Um… although I’m sorry, but didn’t we agree beforehand? I can only potentially bring you inside; if something unexpected happens before you get in, you can’t blame me, right?” said the black man, glancing at the two burly men.
“If you bump into security while sneaking in, you can’t blame me, right? You guys are just unlucky.”
Luxianbei, “…” Look, there it is!
She realized the three teenagers had fallen victim to the same scam she had experienced in her childhood, but didn’t expect that these three locals from the Free City were much more vengeful…
When she realized she had been deceived, she chose to endure and acted as if nothing had happened, turning to leave…
After returning to Mudan Street, she spent fifty bucks to hire Liu Banxian to go to the school during the Monday flag-raising ceremony and publicly offer a cigarette to that upperclassman as his grandfather.
However, the three teenagers, upon realizing they had been cheated, chose to retaliate immediately!
They pulled out guns from their hoodies, aiming them at the two burly men, shouting loudly.
“Don’t move!”
“Today you either let us in, or refund us, otherwise…”
“Hmph! What’s wrong with guns? Who doesn’t have one?”
The “freedom” of the Free City was vividly displayed here.
Sensing the faint spirit energy fluctuations emanating from the guns in the burly men’s hands, Luxianbei shook her head expressionlessly.
Foolish kids, those are alchemical firearms; compared to theirs, what you have is a toy g*n!
Seeing this, Luxianbei stood up from her hiding spot, stretched her limbs, leaped gracefully through the air, landing smoothly among the group, and swiftly disarmed them, expertly unloading their magazines.
Who knows if anyone would survive after a passionate shootout like that; if everyone died, wouldn’t that mean they couldn’t get in?
“Everyone, don’t be impulsive; let’s talk this over!”
“I saw everything that just happened from the side. To be fair, both sides are at fault, right?”
“You… deceiving children is indeed lacking in professional ethics,” Luxianbei raised an eyebrow at the black man, then turned her gaze to the teenager in the red hoodie. “You, a kid, why are you imitating adults visiting a strip club? Getting scammed is just what you deserve, isn’t it?”
“If you ask me, why not take a step back? This young man adheres to a bit of professional ethics and doesn’t make things difficult for them, while these three young men also put down their guns, give him some extra money, and then we can all go in together, how about it?”
Everyone, “???”
Where did you spring up from? Why should we bring you in? Did both sides step back just to accommodate you?
Seeing six pairs of unfriendly eyes turn toward her, fists cracking ominously, Luxianbei shrugged expressionlessly, “So there’s nothing to discuss? Then there’s only…”
As her voice trailed off, a crimson glow ignited deep within her pupils.
Charm ability, activate!
