Stepping out of the smoky, suffocating private room, Yang Jian felt a wave of relief. He resolved never to return to such a place; it offered nothing but degradation.
He went to the restroom, where a woman was retching violently by the sink. Her attire clearly marked her as one of the hostesses. Yang Jian, needing to use the facilities urgently, paid her little attention.
As he exited the restroom, the girl was just turning to leave. While washing his hands, Yang Jian felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"Sister," Yang Jian suddenly recalled the girl's back resembling his sister's. Although her ponytail had been replaced by flowing hair, her height of 1.7 meters and her gait were strikingly similar.
Without bothering to dry his hands, Yang Jian hurried after her. After a couple of turns, he finally saw her back again. Before he could call out, the girl had entered a private room.
Yang Jian approached and saw that this room was diagonally opposite their own. The door was ajar, and the interior pulsed with flashing lights and the same deafening, powerful music. A dozen men and women were inside.
As soon as the girl entered, a man grabbed her, attempting to pull her into a dance. The girl, clearly intoxicated, resisted strongly, pushing him away with all her might.
The man became enraged and suddenly slapped her across the face.
In that instant, Yang Jian clearly saw the girl's face. It was indeed his sister, Yang Rui, and his blood boiled.
But before he could rush forward, Yang Rui kicked the man, sending him sprawling to the floor. The music abruptly stopped, and the lights illuminated the entire room.
Seven or eight men immediately surrounded Yang Rui.
Yang Jian, however, did not charge in. Instead, he quickly turned and ran back to his own room to get help. He was injured and stood no chance against these men. His sister, too, had martial arts training, having practiced various forms for over a decade. She could handle a few thugs, so she wouldn't be in grave danger for the moment.
Upon entering, he flicked on the lights and shouted, "Brother Wu, Brother Hao, quickly come with me to help! My sister is being bullied."
Everyone was stunned. They were in a daze, not quite grasping Yang Jian's meaning.
Song Jianmin, however, was more lucid. Without hesitation, he grabbed a wine bottle and said, "Who's bullying your sister? Let's go and beat those bastards."
Xiao Wu also reacted, "Let's go, everyone grab a weapon!"
Yang Jian turned and left, drawing his extendable baton. Concerned about Xiong Ge's men finding him, he always carried it.
"You slut, you dare to fight back? I'll kill you."
As Yang Jian burst into the room, he saw his sister cornered against the wall. Seven or eight men were attacking her. Two of them were smashing beer bottles, and one had already struck her on the head. Blood was trickling from her forehead, yet she was still fighting fiercely, counter-attacking with her hands and feet.
"Damn your mother!"
Yang Jian, disregarding his injuries, lunged forward, swinging his baton wildly.
Song Jianmin smashed his beer bottle onto someone's head.
Xiao Wu and the others surged forward, overwhelming the eight men in a brutal assault. Caught off guard, the assailants had no chance to retaliate before being beaten to the ground.
The seven or eight women in the room screamed in terror at the sight, fleeing in panic.
"Yang Jian, get your sister and leave quickly."
Song Jianmin knew they had caused a major incident, as two of the opponents were already bleeding profusely and unconscious.
Yang Jian grabbed his sister's hand and ran. Yang Rui was completely bewildered. She had thought she was going to die today, only for her brother to suddenly appear with a large group of people.
As they rushed out of the room, four or five security guards blocked their path. "What's going on? You can't leave."
"Get out of the way."
Yang Jian brandished his baton and charged outwards. He was worried about his sister's injuries and needed to get her to a hospital as soon as possible.
These security guards were unarmed and couldn't stop the somewhat frenzied Yang Jian, only watching him rush out the main door.
To their dismay, a group of menacing figures followed him, all holding broken beer bottles, and several of them had bloodstains.
These were, of course, Xiao Wu and his companions. They knew the situation had escalated, that they might have killed someone, and they had to escape before the outside security could react. If they were caught, they'd be going to jail.
The security guards were indeed unaware of the specifics until they reached the room and discovered the brawl. However, the fight had been so brief that it was over before they could intervene.
What was even more infuriating was that the losing party lay in pools of blood, their fates unknown, while the victors had fled without even settling the bill, which amounted to several thousand yuan.
Yang Jian hailed a taxi with his sister and quickly left West Pavilion Street, heading straight for the Provincial People's Hospital.
In the emergency room, after examination, Yang Rui was found to have only a head injury with bleeding and some bruises elsewhere. She was otherwise unharmed.
After her wounds were bandaged, Yang Jian took her to his hospital room.
"Speak. Why did you go to a place like that?"
Although he felt his own injuries had worsened due to the strenuous activity, his sister's actions angered him even more.
Yang Rui dared not meet his gaze, lowering her head and saying softly, "I... I wanted to earn money to buy a new phone, and also... also to buy a laptop. All my classmates have them, and I'm still using a second-hand phone."
"You went to a place like that just for a phone and a laptop? Don't you have any sense of shame? Is that a place for a decent girl to go?"
Yang Jian finally lost his temper. His sister's behavior had deeply disappointed him. He had witnessed firsthand how those hostesses pleased their clients, with no regard for principles or dignity.
In his heart, his sister had always been a sensible child. Perhaps due to her martial arts training from a young age, despite her delicate looks, her personality was somewhat boyish – carefree, generous, and opinionated. She also excelled academically and was the only university student in generations of the Yang family, a source of pride for everyone.
Now, to keep up with her classmates, she had abandoned her dignity and stooped so low as to become a hostess. How could he not be angry?
Yang Rui knew she was in the wrong and remained silent, her head bowed.
"How long have you been working there?"
Yang Jian felt like slapping her a few times.
"I started yesterday. Today is the second day."
"Are you lying?"
"No, I'm not lying. It's really the second day. A classmate introduced me."
"Did you engage in any 'pit-eating'?"
Yang Rui looked up in surprise. "No. They wanted me to try, but I refused. However, I did drink quite a bit. Brother, how did you end up there? And how do you know about 'pit-eating'? Also, why are you in the hospital?"
"Don't change the subject. I'm asking you. Does that club have your real information? What happened today was a big deal, and I'm worried they might investigate your school."
Yang Jian suddenly thought of this serious issue.