Su Yue

"Ma Xiang, there are people trafficking a young girl here. Come over, okay? Yeah, I'm at the scene."

"Okay, the location is..."

Lan Mu quickly gave him the address, then hung up.

The middle-aged man got to his feet, clutching his nose as blood continued to stream from it.

"You called someone?"

Lan Mu spread his hands. "I called the police! It's best to let the police handle this!"

The middle-aged couple exchanged a glance. Then the woman said, "This is our family business. What are you trying to do?"

"I'm her biological aunt! I raised her for over ten years, and I found her a man to meet, but..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't tell me that." Lan Mu cut her off directly.

Then he said, "You say you're her aunt, so that makes it true? Do the two of you look anything like relatives?"

"She's so young, and her eyesight is impaired. I don't know whether you're arranging a blind date for her or forcing her into prostitution, but I do know you aren't her parents. That gives me every reason to suspect you of trafficking her."

The middle-aged woman shouted, "Of course I'm her aunt! If you don't believe me, ask her yourself!"

Lan Mu looked at Su Yue. She was currently hiding behind him.

"Are those two your relatives?"

Su Yue kept her eyes tightly shut and lowered her head without saying a word.

Lan Mu understood at once. Those two were probably really her aunt and uncle, but they treated her badly and had forced her to go on blind dates, so she had run away to look for her mother.

But since the girl said nothing, she naturally did not want to go back. She was clever enough to remain silent, neither confirming nor denying it.

Lan Mu nodded knowingly. "See? She didn't say you were her relatives. Don't even think about taking her away. Wait for the police."

After that, no matter what the couple said, he ignored them.

Eventually, they even tried to use force and drag Su Yue away, but they could not get past Lan Mu, who stood before them like a mountain.

About five or six minutes later, Fatty Ma arrived at the scene in a police car.

After getting out and seeing Lan Mu confronting the couple, he said, "One look at this little alley tells you it's the kind of place where people get trafficked."

Lan Mu laughed and offered Ma Xiang a cigarette.

Ma Xiang took it but did not smoke. The middle-aged man followed suit and pulled out cigarettes to offer around, but Ma Xiang refused. "No! Don't try to bribe me!"

The middle-aged man froze, immediately realizing that this cop was on Lan Mu's side.

After Ma Xiang heard Lan Mu explain the situation, he did not waste many words on the couple. He simply said, "Come on. Stop making a scene here and come to the station to explain yourselves properly."

The middle-aged woman seemed a little uneasy and forced a smile. "Officer, this is our family business. This girl is my younger brother's child. I'm telling her to come home. The police can't interfere with that, can they?"

Ma Xiang's face hardened, and he looked rather imposing as he said, "You don't get to decide whether the police can interfere. I responded to a report. Stop talking nonsense and come to the station."

With no other choice, the two followed him into the police car.

They sat in the back with Lan Mu, while Su Yue sat alone in the front passenger seat.

Ma Xiang looked at Su Yue curiously, but with outsiders present, he did not say much to Lan Mu.

Soon, they arrived at Helou Police Station. Once inside, the station proved quite useful to ordinary citizens; before long, they had investigated the situation thoroughly.

After checking the records, Ma Xiang told Lan Mu, "They really are the girl's aunt and uncle, and they're also her guardians. Su Yue's parents are both dead, and she was born blind."

"She finished compulsory education at a school for the blind and never went back to school. She stayed at their home every day and couldn't work. After all, nobody wanted to hire a blind employee."

"She turned eighteen today and will be nineteen soon. With no income and eating for free every day, the couple said they wanted to find her a man to marry."

"Brother Mu, we can't do anything about this. There's no law saying parents can't force their children to go on blind dates. Plenty of parents across the country force their children to date and marry, and nobody calls the police over it. At most, the police can offer a few words of advice."

Lan Mu frowned. "Then what about the prostitution the girl mentioned?"

Ma Xiang said, "The couple said it was completely made up. They said the child didn't understand and thought a blind date meant prostitution."

"A child? Stop saying, 'the couple said this, the couple said that.' Did you ask what the girl herself wanted? She's an adult too. Even if she's blind, she has basic judgment. Are you really just going to listen to one side? I'm telling you, those two are no good. I could tell at a glance." Lan Mu's expression turned serious.

"Yes, yes, I haven't asked yet. I hurried over here to report to you first, Brother Mu." Ma Xiang said with a smile.

Lan Mu snorted. "Are you the cop, or am I the cop? Why are you reporting to me? Go handle your case."

Even so, Lan Mu still worried about Su Yue and followed Ma Xiang over to where she was sitting.

Su Yue was holding a cup of water, sitting quietly in a chair. Her calm, fragile appearance stood in stark contrast to the noisy police station. It was as though none of the world's clamor had anything to do with her, making her seem almost ethereal.

A policewoman sat beside her, asking a question at a time, and Su Yue answered each one.

Ma Xiang greeted the policewoman, then sat down and asked, "Tang Jing, how did it go?"

The policewoman, Tang Jing, said, "Her name is Su Yue. She dropped out of school at fifteen and has stayed at her aunt's house ever since, doing housework. They made her do all the chores, including laundry, cooking, cleaning, and even massages."

Ma Xiang stared. "That brutal? She's been doing it all this time?"

Tang Jing glanced at him. "There's worse. This family really dislikes her. Although she's the woman's younger brother's child, her younger brother died long ago. The girl's mother raised her until she was five, then left her in this family's care."

"Why?" Ma Xiang asked.

"Because her mother..." Tang Jing glanced at Su Yue and drew a line across her notepad, marking information they had just found.

Lan Mu leaned over to look as well, only to learn that her mother had died of cancer long ago.

Ma Xiang lowered his voice. "She doesn't know?"

Tang Jing answered in a voice too quiet to hear, "Her aunt has told her many times, but she never believed it."

Then Tang Jing resumed her normal voice. "This family abused her regularly. They thought she did nothing but eat for free and was useless. Since she wasn't their own child, they beat and cursed her at the slightest provocation. They didn't act like relatives at all!"

"As Su Yue grew up and turned eighteen, she became more and more beautiful. Then the family began to see her as a money tree. They thought that since she couldn't find work anyway, they might as well make her..."

Having listened this long, Lan Mu finally snapped, "Make her prostitute herself?"

Tang Jing looked at Lan Mu, and Ma Xiang explained, "He's my buddy. It's fine."

Tang Jing continued, "The girl said her hearing is very sharp. She overheard the couple secretly discussing it in their room. They planned to use their home as the location, keep it discreet, and have men come over under the pretense of blind dates. Then they would make her entertain the clients. The first time would cost twenty thousand, and they said someone would surely like the thrill of a blind girl."

"Fuck! Then what?" Lan Mu growled.

Tang Jing sighed. "This girl is very stubborn. After hearing that, she naturally refused to let them control her. She waited until her uncle went to work, then secretly ran out alone to look for her mother. Poor thing, she couldn't see and rarely went out, so she hadn't gone far before the couple found her."

"Ah..." Ma Xiang sighed. Even he felt sorry for the girl.

Lan Mu's anger surged even higher. What kind of relatives were these? They deserved to die.

"Ma Xiang, no matter what, this girl can't be sent back. That couple has already committed a crime. Are you police going to do anything about it?"

Hearing Lan Mu's words, Ma Xiang gave a bitter smile. "There's no evidence. Never mind that this is only what the girl overheard—even if she had recorded it, it still wouldn't help. The couple could claim they were only joking. After all, no actual crime has taken place yet."

Lan Mu grew even angrier after hearing that. His eyes widened as he was about to speak, but Tang Jing suddenly slapped the table beside him. "Fatty, do you have any sympathy at all? I honestly don't know how you got into the police force!"

Ma Xiang looked aggrieved. "Tang Jing, was I wrong? Are we supposed to detain the couple based solely on her one-sided account?"

Tang Jing looked like a refined lady, but when she became fierce, she was terrifying. "Are you stupid? They beat and cursed her. We can absolutely call it domestic violence. Su Yue is an adult too. As long as we can prove she can live independently, no one can force her to live in anyone's home."

"She's blind. How is she supposed to live independently?" Ma Xiang said helplessly. "Even getting her an ID card wouldn't solve anything! That couple are her guardians, and the girl doesn't even have a job. Where do you expect her to move to?"

Tang Jing fell silent. Although Su Yue was already an adult, she was a blind girl. Given the special circumstances, without a proper and legitimate reason, the police could not stop her guardians from taking her home.

"Isn't it just a job? I'll help her find one!" Lan Mu said after understanding the situation.

Tang Jing sized Lan Mu up. "You? What job are you going to find for her?"

Now it was Lan Mu's turn to be stumped. He was warmhearted by nature, and whenever he helped someone, he wanted to see it through. Seeing how pitiful Su Yue was, he was determined to help her no matter what.

But despite saying that, he truly could not think of how to arrange things properly for Su Yue. After all, as a blind girl, there were few things she could do. Was he supposed to send her to work as a blind masseuse? But she was so young and pretty. What if someone bullied her? Then the police would have to keep checking on her every few days. That would be far too troublesome.

After thinking it over, Lan Mu simply said, "I'm planning to open a studio. If she's willing, she can work for me! She can clean and cook and things like that. Room and board included, three thousand a month, and I definitely won't let her be mistreated."

Ma Xiang clapped his hands. "Perfect! I trust Brother Mu on that. Once she has a job and a place to live, she'll have full civil capacity. Even if she's blind, she can choose not to have guardians. Even her aunt won't be able to control her anymore."

Tang Jing knew Lan Mu and Ma Xiang were friends. Though she did not fully trust Lan Mu yet, there was no better solution, so she said, "That could work. But you'll need to register your information at the station. We'll inspect regularly in the future. If we find out you're mistreating her, you'll bear legal responsibility."

"Got it. We don't even know whether she herself is willing yet!" Lan Mu said as he looked toward Su Yue. Deep down, he felt a faint sense of anticipation.

Su Yue had listened to the three of them the whole time. At that moment, she smiled faintly and said,

"I can do all the housework. Leave the laundry and cooking to me... If you get tired, I can give massages too..."

"Thank you for going to so much trouble for me. I may not be able to see, but I've been used to doing these things for many years. I definitely won't cause Mr. Lan any trouble."

Seeing that she agreed, Lan Mu was delighted and hurriedly said, "It's no trouble, no trouble. There's no need for massages. I'm not that delicate."

"Don't worry. The studio will be small, so there won't be much for you to do. You'll get three thousand a month, no less."

"From now on, you're an employee of Lan Cheng Studio!"

"I won't let anyone bully my employees!"