My Dongguan Love Story

After a tender and intimate moment with Tang Yan, we fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms. When we woke up, it was already completely dark.

More than ten hours had passed since Lin Guilian stormed out of the house. Tang Yan stared at Lin Guilian's empty room, then looked down at her phone. The screen lit up, the glaring number displaying 9 PM. A strange unease welled up inside her, and she began to worry about Lin Guilian, who was alone outside.

Although the two had a fight during the day, their arguments were sharp and pointed, and she deliberately said some sarcastic things, hitting Lin Guilian's sore spots, intending to drive her away.

But as the night deepened and all was quiet, Lin Guilian did not return. Her stubbornness and arrogance had long since dissipated, replaced by uncontrollable panic and deep worry.

To be honest, Lin Guilian was all alone in Dongguan, and the only people she knew were Lin Ping and Lin Guilian. Now that Lin Ping had broken up with her, and she had also fallen out with him, where could she go, all alone in this huge city?

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. A heavy sense of guilt welled up inside her, and Tang Yan's eyes reddened slightly. She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, her voice trembling with panic: "She has no relatives or friends here, no one to turn to. It's so late, what if she runs into bad people outside...?"

I've heard that in some remote, impoverished mountain villages, some men who can't find wives will spend money to buy wives from human traffickers.

Some young and beautiful girls are unwittingly abducted. They may never escape. It's incredibly dangerous and terrifying.

Thinking of this, Tang Yan felt a lingering fear. If Lin Guilian had been abducted and sold, how could she explain it to her parents?

Besides, Lin Guilian only liked Dazhuang in her heart, and the two of them never did anything untoward.

Thinking of this, her fingertips grew cold as she gripped my sleeve tightly, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "Dazhuang, it's already dark, and I don't have Lin Guilian's phone number. Where should I look for her?"

Actually, I had Lin Guilian's number saved in my phone, but I was afraid Tang Yan would overthink it and that their conflict would deepen, so I didn't dare say it. I could only gently hug her and softly comfort her:

"She's a grown woman, she'll take care of herself. She'll come back once she calms down."

She was still a little worried after hearing what I said and wanted to go find Lin Guilian, but it was almost time for her night shift and she couldn't get away. Besides, the two of them had just had a big fight during the day, which was extremely embarrassing. Her pride prevented her from facing Lin Guilian calmly.

After much hesitation, she gripped my arm tightly and said urgently and expectantly, "Dazhuang, could you help me find Lin Guilian?"

I nodded when I heard Tang Yan's words: "Okay, I'll go look for her in a bit."

To be honest, I was also a little worried about Lin Guilian.

But then I thought, she's an adult, she should take care of herself, and besides, I don't have any relationship with her, so I didn't want to meddle.

But since Tang Yan asked me to go and look for her, I readily agreed. I didn't have anything else to do at the moment, so I figured I might as well go and look for her on the way.

After I safely dropped Tang Yan off at work at Dingsheng on my motorcycle, I immediately took out my phone and dialed Lin Guilian's number.

The phone rang a few times before she hung up.

I stared at my phone screen, feeling utterly helpless, and muttered to myself, "Why did you hang up on me when you were arguing with Tang Yan?"

I dialed again, thinking that if she didn't answer, so be it, I didn't care what she did.

If Lin Guilian were my girlfriend, I could tolerate her a bit. But we're not even ordinary friends. If she doesn't need my care, I don't need to go out of my way to be nice to her.

However, the second call was answered after a few rings.

The phone was filled with noise and DJ music; Lin Guilian's voice rang out amidst the commotion: "Feed?"

"Lin Guilian, where are you? Why are you making so much noise?"

Lin Guilian's tone was somewhat cold: "I'm at the ice rink, so what?"

"Oh? Is it the one at Shenghe Ice Rink?"

I do know this skating rink; I passed by it on my motorcycle before.

"Yes," Lin Guilian said casually, puffing on her cigarette.

"Okay, I'll come find you." I said and hung up the phone. I rode my motorcycle towards Shenghe Ice Rink.

This skating rink is located in a corner of Shenghe Night Market, so there are always a lot of people coming and going. The parking sheds were all full, so I could only park near the entrance.

When I rushed to the ice rink, the entrance was filled with pretty girls, all wearing exquisite and heavy makeup and dressed in fashionable and eye-catching outfits.

Some walked in side by side with their male companions, looking very close; others, alone, walked in twos and threes toward the skating rink.

The neon signs of the ice rink flickered on and off, with red, blue and pink lights flashing and intertwining, making them particularly dazzling in the dark night.

As soon as I stepped inside, a wave of heat hit me. The air was stuffy and humid, mixed with the smells of sweat, foot odor, and cigarette smoke.

Not far away, there was a railing made of roughly welded pipes, the weld marks rough and worn shiny from years of sweaty hands.

Leaning against the railing were many men and women with dyed blond hair, dressed in all sorts of clothes. Some had afros, some had permed hair, and some had dyed blond or red hair. Some were smoking, and some were chatting.

Inside the railing, figures moved about, wheels rubbing against the ground with a soft rustling sound, laughter, shouts, and music mingling together. They were wearing roller skates, chasing and playing.

I scanned the crowd but couldn't find Lin Guilian. After walking for a while, I picked up the phone and dialed.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

I was a little confused. Could it be that the music at the ice rink was too loud, so Lin Guilian didn't notice?

I continued dialing while looking around for Lin Guilian, but I couldn't find her anywhere.

Just then, I caught a glimpse of several thugs with dyed yellow hair surrounding a woman not far away. They were behaving frivolously and seemed to be harassing her for some unknown reason.

I looked at the woman's back and she seemed familiar, like Lin Guilian, so I walked towards them.

A young thug with dyed yellow hair looked at Lin Guilian, who was fair-skinned, beautiful, and tall, and said with a smile, "Little sister, let's go ice skating together."

Lin Guilian, a cigarette dangling from her lips, glanced at him and said coldly, "I'm not going."

"Come on, we'll show you around." The blond thug stretched out his dirty, yellowish hand and went straight for Lin Guilian's wrist.

Lin Guilian turned away in disgust, coldly saying, "Get lost. You're ugly, yet you try to pick up girls. How disgusting!"

The blond-haired guy turned red with anger after being insulted. The others around him laughed and looked at him: "Hey Ming, this girl has such a foul mouth, want us to teach her a lesson?"

"No need, I can do it myself." Rascal Ming rolled up his sleeves, grinning menacingly as he approached Lin Guilian.

Lin Guilian was stunned when she saw the other person approaching her. She then kicked him hard in the groin with her right foot.

Bang~

A sound like an egg breaking rang out, and Lanzi Ming clutched his second brother in pain, his body bent over and he writhed on the ground in agony.

Seeing this, the others surrounded Lin Guilian and shouted angrily, "Little girl, you dare to hit our brothers? Don't you want to live?"

Lin Guilian's eyes were cold and she showed no sign of panic. She took a small step back to create some distance, her gaze sweeping over the crowd that had surrounded her. Her tone was icy and decisive:

"Is it honorable to bully women? If you dare to do such things, you should be able to bear the consequences."

The thugs around her had livid faces and were seething with rage. They gripped the wooden sticks and broken beer bottles in their hands, their knuckles turning white. Their heavy breathing was full of hostility as they pressed closer and closer, surrounding Lin Guilian.