My Youth Began With Him

“Boss, what do you need?”

“Bring a couple of guys with you and return to the island on the speedboat. Release the boss once he wakes up.”

“But we don’t have keys. Miss Huo didn’t give us keys.”

“Are you stupid? You can open the lock with your gun!” John yelled at another man.

“Oh, that’ll work?” The man scratched his head.

“Boss, should we go now?”

“Yes.” Riley nodded.

“How do we know if the boss is himself? What if his second personality is still there? If his second personality is still there, won’t he kill us all?” John was one of the smarter ones out of Riley’s men; he was more thorough with his considerations.

“That’s impossible. I’ve already fed him the appropriate medicine. His second personality won’t appear.”

“Alright, then, we’ll go over there now.”

“Alright, the boss will probably leave the island with you guys to search for Miss Huo.”

“Got it.”

After he finished delegating tasks, Riley followed his minions in their search for Huo Mian.

After Huo Mian got off the bus, she searched around for a place to stay.

Her previous experience with the motel in the ghetto made her wary of small hotels. Huo Mian began to consider staying on a bus or subway station… maybe she could spend the night there?

After some pondering, however, Huo Mian wondered if a bus or subway station was even less safe than a small hotel.

Soon after, she was pleasantly surprised by the discovery of a 24hr convenience store.

What surprised her the most, however, was the Chinese letters in the store name. The owner was probably Chinese.

Without much thought, Huo Mian went inside…

“What are you looking for?” The female store owner had in her hand a calculator and was currently balancing her accounts.

“I… I’m hungry… can I have a cup of noodles? Do you have hot water?”

“Um… sure.” Huo Mian’s request took the store owner by surprise. Why would anyone ask for noodles at a time like this?

“Are you a tourist?” the Chinese store owner asked Huo Mian in her mother tongue.

“Yes.” Huo Mian nodded.

“Then why are you out there walking? Don’t you know that it’s very dangerous at night?”

“I… I’ve run into a little bit of trouble. I had to,” Huo Mian explained vaguely.

“Oh, I see. Sure, I’ll make you a cup of noodles.”

The owner was quite friendly. She immediately felt pity for the poor girl.

“Auntie, I… I have a foreign boyfriend but he’s a psycho. He’s beat me many times before but I’m pregnant now… and I was too afraid of another beating… so I ran out. He and his friends are looking for me everywhere… can you please… help me?”

Huo Mian was running out of options. She had to give it a shot. There had to be at least one good person, right?

She was especially hopeful since the store owner was Chinese. They were from the same place so the chance of the latter pitying her was higher… right?

Sure enough, hearing Huo Mian’s words, the store owner looked shocked.

“You’re not a tourist?”

“No, I’m not. I followed my boyfriend to this place but he turned into a completely different person. He beats me up whenever he likes… I regret coming here… I want to go home.”

Huo Mian explained with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, honey… why don’t you come in first?”

“Auntie, could you please close your store? I’m afraid that they’ll cause trouble for you if they come in later. I’ll reimburse you for any money you lose.”

Huo Mian looked out the window anxiously, afraid that she was being followed.

“Oh, no problem. I’ll close the doors now. You don’t need to pay me anything.”

The auntie seemed to have trusted Huo Mian fully. She immediately shut off the lights and locked the doors.

Huo Mian finally calmed down.

“Follow me into the room.”

“Did you say you were pregnant?” The auntie looked slightly unconvinced.