All Those Years

Thud thud thud thud!

It was the sound of footsteps. It was 11 o'clock at night, the woman who lived next door to me left work early again today.

Why did I say 'again'?

I am Zhang Lu, and I was a college student. I was about to graduate in a year. I was not willing to go out and look for a job with a college diploma. I was determined to take the undergraduate course, but the school dormitory's environment was just not conducive to learning. So, I rented a house outside the school.

In the end, I had too little social experience. After I moved in, I realized that this building was actually the so-called 'Phoenix Building'.

Phoenix Building. It was the gathering place of some depraved women.

Lin Xiaoya was one such woman, and she lived next to me. She worked in a nightclub and received customers at the same time.

Her work in the nightclub usually ended at one or two o'clock in the morning. So, every time she came back early, it means that she had customers.

"Oh, babe, I can't wait any longer!"

"Damn it, the door isn't closed yet. I'm not the only one living in this house. They'll see us..."

As expected, a seductive voice came from next door.

I had been living here for two months, and I was already used to it. In the past, I would put on my earphones calmly and concentrate on my studies.

However, this time, this man seemed to have pushed Lin Xiaoya against the plywood wall. The violent and rhythmic vibrations disturbed my concentration.

Maybe it was because I had not had sex with my girlfriend for a long time.

I had a girlfriend, but she did not like the small apartment I rented and did not want to live with me. Every time she wanted to have sex, she would ask me to rent a hotel room, but I had not been able to afford it recently. Therefore, I had not been with her for some time.

My breathing became heavier. Lin Xiaoya was only 25 or 26 years old. She had a beautiful face and a devilish figure. Also, she smiled like a demon.

I felt that there were not many men who could resist a woman like Lin Xiaoya. Of course, I was the same. In the few months that I had lived here, I had fantasized about her countless times.

However, I was timid. I actually had a way to peep at Lin Xiaoya, but I had never dared to take action.

After struggling for a few minutes, I swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked at a poster on the wall.

There was a secret behind the poster. I did not know if the previous tenant had drilled a thumb-sized hole to peep at Lin Xiaoya.

Although the hole was small, I could see everything in the next room through it.

I discovered this secret purely by accident, and Lin Xiaoya should be unaware of it. Otherwise, she would have reported it to the landlord.

Of course, I've only peeped through it once since I found it. Besides, Lin Xiaoya was not around that time. I only saw a pile of unkempt underwear on her bed.

My brain seemed to be out of control. I carefully flipped open the picture and gathered up the courage to stick my eyes onto the small hole.

That man was in his forties. He was more than 1.8 meters tall. He was very tall and strong, like a beast. In the arms of this tall and strong man, Lin Xiaoya looked much smaller.

Suddenly, Lin Xiaoya turned around and faced me!

I was so scared that I almost could not breathe. Lin Xiaoya was looking directly at the small hole. It was as if our eyes were looking at each other.

Did she discover my peeping?!

I did not dare to continue peeping. After regaining my senses, I frantically covered the small hole with the poster. Then, I anxiously rolled back onto the bed.

Even though Lin Xiaoya was a depraved woman, I thought that she definitely did not like being peeped at for free, so she definitely would not let it go.

Perhaps she would report me to the landlord and ask me to get out of here. Perhaps she would ask me for some money.

There was an even more tragic possibility. She would call a group of friends to beat me up, Ask Me for money, and then ask me to get out.

After all, people like Lin Xiaoya who lived in a brothel would know a lot of people.

After an unknown amount of time, the 'hearty battle' finally ended.

I was so scared that I did not know what to do, because I knew that this meant that Lin Xiaoya might come to settle the score with me very soon.

Bang!

I heard the sound of the door closing, and the man left with satisfaction.

Tap, tap, tap!

Following that, I heard Lin Xiaoya's stiletto footsteps approaching my room. Finally, she stopped at the door of my room. My time was up.

"I know you're not asleep yet. Open the door!" Strangely, Lin Xiaoya's tone was not very angry.

Was it a blessing or a curse? If it was a disaster, it could not be avoided.

I opened the door with trepidation. Lin Xiaoya's face was flushed red as she glared at me. However, she did not curse at me. Instead, she leaned her limp body against the door frame. She started to complain about that man.

"Son of a b*tch, 300 yuan. He wanted to do it once in the car, and once more at home. He's already in his forties, yet he's still so fierce!"

I stood there nervously like a piece of wood. I did not know how Lin Xiaoya was going to settle the score with me.

Whoosh...

Lin Xiaoya lit a cigarette. She glanced at the poster on the wall and said, "Your name is Zhang Lu, right? When did you discover that small hole on the wall?"

"Just... I discovered it the day after I moved in," I answered honestly.

"Pfft!" Lin Xiaoya covered her mouth and laughed. "Your willpower is really good. You've moved here for so long, and you already knew that there was a small hole in the wall. You actually endured until now to peep at me."

I was dumbfounded. What did Lin Xiaoya mean? Could it be that she already knew about the existence of that small hole?

Why did she not block it?

From what she said, it seemed that she did not mind being spied on at all. Could it be that being spied on would make her even more excited?

"Come to my room!" Lin Xiaoya suddenly blew out a puff of smoke at me. The pungent smell of tobacco mixed with her fragrance made me feel a little lightheaded.

I opened my mouth and thought that I had heard wrong. Go to her room? Could it be that the middle-aged man just now did not satisfy her?

Was she not just complaining about how fierce that man was? Was she not overwhelmed by him?

Lin Xiaoya turned around and walked to her door, only to see me standing in the same place without moving. She said, "You can't just peep at me for free! I know that you are a poor college student, so you definitely don't have much money. It's only right for you to come to my room and give me a massage, right? Don't think too much, I don't have any feelings for a little boy like you. I'll see if I can scare you and then eat you up!"

After being called a poor boy by such a woman, I really want to throw the remaining 500 yuan in my wallet onto her face. I wanted to have sex with her once.

However, I only had 500 yuan left. If I really acted rashly, I would not even have money for food tomorrow.

Moreover, I could not let Liang Xue down. She was my girlfriend, and I was not the kind of man who only thought with his lower body.

Thus, I hesitated for a moment. Finally, I braced myself and walked into Lin Xiaoya's room.