My head, it aches.
Gu Yan'er rubbed her forehead, slowly opening her eyes.
When she looked up, she saw the morning sun slanting through the window, warming up the room that had been chilled by the air conditioner.
The room was unfamiliar, the surroundings felt alien... The unfamiliarity made Gu Yan'er sit up in a panic.
The coverlet slipped abruptly, revealing her nearly bare shoulder, fair and smooth like jade. But before she could wonder why she would be sleeping naked in this room, her hand touched a photograph on the bed.
As she followed her instinct to glance towards it, Gu Yan'er was stunned.
The lady in the photo, it was her.
There was nothing peculiar about it, what made it peculiar was the woman in the photograph was completely stark naked, displayed right in front of her.
In a panic, Gu Yan'er picked up the photo. She must be seeing things, she thought, that couldn't be her, no way.
She never posed for such a photograph, not even Peijun had seen her body in its entirety.
But as the image became clearer in her view, she confirmed, the woman in the photo was her. Even the small, red mole at the corner of her mouth was discernible.
Last night.
It must have been last night.
Just what had happened?
All she could recall was Peijun escorting her to an audition at a nightclub where she was to apply for a singing position.
Where is Ke Peijun?
Why did he vanish when she woke up this morning?
Gu Yanr attempted to recall the details from last night - first, Peijun walked her into the nightclub, then he left for the restroom, while she nervously awaited the beginning of her interview.
At that time, a server approached her. She didn't order any drinks. The nice thing about nightclubs was that men needed tickets to get in, but women could come and go as they pleased, especially if they were beautiful.
As for herself, while not a stunning beauty, she had the charm of a modest yet elegant girl.
She asked for a glass of water and quietly sat in a corner, waiting for the server to call her for the interview.
Then...
Then she couldn't remember anything else.
Thinking it over now, there must have been something wrong with that water.
Gu Yanr rubbed her forehead in pain, but beyond these details, she couldn't recall anything else.
On the bedhead, her backpack quietly lay there, her clothes neatly folded next to the pillow, but the background of the photo was clearly this room.
That person, what did they do after undressing her and taking her picture?
In a panic, Gu Yanr threw off the covers, not caring that her pristine body was exposed. After seeing that nothing was left on the white sheets, she finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Her innocence was still intact. This was truly a small stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
With her fingers, lightly flipping over that photo, Gu Yanr couldn't believe that the person's only motive was to take her picture.
But then she saw a line of crooked handwriting that glaringly caught her attention on the back: "Turn on the computer, check the email."
Only then did Gu Yaner notice that there was what seemed to be a brand new laptop on the table nearby.
She quickly moved over, hastily hitting the power button. While waiting for the computer to boot up, she grabbed her backpack, opened it and checked its contents multiple times. Everything she would need was there, nothing was missing.
The one thing lacking, in fact, was herself.
That night, even she had no idea what had happened.
Inside her backpack was an old model cell phone from three years ago which was still in pristine condition. She was reluctant to use it, hence why the pre-paid balance of 30 yuan could miraculously last half a year.
The phone was powered off. Was it the person who took the picture who shut it off?
Upon booting up, the melodious ringtone reverberated through the empty room, amplifying her sense of loneliness.
Innumerable missed calls filled her screen.
Peijun.
Peijun.
He was looking for her.
And where was she? Here.
Once more, she surveyed the room and spotted the price-tagged cigarettes and snacks on the corner cabinet, and something labeled 'Male Treasure'. Then she realized.
This place was a hotel.