Almost half an hour later, the taxi stopped outside the building Mo Roulan lived in.

Mo Roulan looked at the unconscious Shen Youlin on her lap and sighed. She alone can’t take her to the floor where her apartment was.

So in the end, Mo Roulan took out her phone from her bag and called her home. On the phone, she also saw that her mother had called her three times before.

Fortunately, the phone was picked up soon and it was her mother who picked it.

“Mom”

“Roulan, where are you? Why are you not home until now? I was so worried. You were not even picking your phone. I was about to go out and search for you.”

“Mom.”

Mo Roulan interrupted her mother before she could continue to talk more.

It could apparently be seen how worried her mother was because her mother only talked non-stop like this when she was very anxious or worried.

She felt guilty for not even giving her a call.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m outside the building. Can you come down? I need your help with something.”

“Help? What happened?…Roulan, are you alright?”

“Yes, Mom. I’m perfectly alright. Just come down and don’t rush. I’m fine and waiting for you.”

She was worried that her mother will be in haste thinking that she was in some trouble and would fall on her way.

“Okay, okay. Mom will be there in a minute.”

And the call was hung up.

As Lin Qianru said, she was really in front of Mo Roulan in a minute making Mo Roulan narrow her eyes at her.

Opening the taxi’s door she whispered

“Didn’t I ask you to not come in hurry?”

But Lin Qianru didn’t even pay attention to her daughter’s scolding. As Mo Roulan paid the fare to the taxi driver she looked from up to down at her body to confirm she was really fine.

Looking at the driver’s face, Mo Roulan knew that he was irritated because he had to wait for long and the night was passing so he needed to go home also. She generously gave him a few extra Yuan.

Noticing this, the driver also no longer felt wronged and smiled.

After paying the fare, Mo Roulan opened the door again and this time she brought the unconscious Shen Youlin out making Lin Qianru shocked.

“This…what happened? Youlin”

Lin Qianru held Shen Youlin’s shoulder with one hand and patted her cheek softly but Shen Youlin didn’t open her eyes.

“She is drunk. I need your help to take her to the apartment.” Mo Roulan answered while holding Shen Youlin and signing her mother to help her.

“Oh…”

Still, Lin Qianru couldn’t help but worry. Since Shen Youlin was the only friend Mo Roulan had made after coming to City H, she really cared for Shen Youlin also. The girl had also stayed in her home for a few days almost making her think sometimes she has three children instead of two.

Seeing that Shen Youlin was wearing party clothes she muttered.

“Although I understand, all this is very normal in parties, she should at least take care.”

Mo Roulan heard her mother but didn’t say anything.

Her face didn’t have any emotion as she entered the elevator with Shen Youlin and her mother.

Although, Lin Qianru helped her daughter she could feel that it was Mo Roulan who was bearing more weight and she couldn’t even oppose her as she knew Mo Roulan was doing it intentionally.

Five minutes later, they were finally in Mo Roulan’s room.

After that, Mo Roulan sent her mother to her room and after telling her to rest assured that she will take care of Shen Youlin alone.

Finally closing the door, Mo Roulan went back to her bed and looked at Shen Youlin.

She stared at Shen Youlin’s face for a few more moments.

“These drugs … they are magic that can make you forget every pain and you want to leave them. Didn’t you also use to like them because of this, Youlin? “

The words that she had heard after she had entered the room revolved in Mo Roulan’s mind.

Did Shen Youlin really take drugs?

For a moment, Mo Roulan didn’t want to believe this, however, she still stood up from the bed and walked to her table where her laptop was placed.

Switching on the laptop, she typed a few words on the search bar and soon a number of results appeared on the screen.

‘Symptoms of a drug addict:

i). either too much hunger or loss of appetite

ii). red eyes and sleepy appearance

iii). marks on arms if injected into the body…

As she read more and more she couldn’t help but remember all those incidents where she had noticed those symptoms in Shen Youlin.

Eating too much was also a sign of depression. Mo Roulan tried to argue with herself

Maybe Shen Youlin was just depressed and the other day when she had seen Shen Youlin’s red eyes, perhaps, she didn’t have slept comfortably before that night.

Mo Roulan’s hands gripped the table very tightly and she suddenly stood up from her chair and walked towards the bed.

Her hands trembled when she uncovered Shen Youlin’s arms and raised her dress and she froze when she saw the faint red marks on her arms.

Not one, not two but many.

Touching those spots Mo Roulan remembered the picture she had just seen on her laptop.

They were exactly the same she had seen in that picture.

A tear fell down from her eye and Mo Roulan covered her parted mouth in shock.

Youlin was really taking drugs.

“Youlin…”

She whispered as she tucked Shen Youlin’s untied hair behind her ear.

“Why?”

“Why did you choose that dark path?”

And why didn’t she notice it before?

Mo Roulan knew what lied in that path was the endless darkness that looked tempting because we see a ray of light in that darkness in the beginning.

But that light was fleeting. The bliss was fleeting.

She closed her eyes as she leaned against the bed railing and shed tears remembering her past.

Where she was forced to choose that light in the darkness.

————-

Feeling the lusty gaze of the bald man she ran towards the door and go outside. However, the bald man caught her before she could go out and suddenly shoved the white powdery substance in her throat.

“No…”

She struggled very fiercely and kicked him in his stomach.

“Aaahhh…”

When he was finally down, she opened the door and ran out.

However, the work was done.

She has tasted the bait.

Leaning against the door of the same room, she slid down to the floor as she felt everything in front of herself blurry.

She could suddenly see those blue eyes filled with gentleness looking at her from far.

“He Jian…”

She whispered but he just stood there staring at her with adoration.

As she tried to reach to him by crawling, she felt him going far away so she stopped.

“Don’t go away.”

She will just sit there and wait for him. Just don’t leave her alone.

Even if you are just standing there, so far away from me, it’s enough.

She could at least see him.

Slowly and slowly her eyes closed down and she was asleep leaning against the same door. However, there was a small smile on her lips.

That night, Mo Roulan slept peacefully.

Every pain, every bitter memory was long forgotten.

What accompanied her were the sweet memories and the endless darkness that lied beyond that sweetness.

—————–

After that night, she couldn’t stop herself.

She would go to the bar, do her job, and while returning…she would buy some of that.

Every morning she would promise herself that she would not take it tonight, however, the bliss that magical powder had given her was incomparable.

The prices grew with time as well as her addiction.

Although she was doing a risky job by being a waitress in such a bar and she was paid highly, In the end, she was just a waitress and hence her salary was not even that high. But she didn’t care, she needed it, very strongly.

Only fifteen days made her a girl she never wanted to be.

In her lonesome and small house in that slum, she would lie for hours without any consciousness of where she was, what she was doing.

But she was happy with this carelessness. It made her feel helpless but happy. She was starting to feel that she was going towards the darkness while seeking the light but she couldn’t stop herself.

Everything was going out of control.

However, the reality struck her soon.

It was only when she found out that she was pregnant, she woke up. 

She came to know that the pain was still there. Only her senses were being destroyed, the pain as still there.

She learned that to fight against the pain she needs to find some support.

And she found it in her unborn child.