An Hua was extremely conspicuous in the crowd. The black cotton braces skirt set off her cool temperament. Though both were women of the An Family and both had long, fluffy, seaweed-like hair and innocent eyes, Annie Baby (a writer whose surname isn"t An actually) wouldn"t dress in this way [Chinese-style sarcasm]. Jiang Youyou shook her head. Why had that picturesquely quiet An Hua now changed into such a tacky girl—fingernails were painted in showy purple red, while the toenails were in black, and the heels of her sandals were surprisingly high to seven centimeters. The taste of the company"s boss was really violent enough.

An Hua took over her luggage and said, "You haven"t had anything for breakfast, have you? Now hurry up to take a rest in my dorm first.

Now Jiang is in Shenzhen.

Jiang Youyou was sitting on No. 387 bus, raising her head to look at those high buildings. Why were these buildings so high? Why was the sky so blue? Why did the girls here dress so beautifully? Why were there so many flowers on both sides of the road? Besides, there were foreigners in twos and threes by the roadsides. Jiang Youyou"s mouth opened wide and her heart was thumping. How she wished she had two more eyes to look at all of these.

An Hua"s mobile phone began to ring and the ringtone of "Poisonous Perfume" filled the whole carriage. The loud noise of the ringtone made the girl sitting in front rise slightly from her seat. Ah Hua finally pressed the answer b.u.t.ton until the song came to the lyric of "to dry my eyes and go to bed with you". Her voice was a little trembling, "Yes, boss. Yes, I have picked up her. The interview is at half past eleven, is it? OK, I"m coming back to the dorm right now."

"Aha? To have the interview in the morning?" Jiang Youyou was a bit nervous. "Can I have enough time to prepare?"

An Hua nodded and took out the steamed stuffed bun she bought near the station and handed it to Jiang Youyou, telling her to grab a bite.

The steamed bun stuffed with leek was still warm. Jiang Youyou looked at An Hua with grat.i.tude. Sure enough, three year"s friends.h.i.+p developed in the college was not as weak as an unstable paper lantern. In twenty years of Jiang, this was the most delicious steamed stuffed bun she had ever had. They looked at each other, smiling, and the whole carriage smelled of leek.

Then they changed the bus three times.

There were fewer and fewer high buildings, yet there appeared more and more people who dressed in nondescript clothes. More and more houses were crowded together, more and more men squatted on the ground, with a cigarette in hand, and the girls standing on the street. When the wind blew through the skirt, tight b.u.t.tocks or loose b.u.t.tocks were visible immediately.

It was in July. The sun was glaring intensely. Jiang Youyou squinted at the lane ahead. The buildings on both sides of the lane were unified apartment buildings with unified iron gates. The lane allowed just one person to pa.s.s through and from the air conditioners above water was dripping down. They s.h.i.+elded themselves from the dripping water all the way to cross the lane and finally they got to An Hua"s dorm. An rang the doorbell of Room 412. A man"s hoa.r.s.e voice came out. "Who is that?"

"An interviewee for the office worker of our company." An Hua turned to Jiang Youyou, smiling with embarra.s.sment. "Sorry, the management of our company is very strict."

Jiang Youyou nodded. The iron gate was opened.

Although it was in the daytime, the corridor was shrouded in deep dark. The sun could not s.h.i.+ne in, so the words on the wall were a little blurred. They looked like some slogan.

The door of Room 412 was opened as if with a little hesitation. This was the only room on this floor. It looks particularly s.p.a.cious because walls on other sides were removed, and inside there were several compartments.

Some people were sitting on the floor, and some were looking out of the window.

"Pyramid scheme!" The two words flashed through her mind all of a sudden.

Why did some premonitions come so late, while other earlier ones wouldn"t be believed? A tall man in suit and tie introduced himself, "h.e.l.lo! I"m Jiang Jun. Very glad to have you join in our team."

Jiang Youyou felt her heart pounding almost to the mouth. "Ah, it"s too hot here. Is there a bathroom? I"d like to wash my face first."

An Hua brought Jiang to her room. In the room there were narrow bunk beds, and some waste newspapers on the floor. Shutting the door tightly, Jiang Youyou said hastily, "Why do you do harm to me by cheating? You said your company is recruiting an office worker. Isn"t it an organization for pyramid selling?"

An Hua"s face fell. "How can you say this is pyramid selling? Don"t make any nonsense about this. Last time someone said it, resulting in committing suicide by jumping down from upstairs. His skull was smashed into pieces." An Hua imitated a jumping motion.

The bathroom was public. Going across the huge parlour, she saw men lying on the floor smoking and looking very depressed. Except the man named Jiang Jun, no one would give her a second glance. At last, Jiang Youyou walked into the bathroom with a towel.

If she jumped down through the window, she would die beyond doubt. Jiang Youyou gave up the idea of jumping out to escape. Nothing went smooth for her really. How could she be so carelessly to believe in someone?