Gate of Rebirth: Chapter 12

After a whole day of wandering, Xiao Ming and Xiao Hong returned to their dormitory together at night. Upon arriving, Xiao Ming noticed a note left by Aunt Chen, indicating that she had matters to attend to that evening and would not be coming back to the dorm.

Suddenly intrigued by Aunt Chen’s work, Xiao Ming asked Xiao Hong, “What exactly does Aunt Chen do at the KTV?”

Xiao Hong let out a chuckle. “You really don’t know?”

“No one ever told me. How would I know?”

“You know what our KTV is called, right?”

“Cow KTV, of course! What does that have to do with anything?”

Xiao Ming was puzzled, but as he recalled the peculiar scent around Aunt Chen, he was stunned.

“To put it plainly, it’s a unique feature of our KTV. Nowadays, those wealthy and powerful people indulge in all sorts of perversions. As long as it satisfies their desires, they’ll do anything—completely without limits.”

“But breast milk only appears during a woman’s nursing period. How can they guarantee it’s always available?” Xiao Ming recalled his biology lessons and questioned this.

“They take medicine—a special kind of banned drug.”

“That’s illegal, and surely it must have side effects!”

“Yes, my college friend. That’s why Xiao Li dared to sue our company before; he had evidence of this. But he was too naive, thinking things would be simple. No one knows what happened to him now.”

Xiao Hong added casually, “If Aunt Chen isn’t in the dorm, it usually means she’s serving at one of the other branches.”

With this newfound understanding of Cow KTV, Xiao Ming’s feelings became complicated. Thinking of Aunt Chen’s plight, he felt a surge of righteous anger—but what could he do?

He only had a little over a hundred yuan on him; leaving this troublesome place for another job was unrealistic. Although the pay here wasn’t high, the work was easy enough to get through until he saved enough for tuition.

The next afternoon, having been notified by the manager beforehand, Xiao Ming had already cleaned the front lobby. After testing the intelligent robot, he waited at the reception desk with an electronic tablet for the business to start.

As he entered, Xiao Ming noticed Xiao Hong carrying the LV handbag they hadn’t bought yesterday during their mall trip.

Xiao Ming remembered it clearly—that was the first luxury item he had ever seen, leaving a deep impression. The necklace around Xiao Hong’s neck was a Swarovski Black Swan he had bought for her.

By eight o’clock that evening, guests trickled into the store. Xiao Ming witnessed firsthand the power of the intelligent robots. Some customers, drunk in the private rooms, even chatted with the robots. The strange and amusing conversations brought a smile to Xiao Ming’s face.

However, when a customer requested the Cow service, Xiao Ming realized Aunt Chen was not there today. Manager Luo had called her several times without success. When asked, Xiao Ming only knew that since they had their first hotpot together, Aunt Chen had been gone. She hadn’t returned to the dorm for two days.

With no other choice, Manager Luo had to check other branches for available staff to temporarily fill in, relieving the urgent situation.

This routine continued for over a week. Xiao Ming had fully adapted to the job and occasionally helped Xiao Hong at the front desk with customer inquiries.

Then, about two weeks later, around five in the morning, as Xiao Ming was about to lock up and head back to the dorm, Aunt Chen arrived at the store. Her face radiated happiness, a stark contrast to the listless middle-aged woman who had once walked with her head down.

“Aunt Chen, where have you been these past ten days? The manager couldn’t reach you…”

“I’m leaving, going back to my hometown outside of Gauden City. Before I go, I wanted to come and thank you properly!” Aunt Chen’s voice trembled as tears welled up. “You haven’t eaten, right? I brought hotpot base, meat rolls, and vegetables. Let’s eat together—consider it a farewell meal!”

So, the two sat around the round table once more. Before enjoying the hotpot, they toasted a glass of strong liquor. Aunt Chen kept serving Xiao Ming meat and vegetables, as if they had returned to that very first evening they met.

The next afternoon, when Xiao Ming woke, Aunt Chen had already left, along with her clothes and belongings.

It seemed she was truly gone. Lying on his bed, Xiao Ming reflected that his first time had helped someone else immensely—it was quite ironic.

But recalling Xiao Hong’s words, Aunt Chen had endured that long stint of special work, likely taking plenty of banned drugs.

Would those drugs have adverse effects on a child if she were to become pregnant?

Xiao Ming couldn’t be sure, but the possibility of bearing a healthy child and raising it well existed, though the risks remained high.

He sighed quietly to himself and drifted into deep thought.