Working in Dongguan: The Girls I Met Over the Years

Chapter 256 Vulnerable and Helpless

Half an hour later, the car came to a smooth stop downstairs at Carina Lau's house. The night was as dark as ink, and all around was quiet.

Ma Junjie turned off the engine and looked over; Liu Jialing was still gazing out the window.

The reflection in the car window shows Carina Lau's eyes looking vacant, as if veiled in mist, lost and hazy.

"Sister Liu, we've arrived at your house..." Ma Junjie said softly.

Carina Lau's body suddenly twitched, and she softly responded with an "Oh."

Then he slowly turned his head, but didn't move for a long time.

Looking at Carina Lau's vulnerable state, Ma Junjie suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He sighed inwardly, and without hesitation, pushed open the car door and got out.

Ma Junjie walked around the front of the car, went to the passenger side, and gently opened the car door.

He stretched out his hand and said,

"Sister Liu, come on up, I'll take you up."

"Come, hold my hand!"

Carina Lau looked up at Ma Junjie, paused for a while, but didn't say anything.

"Sister Liu, come on, hold on to me, I'll help you up."

"What you need to do now is get some rest!"

Ma Junjie reached out again, bent down, and unbuckled Carina Lau's seatbelt.

Seeing that Carina Lau still hadn't reacted, he simply reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Sister Liu, come on over!"

Carina Lau gave a soft "hmm," then reached out and placed her hand on Ma Junjie's hand before slowly getting out of the car.

Carina Lau is indeed very tired.

Her legs felt weak and she walked with a light, unsteady gait.

Ma Junjie supported her forcefully, occasionally pressing his body against Liu Jialing's.

I was afraid she might accidentally fall down the stairs.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway flickered on and off, then on again, in sync with the sound of their footsteps.

After much difficulty, the two finally arrived at Carina Lau's house.

Ma Junjie took the key from Carina Lau's bag and gently opened the door.

When the door opened, the room felt cold and empty.

A sliver of moonlight streamed in from the living room balcony, casting its glow on the cold tiles and adding to the room's desolation.

A thin blanket was draped over the sofa, half on the sofa and half on the floor.

"Sister Liu, hold the door open for me, I'll go turn on the light."

Ma Junjie entered the room, fumbled for the light switch in the dark, and the warm yellow light instantly filled the room, illuminating the tear stains on Carina Lau's face.

"Sister Liu, come, sit on the sofa!"

Ma Junjie helped Carina Lau sit down on the sofa.

He turned around, went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of hot water, and walked over to Carina Lau's side.

"Sister Liu, drink some hot water to warm yourself up. Don't think too much. Get a good night's sleep. Bingbing will definitely be back tomorrow."

Carina Lau held the water glass, her fingers trembling slightly.

After a while, she looked up at Bingbing's bedroom.

The bedroom door was open, and nothing inside had changed.

Then, it's like everything is missing when just one person is gone.

"Bingbing... Waaah..."

Carina Lau couldn't hold back any longer; her shoulders trembled slightly, and she slowly began to sob.

"Pat-pat, pat!"

Large teardrops fell to the ground and into the water glass.

Ma Junjie clenched his fists.

It felt as if those tears had not only fallen on the ground and into the water, but had all fallen into my heart.

He hated himself, and he hated the kidnapper. At this moment, his heart was in unbearable pain.

However, he also knew that now was not the time to vent his negative emotions.

Now more than ever, I need to stay calm.

Because Carina Lau still needs to be comforted, and Liu Bingbing has not yet returned.

Ma Junjie perked up, turned his head to look at Carina Lau, and quietly sat down beside her.

He didn't say anything more to comfort her, but simply stayed quietly by Carina Lau's side.

Some emotions are better left unaddressed than to be patiently advised.

She sat there for an unknown amount of time, and then Carina Lau seemed to calm down a bit.

She raised her head and said in a hoarse voice,

"Thank you, A-Jie."

Ma Junjie smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Sister Liu, please don't say that. I didn't do anything."

He looked up at the clock on the wall; the hour hand was pointing to eleven.

"Sister Liu, it's getting late. You should get some rest. I'm heading back too."

"You can rest at home tomorrow and wait for our good news."

After saying that, Ma Junjie stood up and started to leave.

As soon as I walked away, my wrist was gripped by a slightly cool hand.

Ma Junjie was startled and looked down to see Liu Jialing staring at him.

"Sister Liu... Sister Liu, you..."

Carina Lau looked up at him with red, pleading eyes.

"Ah Jie, don't go, stay with me, okay?"

"But Sister Liu, it's late, you...I..." Ma Junjie still wanted to leave quickly.

At this moment, Carina Lau murmured to herself,

"Ah Jie, when I look at Bingbing's empty house, I can't help but have all sorts of wild thoughts. I wonder how Bingbing is doing now... I..."

Ma Junjie's heart softened, and his nose tingled with emotion.

He saw vulnerability and helplessness in Carina Lau's eyes and words.

Ma Junjie's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily a few times.

Slowly sit down.

"Okay, Sister Liu, I'll go with you..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ma Junjie suddenly felt a figure lunge at him.

His mind went blank, and he froze.

He only realized then that Carina Lau's head was resting on his shoulder, her warm breath brushing against his neck, carrying a faint scent of perfume.

"Ah Jie, hold me, hold me tight..."

Ma Junjie's hands were stiff as sticks, at a loss. After hesitating for a moment, he finally placed them on Liu Jialing's back.

Gently pat, gently stroke...

That night, the living room light stayed on for half the night.

Ma Junjie kept his eyes open, unaware of when Carina Lau had fallen asleep.

He only remembered that Carina Lau's breathing gradually became steady, so he carefully carried her to the bed in the bedroom.

I pulled the covers up, tiptoed out, and curled up on the sofa for the night.

The next morning, Carina Lau woke up as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the curtains.

She rubbed her throbbing temples as she walked out of the bedroom and immediately saw a figure curled up on the sofa.

Ma Junjie was fast asleep, his brows slightly furrowed, covered with a thin blanket. The morning light fell on his angular face, making him look like a statue.

As Carina Lau watched, her heart skipped a beat; fragments of memories from last night slowly surfaced.

Last night, I think I clung to Ma Junjie, not letting him leave. I think I even hugged him and cried. I think... I even asked him to sleep with me, saying I wanted to...

Thinking of this, Carina Lau's cheeks instantly flushed.

Without realizing it, she looked down at herself and her face turned even redder.

"Oh no!" Carina Lau exclaimed softly.

She had walked out in a daze, and was only wearing underwear.

She was preparing to leave slowly when, just then, Ma Junjie stirred on the sofa and opened his eyes.

Their eyes met, and instantly, the air froze.

A few seconds later, Ma Junjie quickly looked away, his ears burning red. He stood up awkwardly and turned his head away.

"Sister Liu, you're awake."

Carina Lau hummed in response, feigning nonchalance.

She turned around and slowly walked into the bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, Carina Lau quickly closed the door, leaned against it, covered her burning face, and felt her heart pounding wildly.

In the living room, Ma Junjie also felt extremely embarrassed.

Seeing Carina Lau enter the bedroom, he quickly stood up from the sofa.

I thought to myself that I couldn't stay here any longer; if I stayed any longer, something bad would happen sooner or later.

He stood up, ready to leave.

"Buzz buzz buzz..." Suddenly, the phone in my pocket started vibrating incessantly.

Ma Junjie subconsciously took it out, glanced at it, and his brows furrowed instantly. This wasn't his phone.

The black phone case has some wear on the edges, and the caller ID on the screen displays two words: "Monkey".

Ma Junjie instantly realized that this wasn't his phone, but Zhang Qiang's.

I picked it up from the ground last night, put it in my pocket without thinking about it.

Now, seeing the name "Monkey," Ma Junjie felt puzzled.

The monkey was Zhang Qiang's right-hand man, his loyal follower.

What was the monkey calling Zhang Qiang for so early in the morning?

Ma Junjie gripped his phone, his fingers tightening slightly.

He stared at the names flashing on the screen, wondering whether he should answer.

My finger hovered over the answer button for a few seconds, but before it could fall, the call suddenly ended.

"Tch." Ma Junjie curled his lip, thinking to himself that Monkey and Zhang Qiang were in cahoots, conspiring against each other, and could definitely not be anything good.

He couldn't be bothered to care about their affairs.

Seeing that the call had ended, Ma Junjie was just about to put his phone back in his pocket when he thought, "Perfect!"

Suddenly, the screen lit up again, and then a "ding-dong" sound appeared, and a text message popped up.

Ma Junjie was simply curious; he subconsciously stared at the text message.

The text message was very short. Ma Junjie glanced at it, but suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his mind exploded instantly.

He disregarded everything and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sister Liu, come out, come out quickly!"