Part 21: The Longest Class

_{content warning: human trafficking, body horror, crossdressing (there's no transphobic content but still, mentioning it nonetheless since gender shit is weird)}

[BGM: Air]


The Longest Class

The simulation exams were right around the corner; everyone was busy preparing for it today.
Mr. Wen hadn't mentioned anything about canceling the class, however. Besides, I was still his assistant to the art class, so I went along.

However, the room was empty. There was no one there, not even Mr. Wen.

I felt a little disappointed.
Just when I was wondering whether I should go back and study for the exam...

“Sit down. Time for class.”
Mr. Wen walked past me, took off his coat and laid it on the back of a chair near me.

“Why are you the only one here?”
“It's the simulation exams tomorrow. Everyone is freaking out about them.”
I grabbed a chair and sat down.



Mr. Wen seemed a little unhappy.
Was he going to cancel the class today?
I supposed that I should get ready to go back and study too.

“What would you like to draw today?”
Mr. Wen abruptly asked.

What I would like to draw?
It surprsied me that I was hearing this question coming out of his mouth.

“Er... something more difficult?”
I said, hoping that it would make me appear more motivated.

“Then draw me.”

“But... you would have to pose for a long time. That is too much for me to ask...”
I honestly didn't want to do that. If I messed it up... when I messed it up, he was going to tear me, not the drawing, into pieces.



“Don't overthink it.”
Mr. Wen took out his kit, set up the easel, and continued.
“I'll do a sketch too. I'll draw you.”

After making sure that my ears weren't lying to me, I sprung up from my chair.
“Wait, wait! L-let me go and change first!”

I sprinted out of the classroom.
I was still sweaty and smelly from playing tennis earlier, and I was wearing a sports jacket that was one size too large because I ordered the wrong one.
It would be so embarrassing to be drawn like this...

Furthermore... the more I thought about it... the more I felt like this was some sort of a trap.
If I drew him badly... no, not if, WHEN...
With his temper, he would almost certainly not let me off the hook easily...

Well... I felt like I had turned into a dried fish on a cutting board, waiting to be cut up.



I opened the locker and picked out the dress that Jing had bought when it was on sale a while ago.
She had bought two of them and given me one as a present. I had never tried it on before.
My school uniform was still drying off at home after laundry day yesterday, so this would have to do for now.

I put the dress on.
It fit well, size-wise. But maybe because it hadn't been washed I felt a weird itching once I put it on...

Mr. Wen showed no reaction to my new outfit.
And so we began our sketching practice.

...Drawing a portrait was so hard.
And my back being itchy kept distracting me.
By the time the bell rang I had barely drawn a rough draft...

Mr. Wen put away his sketch, yet he didn't ask to see mine either.



He was about to leave the classroom when he stopped at the door. He looked at me and opened his mouth. He looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't.
Eventually, he left with a look of disappointment on his face.

What the hell was wrong with him? What did I do to him this time?

Li Wen



[BGM: Friend of Mine]


Pretty “Girl”

I brought Ye to the auction house. She was still burning up and barely conscious.
I handed her to the boss there, a middle-aged fat man named Lucky Zhao who had a full mouth of gold teeth.

Usually when the gang mentioned “taking care of” someone without additional instructions, it meant to bring the girls to the auction house.
Basically, I was only asked to do the legwork.
As for the girls who had been “taken care of”, they had probably all been sold to people abroad.
I had heard rumors that besides the legitimate auctions, the house conducted illegal ones in secret, too.
There were many kinds of outlandish “merchandise” in this building, and that included humans.

Just as I was about to leave, I couldn't control my curiosity anymore; I asked the guy at the front desk,
“Hey man, where do these pretty girls get sold to?”

The guy put down the stainless steel mug in his hand.
“The people brought here by the Black Dragon Gang? Well, those girls are usually just sent to southeast Asia.”



Southeast Asia?
“Why there? Are they sent to be housemaids?”

“Are you stupid or something? Housemaids? Your gang always told us that these girls are to be sent to become Human Sticks. Have you ever seen a freak show? They have no tongues, eyes, arms, or legs. They have nothing but their torsos left, and they're locked in a cage.”

[BGM: No Escape from Here]
I almost threw up.
This was the first time I had ever heard the phrase “Human Sticks”, and I eventually figured out what it meant based on his descriptions.
I would rather die than live like that.

As a Catholic, I had always been taught to do good deeds so that I could be absolved of my sins and go to heaven.
After joining the gang, I had done many bad things... but I could never be involved in something so evil.

No. I couldn't just let Ye suffer like this.
Damn it! If only I hadn't brought her here. These people would never willingly let her go now.
I had to get her out of here, and then try to explain to Mr. Kuan.



“Hey! I just remembered. Mr. Kuan wanted me to tell the girl something.”
“Ugh... what for? She's on the fourth floor. Make it quick.”

The front desk guy picked up today's Ming Pao newspaper and did not look up again.

As I was climbing the stairs I thought that I heard people crying.
Were those the girls that were going to be sold?

A strange thought suddenly hit me.
Could it be possible that Alicia had also been sold here, just like these unfortunate people?
The thought had come out of nowhere, but I felt extremely unsettled.

Ye had been locked in a room at the end of the fourth floor. The guard had stepped away for a moment.
Her entire body had been burning up. I woke her up and helped her into my own clothes, shorts, and shoes.
I kept reminding her to be careful while we snuck out of the building.

Poor girl.
With a fever like this, she would probably die on the way to southeast Asia if I didn't help her.



I thought she was ready to go, when she turned around and hugged me.
Hmm? Did I forget something? Oh right!
I pulled the brimmed hat on my head off and put it on her almost bald head, which had been shaved by Mr. Kuan.
It was a real shame that he had done that to her. She looked really pretty with her long hair.

Ye tried her best, got herself together, and left the room.

Well, now was the difficult part.
The action house was quite big. Not only would it take a while to exit the building, even if she got out, the guards could easily catch up to her while she was still nearby.
I had to get her more time to escape.



I scoured the room.
I couldn't find anything I could wear.
Nothing but a long wig.
I had never seen a wig before. I found it a little amusing.
But there weren't any clothes. I couldn't just be naked, could I?

I picked up her dress.
The dress ripped in the back.
I sat down with my back towards the door.
I loosened the hair and let it down.

I sat down with nothing but my boxer shorts on.
I tried my best to keep calm.

There was no other way.
The dress ripped apart the moment I tried to put my legs in!
Why did I even try it? I knew it wouldn't fit.
I should have kept it intact as a memento.
What an idiot I was!

I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door.
I swallowed nervously.



I saw the guard's shocked expression through the small window on the door.
I heard him scream.
Then I heard the alarms.

Ye had not been able to leave the building yet, and she was soon brought back.
I was thrown out onto the streets with nothing but my boxer shorts.

Damn it!
I couldn't just do nothing and let Ye be sent to a living hell!
Lord, please guide me!

Carlos

[BGM: Air]


Well, at least one side of this is pretty straightforward in terms of figuring out what our end goal is- find a way to delay the guards have realized Ye is gone until she can make it out of the building. There's a lot of ways we can re-arrange these pieces, though, so let's get started.



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


Wear a dress. I couldn't. It was too embarrassing.
Wearing nothing but my boxer shorts, I sat down.
I tried my best to keep calm.

I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door.
I swallowed nervously.

I saw the guard's shocked expression through the small window on the door.
I heard him scream.
Then I heard the alarms.

Ye had not been able to leave the building yet and was soon brought back.
And I was thrown out onto the streets with nothing but my boxer shorts.

I shouldn't have let Ye be caught just because I was too embarrassed to wear a dress.
Lord, please let me help her escape...



[BGM: Air]


Jing was way too careless when she bought this dress... the stitches were already coming apart. No wonder it was on sale.
But... I was only going to wear this once, and that would be it.

Mr. Wen showed no reaction to my new outfit.
And so we began our sketching practice.

...Drawing a portrait was so hard.
I kept drawing and erasing over and over again.
I didn't notice that Mr. Wen had already left his seat, until he walked past me.

“Let's just call it a day. You still have the exam tomorrow. Go back and study.”
Mr. Wen put away his easel, grabbed his coat, and left the classroom.



Well, that didn't really change much. This puzzle's a bit more subtle since the actions are in turn pretty minor/small scale, so we're probably going to have to tinker a bit.



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


My back felt cold.
I looked down at the dress that was wrapped around myself in front, yet it was completely ripped in the back.

There was no other way.
The dress ripped apart the moment I tried to put my legs in!
Still, it was better than being completely naked.

I had no choice but to sit with my bare back towards the door.
Obviously, I couldn't let them see my face. They would know immediately.



I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door.
I swallowed nervously.

The door knob turned.
Someone came into the room.
I lowered my head, hoping to keep my cover as long as I could, even if only for just one more second.

A rough hand started to caress my back.
I tried to stifle a laugh, but it was too itchy.
“Aha!”

The hand stopped.
Crap!

I stood up and tried to run away.
But every guard here was professionally trained.
He tackled me from behind and hit me hard on my right ankle.
It didn't break the bone, but I knew I wouldn't be able to stand up for a while.

Ye hadn't been able to leave the building yet, and she was stoon brought back.
We were locked in the same room, tied together with rope.



Lucky Zhao stood in front of us and took a cigar out of his pocket.
“So much trouble...”

“Boss, it won't be trouble at all.”
The guy at the front desk was standing next to Zhao. He was holding a lighter and lit the cigar for his boss.
“If the Black Dragon Gang comes and asks about them, we'll just tell them they've never been here... Isn't that perfect?”

There are a few more Bad Endings we're going to be skipping, both for length but also just because they're functionally the same as endings we've already seen- there's only so many ways we can see 'Carlos is discovered and Ye fails to escape' before they start blending together.



Li Wen is the only one to have a non-S non-Bad end, so let's get that taken care of now.

[BGM: Air]


I thought about it for a while and decided it was too embarrassing to change into a dress just for a sketch.
I might as well stick with the oversized jacket.

I was still feeling a little warm from tennis earlier. Sweat kept dripping down my forehead.
I had to wipe it off constantly using napkins.
Fortunately the sun was already setting, otherwise it would have been even warmer.

When the class finally ended, I looked at my sketch, and sighed.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Wen tore my sketch up once again.
I had lost count of how many times he had torn up my drawings.
Besides... I was actually pretty bad at this.

I did wonder how I looked in his drawing.

Before I could ask, he seemed to know what I was going to say, and he quickly left with his belongings.
Oh well...



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


The dress was really tight.
I looked down at the dress that was wrapped tightly around myself. I could still feel the warmth from Ye's body, and smell a faint trace of her scent.
I had never worn a girl's clothes, except for my sister's. I felt my face starting to blush.

I sat down facing the door and lowered my head.
I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door.
I swallowed nervously.

I saw the guard's shocked expression through the small window on the door.
I heard him scream.
Then I heard the alarms.

How did he know? Was it because my chest was too flat?
Ye had not been able to leave the building yet and she was soon brought back.
And I was thrown out onto the street, still wearing the dress.

Damn it! I couldn't just do nothing and ye tYe be sent to a living hell! Lord, please guide me!



And now, let's get the S endings for both...



[BGM: Angelic Touch]


I thought about it for a while and decided it was too embarrassing to change into a dress just for a sketch. I might as well just sit with the oversized jacket.

The golden sunlight from the setting sun shone down upon Mr. Wen and me.
It felt warm, but not too warm.

Mr. Wen's sketch paper rustled lightly in the breeze, as did his hair.
He looked so focused that I had found myself staring at him without even realizing it.

Mr. Wen looked up.
Our eyes met silently...

When I finally came to my senses and lowered my head, my heart had skipped a few beats.



The bell rang. I reluctantly handed my sketch to him.
“If you want to tear it up... go ahead.”

“...”

I had lost count of how many times he had torn up my drawings.
Besides... I was actually pretty bad at this.

Mr. Wen handed me the sketch.
It wasn't mine though, it was his.

Was that... really me?
I was speechless, and I couldn't find a word in my vocabulary to describe it, other than “beautiful”.
I never would have imagined that a person who was always so cold and distant would be able to create something so warm and intimate.

Suddenly, an idea came to me.
I held the sketch up in his face, and pointed at a random spot.
“There is a serious problem here, haha!”

Mr. Wen looked at the sketch, puzzled.
Before he could take a good look, I took the sketch back.

“I will not tolerate this kind of thing in my class.”
I imitated his tone, took a few steps back, then tore up the sketch and threw the pieces into the trash.



Hahahaha, what a historical moment!
I finally turned the tables on him!

I quickly ran out of the classroom.
Thinking back on how many of my sketches he had shredded, I felt great about getting back at him.



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


The dress was really tight.
I looked down at the dress that was wrapped tightly around myself. I could still feel the warmth from Ye's body, and smell a faint trace of her scent.
I had never worn a girl's clothes, except for my sister's. I felt my face starting to blush.

I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door.
But then they started moving away.

A few minutes later, I saw Ye leaving the building through the window.
She walked out of the gate, turned to her right and slowly walked out of my sight.
If she kept walking in that direction for another couple of kilometers, she would be on the turf of the Blood Gang.
I finally felt relaxed.

May the Lord bless you, Ye.

[BGM: Silence]


Now that Ye had got away, I didn't need to worry about my own escape.
When I was at the orphanage I had always been the fastest kid.
We used to go up on the hill to hunt rabbits. The other kids would take a whole day, but I only needed 3 hours.

[BGM: Russian Horse]
I ran out of the room and sprinted towards the stairway.
The guard noticed me, but before he could make a sound I had already jumped down an entire flight. I was able to go down to the first floor with just three jumps.

I ran past the front desk so fast that the newspaper was blown out of the front desk guy's hands.
By the time he realized what had just happened, and who that had been, I was already long gone from the auction house.

Still, what should I tell Mr. Kuan?

I wandered around the streets when I finally noticed people kept giving me strange looks.
That was when I realized I was still wearing Ye's dress!
Oh my gosh, that was so embarrassing!



I lowered my head and walked quickly towards the less crowded part of the street, afraid of being seen.
I found myself in a strange alley that I had never seen before.

At the end of the alley there was a small coffee shop.
The sign looked like a maple leaf, and it said “Maple House” on it.

I was stunned. I seemed to remember that Alicia had mentioned a place like this in her first few letters.
Yes! She used to work here!
Since Alicia had never mentioned the address of the coffee shop, I had never been able to find it.
Yet here it was... right here.
Finally, I was about to find my big sister, Alicia!

I ran up the stairs of the coffee shop filled with all of the excitement in the world, but someone suddenly grabbed both my arms from behind.
It was... a policeman?



…

[BGM: New Life]






NEW MESSAGE: So Far, Yet So Close



NEW MESSAGE: Pills