Chapter 1
The neon-lit tower stood quietly in the night, a rainbow visible only after dark.
Rosie stared at it, transfixed, and didn’t turn around until Jennifer called her several times. She tucked her wind-tousled red hair behind her ear, revealing a thin golden chain dangling from her earlobe.
At one end of the delicate chain hung a white pearl; at the other, an unbloomed black rose was strung upside down. The black and white pendant swayed continuously in the warm summer breeze.
Putting on a smile, she rejoined the conversation: "Sorry, sorry—I haven’t seen the Canton Tower in so long that I zoned out."
"It’s been ages since I went out drinking at night too," Jennifer said with a laugh, picking up a sex toy from the cardboard box on her lap and twirling it in her hand. "Last month, I finally had a night off from overtime and wanted to hit up a bar. But when I got to the door, they made me take my temperature and wear a mask—I instantly lost all mood for fun."
"Come on, sister, you’re definitely not lacking in passion," Chris said, taking the white gift box with a black ribbon from Jennifer and rummaging through the assortment of toys inside. After a moment, the boy’s handsome brows furrowed: "Rosie, why are all these for women?"
"There’s one for anal play—look for the blue one," Rosie replied, crossing her legs and leaning forward slightly. Her black skirt slid back a little, faintly revealing a tattoo on the side of her thigh.
Against her pale skin, half of a black pistol was visible. The muzzle pointed downward, but instead of bullets, it "fired" clusters of bright red petals that drifted from her knee to her ankle.
Chris laid out the small toys one by one on the low table and found the one Rosie had mentioned at the bottom. Shaped like a dart—pointed at the front and thick at the back—it resembled a soft version of an anal plug, barely half the length of his slender palm.
"Overall, it’s similar to a vibrator, but much quieter," Rosie explained to the innocent young man. "Turn it on and try it—there are ten vibration modes..."
After introducing it to him, she turned to the elite woman: "Jennifer, yours is a clitoral stimulator—it’s for ‘tapping the bean.’ This one packs a powerful vibration!"
The toy in Jennifer’s hand looked like an electric toothbrush, with its silicone tip vibrating and rotating at high speed. She reached out a finger to feel the rhythm; the subtle tingling sensation at her fingertip made her curl her red lips into a smile.
Before the pandemic, Rosie hosted such "toy testing parties" several times a week, mostly for regulars like Jennifer and Chris. These VIP clients were wealthy and generous, but too busy with work to visit the store often. Rosie took good care of them—treating them to drinks and letting them personally test new toys.
Naturally, the clients appreciated such thoughtful service. Whenever Rosie started selling a new toy, they would always support her and help promote it.
A few months ago, the toy testing parties were put on hold due to the pandemic. It wasn’t until this month, when the risk of going out had decreased significantly, that Rosie invited these distinguished guests out to catch up.
Both of these "big spenders" were quite open-minded. The table was covered with sex toys—including two insertable ones—and they didn’t bother hiding them at all. Instead, they openly discussed how to use each other’s toys for maximum pleasure.
Their loud voices made the young waiter delivering drinks blush, leaving him unsure where to place the tray of glasses.
Rosie took the cardboard box back from Chris, packed all the small items on the table into it, and smiled at the boy: "Thank you—you can just leave the tray here."
The three cocktails were as colorful as the tower beside them: "Sunset Afterglow," "Sea Iceberg," and "Snow Rose."
Jennifer simply took off her red high heels, curled her shapely legs up on the sofa, and used the vibrating toy to massage the stiff muscle in her neck: "Hey, it actually works as an acupressure massager too!"
"Have you been that busy lately?" Rosie asked, putting down her glass and taking a cigarette from Chris—a Bohem Mojito pop bead cigarette, emitting a faint lime scent.
"Extremely busy—so busy I don’t even have time to play with toys," Jennifer replied, brushing her neat short hair behind her ear. She pulled out her own cigarette from her black platinum handbag, tapped it lightly, and put it to her lips. Lowering her voice slightly, she smiled: "You know what? I’ve been bringing my ‘little bird’ to the office. Sometimes when overtime gets too tough, I close the curtains and have a quick release while looking at those lousy reports and documents..."
Rosie raised her eyebrows: "Wow, a Fortune 500 executive playing with sex toys in the office—what amazing time management skills!"
"Heh, if I don’t work myself to the bone, I might get early retirement during this pandemic," Jennifer said with a faint smile, leaning forward to tap the cigarette ash into the ashtray. "When I was young, I thought climbing high enough would let me have everything. But now, the higher I climb, the more it feels like walking a tightrope. It’s pitch black below—you can’t see what’s there, but you know there are plenty of people waiting for you to fall."
"It’s better to be your own boss. If I do get laid off, maybe I should start a business—like investing in a pet store or something..." Jennifer’s red lips parted slightly, and the smoke and her muttering quickly dissipated in the night wind.
"This turmoil has affected every industry. My business has completely shut down—I can’t even go abroad to source goods, so how am I supposed to bring products back?"
A rare shadow of gloom clouded Chris’s usual cheerful youthful demeanor. He took a video of the toys he wanted to buy and sent it to his boyfriend in South Korea, along with a few coquettish voice messages filled with Korean terms like "oppa" that Rosie didn’t understand.
As her cigarette burned halfway, a hint of minty coolness rose in her throat. Rosie crushed the pop bead with her teeth—pop—and the lime flavor spread in her mouth. After Chris finished sending the messages, she asked: "Chris, since you can’t go see your boyfriend these days, how do you maintain your relationship?"
"What else can we do? Only video calls..." He sighed. "If this goes on, who knows if oppa will be tempted by some other guy over there?"
"Our Chris is so cute," Jennifer said, ruffling his fluffy hair. "If that Korean oppa can’t stand the loneliness and cheats on you, we will fly to South Korea with you and ‘take care of him’." She tilted her head back and finished her "Sunset Afterglow" cocktail in one gulp.
Having been pent-up for so long, the two spoke openly about sexual matters without any restraint. Fortunately, the bar had widened the spacing between tables; otherwise, Rosie would have worried about disturbing other customers.
She waved to call the waiter and ordered another round of drinks for the two, who had gotten carried away with their conversation.
The night wind blew through the trees surrounding the cozy bar, rustling the leaves. For a moment, Rosie thought she heard the sound of the sea.
As the light flickered, Rosie turned to look at the tower again.
So much had happened this year, yet the tower and the full moon seemed to remain unchanged.
After a few rounds of drinks, Rosie picked up the box of toy samples and went to pay. The boy who took her money was the same waiter who had delivered the drinks earlier. Noticing the boy’s round eyes stealing glances at the box in her hand, Rosie smiled knowingly. She pulled out a business card from her handbag and placed it in front of the boy, whispering: "If you’re interested, you can contact me."
The business card was black, with an embossed golden rose in the center and the store name "Rose Slave" printed below.
The boy’s eyes widened. Glancing to make sure the bar manager wasn’t looking, he quickly tucked the black business card into her apron.
Rosie put her index finger to her lips in a "shh" gesture, winked at her, and turned toward the main door.
Jennifer stood beside her car, opening an app to book a designated driver: "Chris, you’re riding back with Rosie, right?"
"Yeah, we’re on the same route."
"Alright, then I’m heading back to the office."
Rosie placed the box in her car trunk and also opened the Uber app: "Why are you going back to the office? I thought you came straight from work."
"Anyway, no one’s waiting for me at home. Back at the office, the security guards make their rounds every hour and say hello to me—it’s actually livelier there," Jennifer said with a smile.
Chris teased playfully: "So the security guard is good-looking? Has our Manager Chris taken a fancy to him?"
"Not as good-looking as our Chris," Jennifer retorted with a sideways glance. Just then, her phone rang—it was the designated driver confirming his location. She answered and verified the details.
Rosie set her destination and tapped "Request Driver." There were many drivers waiting nearby, and the system quickly assigned one to her.
As the driver’s information popped up on the screen, Rosie didn’t have time to read it carefully before a strange call came through.
For a split second, only two words appeared in her eyes: "Ryan G"
