Hotel Girls in Dongguan: Growth Taught by Life?

【Dongguan Underworld Stories】In 2000s Guancheng, neon lights wrapped the city in a clamor, and behind the curtains of the Crown Prince Hotel lay the struggles of countless people. Su Chen scraped by in the gray areas of life, watching people come and go every day, until he met them. Li Danni took a job as a front-desk cashier to cover her younger brother's tuition, and always kept the books perfectly balanced. Li Ru wanted to save up enough to open a small clothing shop, and spent her breaks sketching designs. Xiao Xian Nu had fled domestic violence back home. Clutching the hem of her clothes, she said, “I want to make it on my own.” Su Chen helped them plenty: steering them clear of difficult customers, showing them how to get through the required procedures, and shielding them from drunken harassment. But the hotel's waters grew murkier by the day. Someone was trying to stir up trouble, and rumors of a crackdown were growing louder. The women began looking out for one another, using the account books to uncover the shady dealings behind the scenes. But Su Chen's past was like a thorn, and his “friends” kept showing up to urge him to “go back to his old line of work.” As the hotel's lights flickered, could they hold on to their principles amid the rising tide? And could Su Chen find a way back from the edge between the lawful and the lawless, for their sake and his own?