My Life with Narration

Chapter 509 - 500: Jiang Yu

He had to admit, at this moment, he couldn’t quite grasp Du Qiang’s feelings, but he imagined it couldn’t be good, probably a mixture of emotions swirling within him.

High school classmates—those days must feel distant for Du Qiang now, but the emotions aren’t, especially when there’s mutual affection between two people.

What’s the end of the story? Maybe it’s just that I passed the exam and saw the once pure you in a filthy corner.

This situation was not only a shock to Du Qiang but also a fatal blow to that girl.

Being seen at your most disheveled and filthy by someone you once—or even still—have feelings for. Anyone would feel awful, even wishing at that moment you’d rather jump off a building than let him see you like this. This is the genuine reaction most people would have at that time.

From this, it’s also evident that Du Qiang is not just a plain classmate in that girl’s heart; otherwise, there wouldn’t be such an extreme reaction.

If he were just a stranger, she might not care at all.

"The wind at the Red Dust Inn cuts like a knife, sudden rain taps on fate. No matter who dominates the martial world, I bend only for you, cough, cough, cough."

As Du Qiang stood by the window smoking, a hoarse voice came from behind him. To be honest, the sorrowful tone matched his current mood quite well. He turned around to see Su Qing standing behind him.

"Ahem, well, how about I pair you with some background music? Does it suit the occasion?" Seeing Qiangzi turn his head, Su Qing couldn’t help but smile.

Hearing this, Du Qiang let out a heavy sigh, turned around, and continued smoking. Although his face showed no expression, his entire aura exuded a sort of decadence. Clearly, this incident had hit him hard.

The girl he once cherished, even dared only to secretly admire, had become like this now, leaving him with a heavy sense of powerlessness. This was Du Qiang’s feeling at the moment.

The worst feeling in the world is never that the person you love doesn’t love you back, but that the person you love willingly allows others to ruin them. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.

He always felt he should do something, but it was as if he was utterly powerless, like having the strength but not being able to use it.

"Want to join me?" Su Qing noticed that Du Qiang seemed unwilling to speak. She stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, then nudged his waist gently.

In this kind of situation, there’s only so much an outsider can do; it mostly depends on Du Qiang figuring it out himself. However, being a man himself, offering his presence was certainly more comforting than Li Zijun showing up to console him, and besides, they were around the same age.

Du Qiang paused for a moment before pulling out a cigarette and handing it to him.

With a ’snap,’ a small flame flickered, soon followed by a waft of white smoke.

"Are you here to talk some sense into me?" Du Qiang said in a deep voice.

Su Qing shook his head: "Why would I do that? After all, things will pass. But if you’re willing, I wouldn’t mind listening to the story between you and her. Of course, if you’re not up for it, that’s fine too. You know, I’m someone who can chat our department’s psychologist into a breakdown."

Speaking of Wang Gang, that guy really had some bad luck, being listless for days after it; anyway, he was driven to emo by him and is now obsessed with tragic literature.

"I... She and I were high school classmates. You could say she was the class beauty, very good-looking..."

Upon hearing this, Du Qiang remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly. It wasn’t that he had a strong urge to share; rather, his chest felt so oppressive that he could hardly breathe, and he wanted someone to talk to.

The story between them was quite ordinary. Throughout high school, they hardly interacted, similar to his own situation back then. Nearly all of their classmates knew the two had feelings for each other, but neither ever spoke up.

In the end, he entered the police academy, while the girl, who had average grades, went to a vocational college, and they gradually lost touch.

Yet, that vague affection never disappeared and remained until their recent encounter. The difference in status, the divergence in positions, and the past fondness erupted all at once, followed closely by a sense of contradiction that made him incredibly uncomfortable. He hadn’t slept since last night.

According to the schedule, he should have gone home to rest by now, but because of this incident, he still hadn’t left, feeling utterly miserable.

It must be said that their relationship was truly pure, considering they were never really together but always harbored affection for each other in their hearts.

If she weren’t in his heart, it wouldn’t be so unbearable.

"I don’t know what to do now. I want to ask her why she did this, and I also want to persuade her to leave this line of work and live well in the future, but I..."

In the end, Du Qiang could only ruffle his hair in frustration, appearing somewhat agitated.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea. There are two things men should avoid doing: leading a good woman astray and advising a fallen woman to change. The former is unethical, and the latter is thankless. I think you should talk to her and find out the reason. What if there are other circumstances?" Su Qing said calmly.

Initially, he wanted to say ’prostitute,’ but thinking of the ’purist warrior’ beside him, he opted for a different term.

Hearing these words, Du Qiang shook his head: "I don’t dare see her right now. I’m afraid of agitating her. Since last night, her emotions have been unstable. I only saw her at the scene. She had a big reaction when I wanted to go in, and Lao Zhou and the others didn’t recommend I go in," Du Qiang said blandly.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go in and talk to her, but she got agitated whenever she saw him, crying all night. Even the police officers were concerned about stressing the girl too much. After all, when it comes down to it, this wasn’t such a serious matter. It doesn’t even constitute a crime. It’s just a minor violation, at most resulting in detention or a fine. It’s not like they can really sentence her?

As for the crime, that’s the organizer’s issue, so even the police were helpless.

And Su Qing understood deeply from hearing this; the girl must be suffering even more than Du Qiang. After all, this matter was beyond just social death but a blow to her dignity.

"There are two options now. One, you could go home and sleep. Let other colleagues handle this matter, pretend it never happened, or adjust your mindset. Tomorrow will be a brand new day at work, while indirectly protecting the girl’s dignity; it kills two birds with one stone.

Another option is to have an honest and open conversation. After all, you’re old classmates, and it’s obvious you both care about each other. Sometimes, once things are laid out in the open, they might actually get better. There might be hidden truths to the story, and at the very least, it’s better than suffering alone. I’m sure that girl isn’t feeling any better right now.

Of course, going directly to her might upset her. If necessary, I can go in first and find out the situation for you, and then you can decide whether to go in or not.

These are the two options. Which one do you think is better?" Su Qing pondered for a moment before speaking.

As he said these words, he could already guess what decision Du Qiang would make. If he was really capable of choosing the first option, he would have already gone, rather than smoking here.

As expected, Du Qiang was silent for a while, then responded with a question: "Is... is it possible?"

"How will you know if you don’t try? Besides, you still don’t know my capabilities, but uncovering some hidden truths shouldn’t be a problem." Su Qing said confidently.

Upon hearing this, Du Qiang’s eyes lit up again. Indeed, when it comes to questioning, Su Qing’s ability is well recognized throughout the police station.

"Then... I’ll leave it to you!"

"No need to be polite. Hand me your cigarettes, they’ll come in handy!"

"Alright."

With that, he took the cigarette from Du Qiang’s hand, waved him off, and headed towards the first floor.

Seeing him leave, Li Zijun poked her head out from the room behind, softly saying: "Don’t worry, Su Qing will definitely get the answers, but you should still be mentally prepared. After all, not all answers can be accepted."

"Yeah, I know!"

Su Qing arrived at a reception room on the first floor, and as soon as he opened the door, he was met with a scene blooming with women—over twenty girls in total, and that wasn’t even all of them.

After all, they had conducted a raid on a nightclub last night, which naturally yielded a lot, with only four police officers inside, including two newcomers, He Wendong and Yu Mingyuan.

The other two were the station’s veterans, Officer Lao Zhou and Zhang Wei. Although they weren’t from the criminal investigation department, everyone knew them, and even Su Qing, who rarely came to the station, was familiar with them.

"Hey, Su Bro, you’re here!"

"Nice to see you, Su Bro!"

He Wendong and Yu Mingyuan were pleasantly surprised to see him enter.

Looking at the two of them, Su Qing felt a slight pain in his knee and nodded while greeting the two veteran officers sitting inside:

"Uncle Zhou, Brother Wei, are you busy?"

Lao Zhou, in his mid-thirties, naturally responded to the greeting with a chuckle, but Zhang Wei, at twenty-eight or twenty-nine, found it uncomfortable. With such a common name, older people called him Xiao Wei or Xiao Zhang, but hearing younger ones call him Brother Wei felt awkward.

"Little Su, quite a rare guest!" Lao Zhou said.

Zhang Wei rolled his eyes: "How many times have I told you to call me Lao Zhang? If not, just call me Brother Zhang!"

"Brother Zhang doesn’t sound as smooth as Brother Wei, right Uncle Zhou?" Su Qing said with a grin, feeling at ease despite not wearing a police uniform.

"I can’t keep up with you youngsters’ thinking. So, is there something you need today?" Lao Zhou asked while shaking his head.

Su Qing, as a consultant, was almost never at the station, which everyone there knew, especially since he was now a public figure, quite a popular one. People at the station talked about him every day.

"Well, yes, I’m here for something. Is there a girl named Jiang Yu here?"

Su Qing asked.

"Jiang Yu? Yes, that’s her!" Lao Zhou said, pointing to a girl in the corner, who was still sobbing, with other girls around her comforting her.

Upon hearing her name, the girl also looked up. In an instant, she and Su Qing locked eyes.

The girl looked pretty, with a slim figure and an oval face. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful, but she was undeniably a little beauty in her own right, carrying a certain allure under her attire and makeup.

However, her current disheveled state was evident. Her hair was a mess, her clothes a bit revealing, and her eyes were red, giving off the impression of a woman battered by life.

The moment they made eye contact, a narrative echoed in Su Qing’s mind.

[In a society bathed in sunlight, there are always those living in the shadows. Fate seems to have no pity for them, thinking them easy to bully. Jiang Yu, a woman who is both pitiful yet resilient.]

Su Qing took a deep breath. There truly were hidden stories here.

...