My Life with Narration

Chapter 518 - 509: Du Qiang and Jiang Yu

Jiang City, a small eatery near the East City Public Security Bureau.

Du Qiang sat in plain clothes on a chair: "Boss, one order of braised pork, one order of cola chicken wings, two bowls of rice, and two bottles of soda!"

"Alright, coming right up!"

The voice of the restaurant owner came from the kitchen.

"These should be fine, right?" Du Qiang smiled at the girl across from him.

At this moment, Jiang Yu sat somewhat uneasily, her head lowered. Even though the two of them had resolved their misunderstandings over the past two days, she still dared not meet Du Qiang’s eyes, always feeling an innate sense of inferiority.

In the span of these two days, with Du Qiang’s help, things had finally come to a close, and she had also left the Public Security Bureau, but the feelings of inferiority in her heart hadn’t disappeared. Thankfully, she wasn’t as agitated as she was at the start, wanting to end her life.

After all, Jiang Yu was just taken away due to an unfortunate event, nothing too serious. For Du Qiang, such a small matter—though he was just an officer, a word from him could still warrant enough respect from his colleagues.

That’s the way it is here domestically; no matter where you go, there’s always the matter of relationships, which is why people in Jiang City are willing to take the civil service exam.

Even if the salary isn’t much, at least it’s stable, with good benefits. Most importantly, you get to know some people—after all, who goes through life without facing some issues?

Listening to Du Qiang’s words warmed Jiang Yu’s heart; after so many years, she hadn’t expected him to remember her preferences.

Braised pork and cola chicken wings—she didn’t particularly like them. It was just that once, back when they were at the cafeteria, Du Qiang shared his lunch with her, and it happened to be those two dishes. Back then, as long as it wasn’t just buns and salted vegetables, she’d eat anything without complaint and naturally ate quite a bit.

She had casually mentioned that she liked those dishes, and unexpectedly, he remembered it until now. Even now, she has tasted so much of the finer foods but still recalls those days with fondness.

Though the place was different and the taste slightly skewed, at least it was still the two of them. But she was not the same girl she once was. Thinking this, a shadow of sadness passed over Jiang Yu’s eyes, but she quickly recovered, lowering her head and whispering:

"I didn’t think you’d remember..."

"Oh, what’s there to forget? As long as you like it, that’s good. I was just worried your tastes might have changed," Du Qiang clearly didn’t notice the change in Jiang Yu’s gaze, cheerfully continuing.

"No... they haven’t, they never have," Jiang Yu murmured softly. Watching Du Qiang open the soda bottle for her, she thought for a moment and raised her voice slightly, "Thank... thank you. If it weren’t for you this time... I didn’t want to worry my mom, her health isn’t good."

"No need to thank me, it was nothing. Oh, once we’re done eating, I’ll take you home, alright? Go home quickly and take a look, also... we’re classmates, friends, so please promise me to not do anything like this again. Find a job, even if the salary is low, it’s fine. If you have any troubles, you can talk to me. Don’t worry, money isn’t an issue!"

Watching the man in front of her trying to advise her earnestly, Jiang Yu’s eyes turned misty, her vision beginning to blur. The figure in front of her started to overlap with the one from high school, and even the surroundings seemed to transform back into the school cafeteria.

He was still talking at length, and she continued to listen silently. Only now the words had changed from urging her to eat more and not save money to persuading her to walk the right path.

"You’re just the same as before," Jiang Yu didn’t respond directly but instead said with a soft laugh.

How could she want to do such things? It was just that she had no choice. If given the choice, who wouldn’t want to live in the light?

If given the choice, who wouldn’t want to work at a company, enjoying takeout and afternoon tea, shopping on weekends, and going on impromptu trips during holidays?

She just had no choice, hiding in grimy alleys, struggling to maintain her current life. But even this modest wish might be taken away; her mother’s health wasn’t looking good, and she didn’t want to lose her only family.

I can be mired in the mud, but the people I love cannot.

At the same time, she didn’t want her muddy self to sully those she loved.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Du Qiang waved his hand in front of his old classmate, seeing her gaze become unfocused.

"Huh? I... I promise, to live well, find a job,"

Regaining her senses, Jiang Yu nodded and agreed.

Of course, she understood her situation, but she truly didn’t wish to see any more disappointment in the eyes of the man before her.

This might even be their last meeting, and knowing that, lying to him didn’t seem so bad. After all, her image in his eyes was likely already quite damaged, what was one more time?

Jiang City isn’t too big, but not too small either. If needed, she could take her mother to a nearby county to live, avoiding him as much as possible. Even if she couldn’t help it, she could watch from afar.

"That’s the spirit. Let me tell you, not to brag, but the guy you chatted with last time, the one not in uniform, is the Stock God online, made billions in the stock market. He’s my junior. I can at least get him to recommend a couple of stocks. Next time, I’ll take you along. Getting rich might be hard, but earning some pocket money is no issue. Oh, here come the cola chicken wings, let’s eat first..."

Listening to Du Qiang’s continuous chatter, the corners of Jiang Yu’s mouth lifted slightly. She liked this feeling, as if she had returned to those carefree, innocent days.

But happy times always seemed short-lived. After eating, Du Qiang offered to take her home, but she refused, only asking to walk with him for a while.

As they walked, they talked about recent events over the past few years. Mostly it was Du Qiang who talked, and she listened, while he also shared plans for the future.

Until they reached a crossroads, Jiang Yu took a deep breath and spoke: "Alright, this is far enough. My home isn’t far from here; you should head back. Thanks for spending so much time with me after work."

"No problem. Since it’s not far, let’s walk a bit more. I’ll take you to your building," Du Qiang replied with a smile.

But Jiang Yu didn’t agree, just looked at him quietly.

Perhaps sensing his overstep, Du Qiang scratched his head: "Alright then. I’m heading off, you get home and rest, keep in touch."

"Okay!"

With a wave, Du Qiang casually hailed a cab, and the two parted ways.

Watching the taxi fade into the distance, Jiang Yu bit her lip, intertwining her hands tightly.

After standing there for a long time, she finally relented, resignedly turning around and heading back into the dark alley behind her.

She was returning to the "sewers," like a rat. The sunlight might occasionally reach her, but she belonged to the darkness, unable to escape it.

But at least she had seen the light, even if she knew she couldn’t touch it. And yet, it was still... so beautiful.

After Jiang Yu’s figure completely disappeared into the darkness, a shadow quietly stood where she had been moments before—none other than the departed Du Qiang.

As a detective, such maneuvers were child’s play to him. After two days of contact, he clearly felt Jiang Yu was hiding something from him, especially just now. Although he kept finding topics to talk about, and Jiang Yu seemed very happy to see him, even touched, he still sensed she was deliberately keeping her distance.

"Is this what Master meant by not being from the same world?" Du Qiang murmured, looking in the direction Jiang Yu had left.

His matter was known to Li Zijun and Su Qing, no reason why Zhao Minghui, his mentor and team leader, wouldn’t know.

When he went to smooth things over, his mentor Zhao Minghui had patted him on the shoulder, sighed, and said that sentence: "You two aren’t from the same world, let it go."

Standing there for a long time, in the end, he didn’t give chase, only turned to leave. Yet for some reason, his heart felt a faint pang of discomfort.

...