My Life with Narration

Chapter 539 - 530: The Cause

The leisurely time of the past half month was suddenly disrupted; no one expected Jiang Yu would go missing.

Logically speaking, if a person goes missing, it’s a big deal, but no one reported it to the police, so there’s no way for them to start an investigation. Maybe she deliberately avoided Du Qiang, moved elsewhere to live, and changed her contact information.

You can’t expect the police to search for someone just because they suddenly disappear, right? After all, it’s a state institution, not a personal service.

With the police unable to help, Du Qiang had to search on his own and had already taken two days off consecutively.

Of course, it helps that the captain of the criminal investigation department, Zhao Minghui, is Du Qiang’s mentor, so he could look out for him a bit. He felt a bit uneasy about his poor little apprentice, which is why he called him in. After all, Su Qing doesn’t know many people in the police department, but Du Qiang is definitely one of them.

"Sister Jun, are you off duty today?" Su Qing asked Li Zijun, who was dressed in civilian clothes.

Hearing this, Li Zijun sighed helplessly and said, "I was supposed to be off, but it seems ruined now. Once this matter is over, I must teach Du Qiang a lesson."

As she said this, Li Zijun gritted her teeth, clearly very angry. Although she was upset, she came after receiving a phone call about the situation from Team Leader Zhao and her mentor Lin Chengcai. Mainly, she was also quite worried about Du Qiang’s current state.

In response, Su Qing sighed, "It’s already mid-December, how could she just disappear like this? Moreover, it’s been such a long time, it can’t be that she went to another place, and her mother has passed away, shouldn’t she be taking care of the funeral arrangements?"

Facing his question, Li Zijun, while driving, shook her head, "How would I know? But looking at Qiangzi like this, you once said they wouldn’t make it, might be proven wrong. Look, as soon as she’s gone, he can’t handle it. If we find her, they might get married on the spot."

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t jinx it. That’s like saying, ’I’ll marry you when I get back.’ No criminal case involved here, right?" Su Qing hurriedly interrupted. Just as older generations have superstitions, young people have their own, and jinxing is one of them.

This is not something to be jinxed about!

Hearing this, Li Zijun rolled her eyes at him, "Relax, look at you getting all worked up. Jiang Yu’s mother died in the rented apartment; Du Qiang found this out from the landlord. It seems she died of an illness, but Du Qiang didn’t say much. There must be more information, so let’s ask him about it when we see him."

To this, Su Qing could only nod helplessly. Guessing like this isn’t a solution.

Half an hour later, in a small eatery near University City, the two walked in from the cold and immediately spotted Qiangzi, unshaven and haggard, sitting on a chair.

Seeing them enter, he forced a smile, more painful than a cry, and greeted, "Why are you two here!"

In response, Su Qing didn’t stand on ceremony, pulled out a chair, and sat down with an exasperated look, "I heard from Team Leader Zhao that our police station is almost being dismantled internally. If I didn’t come to check on you, I fear next time I would have to burn paper for you."

"Exactly, I was supposed to be off today, and I didn’t get to rest. You’re footing the bill for this meal, got it? First, get me a plate of braised prawns, and a bowl of boiled fish, make it spicy, this cold weather is killing me." Li Zijun added.

Even though they didn’t explicitly say they came to help, Du Qiang understood their intention and was deeply moved, "Alright, it’s on me. Boss, take our order!"

Without being shy, the three of them ordered four dishes and a soup, three meat dishes and one vegetarian, planning to fill up before getting to work.

"Hmm, this braised prawn is good, eat it with the shell, it’s extra calcium!"

"Mind your own business, eat the stir-fried green beans and leave my prawns alone!"

They talked as much as possible at the table, finding topics, and squabbling a bit to liven up the atmosphere and ease Du Qiang’s mood.

Once they were mostly done eating, Li Zijun finally asked, "These past two days, you took time off to investigate, how’s it going? Team Leader Zhao and my mentor are quite worried about you; they even got him involved. While we have time today, we’re here to help. Even if we can’t find her, we can give you some advice. And stop trying to tough it out on your own. Even if you don’t say anything, both the mentor and Team Leader Zhao are aware. Look at you, if you really cared, what were you doing back then? Waited until the girl disappeared to start worrying."

Hearing this, Du Qiang could only give a helpless smile; he knew Li Zijun was absolutely right. But he couldn’t really ask his police colleagues to help find someone for him over a personal matter, so he was investigating on his own.

"There’s no progress on her whereabouts, but I learned from her landlord that her mother passed away about ten days ago, and the apartment has already been vacated. I went to her hometown to inquire, but the villagers haven’t heard about her mother’s death, nor was there a funeral. I guess she wasn’t coerced into disappearing but did so deliberately. We were getting along well; I was even thinking of asking her out for a meal sometime, but suddenly she vanished. It should relate to her mother’s death. I’m not worried about anything else; I’m just afraid she’s taken it too hard on herself." Du Qiang said gravely, eyes full of concern.

[Knowing her daughter found happiness, the mother didn’t want to be a burden, choosing to end her life. Jiang Yu couldn’t bear the blow and chose to cut off contact with Du Qiang]

Hearing the narrative in his mind, Su Qing felt his brain was about to overload. What a dramatic mess! As it turns out, the mother’s departure had something to do with Du Qiang himself.

Gradually, through the narrative, he pieced things together. Apparently, ever since Jiang Yu left the police station, she became more cheerful. She no longer put on makeup to go make money late at night and occasionally smiled down at her phone while chatting.

This change made Jiang Yu’s mother happy, having not seen her daughter smile genuinely in years.

But life’s pressures aren’t driven away by her daughter’s happiness. The monthly medical expenses were large, and when she saw her daughter put on those revealing clothes once more to go out late, she made a choice. Not wanting to trouble her daughter, maybe if she left, her daughter wouldn’t have to work so hard.

Even if she hadn’t witnessed it, she could guess the nature of the work her daughter was doing. Her daughter had finally found happiness, even told her during casual chats that her boyfriend was a high school classmate and a civil servant. Knowing she couldn’t let things continue, she chose to drink pesticide to end her life one night after her daughter went out. Jiang Yu only discovered it the next day when she returned.

Learning this backstory, Su Qing felt increasingly uneasy. The complexity was overwhelming, he didn’t even know how to discuss it with Du Qiang, and for Du Qiang’s sake, he might even need to help keep it a secret.

"So, you’re saying the most important thing now is to contact Jiang Yu, right?" Su Qing asked, massaging his temples in frustration.

Du Qiang nodded; that was indeed the case. As long as they found her, everything else could be worked out.

However, he was at a loss. Without any cues, of course, this was also due to not having interacted with her recently. Even visiting the relevant locations would help. Now that the rental contract has ended, what could he do?

Fortunately, even without any cues, they had two cops here. Although one seemed mentally exhausted, at least the other still had a functioning brain.

"How about we go to the crematorium for a look? Even if she hasn’t handled the funeral, she’d have to cremate the body first, right? We might find unexpected leads!" Li Zijun suddenly suggested.

Upon hearing this, Du Qiang’s eyes lit up, "Right, why didn’t I think of that!"

"That’s indeed a good idea," Su Qing added.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!"

...