Even I felt that the possibility of this was minuscule and that I was merely lying to myself.
Yet, it was clear to me what I had to do. I packed up what little things I had and told the boss I was quitting. Since the boss was a friend of a friend and knew what I had been through, he had always been very tolerant. He told me that if I had done what I needed to do and had nowhere to go, I could come back here anytime. He said that my skills were exceptional and would be a good hire anywhere. I told him okay.
Without asking the boss for this month's pay, I left the shop in a hurry, not even saying goodbye to my colleagues. I took the bus to the train station and took the first train leaving for Suzhou.
I stayed in Suzhou for around ten days, going through the street where Wu Miao went missing and every corner that that person had ever appeared in. I even went to officer Ding, the detective that investigated the case back then. Unfortunately, their reply was still the same. We are very sorry, Wu Yu. We never gave up on looking, but it seems that the perpetrator has vanished. Dont worry though, we will never stop looking for your sister.
I walked around the empty streets at night, looking up at the night sky of Suzhou. That bright and clear moon that was similar to the one above Yunnan. While I stood at a corner and enjoyed a cigarette, I sometimes heard her voice in my head, My name is Tan Jiao. It's the Tan with the radical Yan, while Jiao is the character for bright.
She probably did not know this; the girl who I fell in love with the first time I saw her probably did not know this. She did not know how much of a degenerate I was when I first lost both Wu Miao and my mother. I skipped my graduation ceremony and was too utterly devastated to even go to work. That was also when I started smoking and drinking to drown out my sorrows.
On the day that Wu Miao was murdered, she had called me. She asked whether I could accompany her to buy something for her job interview. That day, I was preparing an important thesis paper that would make my resume even more impressive. As such, I rejected her request and asked her to go with a friend.
Unfortunately, she went shopping alone that day.
I would often think about what that lady on the ship told me. You may be poor, diligent, self-disciplined, intelligent, and ambitious. However, we should neither live our lives too purposefully nor too selfishly. Otherwise, you might lose a lot when youve made your gains in the future. You might even lose what you cherish the most, making you regret everything youve done!
Since then, these words and that lady had become something that was meaningful to my life.
What she said had become a warning to me to some extent.
A few days after I left Dali, Xiao Hua gave me a call. Brother Yu, a lady came to find you the day you left.
Who was it?
Xiao Hua let out a chuckle and said, A very innocent looking beauty. She said she lived nearby, and she drove an orange jeep. Do you know her?
I knew he was trying to make fun of me, but I already knew that it was Tan Jiao.
She what did she say?
She asked where you had gone to and when you would be coming back. She even asked how long you had been working here. Brother Yu, be straight with me now, what sort of relationship are you two in right now?
Ignoring his question, I ended the call. Immediately, the image of Tan Jiao came to mind. Her beautiful face and those slightly sparkly eyes of hers. Whenever I shut my eyes, her image would appear before me.
These days though, she had not been trying to call me or text me.
I was fine with this outcome. At least I did not have to drag her into this mess.