Shameless Gangster

Chapter 10B

Title: One only sees the thief eat the meat, not getting beaten—this is a proverb that means 'one sees the outcome and not the process'

Translate: Sae

This is one of my favorite chapters T.T

∞

On the quiet little street, there was a small shop that sold old-fashioned goods with a door that was deliberately made to look run-down, like the residence of a scholar in ancient times.

Jiang Xiaoning stood in front of the door with his hands in his pockets, looked down at his casual clothes, but suddenly he hesitated, thinking that if he had worn a more formal attire, he would have had more courage.

In the end, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The hand-stitched cotton curtains covered the light and the old-fashioned ceiling lamps emitted a soft glow that shrouded the entire store along with the messy items inside.

He didn't know where the turntable was placed—or perhaps it was a modern machine that imitated a turntable—either way, there flowed a strange melody.

　　Dreams I once shared

　　are just memories

　　So are the people who shared them with me[1]

There was a set of distressed tables and chairs in the depths of the shop and a woman with long hair that trailed past her shoulders whose age was hard to make out. As the sound of the music played, she was looking down slightly, flipping through a second-hand book without even bothering to look up when she heard Jiang Xiaoning entered.

Jiang Xiaoning held his breath and stood still, not daring to speak—there was only the sound of the music winding between the two.

The voice of the man that sang the song was gentle and low, but Jiang Xiaoning had no intention of paying attention to the lyrics as he stood straight and waited patiently.

The end of the song was the sound of the lonely wind and then there was just silence.

The woman finally put down the book and looked up at him, smiling slightly and not talking.

Jiang Xiaoning was a little ill at ease as he took a step forward and remembered that his hands were still in his pocket. He immediately took it out and put it on his side and greeted her with a bit of apprehension. "Shijie."[2]

The woman laughed out loud and looked at him, "How come you grew taller?"

Jiang Xiaoning did not expect to get such a response, so he stared blankly for a while which made the woman think it was quite interesting. She stared at him and said: "You haven't come to see me in the past few years but now that something is the matter, you're trying to act all cute? Xiao Ning,[3] I feel deeply hurt by this."

What should I answer with at this time? "I've been busy and haven't had time to come and see you, but I have always thought of you, Shijie." Jiang Xiaoning lowered his head and felt that no matter what he answered with, it would always come off as being careless, so he simply kept his silence.

When Jiang Xiaoning was put in an important position by Sun Zeyu,[4] Sun Zeyu's adopted daughter, Shijie Zhang Juanjuan did not give him any advice. In the end, Sun Zeyu was dismissed for corruption and the truth was revealed. Although Zhang Juanjuan was prepared and not implicated, Jiang Xiaoning always felt that he would never see her again.

Their circles were not big, to begin with, and the people around them all had a somewhat similar background. Jiang Xiaoning naturally knew that for the past two to three year, she had done several businesses outside of the city but no longer accepted any from within the city.