171: You play my boyfriend for a day
"We broke up after he cheated on me. It's been about two or three months, and I'm still single now," Wang Jianguo said, looking aggrieved.
"What's his name? Do you have a photo?" Lei Zhen asked.
"Wait a second." Wang Jianguo suddenly realized, "Do you know my ex-boyfriend too? Does he owe you money as well?"
When Wang Jianguo said this, the way he looked at Lei Zhen changed.
"And you say you aren't?" Wang Jianguo seemed to understand something. "Come on, did you date my ex-boyfriend too?"
Lei Zhen was speechless after hearing that. "Big brother, I'm straight, really. I have no interest in your ex-boyfriend; he just owes me money."
Wang Jianguo began to re-examine Lei Zhen. "Lei Zhen, you're lying. If he owes you money, how can you not even know his name and have to ask me?"
"Exactly! If I don't even know his name, how could I have had an affair with him?" Lei Zhen retorted.
Wang Jianguo thought that made sense, but he was still full of doubt. "What on earth do you want with him?"
Lei Zhen had no choice but to keep lying. "Since we're on the subject, I won't hide it from you. Actually, I'm a private investigator now. I just took a case; the client is gay, like you. A while ago, he dated a boyfriend named Zhou Hang. The guy not only slept with him but also swindled him out of over two hundred thousand yuan, so he hired me to dig into his background. 'Zhou Hang' is definitely a fake name, and I suspect he might be your ex-boyfriend."
"So that's it." Wang Jianguo was completely convinced this time. "So you've become a private investigator. Not bad! Back then, when you took Han Caiying and left the Orphanage, we all thought you'd starve to death. I didn't expect that not only are you alive and well, but you've also started your own business."
The name "Han Caiying" made Lei Zhen tremble.
He thought of the girl who had been separated from him all those years ago.
"You still remember Han Caiying?"
Wang Jianguo said, "Of course I remember. Back then, among all the girls in the Orphanage, she was the prettiest. I remember she was only eleven or twelve, but she was already quite poised and beautiful. No wonder Instructor Xiong was always trying to make a move on her. By the way, how are things with Caiying now? Are you still together?"
Lei Zhen shook his head. "We got separated back then, and I haven't seen her since."
"Really?" A flash of surprise crossed Wang Jianguo's face. "But I saw her at an art exhibition just two months ago."
"What? You've seen her?" Lei Zhen was startled. "You've seen Han Caiying?"
Wang Jianguo nodded. "I have. We even greeted each other, but after just a couple of sentences, she answered a phone call and hurried off. At the time, I thought you were with her!"
Lei Zhen's eyes widened upon hearing this. "What art exhibition?"
"The one organized by the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, called something like the 'Youth Art Exhibition.' I happened to be passing by and went in for a look. I didn't expect to run into Caiying. Isn't that a coincidence?"
"You mean, Han Caiying is in Jiangcheng?" Lei Zhen's eyes widened again.
"I suppose so." Wang Jianguo nodded. "It's a pity we didn't get to talk much. I don't even know what she's doing now."
After saying that, he looked at Lei Zhen again. "You mean, you two haven't seen each other for over a decade either?"
Lei Zhen gave a bitter smile. "Back then, we wandered outside for over a month. One time, I went out to find food and was forcibly abducted. I was rescued over a week later, but when I went back to find her, she was already gone."
"So that's what happened." Wang Jianguo also sighed. "Perhaps Caiying has suffered quite a bit over these years."
"Does she look okay?" Lei Zhen asked.
"She's doing quite well," Wang Jianguo said. "She's taller than before, and she's still as good-looking as she was back then—no, actually, she's even more beautiful."
Speaking of Han Caiying, Wang Jianguo's tone was full of envy. "If I were half as good-looking as her, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams."
"You're not bad yourself." Lei Zhen patted Wang Jianguo on the shoulder.
Wang Jianguo tilted his head and looked at the hand Lei Zhen had placed on his shoulder, scaring the other man into quickly pulling it back.
"Are you married?" Wang Jianguo suddenly asked.
Lei Zhen shook his head repeatedly. "I'm only 22, still single."
"Then..." Wang Jianguo paused, but finally said it. "Then will you be my boyfriend?"
"Huh?" Lei Zhen's jaw hit the floor. "Big brother, can you please stop joking?"
Wang Jianguo pouted. "Tch, who's joking with you? Aren't you looking for that tall scumbag? By the way, his name is Zhang Liang, the same Zhang Liang from 'Zhang Liang Malatang'."
"Zhang Liang?" Lei Zhen quickly wrote down the name. "Do you know where he is?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." Wang Jianguo got up and started walking outside. "This isn't fun at all. I'm going back."
Lei Zhen hurried to get up and follow. "Oh, Comrade Jianguo, why are you throwing a tantrum so suddenly? We're childhood friends, after all. Can't you support my work a little bit?"
Wang Jianguo walked straight out, not turning back until he had left the bar.
"Do you really want to find that bastard Zhang Liang?"
Lei Zhen nodded. "Don't worry, the first thing I'll do when I find him is beat him up for you."
"That's not necessary." Wang Jianguo pursed his lips. "How about this? I won't make things difficult for you. You just have to play the role of my boyfriend for one day, and I'll take you to find him."
"Huh?" Lei Zhen's mouth fell open again.
In fact, now that he knew Zhang Liang's name, he could quickly find the person's records through the household registration system.
But since Zhang Liang was involved in drug trafficking, his residence must be very secret. Even if he rented a place, he wouldn't use his real name. It wasn't impossible to find out where he lived immediately, but it would certainly take some time.
The child's life was hanging in the balance, and he couldn't afford to waste time. The simplest method at the moment was to get Wang Jianguo to reveal Zhang Liang's address.
Actually, Lei Zhen had two other options. One was to just beat this guy up and force him to tell him Zhang Liang's address.
Another was to reveal his identity as a police officer and demand unconditional cooperation.
But both methods had drawbacks.
He really couldn't bring himself to beat him up; after all, they were childhood friends. Besides, if he stubbornly refused to speak, it would be a problem.
And revealing his identity risked alerting the enemy. What if Wang Jianguo still had feelings for Zhang Liang and secretly tipped him off?
After thinking it over, Lei Zhen had no choice but to compromise.
"I agree, but let's be clear: just one day, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Also, during this time, we cannot have any intimate physical contact, and you cannot kiss me."
Wang Jianguo rolled his eyes at Lei Zhen. "As if anyone wants to take advantage of you! I just broke up with my ex-boyfriend and wanted to use you to make him jealous, that's all. I have no other intentions. Kiss you? You're overthinking it."
"Oh, is that so?" Lei Zhen felt a bit more at ease. "You should have said so earlier. We were brothers who shared bunk beds back in the day, and we're childhood friends. I have to help with this."
"Fine. Go back and prepare." Wang Jianguo said as he took out his phone. "Let's add each other on WeChat first. I'll send you an address. Tomorrow at nine in the morning, come pick me up at the entrance of my residential complex."