Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 49: Ordinary Roommate

Fortune can sometimes turn into misfortune, and misfortune can’t always be avoided.

Cheng Zesheng hadn’t seen Xie Wenxi for a month. Just as he left the police station, he was stopped by a short-haired beauty in jeans and sneakers. She said, “Hey handsome, would you mind if I flirted with you a bit?”

“…I’m not interested,” Cheng Zesheng pointed to Jiang Tan beside him, “You can flirt with him if you want.”

Jiang Tan looked forlorn. He wouldn’t mind being flirted with, but it was a pity that the pretty lady’s words were hurtful. The phrase “He’s even more in need of a boyfriend than I am” had come from Xie Wenxi’s mouth.

Xie Wenxi was ambitious and busy with work. She was turning thirty the next year and still didn’t have a partner. Starting three years ago, her mother had been arranging blind dates for her. However, every “high-quality husband” candidate that Xie Wenxi encountered was turned away by various means. Her ace in the hole was Cheng Zesheng —  she would make him pose as her boyfriend, and the strategy had always worked like a charm.

Today was no different. Mrs. Xie arranged for her to meet an engineer. As soon as Xie Wenxi got off work, she went to find Cheng Zesheng and dragged him to a restaurant, using him to fend off the competition.

The engineer, appearing composed and refined, noticed the sudden appearance of a competitor. Finding his face annoyingly good-looking, he had mentally categorized Cheng Zesheng as an insignificant freeloader. His tone unintentionally carried a sense of superiority as he inquired, “May I ask what your occupation is? Is it stable? Does it have prospects?”

“A police officer.” Cheng Zesheng flashed his credentials. “As long as it’s not illegal, it’s stable. As for prospects, it depends on how many criminals I catch.”

The engineer was taken aback, coming up with a quick excuse to leave in a hurry. As he departed, he stole a glance at Cheng Zesheng, seemingly unable to comprehend how this police uncle had a face that could belong to a romantic drama character.

Xie Wenxi was in fits of laughter, pounding the table. “Oh my, you pulled out your police badge, and he turned green instantly! It was more spectacular than the Sichuan opera’s face-changing. I bet he initially thought your eyes were on top of your head and probably mistook you for some eight-line model.”

“…,” Cheng Zesheng was speechless. “Please don’t look for me for this kind of thing in the future.”

Xie Wenxi shrugged, saying she had no choice. Unlike Cheng Zesheng, she couldn’t move out. Her parents even checked up on her during business trips. She propped her cheek on her hand and poked Cheng Zesheng’s hand. “Hey, I heard from Auntie Cheng last time that there are ghosts in your dorm. Is that true?”

“It’s true, so I told you not to go. I wouldn’t be responsible if you got scared to death.”

Xie Wenxi’s eyes lit up. “I want to go, I want to go! It’ll provide great material for my creations!”

Cheng Zesheng found her enthusiasm annoying. “Alright, alright, it’s not haunted. You’re just listening to my mom’s nonsense. I do have a friend living with me now.”

Xie Wenxi was even more surprised and asked if he was in a romantic relationship. Cheng Zesheng paused and shook his head. “Nothing special, just roommates.”

“What’s your relationship like? With your personality and temper, it’s not easy for you to get along with others.”

When temperament was mentioned, Cheng Zesheng had something to say. “Compared to him, I’m actually pretty easygoing. A couple of days ago, I didn’t even do anything serious; I just pinched his ear a bit, and he nearly started a fight with me over it…”

“What, what?” Xie Wenxi seized on the important detail. “You pinched someone’s ear? Is it a guy or a girl?”

“…Can I even have a female roommate?”

“Damn!” Xie Wenxi crossed her arms, her round eyes wide with astonishment. “Zesheng, you don’t actually like him, do you? Doing such gay-ish things.”

“…?” Cheng Zesheng was equally baffled. “Gay-ish? What are you talking about? I just saw that his earlobes were round and pink, so I wanted to see how they felt—”

“Damn it!” Xie Wenxi swore outright, shaking her head in disbelief. “We’ve known each other for almost thirty years, and I never realized you were gay. All those girls who passed you love letters in middle and high school must have been blind… Wait, there were signs, weren’t there? From childhood until now, you were the only one who said I wasn’t good-looking. Truly, a gay person’s aesthetics are different from a normal guy’s.”

Cheng Zesheng couldn’t put into words how messed up he felt. Why was everything he did being interpreted as gay? Okay, so he did wash his underwear the morning after dreaming of He Wei, but those were just dreams, unrelated to reality. At least when he was facing He Wei, he didn’t have any of these dirty thoughts.

“No need to explain, I know you well enough.” Xie Wenxi rolled her eyes. “Pinching someone’s ear, do you also think hugging and cuddling are normal?”

“…You know about that too?”

“Wow, you really hugged him?!” Xie Wenxi urged, “Quick, quick, show me what your boyfriend looks like.”

Under Xie Wenxi’s persistent questioning, Cheng Zesheng could only open his phone and show her He Wei’s ID photo. Xie Wenxi glanced at it and froze, then reached out to touch his forehead. “Zesheng, being gay is no big deal, but you should also like someone who’s alive.”

“Really? It’s no fun; I won’t show you. You’re just trying to trick me with a dead person’s photo.” Xie Wenxi stood up, holding her bag. “I’m leaving. You’ve hurt my self-esteem.”

“…,” Cheng Zesheng looked at the photo on his phone. Well, he was alive, wasn’t he? He was living and active in his house.

Unfortunately, only he knew that.

———

Since they needed to track Zhao Yang, they couldn’t use familiar faces that had interrogated him before. It was more appropriate to use people like Lin Heyu and He Wei, whom Zhao Yang hadn’t met before.

They pretended to be customers buying tiles, coming in every two days. This time, they brought along Du Ruanlan as well. Yun Xiaoxiao couldn’t impersonate Lin Heyu’s girlfriend; their auras clashed. On the other hand, Du Ruanlan, standing beside Lin Heyu with her 1.7-meter height and commanding aura, created a stunning couple. People around them couldn’t help but be envious of their looks.

Chong Zhen sighed in the background, complaining that they didn’t let him in on the action. It was a rare opportunity to pretend to be a couple with Lan-jie; just look at him, a single dog who had been suffering unrequited love for years.

Zhao Yang was in the shop, and three customers walked in, one of them a couple. Zhao Yang guessed they were here for marital home decor and enthusiastically recommended model rooms for them to consider. Du Ruanlan linked her arm through Lin Heyu’s, displaying a wife-like manner. She critiqued colors, and styles, and even expressed concerns about the baby slipping. He Wei suppressed a smile, discovering for the first time that Ruanlan was quite a performer.

It was almost mealtime when they arrived. Zhao Yang checked his watch and rubbed his hands apologetically. “Dear customers, have you decided? I’m really sorry; I need to step out for a moment. If you stay here and take your time to look around, feel free to call me if you have any questions.”

Zhao Yang called out, “Wang-jie! Can you watch the store for me?”

The owner of the shop selling flooring on the opposite side came over, noticing the two young people and finding them familiar. She smiled and said, “Hey, you’re back again. Are you bringing your wife this time?” She turned to Zhao Yang. “No worries, you go ahead. These two young men were my guests last time.”

Lin Heyu glanced at He Wei indifferently, and He Wei nodded. Once Zhao Yang left, the owner’s attention was all on the young couple. He Wei used the opportunity to slip away and follow Zhao Yang.

It was said that Zhao Yang usually commuted on an electric scooter, but recently he had been driving a car to work. This suggested that he was going to places far away. Additionally, according to the shop owner’s words, whenever he left, he wouldn’t return until after 2 p.m. There were even times when he didn’t come back for the whole afternoon, and he’d call her to lock up the shop.

He Wei was driving, following the white Chevrolet at a safe distance. Zhao Yang hadn’t noticed, first going to a shopping mall. He Wei followed him out of the car, puzzled to see that he was buying… lipstick.

Going to meet his cousin and buy lipstick? He Wei wondered, continuing to tail Zhao Yang.

After half an hour of driving, the Chevrolet stopped at an old residential area. It parked in an alley, and Zhao Yang got out and walked toward a building. He Wei watched him go up. He reached the third floor and knocked on the door of 302. A woman with long hair answered, calling him “Yang-ge” and welcoming him in. He Wei frowned. Could it really be his girlfriend?

Zhao Yang didn’t seem to have any intention of coming back down soon. He Wei messaged this information to Lin Heyu and continued waiting downstairs. There was a convenience store across the street, and He Wei went to buy cigarettes. An elderly man was looking after the shop. He Wei asked if they had a charger, as his phone was out of battery. The man looked and found that his grandson’s phone had the same port. He cheerfully fetched an extension cord and plugged it in to charge He Wei’s phone.

He Wei sat on a small stool, striking up a conversation with the old man. The old man had lived in the neighborhood for over thirty years and knew everyone well. He pointed at the building opposite and said, “My cousin lives there.”

“Which one?”

“302.”

The old man immediately remembered, “Oh, oh, you mean the Zhao family? Haven’t they moved out a long time ago? Bought a new house. Your cousin is Zhao Yang?”

He Wei nodded. “Yes, he just went upstairs. Didn’t you see him, Grandpa?”

The old man waved his hand. He was old, his eyes weren’t good, and he couldn’t see clearly who was who from three meters away. He Wei opened a cigarette and lit it with a one-yuan lighter he bought from the old man. “Even though Uncle Zhao’s family moved out, my cousin arranged for his girlfriend to live here. He pampers her a lot, hardly ever letting her leave the house. He drives from Hongxing Decoration City every day just to bring her food.”

“Oh my, that’s far. Which girl on the third floor?” The old man thought for a while, then slapped his thigh. “I remember now. A couple of nights ago, she came here to buy shampoo, forgot her phone at home, and didn’t have any cash with her.”

“Exactly, it was too late that day. My cousin didn’t want her to drive at night, so he let her buy it herself.”

“That’s right, she said she lived on the third floor; the one next to the window, it must be her.”

He Wei continued chatting with the old man, smoking a cigarette, and getting a rough idea of the situation. After a while, Zhao Yang came downstairs, and He Wei followed him again, back to the decoration city.

For three consecutive days, Zhao Yang visited his “girlfriend.” He brought her clothes one day and cosmetics the next, being exceedingly attentive. Lin Heyu frowned with his thick eyebrows. “Is she really his girlfriend?”

“It’s not that simple. If she’s really his girlfriend, why doesn’t she come over to his place? He’s not married, and he doesn’t live with his parents.” He Wei rubbed his chin. “So, Xiaoxiao, get a red armband from the community office tomorrow and go register for family planning.”

Yun Xiaoxiao was taken aback, “…Do I really look like a middle-aged woman?”

“You’re a beautiful young girl with pure genes. Sacrifice a bit for the case. Don’t wear makeup tomorrow. Your natural beauty would put others to shame, and makeup would be overkill.”

Unintentionally praised, Yun Xiaoxiao happily dialed the street’s number. Chong Zhen and Hu Songkai teased, “I told you he can flirt with girls, and he will be exposed if he is not careful..”

“That’s right, no wonder all the pretty girls like him.”

The next day, Yun Xiaoxiao wore a simple blue shirt and black pants, with a red armband on her arm, and went to knock on the door of 302. Accompanying her on this visit was Wen Huabei. As the door opened, they were greeted by a young and beautiful face.

“Hello, who are you looking for?”

Yun Xiaoxiao held a notebook. “Oh, we’re from Baota Street, here to register for family planning.”

Wen Huabei was extremely surprised, widening his eyes. After Yun Xiaoxiao went in, he quietly called Lin Heyu.

“Captain Lin, the person living here is Qiao Ruofei, Zhao Shen’s girlfriend!”