Chapter 43: A (2/2)

“Hehe, yeah.”  When it came to love, Jiang Zhengkai was direct and had a one-track mind.  One couldn’t believe that he would actually respond affirmatively to A-Jiao’s question.  If Ren Ziyuan weren’t A-Jiao, she would be very jealous or angry right now.  Despite all of his years as a detective, however, he still didn’t have a clue about women.

“Fine!  Fine!  I’m just a rebound,” complained A-Jiao as she removed her hand from his arm.  “Brother Jiang, could you tell me more about that special person in your heart, A-Jiao?”  Her face was full of expectation as she asked that question.  Women are curious creatures, especially when it comes to their love rivals, even if that rival was herself.

“Well…”  Jiang Zhengkai’s face displayed a slight hint of embarra.s.sment.  Even though he loved A-Jiao, to admit to another woman that A-Jiao was a prost.i.tute was simply something that he could not bring himself to do.

“Oh, are you uncomfortable talking about her?”  Seeing Jiang Zhengkai’s expression, she was somewhat disappointed.  She knew he must have thought her profession was too unseemly to be discussed in polite conversation, but what could she do about that?

“Why don’t we talk about you instead?”  Jiang Zhengkai saw the disappointment in A-Jiao’s eyes, but he didn’t correctly guess why.  He thought Ren Ziyuan was mad at him because he didn’t want to share A-Jiao’s story.

“What is there to talk about?” A-Jiao lowered her head and answered with pursed lips.  “I studied art in college, but dropped out after two years.  When it came time to graduate, I spent some money and bought a degree online.  Then I became a preschool teacher.”  Even though she spoke quite softly, Jiang Zhengkai was still able to hear her clearly.  But that sharp brain of his didn’t think to ask her what she was doing during those two years after she dropped out of college and before she became a preschool teacher.  He’d only asked her to tell him about herself because he didn’t want to talk about A-Jiao.  In his eyes, the woman in front of him was Ren Ziyuan, not A-Jiao.  What did it matter to him that Ren Ziyuan dropped out of college after two years?

“Oh, I’ve heard you are really good at drawing!” Jiang Zhengkai continued on with this subject.  Ren Ziyuan teaches art and studied art, so she must know how to draw, right?

“Eh, I’m not too bad.”  Apparently, Jiang Zhengkai’s comment on her drawing skills worked in cheering her up.  Art was in fact something she could show off for him.  She ran right in front of him, grabbed his arm, and asked, “You want to come see my art studio someday?”

“Sure!” Jiang Zhengkai eagerly replied.  “I’ve always admired artists, and I love the art of painting.”  What he said was true.  He very much respected his colleagues in the material evidence section who were able to sketch out a suspect’s portrait based only on the descriptions of eyewitnesses.  However, this wasn’t the only reason why Jiang Zhengkai carried on this conversation.  He saw that A-Jiao was in a much better mood, and he knew that when people were in a good mood, they tended to lower their guard.  So it was now that he popped the real question that he wanted to ask.  “You and A-Meng seem to know one another very well.  He used to be a soldier, right?”

“Eh, kind of.  We met at the internet cafe,” A-Jiao blurted out.  “He did used to be a soldier.  I heard he was in the special forces.  When he was in the army, he even had a codename.  I think it was Raptor.”

“Really?” Jiang Zhengkai purposely feigned surprise.  “I saw his moves when he was beating that man just now.  He learned all of that in the army, huh?”

“How would I know?  I’ve never been a soldier,” A-Jiao said as she playfully walked on the curb.  A woman will almost always show a man she loves her childish side, but it was precisely during these moments that a woman’s defenses against a man were at their weakest.

“Then have you heard of a man called the Bald Wolf before?  They say he was also ex-special forces.  A real tough guy,” Jiang Zhengkai purposely said in a very casual manner.  He wanted to observe A-Jiao’s reaction, and she did not disappoint!

After A-Jiao heard what he said, she was momentarily stunned.  However, she very quickly regained her composure and said, “Never heard of him.  Do you know him?”

Even though A-Jiao verbally denied knowledge of the Bald Wolf, her knees belied her true thoughts.  She immediately lost balance walking on the curb, and she fell silent as well.  It was obvious she’d realized something, which is why she was readjusting her mentality to conceal what she knew.

A-Jiao’s sudden change in behavior did not go unnoticed by Jiang Zhengkai.  He now had a reason to continue seeing Ren Ziyuan: she must have a lead on the Bald Wolf.  Therefore, the path to apprehending the Bald Wolf began with this woman.