Gift - The Detective's Waterloo

Who could remember the first time Zhuang Mingqi got in his car, wishing he were eight zhang away and could shrink into the trunk, so timid that even eating a small bun was like testing for poison? And who could have imagined that once they got familiar, this guy would reveal his true colors? Now, not only would he take the initiative to lean in, but he had even started playing the coquette with him.

His innocent, blinking eyes were affected yet truly beautiful, a literal embodiment of "amber light held in a jade bowl." Shen Zhengning was afraid that one more glance would get him arrested by the traffic police for drunk driving. So, he pulled out a bottle of mineral water and pushed it back against his forehead, discreetly nudging him away as he focused on the road ahead. "Aren't I already on duty?"

Zhuang Mingqi, afraid his smile was too obvious, quickly buried his face in Silver's thick, dense fur.

The chicken soup had been simmering since before Shen Zhengning left, and the house was filled with its fragrance when he returned. Silver's drool flowed like a small stream as it squatted expectantly before its food bowl, waiting for Zhuang Mingqi to pick the meat off the chicken carcass for it. The adults' dinner was chicken soup noodles, yam and shrimp egg rolls, and sweet and sour spare ribs. The only trait Zhuang Mingqi had that betrayed his racial nature was his love for steaming hot food. Although he himself had long lived in a culinary desert, often making do with simple Western meals, it was probably for psychological reasons that he always felt only hot, steaming food was truly fragrant. The clear, glistening chicken soup was so hot it made him squint slightly, but both his heart and stomach were thoroughly soothed in that moment.

After dinner, while Shen Zhengning was clearing away Silver's dishes, Zhuang Mingqi quietly slipped upstairs. A moment later, he appeared out of nowhere behind Shen Zhengning, casually placing a palm-sized, square, dark blue leather jewelry box on the table. "Here, for you. A souvenir gift."

Shen Zhengning's gaze froze.

The box was a bit too large for a ring, and Zhuang Mingqi probably wouldn't be that reckless—

"Thank you... What is it?"

Out of a simple trust in his IQ and EQ, Shen Zhengning slowly opened the box with the caution and determination of defusing a bomb, took one look, closed the lid, and slowly closed his own eyes at the same time.

—I really overestimated him after all!

A pure gemstone, as clear and richly green as a cold spring in a deep forest, was set on a platinum brooch in the shape of a cheetah—even a layman like Shen Zhengning could recognize it as an emerald. The main stone was as large as the pad of his thumb, with astonishing fire and clarity. When caught by the light, it was so brilliant it made one's heart palpitate. He wasn't sure of the exact value of a gem of this quality, but he estimated he was holding at least a Maybach in his hands... no, perhaps even more.

Zhuang Mingqi rested his cheek on one hand and said nonchalantly, "I didn't know what kind of local specialty to buy, so just consider it a New Year's gift."

The cheetah motif brought to mind a legendary brooch in the history of jewelry: diamonds and sapphires pavé-set to form the fur pattern, with a silver cheetah perched proudly atop a round Kashmir sapphire of over 150 carats. The cheetah on the brooch in Shen Zhengning's hand had a more leisurely demeanor, lying in a half-crouch on the square-cut emerald. Tavernier's unique, delicate goldwork and black enamel were used to depict its markings, while its eyes were set with glacier-like, light-colored sapphires, adding a touch of cold austerity.

"Wait a second," Shen Zhengning said, examining it closely against the light. He asked in confusion, "I remember cheetahs having round ears, right? Why does your cheetah have pointed ears?"

Zhuang Mingqi: "..."

Still Zhuang Mingqi (exasperated version): "Isn't it because you like pointed ears?!"

His expression seemed to say that if Shen Zhengning dared to say the word "no," he would immediately go jump into the Huangpu River. Shen Zhengning was so frightened he quickly backpedaled, "My apologies, my eyes must be playing tricks on me. I didn't see clearly just now. So it's not a cheetah, it's a cat, hahaha."

At this point, it was crystal clear who was pushing their own agenda. Shen Zhengning looked down at the emerald brooch with complicated feelings, then looked up at Zhuang Mingqi's subtle "I'm back from the hunt" expression. He thought in despair that a diamond ring would have been better; at least he wouldn't have to find an extra reason to refuse. "Young Master, I wouldn't even dare use such a big piece of rock sugar to caramelize. Is this thing something you can just casually give to people?!"

"It's not casual. I collected the loose stone a few years ago and never decided what to do with it. I only recently got the inspiration." Zhuang Mingqi, completely missing the point, glanced at his expression and added, "We have an internal employee discount. The second setting is half price, so it's a great deal."

Shen Zhengning was stunned by his righteous confidence. "...Your company is quite generous then."

Zhuang Mingqi stared at him, somewhat dissatisfied, probably because he hadn't reacted with ecstatic joy and praised him as "amazing." While Shen Zhengning mentally warned himself not to indulge his misconception, lest he not know what he'd drag back next time, he praised him with great sincerity, "I'm a complete amateur, but seeing this, I understand why they say you're a genius designer... It's really beautiful. Thank you for the gift. Actually, I would have been very happy if you'd just brought back a couple of fresh-pork mooncakes. This is really too valuable..."

"It's not 'that' valuable, Zhengning," Zhuang Mingqi suddenly lifted his eyes, gently stopping his refusal. "At least not to me."

"I'm not showing off my wealth or giving away emeralds like they're the bottoms of beer bottles. That's not what I mean."

He had visibly relaxed since returning home, and his current leisurely posture was surprisingly similar to the cat on the brooch. In this relaxed, casual tone, he said something very solemn: "The rarer something is, the more precious it is. Although precious gems are uncommon, you see them often in our line of work. But it took me almost thirty years to meet you. In terms of rarity, you're the most precious thing here."

"This emerald just sat there for years. The only reason I took it out to be set was because it was, for the time being, suitable enough to be worthy of you."

Shen Zhengning was speechless.

Zhuang Mingqi, victorious in a verbal battle for the first time, contentedly admired his rarely seen, flushed ear tips, which were reddened by the directness of the remark. His tone was still tentative. "So, can you accept it? For the sake of it being meant to please you. If you really think it's too valuable, you can keep it as a family heirloom."

In his nearly thirty years of life, Shen Zhengning had never witnessed such an expensive display of affection. Although his reason told him that Zhuang Mingqi's words were completely illogical and pure flattery, his heart was disco dancing on one side while screaming "you're done for." No wonder the ancient sages said emotion and calm reasoning are contradictory. In the midst of his wildfire-like emotions, he asked the most brainless question of his life—

"Pass it down to whom?"

Zhuang Mingqi: "..."

He slowly widened his innocent and helpless eyes, gazing wordlessly at Shen Zhengning.

In those immensely long three seconds, Shen Zhengning could even clearly see the muscles of his jaw gradually tensing into distinct lines. That was Zhuang Mingqi using every ounce of his lifelong self-control to desperately hold back the laughter that was about to burst out.

Shen Zhengning: "..."

The next second, as he covered his forehead and turned to flee in disarray, Zhuang Mingqi's uncontrolled laughter erupted behind him.

Three minutes later, the warning of a certain person whose defenses were broken echoed through the second floor: "Stop laughing! And get over here and open the safe!"

"Being tailed?"

Shen Zhengning stood by the window in the company break room, holding a cup of black tea, and asked the person on the other end of the phone, "Are you saying someone was following Ye Tongsheng?"

"That's Gao Qihui's claim. We can't verify it for now, since it's already been over three months since the incident." Yuan Hang was slumped in his office chair in a very ungraceful manner, his tone a little sour. "We finally got this far, only to miss the best opportunity. Now we've been kicked right back to the starting point."

In the reflection on the glass window, a faint vertical line appeared between Shen Zhengning's brows. "Even if the other surveillance footage has expired, don't you have the park and road surveillance? You still can't find anything from that?"

Yuan Hang sighed. "We've practically worn out those few clips of footage. We haven't found any suspicious followers."

"What about that strange witness you mentioned? Did she notice anything unusual?"

"I asked. I figured a woman might be more alert to this kind of thing, so I specifically asked her. She said she didn't feel anything was out of the ordinary." Yuan Hang couldn't help but complain, "This case is really something else. Every time I think we have something, the lead just breaks. It's more of a mess than the noodles I cooked last night. My wife said maybe she should take me to Xingping Temple this weekend to pray... Speaking of which, your guy seems to be pretty famous lately. I see him just by randomly scrolling through Weibo."

Yuan Hang's fixed pattern of thought—"mentioning his wife and immediately associating it with Zhuang Mingqi"—was beyond saving. Shen Zhengning couldn't even be bothered to correct him anymore. "What Weibo post? Did he get secretly photographed again?"

"A local Weibo post. Was he walking his dog? Someone took a picture of him and a Samoyed... It is a Samoyed, right? It's so cute. Can you bring it out for me to play with next time?"

"It's a Samoyed," Shen Zhengning said. "Officer, are you just going to stand by and watch? How about you protect the privacy of the person involved."

Yuan Hang said, "Bro, we're criminal police. Right to privacy is a civil matter. How about I call you a cab and you can go sue Weibo directly."

Shen Zhengning chuckled. He glanced at the time and asked casually, "Anything else official? If not, I'm getting off work to pick someone up."

"Go, go. Go rescue your Princess and the Pea." Yuan Hang waved an invisible handkerchief on the other end. "Let me know when you're free to help me look over the footage. I'll try to dig up some more clues in the next few days."

"Got it." Shen Zhengning turned and walked towards his office, a calm smile on his face. "I'll be sure to pass that along to him. You can forget about touching a single one of his hairs for the rest of your life."

Yuan Hang: "...Is this how you treat your brother!"