Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Shen Dongqing couldn't believe his luck running into Xiao Ze like that, and waved hello.

When Xiao Ze smiled back, Shen Dongqing grinned in return.

It might sound bad to say, but after a long, tiring day, seeing a hot guy in uniform instantly perked him up. He was jealous of Officer Xiao's coworkers who got to see that every day.

Du Wei watched that smile and felt like it lit up the whole station.

If this guy had smiled like that earlier, Du Wei never would've mistaken him for a cop. Someone with a smile like that strolling into a police station so calmly made total sense.

But if Du Wei knew what Shen Dongqing was really thinking when he smiled, he'd shut up real quick.

Sure, Xiao Ze was good-looking, but his showing up always meant they'd be working cases and traveling, possibly working until all hours. No matter how hot he was, it was hard to get excited about that.

Seeing Xiao Ze with another officer, Shen Dongqing figured he was on the job, didn't say anything else to bother him, and just followed the officer inside.

Xiao Ze watched Shen Dongqing walk through the station doors.

Du Wei noticed Xiao Ze's smile had lasted a solid five seconds, and got even more curious about what was going on between them.

"Xiao-ge, any idea what this case is about? Should we go ask?" Du Wei probed.

Xiao Ze shot him a look—did Du Wei really think he couldn't see right through him?

"Don't bother."

If he wanted to know, he could just ask when he sent Shen Dongqing the study materials.

...

After copying the video from the camera for the police, Shen Dongqing had nothing left to do, so he walked out.

Standing outside the station, Shen Dongqing opened his maps app. By this hour, there were no more buses running near his place. To get home, he'd have to grab a shared e-bike or hail a cab.

Shen Dongqing hesitated for a second, then immediately chose to take a taxi.

After biking all afternoon, he absolutely couldn't handle riding again—even if it was an e-bike that didn't require pedaling.

Someone accepted his ride request on the app quickly, and Shen Dongqing stood there waiting for the car.

Before long, a car pulled up. The window rolled down, and a wave of cigarette smoke mixed with heavy alcohol fumes hit him.

Even standing outside the car, Shen Dongqing had to take a big step back from the stench.

"Last four digits 3478?" The driver turned his head to ask.

He should've kept his mouth shut—the second he spoke, the alcohol smell got even stronger.

"Sorry, I can't take this ride." Shen Dongqing looked down to cancel the order. Even if canceling meant losing money, he didn't dare get in that car.

He could put up with the cigarette smoke with the window down, but drunk driving was absolutely out of the question.

"What do you mean? I just got here and now you're not riding? You're wasting my time!" The driver got worked up at that. "No, you can't cancel."

Because he smoked in the car, several passengers had given him bad reviews, calling it a stinky car, so he hadn't gotten a single order all day.

When he got Shen Dongqing's order, the driver had already planned to take a longer route to make more money—there was no way he'd let Shen Dongqing cancel.

But he was too slow—Shen Dongqing was quicker. The second he finished speaking, the driver got a notification that the customer had canceled and he'd received ten yuan in compensation.

The alcohol went straight to the driver's head. Watching Shen Dongqing head back toward the police station, the anger that had been building all day finally boiled over.

The driver fumbled with his seatbelt, shoved the door open, and charged at Shen Dongqing with his fist raised.

Shen Dongqing had been standing at the station entrance the whole time. The duty officer had already noticed him, and when he saw the conflict break out, he immediately came out to intervene.

"Stop! No fighting!"

"Your Honor! You gotta do right by me! This kid called a ride—I turned down a big client and drove all the way here, and now he says he's not riding. Where in the world does that make sense?"

The second he saw the cop, the driver sobered up a bit and immediately played the victim.

Shen Dongqing didn't bother arguing about the canceled ride. Instead, he said straight up, "Officer, he's had quite a bit to drink. Probably drunk driving. You can test him."

The officer had been feeling awkward about the driver calling him "Your Honor," but when he heard Shen Dongqing's words, he quickened his pace. As he got closer, he caught the strong smell of alcohol on the driver.

"I did have, uh, had a few drinks." The driver belched. "But there's no traffic cop around, so what's the problem?"

Shen Dongqing stayed silent. Did this guy really think only traffic cops handled drunk driving, and other cops wouldn't care?

The duty officer was already standing in front of the driver, frowning, telling him he'd have to take a breathalyzer test.

"Hey, why are you cops doing the traffic cops' job? Isn't that a dog chasing its tail—minding someone else's business!" The driver blurted out.

The officer's expression didn't change. He told his colleague to hurry up and bring the breathalyzer, while keeping a close eye on the driver so he couldn't run.

"What's going on?" Xiao Ze walked over, noticing Shen Dongqing at the entrance facing off with someone, the duty officer nearby, and asked.

The officer was about to explain when the driver suddenly shoved him hard and ran off.

After standing in the wind for a bit, the driver had sobered up some. He knew exactly how much he'd drunk—if he got caught, he'd lose his license and face detention, maybe even a fine.

Shen Dongqing instinctively wanted to chase after him, but just as he started moving, a figure flew past him like a blur, slamming the man to the ground. The sound of knees hitting the concrete pavement was enough to make anyone wince.

This was the second time in one day Shen Dongqing had seen a fleeing person tackled by police, making him imagine a cat spotting a toy mouse and pouncing on it.

The officer who'd been shoved looked a bit grim and quickly stepped forward to help pin the man down.

"Captain Xiao, thank goodness you were here, or he might have gotten away."

If he'd actually escaped, losing face would've been the least of his worries—the real fear was the man driving off in a panic.

Already drunk driving, now fleeing in a panic, and right at evening rush hour—the chances of a car accident were extremely high.

Thinking about it, the duty officer felt cold sweat on his back. Thank goodness, thank goodness the man had been subdued.

The driver was still struggling desperately. After several warnings went unheeded, Xiao Ze simply cuffed him.

Xiao Ze yanked the driver up, looked at his face, frowned slightly, and handed him over to the duty officer to keep an eye on.

The duty officer was confused but kept the man firmly restrained, then watched as Xiao Ze opened his police tablet.

"He's a wanted fugitive with outstanding debts. Take him inside." Xiao Ze glanced at the screen, confirmed he hadn't misremembered, and said to the duty officer.

Though he'd always known Xiao Ze was sharp with faces, seeing it happen right before his eyes still impressed the duty officer. He silently resolved to study wanted fugitive photos more carefully when he got back—otherwise he wouldn't recognize them even if he ran into one, let alone earn any merit.

After having the officer take the driver inside, Xiao Ze turned his gaze to Shen Dongqing standing nearby.

"Why so quiet?"

"Isn't this your work hours? Am I allowed to just chat with you?" Shen Dongqing asked.

Xiao Ze couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You waved at me earlier without saying a word—was it for the same reason?" Xiao Ze chuckled.

Shen Dongqing nodded.

"What do you think we are, robots? It's not that strict. We're not on a case right now, so it's not like you can't even speak." Xiao Ze shook his head. "Are you heading back?"

"I just ordered a ride, but turns out the driver was wasted." Shen Dongqing nodded helplessly.

"The wanted fugitive they nabbed?!" Xiao Ze quickly pieced it together. "So you..."

"Guess I'll just order another one. Hopefully I get lucky and don't end up with a smoker's car, a drunk driver, or a getaway car." Shen Dongqing was fed up. If he weren't so dead set against biking, he wouldn't bother with rideshares at all.

As he was talking, Shen Dongqing suddenly remembered—he'd just canceled the ride and got charged ten yuan for it. But that was the driver's fault. Could he get the platform to give him his money back?

Shen Dongqing didn't waste any time. He called customer service right away. After explaining the drunk driving thing, he covered the phone and whispered to Xiao Ze, "Can I tell the customer service rep the driver's a wanted fugitive?"

"Yeah, no need to keep that a secret."

Relieved, Shen Dongqing went on. The rep got more and more confused as they listened, tentatively asking Shen Dongqing to send evidence. Shen Dongqing just snapped a photo of the empty car and the police station building.

"The driver's already been arrested, so I'm not sure I can take a pic of him right now. If you need one, I can ask the cops if it's okay to take his picture."

Hearing that, the rep was floored. It was just a ten-yuan cancellation fee—did it really have to go this far?

"Okay, we'll process the refund for you. Just keep an eye out for it."

Happy with that, Shen Dongqing hung up, only to find Xiao Ze smiling at him.

"I know ten yuan isn't a big deal, but the idea of that money going to a guy like that just feels like a total rip-off." Shen Dongqing said, all righteous and indignant.

"Yeah, good call." Xiao Ze gave a thumbs up but couldn't help letting out a few chuckles. Seeing Shen Dongqing staring at him with a sour look, he stifled his grin and said, "I took your driver, so I'll make it up to you by driving you myself."

"Huh? Shen Dongqing was baffled. What was that supposed to mean?"

"I'm off duty too. I'll give you a ride home—it's on my way anyway." Xiao Ze said.

Seeing Shen Dongqing nod, Xiao Ze continued, "Then give me five minutes. I'll take care of a few things and come back."

Xiao Ze headed back, sorted out the paperwork for the fugitive, and then pulled the car around.

Shen Dongqing hopped into the passenger seat and caught a faint, crisp scent in the car. It cleared his head, which had been fogged up by the stench of smoke and booze.

"Captain Xiao, you keep your car in great shape. If you drove for a rideshare, everyone would be raving about it." Shen Dongqing sank into the seat, totally content, the AC blasting cool air—pure bliss.

"What've you been up to? You look wiped." Xiao Ze asked casually.

At that, Shen Dongqing had a whole flood of things to vent—from getting his camera stolen in broad daylight, to running into that dad who hurt his wife and daughter at the wetland park, to getting a drunk driver for his ride.

"I've had it rough. Why can't these people just play by the rules?" Is breaking the law really that fun?

After venting, Shen Dongqing figured he might be asking for too much.

Just then, they hit a red light and the car rolled to a stop.

"The more we catch, the fewer people dare to break the law." Xiao Ze replied. Noticing the tiredness on Shen Dongqing's face, he paused and said, "You saved a mother and daughter today, stopped a tragedy. That's really something."

"No, no, it was just luck." Shen Dongqing waved his hand modestly, then instinctively asked, "So what did you do today?"

But the second he asked, Shen Dongqing knew he'd messed up. Xiao Ze was a cop—most of his work couldn't be shared, right?

"Sorry, I..."

"Nothing much. Caught a murderer." Xiao Ze's voice was a bit low.

"Putting a criminal behind bars—that's great too." Shen Dongqing noticed Xiao Ze's mood had soured and, without thinking, quickly tried to console him.

Was it good?

Giving the dead some peace was something, sure, but if he could, Xiao Ze would've caught the guy before the victim got hurt. But most of the time, he only showed up after the damage was done.

In the past, everyone was like that, and he could justify it. But with Shen Dongqing as a contrast, it stung a bit.

"Light's green, light's green." Seeing the light turn green while Xiao Ze hadn't moved, Shen Dongqing quickly reminded him.

Xiao Ze snapped out of it, hit the gas, and the car glided forward.

After dropping Shen Dongqing off at his place, Xiao Ze apologized quietly, "Sorry, I was supposed to drive you home, but I ended up dumping my bad mood on you."

His usually sharp and spirited features drooped, his keen aura turning fragile. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, it made Shen Dongqing's heart tighten.

"No, no, it's fine." Shen Dongqing shook his head repeatedly, momentarily dazed. At first, he was a bit puzzled, but after thinking it over on the way back, he understood where the problem lay.

Both of them had caught criminals, but the one Xiao Ze caught had already completed the crime—even with the arrest, the victim was gone. His own case had a happy ending. In comparison, it was hard for Xiao Ze not to feel depressed!

"By the way, you said earlier you'd give me the study materials later. It's evening now, right? Are they ready?" Without waiting for Xiao Ze to speak, Shen Dongqing quickly changed the subject.

This was a topic that couldn't be dwelled on—the more you thought about it, the more depressing it got.

And it was he who had brought it up in the first place, or Xiao Ze wouldn't have thought of it.

Xiao Ze could clearly see that Shen Dongqing was deliberately trying to distract him, but he had to admit, Shen Dongqing's gesture did ease his mind quite a bit.

"They're ready." Xiao Ze handed Shen Dongqing a USB drive. "Return it to me after you copy the files."

"Is there a lot of content?" Shen Dongqing took it.

"Not too much, just a small portion." Xiao Ze shook his head. He couldn't possibly pile too much study material on Shen Dongqing at once.

He remembered that Shen Dongqing had nearly fainted from memorizing too many faces before.

"Then I'll just copy it straight to my computer. It won't take long. Come up to my place and wait for me." Shen Dongqing said, pulling Xiao Ze out of the car.

Xiao Ze couldn't resist and followed Shen Dongqing upstairs.

...

As soon as he entered, Xiao Ze noticed the whole place had changed.

Last time he was at Shen's place, it felt like Shen Dongqing could vanish at any moment. Now, the living room was filled with everyday items, carrying a sense of homeliness—though the clutter on the floor somewhat spoiled the view.

Shen Dongqing had been busy all day and forgotten that the items he'd won from the lottery were just lying around in the living room.

Shen Dongqing looked at the mess on the floor and really wanted to kick Xiao Ze out of the apartment, wait until he'd cleaned up before letting him back in, but...

This pile of stuff would take forever to sort through!

Forget it, since he'd already seen it, making him wait outside would be even more rude.

Shen Dongqing cleared his throat: "I picked up a bunch of new stuff and was in a rush when I left, so I just tossed it all over the place."

"Captain Xiao, have a seat here. I'll go copy the files."

After inviting Xiao Ze to sit down, Shen Dongqing turned on his computer and began copying the data from the USB drive. There really wasn't much data—it'd take about twenty minutes to transfer.

"Didn't you used to..." Xiao Ze's voice carried a hint of confusion.

"Hmm?" Shen Dongqing turned his head.

"Didn't you used to call me... Xiao Ze?" Even though Shen Dongqing mostly called him Officer Xiao, shouldn't Xiao Ze sound more intimate?

"I feel like Captain Xiao sounds more familiar." Shen Dongqing's eyes darted away. Even though it wasn't exactly an excuse, calling him Captain Xiao gave him a strange feeling.

"Really?" Xiao Ze was puzzled. Isn't that just a title for his job? How could it be closer than his name?

"Of course. Don't more people around you call you Captain Xiao?" Shen Dongqing countered. "If you don't like me calling you that, then..."

"No, call me whatever you want." Xiao Ze shook his head and stood up from the chair. "Let me help you sort through some of this stuff."

Shen Dongqing was about to refuse—Xiao Ze was a guest, after all, how could he let a guest help him clean? But then he looked at the pile on the floor. There were over forty items—if he had to unbox and organize them all himself, it would take at least an hour.

"Then I'll have to trouble Captain Xiao." Shen Dongqing said with a smile, but he didn't let Xiao Ze handle everything alone. After confirming the transfer was running smoothly, he went over to help sort things out.

"How'd you even buy all this stuff?" Xiao Ze couldn't help asking as he sorted through it. The stuff was so random and all over the place, it looked like he'd just bought things on a whim.

"Some I saw and wanted, some I got from blind boxes, and some were prizes from a lucky draw." Shen Dongqing made up an excuse. He couldn't say he'd bought them on purpose—he'd be drawing more prizes later and would end up with another pile of stuff, needing another excuse. Better to settle it once and for all.

"For you, a blind box isn't really a blind box—the seller knows exactly what's inside." Xiao Ze wondered if he was out of touch with what young people liked these days. After a moment of silence, that was all he could say as a reminder. He didn't dare say too much, afraid of getting on Shen Dongqing's nerves.

"Not much left. Why don't you go check if the transfer's done?" Xiao Ze took the items from beside Shen Dongqing's hand.

Captain Xiao's such a good guy!

Xiao Ze's attitude was way too obvious. Shen Dongqing could immediately tell he was trying to make up for his earlier comment. He didn't argue with Xiao Ze and got up to check on the computer.

"Just one more minute." Shen Dongqing said, then walked into the kitchen, opened the system mall, searched the food section, and spent four hundred Fame Points to buy two boxes of egg tarts.

Shen Dongqing deliberately picked the cold egg tarts, took out one box, and popped it in the air fryer to reheat. Soon, a rich, sweet aroma filled the kitchen and drifted through the crack under the kitchen door into the living room.

Xiao Ze paused for a moment, glanced at the kitchen, then lowered his head to sort the last item.

It was a tiny cabinet shaped like a little person with hands on its hips. It was tiny, probably meant to sit on a desk as a storage organizer. Even though it was just a few buckles, it formed an adorable cartoon face.

Xiao Ze placed the cabinet in an empty spot on the desk.

After the two of them finished tidying up, the floor was completely clear, and the room felt a lot cozier.

"Captain Xiao, thanks for the help. Come have some egg tarts." Shen Dongqing walked out carrying the egg tarts.

Before Xiao Ze could even refuse, an egg tart was shoved right up to his lips, making intimate contact.

Food that had touched his mouth couldn't exactly be handed back, so Xiao Ze had no choice but to take it and eat it.

The crust was crisp and flaky, with a slight savory note, while the custard was incredibly smooth, rich with milky and eggy flavor. Xiao Ze had always thought he didn't like sweets, but before he knew it, he'd wolfed down three of the four egg tarts Shen Dongqing had brought out.

"I've been snacking all day, so one egg tart's enough for me. If I ate more, I'd probably blow way past my calorie limit for the day." Shen Dongqing didn't need to look up to know what Xiao Ze was probably thinking.

"I'm a streamer, you know. Not purely a looks-based one, but my fans still really like my face. If I got fat, they'd all bail." Shen Dongqing rubbed his chin and let out a helpless sigh.

With everything done, Xiao Ze got up to head out. Shen Dongqing went into the kitchen, grabbed the remaining box of egg tarts, and shoved them into Xiao Ze's hands, telling him to take them home.

The door clicked shut. Xiao Ze knocked, but there was no sound from inside. He knew he couldn't return the egg tarts, so he left with them.

But compared to the heavy footsteps on his way up, his steps now were incredibly light.

Back in the car, Xiao Ze heard a notification—it was a message from Shen Dongqing telling him how to reheat the egg tarts.

Wait, there was another one—a message from Du Wei asking about the get-together.

"Is this hotpot place any good?" Xiao Ze sent a message.

Du Wei replied quickly.

"I haven't been there myself, but people I know have, and they all say it's great. I heard it was an old place that wasn't doing well, so they hired a chef to tweak the hotpot base recipe or something, and when it reopened, it blew up."

"Brother Xiao, you going?"

"Send me the address." Xiao Ze replied.

Du Wei happily sent the address over, thinking Xiao Ze was in. Then he saw another message from Xiao Ze.

"I've got something to do tomorrow, so I can't make it to the get-together. You guys go ahead."

After sending that, Xiao Ze went back to his chat with Shen Dongqing and asked: "I heard about a really good hotpot place. Are you free tomorrow?"

After getting a yes, Xiao Ze drove off.

...

Shen Dongqing hadn't checked online since leaving the police station, so he had no idea his stream replay was blowing up.

Petty theft was common. With Shen Dongqing having caught seven or eight thieves in a row before, catching one more was hardly news. But this thief's antics were so ridiculous that plenty of people made clips of it, sparking the first wave of popularity.

The second wave came from Shen Dongqing's photos in the martial arts outfit. The sharp, aloof swordsman look struck a chord with countless fans of good looks—even a random ten-second video racked up hundreds of thousands of likes, letting clip-makers feast on the trend and skyrocketing Shen Dongqing's fame.

But none of that discussion compared to the last case—a husband taking his wife and daughter on a trip, only to plot their murder.

Even though Shen Dongqing had turned off the stream once the police arrived, everything that happened before was more than enough to trigger massive discussion.

With so many people talking, everyone started analyzing frame by frame, even identifying the three people's conversation on the bus by their voices.

With that analysis, Zhou Ming's clumsy performance couldn't be hidden anymore. Plenty of people figured out what kind of person Zhou Ming was—kind-faced, cold-hearted, and utterly irresponsible.

But the biggest bombshell was netizens finding the clip of Zhou Ming pushing someone.

Before that, it was all speculation, but now every guess was confirmed. The buzz spread beyond the streaming platform, spilling onto other platforms as well.

People in the insurance industry also recognized Zhou Ming and revealed that he'd bought substantial personal accident insurance for his wife and daughter, making his motive even more obvious.

The matchmaking agency that had met with Zhou Ming also stumbled upon his video. Seeing how viral it was, they immediately came forward to expose that Zhou Ming had approached them about what kind of match he was looking for.

Melon after melon—netizens feasting on the drama were stuffed to the brim. They never imagined Zhou Ming had this many explosive secrets.

One comment racked up two hundred thousand likes.

"Heaven has eyes! I speed-watched the entire stream. The mother and daughter were so lucky—saved by the streamer and caught on camera committing the crime in full. Otherwise, that scumbag might have escaped justice entirely."