Zhu Qing had just hung up the phone when she looked up and saw the two lively troublemakers from her team bickering their way over.
Zeng Yongshan and Xu Jiale had been squabbling since the police canteen, all the way to the break room, and now, each holding a thermos cup, they still refused to quiet down.
"Xu Jiale, who told you to copy me and brew goji berries?" Zeng Yongshan smacked his arm.
Xu Jiale rubbed his arm dramatically. "I knew you were targeting me! At lunch, you even tried to shove me aside to make room for the new guy!"
Zeng Yongshan immediately lowered her voice. "What 'new guy'? That's Senior Liang!"
"Liang sir is Liang sir, why call him 'senior'..."
A series of sharp raps on the table interrupted their argument. Mo Zhenbang had stepped out of his office, signaling for silence.
"Chen Chaosheng's autopsy report is ready, but there's still some follow-up work. Qikai, head to the Sheng residence."
"I'll go with Liang sir," Zhu Qing said, holding up an envelope. "Sheng Peishan's banquet invitation was left with me."
On the road to the hillside, Liang Qikai focused on driving while Zhu Qing gazed absently at the passing streets.
The puzzling aspects of the case swirled in her thoughts...
"You don’t remember me?"
In truth, the newly transferred Liang sir had recognized Zhu Qing long ago.
At the Wong Chuk Hang Police Academy, he had been her senior by two years. Back then, this strikingly beautiful yet solitary girl had drawn countless eyes. She could have chosen any respectable, cushy job—yet she had picked the hardest path.
The grueling training at the academy was still vivid in his memory: the scorching summer parade grounds, the chorus of groans during drills...
Liang Qikai teased, "I’ve dreamed of being a cop since I was a kid, but even I almost couldn’t take the hardship."
"Sorry," Zhu Qing said, pulling her thoughts away from the dark green leather notebook in her hands. "What did you say?"
"Zhu Qing, do you remember that mock community outreach class?" Liang Qikai suddenly asked. "The one where someone played the scavenger."
Such exercises were routine at the academy.
In that particular session, one student acted as an elderly street cleaner while the others crowded around him, offering sympathy and small talk.
"But only you noticed the hidden clue the 'old man' was withholding."
Zhu Qing replied, "The chief instructor always said: replace tears with evidence."
"Right then, I knew Cadet Zhu would grow into an uncompromising madam," Liang Qikai said, his voice still gentle.
The instructor’s teachings from that year seemed to echo in her ears—
Unnecessary sympathy only burdens the victims' families.
Liang sir’s smile was warm, like winter sunlight. "Turns out, you really did become an outstanding officer."
An outstanding officer? Zhu Qing looked down at the police badge on her chest.
She hoped so too.
...
Lately, the detectives from the Serious Crimes Unit had become frequent visitors to the hillside villa. The security guards and Sheng family staff were long accustomed to their arrivals.
Zhu Qing handed the velvet envelope to the butler. "I rode with the second miss earlier and accidentally took her invitation."
"Madam, you’re too kind," Butler Cui said, accepting it with both hands. "A phone call would have sufficed—we could have sent a driver to retrieve it."
Liang Qikai stepped forward to explain their purpose, and Butler Cui promptly arranged for someone to guide him.
Since this was just routine follow-up, Zhu Qing stayed behind in the living room.
Steady footsteps approached as Liang Qikai, led by a maid, waited outside Sheng Peishan’s door.
"Second Miss, the officer is here," the maid said softly, knocking.
Before the words faded, a faint click came from the children’s room at the end of the third-floor hallway.
The door cracked open, and Sheng Fang peeked out, barefoot and tiptoeing.
He moved swiftly, his little steps turning into a jog—until he saw the unfamiliar male officer. His round face immediately fell.
Downstairs in the living room—
Butler Cui poured Zhu Qing a cup of tea and mentioned in passing that everyone had noticed how fond the young master was of her.
The little tyrant, usually unruly, was actually a pitiful child. Though he often acted aloof, hands behind his back, he genuinely wanted to be close to her.
"Madam, shall I invite the young master down?"
Going out together, coaxing information from nurses, calling the CID room right after parting ways...
Perhaps it was Liang Qikai’s earlier words that made Zhu Qing recall the instructor’s lessons.
Like doctors, police must rein in unnecessary empathy and maintain professional distance from families.
"No need."
Butler Cui didn’t press further.
From the kitchen, the aroma of cooking wafted in.
Zhu Qing remembered the angelica and deer antler soup she’d had that day and asked casually, "Is Sister Ping cooking?"
"In the past, this long dining table would be full for dinner..." Butler Cui gazed at the empty room, his tone wistful. "Now, Sister Ping’s meals are just split into two portions and sent to the second miss and the young master’s rooms."
The finest Longjing tea filled the air with its fragrance.
When Zhu Qing set her cup back on the table, Butler Cui expertly refilled it, posture still impeccable. "Madam, do you believe in feng shui?"
"Even during renovations, the second miss had concerns about this house’s energy."
"She and Mr. Sheng scoured all of Hong Kong to hire Master Gan—you know how the wealthy are. They even poached him from the shipping tycoon’s family at great expense."
Steam still rose from the teacup.
Zhu Qing asked, "How was it resolved?"
Sheng Fang peered toward the living room.
Zhu Qing and Butler Cui continued their hushed conversation, not even glancing up.
"They picked an auspicious moving date, and the rituals lasted three days and nights." Butler Cui held up three fingers, then scoffed. "Between you and me, it’s all charlatanry."
"What good did changing the feng shui do? The second miss still ended up in that car crash."
"She was devastated—locked herself in her room for three months, refusing to even open the curtains."
Sheng Peishan had repeatedly claimed the house was haunted, convincing Mr. Sheng to bring in Master Gan.
After the master selected the ideal moving date, the Sheng family halted nighttime construction.
Meaning, it wasn’t Chen Chaosheng who’d stopped the construction crew back then.
He’d only relayed the order.
Zhu Qing lifted her gaze.
She’d finally found a new lead.
Butler Cui sighed. "No amount of money can outwit fate... Heaven has been too cruel to this family."
...
Meanwhile, three floors above...
Young Master Sheng pressed his lips together, the light in his obsidian eyes dimming.
Adults were all the same.
Only a naive child would believe they truly saw him as a friend.
Silently, he turned and dragged his beloved Ultraman plush back to his room, shutting the door so quietly it was almost inaudible.
But the next moment, the little master stubbornly flung it open again with a loud bang.
Sheng Fang plopped down in the doorway, hugging Ultraman like a tiny gatekeeper.
Unaware, she let out a soft, childish huff of defiance—
"Hmph!"
