NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: Are You the Same Shen Zeming?
"You... you're the beauty," Shen Zeming said warmly, a faint smile playing across his lips as he took in the woman standing before him. Though around 170cm tall, she carried herself with a poised elegance that seemed to make her presence fill the room.
Unlike the cropped black halter top that had previously revealed her toned midriff and slender waistline, she was now clad in a form-fitting blue shirt with long sleeves.
The fabric clung to her curves in a way that was professional yet undeniably alluring. The button-up design drew his eye upwards to the gentle swell of her chest before traveling to her face.
She looked formal and put together, and yet her sultry voice from the day before seemed to echo faintly in his mind - a stark contrast to her current polished appearance. Her long, dark hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail, a few wispy strands escaping to frame her delicate features.
Upon hearing Shen Zeming's words, the woman's cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she instinctively crossed her arms in a subconscious, self-conscious gesture. "Moo, Brother Shen," she replied, a hint of playful admonishment in her tone, "don't you remember my name?"
Shen Zeming's brow furrowed slightly as he regarded her. "No, I don't," he admitted honestly with a small shake of his head and a wave of his hand, as if to clear the air between them.
The truth was, this striking beauty - Wei Feng's friend - had never actually revealed her name to him during their previous encounter. A rueful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I think this is the second time we've met?"
As the words left his lips, his eyes narrowed in an almost conspiratorial expression, prompting the woman to cant her head inquiringly to the side in a gesture that was equal parts bemused and coy. The subtle movement caused her ponytail to sway enticingly.
"Ah! That's right," she conceded, a fresh blush blooming momentarily across her cheeks before fading just as quickly. Straightening her posture, she met his gaze evenly. "Well then, my name is An Rong, remember that—"
But before she could continue her introduction, the sudden bang of a door being flung open interrupted her. All eyes turned towards the source of the noise - one of the nearby square glass offices. A cold voice, laced with obvious disgust, rang out. "This is a workplace, not a place for flirting."
It was none other than Wei Feng, glaring pointedly in their direction with undisguised disapproval etched onto his features.
"Y-yes, boss!" An Rong stammered, flushing furiously. With an awkward gesture, she indicated for Shen Zeming to follow her.
They made their way to a small, austere square room. The stark space contained little more than a simple table, two chairs, and a pane of one-sided glass along one wall - a typical interrogation room setup.
As the door closed behind them with a firm snick, An Rong seemed to recover her composure.
Turning to face Shen Zeming once more, she met his gaze from beneath lowered lashes. "I'm sorry, Brother Shen," she murmured, her voice taking on a low, sultry timbre once more as she stepped in close, "let's just finish our business quickly."
A delicate furrow marred her brow as she affected an exaggerated squint, the gesture causing her lush lips to purse momentarily in an expression of feigned concern.
"After all, I know you're a busy man." With a deft movement, she linked her arm through his, pressing the soft swell of her chest boldly against him as she leaned in, the faint floral notes of her perfume enveloping him.
"Sure," Shen Zeming replied easily, a casual smile playing across his lips . While An Rong mentioned she would need to prepare some documents, leaving him to wait, he didn't take a seat right away.
Instead, his gaze roamed the small space, taking in every detail.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the pane of one-way glass that dominated one wall.
Shen Zeming's smile didn't falter, however, as he met his own reflected gaze levelly before finally lowering himself into one of the institutional chairs.
It wasn't long before the door opened again and An Rong returned, a crisp manila folder clutched in her hands. As she moved to take a seat opposite him, the fabric of her shirt pulled taut across her curves with the motion.
"Alright, let's start," she stated briskly, arranging the papers before her.
…
The interrogation progressed smoothly from there. The process of "testifying" was a mercifully straightforward one, merely involving Shen Zeming providing the police with information about how he had come to know of Luo Chen's possession of illegal drugs and for approximately how long he'd been aware of it.
Throughout, Shen Zeming maintained an outward air of calm detachment, though his penetrating gaze kept flickering back towards the mirror, as if he could bore holes through it with the intensity of his stare alone.
As An Rong collected her materials, signaling the conclusion of the interrogation, Shen Zeming remained seated, his posture unchanged. Only when she had exited the room did he allow some of the tension to bleed from his shoulders with a deep exhale.
...
An Rong, for her part, moved swiftly down the corridor to the adjoining observation room situated on the other side of the one-way mirror. "So, what do you think, Sister Wei?" she asked without preamble as she entered.
Wei Feng, who had been observing the entire interrogation with hawkish focus, was already waiting with her arms crossed tightly and a deep furrow marring her brow.
Her sharp eyes continued darting between Shen Zeming's seemingly calm and collected figure in the other room and her best friend beside her.
"He said he only recently discovered that Luo Chen was planning to frame him," An Rong stated. "We can't detain him any longer since we haven't formally pressed charges."
Then, An Rong added, "Especially considering he's the heir of the prestigious Shen Family and the one who originally filed this report."
On the other hand, Wei Feng's eyes narrowed shrewdly as she, too, studied Shen Zeming's image through the glass.
Her arms remained crossed, forearms pressing flatteringly against the curves of her chest. "Tsk!" she couldn't help but echo An Rong's reports with a sharp click of her tongue.
She even bit down on the tip of her thumb nail, brow furrowing even further. "I refuse to believe he's not involved in this whole sordid case in some way," she muttered darkly. "Especially since he's such a close friend of Luo Chen's."
Her instincts screamed that something was decidedly off about this man - as if the very core of who he was had shifted, transfiguring him into an entirely different person than the one she thought she knew.
The Shen Zeming of old would never have dared to willingly set foot inside these stark police department walls.
And yet, here he sat, the very picture of unruffled composure.
'How could this bastard have changed so drastically?' The thought gnawed at Wei Feng's mind like an insistent parasite as her eyebrows drew together in a deepening furrow, the crease between them carving harsh lines across her temple.
She could so vividly recall the boorish, vulgar man Shen Zeming had been - she'd seemingly known every facet of his arrogant, entitled persona.
But the gentle, measured way he had spoken earlier - not just to her best friend An Rong, but even the clerical staff out front - it was so at odds with her recollections that it raised the fine hairs along her nape in an instinctive frisson of disquiet.
"Boss?" An Rong's questioning voice finally pierced through the whirling vortex of Wei Feng's thoughts, drawing her gaze back to the present.
Only to find Shen Zeming standing directly before the mirror now, so close that it seemed he could discern their presences on the other side despite the one-way glass. The unexpected proximity, coupled with the intensity of his stare, was enough to send a jolt of shocked adrenaline coursing through her veins.
And yet, rather than confront them, Shen Zeming merely raised his arm, gesturing pointedly towards his wrist in a clear indication of the time.
Wei Feng exhaled a shuddering breath in an effort to recompose herself, regarding him with narrowed eyes for a long moment before finally conceding with a terse nod and a weary sigh. "Release him," she commanded, the rasp of her voice betraying her sudden weariness. "But have someone keep an eye on him."
Her mind, however, remained a roiling cyclone - an inchoate tangle of thoughts and questions and conflicting impressions of this man who had so thoroughly upended her perceived reality of who he was.
Why had he changed so dramatically? How was such an abrupt transformation even possible? Was it...was it because she had pushed him too far all those years ago?
'No!' She forced the unbidden thought away with a savage shake of her head. In the first place, he had been the one harassing her.
So why did she feel so inexplicably unmoored now, adrift in a churning sea of loss and discomfort when he was the one who should be reeling?
'Argh!' She couldn't allow herself to dwell on that bastard any longer - the frustration was becoming overwhelming.
And yet, seeing the way An Rong's features had brightened with a warm, approving smile as he spoke to her so gently only served to darken Wei Feng's expression into an ominous scowl once more.
….
Meanwhile, Shen Zeming followed An Rong's lead as she guided him out of the interrogation room and down a flight of stairs towards the lower levels of the precinct. Despite the tense situation, his expression remained affable, even cheerful as he engaged her in lighthearted conversation.
That is, until a series of translucent screens suddenly flickered to life before him.