Zhu Yuan took a deep breath, setting her things down, trying to ignore the quickened thump in her chest. The station buzzed as usual, officers darting around, chatting, and generally contributing to the organized chaos. But there was one thing her eyes couldn't ignore—another box of desserts, perched innocently on her desk. The familiar neat ribbon and that frustrating little label: J.D.
She let out a sigh, pressing a palm to her temple. "Really, again with this?"
"You've definitely got a secret admirer, Captain!" Qingyi's voice floated in, amusement clear. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, with a mischievous grin pulling at her lips.
Zhu Yuan could feel the heat rise to her cheeks, betraying her calm facade. "If this is Jane messing with me, I'm—"
"Oh, it's not Jane." Qingyi's eyes sparkled with amusement as she pointed at the box. "J.D.? I mean, unless Jane's running a double life, I think your admirer's playing it cool."
Zhu grabbed yesterday's empty dessert box and waved it around. "J.D., yeah, I know. But seriously, Jane's bad at keeping secrets. This reeks of her."
Before she could continue her rant, Amy piped up from across the room, barely stifling a laugh. "Captain, you sure it's not John Doe? Maybe the guy's just too shy to use his real name." He winked, clearly enjoying herself.
Laughter rippled across the room, and Zhu Yuan's face flushed deeper. Of all the things to get flustered about...
"John... Doe?" she muttered, the words bouncing around like an unwelcome echo.
Amy grinned even wider. "Yeah, Captain. John Doe's got a crush on you—he's just expressing it through cupcakes."
Zhu narrowed her eyes at her, but her attempts at sternness were drowned out by the ever-growing laughter. "Alright, alright. Very funny. Can we get back to, you know, law enforcement? Some of us have actual work to do."
"Oh, lighten up, Captain," Qingyi teased, still enjoying the spectacle. "Besides, whoever this J.D. is, they've got impeccable taste in desserts. Not a bad way to impress someone, if you ask me."
Zhu Yuan rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the small smile creeping up on her. As annoying as the mystery was, Qingyi had a point—the desserts were delicious. Still, she couldn't shake the question: Who was J.D., and what was the game here?
Curiosity won out as she untied the ribbon and opened the box. Another perfect lava cupcake sat inside, just as pristine as the others. Her thoughts, though, drifted away from sweets and back to Lumina Square and that man... the one who had spilled her lunch that day. Could it really be him? Nah, that's ridiculous. Just a coincidence.
"You gonna keep staring at that cupcake, or are you planning to eat it?" Qingyi's voice snapped Zhu back to reality.
Zhu blinked. "What?"
"The cupcake, Captain. You're eyeing it like it holds the answers to the universe. Just eat it already," Qingyi teased, nudging her.
Zhu Yuan shook her head, suppressing a laugh. "Let's just keep this between us, alright? I don't need the whole precinct thinking I've got some kind of mysterious dessert admirer."
Qingyi winked. "Your secret's safe with me, Captain. But... maybe this is more than just about cupcakes. You think?"
Zhu's heart did a weird little flip at the suggestion, but she quickly shrugged it off. "Or it's just someone with a serious sweet tooth and too much money. Let's focus on work—I've got a mountain of reports, and you know how I feel about overtime."
Qingyi leaned in closer, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Yeah, yeah. But don't you feel just a bit curious? What if this J.D. is your knight in shining armor... except instead of a sword, he's wielding cupcakes?"
Zhu scoffed, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her with a twitch. "A knight in shining... desserts? Yeah, right."
Later, Zhu sent a quick message to Jane, casually asking if she had any involvement in the dessert deliveries. Not that Zhu expected much—she just needed to rule out the most obvious answer.
Jane's reply came swiftly: "No clue what you're talking about."
Zhu sighed, pocketing her phone. The mystery continued, and she was no closer to cracking it.
Lunch at Lumina Square the next day was spent mostly staring at her half-eaten sandwich. She poked at it, as though it might suddenly reveal the identity of her dessert sender.
"What's brewing in that brain of yours, Captain? You look like you're either solving a murder or wondering if sandwiches have feelings," Qingyi commented, munching on her salad.
"I... can't remember!" Zhu confessed, throwing her hands up. "I meet so many people—especially the ones I've fined. It's like being the ringmaster of a carnival full of chaos."
Qingyi raised an eyebrow. "A carnival, huh? I thought we were solving cold cases, not launching into detective novels at lunch."
"It's the desserts, alright? I'm just curious!" Zhu sighed, clearly hitting a dead end. "Who could it be?"
Qingyi chuckled. "Just eat your sandwich, Captain. I'm sure the mystery will solve itself... or at least the cupcake part of it will."
The next day brought yet another dessert box, but this time, Zhu Yuan wasn't just ignoring it. It gnawed at her, despite her best efforts to focus on her duties.
Then, in the middle of the day at Lumina Square, a shout broke through the chatter. "Stop that guy!"
Zhu spun around and immediately recognized the man from before—the one who spilled her lunch. He was in hot pursuit of someone else, this one clutching a suspicious-looking package.
With a quick eye roll and a mutter of "Oh great, him again," Zhu Yuan bolted into action. As if chasing cupcakes wasn't enough, now this guy's bringing me a full-blown pursuit?