The original ending of The Thieves had the diamond winding up in Nicole's hands, though a subtle sub-plot hinted that it would eventually fall into the possession of Macau Park.
In the original script, Xiaoshuai—played by Chen Hao—was supposed to be caught while covering for Nicole. Chen Hao changed it so that while he still covered for Nicole, he managed to escape himself.
The biggest alterations Chen Hao made to the script were the origin of the diamond and Xiaoshuai's identity. To pass censorship, he set the diamond as a piece from Empress Dowager Cixi's collection, a Chinese cultural relic stolen during the Republican era. As for Xiaoshuai's identity, it was never explicitly stated, but after sleeping with Nicole at the end and stealing her diamond, the gem is returned to the Palace Museum.
Chapter 36