Episode Summary
Xu Qingli tells Meng Chao his entire history with Tian Baozhen. He explains how she broke up with him to marry the wealthy Bao Desheng for a better life. After a humiliating confrontation on the wedding night where Xu Qingli threatened to kill him, Bao Desheng is murdered. Tian Baozhen, believing Xu Qingli is the killer, gives him money and tells him to flee for his life. In the present, the police get a tip that brings them dangerously close to catching Ni Xiangdong.
Spoiler Alert
Xu Qingli's Big Confession
A Relationship on the Rocks
The episode spends a lot of time in the past. We see Xu Qingli telling his whole story to Meng Chao. It starts years ago, with him and Tian Baozhen working in the city. They came from the same village, Yafen.
Right away, you can see the cracks forming. Tian Baozhen is ambitious. She works all day. Then she studies all night. She is desperate to get into a good school. Xu Qingli, on the other hand, is just kind of… there.
One night, his buddies drag him to a massage parlor while he's drunk. He doesn't seem to do anything. But Tian Baozhen's friend sees him go inside. That's never a good look. Tian Baozhen later asks him where he was. He gets shifty and doesn't tell her the truth.
She keeps hitting the books. He keeps hanging out with his friends. He gets lonely seeing all his friends paired up. He calls her one night. He wants her to come to a dinner with his coworkers. She flat out says no. She has an exam next week. Her future comes first.
The Breakup
Xu Qingli keeps telling his story. Tian Baozhen eventually gets what she wants. She passes her exams and gets into a specialized college. She's the only one from their village to do it. The whole village is proud.
Then a fancy car shows up one day. That’s how everyone finds out Tian Baozhen is engaged.
Xu Qingli goes to her college to see her. He finds her there, looking more beautiful than ever. She decides to be straight with him. She tells him she is going to marry a man named Bao Desheng.
Xu Qingli just can't process it. He thinks Bao Desheng is an uncultured guy who isn't even good-looking. He assumes she's just upset and acting out. But she sets him straight.
She tells him it's about stability. She says Bao Desheng is the son of a factory director. He can give her things she wants. She doesn't want to end up like her mom. Her mother worked herself to death, and her father just remarried immediately. She's tired of Xu Qingli having no ambition. After all these years, he hasn't grown. So she ends it. Cold.
A Wedding and a Murder
The Confrontation
Fast forward to the wedding day. Xu Qingli is a mess. He gets drunk outside the hotel, watching her wedding. He can't do anything about it.
Later that night, he decides to do something stupid. He goes to a high-end club to find Bao Desheng. It's Bao Desheng's wedding night. But he's at a club with his crew instead of with his new wife. That tells you a lot about him.
Xu Qingli confronts him. He actually begs. He cries and tells Bao Desheng that Tian Baozhen is a good girl. He asks him to let her go. Bao Desheng just sees a pathetic guy. He offers Xu Qingli money to go away.
This is a huge insult to Xu Qingli. He completely loses it. He screams that one day, he will kill Bao Desheng.
And then, not long after, Bao Desheng is dead. He gets stabbed on a rainy night. The news spreads fast.
The Aftermath
The Walls Close In
We get a quick jump to the present day. Ni Xiangdong is hiding out, watching a bookstore from across the street. Then he sees Meng Chao and the police go into that same store. They show the owner a photo. It's probably Ni Xiangdong. The owner points right toward the alley where Ni Xiangdong is standing. He says the guy was just there. Ni Xiangdong hears this and bolts. The cops are getting closer.
A Desperate Escape
Back in the past, right after the murder. Xu Qingli is passed out drunk at his place. Tian Baozhen shows up in the middle of a storm. She immediately asks him if he killed Bao Desheng.
He swears he didn't. He says it was just angry talk. But she doesn't believe him for a second. She gives him a stack of cash. She tells him to run.
He hides out in a cheap hotel for a few days. She finds him again. She tells him he has to leave the city. Bao Desheng was the family's only son. His family is now hunting for Xu Qingli, looking for revenge. He still insists he's innocent.
Tian Baozhen tells him this has ruined her, too. People in the village are calling her a jinx. They say she brings death to her husbands. She tells him to escape to a coastal city in the north. She says she's going to start her life over, too.
