Episode Summary
Shi Muxian pushes Qu Tong into a river, but Su Muxin secretly saves her and tells everyone she is dead to frame Shi Muxian. While Qu Tong hides, she discovers letters revealing her mother Shen Jing's secret past and her reasons for being a strict parent. This leads Qu Tong to realize her mother may be connected to Su Muxin's death by poisoned wine. Meanwhile, Shen Jing and the police close in on Qu Tong's location using a jar of chili sauce as a key clue.
Spoiler Alert
Qu Tong's Fake-Out Death
The River and the Lie
This episode doesn't waste a single second. We open with Shi Muxian pushing Qu Tong straight into the river. Su Muxin screams her name as she goes under. For a minute, it looks like she's a goner. She's struggling, sinking, and even sees visions of her daughter and a younger Su Muxin. Just as she reaches for a phantom hand, the real Su Muxin dives in after her.
Later, Su Muxin shows up soaking wet. He tells Chen Shuncai that Qu Tong is dead. He claims Shi Muxian pushed her in and that he's a witness. But this is all a huge lie. We learn that Su Muxin actually pulled Qu Tong from the water and saved her. He's decided to use this opportunity to frame Shi Muxian. He tells Qu Tong that, as far as the world is concerned, she's dead, her body washed away. He instructs her to go hide out in an old house.
The Investigation Heats Up
Clues from the Past
Shen Jing gets a package in the mail from Qu Tong. It holds a music box and a letter. The music box was a gift from Shen Jing years ago, for Qu Tong placing first in her grade. The letter, however, is a suicide note Qu Tong wrote on her wedding anniversary. In it, she unloads all her years of exhaustion and loneliness. She writes about how much she craved her mother's love. She was even jealous of Hao Meili for having a mom who always defended her.
The police, led by Zhou Mi, search Qu Tong's house. They find a tiny but crucial clue. Under a kitchen cabinet is a wine cork sticker with a pinhole in it. Meanwhile, after reading the devastating letter, Shen Jing burns it. She then tears her own house apart until she finds what she's looking for: several jars of chili sauce.
The Chili Sauce Connection
Zhou Mi feels like the case is coming together. If they can find traces of sodium cyanide on that wine label, he believes they'll have the evidence needed to arrest Qu Tong and the real Su Muxin.
While the police close in, Qu Tong is hiding in an old, dusty machinery factory, coughing badly. Outside, the police have started setting up checkpoints and searching vehicles. Shen Jing takes one of the chili sauce jars to a local market, asking questions. A vendor named Xiao Ling recognizes her own family's chili sauce and gets suspicious. She calls Su Muxin, who tells her to confirm it's Shen Jing and then arrange a meeting.
A Mother's Secrets
The Letters in the Box
Hiding in the old house, Qu Tong stumbles upon a box. Inside, she finds photos of her mother, Shen Jing, as a young woman. She also finds an old letter of appeal written by Shen Jing and, most shockingly, the death certificates for Shen Jing's parents. There's another letter, this one addressed to Qu Tong. In it, Shen Jing explains her past. She was forced to leave Qu Tong, was deceived, and wanted to protect her daughter from the same fate. This is why she was always so strict. She wanted Qu Tong to be strong enough to rely on herself.
The Truth About the Wine
This discovery triggers a memory for Qu Tong. Her mother once warned her to never, ever drink alcohol, saying something terrible could happen. She immediately connects this to how Su Muxin died. She also remembers the strange way Shen Jing reacted when she told her that Su Muxin died from the wine he brought home. The pieces are starting to click into place.
A City-Wide Manhunt
A Desperate Alliance
Su Muxin meets with Shen Jing, but he refuses to tell her where Qu Tong is. Zhou Mi and Captain Jiang deduce that the pair are likely still in the city of Yunzhou and expand their search.
Shen Jing then goes to the police station. She reports Qu Tong as missing to Zhou Mi. She suggests a man named "Su Mufan" might have taken her. Then she presents the chili sauce, saying it's suspicious because Qu Tong never eats spicy food. This immediately gets Wu Dong's attention. He tells Zhou Mi that their surveillance team saw a three-wheeled cart with a chili sauce logo on it entering and leaving Qu Tong's neighborhood.
Zhou Mi immediately dispatches two teams. One is to search for Qu Tong, the other to find the place that sells the chili sauce. As Shen Jing is leaving the station, her phone rings. It's Qu Tong, asking about the bottle of wine. Shen Jing answers, then quickly hangs up, telling a nearby Wu Dong that it was just a wrong number.
