Episode Summary
Qu Tong maintains a facade for the police while secretly following clues left on Braille cards. The victim's past as a bullied classmate of Qu Tong and Su Muxin is revealed. The episode ends with Su Muxin climbing out of Qu Tong's car trunk after she is attacked by the victim's mother.
Spoiler Alert
Qu Tong's Sketchy Alibi
The "Happy Couple" Story
This episode picks up with Qu Tong trying to shake off Wu Dong's surveillance. She drives out to her parents' place in Yunzhou County. Her mother, Shen Jing, is there to meet her. When the detective, Zhou Mi, starts asking questions, Shen Jing puts on a perfect performance. She says she just saw her son-in-law, Su Muxin, last week for a nice meal.
Zhou Mi brings up the police report Qu Tong filed three months ago. Shen Jing waves it off. She claims it was just a normal married couple's spat. A total misunderstanding. Qu Tong just sits there, bottling it all up, and agrees with her mom. This is even though we know Su Muxin once held her head underwater in the bathtub.
The detective asks directly if Su Muxin was abusive. Qu Tong says no. He then asks about her time in a sanatorium. Shen Jing jumps in again, denying it was for emotional problems. Qu Tong forces a smile and calls it a "vacation." She says after she got out, she and Su Muxin made up and were fine. The whole conversation is a masterclass in denial.
The Four-Hour Drive
We meet Fu Wenjiang, the vice president of Su Muxin's jewelry company. He was also Su Muxin's college classmate. He tells the police that Qu Tong and Su Muxin were high school sweethearts. He also shows them a room at the office. It's filled with children's things that belonged to their deceased daughter, Su Momo. Fu Wenjiang explains that Su Muxin moved everything there so Qu Tong wouldn't have to see it and get upset.
As the police are leaving, Wu Dong asks Qu Tong what time she got home. Zhou Mi immediately follows up, noting that the short trip somehow took her four hours. Qu Tong has a lie ready. She says she stopped by the river for a while. Zhou Mi glances down at her shoes and sees a fish scale stuck to one of them. He doesn't say anything, but he knows she's lying.
Qu Tong realizes her lie didn't work. She didn't go to the river. She followed instructions on a mysterious card. It led her to a blind massage parlor at a wet market, run by a man named Lao Xue.
The Other Mother
A Painful Past
Qu Tong finally drops the act with her mother. She tells Shen Jing that Su Muxin's mistress, Shi Yue, is dead. She also says Su Muxin is now missing. Her mom is completely stunned.
The police can't find Su Muxin on any of the bus routes. Zhou Mi is convinced Qu Tong has seen him.
We then cut to Shi Yue's mother, Shi Muxian, at her late daughter's apartment. The landlord is there, yelling about how Shi Yue was a homewrecker. Shi Muxian gets furious. She flashes back to her daughter as a little girl, so happy when she bought her her first lipstick.
Here's the twist. We learn Shi Yue's real name was Hao Meili. She was a transfer student in the same high school class as Qu Tong and Su Muxin. She had a crush on Su Muxin from her first day. In a flashback, we see her being brutally bullied. The other kids steal her lipstick and vote her the ugliest girl in class. Qu Tong, of course, was voted the prettiest. Hao Meili, convinced Qu Tong voted against her, screams her name in an empty classroom until she has an asthma attack.
The Big Reveal
The Parking Garage Showdown
Back in the present, Lao Xue, the blind masseur, delivers a box of chili sauce to Qu Tong's house. She takes it inside and locks the door. Inside the box is another card, this one with a message in Braille.
Qu Tong follows the new instructions and drives to a place called San Jie Restaurant. But Zhou Mi is right behind her. He follows her inside and checks the bathroom, but finds nothing. He tails her as she leaves and tries to lose him in a market, but it doesn't work.
The episode ends in a parking garage. Shi Muxian, armed with a knife, ambushes Qu Tong. She's screaming for revenge. Qu Tong locks herself in her car. She waits for the right moment, then makes a break for it when Shi Muxian climbs onto the hood. She runs straight into Wu Dong, who happens to be entering the garage. He tackles Shi Muxian and gets her under control.
Qu Tong collapses, gasping in relief. Then, the trunk of her car pops open. Su Muxin slowly climbs out.
