Episode Summary
In the final episode, Li Mufeng's elaborate revenge plot, orchestrated on behalf of the terminally ill Zhou Delong, is fully revealed. He manipulates events to cause Duan Hongshan to kill Zhou Delong in self-defense during a staged livestream. Though Li Mufeng attempts to cover his tracks, prosecutor Fang Lingyuan uncovers the conspiracy through clues in his artwork. Mei Zheng, who was complicit in the plan, turns herself in, leading to legal consequences for both her and Li Mufeng, while Duan Hongshan is exonerated.
Spoiler Alert
The episode reveals the full scope of Li Mufeng's master plan, born from a debt he felt he owed to Zhou Delong. Li explains to Duan Hongshan that after being released from prison, he was an outcast. The label of a killer followed him everywhere, making life impossible. Even his own mother refused to see him. At his lowest point, contemplating suicide by a river, Zhou Delong saved him.
Zhou Delong, however, was not mentally sound. Traumatized by his son Zhou Lin's death, he would sometimes confuse Li Mufeng for his own son. He harbored an intense hatred for Mei Zheng, whom he blamed for seducing his son, and for prosecutor Duan Hongshan, whom he believed helped her escape true justice.
Li Mufeng wanted to repay Zhou Delong for saving his life. Zhou Delong, consumed by his grief, insisted that the ones who needed to compensate were Mei Zheng and the "unjust" prosecutor Duan Hongshan. When Li asked what Zhou Delong would have done if he had been the one to die years ago, Zhou Delong replied he would have given his own life in return. This conversation, coupled with Zhou Delong revealing he had terminal cancer with less than two months to live, sparked a plan. Li Mufeng, using the Jiang Ting case as a catalyst, formulated a strategy to bring Duan Hongshan down.
The intricate plot is laid bare: Li Mufeng visited Duan Hongshan's daughter, Yingying, at her school and gave her a glass marble. This marble contained a listening device, allowing Zhou Delong, who was living next door, to monitor Duan Hongshan's every move. Later, when Zhou Delong kidnapped the prosecutor, Li Mufeng orchestrated a fake livestream of the "trial" at the Dongjiao Fish Farm.After Duan fled to report the crime, Li Mufeng entered the scene and threw the phone containing the fake livestream into the sea.
However, the plan begins to unravel thanks to prosecutor Fang Lingyuan. While visiting an art exhibition, she has a revelation about Li Mufeng's "Prince Rupert's Drop" sculptures and realizes they contain melted components from a mobile phone. When confronted, Li Mufeng doesn't deny it.
Mei Zheng's role is also revealed. She knew about Li Mufeng's connection with Zhou Delong and his elaborate scheme. To help him, she deliberately leaked Jiang Ting's address to Zhang Yuan and intentionally switched phones to aid his plan. Realizing they are now the same kind of people, bound by their actions, she forgoes her plan to leave by train and turns herself in to the police.
In the end, Duan Hongshan is cleared and returns to the prosecutor's office, where he shares a meaningful moment with Fang Lingyuan. He thanks her for her help, but she reveals that he had saved her long ago. When she was a victim of bullying, a speech he gave prevented her from committing a violent act, as she had hidden a knife in the bushes near her school.
With the case closed, life for Duan Hongshan's daughter, Yingying, returns to normal. Li Mufeng is prosecuted for illegal imprisonment, and Mei Zheng faces charges for helping to destroy evidence.
