Episode Summary
Episode 19 opens with the gruesome discovery of Hu Minmin's murder; she's found bled out in a bathtub, killed with scissors. Evidence, including a birthday card, points towards Lu Sheng. As police investigate Lu Sheng, he attempts to flee with Hu Li but is found by Bai Enyu. Bai Enyu takes them to the police, where Lu Sheng explains his connection to Hu Minmin. Hu Li, being non-verbal, is sent to the juvenile inspection office, where it's discovered she is female, raising questions about her identity and Hu Minmin's actions. Meanwhile, Lin Zhitao is inspired by her mentor Zheng Yanlai's TV appeal regarding a years-old cold case of an unidentified murdered girl. Separately, Li Xiaoyao meets Cui Jiayi, who reveals she was drugged by Hu Minmin (posing as a dance teacher) before her assault, adding another layer of complexity now that Hu Minmin is dead.
Spoiler Alert
"Endless Protection" Episode 19 Recap & Spoilers: Things Get Bloody
Right off the bat, the police get another grim call. Remember Hu Minmin, the girl Lu Sheng was just talking about? Yeah, well, she's been found dead. And it's brutal – lying in a bathtub, bled out after someone apparently took a pair of scissors and cut her artery. The scene is a bloodbath, described as incredibly gruesome.
The cops find the sharp scissors at the scene, but that's not all. They also discover a birthday card nearby... with a message written in Lu Sheng's handwriting. Uh oh. Since the police are already familiar with Lu Sheng, alarm bells go off immediately. They give Bai Enyu a call and head straight to Lu Sheng's workplace to investigate.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yang sees the police zeroing in on Lu Sheng and realizes this is serious. He quickly calls Bai Enyu, who starts freaking out. Lu Sheng literally just got out of trouble, how could he be mixed up in something this horrific already?
Speaking of Lu Sheng, he's not sticking around. He's already bought bus tickets and is at the station with Hu Li, looking super stressed and holding onto her hand tightly, clearly trying to take care of her despite the chaos swirling around him.
Later that night, Bai Enyu gets home, his mind still racing about Lu Sheng. He opens the door and jumps – Lu Sheng is right there in his apartment! And sitting next to him is Hu Li, whose clothes are filthy and possibly even have bloodstains on them. Lu Sheng, trying (and probably failing) to stay calm, pulls Bai Enyu outside. He nervously begs Bai Enyu to help Hu Li, whispering that he's terrified she might be the one who killed Hu Minmin. Yikes!
Bai Enyu does the responsible thing and brings both Lu Sheng and Hu Li down to the police station. Lu Sheng explains how he knew Hu Minmin. Since Hu Li can't speak, she gets temporarily sent over to Lin Zhitao's juvenile inspection office for care.
And here's where it gets even weirder. While the folks at the juvenile office are trying to comfort Hu Li and help her change clothes, they make a shocking discovery: Hu Li, with that short buzz cut, is actually a girl. Wait, what?! This throws up a ton of questions. Did Hu Minmin know her sister was a girl? If so, why the boyish disguise? And does this explain why Hu Minmin was so panicked that time Hu Li went missing?
While this is unfolding, Lin Zhitao happens to catch her mentor, Dean Zheng Yanlai, on a TV interview. Zheng Yanlai is talking about a heartbreaking cold case – a young girl who was assaulted, her face destroyed by a heavy blow, found dead years ago. No name, no ID, no clue where she came from. For over a decade, Zheng Yanlai and another colleague, Lu Wenzhao (who's nearing retirement), have been searching for leads, digging through mountains of files with no luck. The girl's body has been kept preserved in a freezer all this time. Zheng Yanlai uses the TV show to appeal to the public, showing items found with the victim, hoping to finally find her family. Seeing her mentor's unwavering dedication to this young, unidentified victim deeply moves Lin Zhitao, reminding her why her work with vulnerable minors is so important.
Switching gears slightly, Li Xiaoyao hears that Cui Jiayi (another character involved in a previous incident) is a huge fan of an anime character called "Sai Qi" – a character Li Xiaoyao actually created! Knowing Cui Jiayi has been having a rough time mentally, Li Xiaoyao decides to meet her, cleverly arranging it as a "fellow fan" meet-up.
Cui Jiayi is ecstatic to meet her idol and opens up, sharing more details about what happened to her around the time of her assault. She recalls that the day before the incident, she was looking at a poster for a dance class when a girl came up to her, claiming to be the enrollment teacher and offering a discount. This "teacher" gave her a bottle of water. Cui Jiayi, trusting her, drank it... and then blacked out. She woke up later in a simple bungalow. The "teacher" helped her get a taxi home. It was only after getting home that Cui Jiayi realized her underwear was missing.
And the kicker? The "teacher" Cui Jiayi described was none other than Hu Minmin. Police investigation confirms Hu Minmin lived in a bungalow matching the description. But Hu Minmin is now dead, found with her artery cut. So, what really happened? Was Hu Minmin involved in Cui Jiayi's assault? How does it connect to her own violent death? The case just got a whole lot more complicated and confusing.
