Episode Summary
Yang Guang is framed with a bribery accusation by Lide Group, orchestrated by James without Zhao Yaning's knowledge, using faked photos and a suspicious bank transfer. Despite this, Yang Guang and Zhao Yaning have a tense reconciliation. The investigation leads Yang Guang and his superior, Zhang Baiqing, to suspect Lide Group might be a spy agency deeply involved in trying to infiltrate a nuclear project. Yang Guang is then assigned to head security for a conference in Shouchang, where Lide will also be present, setting up a deliberate confrontation. Meanwhile, Lide operatives, including Zhao Yaning, are also in Shouchang trying to connect with key figures, and James instructs Zhao Yaning to get closer to Yang Guang. Li Jian investigates the person who photographed Yang Guang, who turns out to be Luca, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase.
Spoiler Alert
So, picture this: lunch wraps up, and Zhao Yaning makes a quick getaway. But oops, she "forgets" a manila envelope on her seat. Inside? A cool two stacks of US dollars, supposedly a "PR fee" for our main man, Yang Guang. Yang Guang, obviously not born yesterday, picks up the envelope and immediately calls Zhao Yaning. The whole time, this shady character Luca is filming, getting the perfect shot of Yang Guang holding the cash, but – surprise, surprise – conveniently missing the part where Yang Guang is clearly trying to refuse it. Real subtle, Luca.
Bright and early the next day, Yang Guang gets a lovely visit from the Disciplinary Inspection team leader, Liu Xiangjun, and investigator Zhao Peizhi. They flash those conveniently framed photos as "evidence." Yang Guang, keeping his cool, lays out the actual facts and even offers up his phone recordings and dashcam footage to prove he’s clean. But here’s where the plot thickens: the investigation team also digs up bank records showing that Lide Group just happened to transfer a neat $20,000 into Yang Guang’s account on that very same day. If that doesn't scream "elaborate frame-up," I don't know what does!
Meanwhile, over at Shouchang Electric Company, things are a total mess thanks to the Sun Daren corruption scandal. The nuclear power project they were handling? It's been urgently handed over to Taiyu Group. Now, Taiyu's big boss, Yao Youzhi, has some old bad blood with Lide's top exec, James, and he’s not wasting any time cutting off all their joint ventures. Despite this, Huaze Group and Lide are starting to move forward with a partnership, and Zhao Yaning is still holding out hope that Huaze won't want to ditch their PR firm, considering all the time and effort already sunk in.
Back to our framed hero: Yang Guang drives straight to Lide Group's headquarters to confront Zhao Yaning about the whole举报 (jǔbào - report/accusation) incident. Her shock and anger about the photos seem incredibly genuine, and she insists she’d never do that to him, claiming her conscience is clear. After Yang Guang leaves, Zhao Yaning quizzes James, only to find out he was the mastermind behind it all, and didn't even tell her! His brilliant (read: terrible) reasoning? He thought this whole ordeal would make Yang Guang see the Guoan Ju (State Security Bureau) as cold and impersonal. Yeah, that totally destroyed any good vibes that were just starting to build between her and Yang Guang. Back at Section Three, Yang Guang tells Li Jian to look into who the secret photographer was, deciding for now to believe Zhao Yaning wasn't in on the photo scheme.
Yang Guang doesn't just sit around, though. He immediately sets countermeasures in motion, assigning Li Jian to track down the mystery photographer. The next morning, Zhao Yaning is all packed and ready to leave when she runs into Yang Guang. He ends up driving her to the airport, learning she’s off to Shouchang for a business trip. He apologizes for the drama the day before, and Zhao Yaning apologizes too. On the surface, it looks like they've buried the hatchet, but you can bet they're both mentally sizing up how much they can actually trust each other.
Later, Zhang Baiqing has a chat with Yang Guang. His take? Those photos definitely came from Lide. Their real game is to stir up trouble between Yang Guang and the Bureau, possibly as a first step to try and flip him. Yang Guang has been piecing things together himself; Lide Group seems to have its fingerprints all over these cases, especially their desperate push to get involved in the nuclear project. He throws out a pretty wild theory: what if Lide Group is actually a spy agency? Suddenly, all their shady moves start to make a scary amount of sense.
And because of this very suspicion, Zhang Baiqing gives Yang Guang a new assignment. Turns out, some important Chinese leaders will be at the Shouchang Energy negotiation conference. So, Yang Guang is off to Shouchang as the head of the security team for the Chinese side. The genius part? Lide’s people will definitely see Yang Guang there and will almost certainly try to make contact. It's a classic "let the fish come to the bait" setup.
Over in Shouchang, Zhao Yaning meets with Lide's East Asia Affairs Minister, Taylor, and the Deputy Minister, Li Taiheng. They're having a tough time getting in touch with Yao Youzhi. Meanwhile, Li Jian is back at the scene of Yang Guang’s photo ambush, doing some digging. Little does he know, Luca is watching his every move. Luca immediately calls James, and they decide to use the "Guangcai APP" game for their secret communications. Li Jian, however, also spots Luca on surveillance footage. Unfortunately, Luca is all masked up, so still no clear ID. But Li Jian notices a key detail: Luca changed into a delivery driver's outfit and took off on a scooter to dodge the cameras. So, Li Jian starts tracking him from the nearest intersection.
Later, Zhao Yaning and her crew are staking out the conference building when she spots Yang Guang with Yao Youzhi. That night, she calls Yang Guang, trying to feel him out. He plays it cool, just saying he’s in Shouchang on official business. James tells Zhao Yaning to use this as a chance to get closer to Yang Guang, maybe warm things up over the next few days. And just like that, Zhao Yaning is dialing Yang Guang’s number again.
