Episode Summary
Police attempt to apprehend a suspect using a delivery guise, but the suspect escapes. Ning Zhen captures the suspicious delivery person. Investigating Li Guokun's family, Ning Zhen and Lu Fan uncover inconsistencies regarding a car rental shortly after his prison release. During another confrontation, Ning Zhen deduces the body disposal location from a photo. They trace the rental car but find it thoroughly cleaned. Lu Fan reveals his father's death might be linked to Li Guokun, and discovers Ning Zhen possesses a watch identical to his late father's. Despite the lack of car evidence, a shoe belonging to the victim, Feng Xiaojuan, is found at the disposal site, leading both Ning Zhen and Cao Jin to suspect this location, not the victim's home, is the primary crime scene.
Spoiler Alert
Mie Zui - Episode 3 Recap & Spoilers
Alright, so the episode kicks off with the police trying a sneaky move. They're staking out a suspect's place and plan to use a food delivery guy to get the door open. Clever, right? Except, the person inside hears the knock and immediately knows something's up – they make a break for it out the window before the cops can even bust in! A chase follows, naturally.
While most of the cops pursue the fleeing suspect, the delivery guy tries to just... wander off. Uh, not so fast! Ning Zhen steps in front of him. Seeing her, the delivery guy panics and tries to run, but Ning Zhen is quicker and manages to grab him. Her suspicion was dead on. She'd noticed he didn't actually have an order slip for the delivery, was carrying keys when he went upstairs, and used a specific, almost coded knock. Yep, this "delivery guy" is definitely involved in something shady.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhen heads over to Li Guokun's family home looking for clues, and guess who else shows up independently? Lu Fan. Classic. Li Guokun's family tells the police that he seemed like a changed man after getting out of prison. They also mention he was badmouthing the victim, Feng Xiaojuan, calling her promiscuous and looking down on him.
Here's where it gets interesting: the family casually mentions that Li Guokun drove his mother around the city in a car shortly after his release. Lu Fan immediately catches the inconsistency. Li Guokun just got out of jail – where would he get money for a car? Plus, his ID card had expired while he was inside and hadn't been renewed yet, making it impossible for him to legally rent one. Realizing her son's story has holes, Li Guokun's mother quickly makes an excuse to get him out of the conversation.
Outside, Lu Fan confronts Ning Zhen, asking why she's so fixated on Li Guokun's case. He's worried she'll interfere (or maybe has her own agenda?) and tries to get her to back off. This leads to another physical scuffle between them (these two, honestly!). During the fight, Ning Zhen spots a photograph which gives her an idea about where the body might have been dumped. Lu Fan, despite their friction, immediately passes this potential location onto his colleagues who are conducting the search.
Following up on the car clue, Lu Fan and Ning Zhen track down the rental agency. They learn the car Li Guokun supposedly used was rented out... and has already been rented out again to someone else. They manage to get the car recalled. When they inspect it, they find it's been thoroughly cleaned – almost too clean. Ning Zhen, taking the lead (which clearly annoys Lu Fan), instructs him to send the car to the technical unit for forensic analysis.
Adding another layer of complexity, Lu Fan's colleague, Tao Zi, warns him to be cautious around Ning Zhen. Why? Because their superior, Cao Jin, has asked Tao Zi to investigate her. Yikes.
Later, Lu Fan takes Ning Zhen to a meaningful spot – a beach his father used to take him to as a child. He finally reveals his personal connection: he believes his father's death is linked to Li Guokun, which is why he's so driven to investigate him. During their conversation, Lu Fan wants to check the time (maybe to push the forensics team), but notices the watch Ning Zhen is wearing has stopped. She explains she wears it for its sentimental value. And here's the kicker: the watch was a gift from Lu Fan's father. Lu Fan recognizes it instantly; his dad had an identical one.
Just as Lu Fan is about to ask Ning Zhen about the watch's history, his phone rings. It's Tao Zi calling with disappointing news: the rental car was cleaned so meticulously that the tech team couldn't find any usable evidence. The suspected body disposal site is also proving difficult to search effectively.
However, there's a glimmer of hope. Cao Jin discovers surveillance cameras near the disposal site and starts reviewing the footage. Lu Fan goes to find Ning Zhen to work together on this lead. Right on cue, Tao Zi calls again: they found something significant at the disposal site – a shoe belonging to the victim, Feng Xiaojuan.
This discovery leads Ning Zhen to a crucial deduction: what if Feng Xiaojuan's home wasn't the primary crime scene? What if it was staged, and the murder actually took place where the body was dumped? At the same time, Cao Jin independently reaches the exact same conclusion.
So, it looks like the investigation might finally be heading in the right direction, shifting focus to the disposal site as the potential primary crime scene. But the revelation about the watch and the connection between Ning Zhen, Lu Fan, and his father's past throws a huge personal complication into the mix! Things are getting intense.
