Episode Summary
Cheng Hui moves to expel Huang Zhongxin from the Shanhai Gang, favoring newcomer Xu Guangrong. Amidst this internal turmoil, An Gexiong of Qiankun She provokes the Shanhai Gang. Cheng Hui's daughter, Cheng Nanping, is then kidnapped by Qiankun She. While the Shanhai Gang scrambles to find her, it's revealed that Zheng Qiu is secretly manipulating both gangs, aiming to benefit from their conflict by having Cheng Nanping harmed to escalate tensions.
Spoiler Alert
Things are getting real messy. Cheng Hui isn't just stripping Huang Zhongxin of his Hall Master title; he's dead set on kicking him out of the Shanhai Gang entirely. Ouch. A'Rong, loyal to a fault, isn't taking this lying down and goes straight to Zhuang Bo for help. But Zhuang Bo’s pretty blunt – he’s barely keeping his own head above water these days. Ever since Cheng Hui brought Xu Guangrong to the Shanhai Gang's table, anyone with eyes could see he was grooming the new guy. Xu Guangrong, with his overseas accounting education, clean record, and sharp skills, is clearly Cheng Hui's new golden boy.
Zhuang Bo is fuming, convinced Cheng Hui is playing favorites. After all, Xu Guangrong is pretty tight with Hong Yan, making him practically Cheng Hui's "brother-in-law". Despite his own frustrations, Zhuang Bo tells A'Rong to cool his jets. Huang Zhongxin is still Cheng Hui’s godson, so there might be a sliver of hope for reconciliation.
Meanwhile, a desperate Huang Zhongxin is literally kneeling outside Cheng Hui's door, his mind racing. He’s replaying Cheng Hui’s furious lecture: Hong Yan is the Shanhai Gang’s ultimate benefactor. If it wasn't for her unwavering financial backing of the Shanhai convoy back in the day, the gang wouldn't even exist. Cheng Hui is absolutely convinced that even though Hong Yan and Liu Xiongwu are divorced, they're still tangled up in a life-or-death kind of way. There's no way she'd poison Liu Xiongwu, especially since Liu Xiongwu is rarely even home, let alone around for meals where he could be poisoned. Cheng Hui is deeply disappointed by Huang Zhongxin's suspicions, feeling his trust has been betrayed. He immediately summons Zhao Tiehan, ordering him to boot Huang Zhongxin from the gang and, get this, draft a statement disowning his own daughter, Cheng Nanping.
Just when you thought things couldn't get more intense, An Gexiong swaggers into the Shanhai Gang headquarters, dripping with arrogance and spoiling for a fight. Negotiations totally crater, and as An Gexiong storms out, he throws a chilling warning over his shoulder via Zhao Tiehan: he’s played nice so far, but if Cheng Hui doesn't wise up, he'll live to regret it. Zhao Tiehan senses something is seriously off with An Gexiong's behavior and points it out to Cheng Hui, who also gets a bad feeling. He tasks Zhao Tiehan and Huang Zhongxin (who is apparently still somewhat in the loop despite the earlier order) with finding Cheng Nanping.
Then, a frantic woman rushes to the police station, telling Gou Wendao that Cheng Nanping has been kidnapped. After a fruitless search, Huang Zhongxin and Zhao Tiehan confirm the worst: Qiankun She is behind it. Hei Hu and She Yan are absolutely livid, ready to storm Qiankun She and rescue her, but Zhao Tiehan, ever the strategist, stops them. He knows a rash move will play right into their enemy's hands. Instead, he takes Cheng Hui, Hei Hu, and Huang Zhongxin to confront one of Qiankun She's underlings to squeeze out some intel.
But wait, there's more! The real puppet master pulling the strings is Zheng Qiu, who’s set this whole chessboard up to come out on top. He figures An Gexiong won't actually kill Cheng Nanping, but if she doesn't suffer a bit, it'll be harder to keep Cheng Hui in line later. So, Zheng Qiu secretly orders his men to rough up Cheng Nanping. His goal? To crank up the heat between the Shanhai Gang and Qiankun She, then swoop in when they're both crippled. Talk about a long game!
So, Cheng Nanping is in enemy hands, tensions are at an all-time high, and a hidden enemy is manipulating everyone. Episode 24 has left us on a massive cliffhanger!
