Episode Summary
Driven by his father's words, Huang Zhongxin investigates Cheng Hui, confirming he has a secret bank account and raising suspicions within the gang. His masked interrogation of Xu Guangrong leads Xu and Zhao Tiehan to decide they must inform Cheng Hui. However, Cheng Hui is urgently summoned by Hong Yan before they can. Hong Yan then confesses her accidental role in A'Zhen's death years ago, revealing she leaked A'Zhen's location to Zheng Qiu. The sudden appearance of Liu Suibian's son shocks Cheng Hui. Meanwhile, Liu Zhendong confronts Gou Wentong about Liu Suibian having a child, then dines with Zheng Qiu, where they discuss a potential alliance to control Shicheng.
Spoiler Alert
We kicked things off with Huang Zhongxin, who, spurred on by some words from his father, was clearly having second thoughts about a few things. He went full-on detective mode, first sneaking into Cheng Hui's room to rifle through a clock – a classic hiding spot, if you ask me – looking for whatever Cheng Hui had stashed there. His next move? Mask on, he headed straight to the clinic to grill Xu Guangrong about whether Cheng Hui was secretly managing any private bank accounts. Xu Guangrong, the loyal treasurer, claimed he knew nothing about Cheng Hui’s personal finances. However, he did clock Huang Zhongxin calling Cheng Hui "Cheng Laoda" (Boss Cheng), pegging him as one of the gang. Xu Guangrong advised him to drop the secrecy, all while vowing he’d never do anything to undermine Cheng Hui.
Naturally, once Huang Zhongxin was gone, Xu Guangrong hightailed it to Zhao Tiehan. He spilled everything, pretty certain the masked intruder was Huang Zhongxin – the voice was apparently a dead giveaway. The two decided this was definitely something Cheng Hui needed to be clued in on. Meanwhile, Huang Zhongxin's snooping actually paid off; he managed to track down a certain Manager Zhang and finally got his confirmation: Cheng Hui does indeed have a private account. As for Cheng Hui, he returned to his room and immediately sensed that someone had been going through his belongings.
Just as Zhao Tiehan arrived, ready to fill Cheng Hui in on Huang Zhongxin's suspicious activities, A'Gui rushed in with urgent news: Hong Yan desperately needed to see Cheng Hui. With that, gang matters were put on pause. Cheng Hui instructed Zhao Tiehan to find Huang Zhongxin and keep him under tight surveillance, then hurried off to meet Hong Yan. And what a meeting it was! Hong Yan dropped an absolute bombshell – a confession about an old, tragic event concerning A'Zhen's death.
Here’s the heartbreaking story she laid out: years ago, when Long Shiqi was hunting them all down, Liu Xiongwu had led them to a safe hiding place, while A'Zhen had gone to the countryside. Hong Yan, consumed by guilt ever since, confessed that she had accidentally revealed A'Zhen's whereabouts to Zheng Qiu, which ultimately led to A'Zhen being killed. She admitted she'd returned this time specifically to uncover the full truth. Cheng Hui, though clearly shocked, didn't blame Hong Yan, reasoning that she wasn't the only one who knew the details back then. Hong Yan then added another layer: Zheng Qiu had apparently told her he never intended for A'Zhen to die, a piece of information she had later used to threaten him. Right at that moment, in a stunning turn of events, Liu Suibian's son suddenly appeared, leaving Cheng Hui completely floored.
Elsewhere, Liu Zhendong was having quite the day himself. He first confronted Gou Wentong, demanding to know why he’d kept Liu Suibian having a child a secret. Gou Wentong brushed it off, callously remarking that it was common for prostitutes to have children. Liu Zhendong, however, insisted that Liu Suibian had been "innocent" (interpret that as you will – perhaps meaning she wasn't a prostitute, or was chaste) and laid into Gou Wendao (the text says Gou Wendao here, though it was Gou Wentong he was speaking to initially, so a bit of a mix-up perhaps!). Liu Zhendong was clearly worried this revelation about the child would stir up serious trouble. And speak of the devil, no sooner had he left the police station than he ran into Zheng Qiu, who invited him to dinner. Over the meal, Zheng Qiu tried to suss out Liu Zhendong's real reasons for being in town. Liu Zhendong didn't mince words, stating he was there as a special anti-crime commissioner with a very clear agenda. He then subtly hinted that their previous "agreement" was still on the table – if they joined forces, Shicheng (Lion City) could be theirs for the taking.
