Episode Summary
The episode kicks off with Lin Chunmiao's daughter arriving and learning the painful truth about her mother's life after Liu Ziming gives her Lin Chunmiao's belongings. After an arduous search, Liu Ziming and his team finally locate the murder weapon used by Li Gang, officially closing that case.
Spoiler Alert
So, remember Lin Chunmiao? Her daughter shows up from Fujian, and Liu Ziming has the unfortunate task of handing over her mom's belongings. The daughter had apparently been under the impression her mom was just washing dishes at some restaurant. Liu Ziming, bless his heart, doesn't spill the grim details of her mother's actual life and tragic end but does give her a gentle warning not to follow in her mother's footsteps. It's a gut-wrenching moment when the daughter later goes through those belongings and discovers the truth about the hardships Lin Chunmiao endured to raise her and her sibling, only to meet such a violent end. Before leaving, she pens a letter to Liu Ziming.
Meanwhile, Liu Ziming and his colleagues are literally dumpster diving for the murder weapon Li Gang used. They search until nightfall with no luck. Liu Ziming, ever the persistent cop, even goes back to the crime scene area for another round of trash-digging, still coming up empty. In a move that screams "bad idea," he tries to pass off a random fruit knife as the weapon, but Wei Jie sees right through it and gives him a serious dressing-down. You can't pull a fast one on Wei Jie!
The team, under Wei Jie's orders, then gets dispatched to a massive garbage dump. We're talking mountains of trash, and they have to sift through it piece by piece. To make things even more miserable, the heavens open up, and they're stuck searching in a torrential downpour. But hey, persistence pays off! After what must have felt like an eternity, Liu Ziming and the crew finally locate the actual weapon Li Gang described. Liu Ziming is so relieved he literally screams at the sky – and honestly, who can blame him? After the forensics team confirms it matches the wounds, the case is officially closed, much to Wei Jie's satisfaction.
Fast forward to 2001. Liu Ziming gets a call from his sister, Liu Ziqing, who urges him to come home and check on their dad. We then see a very pregnant Liu Ziqing out shopping when she spots a creep trying to peep on a girl in a changing room. Liu Ziqing, despite being heavily pregnant, doesn't hesitate to confront the guy! The girl in the fitting room, Fang Tingting, is super grateful.
Back to Liu Ziming – he gets a call from a neighbor saying his dad collapsed in the hallway. He rushes home to find his father completely drunk. Liu Ziming, clearly disappointed, lights some mosquito coils (presumably to clear the air or sober him up a bit – an old trick, perhaps?). No sooner has he done that than his dad stumbles in, complaining that Liu Ziming doesn't care about him. The apartment reeks of booze, and Liu Ziming is fed up with his father's constant drinking and hanging out at dance halls. Adding to the family drama, Liu Ziqing shows up at her dad's place after a fight with her husband, Li Wei. Liu Ziming tries to mediate, telling her to go home, and even snatches the phone when Li Wei calls, telling him to come pick up his wife.
Wanting to escape the drama at home and his father's self-destructive behavior, Liu Ziming heads to the police station for his shift. Just then, Wei Jie gets a call about a homicide and decides to take Liu Ziming along. In a rather comical turn, Liu Ziming "borrows" (read: steals) Captain Huang's motorcycle to get them to the scene faster, only to crash it on the way. Oops!
After their eventful journey, they finally make it to the crime scene. Liu Ziming observes that the victim, a young boy, is wearing a pair of expensive-looking shoes. He remembers a teammate from his wrestling days had an identical limited-edition pair. This sparks an idea, and Liu Ziming immediately goes to question his junior teammate, who fesses up that his own fancy shoes are just knock-offs he bought from a street vendor. So much for that lead.
The victim was stabbed over a dozen times, all in the lower body, and there are footprints from four or five different people at the scene. Then, a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jin, who rushed back from Korea, arrive to report their son, Jin Di, missing for several days. They immediately identify the victim as their son. Wei Jie tries to question them, but Mrs. Jin is so overcome with grief that she has to leave.
Wei Jie tasks Liu Ziming and others with interviewing Jin Di's friends, but they don't turn up any solid leads. Liu Ziming tries to speak with Mrs. Jin at her home, but she shuts the door in his face and even threatens to call the police on him. Not the best day for our detective. Wei Jie then orders Liu Ziming, Liu Yang, and Cao Lei to canvass the area around the crime scene. They're clearly not thrilled about it, but after a tongue-lashing from Wei Jie, they reluctantly get to work.
And that's where Episode 2 leaves us! What a whirlwind. Stay tuned for more!
Okay, here's a quick rundown of what went down in "Into the Heat" Episode 2, followed by the list of names you asked for!
